Slay the Spire 2 Pro Tips: 15 Advanced Tricks from A20 Players

These aren't beginner tips. If you don't know what Corruption does or why you'd skip a card reward, read the beginner guide first. This is the stuff that separates A10 players from A20.

1. The rare card counter. The game has a hidden counter that tracks how many non-rare cards you've been offered from combat rewards. After about 10-12 commons and uncommons, the next reward has a dramatically higher chance of containing a rare. Path toward an elite when the counter is high — elite card rewards have higher rarity anyway, and stacking the counter with elite rarity means you're almost guaranteed a rare. I don't track it formally but I've got a feel for when the counter is due, and I'll prioritize an elite over a campfire when I sense it.

2. Potion drop manipulation. Potion drop chance increases with each combat you don't receive one. After 3 combats without a potion drop, the next is nearly guaranteed. You can manipulate this — enter an elite fight with the guarantee active and you'll leave with a potion, which matters for the next elite or boss. Don't waste potions in hallway fights when the drop counter isn't active.

3. Weak application timing. Enemies calculate their intended action at the start of their turn, before Weak is applied. If you apply Weak to an enemy, their attack deals 25% less damage, but the intent icon often doesn't update — it still shows the original value. You might see "attacking for 20" on the intent icon, apply Weak, and take 15 damage. This catches new players off guard because they think Weak didn't work. It did. The display is lying.

4. Corruption plus Dark Embrace plus Feel No Pain is the best combo in the game. I said this in other guides but it bears repeating here because the interaction isn't intuitive. Corruption makes skills free and exhausts them. Dark Embrace draws on exhaust. Feel No Pain gives 3 block on exhaust. You play a skill, it costs 0, it draws a card, it gives 3 block. Do this 10 times in a turn and you've drawn your entire deck and blocked for 30 while spending zero energy. Add Dead Branch and every exhaust also generates a random card, which is also free. It's absurd.

5. Discard pile order. Cards are added to your discard pile in the order you play them. This matters for Hologram on Defect — it lets you pull a specific card from your discard. If you need to pull Echo Form with Hologram, play Echo Form last in the turn so it's on top of the discard pile. Small optimization but it wins runs.

6. Act 3 ? rooms over combats. By Act 3, normal combat rewards are small relative to the risk. Hallway fights in Act 3 deal real damage and give you a common card reward you probably don't want. ? rooms can give full heals, rare relics, card upgrades, or card removals. Path toward ? rooms in Act 3 unless you specifically need gold for a shop.

7. Super elites are always worth it. The ones with the flame icon. They have bonus HP but guarantee a relic drop. Relics are permanent power. Hallway fights give you one card choice. Elites give you a relic plus gold plus a higher-rarity card. The risk-reward tilts hard toward taking every super elite you can survive.

8. Campfire upgrade priority. Upgrade your scaling and engine cards first — Limit Break, Corruption, Wraith Form, Echo Form, Defragment. Not Bash. Not Strike. Not a common damage card you'll phase out in Act 2 anyway. Upgraded Limit Break doesn't exhaust — it becomes reusable and can double your Strength multiple times. That's run-winning. Upgraded Bash deals 2 more damage. That's irrelevant.

9. Time Eater clock. This boss ends your turn at 12 cards played. The optimal strategy is to play exactly 11 cards and end your turn. Every single time. Do not try to fit in a 12th. The counter resets each turn. 11 cards per turn is the maximum you can play without triggering the end-turn effect.

10. Gremlin Nob rage counter. Gains 3 Strength (not 2) every time you play a Skill. Including things you might not think of as skills — potions count as skills for Nob's rage calculation. If you drink a skill potion (Block Potion, Dexterity Potion), Nob gains 3 Strength. Damage potions (Fire Potion, Explosive Potion) don't trigger it. Don't drink skill potions against Nob unless lethal.

11. Heart damage cap. The Heart has a per-turn damage cap: 200 on A0-18, 300 on A19+. Single big hits (Heavy Blade for 500) get capped at the limit. Multi-hit attacks (Sword Boomerang, Pummel) split across the cap better. If you're building for Heart, favor multi-hit over single-hit finishers.

12. Neow's blessing choices at A20. Most high-ascension players default to boss relic swap, but taking 250 gold over the swap is underrated. 250 gold buys a shop relic plus a card removal before your first elite, which can be more consistent than gambling on a random boss relic that might be trash (Tiny House, Busted Crown, Ectoplasm).

13. Card remove pricing. First removal: 75g. Second: 100g. Third: 125g. Fourth: 150g. The diminishing returns hit fast. If you can remove cards through events (Bonfire Spirits, Purification Font, Library event), prioritize those over shop removals past the second one.

14. Last campfire strategy. Before an act boss, rest unless you're 80%+ HP. I spent years upgrading at the last campfire and dying to bosses at 45 HP. The math is simple: one upgrade might save 2-3 HP per turn. Resting gives you 20-25 HP. That's 4-5 turns of surviving. Rest when you need to.

15. Ancient blessing selection is the skill gap. New players pick the biggest upside number. Experienced players pick the downside their deck can actually handle. If your deck has sustain (Reaper, Soul Siphon), HP penalties are manageable. If Corruption makes skills free, you don't need the energy blessing. If you're relying on campfire upgrades, don't take the one that blocks campfires. The Ancients system rewards deck knowledge more than any other mechanic in the game.