New Slay the Spire 2 patch makes some terrible cards and relics actually good, Mega Crit agrees the game "is quite hard" and wants lower Ascensions to be "more accessible"

There's a new patch out for Slay the Spire 2's beta branch, and the overall difficulty is getting adjusted by developer Mega Crit Games. While the objective remains providing a deep challenge for dedicated players on the highest modes, the barrier for entry was proving tricky for those who just want some fun deckbuilding.

"When it comes to general balance, the base difficulty is quite hard right now," the patch notes state in regard to the alterations made to the Ascensions. "We're continuously adjusting this baseline difficulty to make it more accessible for a wide range of players, while also continuing to deliver a challenging game at the highest Ascensions."

Mega Crit wants clearing everything at the uppermost levels to be a "monumental achievement" for those that manage it, and has added a message after your first completion to state as much. The Ascensions – modifiers that up the ante on your runs – are an exhausting pursuit by the end, since there are ten of them that stack each level you beat.

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They're tough going, but obviously ran a little too tough for Mega Crit's liking, prompting the alterations and messaging. Meanwhile, a number of cards have been reworked in disparate ways. Neow's Fury and Booming Conch have both been buffed, the former now letting you choose the cards that go to your hand, the latter now gaining extra energy.

Players are particularly happy about those changes. "Love the ancient buffs! Especially Booming Conch, now it's a lantern and bag of prep in one! Definitely will be taking it more often," says one fan on Reddit.

"So so much better, essentially a super hologram," another says in regards to Neow's Fury. Two of Ironclad's cards have been revamped – Drum of Battle and Conflagration – and people are just as keen about those as well.

"Both Ironclad reworks are SICK!!!" one player writes on Reddit. "I can't wait to play with new Drum of Battle, although it seems REALLY strong, lmao. New Conflagration is dope as hell too."

Releasing in early access makes room for these kind of changes, and we can expect more of the same in the coming months. I probably wouldn't hold out hope for Slay the Spire 2 to get much easier from here on out, though – this is still a challenging roguelike.

Slay the Spire 2 almost had fewer new cards because of the co-creator's love for Dark Souls, but testers "were not jiving with that at all."