Pro Tips For Slay The Spire You Should Know (2024)

Slay the Spire by Mega Crit Games is a roguelite game that uses cards as a means to battle fearsome foes. Even from when the game was first released as an early access title, it proved to be an amazingly fun game. What it also is, though, is difficult. For those who are not prepared for a challenge, it can be a struggle to complete a run even once.

It's important to note that Slay the Spire is a game that very much has that 'just one more' mentality. So for those of you who struggle to complete it at all or who can't seem to climb the ascension ranks, here are pro tips for Slay the Spire you should know.

Updated By Cameron Miller On May 7th, 2023: As the years go by, people like you find new and exciting ways to play through the exciting Slay The Spire, which means there's never a shortage of tips. Getting as many tips as possible can make the difference between failing to clear a floor and making it all the way to that tough final boss, so here are a few more tips.

17 Experiment With Paths

Exploration Truly Pays Off

Later we'll talk about specifically studying the map and understanding that you must plan ahead in order to give yourself the best chance to succeed, as it's one of the more vital Slay The Spire tips. For now, we want to focus on experimenting with different paths.

Don't be afraid to pursue combinations of rooms you haven't tried before. Every run should be seen as an opportunity to learn and get better at the game. These different paths will also go a long way in helping you shape the build of your deck in a way that benefits the playstyle you see the most success with.

16 Embrace The Challenge

Master The Elite Enemies

When you first start playing Slay The Spire, you'll likely find the idea of avoiding elite fights and enemies to be much more pleasing, but it's crucial to embrace both this and other Slay The Spire tips. The truth of the matter is that you're not going to get better at the game if you simply continue to avoid the biggest challenges on offer.

You must fight the elites any time you get the chance. Elite enemies, specifically, provide unique challenges that can really aid you in learning to adapt, as we'll discuss in a later entry, and help build a shell of confidence as you look to progress.

15 Understand Buffs And Debuffs

Learn To Utilize The Indirect Ways To Attack And Defend

It’s possible that from the very first fight you have to deal with, you’ll wind up with some kind of debuff. Slay The Spire is filled with a variety of buffs and debuffs, and it can be a bit overwhelming at first for new players.

Since the point of the game is to replay it in order to hone your skills with a character, you’ll come to grips with the different aspects quickly. Those that neglect buffs and debuffs will struggle as making decks that utilize both is an effective key to success.

14 Keep Your Deck Small

Getting The Right Cards When You Need Them

In the beginning, it can be tempting to keep on adding all the interesting new cards to your deck. This seemingly innocent act can lead you to a frustrating loss where you keep wondering where that one card you need is. This is the crux of this problem, the more cards you have in your deck, the fewer chances you have of drawing your important cards.

This doesn't mean that you should keep your base deck though. Instead, pick up the kinds of powerful cards you need to combat the boss at the end of the current act. Use the removal options from events and shops to cull away unnecessary cards. This includes the basic strikes you start out with as they are often the worst card in your deck.

13 Adapt Your Strategy

Make The Most Of The Hand You Are Dealt

Slay the Spire's deck-building mechanic is really fun and building synergies can be doubly fun. When you run into a really beefy elite enemy or boss and stack poison to ludicrous levels, it's very satisfying. As a result of this, it can be very tempting to decide that in this run you're going to focus on this particular strategy. That way of thinking can lead to further frustrations.

In the first act, it's not easy to build a particular synergy because it's up to luck. What you should do instead is to grab the stand-alone powerful cards, the kind that you know can help you defeat elites and the Act boss. If a synergy happens to fall into your lap while doing that, great, keep on building it. If not, you can still win without synergy.

12 There Are A Few Excellent Builds

Utilize Tried And True Strategies

For those of you that haven’t played many games like Slay The Spire, the fact that there are some set builds that work better than others may not have occurred to you. Players like you have determined builds that are most likely to help you beat the game, and they’re simple to try.

Each character has a variety of builds unique to them. If you prefer using the Silent, you may be interested in trying out a build that revolves around the Shiv cards you can get. If you like the Defect, you may want to specialize in lightning.

11 Pick The Right Card

Aim For A Well-Rounded Deck

So when the synergies aren't coming along or if you don't know which way to take your deck, what do you pick? The first and most important answer is defense. Each act provides limited opportunities to heal and if you do use them, you're not making yourself stronger. Pick up defensive cards to help prevent damage. This is especially important for characters not named Ironclad.

Because of the large variety of enemies you'll face, you'll need to learn which cards work best against them. You will need AOE attacks to deal with multiple enemies or enemies that summon minions. Cards that weaken can also be vital, particularly against bosses and elites with multi-hitting attacks. Make sure your deck is well-rounded enough to handle a variety of enemies.

10 Know When To Defend

Sometimes The Best Defense Is Offense

If you keep accruing damage, then you will inevitably fall. Each of the different characters has different ways to mitigate their own deaths. But while it is essential to defend, that doesn't mean it's always correct to do so. If you can kill an enemy, it may be better to do that than to defend. What matters is your health total after the encounter, not round to round.

There are also enemies where defending is counterproductive. An Elite that can be fought early on, Gremlin Nob, is one such enemy. Gremlin Nob activates an ability that buffs him every time you use a skill and your early defenses are all skills. There are other situations with other enemies that may require you to ignore defense in favor of offense.

9 Know Your Enemies

Take Notes Through Trial And Error

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of Slay the Spire and roguelikes in general, is that there are so many unknowns. In Slay the Spire, you need to learn what cards work together, which artifacts are the strongest for your build, and most importantly, what your enemies are going to do.

There are only two ways to learn how to defeat your enemies: experience it yourself with failure and all or look them up. The first method is arguably the more fun and satisfying method, but the second method is much easier. This is vital because there are many enemies that will require you to change your tactics. Additionally, each of the first three acts has three different possible bosses you can fight and each requires different strategies to overcome.

8 Go All Out On Bosses

Use Your Items And Attack Relentlessly

An important piece of information that a lot of people neglect is that you should put everything you have into defeating that boss. Don’t hold back those potions, and don’t be afraid to eat a few hits.

You need to blast through the health bar of those bosses because if you come out on top, you’ll receive a full heal as you traverse to the next level. Not knowing this could lead players to play in a reserved way, something you never want to do for bosses.

7 Study The Map

Plan Ahead And Don't Be Afraid To Pivot

This is such an important thing to do whenever you start a new run, even if it can be tedious. Not only will reading the map allow you to see which boss you'll fight, but it will also show you what route to take. To note, the spot before the boss will always be a campfire, so plan for that accordingly.

Slay the Spire is a game about taking your time and making sure your next move is the right one. The map helps you with this by not only letting you choose your fights but also when to rest. One more thing needs to be said - don't be afraid to alter your chosen route if you find that you suddenly don't have enough health to take on an elite.

6 Use Your Resources

Avoid Being A Horder

The game gives you ample resources to use to overcome its challenges. This can range from artifacts to money, to potions. Each of these plays a pivotal role in overcoming difficult fights. Artifacts are mostly permanent and are acquired through various means. It's easy to pick up an artifact and kind of forget it, many of them don't require much thought to use, but some will reward thinking ahead.

Money is another valuable resource that not only lets you buy artifacts and cards but also lets you remove cards from your deck. There's no bonus to keeping money till the end, so be sure to spend it. Finally, there's the potions, the resource most forgotten. Potions run into the problematic mentality of saving them for later. For sure, they can be vital in a boss fight, but don't be afraid to use them against any enemy you're having trouble with.

5 Take Time To Think At Campfires

Pause And Reassess

As you traverse through the maps, you’ll find small campfires to rest at. These allow you to regain some health or activate a variety of other effects based on what’s gone on during your playthrough.

An undervalued aspect is that the brief pause gives you time to think and strategize. You can determine which path is the best path based on your various interactions and fights. Don’t be afraid to use this time to think about the level and your own deck before making a move.

4 Learn To Assess Risks

Weigh The Pros And Cons

Another important aspect of Slay the Spire is knowing which risks to take. This will vary not just with what cards you have but also with what stage of the game you're on. In the first and second acts, your aim is to become powerful. The most reliable way of doing this is to collect good cards and powerful artifacts. Elites are the most reliable way to acquire artifacts, and you should fight every elite you can in these first couple of acts.

Of course, sometimes it's not worth it, especially if it means you won't be full or as close as possible to full health by the boss. In times like this, you need to decide if the risk is worth the reward. This goes for any other random event the game throws at you. Sometimes it's worth taking a curse; other times, it's really not.

3 Learn Your Character

Practice Makes Perfect

In the full release of the game, there are currently three playable characters. Each of these characters has different strengths and weaknesses. The Ironclad is much more forgiving because of the relic he starts with which heals him after combat. He also tends to be more straightforward with his cards.

The Silent's relic draws you two additional cards at the start of each encounter. Her cards are much more combo-focused and it's easy to fall into the trap of pursuing synergies. The Defect's relic channels an orb of lightning, its special mechanic, at the start of combat. The Defect plays out very differently. It's important to acknowledge that each character will do better against certain enemies and to know which cards to pick up to make up for such weaknesses.

2 End Fights In A Hurry

Dominate With Powerful Attacks

The last thing you’ll want to do in this game is take heavy damage. Even when you have excellent relics that restore your health, you’ll want to keep your health high in case you have damaging card effects.

Bashing your way through enemies as fast as possible is key because fights only get harder, and one bad fight can leave you scrambling as you’re still another four interactions away from the nearest campfire. Usually, the best builds emphasize huge damage output as quickly as possible for this reason.

1 Learn To Enjoy Both Victory And Defeat

Apply What You Learn On The Next Run

It's a guarantee that you will not win every run of Slay the Spire you start. Sometimes that's because you made a silly mistake early on against some tough elite. Other times you decided to go for a specific synergy but didn't get the cards and relics you needed. If you let these defeats get to you and stop enjoying the game, you'll stop improving.

Enjoy the defeats and the victories together. Go for silly synergies. Pick the random options given to you that may mess up your run or win it for you. Slay the Spire is, once again, a game that encourages you to play multiple runs of it, so enjoy whatever it decides to offer you because you can be sure that it will decide to end your run when it wants to, sometimes.