Our essential advice to help you get to the top • Eurogamer.net

Kill Spire’s tips and tricks

Given the random nature of the game, you must think for yourself every time you play – there are no guides or guides that you can follow every step of the way.

But there are essential tips to help you on your way:

What to choose in the whale

• When you talk to the whale at the start of the race, the middle two options, if you’ve had a good race before (passed in Act 1), are the most valuable. If you start from scratch, get extra hit points.
• The worst options are to reduce the health of the opponents in your next three fights to one hit point, because they are already quite easy; transforming cards because it is random and you could get some trash; and get a Curse because it can be crippling in such a small deck (unless there is a store from the beginning).

Keep your gavel small

• You don’t have to take a card every time you are offered one after a fight. Large decks reduce your chances of drawing the cards you want, when you want, so small decks are often preferable. A golden size appears to be 15 cards.
• 11 cards is not a good amount to have. The eleventh card will not be drawn until the third round and the first reorganization from the discard pile will be lost, so you will have to wait even longer to reuse it. It is much better to have 10 cards than 11. Or consider going up to 15 or 20.
• Since you start the game with 10-12 cards, keeping your total at around 15 can be really tricky. The secret is to eliminate the basic Hit and Defense cards you start the game with because you will collect attacks and defenses at a single cost that are simply better.
• Keep in mind that card rewards will improve the further you go. Upgraded versions of cards will be offered to you later, saving you from having to upgrade in camps. You’ll need a few cards to get started, but if you can hold on after this, try doing it.
• Keeping your deck small means you can upgrade a higher percentage of your deck, which means that each card is individually as powerful as it can be and there is no weak link. Therefore, try Smith instead of resting when you are in camp unless you are in dire need of health.

• Cards with a gray border are common, cards with a blue border are rare, and cards with a gold border are rare. Cards are updated with green writing and a plus sign. Remember, just because a card is rare doesn’t mean it’s better for your deck.
• Try creating a theme for your deck around a general strategy. If you can get any synergy between a few different cards, you’re on your way to becoming a Slay the Spire pro. Reject cards that don’t fit. I’ll talk about topics for classes later.
• You can check how many and what cards are in your deck using the deck icon in the upper right corner of the screen. There is a number that is the total of your card. Click on it to see what’s there. You can check it out before choosing Rewards After Battle.
• Watch out for zero power cards. They look great, but they take up valuable space in your deck, and if you’re finishing rounds with unspent energy, perhaps a higher-cost card would be a stronger choice.

Plan your route on the map

• It’s worth taking some time to plot a course across the map and see which boss you’ll fight in the end – each has their own sketch that you’ll come to recognize. This gives you time to prepare your deck accordingly. This is particularly useful in Act 3.
• In Act 3, the Time Eater boss fights best with passive powers for a longer fight; The Awake requires survival and a lot of damage to quickly kill the accompanying Cultists; And against Donu and Docu you will need a way to get Donu out before their buffs increase.
• In Act 1, random question mark events are weak and getting cards is more important, so choose a route with battles. In Act 2, question mark events are better and battles are more difficult, so look for more question marks.
• Fight the elites! Don’t be afraid, especially in Act 1. The elites are the horned heads on the map. They give you a relic and a card so they are more worthy of your time than standard fights. Look for well-positioned resting places (campfires) before or after the elites to recover.
• Generally speaking, Act 1 favors front-loading damage, Act 2 needs crowd control and damage scaling (one way to deal heavy damage), and Act 3 tries to build survivability.

Shopping merchant

• There is no point in visiting a merchant until you have money to spend there, around 300 gold coins, so plan your route accordingly. Also, in Act 3, there is no point in going to the final boss with the remaining money, so a stop at the store just before makes sense.
• Control yourself while you shop! Just because something is for sale doesn’t mean you need it. Consider buying a relic and withdrawing a letter. It’s usually not worth spending money on potions.
• Keep in mind that not all relics are worth it, but relics are almost always useful. Some grant winning game advantages.

Things to remember in combat

• Pay attention to your enemy’s abilities, either their benefits or the disadvantages they have put on you. Some bosses and mini bosses get stronger every time you use an ability or power, so be careful when playing with their traps.
• Some enemies fight back with thorns every time you damage them, so save big single hits for them instead of multiple attacks. The blockade helps, but your retaliation will wear you down. Don’t let them affect your valuable health if there is an alternative. Do it properly.
• Concentrated. Slay the Spire is a turn-based game, so there is no need to rush. Check and verify again. I can’t tell you how many times I was wrong because I turned off.
• Check your sweepstakes pile because it allows you to make an educated guess about what will come next. Your draw pile is the deck icon at the bottom left of the screen. Shows you which cards are still to be drawn though not the order you will draw them. You will draw five cards.
• When your Draw pile runs out, your discard pile will be shuffled to become your new Draw pile. Note that any card in your hand will have to wait for the next discard reorganization to return.

Looking for more tips? We have a specific page on The Watcher for you to review when you’re ready.