Slay the Spire 2 has added its first new Early Access character, The Fool, alongside Blitz and Dread modes in beta patch v0.113.0. The new musician wields a bow, and anyone aiming to unlock Dread will need to reach Ascension 10 with them as well as every other character.
Mega Crit released the beta patch on November 12. These additions are not on the main branch: the studio expects substantial content and balance changes before The Fool is ready to move across.
To try them, right-click Slay the Spire 2 in your Steam library, open Properties, then Game Versions & Betas and select public-beta. The main branch is instead being brought up to date with the previous beta, v0.111.0, so updating without switching branches will not give you the new character or modes.
Two very different climbs
Dread is the new endgame challenge. Its entry requirement includes The Fool, so even established players who have reached Ascension 10 across the existing roster have another character to work through. Once inside, all Ascension modifiers are enabled, bosses are stronger and they buff every enemy in their act. Curses accumulate during the climb, too.
Blitz has a much lower unlock requirement: completing an Ascension run at any difficulty. It condenses the game into a deckbuilding-focused mode with no map, altered Merchant wares and no role for Gold. Its five Ascension levels are shared across all characters.
The patch also adds events and relics, reworks cards and allows rest sites to appear one floor earlier in each act. There are fixes beyond combat balance: opening a run saved on a newer version now prompts you to update instead of reporting a corrupt save. Mega Crit has also fixed an issue where opening a run or Run History entry on an older version could delete it on other devices.
Slay the Spire 2 entered Early Access on March 5, with solo play and co-op for up to four players. Mega Crit has not given a main-branch release date for the new additions in these notes.