Game Killer (0) flips standard progression. XP gems become offensive projectiles instead of leveling currency, and Treasure Chests guarantee 3 items minimum. The arcana is widely misunderstood as freezing your character, but the real mechanic is forced commitment to your early build. Players who pick at level 30 with 4 random weapons get a bad lock-in. Players who pick at level 1 with intentional starter plus Silent Old Sanctuary plus level-cap-character (Antonio, Arca, Divano) lock in a permanent maxed-stat build with guaranteed 3-item chests.
Game Killer (0) is the only Arcana numbered 0 in Vampire Survivors. While active, all Experience Gems still spawn but no longer grant XP. Instead, when collected, the gems hurl themselves at the closest enemy as exploding projectiles using the Stained Glass explosion effect. Treasure Chests now guarantee 3 items minimum (weapons or passives). Growth scales the explosion damage.
Per the official Vampire Survivors Wiki, Game Killer (0) was added in Patch 0.8.0 (7 July 2022). The internal ID T00_KILLER and the public spell "ilmatto" (Italian for "the fool") align the arcana with The Fool Major Arcana card (numbered 0). The Fool symbolizes new beginnings, opportunities, freedom, innocence, curiosity, and hidden potential. Mechanically, this maps onto the deviation from the standard XP-and-level progression in favor of unknown chances from Treasure Chests. Compare with our Empty Tome guide for Cooldown stacking that Game Killer ignores at the arcana level.
| Effect | Detail |
|---|---|
| XP halt | All experience gain is halted while Game Killer is active. The player level is locked from the moment of pickup |
| Gems become projectiles | Experience Gems still spawn from kills. When collected, each gem hurls toward the closest enemy and explodes on contact |
| Damage scaling | Growth multiplies the damage dealt by the gems. Uses the Stained Glass explosion visual effect |
| Treasure Chest guarantee | All Treasure Chests now contain at least 3 weapons or passive items, regardless of normal RNG rolls |
As an arcana effect, the gem projectiles use the standalone weapon stats but ignore Amount and Cooldown modifiers. As a standalone weapon (rare special form), Game Killer creates a placeholder piano that aims at enemies and IS affected by Amount and Cooldown.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Internal ID | T00_KILLER (arcana), WINDOW2 (weapon) |
| Type | Special |
| Damage | 10 base |
| Area | 100% |
| Speed | 100% |
| Amount | 1 (NOT modifiable as arcana effect) |
| Duration | 1.0 seconds (ignored) |
| Cooldown | 5.0 seconds (NOT modifiable as arcana effect) |
| Pierce | Area of Effect |
| Knockback | 1 |
| Pool Limit | 200 |
| Blocked by walls | No |
| Released | 7 July 2022 (Patch 0.8.0) |
Defeat The Ender, the final enemy in Cappella Magna. The Ender spawns at minute 30 with massive HP and high damage. Bring an evolved meta build (Phieraggi, Vandalier, Holy Wand) and high Curse stacking. Spell shortcut: type ilmatto in Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane (does NOT trigger achievement).
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Unlock Cappella Magna by reaching minute 25 in Cappella Magna with any character (Cappella unlocks itself via Holy Forbidden chain) |
| 2 | Run a meta build with high evolution density. Phieraggi, Vandalier, Holy Wand, Bloody Tear, and Death Spiral are recommended carries |
| 3 | Stack Curse via Skull O Maniac, Bracer, and Hollow Heart. Higher Curse means The Ender deals more damage but also dies to higher-damage explosions |
| 4 | At 30:00, The Ender spawns from the boss music cue. The Ender has approximately 655,360 HP at base Curse |
| 5 | Burn The Ender down within 60 seconds. Failing to kill The Ender ends the run, but the unlock requires the kill specifically |
| 6 | Once The Ender dies, Game Killer (0) unlocks immediately for use in future runs |
Pick at level 1 with intentional starter weapon and stat-cap character. Picking late (level 30+) with a half-built loadout locks you into mediocre weapons. The arcana rewards COMMITMENT, not opportunism. Best characters are those whose bonus ability stops scaling at low levels: Antonio, 
Arca, 
Divano in non-Limit Break runs.
VSDirect answer: Pick at level 1 with intent. Picking late only works if your build is already complete and you want to stop endless Curse scaling.
At level 1, you control which weapon you commit to and which stat boosts you bring. Stack Beginning (X) for +1 Amount on the starter, or Silent Old Sanctuary (XX) for +100% Might and -40% Cooldown by leaving 5 weapon slots empty. Buy weapons from the Master Librarian and Merchant during the run because they bypass the level-up restriction. At level 30 with 4 random weapons, you lock into whatever evolution chain you happened to roll. Picking Game Killer late should be a deliberate choice to stop runaway Curse scaling on Gyorunton or to halt level scaling on Sammy gold-XP runs. The Curse interaction matches our Skull O Maniac guide for late-game density math.
Arca Ladonna, Antonio Belpaese, and Divano Thelma all have level-cap bonus abilities. Their stat scaling stops at a fixed level (typically 30 to 40). Picking Game Killer at or near their cap means you lose nothing by halting XP. In Limit Break runs, these characters scale further past the cap so Game Killer becomes a worse pick.Three competitive carries. Build 1: 
Porta Ladonna with Lightning Ring AOE and Silent Old Sanctuary (XX). Build 2: 
Suor Clerici with Santa Water and area bonus boosting Game Killer explosions for high DPS. Build 3: 
Fleaman (Ode DLC, baked-in arcana, no slot needed).
| Slot | Item |
|---|---|
| Character | Porta Ladonna (level 1 stat bonus + Lightning Ring start) |
| Stage | Cappella Magna or Library for high enemy density |
| Arcana 1 (11:00) | Silent Old Sanctuary (XX) for +100% Might and -40% Cooldown |
| Arcana 2 (21:00) | Game Killer (0) at level 1 to lock in the stat bonus |
| Arcana 3 (31:00) | Beginning (X) for +1 Amount on Lightning Ring |
| Carry weapon | Lightning Ring (Porta starter) into Thunder Loop evolution |
| Critical passives | Duplicator, Empty Tome, Spinach, Crown for Growth scaling on gems |
| Slot | Item |
|---|---|
| Character | Suor Clerici (Santa Water starter, area bonus) |
| Stage | Inlaid Library for boss density |
| Arcana 1 | Beginning (X) for +1 Amount on Santa Water |
| Arcana 2 | Game Killer (0) at level 1 |
| Arcana 3 |  Moonlight Bolero (VI) for black chests with 3-item guarantee |
| Note | Per the wiki, Suor Clerici area bonus applies to Game Killer explosions for very high DPS |
| Slot | Item |
|---|---|
| Character | Fleaman (Ode to Castlevania DLC, Game Killer baked-in) |
| Stage | Holy Forbidden or Cappella Magna |
| Arcana 1 | Silent Old Sanctuary (XX) - free arcana slot since Game Killer is baked-in |
| Arcana 2 | Beginning (X) for the starting weapon |
| Arcana 3 | Mad Groove (VIII) for stage item pulling and Treasure Chest farming |
| Note | Fleaman starts with the arcana, freeing up your normal Game Killer slot for other power picks |
Top synergies: Silent Old Sanctuary (XX) and 
Beginning (X) for single-weapon scaling, 
Gorgeous Moon for periodic gem vacuum, 
Crown for Growth-scaled gem damage, Moonlight Bolero (VI) for black chest stacking with the 3-item guarantee.
| Synergy | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| Silent Old Sanctuary (XX) | Empty weapon slots scale your single locked weapon to +100% Might and -40% Cooldown. Game Killer prevents accidentally getting offered new weapons that would break the lock |
| Beginning (X) | +1 Amount on starting weapon boosts the carry that you are forced to commit to |
| Gorgeous Moon | Periodic vacuum collects all gems at once, triggering massive damage burst. Also creates an extra gem on each kill, doubling your projectile pool |
| Crown | +8% Growth at max level, plus Crown is required to evolve Pentagram. Per the wiki, more Growth means each gem deals more damage |
 Attractorb | Increases pickup radius for gems, letting you trigger explosions more frequently especially in late game with many gems on screen |
 Vacuum pickup | Single-use pickup pulls every gem on screen at once. Burst damage spike usually clears entire enemy waves |
| Moonlight Bolero (VI) | Allows black chests to spawn. Combined with Game Killer 3-item guarantee, every chest becomes a passive variety boost |
| Situation | Why Game Killer Helps |
|---|---|
 Gyorunton infinite Curse | Per the wiki, Gyorunton has infinitely scaling Curse that eventually overwhelms even meta builds. Game Killer halts level progression, capping the Curse stack |
 Sammy gold-XP runs | Sammy gains XP from gold coins, not gems. Game Killer halts gem XP but Sammy continues leveling normally via coins |
Players new to Game Killer run into these recurring problems:
Game Killer (0) is named after the song Vampire Killer, the theme song of the opening level of the original Castlevania (1986). The arcana represents The Fool Major Arcana card (numbered 0), symbolizing new beginnings, freedom, innocence, and hidden potential. Mechanically, the design reflects deviation from standard XP progression in favor of taking unknown chances from chests. As a standalone weapon, Game Killer creates a placeholder piano that aims at enemies.
Per the official Vampire Survivors Wiki, Game Killer (0) halts XP gain. Experience Gems still spawn from kills but no longer grant XP. Instead, when collected, the gems hurl themselves at the closest enemy as exploding projectiles using the Stained Glass effect. Treasure Chests now guarantee 3 items minimum (weapons or passives). Growth multiplies the gem damage. Released in Patch 0.8.0 (July 7, 2022).
Defeat The Ender, the final enemy in Cappella Magna. The Ender spawns at minute 30 with massive HP (approximately 655,360 at base Curse) and high damage. Bring an evolved meta build (Phieraggi, Vandalier, Holy Wand, Bloody Tear) and stack Curse for damage scaling. The Ender requires roughly 10,000+ DPS to kill before time runs out. Spell shortcut: type ilmatto in the Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane Secrets menu (does NOT trigger achievement).
Pick at level 1 with intentional starter weapon. Game Killer rewards commitment to your early build, not opportunism. Picking at level 30 with 4 random weapons locks you into a half-baked loadout. Best characters to pick on are Antonio Belpaese, Arca Ladonna, and Divano Thelma in non-Limit Break runs because their bonus abilities cap at low levels (no scaling lost from XP halt). The exception is picking late to stop infinite Curse scaling on Gyorunton.
Yes. Fleaman from the Ode to Castlevania DLC starts with Game Killer (0) baked-in. Fleaman is one of the smallest characters in the game and references the Castlevania franchise's recurring jumping flea enemy. Starting with the arcana frees up your normal Game Killer slot for another power pick like Silent Old Sanctuary (XX) or Beginning (X).
You normally cannot. The arcana halts all XP gain from Experience Gems. The exceptions are: buying weapons from the Master Librarian or Merchant (these bypass level-up restrictions), and Sammy from Tides of the Foscari DLC who gains XP from gold coins instead of gems. Sammy is the only base or DLC character who can continue leveling indefinitely while Game Killer is active.
Silent Old Sanctuary (XX) is the top pick because empty weapon slots scale your single locked weapon to +100% Might and -40% Cooldown. Game Killer prevents accidental new weapon offers that would break the lock. Beginning (X) adds +1 Amount to the starting weapon, which compounds with the forced single-weapon focus. Moonlight Bolero (VI) Darkana allows black chests to spawn, which combined with the 3-item guarantee turns each chest into a passive variety boost.
No. As an arcana effect, the gem explosions ignore Amount and Cooldown modifiers. Per the wiki, the standalone weapon form of Game Killer IS affected by Amount and Cooldown, but the arcana version explicitly is not. Empty Tome, Duplicator, and Spinach still benefit your normal weapons; they just do not speed up or duplicate the gem projectiles.
Growth. Per the wiki, Growth multiplies the damage dealt by the gems and uses the Stained Glass explosion effect. Crown (+8% Growth at max level), Stone Mask (Greed not Growth, but compounds with Crown), and stage-based Growth boosts are mandatory on Game Killer carries. Crown also serves a second role: it is required to evolve Pentagram, which provides additional Growth scaling for the gem damage.
Game Killer mechanics, internal stat block (T00_KILLER, WINDOW2 weapon ID), The Ender unlock chain, Treasure Chest 3-item guarantee, Stained Glass explosion effect, character synergies, and Castlevania (1986) Vampire Killer music reference cross-referenced against the official Vampire Survivors Wiki on Weirdgloop and the Vampire Survivors Fandom Wiki, including Patch 0.8.0 release notes that introduced Game Killer. In our experience, the wiki Game Killer (0) page is the definitive single reference for the gem-projectile mechanic and arcana-vs-weapon distinction.
Sprite assets and stat data derived from the Vampire Survivors Wiki, hosted by Weirdgloop and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Vampire Survivors is a trademark of poncle. This guide is an independent reference and is not affiliated with poncle.