The new Slay the Spire 2 update promised a couple of weeks ago by developer Mega Crit is finally here, and it’s very exciting news, although you’ll need to switch to the beta branch if you want to get your hands on it right now. Dubbed the biggest Slay the Spire 2 patch to date, it introduces our first new character – bringing us to a total of six – along with two bonus modes. One of those is great if you want a quicker hit of the roguelike deckbuilder, while the other is perfect for players who have been complaining that Ascension 10 is simply too easy for them.
It might be the biggest update so far, but these aren’t quite the longest Slay the Spire 2 patch notes we’ve seen, because Mega Crit wants you to discover some of the new features for yourself. I’ve dived in to learn more, however, and I’m already fascinated by newcomer The Fool. He’s “a beloved musician who enlivened the Capital” before being forced to flee into the Spire. Think of him as a masked bard bearing bow and song. Indeed, his starting relic is the Song Bow, which kicks you off with six Aim every combat.
What does that mean? Aim causes your next Arrow to hit harder, and it’s quickly shown in action by your first unique card, Foolish Shot, which shoots an Arrow to deal 15 damage. These are a limited resource, and they Impale enemies they hit, meaning you’ll typically need to hit that target three more times (or kill them outright) in order to Dislodge the Arrow and make use of it again.
Naturally, you’ll start gathering cards that play off this in various ways. As a few examples, Quiver gives you an additional Arrow, while Serrated Arrows cause Impaled enemies to take 25% more damage from your attacks. Nock grants you five Aim; Rain Shot shoots an Arrow for 12 damage, then applies its damage dealt to all other enemies; and Uproot Dislodges an Impaled Arrow and applies three Vulnerable to the target you pulled it out of.
The Fool brings a few other tricks with them, too. Many of their cards include ‘Wah,’ ‘Cho,’ or ‘Ki’ in their names, and playing any of these activates the corresponding Melody for that turn. Various other cards are buffed based on which of these you currently have active: Steady Cadence deals ten damage and draws a card for each Melody; Wah Blast deals 14 damage to all enemies and then hits again if you’ve played Cho or Ki; and Cho Chorus grants you 12 block and plays all the Wah and Ki cards still in your hand.
There are a couple more mechanics to watch out for. The first is Stretch, which causes your next block card to apply more block (like a defensive Vigor). The other is Sadness and Joy, two cards that can be generated by several of your abilities. Sadness is an unplayable status card that is retained in your hand, but Joy is a zero-cost skill that gives you one energy, draws a card, and then is exhausted. Grab something like the Ecstasy power and start transforming your Sadness cards into Joy each turn, and The Fool will be very happy indeed.
Onto the new Slay the Spire 2 game modes. Blitz is “condensed and chaotic,” with a focus on deckbuilding. There’s no map, runs start by granting you a choice of three cards from a random selection of ten, and you go through just four encounters per Act. Treasure chests grant an extra relic, and the Merchant lets you pick three special objects from his goods, which include the likes of random card packs, enchantments, or risk/reward effects such as a full heal and bonus max health, but with the addition of a curse.
Dread, meanwhile, is “brutally difficult” and designed for those who have beaten Ascension 10 on all characters and want something more. All Ascension modifiers are enabled, bosses are stronger than ever and also apply additional buffs and abilities to the enemies in their act, and you’ll stack up Ascender’s Bane curses at the end of each Act. “Death is expected,” Mega Crit stresses – but if you’re the sort of player who craves such a high level of challenge, then you’re probably quite excited to hear that.
Those are the big additions, but there’s still more to watch out for. Mega Crit has made a small handful of minor balance tweaks (nothing too big to stress about here, although the Infested Prism fight should feel a little more manageable, and closer to a pure damage race). Rest Sites can now appear a floor earlier in each Act, and there are a selection of new events.
The most exciting of those is Wuppy in Trouble, which can grant you a new companion, the adorable Wuppy, who is that strange critter we saw in recent teasers. He’ll take all incoming damage before you (and even before your block, unfortunately), but can be fully healed up at Rest Sites, even after his health is spent. Depending on how your first encounter goes, he can start out with 30 or 60 max HP. Byrdpip gets some love too, with a new evolution: the Byrdine turns Byrd Swoop into God Byrd, a zero-cost skill that hits all your foes for 30(40) damage at the start of your next turn.
Slay the Spire 2 update 0.113.0 is live now on the game’s beta branch. You’ll need to switch over to try these out now, although it’s likely they’ll arrive in the live version fairly soon, once Mega Crit is happy with the state of balance. If you can’t wait, right-click the game in your Steam Library, head to ‘Properties,’ then ‘Game Versions and Betas,’ where you’ll be able to opt in. Remember to back up your save before switching, just to be safe.