Slay the Spire 2: Complete Guide

All five characters, the acts and bosses, Ancients, Ascension, co-op, and the deckbuilding habits that win runs in Mega Crit's Early Access sequel.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Early Access main branch v0.107.1 (June 19, 2026), with notes from beta v0.111.0 (mid-August 2026). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

Characters unlock in a chain. You start with the Ironclad. Finishing any run (win or lose) unlocks the next: Ironclad, then Silent, then Regent, then Necrobinder, then Defect.
Add damage in Act 1. Your starting deck can't kill elites or the Act 1 boss quickly. Take one or two strong attacks from early card rewards.
Skipping a card is a real option. A focused deck draws its best cards more often. If a reward doesn't help this run, skip it.
Fight a few elites. Elites drop relics, and relics win runs. Take elites when you're healthy and skip them when you're low.
Rest vs. Smith. At campfires, heal if the next fight could kill you. Otherwise upgrade a key card.
Pick Ancient boons with care. Each act opens with an Ancient offering one of three boons. Early on, pick the one that fixes your deck's biggest weakness.
Remove Strikes and Defends. Card removal at the Merchant is one of the best ways to spend gold. It gets pricier on Ascension 6 and up.
Read enemy intents. The icon over each enemy shows what it will do next. Block when it attacks and go all-in when it buffs or debuffs.
Act 1 changes between runs. It is randomly either Overgrowth or Underdocks, each with its own enemies, events, and bosses.

Early Access Status

Item	Details
Early Access launch	March 5, 2026 (PC via Steam, built on the Godot engine)
Main branch	v0.107.1 (June 19, 2026). Added the Bestiary to the Compendium, three new badges, and Steam Workshop support, and replaced the Doormaker boss with Aeonglass
Public beta	v0.111.0 (patch notes posted August 15, 2026). Card reworks such as Expect a Fight (moved from energy engine to block scaling) and Hyperbeam (less damage, but easier to play twice), and more nerfs to Blade of Ink
Content	5 characters, 3 acts (Act 1 has two versions), Ascension 1–10, co-op for up to 4 players
What's next	Mega Crit's August 2026 Neowsletter confirmed a new character and an alternate Act 2 are in development, with updates spaced further apart. The September Neowsletter teased another new area. No release dates yet

Balance changes often: cards that enable infinite combos have been removed, restored, and reworked more than once. Check the patch notes if a card works differently than you remember.

Characters

Character	Max HP (A2+)	Starting relic	Starting deck	Identity
Ironclad	80 (64)	Burning Blood: heal 6 HP after each combat	5 Strike, 4 Defend, Bash	Strength scaling, self-damage, Exhaust. Corruption and Break can now only be obtained through specific relics
Silent	70 (56)	Ring of the Snake: draw 2 extra cards at the start of each combat	5 Strike, 5 Defend, Neutralize, Survivor	Poison, Shivs, discard synergies. Relics like Snecko Skull and Tingsha
Regent	75 (60)	Divine Right: gain 3 Stars at the start of each combat	4 Strike, 4 Defend, Falling Star, Venerate	Uses Stars as a second resource and Forges the Sovereign Blade
Necrobinder	66 (52)	Bound Phylactery: Summon 1 at the start of your turn (upgrades to Phylactery Unbound)	4 Strike, 4 Defend, Bodyguard, Unleash	Fights alongside Osty, a giant skeletal hand. Kills with Doom
Defect	75 (60)	Cracked Core: Channel 1 Lightning orb at the start of combat	4 Strike, 4 Defend, Zap, Dualcast	Lightning, Frost, and Dark orbs

Each character has 80 regular cards (20 common, 35 uncommon, 25 rare), plus some cards that only appear in multiplayer.

Regent: Stars and the Sovereign Blade

Stars are a second resource on top of energy. Your stronger cards cost Stars as well as, or instead of, energy. Divine Right gives you 3 at the start of every fight, and some cards (such as Big Bang) generate more.
Forge: the first time you Forge in a combat, a Sovereign Blade is added to your hand. It is a Token Attack that deals 10 damage and has Retain. Every later Forge adds damage to all your Sovereign Blades wherever they are.
How to play him: there are two main plans. Blade decks stack Forge effects and swing one huge Retained attack. Star decks build Star income and spend it on powerful cards. Minion-support cards fit the character's description: "his minions do the work."

Necrobinder: Osty and Doom

Osty is a lasting companion who attacks and soaks damage for you. Summon effects grow him. Bound Phylactery Summons 1 every turn.
Doom is a debuff. At the end of the enemy's turn, if its HP is at or below its Doom, it dies. Doom ignores Block, Intangible, and similar protection, but each stack of Artifact cancels all Doom from one source.
Warning: Doom can be applied to you as well. If the Necrobinder dies to Doom, Osty dies too.
Key cards: Blight Strike, Scourge, and Deathbringer (Doom), Countdown (power), Oblivion (rare skill). Strong unique relics include Book Repair Knife (rewards Doom kills on non-Minion enemies), Funerary Mask, Bone Flute, Big Hat, Bookmark, and Ivory Tile.
How to play her: stack Doom on big targets like elites and bosses while Osty and Block keep you alive. Doom is weaker against minion swarms, so keep some direct damage for those.

Returning characters: what to know

Ironclad: still the easiest starter. Burning Blood forgives mistakes. Strength scaling and big Exhaust engines still work.
Silent: her starting deck has 12 cards, so thin it out early. Poison handles bosses and Shivs handle swarms.
Defect: the most complex of the three. Frost orbs give passive Block and Lightning gives passive damage. Get orb slots and ways to evoke orbs before building a big engine.

Run Structure

Every run climbs 3 acts. You choose your path on a branching map of node types: monsters, elites, rest sites, merchants, treasure, and unknown events.

Act	Versions	Bosses (one per run)
Act 1 (floor 17 boss)	Overgrowth or Underdocks (random)	Overgrowth: Ceremonial Beast, The Kin, Vantom. Underdocks: Waterfall Giant, Soul Fysh, Lagavulin Matriarch
Act 2 (floor 33 boss)	Hive	The Insatiable, Knowledge Demon, Kaiser Crab
Act 3 (floor 48+ boss)	Glory	Queen, Test Subject, Aeonglass (replaced Doormaker in v0.107.1)

The map shows the boss for the current act, so build with it in mind. Scaling damage (Strength, Poison, a Forged blade, Doom) matters much more against Act 2 and 3 bosses than front-loaded damage does.

Ancients

Each act begins with an Ancient, which offers a choice of boons, mostly relics. Neow is always first, except on the very first run of a new save.

Act	Ancients
Act 1	Neow
Act 2	Orobas, Pael, Tezcatara (or Darv)
Act 3	Nonupeipe, Tanx, Vakuu (or Darv)

Ancients also heal you. On Ascension 2+ they only heal 80% of your missing HP.
v0.103.2 added five new Neow relics, including Hefty Tablet and Neow's Bones.
Rule of thumb: in Act 1 take power or deck-fixing (damage, removal, a strong relic). In Act 3 take whatever beats the boss you can see on the map.

Deckbuilding Fundamentals

Front-loaded vs. scaling damage. Act 1 hallway fights want immediate damage. Bosses want damage that grows each turn. A winning deck has both.
Block efficiency. Strong decks solve defense with a few high-value cards (or Osty and orbs) instead of piles of Defends.
Energy and draw are what hold most decks back. Extra energy relics, zero-cost cards, and card draw make every other card better.
Card count: smaller decks are more consistent. Add cards only when they make the deck better.
Upgrades: upgrade the cards you play every fight: key powers, your best attacks, and cards whose upgrade changes their cost.
Potions: use them. A potion saved until you die is wasted. On Ascension 4+ you have one fewer potion slot, so use them even faster.

Ascension

Beat the game to unlock Ascension. Each level adds on top of the ones before it.

Level	Name	Effect
1	Swarming Elites	About 60% more elites spawn
2	Weary Traveler	Ancients heal only 80% of missing HP. Character pages also list lower starting max HP from A2 (see the Characters table)
3	Poverty	25% less gold from enemies and chests
4	Tight Belt	One fewer potion slot
5	Ascender's Bane	Start with the Ascender's Bane curse
6	Inflation	Card removal costs 100 gold, then 50 more each time
7	Scarcity	Rare and upgraded cards appear half as often
8	Tough Enemies	All enemies have more HP
9	Deadly Enemies	All enemies deal more damage
10	Double Boss	Fight two different bosses at the end of Act 3

Climbing tips: A1 rewards playing more elites, so build Act 1 damage early. Starting at A6, remove the most important cards first, because each removal costs more. For A10, your deck has to beat two bosses in a row without a campfire between them, so bring sustain or burst.

Co-op Multiplayer

Up to 4 players climb together. Each player has their own HP, deck, and resources.
Some cards can heal, Block, buff, or debuff your allies. Multiplayer-exclusive cards (for example the Necrobinder's Legion of Bone, Soulbound, Underworld, Cacophony, and Glimpse Beyond) only show up in co-op.
A downed player is revived with 1 HP after the combat. The run only ends if everyone falls in the same fight.
Co-op tips: split up roles (one tank or healer, one boss killer, one swarm clearer), talk before playing debuffs, and don't all take the same relic types.

Progression and Extras

Timeline and Epochs: this is where the game tells the Spire's lore and unlocks new characters and features. Epochs are triggered by milestones like beating acts, reaching Ascension levels, and defeating elites and bosses.
Compendium: includes the Bestiary (added in v0.107.1), which shows enemies' moves and animations. It's great for learning boss patterns.
Badges: recognize standout runs (flawless bosses, fast wins). Added in v0.102.0, with more since.
Steam Workshop: mod support arrived in v0.107.1.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Taking every card. A bloated deck draws Strikes instead of the cards you need.
Skipping damage in Act 1. Weak decks die to Act 1 elites and bosses.
Avoiding every elite. Without relics, your deck falls behind by Act 2.
Upgrading when you should rest. Being greedy at a campfire before an elite or boss ends runs.
Ignoring the boss preview. Build for the boss the map shows you.
Hoarding potions. Use them in hard fights.
On Necrobinder, stacking Doom on minions. Doom is at its best on large single targets.

Advanced Tips

Path planning: trace a route that reaches a campfire right before each elite and ends at a campfire before the boss.
Gold timing: show up at a Merchant with enough gold for a removal plus one key card or relic. Otherwise skip it.
Count your turns against bosses. Work out how many turns your scaling needs to kill the boss, then set up your defense to last that long.
Regent sequencing: Forge before you play the Sovereign Blade, and Retain the Blade until the damage is worth the swing.
Doom math: watch enemy HP versus Doom. Sometimes one extra attack to get HP under the Doom value is better than another Doom card.
Beta branch: to try upcoming balance changes (like v0.111.0's reworks), opt into the public beta in Steam's Betas tab. Expect bugs.

FAQ

How do I unlock the Regent, Necrobinder, and Defect? Finish any run (win or lose) with the previous character in the chain: Ironclad, Silent, Regent, Necrobinder, Defect.

Is Slay the Spire 2 out of Early Access? Not as of September 2026. It has been in Early Access on Steam since March 5, 2026, and is updated regularly. The latest main build is v0.107.1, and beta v0.111.0 is on the test branch.

How many Ascension levels are there? Ten. A10 adds a second, different Act 3 boss.

Can I play co-op? Yes, with up to 4 players. Each player has their own deck and HP, and some cards can target allies.

What happened to the Doormaker boss? Mega Crit decided it was too complex and replaced it with Aeonglass in v0.107.1.

What does Doom do? At the end of the enemy's turn, the enemy dies if its HP is at or below its Doom. It ignores Block and Intangible, but Artifact cancels it.

Are the Act 1 areas random? Yes. Act 1 is randomly either Overgrowth or Underdocks, each with different enemies, events, and bosses. Acts 2 and 3 currently have only one version each.