How multiplayer works In Slay The Spire 2

Multiplayer Slay The Spire 2 sounds like a mess on paper. After all, it's a tactical turn-based roguelike, so what does adding co-op do? Do you just sit around waiting for everyone to take turns? Is the game even fun still? How am I supposed to find friends to play this game with anyway!?

Well, I’m happy to inform you that Slay The Spire 2 a wildly fun game to play multiplayer, and a transformative experience compared to singleplayer mode. The way you’ll build your characters and approach combat completely changes and, if you can form a party of four, this otherwise methodical game starts to feel chaotic in the best kind of way. Here’s what to expect in Slay The Spire 2 multiplayer mode.

If you want the best Slay the Spire 2 characters to bring into matches then check out how how to unlock characters in Slay the Spire 2 (spoilers, it's pretty easy).

How multiplayer combat works in Slay The Spire 2

Multiplayer combat in Slay the Spire 2 follows the same turn order as the single player game. Combat will open on your party’s turn, where you and your teammates will play cards to add block and damage enemies. Crucially, this means anyone in your party can play any of their cards in any order, which you should use to your advantage. For example, if one teammate can apply Vulnerable to an enemy, they’ll want to do that first so everyone can inflict bonus damage. If everyone is playing cards at once, each attack will resolve in a stack, meaning that it might take a few seconds before your card actually takes effect.

Additionally, some cards like The Silent’s Strangle (which inflicts damage whenever you play a card) will proc when your friends play cards as well. Admittedly, I can’t tell if this is an intentional mechanic, as other cards with similar wording do not work with other players. Pay close attention to see which cards have multiplayer synergy.

After all party members have attacked, they’ll each have to declare their turn has ended before the enemy’s turn begins. That said, you’ll have to watch out, as enemies will hit every party member. So if an enemy is about to inflict 10 damage and inflict Weak, everyone in your party will need to block for 10 and prepare to deal less damage during the next turn. You can keep track of each party member’s health and block by looking in the top left corner of the battle screen.

How Slay The Spire 2 multiplayer enemy scaling works

Naturally, given the added firepower you’ll be working with, enemies scale to get stronger to match. Enemy HP scales with the number of players on the field, to the point that common enemies will practically match the HP of a singleplayer Elite when playing with four players. Fortunately, attacks otherwise remain the same as in singleplayer since enemies hit everyone at once.

The big numbers can look scary, but multiplayer strategies can lead to absolutely huge damage on enemies if you play carefully. We’re talking much more damage than what four average players could inflict individually. Personally, my first four player run of the game was probably four times easier than even my most busted runs of the game by myself. You may get into trouble if your party isn’t quite synergizing properly (playing with two players feels a bit trickier), but otherwise multiplayer pushes the odds in your favor.

Fortunately, each player gets their own pool of rewards from combat, so whatever you see in your results screen is yours for the taking.

Slay The Spire 2 multiplayer map, shops, and events

Naturally, you don’t just fight stuff in Slay The Spire 2. You’ll also have to pick your path forward in each Act as you work your way to the boss. In multiplayer, each player will vote on which path to take, a la selecting a course in online Mario Kart. If players differ on which path to take, one player’s decision will be chosen at random, and everyone will enter whichever battle or event is picked.

Fortunately, players can draw on the map to aid in discussions about what the best path forward is. Nothing’s stopping you from just drawing on the map in your downtime for the fun of it, which was my preferred way of using the drawing tools.

Treasure chests work similarly in multiplayer. A number of relics will pop out matching your player count, and each player will decide which relic they want from the pool. If two or more players choose the same relic, they’ll play Rock Paper Scissors to see who will get it. The loser will then have to select a new relic to pick (assuming more than one is left afterwards).

These are the most competitive elements of the game. Each player will choose whatever they want during Events, and Shops will also spawn unique screens for everyone (even though the entire party will be shown). So in these cases, you don’t have to worry about stepping on anyone else’s toes and just take what’s best for you.

Slay the Spire 2 multiplayer rewards

As a bonus cherry on top, you can find co-op specific cards in Slay The Spire 2 that give you and your friends boosts in combat. For instance, The Necrobinder can summon Osty for all players, effectively blocking 6 damage for everyone. Meanwhile, The Defect can give Energy to everyone. You of course need to find these respective cards first during your run, but this does add an additional layer of strategy depending on your party composition.

Slay The Spire 2 multiplayer has its own progression track aside from singleplayer, so your Ascensions won’t carry over between the two modes. Also, just like in singleplayer mode, you can pause and resume runs later, as long as the host reconnects with the same player(s) when starting again. The mode is well worth rallying your friends together to get going, but if you’re focusing on singleplayer for the time being, you can check out our rankings for each character here while you learn exactly what each deck can do.

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