Just passed 500 hours played on STS (on Switch). Ascension levels:
Ironclad - Level 17
The Silent - Level 17
The Defect - Level 18
The Watcher - Level 5
I've refined the way I choose my decks pretty well but its at the point now were elites can be brutally hard. You really do need a nigh on perfect deck to get through to act 3 & beat the boss (at level 17 & above). I've still only beat The Heart once in all my play time.
Still madly addicted to this to the detriment of the rest of my Switch library though.
Still madly addicted to this to the detriment of the rest of my Switch library though.
Yeah I keep recommending you new awesome games. 
Spikeout wrote:Still madly addicted to this to the detriment of the rest of my Switch library though.
Yeah I keep recommending you new awesome games. ;)
I've Sundered ready to go on PS4! I didn't quite jive with the X-Morph Defense demo but it was pretty decent all the same.
If you have ever watched Jorbs on YouTube /Twitch but found his thinking process a bit opaque then there is some good news. He has invested in a drawing tablet and his latest videos and streams have involved him writing up some of his thought process for card selection and pathing. The videos come in at about 2-3 hours long with him talking everything through but I find them really worth it. I would never have gotten to an A20 heart kill without his over-explained videos and most of his StS content is now more like that.
I noticed that Jorbs did a Slay stream with LSV, a big MtG content creator. A good chunk of the MtG audience likes "overexplain" levels of commentary, myself included. Hopefully this means the crossover got him some new viewers.
I noticed that Jorbs did a Slay stream with LSV, a big MtG content creator. A good chunk of the MtG audience likes "overexplain" levels of commentary, myself included. Hopefully this means the crossover got him some new viewers.
I saw that run it was really good, i hope your right.
Finally got to Ascension 8 on watcher, bringing her up to parity with the rest of the characters. I was about 6 HP short of a heart kill as well, which is frustrating.
It’s maybe also worth pointing out that it took me this long to realize I had misunderstood how the alpha/beta/omega rare card works. I thought omega was a skill that did 50 damage, which really didn’t seem good given how much energy it takes to get there. Turns out it’s a power that does 50 at the end of every turn, which is way better. Go figure.
I still don’t think omniscience is very good though...
I still don’t think omniscience is very good though...
Imagine using omniscience on omega. Now you're doing 100 pts of damage per turn.
I also like to use omniscience to play Talk to the Hand against the Heart. Giving extra block per attack, and no need to worry about the beat of death on a turn where you're only playing attacks.
Also, omniscience is an extra out with Lesson Learned or other cards that give a bonus on kill in your deck.
Finally got to Ascension 8 on watcher, bringing her up to parity with the rest of the characters. I was about 6 HP short of a heart kill as well, which is frustrating.
It’s maybe also worth pointing out that it took me this long to realize I had misunderstood how the alpha/beta/omega rare card works. I thought omega was a skill that did 50 damage, which really didn’t seem good given how much energy it takes to get there. Turns out it’s a power that does 50 at the end of every turn, which is way better. Go figure.
I still don’t think omniscience is very good though...
Omniscience is amazing. Pair it with Deva Form on long battles for hilarious amounts of mana, or Ragnarok when in Wrath (or even Divinity) for stupid damage. Or Pressure Points to ramp up the stacked damage. Or any power card really to get double the benefit (I love it with Mental Fortress in a stance-heavy deck - just silly amounts of block)
Alpha/Beta/Omega I have mixed feelings about. Obviously it's great for boss battles, and if you have ways of puling the Beta/Omega card out of your deck early instead of waiting for them to cycle through (hello again Omniscience!), it can be great. But most of the time, I'm done with a fight before Omega hits, and I would have been better off without it.
I have never taken it. It seems like a card that is good for regular fights but bad for bosses, and since bosses are the main way we die it didn’t make sense. Maybe in practice it is better than I think.
IMO Intangible is way more important for boss/elite fights than hallway fights. Boss fights are the ones that seriously test your ability to block/mitigate damage, since they generally feature either giant damage spikes or rapidly scaling damage. You can generally coast through most hallway fights with some fairly basic damage mitigation and/or enough damage to burst enemies down before they can hurt you.
It depends on the rest of your deck of course, but the ghost event can be hugely beneficial, especially if your block generation is lagging behind. Intangible is one of the most powerful effects in the game.
The ghost event is also one of the only ways to get Intangible on non-Silent runs (there's also Incense Burner, but it's a lot more finicky to use well).
Omniscience really takes off if you can get a second Omniscience. Double-playing one card is good, but doubling Omniscience to double two other cards? That's when things really start to get nuts.
I guess my issue with omniscience is the cost: unless I already have some form of extra energy generation I have to play around with exiting calm or burning a miracle to play it, which means no energy left for blocking.
Clearly the consensus is that it has its use cases though, so I’ll play around with it in future runs. Thanks for the input.
As long as we’re talking about watcher rares of dubious utility:
How do we feel about spirit shield? I’ve only found it useful in one or two runs.
I guess my issue with omniscience is the cost: unless I already have some form of extra energy generation I have to play around with exiting calm or burning a miracle to play it, which means no energy left for blocking.
You're not wrong, but Watcher has a host of ways to generate extra mana (it's a totally worthwhile use of your miracle), and pairs really well with Collect (particularly once that's upgraded). I only consider taking it when I've already got a little bit of extra mana sloshing around (the relic that lets you carry over mana to the next turn is amazing for the Watcher anyway - you can store it up until you hit a Wrath/Divinity state then *boom*).
There's also opportunities to play it as your sole action. Enemy got a damageless buff/nerf lined up? Or a weaksauce attack that you can absorb?
I guess my issue with omniscience is the cost: unless I already have some form of extra energy generation I have to play around with exiting calm or burning a miracle to play it, which means no energy left for blocking.
I think a lot of the best uses for Omniscience are to set up your block generation for the fight. Doubling up things like Talk to the Hand or Mental Fortress can be a very strong move early on. Even just doubling something like Wallop can be pretty decent in a pinch.
Either that, or getting super greedy with double-Wish when things are already going well 
How do we feel about spirit shield? I’ve only found it useful in one or two runs.
Very deck dependant, but in the right circumstances it can be good. If you're running a deck with a lot of Retain, card draw, or something like Runic Pyramid it can be pretty strong. Pairs very well with Scrawl.
This may be quite a long post so apologies for that if you do read it. I am also not a natural writer, I have always leaned towards the sciences and data, as will become apparent in the next few paragraphs, but I have an unusual (for me) desire to express my love for this game.
I only became interested in Slay the Spire after The Game King talked about it on the podcast and crucially put out videos of a few his runs. The incredibly difficult decisions instantly appealed to me and I watched every run just enjoying trying to decide what I would do in my own head. I didn’t think I would get a chance to play it as I don’t have a P.C on which to play games so just enjoyed it from afar. Then a PS4 launch date was announced…. Having watched videos the game had the advantage that I pretty much knew what I was doing the second I opened it, but wow did it click with me. Every game presents you with a really unique and interesting strategic choices and to do so within a system that feels simple just blows my mind, as I worked my way up the ascensions with each character and a new layer of difficulty was added I had to become better.
I estimate my current play time at about 1500 hours and I am nowhere near bored. To put that into context I get on average 1-2 hours gaming a night so its been pretty much my full gaming time since I got it. The game makes you move towards not an archetypal deck but more asks you, how are you going to face these next three challenges whilst also moving towards a position you can beat the heart. As you face each of those challenges you will inevitably have to deviate from ways you thought you were building towards and insert one off solutions to specific fights (I’m looking at you Reptomancer). I don’t think anyone will ever get to a point where they can fully intuit the “correct” pick for any deck once you get past the first 5 floors. This is especially true in a shop, Is this potion more likely to make you beat the heart this run than removing a strike? The potential maths behind that one choice let alone between picking between the cards and relics you can buy simply makes my brain happy.
Like most people the last year has been a relatively stressful one. I have a job that requires long hours and makes me engage with political realities that I really find distasteful and that leaves me tired, I also have two young children who were home 24/7 during lock down and was trying to do as much as I could around the home-schooling. The space to let my brain work through the processes that StS asks of it without really having anything at stake just allowed it to relax for that hour or two a day has been unbelievably valuable to me. I think the run structure fortuitously falls into my family life and being able to know that I would be finished when I needed to probably made it easier for me to play.
This is one of the first games I can honestly say that as long as its available on a platform I think I will be playing it in 30 years. I don’t think there is such a thing as a game that is for everyone, but for me it is genuinely perfect.
I currently can beat the heart on Ascension 20 about 10% of the time on a given run across the characters, I doubt ill get better than that but ill have fun trying.
That’s so awesome!
That's amazing to read bbk, really happy STS has connected with you right to core of your gaming soul
I pretty much agree with everything you've said, its in my top 2 addictive games of all time. Every run seems rife with potential & a certain card or relic can really change the course of that run. I just love the idea of the stars aligning with favourable relic drops that compliment your choice of cards you've picked along the way.
Even one of the random '?' rooms can pull you out of a hole with healing you fully, letting you replicate a card in your deck etc
Btw in terms of game time your 3 times the STS addict I am 
Stuck as I am in the mid-single digit Ascension levels, my problem with StS is that every run feels like it ends in a cheap victory by the AI and disappointment.
And given that most runs are making it into the 3rd floor, that's a lot of time invested building a powerful deck, only to have the rug pulled out from under you by an enemy that's suddenly doing substantially more damage than any previous one while I pull none of my big defensive cards.
I keep telling myself I should uninstall it instead of continually being tempted back to the well of cheap disappointment.
Do we know anything about additional content upcoming for the game? Havent heard much lately.
Every run seems rife with potential & a certain
cardboon orrelichammer can really change the course of that run.
Buddy, you really have to start playing Hades. It's exactly this, but with action combat instead of cards.
Spikeout wrote:Every run seems rife with potential & a certain
cardboon orrelichammer can really change the course of that run.Buddy, you really have to start playing Hades. It's exactly this, but with action combat instead of cards. ;)
Haha! Played it for an hour or so there. I'm really gelling with it. So many cool design choices that make it unique. The movement & combat feel great too.
Stuck as I am in the mid-single digit Ascension levels, my problem with StS is that every run feels like it ends in a cheap victory by the AI and disappointment.
And given that most runs are making it into the 3rd floor, that's a lot of time invested building a powerful deck, only to have the rug pulled out from under you by an enemy that's suddenly doing substantially more damage than any previous one while I pull none of my big defensive cards.
I keep telling myself I should uninstall it instead of continually being tempted back to the well of cheap disappointment.
I agree the Ascension levels can be brutal & a lot of times the attack damage from certain enemies can be off the chain. There's simply no way to defend against some of the numbers they pull out of the bag. I definitely share that frustration.
Thanks for the kind words everyone. Its genuinely appreciated.
Stuck as I am in the mid-single digit Ascension levels, my problem with StS is that every run feels like it ends in a cheap victory by the AI and disappointment.
And given that most runs are making it into the 3rd floor, that's a lot of time invested building a powerful deck, only to have the rug pulled out from under you by an enemy that's suddenly doing substantially more damage than any previous one while I pull none of my big defensive cards.
I keep telling myself I should uninstall it instead of continually being tempted back to the well of cheap disappointment.
I really understand this feeling. I tend to find most of my successful runs build damage in act 1 and maybe a bit into act 2 but by the time I am about 2/3rd of the way into Act 2 I have to switch to taking block and making it scale. Obviously it doesn't always work out like that, bad draws will happen.
Do we know anything about additional content upcoming for the game? Havent heard much lately.
I don't think so. I believe there are some interesting mods on PC including one to let you play as the bosses. I am not complaining too much having got the watcher for free. I eagerly await whatever Mega Crit do next.
Spikeout wrote:Every run seems rife with potential & a certain
cardboon orrelichammer can really change the course of that run.Buddy, you really have to start playing Hades. It's exactly this, but with action combat instead of cards. ;)
Sounds interesting. How does it hold up to old man reflexes? I can still easily play games like Diablo but seriously twitchy stuff is getting beyond me.
Stuck as I am in the mid-single digit Ascension levels, my problem with StS is that every run feels like it ends in a cheap victory by the AI and disappointment.
And given that most runs are making it into the 3rd floor, that's a lot of time invested building a powerful deck, only to have the rug pulled out from under you by an enemy that's suddenly doing substantially more damage than any previous one while I pull none of my big defensive cards.
The runs that get me are when I have a deck that's capable of putting up enough defense or offense, it just doesn't on that one key turn. I've found that the only time I'm really enjoying StS is when I have some item that actually lets me plan ahead and conserve my resources a bit.
Sounds interesting. How does [Hades] hold up to old man reflexes? I can still easily play games like Diablo but seriously twitchy stuff is getting beyond me.
It depends on the weapon you select and the build you can put together. Close-range, fast weapons can be pretty twitchy. Long range weapons and certain combo-based builds are more about tactical positioning and keeping your distance than they are about well-timed dodges.
Lately, my strategy has been to remove as many of the basic starter cards as possible. Then I only add powerful cost efficient cards to my deck. Usually I will obtain a relic or two or power cards that synergize well with my deck. Also powerful cards which exhaust add to this strategy as they are one and done. This leaves me with a tight deck that cycles often.
This has been working great but I’ve died on the third boss about 10 times in a row which is frustrating. Like others have been saying, the boss will deal crazy damage out of the blue. Like a one turn kill while I still have over 50% of my total health.
I should probably just read a strategy for the boss each time I get there. That should help a little.
I should probably just read a strategy for the boss each time I get there. That should help a little.
From watching a bit of Jorbs' stream VODs, I'd say you need to read that guide a lot sooner. A bit part of his strategy involves looking at which boss he's got as soon as he can see the map. Then he uses the run up to it to prepare.
RawkGWJ wrote:I should probably just read a strategy for the boss each time I get there. That should help a little.
From watching a bit of Jorbs' stream VODs, I'd say you need to read that guide a lot sooner. A bit part of his strategy involves looking at which boss he's got as soon as he can see the map. Then he uses the run up to it to prepare.
Absolutely, I am sure I have said this else where on this thread but i got super stuck around ascension 15 before I found Jorbs Youtube channel and Twitch. I had actually never really watched Twitch other than a few GWJ streams before this but i am now an avid viewer of his. Rawk I can really recommend his overexplained runs they come in at a few hours long but he really does pick apart all his decision making well.
A few hours!! That’s way too long. Same reason I never watched Hearthstone VODs. I would so much rather read a guide, but everyone does VODs now. Probably because with YouTube there’s a baked in method of monetizing your efforts.
I’ll give his VODs a look though.
I'm sure there are written guides out there. I wasn't trying to change how you get your strategy; I was just citing a source.
Indeed they are long. I watched them on my long commute back in the "Before Times" .
Stuck as I am in the mid-single digit Ascension levels, my problem with StS is that every run feels like it ends in a cheap victory by the AI and disappointment.
And given that most runs are making it into the 3rd floor, that's a lot of time invested building a powerful deck, only to have the rug pulled out from under you by an enemy that's suddenly doing substantially more damage than any previous one while I pull none of my big defensive cards.
That is my main complaint about the game too. Not the 'cheapness' part of the AI victory, but that you can put 30-40 minutes in and essentially have nothing to show for it. I know that is the nature of the game but especially once you start climbing ascensions, for me it is hard not to feel like I just wasted an hour. I need some type of progression to stay engaged or make it feel 'worth it'.
That said, I still put 135 hours into it on Steam, so I more than got my money's worth.
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