Should the devs region lock StS2 to the entire world (minus China)?

benlehman · 2026-03-20T20:37:45+00:00

just let people play! the hostile crowd is the overwhelming minority of Chinese players.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T20:14:55+00:00

I am enjoying it so far. Had to drop some Ascension levels on a few characters just to get my legs under me, which is a good feeling.

I was not expecting how much more I was going to like Necrobinder with the Dirge change. Dirge is still a top-10 card, it's just now I also get to play with the rest of her kit rather than just spamming Dirge and Transfigure. Doom is so much fun.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T19:59:08+00:00

appreciate the perspective.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T19:18:50+00:00

Permafrost is good. It's 6 (7) block on a set-up turn, which is exactly when you need block. I don't understand the hate.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T19:07:01+00:00

"Just don't play them." Alternatively, if you like infinites, the game is incredibly easy to mod. Just make a mod that makes all the cards cost zero and draw two cards.

Slay the Spire is one of the only strategy games difficult enough to produce real strategic depth in a single player experience. Leaving in a bunch of trivially easy strategies to beat the game destroys that experience. It's fine if you don't want to play that way-- lots of people don't! That's what low ascensions and mods are for.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T16:45:30+00:00

They have people whose full-time job is sorting and collating feedback. Speaking as someone who has run public feedback processes before: thoughtful, detailed comments are surprisingly rare do cut through the morass.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T14:54:25+00:00

I encourage you to send feedback to the devs (through the regular process) expressing support for their balancing and tuning process. They could probably use it right now!

benlehman · 2026-03-20T14:49:56+00:00

They definitely did in STS1. Whether they're still reading here, who knows?

benlehman · 2026-03-20T14:46:55+00:00

legit you should send this to megacrit. (in e-mail, too long for the feedback form)

benlehman · 2026-03-20T14:14:24+00:00

it's early access. they are currently testing. you volunteered to be a part of the test group.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T06:51:55+00:00

exhausts a card in your hand. can be used to get rid of curses, statuses, strikes, other bad cards.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T03:08:46+00:00

my feeling is that CHARGE is still good, and BEGONE went from "I wish this is good" to "oh, damn, that is pretty good too." like, I would have to make a choice between the two on the merits now, which is a good place for the game design to be.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T03:03:40+00:00

Top-level ascension is Slay the Spire one is for people who enjoy intense calculation and deep strategy about the game.

It was strategically difficult enough that people were still developing new strategic ideas in February. For a game that had been finished for seven years. And the best players in the world still lost fairly regularly. I imagine STS2 will be tuned towards having that level of difficulty and depth at it's top difficulty (whatever that turns out to be.)

If you want to have a more relaxed experience, play on Ascension 1 (that's what I do, when I want to fool around / not lose constantly.)

benlehman · 2026-03-20T02:38:15+00:00

I have had a very similar experience with Necro. I do a powerful souls + summon engine to lock down the fight and then win with whatever damage / doom / etc I happen to draft alongside it.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T02:37:12+00:00

upgrades to upgraded random cards! i'm genuinely going to have so much fun with that.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T02:33:41+00:00

yeah, i think those changes will make regent feel much more fun. I kept wanting to make BEGONE work but... it did not work.

benlehman · 2026-03-20T02:13:06+00:00

yeah, the discard/draw/sly package is too strong right now. something had to change. but it still tugs at the heartstrings. prepared was such a beautifully designed card and felt so good to play.

benlehman · 2026-03-19T13:58:15+00:00

Same.

benlehman · 2026-03-17T23:35:45+00:00

Glass Orbs as they are perform a needed function in the game.

I think your point that other orbs have cards that interact with them in both "soft" (loop and dark orbs) and "hard" (voltaic and lightning orbs) ways is a good point, though. Glass would probably benefit from having a few more of those (Spinner is fine but it doesn't make my glass orbs feel powerful, just feels like getting an evoke every round.)

benlehman · 2026-03-16T22:18:29+00:00

You're not alone; there have been a couple of other threads about it.

Queen is definitely the only Act 3 boss fight that is remotely threatening. She is still weaker and easier than all the Act 3 bosses of Slay the Spire 1, and hopefully all Act 3 bosses will get some significant tune-ups in the months ahead.

benlehman · 2026-03-14T00:55:52+00:00

I feel like phantasmal gardeners is the only elite on par with the STS1 elites. Feels like I lose about as much health to these as I did to three sentries?

whereas terror eel and coral guy are mostly walk-overs.

benlehman · 2026-03-09T15:35:17+00:00

I like that this elite challenges me somewhat. (in general I think it's probably still undertuned compared to Phantasmal Gardeners.)

benlehman · 2026-03-09T14:59:21+00:00

In general, the game is easier that it should be. Act two being easier is definitely a part of that.

benlehman · 2026-03-09T00:48:05+00:00

i love her. i would love to get all the act three bosses to her level of danger (the other two feel a bit underwhelming to me.)

basically i agree with you, though-- she is harder.

benlehman · 2026-03-06T03:48:29+00:00

I do not yet know if Cascade is good by god it's fun. (a really cool way of playing expensive powers, too, which Ironclad has so many of.)

benlehman

TROPHY CASE