Playtest notes 21 Aug 2025

Internal playtest184 entries74 wording fixes35 balance changes34 bug fixes21 art updates17 interface changes3 content additions

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

36 cards

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

Deal 3 damage for each previously spent this turn.

Deal 33 damage to ALL enemies.
Costs less for each Ethereal card played this combat.

Draw 1 card.
Gain .
Gain .
Forge 5.
Exhaust.

Prevent the next time you would lose HP.

Whenever you play an Attack, add a random Attack into your Hand.

Collision Course

Deal 11 damage.
Add a Debris into your Hand.

At the start of your turn, apply 6 Doom to a random enemy.

At the start of your turn, add a random Power into your Hand.

Gain an additional 4 Block from Defend cards.

Osty deals 3 damage.
If this is the first time this card has been played this turn, draw 1 card.

Osty deals 12 damage.
This card costs 0 if Osty has attacked this turn.

At the start of your turn, Forge 5.

At the start of your turn, gain .

Unplayable.
Eternal.

Whenever you play a Soul, a random enemy loses 6 HP.

Deal 8 damage X times.
Double X if it's 4 or more.

Heirloom Hammer

Deal 20 damage.
Choose a Colorless card in your Hand. Add a copy of that card into your Hand.

Infinite Blades

At the start of your turn, add 1 Shiv into your Hand.

Ethereal.
The first Attack each turn deals 50% additional damage.

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

Manifest Authority

Gain 7 Block.
Add 1 random Colorless card into your Hand.

The first Attack or Skill you play each turn is placed on top of your Draw Pile.

At the end of combat, gain 30 Gold.

Draw cards until your Hand is full.
Exhaust.

Lose 2 Strength.
Enemy loses 2 Strength.
Exhaust.

Deal 7 damage to ALL enemies.
Evoke all of your Orbs twice.

Osty deals 7 damage.
Add Retain to a card in your Hand.

Draw 2 cards.
Exhaust.

Deal 9 damage.
Deals 2 additional damage for each Soul in your Exhaust Pile.

At the start of your turn, add 1 random Colorless card into your Hand.

Choose 1 of 3 random Attacks from another character to add into your Hand. It's free to play this turn.

Deal 14 damage.
The next Power you play costs 0 .

Ethereal.
End your turn.
The first 2 cards you play each turn are free to play.

Relics, potions and powers

Enemies and events

Content

Necrobinder

Reworked Swipe card -> Snap

Ancients

Added new Neow blessing, Wealth

Events

Reworked Welcome To Wongo's event

Balance

General

When a Power card's power deals damage (The Bomb, Panache, etc.), that damage is now considered card damage

Silent

Changed Twisted Funnel relic: rarity changed from Shop -> Uncommon

Defect

Buffed Synthesis card: damage increased from 12(18) -> 13(18)

Necrobinder

Buffed Haunt card: HP loss increased from 3(4) -> 4(6)
Nerfed Soul Storm card: now Exhausts
Nerfed Symbiosis card:
Energy cost increased from 1(1) -> 2(1)
Upgrade no longer draws an additional card
Changed Necrobinder's Neow Bundle blessing: bundle with Fetch now instead includes Flatten

Regent

Changed Genesis card: upgrade changed from +1 star -> Innate
Changed Heirloom Hammer card: upgrade changed from +3 damage and +1 card -> +5 damage (no additional card)
Buffed Polish card: damage increased from 12(18) -> 14(18)
Changed Regent's Neow Bundle blessing: no longer has a double Uncommon card bundle

Keep reading257 more words

Potions & Relics

Changed Ninja Scroll relic: rarity changed from Uncommon -> Shop
Changed Starter Flare relic:
Now hits all enemies instead of hitting a random enemy
Damage decreased from 11 -> 9
Changed Liquid Memories potion: no longer sets Star cost to 0

Ancients

Buffed Nonupeipe's Blessed Antlers blessing: now also applies to Elite combats
Buffed Neow's Focus blessing: Max HP lost decreased from 10 -> 8
Buffed Neow's Mystery Machine blessing: no longer has the downside of giving Greed curse
Changed Neow's Lean blessing: will no longer appear if Focus blessing appears as the cursed boon option

Enemies

Buffed Test Subject:
Changed Growl move from gaining Block -> deals 18(20) damage
Now gains Block when it revives
Buffed Cubex Construct: now has 1 Artifact
Changed Exoskeleton: can no longer randomly roll the Enrage move
Buffed Gremlin Merc: Double Smash move damage increased from 4x2 -> 6x2
Changed Kin Priest: now always applies Weak instead of alternating between Weak and Frail
Nerfed Phantasmal Gardeners: Strength gain decreased from 3 -> 2
Buffed Phrog Parasite: Lash move damage increased from 4(5)x3 -> 4(5)x4
Changed Queen: no longer has Intangible, but starts with Block from the Torch Head Amalgam

Events

Changed Field of the Forgotten event: Soul's Power enchantment no longer adds Replay -> now removes Exhaust
Changed Trash Heap event: no longer appears in Act 2
Changed Brain Leech (formerly Brain Bug) event: can now appear in Act 1a and Act 1b as well

Art

Added Punch Construct animations
Added portrait art for the following cards:
Banshee's Cry
Big Bang
Collision Course
Furnace
Royalties
Terraforming
Updated portrait art for the following cards:
Countdown
Death's visage
Shared Fate

Keep reading20 more words

User interface & experience

Cards not unlocked by Epochs no longer show up during gameplay
Revealed Epochs now have a hovertip in the Timeline of their unlock requirement + unlock icon
Updated UX for Rest Site options
If you have no available cards to upgrade, the Rest Site's Smith option is disabled and tells you why
Added a "no results" label to the card library when your filters have no matches
Added a cost randomization animation for when a card's cost is affected by Snecko Eye relic
Certain screenshakes now play out much faster than before
Chapter paginators in the Timeline are now chronological (was in expected unlock order)
Created new aqua color tag for the Flaw
Events are now faster in fast mode
Event text is now slightly larger
Thieving Hopper's Escape Artist power now pulses when it is about to run away
When you press the peek button in combat, you will now still see the card you are playing
Added controller navigation to the map screen legend
Added controller support for multiplayer card targeting
When using a controller, card targeting no longer breaks if you hotkey into selecting your potions
Added controller hotkeys for extra card reward options

Writing

Renamed the following cards:
Grab -> Restrain
Snowfield -> Hailstorm
Renamed the following relics:
Bedlam Beacon -> Lost Wisp
Buried Seed -> Sapphire Seed
Renamed the following events:
Bedlam Beacon -> Lost Wisp
Brain Bug -> Brain Leech
Buried Seed -> Sapphire Seed
Cursed Choice -> This or That
Amalgamating Anvil -> Amalgamator

Keep reading159 more words

Bug fixes

General

Buffer power no longer decrements when it prevents fractional damage that would be rounded down to 0 anyways
Players can no longer open the Merchant rug via controller when selecting a map node
Cards with value-modifying Enchantments (Sharp, Favored, etc.) now properly display these modifications in upgrade/enchant preview screens
Corrected the unlock requirements for character Epochs 6 and 7
Fixed Bound affliction description to say "1" instead of "one"
Fixed controller navigation letting players scroll through cards in the inspection screen when there is only 1 card the player is inspecting
Fixed issue where controller hotkey wasn't working with the Proceed button in Merchant room
Fixed loading saves with deprecated or renamed events
Fixed strange behavior when entering for '[' in the card library text search
Shuffling cards from Discard to Draw pile no longer generates two cards per card

Defect

Fixed orbs touching relics when Defect's scale increased from the Big Mushroom relic
Fixed softlock when Helix Drill card was created via Splash card
Helix Drill card now properly deals its damage over multiple hits
Snowfield card (now Hailstorm) no longer ignores Block when dealing damage

Keep reading244 more words

Necrobinder

Buffer power no longer prevents Osty from losing HP
Tungsten Rod relic no longer prevents Osty from losing HP
Lethality card no longer triggers on the next Attack played this turn if another Attack was played before it

Regent

Sharp Enchantment now applies properly to Heavenly Drill card

Colorless Cards

Nostalgia card no longer triggers on the next Attack/Skill played this turn if another Attack/Skill was played before it
Scrawl card description no longer has broken formatting

Potions & Relics

Fixed The Formula potion not updating damage descriptions
Meat on the Bone relic now properly triggers when your HP is at exactly 50%
Seethe relic no longer doubles negative strength

Ancients

Neow's Explorer blessing now correctly says it only affects the current Act's map rather than all of the Act maps
Darv and Zlatir are now unlockable
Darv can no longer appear twice in a run
Fixed Orobas' Transcendence blessing run history entry
Orobas' Transcendence card hovertips no longer go off screen
Map no longer double-fades when selecting an Ancient

Enemies

Fixed Magistrate Owl's hitbox when it starts its flying animation while Shrunk
Fixed softlock when viewing the victory screen of a run against Test Subject
Fixed softlock when you kill Wasp Prism while it's stunned by Tanx's Whistle
Torch Head Amalgam no longer has strange black boxes appear when the Doom death animation plays

Events

Fixed issue where players weren't receiving a reward from the War Historian, Repy event

Newer: 27 Aug 2025 All patch notes Older: 14 Aug 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