10 Slay the Spire 2 Mistakes You’ll Regret Making

With an all-time peak of over half a million players, it’s fair to say that Slay the Spire 2 has already been a resounding success, without even being out of Early Access. And what can I say, it has me in its grips, too.

Truth be told, I went in pretty confidently, having prevailed through many ascensions in the original Slay the Spire. It took me a few tries before emerging victorious, but now that I got it down, it would be rude not to share my favorite tips with you.

10 Focus on the Basics

Boring, but Very Necessary

Relics! Potions! Elites! All very exciting, but also the least of your concern at the start of a new run.

You start a fresh run, you pick one of Neow’s boons, and you choose a path. Before you start theorycrafting about everything your run could or will be, you will need to focus on the very real possibility that you could be dead sooner rather than later.

The only way to mitigate this before you branch out into all the fun stuff is by making sure that you hit hard and defend well. Depending on which character you pick, your initial ability to do each of those things differs, so make sure to take a good look at your starting deck and focus on picking some cards that will soften any weak spots.

9 Use the Information Available to You

You Should Probably Read That

This will be completely obvious to some, and the mere suggestion very boring to others. Too many people ignore the data available to them in a fight: You should not ignore the little symbols below your character or enemy, as that is probably the quickest way to end a run. It’s a new game, some mechanics are completely new, as are many bosses, so you should take the time to actually read and understand them.

It’s not the most fun part, but it will save you from a lot of unnecessary deaths. Sometimes you might find that you’ll take a lot more or even less damage than you would’ve anticipated, or a mechanic works in your favor that you forgot about. In a similar vein, you need to consider all options available. It can also be worth calculating each of your options in your head, like it's modern day Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training.

8 Take a Good Look at the Map

And No, the Path With the Most ? Isn't Automatically the Best One

There is a lot of information to be gathered before you even fight the first battle of an act, and it comes from the map. Before you pick a boon, have a look at the map! Are you being forced into an early shop? Picking a boon that gives you money might be quite beneficial.

Is there no shop in sight until the end of the map? You can probably focus on snowballing by adding a good card to your deck.

The best path will also depend on your playstyle, and in the later acts, what your deck actually consists of and still needs, so act accordingly.

7 Learn Each Character’s Strengths

And Be Very Aware of Their Weaknesses

Every character comes with its own archetypes, cards, and playstyles. They also have their own difficulty curves. Silent is, for example, notorious for feeling rather weak in Act 1, whereas she will often find it easier to snowball than other characters once you make it through.

Due to the nature of the variety within decks, certain match-ups will be automatically harder than others. The bosses will punish different things, so it can even be helpful to make sure you remember certain boss portraits, to focus on ironing out any weaknesses.

6 Don’t Force Decks

Stop Trying to Make it Happen. It's Not Going to Happen.

I am terribly guilty of playing favorites and always trying to steer my deck into a specific direction, before dying three times consecutively in Act 1. Only then will I begrudgingly accept that it might be better to be open to what Slay the Spire 2 has in store for me.

I want to save you from a similar fate, so take it from me: Just because you would like to play a certain deck, doesn’t mean you can force the game to give it to you. Some cards that are crucial to an archetype might just not turn up, and they might also be nowhere to be found in the shop. Sometimes you’ll find yourself missing very important relics.

And even when the first few card rewards make you feel carefully optimistic, be prepared to pivot.

5 Don’t Take Every Card

Know When to Hold 'Em, Know When to Fold 'Em

There are few things more demoralizing than finally getting to the really good stuff and realizing that your chance of actually drawing it in a battle is near zero, because your deck is filled to the brim with mediocre cards that never really provide any value. Again, how many cards you can get away with will rely on other factors too. If you have more energy than usual, you’ll also make use of more or bigger cards.

In general, it’s absolutely fine to take some cards that will help you immediately, even if they don’t end up being that useful in the long run, but keep them manageable so you can properly utilize the card removal services in shops. A good general rule is that, whenever you find yourself consistently drawing a card that has no use in your hand, you shouldn’t be afraid to cut it.

4 Greed is One of the Seven Deadly Sins for a Reason

This is What They Were Talking About in the Bible

It’s so easy to think, “Well, if I can just beat these two elites, the boss will be so much easier with my new relics!”, but think again. There are a lot of relics, and there isn’t a guaranteed chance they will be useful. Are you actually at a point where you’re able to take on multiple elites in quick succession?

There are lots of decisions you’ll be making in a round that will be similarly impactful, like opting to skip out on necessary cards at shops in favor of being able to afford a relic later on or using your health too freely in random events, just to name a few.

Most players sacrifice short-term success in the hopes it will pay off long-term. Try not to be one of them.

3 Stop Underestimating Potions

They are Expensive for a Reason

Potions often get such a bad rep, but the truth is that many of them can literally be the deciding factor between winning or losing. Sure, they are a one-time use item, but there are potions out there that can win entire boss fights. Other potions might buy you some time to fill in any gaps you might have in your deck or give you a breather to restore some health soon.

I am not saying that you should be buying them every time you get a chance, but if you find yourself dying multiple times with all of your potion slots filled up, you are probably not factoring them into your strategy often enough. Slay the Spire 2 is basically a big puzzle, and you need to consider all the pieces to find success. That includes potions. Don’t be too stingy with them.

2 Keep Your Draw Pile In Mind

It's Okay, I Don't Remember My Entire Deck Either

Keeping in mind what you have in your draw pile is extremely important, especially when fighting against enemies with scaling damage. Whenever you make a decision where you need to ask yourself if you should be blocking the full damage or need to deal some damage this turn to set up a successful kill next turn, you need to look at what you will possibly be drawing.

In a similar vein, you need to keep your discards in mind whenever you play anything that gives you back a card. There have been far too many times in which I was convinced I had a card from a previous battle or even run sitting in my discard pile, when the reality was that I did not. Having a look before committing to playing a card would’ve helped me immensely.

1 Prepare to Die

It Looks Like Slay the Spire, But it Isn’t

Ultimately, Slay the Spire 2 is new and still in early access, and with that there will be many balance patches coming our way. Whilst it looks extremely similar to its predecessor, it is a completely new game with new mechanics, changed values, and new enemies.

You might die a lot from the get-go, but you might also be extremely successful at first before an update throws your game sense upside down, and you will need to relearn things. Try to have fun while relearning new mechanics and don’t benchmark yourself on the success you had in the previous game or other Roguelite games. You’ll be fine.