After months without any sort of new content, we finally have a new Slay the Spire 2 update—and, well, I see what took ‘em so goddamn long, because I’m not even sure where to start with this one.
Perhaps it’s best to start with the star of the show: the Fool, Slay the Spire 2’s sixth playable character. She’s certainly unique, even by Slay the Spire standards. Her main gimmick revolves around her Arrow which, when fired using specific cards, will inflict the Impaled status on the enemy.
When an enemy is Impaled, you have to hit them three times (or kill them) to get your Arrow back, and cards that require an Arrow won’t work until you do. I’ve only played about three games with the character so far, but they seem absurdly busted. However, that’s why this is a beta patch, and the important thing is that the Fool is super fun—sort of reminiscent of the Hermit from Slay the Spire: Downfall, actually.
And hey, spoiler alert—the Hermit is now in Slay the Spire 2! Sort of. One of the Fool’s other unique gimmicks is that they can generate Tarot Cards of other Slay the Spire characters, including both the Hermit and the Watcher. Does this mean both of these characters are coming to Slay the Spire 2? Well, Mega Crit describes the Fool as the “first new character for Early Access” in the patch notes, so maybe?
Of course, the Fool isn’t the only new addition in beta patch v0.113.0, as we also received two brand-new modes: Blitz Mode and Dread Mode. Blitz Mode is essentially a super-quick mode, but with some odd changes. There’s no gold, there’s no map, and the Merchant’s shop now contains free buffs and card rewards instead of relics and specific cards. I’ve only played through this mode once, but I’m already a big fan.
Dread Mode is, as the name may imply, an even harder version of Ascension 10. Bosses are stronger, enemies have new buffs, and you just earn random curses as you climb. I’ve not tried this mode yet, although I am, quite aptly, dreading it. I already get my ass handed to me on Ascension 10, so god knows how rough this is gonna be.
There’s also a bunch of new relics, card nerfs/buffs, and even some freshly added events! There are far too many to go over here, but there’s one specific event I’ve yet to encounter that I am very, very excited to run into: the “Byrdpip evolution.” I have no idea what this will do to our little hatchable Brydpip pal, although I am hoping it makes his mohawk even cooler.
