A huge Slay the Spire 2 update makes life harder but fairer, and adds Steam mod support

The second main-branch Slay the Spire 2 update is here, combining four big sets of patch notes with an RNG fix and Steam Workshop support.

The time has come. A new Slay the Spire 2 update is now live on the main branch, meaning months of changes that have been in public testing over on the beta build are now here for everyone. Among them are the introduction of the Aeonglass boss fight, the Bestiary, and a whole heap of balance changes, but that's just the start. Mega Crit has also managed to resolve its most pressing problem since launch with a fix for the 'correlated RNG' that was discovered this week, and opened up mod potential dramatically with full Steam Workshop support. Let's get into it.

I'll start with the changes that are new to all, even if you've been on the Slay the Spire 2 testing branch for a while. First is an RNG rework, coming hot off the presses in the wake of a 7,000-word investigation into how the roguelike deckbuilder's number generation was falling foul of some overly predictable outcomes. "It turns out that everyone complaining about receiving Debt too often from Neow's Bones was right," Programmer Ed Lu writes. "We did, in fact, have some unusual RNG problems."

You can read my full story on the study by 'tckmn' if you're interested in seeing more examples of what this meant in practice, ranging from chance rolls that vary based on the region you're in, to cards that were simply unobtainable in the game's current state. Worry no more: Lu assures that the new implementation of randomness "is evenly distributed. Exhibiting no human-detectable correlation. Rest assured that your suffering is now truly random."

The other big addition is the launch of the Slay the Spire 2 Steam Workshop. It's a little barebones for now, but I expect it'll fill up rather quickly. Lu notes that the game was built "with modding in mind," and has had an integrated mod loader since day one, but that Mega Crit was purposefully not advertising the feature, "as we knew it still needed some work." Now, you can take advantage of the straightforward ease of Steam's mod-browsing solution, allowing you to sign up for any you want with a simple click.

Beyond that, the huge list of remaining patch notes will feel familiar if you've been on the beta branch, but let's go over the most important things to know if you're not following week by week. The biggest alteration is the removal of the Doormaker boss, who was ultimately determined to be "over the complexity threshold of what we want," in the words of studio Co-Founder Casey Yano.

In his place is Aeonglass. Its main trick is handing you Wither cards, which deal damage if in your hand at the end of turn. They get gradually more dangerous as the fight goes on, so be careful. Also notably terrifying among the other enemy reworks is Infested Prism. This makes your skill cards 'tainted,' causing the damage you take from attacks to increase with each one you play. Original Slay the Spire veterans can think of this fight like the feared Gremlin Nob - you're going to need to be aggressive to get through.

The Bestiary has arrived in its first form, collecting data on all the creatures you encounter. "This was a much requested feature for the first game, but at the time I didn't want to create it as there wasn't a good delivery mechanism for an overarching story," Yano reveals. "However, in the world of Slay the Spire 2, we have a lot more on the narrative side." For now, it's a simple list of models, moves, and animations, but expect the addition of detailed stats and lore in the future.

Beyond that comes a whole heap of class balance adjustments, new artwork, audio, and writing, and changes to a handful of the relics you can get from start-of-act Ancients. Be sure to carefully read everything you come across instead of relying on your old knowledge. On the whole, you can expect the game to feel a little bit tougher - you'll certainly want to keep both Infested Prism and Aeonglass in mind, as both require more counterplay - but, with the updated RNG, it should also be fairer.

Slay the Spire 2 update 0.107.1 is now live on the main branch. It's likely that Mega Crit will return to beta patches for the forthcoming weeks as it starts testing other new ideas, giving you a while to learn the current state if you're sticking to the release build. With the door open to mods, you're also free to start tweaking other elements of the game to your liking.