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The Neowsletter - September 2026

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 23:35:41 +0000

Alright, this Neowsletter is coming in a little later than usual, but the team is back from our break!

We visited the historied city of Barcelona and ate all the tapas, walked through all the Gaudís, and navigated its winding gothic quarters for silly trinkets.

The team's rested up and has resumed work on tons of secret features, game modes, content, bug fixes, and quality of life improvements.

While we still can't give a specific timeline or details for the next patch, rest assured that the things we've got cooking are BIG and much of it is already being actively tested internally. This Neowsletter may be on the smaller side overall as we get back into our groove, but we do have a new teaser via an iconic returning segment...

Spire Spotting

Intrepid explorers, it has been quite a while since we last enlisted your aid in our research! For those of you who were around more than half a year ago, waiting for the Spire to open its gates to prospective slayers once more, this task will be familiar.

In exciting news, our researchers have discovered another area of the Spire still shrouded in darkness. Before we explore it fully, it would be prudent of us to get a lay of the land first. And it just so happens that we've already detected the silhouette of one of its inhabitants...

Interesting... it appears to be some sort of small, floating, excitable being. Though this isn't the most scientific of descriptors, it seems almost... cute!

It may be a while yet until this strange section of the Spire will fully reveal itself to us, but we can discover at least some of its secrets in the meantime. Help us decipher the true form of this mysterious creature by submitting your artistic hypotheses via fanmail@megacrit.com or in our Discord’s fanart channel by Thursday, October 8th!

Merch Madness

If you're headed out to this year's New York Comic Con from October 8-11, be sure to check out the Mana Wave booth: they've got a limited edition Ironclad variant of the Slay the Spire 1 vinyl OST! They'll only be selling 250 copies so swing by Booth 2778 early if you want one!

Connections Section

It's not a Neowsletter without a good old fashioned Connections puzzle, so here it is!

Map Masterpieces

We've been told for a while that we should rename this section to Mapsterpieces... maybe the people are on to something.

Anyways let's take a look at our players' in-game illustrations! This month's theme seems to be: LARGE.

A stunning illustration of Knowledge Demon by BostonThreapyStaion!

A flooded Underdocks map by Dark!

A chronicle of Silent's journey through the Underdocks by josuk!

Community Corner

Thank you to patience for this month's gorgeous, autumnal cover image!! We gotta say that this month's submissions were incredibly hard to pick from, though, so very special shoutout to these incredible runner ups: Bloopee, Jester, pumpkinhead, 櫻ヨル, Arcturus, mythlas, and lumpyveev!

Why do we have to have so many talented and wonderful fans?? Next month's theme is: Neow-lloween! This one's pretty self-explanatory... time to get spooky in the Spire >:) If you'd like to submit your art for consideration, reminder that it must be submitted to us via fanmail@megacrit.com or in our Discord's fanart channel, have dimensions of 800x450px, feature no text, and leave room for a title! Please make your submission by Thursday, October 8th.

The community made so many cool fanworks while we were away that it was hard to catch up, but here are some highlights!

A beautiful illustration of the Regent with extra drip by Vogelkopf!

A compilation of a series of gorgeous character posters by EDON!

This incredible Nonupeipe cosplay at PAX West 2026 by orachattack!

That's all for this month's issue. Tune in next month for more teasers and reveals of Slay the Spire 2's upcoming content, cool merch collabs, community highlights, and more!

The Neowsletter - August 2026

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 23:52:17 +0000

Hi Slayers, the August Neowsletter is here!

The team has been hard at work on new content but it'll be at least a month until any of it hits the beta branch.

We'll be out of office during late August for our annual team break, so there won't be an August 27 patch. As a mostly remote company, it's good to meet in person to touch some grass, frolic on the beach, and whatever else it is that people do when they aren't playing or making video games.

For now, let's take a look at how far we've come since launch and what we've begun to work on...

Roadmap Revisited

Outside of our ongoing tasks of bug fixes and balance updates, many items on our roadmap have started seeing some movement:

Things that have been added:
- Steam Workshop support
- Initial scaffolding for The Bestiary
- The Badge/Score system
- Traditional Chinese and Indonesian localization
- Lots of new cards, relics, etc.

Things we're actively working on:
- Experimental game modes
- Alternate Act 2
- New character

Our bi-weekly update cadence on the beta branch has allowed us to cross quite a few features and content off of our to-do list. It also allows us to be more dynamic and experimental when introducing changes. However, when doling out content piecemeal like that, it's harder to dedicate time to developing the bigger, more impactful content that so many players are most eager for. As you can see above, we've since shifted our focus to such pieces of content, including an alternate Act 2 and new character! In order to bring you this much-anticipated content, we will be shifting our updates to be a bit further apart, at least for a while. We can't guarantee the exact pace or if said pace will be regular, but we'll continue to keep you updated, as always!

While we're really excited to show off everything we've been working on, we also hate spoilers. So please take this foot for now.

Q&A With C&A

Time for our (roughly bi-monthly) Q&A section! If you'd like your question to be featured here, the best way to send it to us is fanmail@megacrit.com.

Clapah asks: I am loving Slay the Spire 2! I was thinking about the balance of ascension 10, knowing it is a fair bit easier than a20 in spire 1. How difficult are you aiming for a10 to be? Will it be around a20 in spire 1 or closer to how it is now in early access?
Casey: Our general thought has been that Ascension 10 is close to the highest difficulty we'll have for the game. Grinding out Ascension 20 would be quite a chore as there are more characters in the sequel. As more content makes it into the game, there will be a clearer picture on how we want to tackle challenging difficulty though :)

SuperJuan2000 asks: Enchantments have been my favorite addition to this game, they help spruce up cards and make the game feel endlessly fun. Do you have any plans for more enchantments? Additionally, would you guys add in enchant stacking in the future (As an example, the Self Help Book event can grant +2 damage on a card and then picking up Gnarled Hammer grants +3 damage, stacking up to +5 damage since they're the same enchantment.)?
Casey: We like enchantments too! However, we explicitly disallow stacking of enchantments as the probability of snowballing with a single card goes up. We want our players to experience deckbuilding rather than cardbuilding!

Fundays with Fox asks: I have been enjoying the video game Slay the Spire 2 and I have a question about it: suppose that I am playing as the Necrobinder and an enemy is attacking for 5 damage. Would Osty prefer I played Defend or Bodyguard?
Casey: Osty wants to be a good boy and Defend so we should let him.

Silversmith20 asks: can you give us back some of the control options and touchscreen mode from the first game
Casey: We're always adding more input/control stuff but it'll likely be part of the push for mobile ports that will bring in touchscreen.

forge 12 asks: hello megacrit can you give defect a gun resembling real life guns
Anthony: no

Ghost Actual asks: Can we get outfits or recolours for characters now that we have mutliplayer?
Casey: Sounds useful, why not (we're a small team, though, so not sure when we'll be able to prioritize this.)

SamuraiSAX asks: Is there any word on when we can expect Steam Achievements?
Casey: The v1.0 release

The Annual Stopwatch — Cat Food Cup

Did you know that every year, the Chinese StS community holds at least one tournament called the Cat Food Cup, hosted by IrisRaphael? And right now, as this Neowsletter reaches your hands, it's getting ready to raise the curtain on the Top 16 of the main bracket over on bilibili!

This is already the 7th Cat Food Cup, and the core rules of this tournament — passed down all the way from Slay the Spire 1 — have never changed: each player gets two SL (save-load) chances, then two players run the exact same seed, and whoever climbs further and faster up the Spire takes the win. You can find the full schedule from Aug 8th to Aug 30th and detailed competition rules right here! There will be guest appearances from various streamers, so go check out the matches! Also, shoutout to 鸟蛋 for making the event's cool logo!

Map Masterpieces

Now let's see some of the latest in-game drawings you've sent our way!

This enormous, full-body portrait of the Necrobinder by 櫻ヨル!

This adorable, propeller-hatted Silent with a big lollipop by grymm!

A couple of abstract Regents submitted by tr1ke, the one on the right looking eerily like a different (some might even say the original) long-legged, star-shaped character.

Connections Section

Some of you said last month's puzzle wasn't so chill after all, so I can't really gauge the heat-level of this one but I hope you have fun with it! ^-^

Community Corner

Thank you to 林林 for this month's vibrant, festive cover image! Also, shoutout to our very close runner up Aster, a 12-year-old fan who's already an incredible artist:

Next month's theme is: September in the Spire! Maybe that means the Slayers are headed back-to-school, maybe it means they're going apple-picking, or maybe they're just enjoying the changing foliage--but it can be anything that feels representative of September! If you'd like to submit your art for consideration, reminder that it must be submitted to us via fanmail@megacrit.com or in our Discord's fanart channel, have dimensions of 800x450px, feature no text, and leave room for a title! Please make your submission by Thursday, September 10th!

And now for the usual community highlights...

This gorgeous illustration of the Slayers all conspiring together (no pun intended) by Hieumay!

This incredible splash art of the Silent dodging some Phrog Parasite tendrils by **Elliades**!

One of multiple pixelated renditions of Slay the Spire 2 cards by frost-geist!

That's all for this issue; we'll be back refreshed (and maybe a little tanned) next month!

Beta Patch Notes - v0.111.0

Fri, 14 Aug 2026 01:07:02 +0000

Time for another beta patch! Heads up that there won't be a patch on the 27th as our team is taking a break in the last week of August. As we'll explain a bit further in the upcoming August Neowsletter, there may be a longer wait in general for the next patch, as we've shifted our focus to some BIG, much-anticipated pieces of content!

In the meantime, let's look at some of this update's highlights. First off, there are a couple of card reworks and lots of various balance changes as well as UX and performance improvements. Also, we have officially implemented Indonesian localization! In the art and VFX realm, we've added some cool new card art and, excitingly, low HP idle animations for all of the playable characters! Now when you're close to death you'll at least have some fun visual flair to go along with it.

We look forward to hearing all of your feedback! Now on with the rest of the patch notes...

CONTENT & BALANCE:

Ancients:

Nerfed Tezcatara's Brightest Flame card: max HP loss increased from 1 → 2
Nerfed Nonupeipe's Beautiful Bracelet relic: now Enchants 4 random cards instead of allowing you to select the cards to Enchant

Enemies:

Buffed Axebot:
- Hammer Uppercut move damage increased from 12(14) → 14(18)
- Now gains +10 Max HP each time it respawns
- The One-Two damage from 9(10)x2 → 10(11)x2
Buffed Mechaknight: now also deals 8(12) damage on it's Flamethrower turn
Buffed Exoskeleton: HP at A8 increased from 24-28(25-29) → 24-28(26-30)
Buffed Globe Head: Galvanic power at A9 increased from 6(6) → 6(8)
Buffed Louse Progenitor: Strength gain at A9 increased from 5(5) → 5(7)
Buffed Soul Fysh: De-Gas move damage at A9 increased from 16(17) → 16(18)
Buffed Entomancer: HP at A8 increased from 145(155) → 145(165)

Colorless Cards:

Changed Rend card:
- Energy cost decreased from 2 → 1
- Base damage decreased from 15(18) → 10(12)
Changed Salvo and Splash cards: swapped rarities, Splash is now Rare and Salvo is now Uncommon

Ironclad:

Reworked Expect a Fight card: from Uncommon - Skill - Cost 2(1) - "Gain 1 Energy for each Attack in your Hand. You cannot gain additional Energy this turn." → Uncommon - Skill - Cost 3 - "Gain 15(16) Block. Gains 5(8) additional Block for each Strength you have."
Buffed Forgotten Ritual card: no longer requires a card to be Exhausted to gain Energy
Buffed Rampage card:
- Base damage increased from 9 → 10
- Scaling damage from 5(9) → 5(10)

Silent:

Nerfed Blade of Ink card: Inky enchantment no longer gives additional damage (still applies Weak)
Nerfed Mirage card: now Exhausts and loses Exhaust on upgrade instead of cost lowering from 1 → 0

Regent:

Buffed Alignment card: Star cost decreased from 3 → 2
Buffed Spoils of Battle card: Forge increased from 5(8) → 6(9)
Nerfed Refine Blade card: Forge decreased from 9(13) → 8(12)
Changed Guiding Star card:
- Card draw changed from this turn → next turn
- Star cost decreased from 2 → 1
Nerfed Regalite relic: Block gain decreased from 6 → 4

Necrobinder:

Buffed Shroud card: Block gain increased from 2(3) → 3(4)
Buffed Time's Up card: no longer has Exhaust

Defect:

Reworked Hyperbeam card: from "Deal 30(38) damage to ALL enemies. Lose 3 Focus." → "Deal 24(30) damage to ALL enemies. Lose 3 Focus this turn."
Buffed Thunder card: Damage from 6(8) → 8(11)
Nerfed Null card: Weak application decreased from 2(3) → 1(2)
Nerfed Synchronize card: Focus decreased from 2(3) → 1(2)

WRITING:

Added Indonesian localization with English fallback

USER EXPERIENCE & INTERFACE:

Vakuu's Jeweled Mask relic now chooses a non-Innate power unless all powers in the player's deck are Innate
Cards with on-end-turn effects are now played faster when there are many of them
Invite button is shown when the overlay is disabled, and displays an error
Made it so players can confirm card selection via E again
Sped up Epoch unlock VFX if playing in fast mode

ART:

Added portrait art for the cards:
- Hibernate
- One For All
- Cacophony
- Underworld
- Midnight
Added low HP idle animations for all playable characters
Updated Necrobinder's slash VFX
Changed Dexterity Potion back to being green

BUG FIXES:

General:

Saves are no longer copied to the modded save directory if a player declined mod loading, but left their mods installed
Fixed an issue where unmodded saves were not copied for players who had previously declined mod loading
Fixed input being blocked after clearing map drawings while in map drawing mode
Fixed map drawings breaking when lines are cleared while a stroke is in progress
Fixed a crash that could happen in multiplayer when selecting a relic at a treasure room
Fixed a crash that could occasionally happen after closing and then re-opening the single-card inspection screen
Fixed an error when a card finished moving to a pile after combat ended
Fixed an error when a combat would end while cards were still shuffling
Fixed an issue where badges earned at the end of a run could be lost if you left the game over screen early or had already earned every unlock
Fixed focus not returning to cards after rerolling rewards on controller

Enemies:

Fixed Form VFX not flipping when the player flips direction during the Kaiser Crab Combat
Fixed the Lost and Forgotten monster's death particles continuing to play the animation is interrupted in the Bestiary

Defect:

Fixed Defect's power-up animation freezing when interrupted while playing Echo Form card

Multiplayer:

Cacophony card no longer triggers a second time if its first trigger causes another card to be drawn (i.e. via Gremlin Horn relic)
Unreadying in a loaded Daily Run lobby no longer leaves you readied up
Fixed a multiplayer crash that could happen when killing the last enemy in an encounter with The Ball card

PERFORMANCE:

Reduced hitch on Punch Off and The Lantern Key events
Reduced stuttering when text appears for the first time in Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai and Russian
Preloaded only the glyphs the bold and italic faces can render

Beta Patch Notes - v0.110.0

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 03:26:13 +0000

Another beta patch just dropped! This one contains a host of balance changes and reworks. Notably, Mirage and Pillar of Creation have been reverted back to their pre-0.109.0 versions and have also been slightly buffed and nerfed, respectively. We've also implemented a brand new feature in this patch--a keyboard-only control option! So be sure to let us know what you think if you try it out. In terms of art, many cards have new, polished portrait art and, excitingly, characters now have VFX for their unique forms!

CONTENT & BALANCE:

Ancients:

Buffed Neow's Abundance card:
- Now always creates Upgraded powers
- Upgrade changed to lower Energy cost by 1
Reworked Tezcatara's Toasty Mittens relic: "At the start of your turn, Exhaust the top card of your Draw Pile and gain 1 Strength." -> "At the start of your turn, Exhaust 1 card from your Hand and gain 1 Strength."
Buffed Tezcatara's Seal of Gold relic: Gold loss decreased from 5 -> 3
Changed Nonupeipe's Beautiful Bracelet relic:
- Cards enchanted increased from 3 -> 4
- Swift amount decreased from 3 -> 2
Buffed Nonupeipe's Fur Coat relic: marked combats increased from 7 -> 8
Nerfed Nonupeipe's Signet Ring relic: Gold decreased from 999 -> 888
Buffed Pael's Relax card: Block increased from 15(17) → 16(18)
Buffed Tanx's Whistle card: cost decreased from 3 -> 2
Buffed Tanx's Maul card: Maul damage scaling increased from 1(2) -> 2(3)
Reverted Vakuu's Fiddle relic: card draw decreased again from 3 -> 2

Ironclad:

Buffed Mangle card: damage increased from 15(20) -> 20(26)
Buffed Pact's End card: damage increased from 17(23) -> 18(24)

Silent:

Reworked Haze card: Uncommon - Skill - Cost 3 - "Sly. Apply 4(6) Poison to ALL enemies." -> Uncommon - Skill - Cost 2 - "Apply 4(6) Poison and 1(2) Weak to ALL enemies."
Reworked Outbreak card into a Rare Skill: Uncommon - Power - Cost 1 - "Whenever you apply Poison, deal 4(5) damage to ALL enemies." -> Rare - Skill - Cost 3 - "Apply 9(12) Poison to ALL enemies. Poison triggers immediately."
Reworked and renamed Scare card -> Sidestep: Uncommon - Skill - Cost 0 - "Apply 1 Weak to ALL enemies. Exhaust. (Lose Exhaust.)" -> Uncommon - Skill - Cost 0 - "Next turn, gain 1(2) Energy."
Changed Mirage card:
- Reverted back to its previous version (i.e. gains Block based on enemy Poison again)
- No longer Exhausts
Nerfed Well Laid Plans card: cost increased from 1(0) -> 2(1)
Changed Echoing Slash card: rarity decreased from Rare -> Uncommon

Regent:

Reworked Regalite relic: "Whenever you create a card, gain 2 Block." -> "The first time you create a card each turn, gain 6 Block."
Buffed Terraforming card: Vigor increased from 6(8) → 7(10)
Changed Pillar Of Creation card:
- Reverted back to its previous version (i.e. effect is no longer triggered just once per turn)
- Block decreased from 3(4) -> 2(3)
Buffed Crush Under card: damage increased from 7(8) -> 8(9)

Necrobinder:

Changed Eidolon: can no longer be generated mid-combat
Buffed Sacrifice card: Block gain increased from double -> triple Osty's Max HP
Buffed The Scythe card: damage scaling increased from 4(5) -> 5(7)

Defect:

Buffed Biased Cognition card: Focus increased from 4(5) → 5(6)
Buffed Refract card: damage increased from 9(12) -> 10(13)
Nerfed Rocket Punch card: "Whenever you create a Status, reduce this card's cost to 0 Energy until played." -> "Whenever you create a Status, reduce this card's cost by 1 Energy until played."
Buffed Synchronize card:
- Upgrade changed to increase temp focus from 2 -> 3
- No longer Exhausts

USER INTERFACE & EXPERIENCE:

General:

Added support for keyboard-only mode
Added a "Share" button on the map screen which takes a screenshot of the entire map
Added a "Listening For Input" popup when a player is remapping inputs or bindings
Updated padding, font sizes, and color for input remap screen
Updated input glyph positioning on various buttons
Updated change profile button to render a larger input glyph
Updated keyboard-mode glyph asset from placeholder -> style match
Adjusted hotkey icon size and position in top bar
Updated generic selection reticle asset to improve contrast and resolution. It's now rendered very slightly smaller as well.
If a binding is missing, a gray hyphen is now rendered rather than nothing in input settings
Users are now informed if Steam Input is activated or not in a more explicit way
Scrollbar in settings screen is now placed better in non-standard aspect ratios
When using a controller, the game now always tries to initially hover a map node connected to your current one when you have Winged Boots relics
Disabled left/right paging for Stats screen as Achievements screen does not exist yet

Multiplayer:

Made the UI for joining a friend's run nicer looking
Tutor card now un-ends the target's turn if they have ended their turn
Removed "Waiting for Players" screen when dying to Architect

ART:

Added form VFX
Added portrait art for the following cards:
- Constellation
- Blade Symphony
- Concoct
- Tutor
- Imitation Learning
- Soulbound
- Fade
Added beta portrait art for Sidestep card
Added fire to Test Subject burn animation

WRITING:

General:

When the word "potions" shows up in option descriptions or relic descriptions it is now gold and capitalized
Fixed Slow debuff power description not displaying its active multiplier in the hovertip
Fixed typos in Abundance and Blade Symphony cards
Updated Diamond Diadem relic's wording to be clearer about how long its effect lasts
Renamed Full Keyboard -> Keyboard-Only

Localization:

Updated translations for various languages
Fixed translation errors in the following languages:
- French
- Italian
- Russian
- Thai
- Turkish
- Traditional Chinese

BUG FIXES:

General:

Uncommon cards show up slightly more often (as intended)
Players can no longer discern the shuffle order of cards in certain scenarios
The run history is now centered on ultrawide screens
Fixed an issue where an Epoch unlock earned at the end of a run could be lost, permanently blocking Timeline progress (affected saves are repaired on load)
Fixed an issue where leaving the game over screen mid-animation could award an Epoch unlock without spending the score that paid for it
Fixed being able to controller navigate to card grid while inspecting a card in the Compendium
Fixed opening the settings screen when a player would hit "escape" to close the potions popup

Enemies:

Tough Egg can now have 1 more max HP
Decimillipede now correctly displays stats in the Bestiary
Fixed error that occurred when Tough Egg would hatch in the Bestiary

Events:

Fixed typo in Lantern Key event

Potions & Relics:

Bellows relic now properly upgrades the extra card when Pendulum relic triggers on turn 1
Fixed Dowsing missing card preview for Abundance

Ironclad:

Fixed Juggling card so that when your third attack also auto-plays an attack (for example, Uproar card), Juggling now properly copies the original attack instead of the auto-played attack

Multiplayer:

Fixed chosen card getting stuck if another player gives you the Touch of Insanity potion
Feral card now puts The Ball card into your hand instead of another player's
Imitation Learning card no longer softlocks with Replay, now ignores duplicate plays
Tutor card no longer softlocks with Replay
Players can Abandon Run outside of combat again

MODDING:

The "Report Bug" button is no longer shown in error dialogs when any player in a session has mods

Beta Hotfix Patch Notes - v0.109.1

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 18:42:05 +0000

Got a tiny patch today with one important hotfix for players playing in Traditional Chinese!

BUG FIXES:

Synced corrected Traditional Chinese translations to fix broken plural evaluation

The Neowsletter - July 2026

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 19:54:36 +0000

The July Neowsletter is here, Slayers! Last month we bid farewell to the Doormaker, but you know what they say: when one door closes... a giant floating hourglass creature appears! In this issue we're taking a look behind the scenes at the process of bringing the Doormaker's replacement, Aeonglass, to life!

Aeonglass Animated

Mega Crit’s animator Chris here with a quick dive into the animation process for our latest boss: Aeonglass. Most of you know that this critter replaces the Doormaker. What you probably don't know is that, as that character's design evolved away from door-making, we explored other concepts, including a multi-faceted pillar of death that could rotate its sections to reveal different capabilities--sort of a Swiss Army rock. I even did an animation test to see if I could fake the 3D rotation using 2D software.

But alas, all versions of the Doormaker eventually fell prey to the march of time and it became clear that Aeonglass was here to stay.

The art was finalized (see Option B above) and I was clear to animate. But before I got too carried away, I did some tests to make sure I could simulate 3D rotating metal rings in 2D space. The result wasn’t much to look at, but as a proof of concept it worked well enough for us to move ahead.

So how does a giant hourglass thingy with rotating rings cast spells, fight, and generally do stuff? Only one way to find out: doodling. Take the image included here. It shows that one of my first ideas for an attack involved locking the rings in a fixed position resembling a big atom. While I liked the idea of the rings forming a recognizable shape while emitting a blast, I later realized that aligning the rings horizontally like a disk would create a more distinctive silhouette. Not only that, but the curve of the disk suggests a horizontal sweeping motion. With a little bit of VFX, we could launch some sort of slice attack. Our giant hunk of metal and glass was developing an attitude!

Attitude secured, it was time to animate. This part of the process takes a while and I won’t get into the details, but Aeonglass did require a few special techniques. For instance, when our Art Director Marlowe handed me the artwork, she requested that the stuff in the hourglass move more like lava lamp goo than the traditional sand. There are a few ways to approach goo animation, but I opted to use a shader. In fact, I made this goo using the same smoke shader used to make the body of the Living Smog. Since my animation software doesn't support shaders, all I see while I'm working is a striped placeholder image where the goo will be.

When the animation is played back in-engine, the placeholder is replaced by an endless stream of time globs slipping away into eternity.

Another unusual technique was setting up the rings to play on a separate timeline from the rest of the character. This means that the character can go from standing still to getting knocked back to debuffing you with "Wither," all without interrupting the smooth rotation of the rings. Keeping the rotation separate is also easier for me because tweaking it can be done by editing one animation instead of three.

Speaking of time globs, I don't want to use up too many of yours! Let's see what else is going on in this Neowsletter...

Merch Madness

Ho ho! Looks like the Merchant heard about the merchandising ventures of some other Spire inhabitants and had to get in on the action! Thanks to the latest Makeship x Slay the Spire drop, you can buy a plush keychain of the Merchant's faithful Courier, gleaming pins of his wares, and even a plushie of the Merchant and his rug! His real rug might not be for sale... but no one ever said anything about a mini, plush replica of it!

These limited edition products are available only to the speediest of patrons, so pre-order yours before this collection disappears on August 1st at 5AM PST!

You helped bring their concepts to life and now they're finally here--the Youtooz figures of the Necrobinder and Regent are available now! The newest additions to the Spire's roster of climbers have taken smaller, vinyl-based forms in order to grace your shelves and watch over your future runs. The collection is complete... for now.

Lastly, we've got a cool collab to highlight: turns out the Ironclad was enjoying StS2's co-op mode so much he decided to join another multiplayer game?! You can play as a floppier, less-limbed version of everyone's favorite warrior in Heave Ho 2 (which literally just came out)!

Connections Section

The last Slay the Spire Connections was a little tricky... hopefully this one is more chill ;)

Map Masterpieces

Time for our usual showcase of the community's cool in-game map art!

The Defect admiring its array of orbs by DogOnPluto!

The Regent (playing a different type of ball than most of the world is talking about right now) by thugzmcdubbz!

The Ironclad literally carrying the Regent by rattraps!

The Defect asking for his favorite treats by Lumin!

Community Corner

Thank you to pp for this month's super cool cover image (check out Neow's custom shades)! Special shoutout to our runner up valarts who actually 3D-modeled their submission! This one makes me wonder... is the Defect waterproof?

Next month's theme is: Slay the Summer - Festival Edition! You could include water lanterns, food stalls, fireworks, whatever you like--just make it August-y! If you'd like to submit your art for consideration, reminder that it must be submitted to us via fanmail@megacrit.com or in our Discord's fanart channel, have dimensions of 800x450px, feature no text, and leave room for a title! Please make your submission by Friday, August 7th!

On with the rest of the community highlights!

An animated version of the Ironclad's Evil Eye card by Qumerredem!

Awesome cosplay by FishStickMystic of the Silent partaking of her own poison!

A desk setup that SLAYS by Chestnut featuring his very own gorgeous fanart!

That's all for this month's issue, see you in the next one!

Beta Patch Notes - v0.109.0

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 02:55:20 +0000

Another beta patch is here, Slayers! This one brings a host of balance changes, bug fixes, and new Epoch art. We've also begun to translate the game into Traditional Chinese (no timeline just yet on official support for other languages, but we'll let people know when we are looking for additional translators.) Perhaps most notably, two new Neow relics have been introduced, one of which grants a powerful, exclusive potion and the other a brand new quest card (with some cute beta art!)

CONTENT & BALANCE:

Ancients:

Added new Neow relic, Dowsing Rod - "Upon pickup, add 1 Dowsing to your Deck."
- Dowsing - Quest - 0 cost - "After entering 5 more ? rooms, transform this into Abundance."
- Abundance - Ancient - Skill - Cost 1 - "Choose 1 of 3 (Upgraded) Powers to add into your Hand. It is free to play this turn. Exhaust."
Added new Neow relic, Neow's Sacrifice - "Upon pickup, procure 1 Ambergris and add 1 Guilty to your Deck."
- Ambergris potion - "Heal for 50% of your max HP. Take an extra turn after this one."
Reworked Nonupeipe's Diamond Diadem relic: "Whenever you play 2 or fewer cards in a turn, take half damage from enemies." -> "Start combat with 20 Block. Block is not removed at the start of your next turn."
Moved Orobos' Sand Castle relic moved from Pool 1 -> Pool 2 (second option instead of first option)
Changed up Darv blessing pools for more variety (will see Energy relics more often)
Nerfed Tanx's Meat Cleaver relic: HP gain decreased from 9 -> 5
Buffed Tezcatara's Toybox relic: relics gained increased from 4 -> 5
Buffed Vakuu's Fiddle relic: card draw increased from 2 -> 3
Changed Vakuu's Sere Talon and Distinguished Cape relics: swapped downsides

Enemies:

Nerfed Aeonglass: Ebb move damage decreased from 26(32) -> 22(26) to lower its front-loaded damage
Buffed Torchhead Amalgam: now starts with a new Strong Tackle move on turn 1 to increase front-loaded damage from 18(22) -> 26(32)

Events:

Nerfed History Course relic: now only repeats Attacks, does not affect Skills

Ironclad:

Buffed Demon Form card: Strength gain increased from 2(3) -> 3(4)
Buffed Expect a Fight card: no longer says "You cannot gain additional [E] this turn."
Buffed Primal Force card: Giant Rock token damage increased from 16(20) -> 20(24)
Changed Taunt card:
- Block gain decreased from 7(8) -> 6(7)
- Rarity decreased from Uncommon -> Common
Changed Bloodletting card: rarity increased from Common -> Uncommon
Changed Cruelty card: rarity decreased from Rare -> Uncommon
Changed Dominate card: rarity increased from Uncommon -> Rare

Silent:

Reworked Mirage card: Uncommon - Skill - 1(0) - "Gain Block equal to Poison on ALL enemies. Exhaust." -> Uncommon - Skill - 0 - "Next turn, gain 1(2) Energy."
Reworked Well-Laid Plans card:
- Uncommon - Power - Cost 1 - "At the end of your turn, Retain up to 1(2) card(s)." -> Rare - Power - Cost 1(0) - "At the end of your turn, you no longer discard your Hand."
- Now also available in multiplayer, was previously singleplayer-only
Reworked Expertise card: "Draw cards until you have 6(7) in your hand." -> "Draw 2(3) cards. They gain Retain this turn."
Buffed: Outbreak card: damage increased from 3(4) -> 4(5)
Changed Accelerant card: rarity decreased from Rare -> Uncommon

Regent:

Reworked Pillar of Creation card: "Whenever you create a card, gain 3 Block." -> "The first time you create a card each turn, gain 5(7) Block."
Nerfed Collision Course card: damage decreased from 11(15) -> 10(14)

Necrobinder:

Reworked Eidolon card: "Exhaust your Hand. If 9 cards were Exhausted this way, gain 1 Intangible." -> "Play ALL Ethereal cards in your Exhaust Pile. Exhaust."

Defect:

Buffed Hyperbeam card: damage increased from 28(36) -> 30(38)
Buffed Sunder card: damage increased from 24(32) -> 26(34)
Changed Trash to Treasure card: upgrade changed from gains Innate -> lowers cost by 1

Multiplayer:

Added new Regent card, Tutor: Rare - Skill - 1(0) - "Another player chooses a card in their Draw Pile to add into their Hand."
Nerfed Midnight card: damage decreased from 99(120) -> 60(72)
Nerfed The Ball card: scaling decreased from +15(25) -> +10(15)
Nerfed Blade Symphony card:
- Cost increased from 1 -> 2(1)
- Upgrade no longer increases Shiv count

USER EXPERIENCE & INTERFACE:

General:

Seeds are now 12 characters long and internal seed is larger
Removed faint white outline from game cursor

Multiplayer:

You can now play nearly any potion on another player
Map ink circles are now the same for all players

ART:

General:

Added Epoch art for:
- Annihilation
- To Kill
- Futility

Ancients:

Added assets for Dowsing Rod and Neow's Sacrifice relics
Added asset for Ambergris potion
Added beta portrait art for Dowsing and Abundance cards

Enemies:

Swapped Aeonglass double and heavy attack animations and improved the double attack VFX

Multiplayer:

Added portrait art for the following cards:
- The Ball
- Plot
Created "Failed to join" text VFX

WRITING:

Localization:

Added Traditional Chinese (zht) as a selectable language with English fallback
Added Traditional Chinese fonts (Source Han Serif TC, Noto Sans Mono CJK TC)
Updated translations for various languages
Fixed translation errors for French, Italian, Russian, and Thai
Removed stale translations for redesigned Well-Laid Plans, Fuel, Outbreak, Sere Talon, Cacophony

BUG FIXES:

General:

VSync setting in Graphics options now shows the correct On/Off state after restarting
"Power wears off" notification no longer blocks mouse input
Placeholder Orb numbers no longer briefly show up at the start of combat
Correctly snapped scrolling menus at low FPS

Ancients:

Fixed Tanx's Whistle card preview and tooltip snapping to the top-left corner when hovered

Enemies:

Fixed awkward delay when Osty and Kaiser Krab would spawn at start of combat
Fixed Fabricator animations that weren't playing right
Fixed Fat Gremlin sometimes spawning without a bag of money when it should

Silent:

Expose card now properly triggers Hand Drill relic

Necrobinder:

Soulbound card now shuffles souls into Draw Pile instead of putting them on the bottom

Multiplayer:

One for All card no longer previews damage up on X-cost cards
Fixed Unmovable card causing other players to receive double Block from Demonic Shield card when it was not the first Block card played
Imitation Learning card now clones cards before they are played instead of after, allowing enchantments like Swift to apply to the cloning player
Underworld card no longer causes Doom to be applied to players when enemies deal attack damage
Fixed an issue where, if a player played The Ball card while another played had History Course relic, History Course could incorrectly end up playing a copy of The Ball next turn
Fixed divergence that would sometimes occur when ending combat with The Ball card
Hibernate card no longer gives block to dead players
Hibernate card now correctly displays stacks in its power icon
If Huddle Up triggers a choice for another player, the playing player is no longer blocked from playing cards
The Ball now triggers the playing player's relics, not the receiving player's
Fixed card effects breaking when a player dies while their own card is still resolving (e.g. to Thorns)
Fixed divergence that would occur if one player took a long time to enter combat
Player icons are rendered above the ink circle on the map
Resolved issue where, if Epochs were deprecated, that player could no longer join multiplayer games

MODDING:

Merged SavedPropertySerializationCache into ModelIdSerializationCache. SavedProperties are now included in its hash.
Models from non-gameplay-affecting mods are now properly excluded in the hash

Beta Patch Notes - v0.108.0

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 03:26:13 +0000

For all you beta testers who have been chomping at the bit for a new patch to chew on... here it is! Today's beta patch brings a ton of fixes, balance changes, some UX additions, a BIG batch of new multiplayer cards, and new art additions--including some animations for the latest boss, Aeonglass!

We've also got some big updates in the modding realm to call out...

Modding Updates

Thank you to our incredible community of modders (and mod players) for all of your feedback since we released Steam Workshop support! We've got quite a few changes that will be relevant to modders at the bottom of the notes, but first we wanted to specifically call out some major fixes and changes that affect players.

Previously, when launching the game with mods enabled for the first time, it appeared as though your progress was wiped. That is because unmodded saves are saved separately from your modded ones as a protective measure, and we defaulted to having the modded saves start entirely from scratch. Now, your unmodded saves are automatically copied over to the modded saves and a popup appears to explain the process to new mod users. They are still saved separately, though, which means any progress you make when playing with mods enabled will not be reflected after switching to unmodded and vice versa.

Additionally, players have been frequently encountering version conflict errors when doing modded multiplayer runs. We're introducing some fixes which should reduce those instances and more detailed error popups when they do occur. Note that we still recommend having the same exact mods enabled as your teammates, particularly if they actually affect gameplay and are not merely cosmetic.

We plan for these changes to come to the main branch soon, so non-beta-testers can keep an eye out for that! For more info on modding and playing with mods, check the patch notes from Major Update 2. Now it's time for the rest of today's patch notes...

CONTENT & BALANCE:

General:

End-of-turn Orb passives now trigger before Doom
- This means that, if a player would die to self-Doom (ex. from Neurosurge card) but also has an Orb with an end-of-turn passive that would kill the last remaining enemy (ex. Lightning Orb while the enemy is at 3 HP), they will now win the combat instead of losing it after ending their turn

Enemies:

Buffed Torch Head Amalgam: increased damage at Ascension 9
- Weak Tackle damage increased from 14(15) → 14(16)
- Tackle damage increased from 18(19) → 18(22)

Potions & Relics:

Changed Regen Potion: its healing effect now triggers before Doom, preventing the player from dying to self-Doom in certain situations

Ironclad:

Nerfed Colossus card: Block gain increased from 5(8) → 4(7)
Nerfed Crimson Mantle card: Block gain decreased from 8(10) → 7(10)
Buffed Howl From Beyond card: Damage increased from 16(21) → 18(24)
Buffed Setup Strike: Strength gain increased from 2(3) → 3(4)

Silent:

Reworked Outbreak card: "Every 3 times you apply Poison, deal 15 damage to ALL enemies." → "Whenever you apply Poison, deal 3(4) damage to ALL enemies."
Buffed Anticipate card: Dexterity increased from 2(3) → 2(4)
Buffed Flick-Flack card: damage increased from 6(8) → 7(9)
Nerfed Tracking card: "Weak enemies take double damage from Attacks." → "Weak enemies take 50% more damage from Attacks."

Regent:

Buffed Devastate card: damage increased from 30(40) → 35(45)
Buffed Divine Destiny relic: Star gain increased from 6 → 7
Nerfed GUARDS!!! card's Minion Sacrifice token: Block gain decreased from 8(11) → 7(10)
Buffed Resonance card: Star cost decreased from 3 → 2

Necrobinder:

Buffed Haunt card: HP loss increased from 6(8) → 7(9)
Buffed Reave card: damage increased from 9(11) → 10(13)
Buffed Soulstorm card: additional damage increased from 2(3) → 4(6)

Defect:

Nerfed Compact card's Fuel token:
- No longer draws cards
- Upgrade changed from increasing card draw → granting 1 additional energy
Buffed Momentum Strike card: damage from 10(13) → 11(15)
Changed Scrape card: no longer discards cards whose energy costs are temporarily set to 0 by global temporary effects (ex. Pounce card's "The next Skill you play is costs 0 Energy" effect)
Changed Shatter card: now Exhausts

Multiplayer:

Added new multiplayer Ironclad cards:
- Midnight: Rare - Attack - Cost 12 - "Deal 99(120) damage. Costs 1 less for each card Exhausted this combat by ANYONE."
- Blaze: Uncommon Skill - Cost 2 - "Give another player 5(7) Strength."
- Outrage: Uncommon - Attack - Cost 0 - "Deal 9(13) damage. Add a copy of this card into EVERYONE'S Discard Pile."
Buffed and slightly reworked Tank card: "Take double damage from enemies. Allies take half damage from enemies." → "Take 50% additional damage from enemies. Allies take 50% less damage from enemies."
Added new multiplayer Silent cards:
- Blade Symphony: Uncommon - Skill - Cost 1 - "Add 2(3) Shivs to ALL players Hands."
- Concoct: Uncommon - Skill - Cost 0 - "Another player's Attacks apply 3(4) Poison this turn."
- Fade: Uncommon - Skill - Cost 0 - "Retain. Another player gains 6(9) Dexterity this turn."
Changed Flanking card: rarity increased from Uncommon → Rare
Added new multiplayer Regent card:
- Plot: Uncommon - Skill - Cost 1 - "Next turn, ALL players draw 2(3) cards."
- Constellation: Uncommon - Skill - Cost 0 - "Another player draws 1 card, gains [E], and gains 9(12) Block."
Added new multiplayer Necrobinder card:
- Underworld: Uncommon - Skill - Cost 2 - "Whenever other players deal attack damage this turn, apply that much Doom. Exhaust. (Lose Exhaust)"
- Soulbound: Uncommon - Power - Cost 1 - "(Innate.) Choose an ally. Whenever you create a Soul, add a Soul to their Draw Pile."
- Cacophony: Rare - Power - Cost 2 - "Every 33 cards drawn by ALL players, deal 66(99) damage to a random enemy."
Changed Legion of Bone card: no longer Exhausts
Added new multiplayer Defect cards:
- Hibernate: Uncommon - Skill - Cost 2 - "Channel 2(3) Frost. This turn, your Frost grants ALL allies Block."
- One For All: Rare - Power - Cost 1 - "EVERYONE'S 0 energy Attacks deal 3(4) additional damage."
- Imitation Learning: Rare - Skill - Cost 1 - "Choose another player. The next 2(3) times they play a Power, you play a copy of it. Exhaust."
Changed Ignition card: rarity decreased from Rare → Uncommon
Added new multiplayer Colorless card:
- The Ball: Uncommon - Attack - Cost 1 - "Deal 10 damage. Increase this card's damage by 15(25) this combat and give it to a random ally."
Nerfed enemy block scaling in 2-player multiplayer
Nerfed Beacon of Hope card: cost increased from 1 → 2

USER INTERFACE & EXPERIENCE:

General:

Added a Randomize button to the Custom Run screen which randomly selects 2 good modifiers and 1 bad one, and randomizes the selected character
The run timer is now paused while the Pause Menu is open during a single player match
Added a selection reticle for potion holders
Created a stats section in the Bestiary
Added event combat encounters to the Bestiary
Hid moves with duplicate animations for some monsters in the Bestiary
Slightly adjusted selection arrow in Bestiary monster list
Players can now see which rooms were affected by Fur Coat relic in the Run History
Relics skipped in the Merchant?? event are now recorded in the Run History
Room Full of Cheese event now shows the cards that were skipped in the Run History
All controller input deadzones have been set to 0.5, meaning joysticks should feel less sensitive and trigger buttons must be pressed in slightly more before the input is received now

Regent:

Pale Blue Dot power now counts down the number of cards that need to be played before it procs next to its icon

Multiplayer:

Version mismatch error now contains more information

ART:

Added portrait art for Wither status card
Added Aeonglass animations
Updated Gremlin Merc animations
If you kill Gremlin Merc before it steals any of your gold, Fat Gremlin now spawns without holding a bag of gold
Added Epoch art for:
- Ablaze
- Arise
- Darv
- Preon
- Slumber
- Spireborn
- The Architect
- The Pact
Added Orb passive activation VFX
Added card removal VFX
Added new card Exhaust VFX

WRITING:

Big Game Hunter modifier's hovertip now specifies that it makes elites drop rare card rewards instead of just "better rewards"
Helix Drill card's wording has been updated to be clearer that it only counts energy spent on other cards
Clarified that Silken Tress relic applies only to the player who chose it in multiplayer
Updated translations for various languages

BUG FIXES:

General:

Details are now included in the Steam initialization error popup
Saving is now retried when antivirus or cloud sync briefly blocks the save file
Run timer no longer starts a run hidden if you have "always show run timer" toggled on
Fixed crash when returning to the main menu while a card-selection prompt is open
Fixed broken controller navigation to the "mod settings" button in the main menu
Fixed controller navigation breaking if you opened up the deck view while holding a non-targeted card
Fixed combat music sometimes continuing on the map and other non-combat screens
Fixed Epoch paginator arrows becoming unclickable
Fixed softlock when opening the Bestiary in the treasure room from a fresh save/reload
Fixed Run History death quote getting cut off if it was too long
Run History now shows the boss icon for old runs that fought The Doormaker
Fixed stats screen showing that you have discovered more monsters than there exists in game
Fixed the Daily Run leaderboard failing to load for some dates
Fixed many instances of weird RNG behavior (shoutout again to tckmn!)
Fixed being able to controller navigate to Byrdpip

Ancients:

Fixed Elite music playing in Neow room if you died to an Elite your previous run
Tezcatara's Toy Box relic no longer flashes once it is used up

Enemies:

It is no longer possible to get two encounters in a row that contain Slime monsters
It is no longer possible to get two encounters in a row that contain Snapping Jaxfruit monster
If an attack enchanted with Replay kills the last enemy on its first play, the subsequent plays are now skipped
- This fixes an issue where, if a card with Replay is enchanted with Corrupted, the player would lose extra HP even after the first play killed the last enemy
Fixed a visual issue where, if the player uses Thorns to kill a monster that spawns more monsters on death (i.e. Axebot, Phrog Parasite), the dead monster's attack wouldn't visually occur until after the new monsters had spawned
Fixed Cubex Construct's intents overlapping with its body if it takes damage while transitioning to its charging animation
Fixed Inklet's head getting cut off during Doom animation
Fixed Slithering Strangler playing its hurt animation for its Thwack move
Fixed Wrigglers spawning offscreen in 4:3 aspect ratios
Fixed Torch Head Amalgam's laser attack VFX not reaching the player when it was shrunk
Fixed impact SFX playing for Kin Priest Soul Beam move in the Bestiary
Kaiser Crab no longer covers the monster title in the Bestiary
Repeatedly clicking Knowledge Demon's Curse of Knowledge move in the Bestiary no longer causes its animation to stop playing
Added missing Tunneler animations to the Bestiary
Tunneler animations can now be played regardless of Burrowed state in the Bestiary

Potions & Relics:

Fixed an issue where Bone Tea relic could fail to upgrade your hand if you also have Toolbox relic
Fixed an issue where, if a player auto-plays their entire start-of-turn hand draw (via an effect like Hellraiser), Unceasing Top relic may not trigger despite their hand being empty
Fixed Planisphere relic proccing twice in the Battleworn Dummy event
Fixed Pollinous Core relic counting up past 4 if you end combat after your turn but before you draw cards
Lasting Candy no longer procs if the reward set has no card rewards
Unsettling Lamp relic no longer get used up if the target's Artifact blocks the debuff
White Beast Statue relic no longer decreases your normal potion odds when it guarantees getting potion rewards to prevent you never rolling potions again if it gets removed mid-run
Fixed several ways you could obtain duplicate relics on the first run
Fixed Flex Potion description appearing twice on the character when applied
Fixed a softlock that could occur when throwing multiple Foul Potions in quick succession

Events:

Fixed an issue where Vigor was only applying to the first of Mad Science card's 3 hits when it was created with the Violence option
Fixed death quotes for dying to Punch Off and Mysterious Knight encounters

Colorless Cards:

Fixed Entropy card being able to transform curses into Ascender's Bane

Ironclad:

Hellraiser card no longer infinitely plays Shining Strike card when it's enchanted with Swift

Silent:

Nightmare card can no longer be generated during combat

Regent:

Fixed Minion Strike card becoming stuck on screen if played too quickly
Fixed History Course copy of Shining Strike card going back into your Draw Pile
Fixed Supermassive card not scaling from cards generated by Mad Science card

Necrobinder:

Fixed a crash that could happen when an enemy dies to Doom
Transfigure card can no longer be generated during combat
Fixed Enfeebling Touch + Misery combo causing enemies with Artifact to gain Strength next turn
Forbidden Grimoire card's card removal reward will now show up after Battleworn Dummy fight if you are successful

Defect:

Disabled controller navigation to Orbs while in another card selection screen
Fixed the Subroutine power hovertip typo if you have more than 4 Subroutines
Feral card no longer puts History Course copy of Helix Drill card back into your hand
Fixed Gold Plated Cables relic flashing if the Orb's passive is not firing
Gold Plated Cables relic now procs if Emotion Chip relic triggers Orbs at the start of your turn

Multiplayer:

Fixed even more instances of Daily runs diverging based on player net ID
Fixed divergence caused by discarding a potion while moving to a new map point
Fixed bug where you could set yourself ready for the next act two acts in advance
Fixed state divergence caused by taking a reward as you are transitioning to another map point
Fixed divergence caused by host changing the Ascension as the game is starting
Fixed divergence when player has Music Box relic and combat ends while making a choice
Fixed divergence when playing cards very fast while killing yourself
Fixed Ghost Seed relic adding Ethereal to Strikes and Defends generated by other players during combat
If you open a screen during a treasure room relic fight, the hands now behave correctly
Fixed mouse remaining hidden forever if the game ended while in potion targeting
Event RNG seeds are now consistent across all multiplayer Daily Runs
Jungle Maze Adventure event no longer appears if a player doesn't have enough HP for the solo option

PERFORMANCE:

Compressed various combat background assets

MODDING:

Unmodded saves are now copied to the modded save directory if you are launching modded for the first time
Added controller support for Modding menu
Fixed Steam mods causing ReflectionHelper.ModTypes to return nothing
SavedProperty IDs from mods are now properly sorted for multiplayer
Content from mods with affectsGameplay set to false are now sorted to end of ID maps
Mods can now register multiple assemblies
SerializableSave.NumReloads is now consistent across peers
Steam mod now takes precedence over local if the version is greater
Batched the Steam Workshop call for checking branch support, meaning mods should load faster
Began publishing STS2.dll XML documentation
Fixed issues in multiplayer where players with the same mods would get "version mismatch" (thanks to OLC of RitsuLib for helping out with this!)
- Build the serialization cache from ModelDb instead of via reflection
- Sort content by ModelId instead of typename
- Use more tiebreakers when sorting
- Sort epoch IDs in
  ModelIdSerializationCache
- Exclude non-gameplay-affecting models from the
  ModelIdSerializationCache
  hash
The correct mod lists are now logged in the non-gameplay mod mismatch warning

The Neowsletter - June 2026

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 01:11:49 +0000

Hey Slayers, it's time for the June Neowsletter! In this issue we're covering a couple of big roadmap items we've checked off our list as of yesterday's main branch patch and answering some of your recent questions. Let's dive in...

Dev Update

The first feature we want to highlight is the Bestiary.

The Bestiary is a new section that organizes info related to enemies you've encountered throughout your journeys in the Spire. For faithful readers of the Neowsletter pre-launch, you could even see it as an evolution of our Spire Spotting segment (though these discoveries are achieved through regular gameplay rather than your artistic hypotheses, of course.)

You can find the Bestiary right here in the Compendium, featuring enemies' moves and animations, for now. Other things like stats, flavor text, and various QOL changes will be added in the future.

Those of you who have been playing on the beta branch have already seen the Bestiary, but this next change is new for all players...

Ed here, one of the engineers at Mega Crit, here to talk a bit about StS2's Steam Workshop support.

As we mentioned in the most recent patch notes, we built STS2 with modding in mind, and the game has had an integrated mod loader from day 1. However, Steam Workshop support--which makes it much easier to share, discover, and download mods--has been sitting in our roadmap for a few months now. We know you've been waiting a while for it, but it's been awesome seeing the outpouring of creativity from the community in the meantime all the same!

We purposefully haven't been advertising mod support, as we knew it still needed some work. The only way to install mods up until now was to download them from somewhere and place them in your mods directory.

However, as of the last patch, we've deemed mod support mature enough to enable the Workshop! This is now the official way to browse and install mods, right in the Steam client. We can't wait to see what else you all create going forward!

If you're already a modder, upload your mods using the tool here.

If you're interested in getting started with modding, see the community documentation.

And if you're interested in playing some mods, check out the Steam Workshop!

If you have feedback on the modding framework, post in the #sts2-modding channel in the Discord, or submit it via F2/the settings in-game.

Q&A with C&A

Coop asks: Hello! I know Casey and/or Anthony are fans of the Worm web serial, and have several references to it across both games (love Doormaker as a reference) and I was thinking about how I'm surprised that there are no references in the bug-themed area (act 2 Hive), then realized that there is one boss Kaiser Crab. Is this an intentional reference or just a coincidence?
Casey: Doormaker isn't a Worm reference, I was playing too much Deadlock. Kaiser Crab is named this way because I'm tired of things being emperor X and king Y. We have all these wacky words for kings, sultans, etc and it's always the bland western one. The world feels small when we use the most accessible titles.

Jar of Gibbons asks: Heyo, so I think the Ancients are a fantastic addition and tons of fun. Shout-out to community manager Demi Montes who nobody has realized is credited as the one who voices one of my favorite Ancients aesthetically and mechanically, Nonupeipe! Main question: How do you guys pronounce it? And if you each have your own opinions, how does Demi? I say "no-nu-PEY-uh-pee" /noʊ.nuˈpɛɪ.ə.pi/, like Calliope from Greek mythology, because she emanates divine splendor and mythology… but what about you guys?
Casey: I tend to say it as four syllables: no nu pay peh or sometimes in the original: no no peh peh. As her name is an easter egg reference to the NOPE placeholder icon we use for content. When two of these icons line up next to each other (for instance, the relics in the top bar), it reads NONOPEPE.
Demi: *Nonupeipe noises*

Combak asks: In multiplayer lobbies with the same character, it can be a bit difficult to remember who drew what, so will there ever be an option for players to choose their own colors for map drawing, regardless of character, or have copies of the same character use darker/lighter shades from each other?
Casey: Not sure for drawing, but we are messing with a bit of color change stuff for multiplayer.

Josie Jams asks: Is the ceremonial beast a valheim reference?
Casey: Nope, the original was based on the Forest Spirit from Princess Mononoke. The initial concept drawing was a bit solemn and grotesque. Marlowe updated the creature to be more regal and spirity! But I can see a resemblance, I'm a big fan of Valheim actually! I believe it was the first boss design for Slay the Spire 2 (designed in 2021).

Merch Madness

The first Slay the Spire 2 drop from Artovision is here! Showcase your love for StS2 right on your wall with this gorgeous shadowbox of the game's key art (which lends itself really well to the 3D effect!) Order yours now here!

Map Masterpieces

And now it's time to check out what new creations players have been making while waiting for their teammates to hurry up and pick a route already...

This illustration of the Regent and the Merchant by ちゃと!

This illustration of the Defect by Zaply!

And another drawing of the Defect with a slightly different vibe by Shmangos!

Connections Section

If the heat out there is getting to you, cool off with some good old fashioned Slay the Spire 2 Connections!

Community Corner

Thank you to moon raccoon for this month's lovely cover art! Next month's theme is: Slay the Summer 2! Whether it's Neow enjoying a day at the beach (unlike most whales), the Spire's climbers taking a dip, or whatever beach episode activities you can think of, we'd love to see your submissions! If you'd like to submit your art for consideration, reminder that it must be submitted to us via fanmail@megacrit.com or in our Discord's fanart channel, have dimensions of 800x450px, feature no text, and leave room for a title! Please make your submission by Friday, July 10th!

Now for some monthly highlights:

This very cool art of the Test Subject from an 11 y/o fan, Elias!

This incredibly accurate Regent cosplay by Radio!

This lovely art of all of the Spire's (current) climbers by Timo!

Thus concludes the June Neowsletter; see you all again next month!

Major Update #2 - v0.107.1

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:39:31 +0000

Hey Slayers, our second major main branch update is here with 4 patches in 1 (not including hotfixes)! While we'll be covering a lot of things that beta players will already be used to, there are also a few big changes that will be totally new for everyone. One of those has been highly requested by the community in the past few days and another has been very highly requested by the community in the past few months, so let's get into it!

RNG Rework

Ed here, one of the Mega Crit engineers. It turns out that everyone complaining about receiving Debt too often from Neow's Bones was right! We did, in fact, have some unusual RNG problems.

Huge shoutout to tckmn for doing the research - their eight-hour descent into madness was an entertaining watch, and we wouldn't have caught the issue without it. If you're interested in the nitty-gritty, read tckmn's full writeup. Here is a short version.

Most games, including STS2, use pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs). A PRNG is fed a seed value, and given the same seed value, a PRNG will always generate the same sequence of random numbers.

Each run has one primary “run seed”, a sequence of twelve numbers and letters. However, a run actually contains multiple PRNGs that individually influence your deck draw, your combat rewards, your event choices, and the rest of the random elements in the run. Each one uses a seed derived from the run seed.

Since we fed different seeds to each PRNG, we expected their results to be completely unrelated. But we were wrong, and it turns out that our strategy allowed players to predict outcomes given knowledge of unrelated parts of the game.

Let’s visualize one example: the correlation between your first act and the curse you receive from Neow’s Bones. In both cases, we generate a decimal between 0 and 1, but from different PRNGs.

- For your first act, if the decimal generated is less than 0.5, you get Overgrowth; otherwise, you get Underdocks.
- For Neow's Bones’ curse, we use the decimal to pick from a list of ten curses. Between 0 and 0.1 you get Clumsy, between 0.1 and 0.2 you get Debt, and so on.

Here is a scatterplot of the raw numbers generated given 10000 random run seeds on v0.103.3:

There is clear correlation in this result. For example, if our act roll is >0.5 (we’re in the Underdocks), then it’s highly likely that our Neow’s Bones curse roll will be <0.5, which cuts the potential curses you can obtain in half.

Aside from the balance ramifications: once knowledge of this exploit is out there, players are naturally incentivized to use it to play optimally. We don’t want to encourage rote memorization of correlation tables, as it is tedious and unfun.

Thus, in v0.107.1, we replaced our PRNG implementation with a more modern one (xoshiro256**). The resulting scatterplot is evenly distributed, exhibiting no human-detectable correlation.

Rest assured that your suffering is now truly random!

Speaking of updates that will be new to all players, I’ve also been busy working on support for…

Steam Workshop

We built STS2 with modding in mind, and the game has had an integrated mod loader from day one. It's been awesome seeing the outpouring of creativity from the community! But we purposefully haven't been advertising mod support, as we knew it still needed some work.

Previously, the only supported way to install mods was to download them and place them next to the executable. With this patch, Steam Workshop support has officially been added! Now, you can browse and install mods directly from the workshop, and they will be automatically downloaded to all devices where you play on Steam.

If you are a mod creator, upload your mods using the tool here.

And if you're interested in playing some mods, check out the new workshop.

That’s all the updates from Ed! Passing it off to Casey to introduce…

The Bestiary

Casey here! This patch brings in the Bestiary, which Beta testers will already be familiar with. 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. However, in the world of Slay the Spire 2, we have a lot more on the narrative side, more creature animations, etc. so we've been hard at work creating this final screen in the compendium (outside of the Achievements page, which is to come much later).

Currently, players can find a list of monsters they've encountered here as well as their moves and animations. In the future we plan to include all sorts of information about the game's enemies, including stats and lore.

Enemy Changes

As many of you have heard by now, The Doormaker has been removed from the game. As we said in the patch notes of the beta patch that brought this change: while Doormaker had interesting micro decisions in the fight, he was over the complexity threshold of what we want and had lingering issues. We decided that starting over fresh will let us hit what we actually want for an Act 3 boss.

Thus a new boss, Aeonglass, is here! We don't want to spoil it too much for non-beta testers, so that's all we're gonna say.

Another big change you'll notice is Hive's Infested Prism enemy has been totally reworked--but again, no spoilers here.

Alright, now it's time to get into the nitty gritty notes!

CONTENT & BALANCE:

General:

The Bestiary is now available in the Compendium
Added three more Badges:
- Damage Leader - Dealt the most damage to enemies in multiplayer
- Debuffer - Applied the most Debuffs in multiplayer
- C-c-c-Combo - Played 20 cards in a single turn
Terminal run modifier can no longer bring a player below 1 HP

Ancients:

Added new Neow relics:
- Kaleidoscope - "Upon pickup, gain 2 card rewards with cards from other characters."
- Fishing Rod - "Every 3 normal combats, Upgrade a random card in your Deck."
- Silken Tress - "Enchant all cards in the first card reward with Glam. Upon pickup, lose all gold."
Reworked Tezcatara's Pumpkin Candle relic: now extinguishes after 5 combats and can be Kindled at rest sites (was: extinguishes at the start of Act 3)
Buffed Neow's Scroll Boxes relic: no longer makes player lose all gold
Buffed Neow's Booming Conch relic: in addition to drawing extra cards, now gains 1 Energy at the start of Elite combats
Buffed Neow's Fury card: now lets you choose which 2 cards (or fewer) to return from your Discard Pile instead of selecting randomly
Buffed Tezcatara's Nutritious Soup relic: in addition to making your Strikes cost 0 and giving them Eternal, now makes all your Strikes deal 3 additional damage
Moved Tezcatara's Seal of Gold relic to option 3 so it shares a pool with Pumpkin Candle
Changed Pael's Eye relic: if an enemy has Vulnerable and you take an extra turn, the enemy's Vulnerable no longer decrements before your extra turn (also applies to Frail, Intangible, Weak, and other powers that decrement at the end of the enemy's turn)

Enemies:

Replaced the Act 3 boss Doormaker with a brand-new boss, Aeonglass (its moveset and Wither / Withering Presence mechanics were refined throughout the beta)
Reworked Infested Prism
Reworked the Axebots fight into a single, more challenging Axebot
Changed Skulking Colony:
- HP increased from 70(75) -> 75(80)
- Hardened Shell increased from 15 -> 20
- Smash move removed; now uses Zoom on turns 1 and 2
- No longer gains Block
- Now gains +1 Strength on its Strength-gain turn at high Ascension
Changed Haunted Ship: now applies 3 Weak on Turn 1 instead of when it attacks; Ramming Speed move removed, now alternates between Swipe and Stomp (always starting with Swipe after Haunt)
Changed Punch Construct: Fast Punch now leads into Strong Punch (instead of the reverse), Ready now leads into Fast Punch, and it applies Frail instead of Weak
Adjusted enemy HP at the extremes of the Ascension curve (slightly lower at low Ascension, slightly higher at high Ascension):
- Scrolls of Biting: 31(32)-38(39) -> 30(33)-37(39)
- Owl Magistrate: 234(243) -> 231(247)
- Slimed Berserker: 266(276) -> 261(281)
Buffed Soul Fysh: Scream move damage increased from 11(12) -> 13(15)
Nerfed Ruby Raider Assassin: damage decreased from 11(12) -> 10(11)
Nerfed Vantom at lower Ascensions
Nerfed Waterfall Giant: HP healed at lower Ascension decreased from 15 -> 10(15)

Events:

Changed Slippery Bridge event: no longer offers to remove the same card multiple times unless it has already offered every other card in your deck at least once
Something special now happens if you have multiple Lantern Key cards (does not apply to multiplayer)

Potions & Relics:

Buffed The Boot relic: damage increase now also applies to Osty's attacks

Colorless:

Buffed Gold Axe card: in multiplayer, now deals damage equal to the number of cards played by ALL players, not just its owner
Nerfed Fasten card: additional Block decreased from 5(7) -> 4(6)

Ironclad:

Reworked Conflagration card: now deals 2 damage to ALL enemies 4(5) times (was: 8(9) AOE damage plus 2(3) per other Attack played this turn)
Reworked Drum of Battle card: now a 1-cost Uncommon Skill that draws 2 cards and grants 2(3) Energy when Exhausted (the Energy gain respects Replay and card-duplication effects like Duplicator potion)
Buffed Howl From Beyond card: trigger moved from start of turn -> end of turn
Buffed Entrench card: can now gain extra Block from enchantments like Nimble
Buffed Unrelenting card: damage increased from 12(18) -> 14(20)

Silent:

Reworked and renamed Follow Through card -> Scare (rarity increased from Common -> Uncommon)
Changed Nightmare card: if you select a card with an Affliction on it, that Affliction is now removed from the copies added to your hand the following turn
Changed Predator card: rarity decreased from Uncommon -> Common
Buffed Untouchable card: upgraded Block gain increased from +2 -> +3
Buffed Pounce card: damage increased from 12(18) -> 14(20)
Nerfed Blade of Ink card: Inky enchantment damage decreased from +2 -> +1

Regent:

Reworked Parry card: instead of granting Block when you play Sovereign Blade, Sovereign Blade now gains 10(14) Block directly, so the Block shows on the Blade and is affected by powers like Dexterity and Frail
Slightly reworked Sword Sage card: Sovereign Blade now gains Replay 1 (was: hits an additional time), which gives it synergy with Parry
Changed Astral Pulse card: changed damage from 14(18) -> 6(8)x2
Changed Tyranny card: now triggers before Bombardment card (so if Tyranny Exhausts Bombardment, Bombardment is played immediately after)
Changed Sealed Throne card: upgrade changed from Innate -> lowering Energy cost by 1
Buffed Crescent Spear card: base damage increased from 6 -> 8
Buffed Royalties card: Gold gain increased from 30(35) -> 30(40)
Buffed Furnace card: Forge increased from 4(6) -> 5(7)
Buffed Monarch's Gaze card: Energy cost decreased from 3(2) -> 2(1)
Nerfed Reflect card: Block gain decreased from 17(21) -> 15(20)
Nerfed Bulwark card: Block decreased from 13(16) -> 12(15)
Nerfed Patter card: Block gain decreased from 9(11) -> 8(10)
Nerfed Minion Sacrifice card: Block decreased from 9(12) -> 8(11)

Necrobinder:

Buffed Death March card: additional damage increased from 3(4) -> 4(6)
Buffed Sic 'Em card: Summon increased from 2(3) -> 3(4)
Buffed The Scythe card: damage increased from 3(4) -> 4(5)
Nerfed Debilitate card: debuff decreased from 3(4) turns -> 2(3) turns

Defect:

Changed Fusion card: Energy cost decreased from 2(1) -> 1; now Exhausts, and loses Exhaust on upgrade
Changed Shatter card: now Evokes all of your Orbs twice; damage decreased from 11(15) -> 7(11)
Changed Tesla Coil+ card: damage decreased from 6 -> 4, but Lightning triggers increased from once -> twice
Buffed Hyperbeam card: damage increased from 26(34) -> 28(36)
Buffed Synthesis card: damage increased from 12(18) -> 14(20)
Buffed Uproar card: damage increased from 5(7) -> 6(8)
Buffed Infused Core relic: now also grants "Lightning Orbs deal 1 additional damage"

Multiplayer:

Nerfed multiplayer scaling for enemy Artifact, Slippery, and Skittish powers
Stratagem card is no longer banned from the colorless card pool in multiplayer (the original ban was due to a now-fixed bug)
Buffed Tag Team card: Replay effect now triggers on "deal damage to ALL enemies" attacks too
Changed Fossil Stalker: in multiplayer, now gains a set amount of Strength if it hits any player instead of gaining Strength for each player hit

QUALITY OF LIFE:

During the Gremlin Merc fight, if Gremlin Merc didn't steal any gold but Fat Gremlin escaped, you now receive 50% of the normal gold reward instead of 0%

USER INTERFACE & EXPERIENCE:

General:

Added an Ascension first-time tutorial popup for single player and multiplayer
If errors occur on run start, a popup is now displayed instead of a black screen
An error is now displayed when Steam crashes
The feedback tool now displays an error if your feedback was not received, and added a translation-issue option to the in-game feedback form
Implemented preferred Ascension for the random character option
Loading a current_run.save with a modded character back into an unmodded game now shows an error instead of a black screen
The player's hand now animates out of the way during the enemy turn
Limited the number of cards rendered during the rest site Clone animation to 15
Updated Ancient card text backgrounds to fit more text and be slightly darker and embossed

Leaderboards:

Added a global rank paginator and adjusted arrow positions
You can now see other players' scores near your own
Moved the game over screen leaderboards higher to make room for the toggle

Controller:

Added controller navigation for Badges in the game over and run history screens, the player info icons in run history, and the modifier icons on the top bar
Improved controller navigation in the Fake Merchant shop
Pause menu button navigation now wraps

Ancients:

Pael's Flesh relic now visually increases the max energy shown in your Energy counter
When Vakuu tells you how many times you've visited, the number is now accurate
Hovering over a stale dialogue at Ancients now makes all dialogues opaque

Enemies:

Skulking Colony's health bar now changes color to indicate it cannot take more damage this turn
Improved Byrdonis's hovertips (Territorial now names Byrdonis, and hovering Byrdonis shows the Strength hovertip)

Necrobinder:

Sacrifice card now previews how much Block it will gain

Multiplayer:

Added a more informative error popup for the Steam BadCert multiplayer error

ART:

General:

Added Epoch art for:
- Friendship
- Booting Up
- Soup
- Poisoner
- Scribbles
- The Calm
- Devastation
- The 12
- The Giant
Updated Epoch art for:
- Hello Hello!
- Friendship

Characters:

Added portrait art for the following cards:
- Feral
- Not Yet
- Spite
- Fight Through
- Hailstorm
- Synchronize
- Iteration
- Voltaic
- Apparition
- Abrasive
Added new character animations:
- Ironclad heavy attack
- Necrobinder cast
- Regent Sovereign Blade
- Defect power up

Ancients:

Added Vakuu background art and VFX
Revised Neow's Fury artwork (now centered)

Enemies:

Added new power art for Smoggy
Updated enemy art for:
- Tunneler
- Entomancer
- Mawler
Added a multi-hit animation for Corpse Slug
Added an unstun animation for Rock Bowlbug
Added Skulking Colony animations
Added new Soul Nexus VFX
Tweaked the Vantom explosion to look right on a shrunken Vantom
Repositioned Sludge Spinner's death landing spot
Updated enemy animations for:
- Vantom
- Ceremonial Beast
- Entomancer
Added phobia mode alternate art for:
- Fossil Stalker
- Haunted Ship
- Skulking Colony
- The Obscura
- Twig Slime M

Events:

Added phobia mode alternate art for Zen Weaver event

AUDIO:

Added background music for Soul Fysh and Kaiser Crab
Added SFX for:
- Kaiser Crab enemy
- Skulking Colony enemy
- Hyperbeam move
- Cards traveling to a pile

WRITING:

Brilliant Scarf relic description now specifies it only counts cards played "from your hand" (so it's clear it doesn't count auto-played cards)
Reaper Form card wording now makes clear the Doom is applied by Reaper Form's power rather than the played card
Fixed inconsistencies in Jeweled Mask relic's wording
Exterminate card wording is now consistent with Conflagration card
The word "Power" is no longer keyworded in Lost Wisp relic's description
Reworded the Axebot death message to reflect that there is only one of them now
Added more translated text and fixed translation errors across many languages

BUG FIXES:

General:

Fixed save files being lost or corrupted after a PC crash, blue screen, or power outage
Made save operations fault-tolerant to prevent softlocks, and improved reliability of settings saves on startup
Stopped cloud-syncing settings.save and fixed Steam Cloud sync errors and duplicate run history files when syncing many files
Fixed black screen softlock when Steam disconnected during room transitions
Fixed several crashes: applying powers to dying creatures, closing the game during startup, upgrading a card at a rest site, entering rooms, and opening the card pile screen while targeting an enemy with a controller
Fixed a Linux crash during combat when UI elements are removed mid-frame, a Linux crash when ICU libraries are unavailable, and audio staying muted after pressing volume keys or alt-tabbing on Linux
Restored the default rendering backend to D3D12 for Intel 620 GPUs
Effects that make the next card free (Unrelenting, Void Form, etc.) now correctly take precedence over effects that increase all card costs (Entangled, Spiked Gauntlets, Borrowed Time, etc.)
Replayed cards now show the appropriate damage if powers wore off between replays
Fixed cards in hand getting stuck if you try to play them while they are being transformed
The Night Terrors modifier can no longer kill you, and the Sealed Deck modifier is now affected by the multi-character card modifiers
The Perfect badge is no longer awarded if you abandon a run at a boss
Fixed several softlocks: returning to the main menu and resuming a run, playing Compact with status cards in hand, the tutorial shuffle popup, and run histories from older versions
Fixed score being wrong at Ascension 10, wrong floor count when submitting a Daily score, and score separator lines showing while fetching or after a failure
Fixed the potion hovertip not appearing when pressing "b" in the potion popup, and num keys for card selection not working when the mouse is too low on screen
Fixed input settings errors for new keybindings added after saving
Fixed a rare problem where the feedback screen was stuck open on launch
Controller input is now ignored while the game window is unfocused
The game no longer rapidly switches between "Controller Detected" and "Mouse Detected" with a controller connected
Fixed broken controller navigation: off the top bar in the shop, through rest site options with two rows of relics, in the shop after buying out relics and colorless cards, and from relics to the reward screen after clearing the top reward
Fixed being able to start a single player run via controller while the Ascension tutorial was open
A loaded save with a deprecated boss can no longer roll the same double boss
Fixed an issue with the Game Over screen after discovering multiple enemies while playing in Polish
Fixed hovertips in the top bar sometimes displaying in the wrong language after switching languages and continuing a run
Fixed being able to target dead enemies with a controller
Fixed the odds of a follow-up potion reward sometimes going up instead of down after an Elite potion reward
Fixed being able to open card inspection and toggle View Upgrades with the same button press
Taking a card removal reward as your last reward no longer keeps the background faded out

Ancients:

Fixed a crash when selecting Ancient relic options
Players can no longer roll Tezcatara's Nutritious Soup blessing with no Strikes in their deck
Fixed Vakuu's Whispering Earring relic not correctly playing Stardust card, auto-playing cards into the next turn after Void Form, and not letting Unceasing Top relic trigger when it plays your last card
Fixed Neow's Kaleidoscope relic using up all of Silver Crucible's charges
Fixed Neow's Silken Tress relic in multiplayer only affecting card rewards for the host
Fixed Nonupeipe's Diamond Diadem relic resetting its count after Hellraiser plays cards at the start of the turn
Leafy Poultice relic no longer transforms the upgraded Strikes/Defends from Neow's Talisman when both come from Neow's Bones
Fixed visual and navigation issues at Ancients: the next dialogue bubble peeking in early, navigating back to Neow's blessings from the Card Library, the card inspection button blocking the accept hotkey on Pandora's Box, and Wish card immediately selecting a grid card on the same controller press

Enemies:

Fixed cards that should be Ethereal sometimes becoming non-Ethereal after killing Spectral Knight
Fixed creature and boss VFX occasionally failing to appear
Fixed Flyconid spore effect lingering when its attack is interrupted
Fixed Kaiser Crab appearing if you load into an already completed boss room, and its Rocket Claw charge-up SFX looping forever
Fixed a softlock when setting up an infinite against Skulking Colony, and Skulking Colony's per-turn damage cap now resets at the start of both turns (so Poison no longer counts toward it on your next turn)
Fixed a softlock after defeating Infested Prism
Fixed Thieving Hopper softlock when you have no cards for him to steal
Recentered Axebot so it reads as a single enemy
Fixed Ceremonial Beast background music transition not lining up with its stun
Fixed Living Fog missing its smoke, and corrected its encounter name in the death quote
Fixed Test Subject starting phase 2 with extra Strength when killed by Sleight of Flesh via Enfeebling Touch
Fixed VFX glitch when Snapping Jaxfruit dies to the Reflect power
Inklet and Vantom's Slippery power no longer loses a stack when fully blocking a hit
Zapbot's High Voltage hovertip now correctly says it gains Strength at the end of its turn
Fixed Parafright illusion keeping its negative Strength from Dark Shackles when killed for the turn
Fixed Waterfall Giant not respawning and its steam spouts misbehaving after its death animation
Hid Lagavulin Matriarch's sleep particles when awake
Fixed several Test Subject issues

Events:

Fixed being unable to give the Foul Potion to the Fake Merchant
Fixed cards from other classes appearing in the Infested Automaton event
Fixed being unable to discard potions in the Punch Off event
Fixed a softlock if you somehow die in the Battleworn Dummy event fight, and no longer get its rewards after saving and quitting
All Spoils Map cards are now removed if you complete the quest with multiple copies, and you get 600 gold per copy of the quest card
Fixed Crystal Sphere event giving potion rewards of the wrong rarity
Fixed Perfect Fit enchantment not working if you play Reboot while the enchanted card is in your hand or draw pile
Gnarled Hammer relic can no longer be traded at the Relic Trader event
War Historian Repy event now removes all duplicate Lantern Key cards if you have more than two

Potions & Relics:

Fixed Mummified Hand relic sometimes selecting cards that already cost 0
Fixed The Boot relic amplifying Bad Luck curse's damage from 1 to 5 while you have Intangible, and dealing the correct 5 damage when you deal Skulking Colony 1-4 damage
Self-Forming Clay relic is no longer triggered by the Terminal modifier's max HP loss
Bookmark relic now applies its cost reduction to a card retained by a "Retain your Hand" effect like Equilibrium
Snecko Skull relic now always triggers before Unsettling Lamp relic
Fixed Beetle Juice potion making Vantom's tail appear cut off
Players can no longer throw the Foul Potion while the Merchant inventory is open, and using it on the Merchant no longer freezes the game on controller
Fixed visual errors with the outline of some potion assets
Fixed broken controller navigation from relics to card rewards after rerolling via Driftwood, and completing Orrery's card selection in the shop no longer also clicks a shop item on controller
Fixed Pantograph relic letting Red Skull's Strength increase persist after healing you above 50% health, until an attack was played

Colorless:

Fixed VFX sometimes failing to appear during the Rolling Boulder power effect
Fixed a softlock when playing Anointed card with a Draw Pile larger than your hand can hold
Fixed being able to highlight creatures while the Purity card selection screen is open

Ironclad:

Howl From Beyond card now plays from the Exhaust pile after you've drawn your hand instead of before
Fixed Anger card played by Havoc also Exhausting on play
Fixed being able to select an upgraded card with Armaments card if it was added to your hand by Largesse+ card
Not Yet card can no longer be generated via a Skill Potion
To avoid infinite-loop softlocks, Hellraiser power now plays only 9 cards per turn when all enemies have infinite HP, and properly plays "Strike" cards against infinite-HP enemies

Silent:

Fixed being able to skip the Survivor card discard selection via the peek button
Fixed Fan of Knives card VFX not playing
You can no longer play cards before Tools of the Trade power triggers

Regent:

Bombardment card now plays from the Exhaust pile after you've drawn your hand instead of before
I Am Invincible card now triggers before you've discarded your hand instead of after
Regalite relic no longer gains Block from enemies applying statuses
Summon Forth card now puts existing Sovereign Blades into your hand before Forging instead of after
Fixed not being able to select cards with a controller when you choose your whole hand via GUARDS!!!

Necrobinder:

Fixed a crash when Osty dies during a scene transition
Fixed Reave card always bottom-decking the Soul card it creates
Fixed Fetch card not glowing gold when drawn by Gambling Chip relic
Fixed Enfeebling Touch power causing Ceremonial Beast to gain Strength after you stun it
Funerary Mask relic now shuffles Souls into the Draw Pile before your hand is drawn

Defect:

Fixed Beckon still damaging the player if combat is ended by Lightning orbs
Fixed a spacing issue in the Consuming Shadow power hovertip
Scrape no longer discards cards that cost zero Energy but have a Star cost

Multiplayer:

Fixed a crash when using potions in multiplayer due to state divergence
Fixed state divergences related to event combats, the Crystal Sphere event, long event option resolution, Mad Science/Juggling cards with mixed combat speeds, and Stampede + Headbutt cards
Fixed player names with brackets (e.g. clan tags) causing errors
Fixed Pael's Legion and Vambrace relics not proccing when the owner applies Block to other players
Fixed occasional black screen when loading into a saved multiplayer combat
Fixed incorrect cards being shown when obtaining cards at certain events, and Orrery relic reporting the wrong cards to other players
Potions are now canceled if targeted on a creature killed by another player
Corrected Test Subject HP scaling in multiplayer
Dense Vegetation can no longer appear if any player has less than 8 HP
Fixed a softlock using Driftwood relic on your first run, and a rare softlock loading into a treasure room when a teammate uses a controller
Strangle power no longer procs off other players' card plays
Relics with turn-specific triggers like Candelabra no longer skip their trigger when another player takes an extra turn with Pael's Eye
Nightmare card VFX no longer plays for all players
Other players' HP bars no longer go offscreen when resizing the window in settings
Pillar of Creation, Supermassive, and Arsenal cards now proc for the player who played Largesse rather than the recipient
You can no longer buy items at the shop while transitioning rooms, and exiting the Merchant no longer skips history recording for remaining players
The correct error message is now shown for a Steam multiplayer connection timeout (error 5008), and improved reporting for a rare connection error
The "Show Multiplayer Drawings" tickbox is now correctly localized
You can no longer start a loaded multiplayer game with only one person

PERFORMANCE:

Reduced stuttering when combat effects appear for the first time in a run

MODDING:

The base game no longer deletes progress from mods that are removed or errored

LATEST BETA FIXES:

General:

Fixed many instances of inconsistent RNG behavior (thanks tckmn!)
Fixed more cases of daily runs diverging based on player network ID

Multiplayer:

Fixed a state divergence caused by the host changing Ascension as the game is starting

Modding:

Began publishing STS2.dll XML documentation
Fixed Steam mods causing ReflectionHelper.ModTypes to return nothing