Current Events > Should I purchase Slay the Spire for the Switch?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I hear its good. I got a hankering for a new Switch game.

Ive been eyeballing it on steam because its on sale for 12.49.

My pc game collection serves the purpose of games that can be played in small chunks of about 20-30 minutes. Is that how this game goes?

NeoShadowhen posted...

Ive been eyeballing it on steam because its on sale for 12.49.

My pc game collection serves the purpose of games that can be played in small chunks of about 20-30 minutes. Is that how this game goes?

Well yes and no.

One successful run takes a good bit more than 20-30 minutes but it autosaves every floor, which is roughly every minute or so.

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Yes. Slay the spire's a phenomenal game, one of the best games of the past decade.


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NeoShadowhen posted...

Ive been eyeballing it on steam because its on sale for 12.49.

My pc game collection serves the purpose of games that can be played in small chunks of about 20-30 minutes. Is that how this game goes?

A full run is a little more than an hour. It's easy enough to pick up an old save file but if it's been several days between playing you might forget a few things about your deck or relics on hand.
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Yeah I'd say runs are closer to an hour than 30 minutes.

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PMarth2002 posted...

Yes. Slay the spire's a phenomenal game, one of the best games of the past decade.

Really? That good huh?

Stalolin posted...

Really? That good huh?

imo obviously. I put around 750 hours into it before getting tired of it, and I could totally see myself picking it back up if they added a fifth official character.

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I don't drop 80 hours on just any game, but Slay the Spire is one of them.

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Okay CE. Youve convinced me!

If you don't have a phone that can play it.

JoeDangIt posted...

If you don't have a phone that can play it.

Oh yeah, it's on iOS and it's coming to Android... sometime.

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Okay so I bought it but havent managed to finish act 3 yet. Its damn hard sometimes.

Really good game, ive been considering picking up monster train, but not sure id like it as much

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Stalolin posted...

Really? That good huh?

From a mechanic standpoint, I can't think of another roguelite that tops it, at least not until Monster Train is out of early access.

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DespondentDeity posted...

From a mechanic standpoint, I can't think of another roguelite that tops it, at least not until Monster Train is out of early access.

it doesnt have the Early Access tag on steam, is it anywhere near as good as sts?

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solosnake posted...

it doesnt have the Early Access tag on steam, is it anywhere near as good as sts?

I think the card mechanics are just about as good, but you also have units to manage in order to defend lanes. You also get a main faction and a sub faction, and right now there's like 25 different combos. To me, it just feels like a more full gaming experience. They are also putting a lot of effort into the visuals, so it's also far better looking. The card animations are beautiful once you level them up.

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DespondentDeity posted...

I think the card mechanics are just about as good, but you also have units to manage in order to defend lanes. You also get a main faction and a sub faction, and right now there's like 25 different combos. To me, it just feels like a more full gaming experience. They are also putting a lot of effort into the visuals, so it's also far better looking. The card animations are beautiful once you level them up.

Ill probably get it, wish it was more than 10% off though. Also been looking at griftlands but that one is in EA and i dont think it looks quite as good. It does have overwhelmingly positive reviews though, and is only half as much money

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Stalolin posted...

Okay so I bought it but havent managed to finish act 3 yet. Its damn hard sometimes.

Yeah, it's the kind of game where you're gonna lose a lot more than win, especially when you first start it.

It reminds me of how I used to play games like 25 years ago, where you play until you hit game over then you start over and try again. And unlike most modern games, a full run is quick enough that it doesn't really induce rage like losing a 50 hour save would lol.

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This game is crack. What have I done.

It's one of my favorite games of all time. I have over 300 hours on it. All achievements, A20 true endings for all characters.

Absolute masterpiece.

Also protip: Watcher is the strongest character by a lot.

PMarth2002 posted...

Yes. Slay the spire's a phenomenal game, one of the best games of the past decade.

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IronTusk posted...

It's one of my favorite games of all time. I have over 300 hours on it. All achievements, A20 true endings for all characters.

Absolute masterpiece.

Also protip: Watcher is the strongest character by a lot.

Thanks for the tip!

I think I played about 6 hours today. All as the first character. I made it to the final boss of act 3 once but I died. It was close.

PMarth2002 posted...

Yeah I'd say runs are closer to an hour than 30 minutes.

In the past I would've agreed but I recommend switching to Fast Mode, it honestly cuts the playtime of each run in half. I found that I was more prone to mistakes to begin with though.

Such a good game though. Probably the most balanced game of its kind that I've seen.

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Stalolin posted...

Thanks for the tip!

I think I played about 6 hours today. All as the first character. I made it to the final boss of act 3 once but I died. It was close.

Good job getting to the Act 3 boss (know that there are 3 different bosses that change depending on your playthrough seed). Try watching some of Jorbs's Slay the Spire videos. He's a top-3 player in the world and he teaches you about contextual and situational values for each card. Don't bother going for "archetypes." What you actually want is to be able to play the right card in the right situation, and this game will punish a lot of "one-trick pony" decks as you get higher in ascension.

This isn't 100% true in all situations, but generally your objectives are different in each act.

-Act 1: frontload damage -- the elites/bosses test your ability to access quick burst damage, which is why Watcher is so overpowered to start. Try to find good damage cards. For Ironclad -- Bludgeon, Immolate, Whirlwind, Carnage, Hemokinesis... For Silent, Glass Knife etc. Elites like Gremlin Nob will punish you for infesting too much into skills/block too early, so you need ways to be beat him with relentless burst damage.
-Act 2: tests your AOE and ability to block -- 2/3 elites and 2/3 bosses this act have minions that can wreck you if you don't manage them. Also there are some huge block turns required like when Bronze Automaton hyperbeams you for like 60 damage. So for Ironclad, cards like Immolate and Whirlwind+ become really helpful. Silent wants Corpse Explosion, Crippling Cloud, and Dagger Spray. Defect wants Electrokinesis. Act 2 has some of the strongest "?" events like Council of Ghosts, the one that lets you upgrade all strikes/defends, the Gladiator Arena, and 3 books.
-Act 3: scaling and card draw. At this point the game tests your ability to get strong fast with powers and other means to multiply your damage become super important. You'll probably have a good amount of cards in your deck so your ability to find the cards you need when you need them becomes super important. So removing bad cards like Strike is really valuable because it means your can access your good cards earlier. Removing bad cards isn't exactly sexy but it's one of the most impactful things you can do. There are a million ways to scale, but generally speaking -- Ironclad wants either strength, block, or exhaust synergies. Silent wants poison (infinite shiv scaling is fun but gets punished often at higher ascensions) and intangibility through Wraith Form. Defect wants orb focus/slots/loops and access to easy manipulation of ice. Watcher often wants Talk to the Hand, Omniscience, Wallop, and ways to control stance dance on command (also meta-scaling from Wish and Lesson Learned can become game-breaking, and there's always the option of Divine Stance, but I don't consider it necessary in most cases).

Also Snecko Eye is in most situations the strongest relic in the game, particularly for Ironclad. Don't be scared off by the RNG. Drawing 2 more cards per turn is ridiculous. It's especially ridiculous if your deck has a lot high-energy cards that you suddenly can often play cheaply. Another relic that scares off new players is Coffee Dripper (removes your ability to rest at campsites): it's actually one of the best energy relics since ideally you're never resting at campsites and you're upgrading/toking/exercising instead.

General character tips:
-Ironclad: exhausting cards is amazing. Corruption, Feel No Pain, Dark Embrace together with lots of good Skill cards is generally an "I win" button. If you get Dead Branch (creates a new card every time one is exhausted) on top of it, cherish that run forever. You can also scale strength with combos like Limit Break and Demon Form. Scaling block with Entrench, Body Slam etc is a bit gimmicky but it can get ridiculous with the right situation. Scaling HP with Reaper and Feed also can allow you to "tank damage with your face" so to speak.
-Silent: Sadly she's the weakest character at A20 because her options get so limited but I think she can be awesome. Stacking poison correctly with Catalysts, Burst, Nightmare can generate some obscene damage numbers (20,000 poison damage in single turn for instance). Her discard gimmick sadly isn't very strong. Shivs are super fun but I don't bother generally unless I have Kunai/Shuriken because one of the Act 3 bosses and the true final boss punish low-cost card spam really heavily. Wraith Form (don't be afraid of the debuff) and Well-Laid Plans are some of the strongest cards in the game. Stacking dexterity with Footwork is also super viable.
-Defect: Lightning is good to start but generally Frost orbs paired paired with an easily-manipulated Dark Orb is the best block/damage combo. You can do some crazy things with cards like Meteor Strike if you have Snecko Eye. They have some of the strongest powers in the game like Echo Form and Biased Cognition (don't fear the debuff). Be careful because one of the Act 3 bosses punishes powers spam by getting stronger every time you play one, but with the right powers you can outscale it anyway.
-Watcher: highest risk/reward character but also statistically the strongest character in the game. All about going into Wrath stance to do double damage and then flipping back to Calm Stance at the right moment. Offense is the best defense with her -- you don't need to block if the enemy's dead. I'm often looking for cards like Wallop and Talk to the Hand that turn her attacks into block. Retain cards like Sands of Time and Protect help her reach the damage or block she needs when she needs it. Scry is type of card draw manipulation that can save you over and over again, Cut Through Fate is great for this. Blasphemy is insanely strong (deal triple damage and gain 2 energy but die next turn) but Divinity Stance is overrated otherwise imho. My win rate with her is like 3 times higher than the other characters because she can achieve so much damage so easily. Basically with her you need to be able to draw the right cards at the right time, because if you're caught in Wrath stance when the enemy's about to draw a big attack you will die.

God I love this game. Watch Jorbs.

Joe8 posted...

In the past I would've agreed but I recommend switching to Fast Mode, it honestly cuts the playtime of each run in half. I found that I was more prone to mistakes to begin with though.

I think that really just depends on the player. I make more mistakes when I play fast.

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I think subconsciously I was trying to keep up with the new tempo of the game. I get what you mean though

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I just picked it up a few days ago. Its crazy how challenging it is and how it pushes you to come up with strategies on the fly. Lots of good tips in this topic, btw.

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Damn, thanks for all the tips @IronTusk !

Stalolin posted...

Damn, thanks for all the tips @IronTusk !

For sure! Tag me if you've hit a wall anywhere and I'll try to help. This game is sooooooo deep with so many things to learn. I remember it took me about 5 hours to win my first run on the lowest difficulty and it was super hard. But now that I'm doing Ascension 20 Heart runs I look back at the sheer amount of strategies and card synergies I've picked up along the way and it's an amazing feeling. Now playing on the default difficulty is so easy just from the additional knowledge and experience.

One good general tip: don't avoid fighting elites unless you're certain you'll die. They're the best way to get stronger. They give a relic, lots of gold, and have a higher chance for a rare/uncommon card roll.

If you like Slay the Spire give Pirates Outlaws a chance on IOS and Andriod. It's the same kind of game with a few tweaks and is just as crazy deep and fun/satisfying. The Devs have been supporting it for a couple of years now and it's really great. I actually got the rec from somebody here on this board, if you see this then THANKS!

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Gakk86 posted...

The Devs have been supporting it for a couple of years now

No I haven't.

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My ascension levels are 11/3/7/4. Playing Silent feels like bashing my head against a brick wall.

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I can never get Exhaust decks to work (or any Ironclad deck really). Like 90% of my wins come from Silent Poison/Discard & Draw decks

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Garioshi posted...

My ascension levels are 11/3/7/4. Playing Silent feels like bashing my head against a brick wall.

How are your runs usually ending with her? She's definitely a bit underpowered compared to the others, especially after the Well-laid Plans energy nerf. But she has incredible cards like Wraith Form, Crippling Cloud, Catalyst, Burst.
Dash in Act 1 is super strong, I almost always pick it.
Act 2 with her I'm usually hoping to find a Noxious Fumes, Piercing Wail, Corpse Explosion, Footwork.
Act 3 I'm looking for ways to clone Wraith Form or Catalysts.

Where do you run into a wall with her?

The developers are basically geniuses for realizing how seemlessly deck building mechanics fit with a roguelite foundation.

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Joe8 posted...

I can never get Exhaust decks to work (or any Ironclad deck really). Like 90% of my wins come from Silent Poison/Discard & Draw decks

With Exhaust decks the main thing you're generally looking for is to generate card draw so you can kill as quickly as possible with the help of 0-cost cards and auto-block from Feel No Pain. I'm usually looking for draw cards like Offering, Shrug It Off, War Cry, Battle Trance. Shockwave is super powerful in an exhaust deck. Fiend Fire is often an "I win" button in a lot of hallway fights.

If you go for strength scaling, Reaper can basically break the game. You stall long enough for you strength to reach high enough levels, use the Reaper, and then heal back to full health every fight.

IronTusk posted...

How are your runs usually ending with her? She's definitely a bit underpowered compared to the others, especially after the Well-laid Plans energy nerf. But she has incredible cards like Wraith Form, Crippling Cloud, Catalyst, Burst.
Dash in Act 1 is super strong, I almost always pick it.
Act 2 with her I'm usually hoping to find a Noxious Fumes, Piercing Wail, Corpse Explosion, Footwork.
Act 3 I'm looking for ways to clone Wraith Form or Catalysts.

Where do you run into a wall with her?

Usually Act 2/3, dying to something I just can't defend against

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One of my favorite games in recent memory. I got it on release on xbox and I still to this day play 4 to 10 runs a week. Sometimes I get hooked and I play it for hours. Its amazing.

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Garioshi posted...

Usually Act 2/3, dying to something I just can't defend against

I'd try to prioritize the following:

1. Sources of Weak. Neutralize+, Crippling Cloud (it's AOE, which helps the most for Act 2!), Leg Sweep, and Malaise are all strong. They're even better if you can get a Paper Crane relic.
2. Card manipulation so you can find the block you need on the turn you need it. Great cards for this include Blur (carryover block across turns), Well-laid Plans (retain cards), Adrenaline (so you can draw more block cards with extra energy), Calculated Gamble (for if your hand is full of attacks when you need skills instead), and Backflip (but don't take this in Act 1 unless you have to). For relics, seek out Gambling Chip, Calipers, and Snecko Eye.
3. Intangible. Wraith Form is perhaps the strongest card in the game. Even better if you have Orange Pellets or Clockwork Souvenir to block the dexterity debuff. If you can trigger the "Council of Ghosts" event in Act 2, take it in most circumstances for Silent. It's especially good if you have a Toxic Egg and you're below Ascension 15 (after that you get few Apparitions). If you can somehow trigger Nightmare together Wraith Form+, you'll win basically every single fight in the game. For relics, try to find Incense Burner make sure you have it on the right number (usually 4, but not always) when you finish a fight.

Getting Dex is also helpful. I'll stack Footworks if I can. I'll also start prioritizing low-cost attacks if I find a Kunai. And I take a gazillion Piercing Wails -- they're so strong in Act 2 and against several Act 3 bosses/elites.

Watch this Jorbs Silent overexplain run where he breaks down the cards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skOUhJyWvgI

I ended up purchasing Monster Train. Ive only played about an hour, but I highly recommend it to anyone who loves slay the spire just based of the initial impression. It seems amazing

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I played it for about 50 hours when I bought it a few weeks ago and haven't really touched it since. It's not as addictive as spire for me, but its a good game.

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Well that run was pathetic lol.

I was Watcher, and was hot off the tail of a run with that relic that makes you retain all your cards, so in my third battle, I see that I have that block and enter calm card in my hand and the enemy is doing a buff so I enter Wrath to tear him up.

Then my calm card disappeared and I facepalmed even harder than I died lol.

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I finally got through it with iron clad and defect. Having trouble with silent for some reason. Havent even started those ascension runs yet.

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I really enjoy it. Don't play it has a handheld, you will throw it, lol

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IronTusk posted...

Watcher is the strongest character by a lot.

What?! I have a LOT of time put into this game and have beaten it a lot with the other characters, even on higher ranks, but never once have I beaten it with the Watcher. I can't do it, lol

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I finally won! Two runs. One as Silent, then as Defect. Tried and lost as Ironwhatshisname to the time boss.

I swear, there's only one Act 2 boss: The Collector.

I've fought this guy countless times and never anyone else. And he usually trashes me.

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DevsBro posted...

I swear, there's only one Act 2 boss: The Collector.

I've fought this guy countless times and never anyone else. And he usually trashes me.

for me its the dumb knight who tanks everything.