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A big Slay the Spire 2 patch just hit the beta branch of Mega Crit's hit roguelike deckbuilder, affirming its new biweekly patch schedule and completely doing away with the notorious Doormaker boss. After polishing off my Ascension 10 clears mere hours before the patch hit, a different section of the patch notes raised my eyebrow. I have just one question for Mega Crit: do you want Regent to die?
The latest patch notes are relatively light on card balance changes compared to previous updates, but I'm perplexed by some of the few changes that made it in. In particular, the Regent class had five cards retouched – two nerfs, two buffs, and a rework. Both of the nerfs were to block cards, which feels incredibly strange to me because, at least based on my own runs and conversations with fellow slayers, Regent is already struggling with block compared to the other classes.
Two of Regent's limited block cards were nerfed. Bulwark, an uncommon card, and Patter, a common, now grant one less block apiece. It's a small change, but a confounding one. I can't be the only one who was expecting to see Regent get more block, not less.
You can argue that Regent also got a block buff via the rework to Sword Sage, a rare Power card that now adds Replay to your Sovereign Blade instead of just making it hit twice. This new wording favorably interacts with the uncommon Power card Parry to give you double the block when you play the sword. The problem is that we're talking about a rare Power playing off an uncommon Power that revolves around a generated attack that you only have one copy of, and that sums up the challenge with Regent.
Regent is demonstrably capable of clearing everything in Slay the Spire 2, and he can produce some of the strongest synergies if you really get going. That said, I've found him to be the least consistent of the five classes, and that's largely because of his block economy (though it could also just be my play style or skill issue). Maybe that's Mega Crit's intent: Regent is the glass cannon. But this is fundamentally a game about dealing and blocking damage, so limited block doesn't feel like a compelling identity unless it's paired with uniquely high damage potential, but right now it just feels like Regent has to fly to get where the other classes can walk.
The common block options for Regent are pretty poor, and he has limited access to weaken to reduce damage as well. The nerfed block card Patter is only good when you have multi-hit attacks to pair with it, Glitterstream does too little for two mana, Gather Light is solid, Cosmic Indifference is a good card but has low block, and Cloak of Stars is very good but obviously uses up stars. His uncommons are great but, outside the newly nerfed Bulwark, also situational, with Reflect and Particle Wall chewing through stars, and Manifest Authority granting low block in isolation. Likewise, his block Powers – Pillar of Creation, Parry, and Child of the Stars – all work off of other cards. He can generate a lot of colorless cards, and some of those might provide block (which actually won me my A10 run), but that's pure RNG.
Meanwhile, old classes like Ironclad, The Silent, and Defect are rolling in strong block cards that don't ask anything extra of you. Shrug it Off is just good. Leg Sweep is just good. Leap, Charge Battery, and Boost Away are all just plain good, and common, block cards. Fellow newcomer Necrobinder has access to powerful weakening effects, some excellent common blocks, and the enormous power of effectively banking block by powering up her summoned companion Osty.
Regent feels right in the middle of the other four classes. Maybe that's the point, and actually good design? He's got a little bit of everything, but it's inordinately hard to get enough of anything? I don't think this is a game-breaker, but it feels like Regent wants just one more good, neutral block card, so I'm a little surprised to see Mega Crit weaken the few options he does have. I guess this is the fun of an early access game: rolling with the punches, figuring out how to offset weaknesses, and, uh, having a 21% lower win rate on Regent than Ironclad and Necrobinder.
Steam stats for Slay the Spire 2's engine Godot show "strong signs of exponential growth."
