The developer behind Slay the Spire 2, Mega Crit, was forced to issue a statement following a strong backlash from fans after the first major balance pass. The patch included Phobia Mode and many bug and crash fixes.
“The first BIG balance pass for Slay the Spire 2 is now out on the beta branch!! (Sorry infinite build lovers),” the developer announced the arrival of the patch with enthusiasm on social media. “It also includes a Phobia Mode, lots of bug & crash fixes, and–as you can see below–some cool new art and VFX!”
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Players didn’t share the same enthusiasm as the developers. Rather, the release saw thousands of negative reviews. Some players said the update ruined their progress and gameplay experience. In a four-part response on X, Mega Crit addressed the criticism.
“Hey everyone, we appreciate all the feedback on the recent beta patch!” the response began. “Since we have a lot of new players that weren’t around for StS1’s Early Access phase and players who are new to Early Access games in general, we wanted to explain our patching methodology a bit.”
“We make changes based on a mix of player feedback, collected metrics, and our own design philosophies. While we look at feedback on many platforms, the feedback we receive via the in-game reporter from players who are testing the patch firsthand is the most useful to us.
This beta balance pass was the first of many to come over the next 1-2 years. The game will go through constant changes with the ultimate goal of making it as balanced of an experience as StS1 became. This progress will not be linear, and no change is necessarily permanent.
The beta branch will see the most experimental changes and will be tweaked each time until we feel it’s stable enough for the main branch. Participating in that process is optional but very helpful. Thank you for your patience as we slowly mold StS2 into its final shape!”
See the full patch note here.
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Despite the negative reviews, Slay the Spire 2 remains a massive success. Its peak concurrent player count stands at 574,638. The game has continued to attract over 300,000 daily concurrent players since launch, more than other major releases like Crimson Desert.
If the big balance pass patch ruined your experience, share your advice for the developers going forward in the comment box below.
