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Slay the Spire - PS4, Switch and Xbox One |OT| Heart of the Cards
- Thread starter TeamLeftMatch
- Start date
Thanks, y'all! I've definitely been looking forward to this one.
It's in a good state right now. I haven't experienced any crashes post patch.
Slay of Spire is part of the new Playstation Sale in the EU! Worth every penny / euro / forint etc... : ]
Also. The devs are mentioning the mobile version in the last Ars Technica interview. That's make my iPad excited! : P
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_BPJzNPF6M
Also. The devs are mentioning the mobile version in the last Ars Technica interview. That's make my iPad excited! : P
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_BPJzNPF6M
Prepare to a much harder next year then. :'D
"Coming later this year to both iOS and Android!"
thereitis.gif
Welp, I guess that means I won't have to take my switch with me everywhere I go!
There's a cheevo for beating act 4 with all three classes.
But yeah, at this point the next challenge is working your way up to ascended 20.
New class is coming, though.
Also: congratulations! The corrupt heart is no joke.
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I have to update my post from earlier. I was afraid to loose my progress with in my first silent run but then i continued my run and made to te end.
My deck was 30 cards of poison and block and card draw and the card where al card now cost zero.
Is poison just so much better then anything else?
I've had like four failures in a row trying to beat ascension 5 with the Silent.
Block is ... incredibly important to The Silent but her card pool has a very small number of cards that actually generate it. So many of the skills seem to be dedicated to shivs, poison, or card draw / discard. It's also very possible to go through all three acts without seeing a single card or relic that boosts dex. Sure, they have multiple sources of weak and str debufs, but it's just not enough when the 3rd act bosses are swinging every turn for at least 30 damage.
Not really a complaint, but I'm having quite a bit of trouble.
Block is ... incredibly important to The Silent but her card pool has a very small number of cards that actually generate it. So many of the skills seem to be dedicated to shivs, poison, or card draw / discard. It's also very possible to go through all three acts without seeing a single card or relic that boosts dex. Sure, they have multiple sources of weak and str debufs, but it's just not enough when the 3rd act bosses are swinging every turn for at least 30 damage.
Not really a complaint, but I'm having quite a bit of trouble.
I'm at a similar point, and I always take Leg Sweep whenever I see it. 2 turns of weak and 11 block is huge for two energy, and upgrading it to three turns of weak prevents even more damage.
Leg Sweep, Backflip, Escape Plan, Dash, all good block gain.
Footwork's good but I'd never go into a run expecting to build Dexterity.
Footwork's good but I'd never go into a run expecting to build Dexterity.
Annnnd ... I beat Ascension 5 on the next run.
I had 3x Footwork+ thanks to an event which let me duplicate a card. Time Eater was the act III boss. I facerolled the damage and Noxious Fumes + a few random attacks won me the game.
I had a Burst+ Catalyst combo that gave out 171 poison and almost killed him outright, but Time Eater just heals up to half health when he went into the second phase so all that damage was wasted.
I had 3x Footwork+ thanks to an event which let me duplicate a card. Time Eater was the act III boss. I facerolled the damage and Noxious Fumes + a few random attacks won me the game.
I had a Burst+ Catalyst combo that gave out 171 poison and almost killed him outright, but Time Eater just heals up to half health when he went into the second phase so all that damage was wasted.
I've been struggling lately on A5 with Ironclad, particularly in Act 3. In my recent runs I've gotten Corruption and every time I use it I can hear Bill O'Reilly saying "fuck it, let's do it live!". Needless to say my runs have been surprisingly successful especially at little to no health. Only time this has failed me was when I had Corruption plus Dead Branch and my hand was all attacks, no more potions, no way to kill the enemy this turn, and its next attack would kill me.
The "Bosses are deadlier." mod you start getting on ascension 4 is no joke. It really means that you have to have the cards to stop damage, or you will die before you can kill a boss.
Been playing this game for the last few days now and while it's great, it's starting to annoy me. It seems that even if I reach a boss with full health after easily completing the rest of the act I can only beat it if I've luckily built the right deck. And not knowing the boss 'pictures' at the top of the spire yet this is just luck.
The bosses can attack for too much damage, the collector and his friends were hitting for 38 damage each turn. It's nuts.
The bosses can attack for too much damage, the collector and his friends were hitting for 38 damage each turn. It's nuts.
As you mentioned, it's not really luck, it's lack of knowledge. Once you know what you're doing you'll know how to build the right deck ahead of time.
And yeah you need to have defensive answers for bosses so you can consistently shrug off 10/20/30 damage each Act.
I get that but you can only have so much defense and card draw in a deck, at some point you got to put offense in.
You don't want so many cards in your deck. You (generally) want as few as possible so you consistently draw them. Don't need anything but a few good offensive cards if you're cycling your deck every 2-3 turns.
Yeah I get that concept and use the deck removal service usually when I can after act 1 but you can only remove 3 cards per act max? Should I not even be taking duplicates of key cards I need for my archetype?
There's random events that can also let you remove/replace cards.
As far as not taking cards goes, it depends. A lot of the time you're better off just not picking any card if the options are all bad. As for duplicates, it depends on the card so I can't tell you exactly as it's so situational and you'll have to learn that over time. Like if it's a 3 cost card, you probably don't need more than one. There is a tier list you can use a cheat sheet, if you've got three really low ranked cards... probably don't take anything.
Cool, thanks that's pretty much how I'm approaching it. I'm just a bit salty as got to act 2 boss easily and then got wrecked.
Maybe I'll focus on the derelict for a bit, I've got to the act 3 boss with him and a lightening build seems pretty easy.
Ok so the Champ on act 2 is ridiculous. He attacked for over 40 damage probably 4 turns in a row. How on earth can any deck counter that? His hp is ridiculous also, starting at 400 is huge.
Seriously, I'm not sure this game is that well designed as the boss is a crazy difficulty spike making the rest of the run pointless. I had fell hp and a good block centric derelict build and still only got him to 50 hp. I also had the relic that deals 50 damage on turn 7.
That fight just seemed unwinnable.
Seriously, I'm not sure this game is that well designed as the boss is a crazy difficulty spike making the rest of the run pointless. I had fell hp and a good block centric derelict build and still only got him to 50 hp. I also had the relic that deals 50 damage on turn 7.
That fight just seemed unwinnable.
Every deck should scale up in some way. If you aren't getting stronger somehow (str, poison, defense, focus, etc) over the course of a fight, most bosses will give you trouble.
The trick with the Champ is that he "splits". He becomes a lot harder after you get him below half health. The fight is sorta easy before then. So focus on getting stronger, and hit him hard when you are ready.
The act two boss tests your deck ability to scale.
The Champ gets a huge buff after its HP goes under 1/2. So the right strategy is to wait until you can deal big damage on few turns and then put his HP under 1/2.
I really recommend watching Jorbs on Youtube. He is probably the best StS player there is and his videos are really good and informative.
I have beaten A20 with every character but it took almost 200 hours. So this is not an easy game and it will take a while you to learn how to play it well. It is not luck if you know what to do but you need to work hard.
The Champ gets a huge buff after its HP goes under 1/2. So the right strategy is to wait until you can deal big damage on few turns and then put his HP under 1/2.
I really recommend watching Jorbs on Youtube. He is probably the best StS player there is and his videos are really good and informative.
I have beaten A20 with every character but it took almost 200 hours. So this is not an easy game and it will take a while you to learn how to play it well. It is not luck if you know what to do but you need to work hard.
Gonna echo scaling being integral to a deck. At lower ascensions it might not be as pivotal as certain relic combos might get you past the hurdle but later ascensions levels it becomes too much for decks to handle most lvl 2 elites and bosses without it. We are talking upwards of 60 damage in many cases in the higher ascension levels.
It is best to learn how to incorporate various scaling archetypes into your deck and get a feel for it cause it will help in later ascension levels.
Typical scaling archetypes are: Str(IronLad), Poison(Silent), Focus(Defect) but you don't have to stick to those and would be best to try for something that works well with you current deck. For example, IronLad is not a block scaling character typically but with 2 cards(Barricade, Entrench) you can ball out of control if you have a deck that can facilitate those 2 cards well.
It is best to learn how to incorporate various scaling archetypes into your deck and get a feel for it cause it will help in later ascension levels.
Typical scaling archetypes are: Str(IronLad), Poison(Silent), Focus(Defect) but you don't have to stick to those and would be best to try for something that works well with you current deck. For example, IronLad is not a block scaling character typically but with 2 cards(Barricade, Entrench) you can ball out of control if you have a deck that can facilitate those 2 cards well.
I don't know what you mean? Wait for what exactly before I put him under half? My deck is what my deck is, not sure what I'm waiting for to be honest. Unless I've built a deck that keeps adding strength? Also how can I even attack when I'm doing all I can to block a 29x2 attack turn after turn?
Edit - what's scaling? I've played a lot of ccgs and it's not a turn I'm familiar with.
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With Ironclad you should have a way to build your strength. It can be Demon Form, Spot Weakness, Limit Break, Inflame or even Steroid Potion.
For example if you have Spot Weakness then you need to stall the battle as long as you have build enough strength. When you know you can deal 200 damage in three turns you can start attacking. Before the buff it should be pretty easy to block the damage. Cards that apply weak can help too.
Your deck is what it is means you have not probably picked the right cards. But don't worry. You learn by playing or watching when somebody else plays.
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Two phase bosses are a pretty big thing in this game so trying to stall a fight until you got yourself setup could be vital. But again, we come back to the issue of scaling as you want to build up your momentum then hit with everything once you turn a boss over otherwise they will whittle you down eventually just from the sheer damage they can put out.
I was the derelict and I thought my deck was pretty good. I ploughed through the act, removed the weak cards only added cards that fit what I was building and had some great relics and still just got worked by the boss. It took over an hour as well.
It's really demoralising. I approached deck building in the right way but just because I didn't know about the boss buffinh insane at half hp I lost. I also have zero confidence I could apply a tactic that works for that fight.
Also, again, what is scaling? I'm not new to ccgs at all but that term seems to be made up for this game.
Here it means gaining strength, poison, dexterity or focus.
Without any kind of scaling it is very difficult to win in Slay the Spire. Ironclad does not have as good defensive options as Silent and Defect. So his key to win is gain enough strength to kill enemy before they kill you. Because enemies can also scale and override your defenses if you are taking too long to finish battles. Good example is the Cultist fight. He gains strength every turn which means you have to finish the battle before he can hit over 20 damage a turn.
With Silent poison scaling is probably the most consistent way to win. You build more and more poison which let's you to consentrate on blocking. While with Defect you want to have as much as focus as possible. This way you can block and deal more damage.
I really recommend watching Jorbs. It will help you immensely to understand how the game works.
I'm sorry, but what? Ironclad has amazing decks built around block sustain.
Corruption, Feel No Pain, Juggernaut, Barricade, Metallicize etc can create multiple, extremely strong combinations.
OK thanks, that's clear. Wish I knew this before getting the game to be honest as the fact the rest of the act is pretty irrelevant is hidden from discussions. I easily reached the top of act 2 with full hp but didn't have a chance as I hadn't built for that specific boss. Made me feel like the actual act was one long waste of time. Not great tbh and kinda saps my motivation for another run.
Fuck. I've been playing this a lot over the past week, and is getting ridiculously annoyed at always dying at the last boss.
Reading through the comments I just realized that I don't HAVE to choose new cards after a fight.
It's deck building time.
Reading through the comments I just realized that I don't HAVE to choose new cards after a fight.
It's deck building time.
Yes you are completely right. I have no idea why I said what I was saying.
Something which I think is useful for new players to bear in mind, for those times when a run ends frustratingly and feels unwinnable -- the base difficulty (ie. zero Ascension level) is honestly very generously balanced numbers-wise in the player's favour, and has an extremely consistent win-rate for experienced players. I'd give myself around a 95% chance for a successful Act 3 boss kill on any given Ascension-0 run (and I'm not a great player by any means).
Improving at StS will come naturally (and quickly, from run to run) as the player increasingly knows what to expect, but it's also important when starting out and losing to look back and think why it was a loss, what decisions did you make that cost you that game. It's very unlikely that the seed was simply an unlucky non-starter.
One thing I recommend when starting out is to just look up enemy AI if you're unfamiliar. It isn't 'secret' info, it's just not present in the UI (I wish it was). You can spend a few runs learning what this new boss does, or you could google and look at the movelist and patterns. StS shines as a game that genuinely challenges your decision-making at every point through a run; the disadvantage of not having 10, 20 hours experience memorizing behaviours already doesn't really have to factor in to that.
Improving at StS will come naturally (and quickly, from run to run) as the player increasingly knows what to expect, but it's also important when starting out and losing to look back and think why it was a loss, what decisions did you make that cost you that game. It's very unlikely that the seed was simply an unlucky non-starter.
One thing I recommend when starting out is to just look up enemy AI if you're unfamiliar. It isn't 'secret' info, it's just not present in the UI (I wish it was). You can spend a few runs learning what this new boss does, or you could google and look at the movelist and patterns. StS shines as a game that genuinely challenges your decision-making at every point through a run; the disadvantage of not having 10, 20 hours experience memorizing behaviours already doesn't really have to factor in to that.
Tips that have helped me when starting out:
- Every run is going to be different. There's no guarantee you'll end up with the build you want. With this in mind, select cards (or don't) that benefit your current stack and relics.
- Bears repeating, but you don't need to pick cards whenever presented. Smaller decks means quicker card rotation
- Use the card discard service. Recently got a good attack card? Discard a Strike
- Healing is a luxury, expect to focus on defense a lot in act 1
- You can really tip the current run in your favor if you can manage to favor upgrading over resting at camp sites. If you see one coming up soon, it might be time to play more defensively if your health is close to max
- Every run is going to be different. There's no guarantee you'll end up with the build you want. With this in mind, select cards (or don't) that benefit your current stack and relics.
- Bears repeating, but you don't need to pick cards whenever presented. Smaller decks means quicker card rotation
- Use the card discard service. Recently got a good attack card? Discard a Strike
- Healing is a luxury, expect to focus on defense a lot in act 1
- You can really tip the current run in your favor if you can manage to favor upgrading over resting at camp sites. If you see one coming up soon, it might be time to play more defensively if your health is close to max
Got my first win today! Thanks to everyone that has helped, this thread really did help me along the way.
It was with Ironclad which surprised me as I thought I'd do it first with the derelict. I got the relic that allows you to keep your hand and used that along with a card that gains 40 block, a card to double any attack or power card and a card to deal block as damage as well as cards to deal damage when block was built. It all synergised nicely and I managed to beat the time eater!
Now to try and get a win with the others!
It was with Ironclad which surprised me as I thought I'd do it first with the derelict. I got the relic that allows you to keep your hand and used that along with a card that gains 40 block, a card to double any attack or power card and a card to deal block as damage as well as cards to deal damage when block was built. It all synergised nicely and I managed to beat the time eater!
Now to try and get a win with the others!
How on earth did you do that? I'd love an explanation of the deck!
Well, it wasn't me, it the daily run. The daily run had three modifiers:
1. For every curse in your deck, gain +1 strength
2. Every time you gain a new card in your hand, x3 to your hand
3. Every treasure chest contains a curse
... You can probably use your imagination and do the rest. You hit up every chest, and grab a cruse... that will give you 3 curses to your deck, which will then give you +3 strength. I think at the end, I had like 12 curses so I started battle with +12 strength.
Then I purchased an Innate (start the battle with this card in your hand) Backstab card, which then gives me x3 of those cards to start the deck with 0 cost Backstabs.
But the real kicker: by the end of the run I had like 80+ cards in my deck, and I had THREE of those cards that deal damage for every card you have in your deck, Mindblast. So each one was doing like ~90 damage each lol.
Here's the seed, I think you can try it:
To any person who's having trouble finishing the game normally, don't give up, it's really easier than it looks.
It really seems like the key is to prepare for the act you're in without thinking too far ahead.
Better finish it and die on the next than die later, than to be prepared for the last boss and die earlier.
Find a good path with a good amount of bonfires, 1 or 2 elite (3, 4 if you feel quite prepared for them), maybe a shop or 2 if you're looking for some cards/relics and then balance enemies and events depending on what you need or which path seems safest/better for the "level" you think you have.
And just get used to the different enemies. "What do I need to counter them".
Lots and lots of "decks" (not builds/archetypes, just your cards depending on what happened)
Can actually kill every boss correctly. Its not really about luck/bad luck depending on who you fight, especially as you see the boss as soon as you begin an act. And you know all the Elites and enemies after a while, that doesn't change.
So it's good to not only 100% focus on something that can be countered by a specific boss. If it is, then you got it wrong and you need to adjust.
Pick a few damaging card (no skills except if too amazing to pass on) if you plan to fight Elites.
Before boss try to have a good balance between attack and defense. For the Silent, look for "attacksx3=bonus relics" like shuriken, kunai, fan, anythibg that gives energy bonus, card draw, poison or discard bonus and work around that while keeping a good balance (with more blocking cards overall when you get farther, pure damage is only useful if interracting with very important relics. Having good card draw can help you quickly get to good powers or cards and block cards.
I thought at first that Silent relic was bad but it can actually prepare some amazing first turns.
If you can get 1-3 backstab, it can make the beginning of battles really easier and this, the rest too. I would sugges to not especially focus on one thing.
For exemple if you get some shiv making decks, don't especially go all in ln that with accuracy... same with poison. Try to roughly remember hardest hurdles in each acts and project your current situation to see if uou could make it as you are.
Maybe you need a shop dor an extra relic or sell a completely useless card, or more bonfire for very important upgrades, or just dig...
Events that steal HP to give special cars can save runs where you lack some block cards or have the right relic (egg for example to upgrade all the cards at once when receiving them).
Anything that makes dexterity is good because you'll be blocking using lots of cards. Finding the "upgrade all steike and defend" event is cool for all the defend upgrades. Strikes are usually better out of the deck replaced by a few better damage card like backstab.
Careful with weird cards that seem to combo well if you don't have ways to control your deck.
For Defect. If you can get damaging cards that also creates orbs, you habe a good beginning. More focus is always really good (bias cognition early in quick battle and midway for boss except if you can counter the bad effect with an artefact. Glacier is amazing. Some card draw is important to have bigger chance to access block or an important attack when needed. "Seek" is very good to quickly get important cards. Hologram can be nice to quickly replay a very good card like Glacier for extra block if in the discard pile.
I feel like I'm forgetting too much but if you play smart it can really be easy to win on basic difficulty. It's really a matter of balance and prepare for the next hard battle(s). And if you get a card that works for a fight soon AND for the endgame, score !
I'm not sure I'm good at advice lol.
I'm eager to try it on Switch.
I already have 265 hours on the game >~>.
It really seems like the key is to prepare for the act you're in without thinking too far ahead.
Better finish it and die on the next than die later, than to be prepared for the last boss and die earlier.
Find a good path with a good amount of bonfires, 1 or 2 elite (3, 4 if you feel quite prepared for them), maybe a shop or 2 if you're looking for some cards/relics and then balance enemies and events depending on what you need or which path seems safest/better for the "level" you think you have.
And just get used to the different enemies. "What do I need to counter them".
Lots and lots of "decks" (not builds/archetypes, just your cards depending on what happened)
Can actually kill every boss correctly. Its not really about luck/bad luck depending on who you fight, especially as you see the boss as soon as you begin an act. And you know all the Elites and enemies after a while, that doesn't change.
So it's good to not only 100% focus on something that can be countered by a specific boss. If it is, then you got it wrong and you need to adjust.
Sorey in advance if nothing I write here was usefull for you ha ha. I just thought I might give some encouragement/advice as I went from "how can you finish every act ?" To getting ascension 20 with the Silent. I used to think it was the hardest character... until I understood how to play it more efficiently.
Pick a few damaging card (no skills except if too amazing to pass on) if you plan to fight Elites.
Before boss try to have a good balance between attack and defense. For the Silent, look for "attacksx3=bonus relics" like shuriken, kunai, fan, anythibg that gives energy bonus, card draw, poison or discard bonus and work around that while keeping a good balance (with more blocking cards overall when you get farther, pure damage is only useful if interracting with very important relics. Having good card draw can help you quickly get to good powers or cards and block cards.
I thought at first that Silent relic was bad but it can actually prepare some amazing first turns.
If you can get 1-3 backstab, it can make the beginning of battles really easier and this, the rest too. I would sugges to not especially focus on one thing.
For exemple if you get some shiv making decks, don't especially go all in ln that with accuracy... same with poison. Try to roughly remember hardest hurdles in each acts and project your current situation to see if uou could make it as you are.
Maybe you need a shop dor an extra relic or sell a completely useless card, or more bonfire for very important upgrades, or just dig...
Events that steal HP to give special cars can save runs where you lack some block cards or have the right relic (egg for example to upgrade all the cards at once when receiving them).
Anything that makes dexterity is good because you'll be blocking using lots of cards. Finding the "upgrade all steike and defend" event is cool for all the defend upgrades. Strikes are usually better out of the deck replaced by a few better damage card like backstab.
Careful with weird cards that seem to combo well if you don't have ways to control your deck.
For Defect. If you can get damaging cards that also creates orbs, you habe a good beginning. More focus is always really good (bias cognition early in quick battle and midway for boss except if you can counter the bad effect with an artefact. Glacier is amazing. Some card draw is important to have bigger chance to access block or an important attack when needed. "Seek" is very good to quickly get important cards. Hologram can be nice to quickly replay a very good card like Glacier for extra block if in the discard pile.
I feel like I'm forgetting too much but if you play smart it can really be easy to win on basic difficulty. It's really a matter of balance and prepare for the next hard battle(s). And if you get a card that works for a fight soon AND for the endgame, score !
I'm not sure I'm good at advice lol.
Do you how much time it took for previous characters to get "final" after the beta ?
I'm eager to try it on Switch.
I already have 265 hours on the game >~>.
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