Slay the Spire 2: Best Characters, Ranked

Picking a favorite Slay the Spire 2 character feels a little like what I imagine it's like for a parent to pick a favorite child. You don't really want to do it, but also... you know, right? Come on, you can say it.

The reason for this with Slay the Spire 2 specifically is because truly, all five characters in the game are genuinely great. In fact, when I've played multiplayer with friends, I just let everyone else pick their character first, because I really will be fine with anyone.

Still, life is full of tough decisions and choices, so let's make some more today. Below, I'll be ranking the five characters in Slay the Spire 2 from "worst" to best, again, with the caveat that everyone is actually awesome.

5 The Ironclad

Tanks for the Memories

If you skipped the intro of the article and just popped down to the rankings, this might be where I need to tell The Ironclad fans to stand down. I know, I know. Fifth place for your boy? It's tough, I get it. But trust me, I fully understand how awesome this character actually is, and I've used him a lot between both games at this point.

The Ironclad is the perfect character to give players first in the game, and I think Mega Crit has been very smart to do so in both titles now. He easily has the lowest learning curve in the game, and his regenerating HP thanks to starting off with Burning Blood obviously goes a long way for survivability early on, especially when paired with the highest starting HP number in the game anyway.

Really, my only "complaint" with him is that he just can't really become much of a specialist in anything additional during most runs and with most builds. At the end of the day, he's a tank. That style of character can work incredibly well in Slay the Spire 2 on a regular basis, but it also makes The Ironclad feel like he has a bit of a skill ceiling compared to other options.

4 The Regent

Cosmic Cannon

The first new character on the list, The Regent is actually my favorite character in terms of art direction and overall design. An alien ruler who clearly gives zero fricks about anything and is practically yawning in both his card art work and in-game animations is a hilarious addition to the sequel's roster.

The Regent also has the highest learning curve in the game, with many players I've spoken to saying they really feel like they don't know how to use him yet. Invest the time though, and you'll quickly learn that he's an absolute beast, though also a bit of a fragile one. He's the Glass Cannon-type, capable of massive damage output, but liable to get wiped quickly if you aren't careful, too.

Of course, he also has the additional learning curve of the star energy system, which makes him the least approachable character in the game. It's a bit much to wrap your head around early on, but you can also rest assured that this additional mechanic to learn is worth the payoff in the end simply because The Regent can become so offensively OP late in a run if you play your cards wisely.

3 The Silent

But Deadly

Returning from the first game, The Silent was my personal main for the hundreds of hours I put into OG Slay the Spire. Here, she's pretty much the same one again, which I have precisely zero complaints about.

If you play as The Silent, you know you're playing for one of two things: Poison or Shivs. Either are completely viable, extremely powerful options, and you can have a ton of success going either direction.

The problem, at least for me, is that I often find myself stuck between a Poison and Shiv Build due to the game's RNG and not ever being positive about which direction I should lean into more, since I obviously don't know what future cards are coming down the pipeline. You can have success with a dual Poison/Shiv Build, but it's a tougher needle to thread for sure.

2 The Necrobinder

Osty's Ol' Pro Sis

The other new character in the sequel, The Necrobinder took no time at all to become a huge fan favorite. Spend a run or two with her and her summonable pal Osty, the giant severed skeleton hand, and you'll surely see why. Not only can Osty deal and take damage for you, but The Necrobinder also has perhaps the coolest new status effect in the game to leverage: Doom.

Doom kind of works like poison, except it's more passive. As you play cards that stack Doom, you'll notice a purple bar fill on an enemy's HP meter. Get their HP lower than the amount of Doom you've stacked, and they'll die on their next turn. This system is awesome, and combined with Poison, The Necrobinder and The Silent are a wicked co-op duo if you're ever building a multiplayer squad.

The problem with Doom, however, is that it doesn't cause actual damage like Poison. This makes it very tempting to just stack it endlessly, but possibly forget in the process to actually deal the damage needed to make it even worth it. If you can learn the balance between casting Doom and actually dealing damage (of which The Necrobinder has a fairly low output overall), this character is incredible. If not, well... You're doomed.

1 The Defect

In Name Only

Also returning from the first game, The Defect is currently the best character in Slay the Spire 2. And yes, I know a lot of people struggle to actually get the right build for him going, and I completely understand. However! When you do roll the optimal build for this guy, nothing can stand opposed to you.

Specifically, if you're able to add more orb slots than the three he starts with and continually summon/buff/cast the optimal combination of them, holy cow. Combined with Frost orbs also making him tanky enough in the damage reduction category, you really can start cooking with The Defect if everything is falling into place.

I can see an argument that The Defect is a little too RNG-dependent to really be someone's favorite character, but I also think you should not overlook just how powerful he can be on the runs where you get everything right.