Slay The Spire 2 Reverts Controversial Nerf As Devs Get More Detailed About What’s Changing And Why

A brand new beta patch for Slay the Spire 2 just dropped, and it’s walked back many of the changes introduced in the previous v0.100.0 beta patch that released on March 20. However, as noted in the latest beta build’s patch notes by Mega Crit, the 15,000+ negative reviews the game received on Steam last week are apparently not to blame for the changes.

As stated by developer Mega Crit co-founder Anthony Giovannetti in Slay the Spire 2’s v0.101.0 Beta Patch Notes on Steam, the in-game feedback tool “has been instrumental in helping guide” the devs’ changes. That being said, the fact that Giovannetti makes such a point of directing players toward the in-game feedback tool, as well as buffing its character limit from 500 words to 8,000, does make me think that last week’s review-bombing fiasco has had some kind of impact.

As far as specific changes go, the main one is that Prepared is back in all its overpowered glory, and the previously implemented Prepare skill that replaced it has been removed. Giovannetti specifically mentions this change, stating that while “the Sly synergies are overall too dominant a strategy,” the Prepared skill is too “integral to the Silent’s core identity” to remove. The changes made to the Necrobinder’s Borrowed Time and Capture Spirit cards have also been reverted.

Another patch just dropped on the Beta Branch, with lots of balance adjustments from last week's beta patch!

Notably: Prepared is back! So you can lower your Shivs 😅 But seriously, the in-game feedback we've received is much appreciated.

Patch notes: https://t.co/gqqIU79ywd

— Mega Crit ⚔️ Slay the Spire 2 Out Now! (@MegaCrit) March 27, 2026

If you ask me, the most exciting changes in the new beta patch are to the Ironclad. Cinder now exhausts a card in your hand, as opposed to the top card in your draw pile, which I think is a great tweak, as it simultaneously buffs Headbutt (which puts a card on top of your draw pile), and because Cinder always had a habit of exhausting a card I actually wanted every time I used it. Tremble now exhausting also seems strong, but in my view, that’s because exhaust builds were already the strongest way to play Ironclad.

Regent also got a whole bunch of buffs, and honestly, there are too many to go over. Spoils of War drawing two cards seems good, as cycling through your deck more quickly makes the likes of Kingly Kick (which decreases in cost when drawn) and Kingly Punch (which deals 3 more damage when drawn) stronger. Sword Sage also no longer increases Sovereign Blade’s cost from 2 to 3, which seems way better now that you have enough energy to pair it with Conquerer (which makes Sovereign Blade deal double damage) on the same turn. Plus, Parry no longer seems completely terrible, as the upgraded version will now increase the block gained from Sovereign Blade all the way from 10 to 14.

My ride or die, The Defect, was the only character to get absolutely zero buffs in the patch, and instead actually had one of their cards nerfed, as Voltaic has been increased from a 2-cost card to a 3-cost card. Personally, I think this change does kind of make sense, as while Voltaic is only truly strong in specific Lightning orb builds, it is really strong in said builds, and will basically one-shot any boss in the game with enough setup. Also, using Voltaic actually buffs Voltaic at the same time, so maybe limiting players’ opportunity to play two in the same turn is for the best.

As far as reactions to the patch itself go, the r/slaythespire subreddit mostly seems positive about it, although some players are concerned that the review bombing may have influenced Mega Crit’s decision to revert the majority of the card nerfs. I just hope that if nothing else, people actually start using the in-game feedback tool in the future to, y’know, give feedback. Mega Crit is clearly paying attention to what players think, so the feedback will get to them regardless of the method you use. Maybe we can use the proper method instead of review bombing next time?