The Doormaker has officially exited the stage, marking a significant shift in Mega Crit’s Slay the Spire 2 with the arrival of the latest update on the beta branch. This decision to retire one of the game’s most polarizing foes paves the way for a fresh adversary, allowing the developers to refine their vision for an Act Three boss. The new patch notes also unveil the inaugural version of the Bestiary, alongside a series of balance adjustments that prominently feature enhancements for the Defect class.
Introducing Aeonglass
In place of the Doormaker, players will now encounter Aeonglass, a captivating floating hourglass. Initially, Aeonglass comes equipped with three stacks of Artifact, rendering debuffs ineffective at the outset. Its unique ability, ‘Withering Presence,’ adds a Wither status card to your hand for every four non-status cards played. This card inflicts two damage if it remains in hand at the end of your turn, and it carries both Retain and Exhaust properties, necessitating a strategic expenditure of one mana to discard it. For those eager to see Aeonglass in action, a preview is available on YouTube, courtesy of ‘Shioray.’
In a notable shift, Mega Crit has also announced a transition to a two-week beta patch cycle. While the original game saw weekly updates, the developer acknowledges the toll it took on their team. This new rhythm aims to alleviate the hectic pace, allowing for more substantial changes and thorough polishing before release, as well as providing ample time for community feedback.
Balancing Changes
The Defect class leads the charge in this update’s balancing efforts, receiving several key buffs. The upgraded starter relic, Infused Core, now enhances the damage of Lightning Orbs. Additionally, both Hyperbeam and Uproar have seen damage increases, while Shatter now evokes all orbs twice. The upgraded Tesla Coil has slightly reduced base damage but triggers all Lightning effects twice, enhancing its overall utility. In contrast, the Silent class experiences a minor adjustment, with a slight nerf to the damage of Inky Shivs generated by the Blade of Ink.
Changes extend to the Regent class as well, where the Sword Sage now grants the Replay effect to the Sovereign Blade, allowing for synergy with cards like Parry. Adjustments have also been made to the block provided by Bulwark and Patter, while Crescent Spear receives a damage buff and the upgraded Royalties card yields slightly more gold.
New Features and Enhancements
In multiplayer settings, the colorless Gold Axe now inflicts damage based on the cards played by all participants, enhancing its effectiveness. Three new Neow relics have been introduced: Kaleidoscope, which offers two card rewards from other characters; Fishing Rod, which upgrades a random card after every three normal combats; and Silken Tress, which enchants the first card reward with Glam, granting it Replay upon its initial play.
Act Two’s Ancient Tezcatara now features a revamped Pumpkin Candle. Rather than extinguishing at the start of Act Three, it provides bonus energy for five combats and can be kindled at Rest Sites. Additionally, the Seal of Gold relic has been repositioned into the ‘option three’ slot, aligning it with the Pumpkin Candle in the selection pool.
While Aeonglass takes center stage, other enemies have also seen adjustments. The Haunted Ship now applies three stacks of Weak at the start of its first turn instead of upon attack. Soul Fysh has increased damage output with its Scream ability, and the Fossil Stalker gains a fixed amount of Strength when hitting any player in multiplayer, rather than accumulating it for each target damaged. Furthermore, the Skulking Colony’s health bar will now visually indicate when it reaches the damage cap for a turn, signaling its newfound immunity.
The Bestiary and Additional Updates
The introduction of the Bestiary allows players to explore and study the various enemy types encountered throughout their journey. Currently, it serves as a preliminary outline, showcasing enemy animations, with plans for future expansions that will include additional data and details. Players are encouraged to experiment with the number keys 1-8 while examining their favorite foes.
In addition to these changes, Mega Crit has rolled out new art, music, and sound effects, alongside several bug fixes aimed at enhancing gameplay. Notably, the Ironclad’s Hellraiser no longer triggers soft-lock loops against enemies with infinite health, and Strangle has been adjusted to prevent benefits from other players’ cards in multiplayer scenarios. The team hints at an intriguing surprise for players carrying multiple Lantern Keys during a run, although this feature will not apply in multiplayer settings.
Slay the Spire 2 patch 0.105.0 is now live on the beta branch. Players can access this version through the ‘game versions and betas’ tab in the game properties menu within their Steam library. Mega Crit also recommends that controller and Steam Deck users switch to the test build as they work to resolve specific issues related to these modes of play.