How to Slay the Spire (For Dummies Edition)

[Blood Flowers]

I'm posting this because some of the advice and complaints going around are literally making me cry.

Preface: I mainly play A20 runs with the Silent (~25% WR for A20 Heart Kill) and am slightly less experienced with the other two characters (though I have beaten A20 on all 3 characters). I can't remember the last time I lost a run that didn't reach act 4 below a15 (again, as the Silent).

Here's a list of advice:

1. Build a balanced deck that solves immediate problems.

Q: wHaT DOeS ThIS MeAn?!?!?
A: If you are about to fight your first elite in Act 1 and you have skipped every card reward up until this point because none of the cards are "amazing" or "can make crazy good combos" then you've probably done something wrong. Similarly, if you've been picking up cards like accuracy or outmaneuver and then have to fight Gremlin Nob, you probably shouldn't blame the game for being hard if when you die.

2. Fight elites. Preferably at least 2 per Act (obviously does not apply to Act 4).

Q: Why? Elites are so strong. I lose health. :(
A: They give relics. They give increased chances at rare cards. These things add up to make later parts of the game easier. If you skip all the elites, then you're gonna have a rough time later on against the bosses (or even just harder hallway fights).

3. Stop trading your starting relic on Silent and Ironclad. Actually, just stop trading your starting relic. The other options are almost always better (or at least more consistent).

Fine Print: Don't take colorless cards either. Those are even worse.

Q: But... but... bu-
A: No.

4. Look at the map. Then pick the most optimal path.

Q: I already do that though, but I'm still losing. Why?
A: Because you're doing the first part and not the second. The most optimal path does not include 0 elites, 10 ? marks and 3 stores.
Addendum: Plan to fight 2 elites, preferably backloaded though usually its more like 1 early 1 late. Try to hit as many campfires as possible for upgrades (priority) and resting (if you have to). Take more hallway fights if your cards suck. Take more ? marks if your cards are already decent and you're in Act 2 where the hallway fights extra suck.

Originally posted by Siri:

It helps to plan your path knowing that the first three non-elite fights in [Act 1 and the first two non-elite fights in Acts 2 and 3] are pulled from a pool of encounters that is much easier than the rest.

5. Learn what enemies do.

Q: It's always random though. How could I possibly know?
A: It's random... within certain rules. Learn them through experience, or just, idk, GOOGLE??
Addendum: Somebody who is way more patient than I am decided to look it up for you guys.

Originally posted by faceplant712:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZsxNXebbELpcCi8N7FVOTNGdX_K9-BRC_LMgx4TORo4/
https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/

6. Use your head.

Q: I keep trying, but no matter how many times I smash my face on the keyboard, I still can't win.
A: I'm getting salty.

7. Pick your boss relic wisely.

Q: Shouldn't I just always take an energy relic?
A: No. You should take what solves problems for your deck.
Q: iTz ImPOsSiBRU, can'T wiN WiTH 3 NRG
A: Can't win with small brain either. You can. Being unable to play high cost cards is a problem that can be solved in more ways than just energy relics. Energy relics are nice, but they are not always needed nor are they always the best options to take.

8. Look at your Draw Pile.

Q: The Draw Pile shows everything in a random order, that's not helpful at all!
A: It helps because it lets you know what probability you have of drawing XYZ cards. More specifically, if helps you know what types of cards you might draw on your next turn. If your draw pile has 10 cards and 9 of them are block cards, you probably aren't going to be doing any damage on subsequent turns.

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If you're not sick of me yet, check out this guide that I'm currently in the process of writing. I go through an A20 run and explain my thought process on what cards I take and what paths I choose.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1613845715

[Fringehunter7719]

Does that mean the first three fights, or fights on the first three floors?

If it's the latter then that would mean ? and shops are bad until the easy fights are done, presumably.

[Rogue]

Originally posted by Fringehunter7719:

Does that mean the first three fights, or fights on the first three floors?

If it's the latter then that would mean ? and shops are bad until the easy fights are done, presumably.

The first three fights, including ones in ? rooms. If you dodge fights for a few floors you just get them later. It doesn't make elites easier though, of course.

[Fringehunter7719]

Thanks.

[Xiander]

Originally posted by Fringehunter7719:

Does that mean the first three fights, or fights on the first three floors?

If it's the latter then that would mean ? and shops are bad until the easy fights are done, presumably.

?s and shops does have lower priority at the very start of the game. For ? rooms this is because you would rather fight and get yourself some cards. For shops it is because you don't really have the gold for any good stuff.

[Blood Flowers]

Originally posted by Siri:

Re: point 4.
It helps to plan your path, especially in act 1, knowing that the first three non-elite fights in act1 (first 2 in act 2 and act 3) are pulled from a pool of encounters that is much easier than the rest.

Very true. I don't know if I stick to this too much though, as often times opting into more fights prior to the elite is actually worthwhile (since you get to see more cards) and thus potentially lose less HP on the elite. The "harder" hallway fights in Act 1 are honestly still pretty easy, with the exception of 2 fights that are supposed to be a 1/16 chance of getting either (thus 1/8 chance of losing a ton of health).

[Xiander]

How do you feel about the "Neows lament" Relic?
I have a quite unreasonable fondness of it, especially if I have a chance to snipe an elite. This does however lead me to dodge a good handful of fights early, in the hopes of killing one elite easily...

[Blood Flowers]

Originally posted by chung_kuel:

How do you feel about the "Neows lament" Relic?
I have a quite unreasonable fondness of it, especially if I have a chance to snipe an elite. This does however lead me to dodge a good handful of fights early, in the hopes of killing one elite easily...

I take it if I can snipe an elite relatively early AND if that path has at least one more elite (preferably two) on it. However, if I'm running through like 2 stores and 4 ? marks just to hit that first elite, I'm probably not going to take Neow's. Obviously, if you aren't able to snipe an elite, then the max HP is just straight up better as the first three fights are easy fights where you probably don't lose more than 10 HP if things go really poorly.

I really really like Neow's if it lets me snipe the flaming elite though. Having path flexibility in Act 3 is very nice.

[Rogue]

Originally posted by Blood Flowers:

Very true. I don't know if I stick to this too much though, as often times opting into more fights prior to the elite is actually worthwhile (since you get to see more cards) and thus potentially lose less HP on the elite. The "harder" hallway fights in Act 1 are honestly still pretty easy, with the exception of 2 fights that are supposed to be a 1/16 chance of getting either (thus 1/8 chance of losing a ton of health).

I think the game is coded backwards and gives a 7/8 chance to get slime or gremlin pack. Jokes aside, I just use it as a general guideline but I find I rather take fourth fight after the elite unless I get a very good path incentive not to. The relic and the higher quality card drops helps more with the fourth hallway fight than vice versa in my, admittedly, somewhat limited experience. The extra hp feels more useful on the elite, and being stronger for the hard packs seems to retain more health overall unless the first three card rewards were of very limited usefulness.

I don't really know, this game is complicated.

[Blood Flowers]

Originally posted by Siri:

I find I rather take fourth fight after the elite unless I get a very good path incentive not to. The relic and the higher quality card drops helps more with the fourth hallway fight than vice versa. The extra hp feels more useful on the elite, and being stronger for the hard packs seems to retain more health overall unless the first three card rewards were of very limited usefulness.

It generally tends to be on a case-by-case scenario. If you have the right cards (for instance, picking up a Dagger Spray and then upgrading it) then the harder hallway fights become trivialized and this gives you more opportunities to pick up a strong single target attack. However, if you are sitting on strong single target attacks such as Dash then you'd probably want the elite fight first.

[BCS]

Change small brain to smooth brain in the OP and it'll be perfect

[Blood Flowers]

Originally posted by watercolor:

Change small brain to smooth brain in the OP and it'll be perfect

I was concerned that it might go over the heads of people who don't have wrinkly brains. xd

Open Question: You are presented with Calling Bell, Eternal Feather, and White Beast Statue after beating the Act 2 boss. Your relic from Act 1 was Orrery. Which one do you take?

[Zu]

I take the PepeHands relic.

Idk. If I have no pseudo energy relic and only got here by cheesing champ, I might go for a Hail Mary and pick calling bell. Might be manageable after orrery.
But I reckon I got this far by cheating with apparitions, bites, and dodecahedron or something, so either eternal feather as a safety net or statue if my potions are trash and I'm most worried about the heart where I'd need an artifact speed pot
(or if I just have potion belt and entropic brew high rolls a win for you LUL ).

#Context

but also hello darkness, my old friend. FeelsBadMan

[Blood Flowers]

Originally posted by Zu:

I take the PepeHands relic.

Idk. If I have no pseudo energy relic and only got here by cheesing champ, I might go for a Hail Mary and pick calling bell. Might be manageable after orrery.
But I reckon I got this far by cheating with apparitions, bites, and dodecahedron or something, so either eternal feather as a safety net or statue if my potions are trash and I'm most worried about the heart where I'd need an artifact speed pot
(or if I just have potion belt and entropic brew high rolls a win for you LUL ).

#Context

but also hello darkness, my old friend. FeelsBadMan

So this is my current situation on my A20 run that I'm using for my "explain my thought process guide". My deck is actually really strong (no cheesing needed) but I was really hoping for an energy relic (or even just any GOOD relic) at this point.

No potion belt and I already have Meat on the Bone which kinda has anti-synergy with Eternal Feather. No Omamori for Calling Bell and I'm not in a particularly desperate situation. I'm thinking of taking Eternal Feather anyways, since my deck size is ~30 cards and it'll guarantee I never need to rest.

[Zu]

I guess statue to sometimes reduce variance against best waifu and nemesis?

Then again, feather means no resting in act 4, so if you don't think much of draw pot for nemesis and such, feather would make the most sense.

[Blood Flowers]

Originally posted by Zu:

Then I guess statue to sometimes reduce variance against best waifu and nemesis?

I was also considering WBS for reducing variance... but I'm honestly not even sure if I'll need potions. Very strong deck that I'm working with in this run. I honestly figure Eternal Feather and WBS are about even in worth this run... Except I'm holding one thorns potion for the heart already and I think if I run into another thorns potion I'll end up holding that one too thus making WBS totally useless.