Slay the Spire 2's Ancients can totally transform your run, and they include the first game's most friendly face

Slay the Spire 2 might have been delayed, but developer Mega Crit continues to sate my appetite with plenty of new details about the successor to one of the best roguelikes of all time. Its new blog is all about Ancients, powerful beings that have the ability to dramatically alter the course of your playthrough. We're already very familiar with one of them: Neow, Mother of Resurrection, the giant whale that greets you with a choice of buffs at the start of every Slay the Spire run. In the sequel, however, we'll be meeting several of her fellow Ancients, each of whom will offer blessings.

"The Spire is brimming with species of all shapes and sizes which have evolved alongside their environments over the ages," Mega Crit writes in its latest Slay the Spire 2 newsletter. "However, there are some beings that have persisted since the Spire's inception, accumulating wisdom and power as they witness the death and birth of countless generations." These will appear at the entrance to each act, offering a choice between several boons or other effects.

Much like the first game, Neow will continue to be the welcoming face that sends us off on our journeys - she is in charge of resurrection, after all. The second and third acts will have their own separate pools of Ancients that can show up, although Mega Crit doesn't elaborate on whether the alternate zones will affect the possible faces we'll see. It does introduce us to our first possible Act Two encounter, however: Tezcatara, 'It Which Feeds The Fire.'

"A warm, shining light in the darkness of the Spire," Tezcatara's blessings "are generally known for burning bright but extinguishing quickly." You can see three of the choices we'll be presented below, although Mega Crit hints that this is just a selection of the possible options.

The first transforms the upcoming act's map into a single "golden path." The second grants you four Wax Relics, which gradually melt away one after one with every three combat encounters you finish. The third enchants all Strikes in your deck with 'Tezcatara's Ember,' reducing their cost but making them impossible to remove.

"These oldest of the Spire's beings all have their own specialities, therefore their offerings will differ greatly from one another," Mega Crit explains. "This new system adds even more variance to each run, making them feel that much more unique." It adds that the boons they provide are considered a replacement for Slay the Spire's old boss relics.

The developer notes that the reasons behind the Ancients' involvement is unclear at first, although hints, "Perhaps you will be able to learn more about their mysterious motivations as time goes on." It also cautions that "some of their blessings may come with significant tradeoffs." However, I'll take any allies I can get in my climb.

Mega Crit also unveils a new enemy type, following its regularly scheduled 'Spire Spotting' contest to figure out what lurks behind a silhouette. This new design is "some sort of automaton construct, seemingly designed for punching," the team muses. "A Punch Construct?" You can see it below, along with the hint for next month's entry. Is that a light coming off its head?

The early-access Slay the Spire 2 release date is still scheduled for March 2026, so expect a fair few more reveals in the runup to then. You can read through Mega Crit's full newsletter if you want to join in with the attempt to guess the hidden foe, try your hand at an StS-themed connections game, or ponder why "ironclads keep their masks on by biting."