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Slay the Spire 2 · Patch Notes

Major Updates &
Balance Changes

Every significant Slay the Spire 2 patch since Early Access launch on March 5, 2026. We track balance changes, card reworks, new features, and accessibility updates — so you always know what changed and why your favourite deck feels different. Minor hotfixes and translation corrections are excluded; only patches that materially affect gameplay are listed here.

Game: Slay the Spire 2 (Early Access) Developer: Mega Crit Last updated: April 4, 2026
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v0.102.0 — Badges & Ascension Rework v0.101.0 — Reverts & Reworks v0.100.0 — Balance Overhaul v0.99 — Post-Launch Fixes v0.98 — Early Access Launch
★ Major Update

Beta Patch v0.102.0

Badges, Ascension 6 Rework & Content Updates
April 2, 2026

v0.102.0 introduces Badges, a new end-of-run system that highlights memorable moments like defeating a boss without losing HP, beating the game quickly, or forgetting to spend your gold. Ascension 6 is completely reworked from Gloom (fewer rest sites) to Inflation (card removal at the Merchant costs significantly more). Borrowed Time gets a full rework after its v0.101.0 revert, Blade of Ink experiments with mid-combat Enchanted card generation, and the Doormaker boss receives another redesign.

New Features
  • NewBadges system — end-of-run awards that note memorable moments (flawless boss kills, speed runs, easter eggs, unspent gold). Currently shown at run end; will appear in run history and stats later. Part of upcoming scoring improvements.
Ascension Rework
  • ReworkAscension 6 — Gloom ("Less rest sites") replaced by Inflation ("Removing cards from your deck at the Merchant is more expensive"). Card removal now starts at 100 Gold and increases by 50 Gold per removal instead of 25. Mega Crit found that map-generation-based Ascension modifiers were too hard to notice.
Card Reworks
  • ReworkBlade of Ink (Silent) — "Rare — Cost 1 — Skill — This turn, whenever you play an Attack, gain 2(3) Strength this turn." → "Rare — Cost 1 — Skill — Add 2(3) Inky Shivs into your Hand." New Inky enchantment deals 2 additional damage and applies 1 Weak. An experiment with generating Enchanted cards mid-combat.
  • ReworkBorrowed Time (Necrobinder) — "Uncommon — Cost 0 — Skill — Apply 3 Doom to yourself. Gain 1(2) Energy." → "Uncommon — Cost 1 — Skill — Gain 4(6) Energy. Cards cost an additional energy this turn." Designed to synergize with high-cost cards like Reap and Bury.
Card Balance
  • BuffLeading Strike (Silent) — Shivs increased from 1 → 2, damage decreased from 7 → 3. Net buff for Shiv builds.
  • NerfSpeedster (Silent) — damage decreased from 2(3) → 1(2).
  • NerfUntouchable (Silent) — Block decreased from 7(9) → 6(8).
Relics & Potions
  • ReworkHistory Course relic — when it plays a copy of an X-cost card, it now uses your current energy for X instead of the energy spent last time. The copy is still played for free.
  • BuffNonupeipe's Fur Coat (Ancient relic) — now affects restocked Axebots and other enemies that enter combat mid-fight.
Enemies
  • ReworkDoormaker — Grasp turn now attacks for 20(23). Power reworked to "Whenever you play a card, lose 1 energy." Previous Grasp was too underwhelming and lowered fight difficulty.
  • BuffSkulking Colony — now attacks on all turns and deals slightly more damage. (Was nerfed in v0.101.0 — now buffed back.)
Events
  • NerfHungry For Mushrooms — Fragrant Mushroom upgraded cards decreased from 3 → 2.
  • ReworkWaterlogged Scriptorium — Prickly Sponge gold cost lowered from 155 → 99. Tentacle Quill gold cost lowered from 65 → 55.
  • BuffWhispering Hollow — Exchange option gold cost decreased from 50 → 35±9.
Bug Fixes (Highlights)
  • FixFixed softlock when selecting a card to upgrade via Armaments while Lethality power applies (Ironclad).
  • FixFixed Bullet Time played by Mayhem not setting hand card costs to 0 (Silent).
  • FixFixed Unsettling Lamp relic doubling Strength from Dominate.
  • FixFixed Vakuu's Whispering Earring continuing to play cards after Void Form ended the turn.
  • FixFixed Vakuu's Lord's Parasol occasionally only obtaining some Merchant items.
  • FixFixed Trash to Treasure proccing from other player's generated statuses (Multiplayer).
  • FixFixed softlock in Thieving Hopper fight if one player is dead when it tries to steal cards (Multiplayer).
  • FixFixed state divergence related to Driftwood and Dream Catcher relics (Multiplayer).
  • FixDisabled skipping chests in multiplayer — too many players confused it with the Proceed button.
  • FixVulkan now defaulted on Intel iGPUs with known D3D12 stability issues.
Full notes on Steam
Update

Beta Patch v0.101.0

Reverts, Reworks & Direction Reset
March 26, 2026

Mega Crit walked back the most controversial v0.100.0 changes after a wave of negative Steam reviews. Developer Anthony Giovannetti shared detailed design reasoning alongside each change — a first for the patch notes. Prepared is back, Borrowed Time and Capture Spirit return to pre-nerf values, and Arsenal gets a meaningful rework. The Doormaker boss was redesigned again to feel less random, and Elites no longer spawn on floor 6. The in-game feedback form character limit was raised from 500 to 8,000.

Reverts — Silent
  • RevertDeprecated Prepare — Prepared returns: "Common — Skill — Cost 1 — Discard 2 cards. Next turn, gain 2(3) Energy." → "Common — Skill — Cost 0 — Draw 1(2) card(s). Discard 1(2) card(s)." Mega Crit acknowledged Prepared is integral to Silent's identity and will look for other ways to rein in Sly synergies.
Reverts — Necrobinder
  • RevertCapture Spirit reverted to previous version: "Enemy loses 2(3) HP. Add 2(3) Souls into your Draw Pile." → "Enemy loses 3(4) HP. Add 3(4) Souls into your Draw Pile."
  • RevertBorrowed Time reverted to previous version: "Apply 6(3) Doom to yourself. Gain 1 Energy." → "Apply 3 Doom to yourself. Gain 1(2) Energy." Mega Crit notes this card will likely receive a complete rework in the future, but for now they prefer it to be fun to play in all decks. (Fully reworked in v0.102.0.)
Card Reworks
  • ReworkArsenal (Regent) — "Power — Rare — Cost 1 — Whenever you play a Colorless Card, gain 1(2) Strength." → "Power — Rare — Cost 1 — (Innate.) Whenever you create a card, gain 1 Strength." This is a complete trigger change — card-creation is a much broader condition than colorless plays, affecting how Regent drafts entirely.
  • ReworkCinder (Ironclad) — now exhausts a random card in your hand rather than the top of your draw pile. Less of a gamble.
  • BuffTremble (Ironclad) — now has Exhaust. This actually makes it more viable since you rarely want to play it more than once per fight.
  • BuffSerpent Form (Silent) — upgraded version now deals more damage per card played.
Card Nerfs
  • NerfVoltaic (Defect) — energy cost increased from 2 → 3. Positioned more clearly as a finisher rather than a mid-fight tempo play.
Relics & Potions
  • ReworkPendulum relic — "Whenever you shuffle your Draw Pile, draw a card." → "Every 3 turns, draw 1 card." Removes high-roll volatility from thin-deck shuffle builds.
  • ReworkVexing Puzzlebox relic — now uses "Free to Play" instead of "Costs 0 Energy" and only lasts until end of turn.
  • ReworkLiquid Memories potion — now uses "Free to Play" instead of "Costs 0 Energy."
  • ReworkRelic rarity swaps — Permafrost and Bellows moved to higher rarity (appear less often). Tiny Mailbox, Bag of Marbles, Red Mask, and Lasting Candy moved to lower rarity (appear more often). Design intent: commons should be simple effects that add value to most decks, rarity increases allow higher complexity.
Enemies
  • ReworkDoormaker boss redesigned again — each visual phase now has its own unique power. Phase 1 causes attacks and skills to exhaust when played. Phase 2 prevents all card draw. Phase 3 increases the cost of the first card played each turn by 1. Intended to feel less random and reward player agency.
  • NerfSkulking Colony — deals less damage, scales slower, no longer applies Dazed. (Buffed back in v0.102.0 — now attacks on all turns.)
  • ReworkHaunted Ship — now applies Dazed status cards to the player.
  • NerfThe Lost and Forgotten — stat theft no longer scales with Ascension.
  • NerfWaterfall Giant — HP decreased from 250(260) → 240(250).
System & Progression
  • FixElites can no longer spawn on floor 6. Since Neow counts as the first floor, Elites were spawning one floor earlier than intended. This is a significant Act 1 routing change.
  • ReworkGloom Ascension modifier no longer affects mystery (?) rooms — only rest sites. (Gloom replaced entirely by Inflation in v0.102.0.)
  • FixMap generation improvements to reduce maps overflowing with early monster rooms.
  • NewIn-game feedback form character limit raised from 500 → 8,000.
Full notes on Steam
★ Major Update

Beta Patch v0.100.0

First Big Post-Launch Balance Pass
March 19, 2026

The first major Slay the Spire 2 balance patch since Early Access launch. Mega Crit's stated goal: make infinite combos harder to assemble without eliminating them entirely. Alongside the balance overhaul, this patch introduces Phobia Mode, a suite of new card portrait art, and character-specific energy VFX. Currently on the public beta branch only.

Accessibility
  • NewPhobia Mode added — toggleable in Settings. Replaces unsettling art for the infection overlay, hive backgrounds, The Insatiable, Phrog Parasite, Wrigglers, Terror Eel, and Entomancer.
  • NewDeprecated Card status card added. If a card is removed from the game mid-run, it is replaced with this placeholder instead of breaking the run.
Ironclad Balance
  • ReworkExpect a Fight — now costs 2 (1 upgraded). Still gives energy per Attack in hand, but now prevents further energy gain that turn. Curbs infinite energy loops.
  • ReworkStoke — no longer draws a card per card exhausted. Instead adds 1 random card (upgraded version grants upgraded cards) to hand for each card exhausted.
  • ReworkDominate — now costs 1. Applies 1 (2) Vulnerable and gains 1 Strength per Vulnerable on enemy. Exhausts.
  • ReworkSpite — now costs 0. Deals 5 damage; if you lost HP this turn, hits 2 (3) times.
Silent Balance
  • ReworkPrepared → Prepare — renamed and reworked. Now costs 1. Discards 2 cards, grants 2 (3) Energy next turn instead of zero-cost draw-and-discard. Significant nerf to discard synergy builds. (Reverted in v0.101.0 — Prepared restored.)
  • NerfAdditional Silent cards adjusted to reduce infinite potential with discard-synergy Sly card chains.
Regent Balance
  • NerfGlow — now gives 1 card this turn and 1 card next turn, instead of 2 cards immediately.
  • NerfAlignment — now costs 3 Stars instead of 2.
Economy & Progression
  • BuffShop relics — all relic shop prices reduced by 25 Gold. Gold-generating relics no longer appear in shops.
  • NerfGloom Ascension — now also reduces chance of finding rest sites in mystery rooms.
  • FixDaily and custom runs can no longer unlock Epochs or affect lifetime character stat trackers.
Multiplayer Balance
  • NerfHuddle Up — now Exhausts after use.
  • NerfBeacon of Hope — block-sharing effect no longer stacks.
  • NerfBelieve in You — energy grant reduced by 1 (now 2 base, 3 upgraded).
Enemies
  • NerfDoormaker boss significantly buffed in difficulty — now gains ability to consume every tenth card drawn by the player, capable of removing key combo pieces from the deck.
Art & Visual
  • NewNew portrait art added for numerous cards across all five character classes.
  • NewCharacter-specific visual effects added when gaining energy.
  • NewMurderous run modifier now has its own icon.
Full notes on Steam
Minor Update

Patch v0.99 / v0.99.1

One-Week Post-Launch Fixes & Art
March 12–14, 2026

The first public beta branch launched alongside this update, giving players an opt-in path to test changes before they go live. This patch focused on stability and art expansion rather than balance, with v0.99.1 pushing all changes to the main branch shortly after.

Balance
  • FixPlayers, enemies, and pets can no longer have HP increased above 999,999,999 — closing an exploit used in some infinite build strategies.
Art
  • NewPortrait art added for a batch of previously art-missing cards across multiple character classes.
  • NewMurderous run modifier icon added.
Bug Fixes
  • FixMultiple softlock fixes for multiplayer edge cases, including a softlock triggered by the Architect event and one caused by Breakthrough's self-HP loss in co-op.
  • FixNumerous general timeline softlocks resolved.
Full notes on Steam
Launch

v0.98 — Early Access Launch

Slay the Spire 2 enters Steam Early Access
March 5, 2026

Slay the Spire 2 officially launched into Steam Early Access on March 5, 2026, developed by Mega Crit on the Godot Engine. The game shipped with five playable character classes (Ironclad, Silent, Regent, Necrobinder, Defect), online co-op, full controller support, and Steam Deck Verified status. Launch-day hotfixes v0.98.2 and v0.98.3 addressed translation errors and early softlocks.

What's in at Launch
  • NewFive full character classes — Ironclad, Silent, Regent, Necrobinder, Defect — each with 70–80 cards.
  • NewOnline co-op multiplayer with dedicated co-op cards (Huddle Up, Beacon of Hope, Believe in You).
  • NewAscension system, Gloom modifier, daily runs, and custom runs.
  • NewFull controller support; Steam Deck Verified at launch.
  • New14 language localizations at launch.
Launch Hotfixes (v0.98.2 — v0.98.3)
  • FixTranslation errors corrected for Russian, Turkish, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Chinese.
  • FixMultiple softlocks in the timeline resolved within 48 hours of launch.
Steam news hub

Slay the Spire 2 Tier List — Updated for v0.102.0

Our card rankings account for every balance change above. See which cards got better or worse and update your builds for the current meta.

View Tier List →