Slay the Spire 2 continues to evolve as Mega Crit rolls out another substantial update. You now have access to a newly introduced in-game system alongside balance tweaks, gameplay adjustments, and multiple hotfixes aimed at refining the overall experience.
Since launching in Early Access on March 5, 2026, the sequel has expanded on the original formula with new cards, enemies, bosses, and a four-player co-op mode. You have already seen frequent patches, including a major March update that restored certain card changes and adjusted overall balance, and this latest release pushes those ongoing improvements even further.
Slay the Spire 2 Beta Update v0.102.0 Arrives
Mega Crit has rolled out beta patch v0.102.0 for Slay the Spire 2, and this update centers on a new post-run feature called Badges. These markers appear at the end of a run and highlight notable accomplishments from that specific climb.
Badges track moments such as defeating a boss without losing HP, clearing the game quickly, or completing a run without spending gold. They act as a personalized summary that reflects how you approached that attempt.
For now, you will see Badges only on the end-of-run screen. The developers plan to expand them into the run history and statistics interface in a future update.
Major Gameplay Changes
The patch also reworks several cards, enemies, and systems. Some adjustments directly affect how you manage energy and deck efficiency.
Key reworks include:
- Borrowed Time (Necrobinder)
- Now costs 1 energy
- Increases the cost of all cards for one turn
- Grants a large energy boost to offset the temporary tax
This redesign forces you to think carefully about timing. You gain immediate energy, but you must plan around inflated costs on the same turn.
- Blade of Ink (Silent)
- Now generates Inky Shivs
- Each Shiv gains +2 damage and applies 1 Weak through an enchantment
This change shifts the card toward controlled pressure, letting you weaken enemies while maintaining damage output.
- Doormaker (Boss)
- Adjustments to its Grasp turn
- Increased threat level during Act 1 encounters
You will likely feel more pressure during this fight, especially on higher difficulties.
Ascension and Economy Adjustments
Ascension 6 now increases the base Merchant card removal cost to 100 gold. Each subsequent removal rises by 50 gold, replacing the previous 25-gold scaling.
| System | Previous Value | New Value |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Removal Cost (A6) | Lower baseline | 100 Gold |
| Cost Increase per Removal | 25 Gold | 50 Gold |
This change makes deck thinning more expensive and forces you to weigh each removal more carefully.
Visual Updates and Balance Tweaks
You will also notice new portrait art for:
- Hotfix
- Modded
- Synthesis
- Sweeping Gaze
Ruby Raids received updated artwork as well.
Balance passes affect Silent, Skulking Colony, several Potions, and multiple Relics. The team also implemented bug fixes and interface improvements to stabilize performance and improve clarity.
Some players have welcomed the higher removal costs and the stronger Doormaker encounter. Others question whether Skulking Colony’s adjustments may have gone too far and are watching for further tuning.
With ongoing beta patches arriving steadily, you can expect continued iteration as Early Access progresses.
Slay the Spire 2 Version v0.102.0 Patch Notes
New Features and Structural Changes
Ascension 6 Modifier Rework
Ascension 6 no longer reduces the number of rest sites. It now increases the cost of removing cards at the Merchant.
Card removal starts at 100 Gold and rises by 50 Gold each time you remove a card. This replaces the previous map-based modifier and creates a clearer, more noticeable impact on your run.
| Ascension 6 | Previous Effect | New Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Modifier | Fewer rest sites | Higher card removal costs |
| Removal Scaling | +25 Gold per removal | +50 Gold per removal |
| Starting Cost | Standard scaling | 100 Gold |
This change shifts the challenge from map generation to deck management and resource planning.
Silent – Blade of Ink Rework
Blade of Ink now generates 2 (3) Inky Shivs and adds them directly to your hand. It remains a 1-cost Rare Skill.
The card no longer grants temporary Strength when you play Attacks. Instead, it introduces a new enchantment tied to the generated Shivs.
New Enchantment: Inky
- Deals +2 additional damage
- Applies 1 Weak
This rework emphasizes mid-combat card generation and gives you another reliable way to apply Weak while scaling damage through Shivs.
Necrobinder – Borrowed Time Rework
Borrowed Time now costs 1 Energy. It grants 4 (6) Energy, but all cards cost +1 Energy for the rest of the turn.
| Version | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Previous | 0 | Apply Doom, gain 1 (2) Energy |
| New | 1 | Gain 4 (6) Energy; cards cost +1 Energy this turn |
You can use this to enable high-cost turns, especially with expensive cards such as Reap or Bury. The redesign supports burst-style turns rather than low-cost cycling.
Enemy Update – Doormaker
Doormaker’s Grasp turn now hits harder and adds a persistent energy pressure mechanic.
- Grasp now deals 20 (23) damage
- New power: Whenever you play a card, lose 1 Energy
This change forces you to consider every card played. The fight now demands tighter sequencing and energy awareness from the first turn.
Balance Adjustments
Silent Changes
Several Silent cards received targeted adjustments.
Leading Strike
- Shivs increased from 1 → 2
- Base damage reduced from 7 → 3
You now gain more synergy potential with Shiv-focused builds, but lose upfront damage.
Speedster
- Damage reduced from 2 (3) → 1 (2)
Untouchable
- Block reduced from 7 (9) → 6 (8)
These changes reduce early scaling and defensive efficiency while preserving build identity.
Relics and Potions
History Course Relic
When this relic creates a copy of an X-cost card, it now calculates X using your current Energy instead of the Energy spent the last time you played that card.
The copy still costs 0 Energy.
This makes the relic’s effect more predictable and responsive to your current turn state.
Enemy Tuning
Skulking Colony
- Now attacks every turn
- Slight damage increase
This enemy applies more consistent pressure and reduces passive turns.
Ancient Relics
Nonupeipe – Fur Coat
Fur Coat now affects restocked Axebots and other enemies that enter combat mid-fight. The relic now interacts properly with reinforcements and spawned units.
Event Adjustments
Several events received economy or reward tuning.
Hungry for Mushrooms
- Fragrant Mushroom option upgrades reduced from 3 → 2 cards
Waterlogged Scriptorium
- Prickly Sponge cost reduced from 155 → 99 Gold
- Tentacle Quill cost reduced from 65 → 55 Gold
Whispering Hollow
- Exchange option cost lowered from 50 → 35 Gold (±9 variance)
These changes rebalance risk and value, especially in gold-heavy paths.
Visual and Artistic Updates
Several cards now feature new portrait artwork:
- Hotfix
- Modded
- Synthesis
- Sweeping Gaze
Ruby Raiders received updated art assets.
The Vantom boss fight now includes new background art and visual effects, enhancing readability and presentation during the encounter.
New Affliction Visuals
The following status effects now display updated visuals:
- Bound
- Entangled
- Galvanized
- Hexed
- Ringing
- Smog
These updates improve clarity during combat and help you identify debuffs more easily.
Additional improvements:
- Updated empty chest visual effects
- Refined smoke puff animations
Interface and Player Experience Improvements
General Interface Changes
The run summary and game over screens now include adjusted and placeholder score line assets.
Dialogue timing adjustments improve pacing for:
- Gremlin Merc
- Cultist “Cacaw”
- Damp and Calcified Cultists (speech bubble positioning)
All monsters now display distinct speech bubble colors, improving combat readability.
Controller Navigation Improvements
You can now:
- Navigate between cards, potions, and relics in the Timeline unlock screen
- Move focus to the top bar portrait to view Ascension details
- Press the top bar shortcut again to return focus to your hand
These changes streamline controller-based play and reduce navigation friction.
Multiplayer Adjustments
The game now handles intermittent Steam errors more reliably.
Chest skipping has been disabled in multiplayer to prevent confusion with the Proceed button.
Text and Localization Updates
Wording Changes
Foul Potion now states that it deals damage to “ALL players and enemies.” This clarifies that it does not affect specific protected entities.
The Statistics screen hovertip for Total Playtime and Fastest Win now uses corrected wording.
Translation Updates
The team updated and corrected translations across multiple languages, including:
- German
- Japanese
- Italian
- Spanish
- Thai
- Polish
These fixes address inconsistencies and text errors.
Bug Fixes and Stability Improvements
General Fixes
- Corrected broken Steam rich presence translations
- Fixed startup crashes related to Steam Cloud conflicts
- Fixed crash when the game failed to initialize and attempted to show an error dialog
- Corrected number formatting on the victory screen
- Added a placeholder spawn if creature generation fails, preventing combat softlocks
- Fixed controller softlock when confirming a card while peeking
- Prevented controller navigation of card grids during upgrade/remove/transform previews
- Vulkan now defaults on certain Intel iGPUs with known Direct3D 12 instability
Character-Specific Fixes
Ironclad
- Fixed softlock involving Armaments and Lethality interaction
Silent
- Fixed Bullet Time not setting hand costs to 0 when triggered by Mayhem
Relics and Potions
- Fixed Unsettling Lamp doubling Strength gained from Dominate
- Potions discarded just before combat ends no longer become permanently unusable
- Throw-type potions now correctly display “Throw” instead of “Drink”
Enemy Fixes
- Corrected incorrect damage intent numbers for some enemies
- Fixed controller navigation issue during the Mysterious Knight fight
- Removed broken Polish text from Thieving Hopper’s Escape Artist tooltip
- Fixed Soul Nexus animation errors
Ancient Relic Fixes
- Removed peek button from Neow’s Hefty Tablet card selection
- Pre-turn effects now properly interact with Vakuu’s Whispering Earring
- Whispering Earring no longer plays cards after Void Form ends the turn
- Lord’s Parasol now consistently grants all Merchant items
- Fixed controller input during Lord’s Parasol purchase animation
Event Fixes
Resolved an issue where visiting a combat-style event without entering combat, then throwing a Foul Potion at the Merchant, failed to grant gold.
Multiplayer Fixes
- Trash to Treasure no longer triggers from another player’s generated statuses
- Fixed softlock in Thieving Hopper fight if a player dies during the steal sequence
- Resolved state divergence issues involving Driftwood and Dream Catcher relics
- Player name now displays correctly when hovering over your character
These fixes improve synchronization, clarity, and stability across cooperative sessions.
