How To Start Slay The Spire 2: Characters & Relics Explained

Last week, Mega Crit studio finally released (in Early Access) the sequel to 2019’s Slay the Spire - Slay the Spire 2, which has become one of the most popular games on Steam. For those who haven’t heard about the title, just like the original game, Slay the Spire 2 is a roguelike deck-building game where players take control of a specific character and fight monsters using gained cards. But, perhaps, the biggest difference between the titles is that the sequel includes co-op mode featuring 4 players. According to SteamDB, the peak online players in the game was almost 570,000 gamers, and the game still has a lot of players involved. So what’s so special about Slay the Spire 2? You will find out everything in this guide.

Slay The Spire 2 Characters Guide

Slay the Spire 2 has five unique characters: The Ironclad, The Silent, The Regent, The Necrobinder, and The Defect. Each of them has a completely different characteristic, and choosing this or that hero will directly have an influence on the game. And, what’s important, not all the characters are available from the very beginning, and below you can find out how to unlock all of them:

• The Ironclad is the one you can choose for the start;
• The Silent - play a run for Ironclad;
• The Regent - play a run for The Silent;
• The Necrobinder - play a run for Regent;
• The Defect - to play a run for The Necrobinder;

There are three characters returning from the original Slay the Spire and two new characters. Starting with the familiar faces, The Ironclad is a fighter who is able to quickly gain his power and provide big damage to the cards. The Silent is a second returning character in Slay the Spire 2. She’s using poison as her main weapon and small blades as her secondary. The third returning character is The Defect - his style is similar to the original game, where he uses different types of orbs that cause effects at the end of his turn. Two new characters in Slay The Spire 2 - The Regent and The Necrobinder. The Regent uses special energy related to the stars to make her attacks more powerful, while The Necrobinder is accompanied by skeleton minion Osty, who can take the damage instead of him, you can use him in the next move to increase the health of The Necrobinder or attack your enemies.

How To Build A Right Deck In Slay The Spire 2?

Just like in the original Slay the Spire, cards are being used to fight the enemies in Slay the Spire 2, and there are several types and rarities of the cards in the game you can add to your Deck: Attack, Skill, Talent, Status, and Curses.

A lot of players, especially the new ones, are making so many mistakes by taking the cards after Standard Run. If you have too many cards and continue to take more, hoping to get some powerful items, well, the chances of getting a wished card are pretty low. You should try to finish the run having approximately 20-25 cards to have a balance.

Slay The Spire 2 Relics Explained

Relics are very important to the gameplay of Slay the Spire 2. There are over 250 relics in the game that are divided into such categories: Common Relics, Uncommon Relics, Rare Relics, Shop Relics, and Starter Relics. Common relics you can find during your run and use them during attack or defense. Uncommon relics are harder to find as they are the middle-level relics, but they also have higher potential for combo attacks. Rare relics are way harder to get, but when you do, you can change the game. Of course, there are some relics that you can only buy, as Shop relics, and Starter relics are those that you are able to use when you’re starting each run.

Below, you can check out the most exciting relics:

• Amethyst Aubergine - enemies drop 10 additional gold (Common Relic);
• Book of Five Rings - every 5 cards you add to your Deck, heal 15 HP (Common Relic);
• Red Skull - While your HP is at or below 50%, you have 3 additional Strength (Common Relic);
• Mercury Hourglass - At the start of your turn, deal 3 damage to ALL enemies. (Uncommon Relic);
• Mango - Upon pickup, raise your Max HP by 14 (Rare Relic);
• Burning Blood - At the end of combat, heal 6 HP (The Ironclad Starter Relic);
• Ring of the Snake - At the start of each combat, draw 2 additional cards (The Silent Starter Relic);
• Divine Right - At the start of each combat, gain 3 Stars (The Regent Starter Relic);
• Bound Phylactery - At the start of your turn, Summon 1 (The Necrobinder Starter Relic. "Summon" gives Osty 1 HP);
• Cracked Core - At the start of each combat, Channel 1 Lightning (The Defect Starter Relic);

Apart from Starter Relics, these are just a few relics you can actually find in the game, as there you can find and use more of them, improving your HP, Energy, Dexterity, Strength, Skills and so on.

Map, Campfire and Epochs

After your first run in Slay the Spire 2, you will meet Neow, a gigantic whale-like creature, after a conversation with whom you’ll be able to see the map. On the map, you can see icons where you can go. Most of it is related to enemy markers but also treasures with loot, Campfire, where you can rest and upgrade your map, The Merchant, and even elite bosses and unknown enemies.

Speaking of the campfire area, there you can rest and simultaneously heal 30% of your maximum health or smith to upgrade one of your cards. It is important to keep the cards in good condition, which can help you during your runs.

Slay the Spire 2 also features Epochs - these are unlocks that give you a look at some stories about the Spire. Epochs are replacing the unlock system from the original Slay the Spire title, as it changes the game's structure and the players need to spend more time unlocking new content.

Slay The Spire 2 First Run Tips

To sum it up, if you want to become a successful player in Slay the Spire 2, you need to take these notes into consideration. Of course, you can try to play for different characters, but The Ironclad seems to be the right option to start your adventures, as he can restore 6 HP at the end of each run. He’s also having the highest Starting Health (80), and his Strike Starting Card is 5, the most among all the characters, along with The Silent. As mentioned above, you can also upgrade your card in the Campfire, and at the beginning of your game, it’s better to use that feature than healing. You can add more damage or make it less energy-costly, and it will make a difference during your runs.

In conclusion, despite its low scale and small popularity, Slay the Spire 2 is one of the best video games of 2026 so far; Mega Crit’s title has been in the number one position among top leaders on Steam, beating such games as Marathon, Resident Evil Requiem, Crimson Desert, and Steam Deck - and it’s definitely a huge success for the game. And that is even more exciting considering the game only just entered an early access stage last week.

Are you excited about Slay the Spire 2? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The game is available on PC (Steam) via Early Access.