Whether it was intended or not, Fairy Tail set up Dragon Slayers as the most powerful mages in their world. This could be because the main character is a Dragon Slayer, but it helps that the main antagonist happens to be one as well.
Their consistent ability to get stronger in the most desperate situations makes them incredibly powerful. Not only that, but they have the ability to grow stronger by tapping into the Dragon Force to strengthen their abilities, or pull from alternate elements to boost their strength. This list looks at all the Dragon Slayers from Fairy Tail and shows which are the most, and least, powerful based on the feats we saw them achieve from the manga and anime.
10 WEAKEST: ERIK
Erik was quite the threat when he first appeared, as a member of one of the many dark guilds introduced during the show. He had the ability to manipulate poison energy as a Poison Dragon Slayer, which made him enough of a threat by itself.
But also, he has incredible sound magic which allows him to “hear” people’s emotions and hearts so well he can tell what their next move is in combat.
9 STRONGEST: GAJEEL
Gajeel just barely makes it into this list. We know for certain he’s not stronger than many of the people on this list, but we’ve also seen him tap into a higher level of power like Natsu before when it was required.
Gajeel’s attained other elements of power when he had to, and we’ve seen him use Dragon Force as well when he had to.
8 WEAKEST: GOD SERENA
Let’s be honest about this: God Serena was supposed to be this ultimate Dragon Slayer. He implanted eight lacrima in himself and mastered magic to such an extent that he washed the Ten Great Wizard Saints all on his own. But like...so what?
When it came time for him to fight Acnologia, he was literally one-shotted. No effort was put into his battle, and the next time we saw him he was fighting Gildarts and not impressing Gildarts at all. He might be powerful, but the best Dragon Slayers on this list would find a way to win.
7 STRONGEST: LAXUS
We’ve seen Laxus beat Natsu a couple of times in the past. We know he’s technically the “strongest” member of Fairy Tail short of Gildarts, even giving Erza quite a hard time in combat.
But the truth is, the one time Natsu fought Laxus and it mattered, Natsu won. And when they needed to decide who was going to beat Acnologia, everyone simply gave their power to Natsu without questioning it.
6 WEAKEST: ROGUE
The sullen partner to Sting on Sabertooth, Rogue is quite powerful and we know he can become even more overpowered overtime. The real problem with Rogue is that he’s not nearly as strong without Sting unless we’re talking about his future self.
His present-day self seems like a genius, having mastered Dragon Force and using it whenever he wants, but there’s just a hard limit to what he seems to be capable of right now.
5 STRONGEST: NATSU
Let’s be honest: Natsu is frequently shown to not be as strong as Laxus, but that’s only when it’s an everyday fight. Natsu’s status not only as a Dragon Slayer that had a dragon living within him but also as E.N.D. means he’s got access to power most people can only dream of.
He didn’t just beat Acnologia, he beat Zeref too, once Zeref possessed infinite magic—and he did it all in the same day. Dude’s earned his spot, claiming to be the strongest.
4 WEAKEST: STING
It’s unfair to have Sting on this side of the list, but it’s where he belongs, even though he's the head of Sabertooth. When it comes down to it, Sting doesn’t have the power that some of the other Dragon Slayers do. He mastered his ability to go into Dragon Force, which is fantastic.
We’ve seen him prove his abilities as a genius time and again, and he was even capable of beating Larcade Dragneel, one of the most powerful members of the Spriggan 12. But that was still a starting line thing, and he’s a long way from touching the other Dragon Slayers in pure power.
3 STRONGEST: IRENE BELSERION
The mother of all Dragon Slayers. It can’t be understated how powerful this character is. She’s a member of the Spriggan 12 and no one really knows the limits of her abilities—she was thought to be the most or second most powerful member of the group, and as far as we know this could actually be true.
Irene spent so much magic before fighting Erza, we never saw her go all out against a single mage without leaning into someone’s plan.
2 WEAKEST: WENDY
Wendy’s real problem is her youth. She’s the youngest person on this list and has simply had less combat experience than anyone else in the group.
Despite this, she’s also advanced at a pace most of the other Dragon Slayers could scarcely imagine. Being constantly forced to protect her friends from Dark Guilds, she’s mastered Dragon Force several years before Natsu even got anywhere near using it. As a Sky Dragon Slayer, she’s scratching the limits of her abilities and she’s already better than most other people.
1 STRONGEST: ACNOLOGIA
The most powerful Dragon Slayer of the original era that started the storylines we see today, Acnologia was a mage who forgot what it meant to be human.
His power is so incredible that it dwarfs even someone like Zeref’s power, who was so powerful people spent decades worshiping what he could do. He’s got an absurd amount of magical energy and deserves to be near the top of the list.