New Slay the Spire 2 update reworks Ironclad's most unpopular card and makes lower Ascensions easier

Slay the Spire 2 developer Megacrit has dropped a fresh set of beta patch notes, and I'm liking what I'm seeing. There's been plenty of chatter in the community regarding Ascension difficulty scaling since the deckbuilding roguelike game launched, and here we see the studio taking another small swing at creating a greater distinction between A0 and A10 difficulties. Meanwhile, a few cards have received reworks, including Ironclad underperformers Conflagration and Drum of Battle, and certain Ancients picks like Neow's Fury are now far more viable.

Opening up the patch notes, Megacrit co-head Antony Giovannetti acknowledges that, in its current state, Slay the Spire 2's base difficulty "is quite hard." Approachability is the name of the game for reaching the broadest possible audience, especially when you're aiming to have a more challenging late game experience. The Scrolls of Biting, Owl Magistrate, and Slimed Berserker now have slightly less HP at low Ascensions, but are tankier at high ones. Additionally, the Vantom Act 1 boss has been nerfed at the low end, while the Waterfall Giant elite heals less in easier difficulty runs. These changes aren't massive, sure, but Giovannetti says the plan is to increase the Ascension gap "gradually instead of all at once," so expect further tweaks as the STS2 roadmap progresses.

Despite receiving a redesign last week, players are still having a tough time with Doormaker, one of the Act 3 bosses. Giovannetti says that Megacrit's "currently monitoring" Doormaker, but is reluctant to make further changes. "We want to give players time to adjust a bit," he says, "otherwise we'll be balancing around kneejerk reactions." According to the dev, Doormaker is actually "in a good place" right now statistically, though the experiential element is also a major metric. The studio wants to ensure that it doesn't create too much friction with certain playstyles, so we could yet see more changes here.

Right, let's talk cards. There's a load of swanky new card art for Feral, Hailstorm, Voltaic, and more that looks incredible. However, there are more than just cosmetic changes for us to get our heads around. I've never personally taken Conflagration and Drum of Battle when playing Ironclad. Conflagration never really felt like a good enough Strength payout, while Drum of Battle looked ripe to blitz my synergies, even when playing Exhaust decks. If anything, the only time I would've considered it is when playing big, non-synergistic decks.

Now, Conflagration deals two damage to all enemies four times (at base, five when upgraded), making it a really great choice for Strength builds. Drum of Battle, meanwhile, is no longer a zero-cost power, but a one-cost skill that grants two energy (at base, three when upgraded) when exhausted. Draw and energy generation on a single card? That's looking like a must-pick for exhaust setups to me.

Ironclad isn't the only character that's seen one of their cards reimagined. Regent's Parry has also been tweaked to better synergize with Dexterity (and Frail by extension). Whereas before you'd gain ten (14 when upgraded) block when playing the Sovereign Blade, the blade itself now gains the same amount of defenses. I'm not too sure about this one, seeing as Regent doesn't really utilize Dexterity, so if anything this could work out as a nerf. That being said, its numbers could end up being tweaked should it prove too weak, so we'll see.

While some of Neow's blessings like Silver Crucible and Leafy Poultice are fantastic, I can't remember the last time I took Booming Conch or Neow's Fury. Booming Conch originally drew you two extra cards at the start of an elite encounter, which was fine for trying to prevent a turn-one brick, but I felt it didn't do enough. With the extra energy you now gain from it in the new patch, my interest has been piqued. Neow's Fury is the big winner here, though. Instead of randomly putting two cards into your hand from the discard pile, you now get to choose, essentially making it a suped-up Graveblast.

Elsewhere in the Ancients department, Tezcatara's Nutritious Soup relic has also had a buff, granting your Strikes an extra three damage on top of making them cost nothing and granting them Eternal. This was already a solid pick if you wanted to quickly thin your deck, but it's now even better if you're an Ironclad with Hellraiser.

The Slay the Spire 2 update notes also feature a few smaller card balance changes, some UI and experience additions, and the usual suite of bug fixes one would expect from a game in beta. You can check those out here. It's a fabulous little patch, and a big win for Ironclad enjoyers especially. Just remember to upgrade those copies of True Grit ASAP if you're planning on giving the Exhaust route a go - you can thank me later.