Slay the Spire 2 Beta Patch Reworks Battle Trance, Buffs Enemies
The beta patch signals a shift in Ironclad's identity, trading a rare energy engine for a scaling block tool, while widespread enemy buffs raise the overall difficulty ceiling before the game's full release.
Key Facts
- Mega Crit released beta patch v0.111.0 for Slay the Spire 2 on August 14, 2026.
- Ironclad's Battle Trance now costs 3 energy and grants 15 Block, plus 5 Block per Strength point, instead of granting 1 energy per Attack card in hand.
- Defect's Hyper Beam now loses 3 Focus only for the turn, but its area damage was reduced from 30 to 24.
- The patch adds idle animations for all playable characters when their HP is low, plus Indonesian language support.
- Enemy buffs were applied to Axe Machine, Mechanite, Exoskeleton Bug, Globe Head, Ancestor Bug, and Soul Fish.
Reporting from 2 sources: Automaton, Game Spark.
Mega Crit released beta patch v0.111.0 for Slay the Spire 2 on August 14, 2026. The update reworks Ironclad's popular skill Battle Trance, turning it from an energy-generating card into a block-generating one. Battle Trance now costs 3 energy and grants 15 Block, plus 5 additional Block for each point of Strength the character has. Previously, it granted 1 energy for each Attack card in hand and prevented gaining additional energy that turn. The change removes one of Ironclad's rare energy sources. Another Ironclad skill, Forgotten Ritual, was simplified to grant 3 energy and Exhaust, making it easier to pick up without requiring exhaust synergy. Silent's Ink Blade was nerfed: the Ink enchantment on knives lost its additional 1 damage effect, while applying 1 Weak remains. Necrobinder's Doom was buffed by removing Exhaust, allowing repeated use against enemies with Ruin stacks. Defect's Hyper Beam was reworked: losing 3 Focus now applies only for the turn, but its area damage dropped from 30 to 24. Several enemies, including Axe Machine, Mechanite, Exoskeleton Bug, Globe Head, Ancestor Bug, and Soul Fish, received stat buffs, making the climb harder. The patch also adds idle animations for characters at low HP, Indonesian language support, and an E key confirm feature.
- Battle Trance's rework removes one of Ironclad's few energy generation tools, and the new version scales with Strength, which the character can build through other cards and relics.
- Forgotten Ritual now gives 3 Energy and Exhaust with no condition, so it no longer requires building around exhaust synergy to be worth taking.
- Silent's Ink Blade keeps the 1 Weak application but drops the extra 1 damage from the Ink enchantment, reducing knife damage output.
- Necrobinder's Doom lost Exhaust, so it can be played repeatedly against enemies with Ruin stacks, making it a stronger damage option in Ruin-focused decks.
- Defect's Hyper Beam now only loses 3 Focus for the turn instead of permanently, but its area damage falls from 30 to 24.
- Ancient Relic's Teskatara "Picture Book" skill, Aurora Flame, now costs 2 max HP instead of 1 when drawing 2 cards and gaining 2 Energy.
- Nonupeipe's "Beautiful Bracelet" now applies Swift 2 to random cards instead of chosen ones, after v0.110 made it target 4 cards.
- Enemy buffs hit Axe Machine, Mechanite, Exoskeleton Bug, Globe Head, Ancestor Bug, and Soul Fish, raising their attack or HP.
- The patch also replaces some card art and adds keyboard-only controls from the previous beta update, plus an E key confirm feature.
- Mega Crit notes the beta branch changes may be adjusted again based on player feedback before the full implementation.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.