Orbs

5

Every orb in Slay the Spire 2.

The Defect

Newest orb at the left, the one that evokes next at the right. Hover an orb for its tip; click to evoke it.

Orb slots

3 to startThe Defect begins every run with 3 orb slots. Cards, relics and potions can add or take some.

Channel

Puts an Orb in a slotChanneling an Orb puts it into your first empty slot. If you have no empty slots, your first Orb is automatically Evoked to make room.

Evoke

Uses the last OrbConsume your rightmost Orb and use its Evoke effect.

Focus

+1 per stackEach stack of Focus adds 1 to an orb's passive and evoke numbers; Plasma is unaffected. The game's line: Increases the effectiveness of Orbs.

The five orbs

Lightning

Orb: Deals damage to random enemies.

Passive: At the end of turn, deal 3 damage to a random enemy.
Evoke: Deal 8 damage to a random enemy.

Focus changes both numbers.

Named by

Named on 8 cards

Deal 7 damage.
Channel 1 Lightning.

Deal 7 damage.
Channel 1 Lightning.

Gain 4 Block.
At the start of the next 2 turns, Channel 1 Lightning.

Gain 4 Block.
At the start of the next 2 turns, Channel 1 Lightning.

Channel 1 Lightning.
Channel 1 Frost.
Channel 1 Dark.
Exhaust.

Channel 1 Lightning.
Channel 1 Frost.
Channel 1 Dark.
Exhaust.

Whenever you play a Power, Channel 1 Lightning.

Whenever you play a Power, Channel 1 Lightning.

Channel X Lightning.

Channel X Lightning.

Deal 3 damage.
Trigger all Lightning against the enemy.

Deal 3 damage.
Trigger all Lightning against the enemy.

Channel Lightning equal to the Lightning already Channeled this combat.
Exhaust.

Channel Lightning equal to the Lightning already Channeled this combat.
Exhaust.

Channel 1 Lightning.

Channel 1 Lightning.

In depth

How Orbs works

The passive and Evoke

Lightning is the Defect's damage orb.
While it sits in a slot it fires at the end of your turn for 3 damage to one random enemy, once per Lightning you hold.
Evoke it, or push it out of a full row with a new Channel, and it deals 8 to one random enemy instead.
Each stack of Focus adds 1 to both numbers, and Infused Core adds 1 more to Lightning alone.
The hit is not an Attack: Strength, Weak and Vulnerable all ignore it.

Random targets

Every trigger rolls its own target, so three orbs can spread across a group or pile onto one enemy. Against a single enemy nothing is wasted.

Aiming and finishing

Tesla Coil is the one way to aim: it fires every Lightning passive at the enemy you choose, twice each when upgraded.
Thunder pays only on Evoke, adding 6 damage, 8 upgraded, to each enemy the Evoke hit.

Works well with

Cracked Core opens every fight with 1 Lightning already in a slot. Infused Core opens with 3 that hit for 4 and 9.
Ball Lightning is the cheap Channel with 7 damage attached.
Tempest Channels X at once and Voltaic repeats every Lightning you have Channeled this fight, overflowing a 3-slot row into a chain of 8-damage Evokes.
Storm Channels 1 per Power played.
Dualcast turns the rightmost Lightning into 16 damage for 1 Energy, and Gold-Plated Cables makes that same orb zap twice every turn it stays parked.

Frost

Orb: Gains Block.

Passive: At the end of turn, gain 2 Block.
Evoke: Gain 5 Block.

Focus changes both numbers.

Named by

Named on 8 cards

Channel 1 Frost for each enemy.
Exhaust.

Channel 1 Frost for each enemy.
Exhaust.

Deal 6 damage.
Channel 1 Frost.

Deal 6 damage.
Channel 1 Frost.

Channel 1 Frost.
Draw 1 card.

Channel 1 Frost.
Draw 1 card.

Gain 6 Block.
Channel 2 Frost.

Gain 6 Block.
Channel 2 Frost.

At the end of your turn, if you have Frost, deal 6 damage to ALL enemies.

At the end of your turn, if you have Frost, deal 6 damage to ALL enemies.

This turn, your Frost grants ALL allies Block.
Channel 2 Frost.

This turn, your Frost grants ALL allies Block.
Channel 2 Frost.

Deal 19 damage.
Channel 3 Frost.

Deal 19 damage.
Channel 3 Frost.

Channel 1 Lightning.
Channel 1 Frost.
Channel 1 Dark.
Exhaust.

Channel 1 Lightning.
Channel 1 Frost.
Channel 1 Dark.
Exhaust.

In depth

How Orbs works

The passive and Evoke

Frost is the defensive orb.
At the end of your turn every Frost in your row gives you 2 Block, just before the enemies act.
Evoke it and you gain 5 Block on the spot.
Each stack of Focus adds 1 to both numbers. Dexterity adds nothing, because orb Block is not card Block.
Frost never decays, so one parked in the rightmost slot pays 2 a turn all fight, or 4 under Gold-Plated Cables.

Channeling into a full row

Channeling into a full row Evokes the rightmost orb, so once your slots hold only Frost every new Channel is worth 5 Block at once plus 2 at end of turn.
Focus, extra slots and repeat triggers are what make the small passive add up.

Turning it into damage

Hailstorm turns the orb into damage: at the end of your turn, if at least one Frost is in a slot, it deals 6 damage, 8 upgraded, to every enemy.
So a Frost you never Evoke is a permanent sweep.

Works well with

Coolheaded Channels 1 Frost and draws a card. Cold Snap attaches 6 damage to the same Channel.
Glacier gives 6 Block and 2 Frost, Chill Channels 1 per enemy for 0 Energy.
Ice Lance pairs 19 damage with 3 Frost, enough to push three older orbs out.
Defragment raises every Block number for the rest of the fight.
Loop fires the rightmost Frost again at turn start, and Coolant adds 2 Block per unique orb type on top.

Dark

Orb: When Evoked, deals damage to the enemy with the least HP. Increases damage every turn.

Passive: At the end of turn, increase this Orb's damage by 6.
Evoke: Deal 6 damage to the enemy with the lowest HP.

Focus changes the passive number only.

Evoke value starts at 6 and changes during combat. Each passive trigger adds the passive value to the evoke value. Targets the enemy with the lowest HP.

Named by

Named on 5 cards

Consuming Shadow

Channel 2 Dark.
At the end of your turn, Evoke your leftmost Orb.

Channel 2 Dark.
At the end of your turn, Evoke your leftmost Orb.

Channel 1 Dark.
Trigger the passive ability of all Dark Orbs.

Channel 1 Dark.
Trigger the passive ability of all Dark Orbs.

Deal 10 damage.
Apply 2 Weak.
Channel 1 Dark.

Deal 10 damage.
Apply 2 Weak.
Channel 1 Dark.

Channel 1 Lightning.
Channel 1 Frost.
Channel 1 Dark.
Exhaust.

Channel 1 Lightning.
Channel 1 Frost.
Channel 1 Dark.
Exhaust.

Gain 11 Block.
Channel 1 Dark.

Gain 11 Block.
Channel 1 Dark.

In depth

How Orbs works

How it stores damage

Dark deals nothing while it sits. It stores damage.
It is Channeled holding 6, and at the end of each of your turns every Dark adds 6 to its own total, plus 1 per stack of Focus.
Focus never touches the starting 6, only the growth.
The total is paid out only on Evoke, and it goes to the enemy with the lowest current HP, never a random one.
Strength, Weak and Vulnerable ignore it.

What it targets

The low-HP rule makes Dark a finisher for wounded enemies and summons rather than the boss beside them.

Cashing it in

Repeated Evokes pay the full total each time and remove the orb only on the last, so Dualcast cashes a Dark holding 30 for 60.
Darkness Channels 1 Dark, then triggers every Dark you hold once, twice upgraded, growing each by 6 at once, the new one included.
Extra triggers from Gold-Plated Cables, Loop and Emotion Chip feed the same total.

Works well with

Consuming Shadow Channels 2 Dark, 3 upgraded, then Evokes your leftmost, newest orb each turn end, after the passives tick, so a Dark Channeled that turn lands for 12.
Symbiotic Virus starts every fight with a Dark already growing.
Essence of Darkness fills every slot with Dark, Evoking whatever was there.
Null and Shadow Shield attach a Dark to 10 damage with 2 Weak and to 11 Block.
Capacitor and Runic Capacitor add the slots that let a Dark sit and grow instead of being pushed out early.
Defragment raises every turn's growth.

Plasma

Orb: Gains Energy.

Passive: At the start of turn,
gain .
Evoke: Gain .
Plasma is unaffected by Focus.

Named on 3 cards

Channel 1 Plasma.
Exhaust.

Channel 1 Plasma.
Exhaust.

Another player Channels Plasma.
Exhaust.

Another player Channels Plasma.
Exhaust.

Deal 24 damage.
Channel 3 Plasma.

Deal 24 damage.
Channel 3 Plasma.

In depth

How Orbs works

Two broken rules

Plasma is the Energy orb, and it breaks two rules the other orbs follow.
Its passive fires at the start of your turn, not the end: after your Energy resets, each Plasma in the row gives you 1 Energy to spend that turn.
And Focus does nothing to it: the passive is a flat 1 and the Evoke a flat 2, and Infused Core does not touch it either.
Evoke it for 2 Energy immediately, also when a full row pushes it out.

A parked Plasma

A parked Plasma is a permanent extra Energy each turn, so it competes with damage and Block orbs for the same 3 starting slots. More slots make it free.
Extra triggers still count: Gold-Plated Cables makes a rightmost Plasma pay 2 a turn and Loop adds 1 more at turn start.

Repeated Evokes

Repeated Evokes are the big payout: Dualcast turns a rightmost Plasma into 4 Energy for 1, and Multi-Cast for X returns 2X.

Works well with

Fusion is the plain Channel, 1 Energy for 1 Plasma with Exhaust until upgraded, repaid at the next turn start.
Meteor Strike hits for 24 and Channels 3 Plasma, filling a starting row and refunding 3 Energy every turn after its 5-Energy cost.
Ignition exists only in multiplayer and Channels a Plasma for another player.
Chaos can roll it.
Capacitor, Modded and Runic Capacitor add the slots that let Plasma sit beside Lightning and Frost.
Quadcast Evokes it 4 times for 8 Energy.

Glass

Orb: Deals damage to ALL enemies. Decreases damage every turn.

Passive: At the end of turn, deal 4 damage to ALL enemies and reduce this orb's value by 1.
Evoke: Deal 8 damage to ALL enemies.

Focus changes both numbers.

Passive value starts at 4 and changes during combat. Evoke value starts at 8 and changes during combat. Each passive trigger lowers the passive value by 1 (minimum 0).

Named by

Named on 3 cards

Gain 5 Block.
Channel 1 Glass.

Gain 5 Block.
Channel 1 Glass.

Deal 9 damage twice.
Channel 2 Glass.

Deal 9 damage twice.
Channel 2 Glass.

At the start of your turn, Channel 1 Glass.

At the start of your turn, Channel 1 Glass.

In depth

How Orbs works

A wearing-out sweep

Glass is the sweeping orb, and it wears out.
A new Glass holds a passive value of 4.
At the end of each of your turns it deals that value to every enemy, then loses 1: 4, then 3, 2, 1, and at 0 it stops firing.
Every passive trigger costs a point, so Gold-Plated Cables, Loop and Emotion Chip front-load its damage rather than add to it.
Evoke deals double the current passive to all enemies: 8 from a fresh orb, 6 a turn later, nothing at 0.

Focus on Glass

Focus is added before the doubling, so 2 Focus makes a fresh Glass hit for 6 a turn and 12 on Evoke.
Because decay only lowers the base, a Glass with Focus never dies, still hitting for your Focus total at base 0.
Negative Focus kills it faster.

Evoke early

Evoke early: Dualcast on a fresh Glass is 16 to every enemy for 1 Energy, and Multi-Cast is 8 times X.

Works well with

Glasswork gives 5 Block and 1 Glass for 1 Energy.
Refract deals 9 twice and Channels 2 Glass, a 3-Energy turn that ends with 8 to every enemy.
Spinner Channels a fresh Glass at the start of every turn, and its upgrade drops one immediately.
Shatter Evokes every orb twice on top of its own 7 to all, the best single cash-out for a row of Glass.
Defragment and Data Disk raise every tick and the Evoke.
Hotfix adds 2 Focus for one turn, 8 more damage on a Dualcast.

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