Slay the Spire 2 updates are slowing down again, but a new character and alternate act are next

Mega Crit has spared no effort in delivering big, impactful Slay the Spire 2 updates ever since the roguelike deckbuilder hit early access in March. We've seen all manner of dramatic reworks, buffs, and nerfs - even entire boss characters stripped from the game and fresh faces brought in. There's much more on the horizon, too, as the developer reveals it's "been hard at work on new content," including an alternative Act Two zone and the next playable character, but it will be "at least a month until any of it hits the beta branch," as the team is taking a well-earned rest.

The end of August marks Mega Crit's annual team break, which means that after yesterday's Slay the Spire 2 beta branch patch there will be no scheduled update two weeks from now, on August 27. The studio has been happy with its switch to a bi-weekly cadence, which "has allowed us to cross quite a few features and content off our to-do list," as well as being "more dynamic and experimental when introducing changes." The problem is that working on these "piecemeal" drops make it harder to invest the time required in developing "the bigger, more impactful content that many players are most eager for."

Mega Crit has therefore turned its attention to building those more substantial updates, including experimental game modes, a new character, and an alternate Act Two (which will be randomly switched out with the Hive, akin to the Underdocks/Overgrowth split in Act One). "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," it writes. "We can't guarantee the exact pace or if said pace will be regular, but we'll continue to keep you updated." In an attempt to avoid any big spoilers, the team teases us with no more than a solitary foot pic. Yes, you read that right.

Co-Founder Casey Yano answers a few additional questions from the audience, such as whether we'll see additional Ascension ranks added. He reiterates, "Our general thought has been that Ascension 10 is close to the highest difficulty we have," explaining that the higher character count would make grinding out a bunch of A20 wins "quite a chore." However, he does hint that the gradual rollout of additional modes and regions will give "a clearer picture on how we want to tackle challenging difficulty."

Another user asks whether there are plans to expand the enchantment system, or allow enchantment stacking. It's definitely been one of my favorite inclusions to StS2, letting you twist cards in all manner of useful ways. "We like enchantments too," Yano responds. He says there are no plans to allow players to stack multiple enchantments on a single card, however, due to the increased risk of snowballing. "We want our players to experience deckbuilding rather than cardbuilding," he explains.

Elsewhere, Yano says the team is hoping to offer some form of alternative outfits or recolors for characters to help distinguish them in multiplayer, although cautions that "we're a small team" and it won't be high priority. He adds that Steam Achievements will be introduced when Slay the Spire 2 reaches its full 1.0 release, and says that touchscreen mode likely won't be introduced until "the push for mobile ports."

Slay the Spire 2 patch 0.111.0 is live now on the game's beta branch. It includes reworks to Defect's Hyperbeam and Ironclad's Expect a Fight, along with a handful of buffs and nerfs across all five of the current classes. There are also new idle animations for each of the heroes to show when they're at low health. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing those a lot more frequently than I'd like to admit.