Playtest notes 23 Jan 2025

Internal playtest85 entries37 balance changes15 bug fixes10 content additions8 art updates8 interface changes6 wording fixes1 audio update

This is a pre-release internal note from the closed playtest, quoted as it was written for testers. It describes a build that no longer exists; treat it as history, not as a description of the current game.

Items in this note

24 cards

Deal 30 damage.

Gain 2 Dexterity this turn.

Gain 12 Block.
Forge 10.

Calculated Gamble

Discard your Hand,
then draw that many cards.
Exhaust.

Whenever you play a card that costs or more, gain 4 Block.

Gain 6 Block.
If you applied Doom this turn, gain Block 2 additional times.

Unplayable.
At the end of your turn, if this is in your Hand, take 2 damage.

Choose 1 of 3 random cards to add into your Hand. It's free to play this turn.
Exhaust.

Apply 29 Doom to ALL enemies.
Kill enemies with at least as much Doom as HP.

Deal 12 damage.
Draw 2 cards.

Gain .
Next turn, gain .

Unplayable.
At the end of your turn, if this is in your Hand, take 3 damage.

Deal 27 damage.
Whenever you draw this card, reduce its cost by 1.

Add 3 random Attacks into your Draw Pile. They're free to play this combat.
Exhaust.

Unplayable.
You cannot play more than 3 cards this turn.

Next turn, gain .

Choose 1 of 3 random Colorless cards to add into your Hand.

Deal 3 damage to ALL enemies for each gained this turn.

Gain 9 .
Exhaust.

Ethereal.
Transform a card in your Draw Pile into Soul.

Deal 7 damage to ALL enemies 7 times.

Deal 4 damage.
Exhaust.

Sovereign Blade

Retain.
Deal 10 damage.

Add 3 Shivs into your Hand.
Reduce this card's cost by 1.

Relics, potions and powers

Potion-Shaped Rock

Enemies and events

Content

Silent

Deprecated Outmaneuver card

Regent

Reworked Quasar card

Potions & Relics

Added Ghost Seed shop relic: "Strikes and Defends gain Ethereal."

Enemies

Added new Act 3 enemy encounters:
- The Scrolls of Biting
- The Lost and The Forgotten
Reworked enemies:
- Knowledge Demon
- Soul Nexus

Events

Reworked Reflections event: second choice now switches the current boss with another boss

Balance

Silent

Buffed Anticipate card: Dexterity gain increased from 3 -> 4

Necrobinder

Nerfed Danse Macabre card: Block decreased from 7(10) -> 5(7)

Regent

Nerfed Bulwark card:
- Block decreased from 14(18) -> 11(14)
- Forge decreased from 14(18) -> 11(14)
Nerfed Radiate card: damage decreased from 4(6) -> 3(4)
Changed Royal Gamble card: now Exhausts
Nerfed Sovereign Blade card: starting damage decreased from 10 -> 5

Potions & Relics

Reworked Dybbuk Cube relic:
- Now only triggers on debuffs applied by cards
- When a debuff is applied to multiple enemies at the same time, Dybbuk Cube now doubles all those debuffs
Nerfed Bedlam Beacon relic: damage decreased from 6 -> 5
Nerfed Rotten Brain relic: card draw decreased from 2 -> 1
Buffed Starter Flare relic: damage increased from 8 -> 11
Changed Ink Bottle relic: rarity increased from Common -> Uncommon
Changed Nunchaku relic: rarity increased from Common -> Uncommon
Changed Pein Hammer relic: rarity increased from Uncommon -> Rare
Changed Strike Dummy relic: rarity decreased from Uncommon -> Common
Changed Vambrace relic: rarity increased from Common -> Uncommon
Buffed Potion-Shaped Rock potion: damage increased from 8 -> 10

Keep reading148 more words

Enemies

Nerfed Elite enemy rewards: gold decreased from 45-55 -> 35-45
Changed Ceremonial Beast: now applies -1 Dexterity instead of Frail
Changed The Kin:
- Kin Follower HP decreased by 1
- Kin Priest damage lowered from 18(19) -> 15(16) and 5(6) -> 3(4)
Changed Mecha Knight: moveset tweaked
Changed Owl Magistrate: moveset tweaked

Ancients

Changed Neow's Bundle blessing: tweaked Silent bundles
Changed Zlatir's Cape blessing: card draw decreased from 3 -> 2

Events

Changed Brainbug event:
- Colorless cards HP cost decreased from 8 -> 5
- Filter cards seen decreased from 10 -> 8
Changed Cursed Choice event:
- "Plain" choice now gives Decay instead of Normality
- Gives less gold when not choosing curse
Changed Potion Courier event: "Grab Potions" choice now always procures up to 3 Foul Potions instead of filling your potion slots with them

Misc

Treasure Rooms' gold reward decreased from 40-60 -> 42-52

Art

Inklets now have a fast attack animation and improved death animation
Updated Slime spit animations
Workbug spit animation now actually hits player
Added Workbug headbutt animation
Added beta art for various cards, relics, and powers
Added portrait art for Devastate, Hidden Cache, Devastate, and Infection cards
Added Leaf Slime cast animations
Flyconid now has different color VFX depending on whether or not he is applying Vulnerable or Frail

User interface & experience

Added missing hovertips to Hex and Empower
Ceremonial Beast Plow now resolves slightly faster
Curse of Knowledge power is now properly categorized as a debuff instead of a buff
Messy card layouts used in events are now more evenly spaced
Potions now again appear before cards in reward screens
Razortooth relic no longer flashes
Up My Sleeve card now includes a Shiv hovertip
When all enemies have Vulnerable, cards that hit all/random enemies now preview the damage increase

Audio

Implemented ambient BG SFX

Wording

Clarified Strategic and Malicious intent wordings
Cleaned up Death's Door card wording
Fixed a typo in Slumbering Essence relic
Gravity power now specifies that it wears off at the end of your turn
Renamed Kin Leader -> Kin Priest
Phantom Drought potion has been renamed to Phantom Draught, which should reduce confusion for all English speakers

Bug fixes

Necrobinder

Seance card now puts Souls into the discard pile where the transformed card was

Regent

Fixed an issue where Kingly Kick card couldn't have its cost reduced to 0 by effects like Metamorphosis
Guiding Star card no longer shows your draw pile in order
Seven Stars card no longer plays damage VFX/SFX on the player

Enemies

Decimillipede no longer breaks visually when dying to Doom
Fixed a softlock when killing Test Subject by discarding a hand full of Sly cards via Calculated Gamble
Fixed softlock when killing last Axebot with End of Days card

Ancients

Orobas's Discovery blessings now properly allow you to select any number of cards instead of just 5

Events

The "Slowly Find an Exit" option in the "The Legends Were True" event now properly glows red when your HP is low enough for it to kill you

Misc

Disrupt amount now counts down when hit
Power removed VFX no longer play when save & quitting
Targeting arrow can no longer stay on screen after combat has ended
The game no longer softlocks when upgrading a card while the "View upgrades" checkbox is checked
Top bar compendium button no longer keeps rocking after it's been closed
Upgrades no longer go away after scrolling through card library

Newer: 30 Jan 2025 All patch notes Older: 16 Jan 2025

Purchase today

If you haven't bought Slay The Spire 2 yet, it's time. Support the devs, they made an amazing game.

Get it on Steam