Who is the Architect in Slay the Spire 2?

Who is The Architect in Slay the Spire 2? Once you've reached the end of your run, you're met by the mysterious Architect. Don't worry, you're supposed to be unsuccessful in killing him before the victory screen hits. Here's everything we know about him and if he can ever be beaten.

There are three acts in Slay the Spire 2, and upon reaching the end of the third act, you're faced with The Architect, an enemy that has been teased by unlocking various Epochs and accessing the story through the timeline. When you approach him, you're killed instantly before playing any cards, but it appears you're victorious anyway, kind of.

The Architect is the final boss encounter on your run and will be the last thing you see before the game ends and you're left to climb the Spire all over again. Though little is known about the Architect, there are story hints throughout the run, and we eventually expect him to be added in as the Act 4 boss.

What that looks like in terms of when we can take on the Architect largely depends on the Slay the Spire 2 roadmap. In the previous game, the Heart boss was added in the 1.0 release date update, and so far it looks like that's the same intention for The Architect.

It's also likely that to access Act 4 when it does arrive, you'll need to complete the game as every character. In the first game, we had to collect three keys throughout the run by completing objectives like defeating buffed elites or opening non-boss chests, though these items aren't available in the game just yet. Collecting them also adds an extra difficulty, as you'll need to sacrifice other choices, like deck buffs, to take the item and unlock the fourth act.

Can you beat The Architect?

No, you cannot beat The Architect; he kills you at the end of your run no matter how much damage you inflict. A neat detail is that when you die, it will tell you how much damage you managed to put in despite the Architect winning anyway. Not only that, but it tells you the overall player damage from the community, which is currently in the billions - let's hope that's not the actual health pool we'll have to deal with when we can finally fight this boss.

The Architect's story

Through unlocking Epochs, we get an insight into the story surrounding the Spire and how The Architect fits into it all. The Architect was poisoned by a jealous Neow, another Ancient, who developed a concoction called Blight, which she gave to the Architect as a special tea to help him sleep. Instead, it created an uncontrollable force that swept the land.

There's a lot we do and don't know about this enemy, though it's worth unlocking every character to hear what he has to say to you.

Here's what the Architect says to each character when they attempt to face him:

Ironclad ending

The Architect: "So the arch demon's thrall has arrived?"
Your only option to respond is 'Threaten'
Ironclad: "Enemy… Kill…"
Your only option to respond is 'Proceed'
You hit him, he doesn't flinch, he kills you.

Silent ending

The Silent doesn't speak, just attacks.
The Architect: "Not even an introduction?"
You hit him again, he doesn't flinch, he kills you.

Defect ending

The Architect: "What are you doing here?"
Your only option to respond is 'Answer'
Defect: <random garbled lines>
Your only option to respond is 'Continue'
The Architect: "Repair you? Make me."
You hit him, he doesn't flinch, he kills you.

Regent ending

Regent: "I've had enough of your poor manners"
Your only option to respond is 'Continue'
The Architect: "Something we can both agree on."
Your only option to respond is 'Retort'
Regent: "Let's dance!"
Your only option to respond is 'Proceed'
You hit him, he doesn't flinch, he kills you.

Necrobinder ending

Necrobinder: "ARCHITECT! You killed my parents. You killed my friend. You killed my-"
Your only option to respond is 'Continue'
The Architect: "You cannot change the past with anger."
You hit him, he doesn't flinch, he kills you.

Now you know everything about the mysterious Architect. Here's how to master the Regent, and find out how many Ascension levels there are in the game.