A balance patch dropped. Players got upset. The review bomb hit. And now Mega Crit is walking some of it back.
Slay the Spire 2 launched in early access in early March to extraordinary numbers, hitting 282,314 concurrent players on day one. That kind of momentum is rare for any game, let alone a card-based roguelike. But the goodwill took a hit when the studio pushed out its first major balance patch, which included nerfs that landed badly with a vocal portion of the playerbase.
What the original patch actually changed
The update that caused the backlash targeted several cards that players had built strategies around. Prepared, a core card for the Silent character, was reworked in a way that many felt gutted the character's identity. Borrowed Time and Capture Spirit for the Necrobinder also received nerfs that players found frustrating rather than fair.
The reaction was swift. Players flooded the Steam reviews with negative feedback, a classic review bomb in response to balance decisions they disagreed with. Here's the thing about review bombing during early access: it sends a strong signal, but it also muddies the waters for anyone trying to gauge whether a game is actually worth buying.
Mega Crit's response and what's being reverted
On March 27, Mega Crit posted to social media acknowledging the situation with a bit of humor, telling players they could "lower your Shivs" now that Prepared was being restored. The tone was light, but the message was clear: the studio heard the feedback and acted on it.
The studio was candid about the reasoning behind each revert. On Prepared specifically, Mega Crit wrote that while the Sly synergies are "overall too dominant of a strategy," Prepared is "so integral to the Silent's core identity" that a different approach to balancing Sly will be pursued instead. Borrowed Time, meanwhile, is flagged for a complete rework down the line, but gets restored to its previous version for now so it remains usable across different deck types.
danger
These changes are currently live on the Beta Branch, not the main branch. Players who want to test them early can opt into the beta through Steam.
The reverts in patch v0.101.0 break down as follows:
- Prepared (Silent): Restored to "Cost 0, Draw 1(2) card(s), Discard 1(2) card(s)" after the reworked version was scrapped
- Capture Spirit (Necrobinder): Buffed back to its previous version, with enemy HP loss and Soul generation both increased
- Borrowed Time (Necrobinder): Reverted so it applies 3 Doom and gains 1(2) Energy, rather than the nerfed 6(3) Doom version
The rest of v0.101.0 is actually substantial
Beyond the reverts, the patch carries a lot of meaningful changes. The Doormaker boss gets another rework, this time designed to reduce randomness and reward player decision-making more consistently. Each visual phase of the fight now has its own distinct power, which should make the encounter feel less chaotic.
Doormaker boss reworked again
Elites can no longer spawn on floor 6, correcting an issue where Neow counting as the first floor caused elites to appear one floor earlier than intended. Map generation also received improvements to prevent runs from being front-loaded with monster rooms and little else.
Other balance highlights from the patch:
- Ironclad: Cinder now Exhausts a random card from hand instead of the top of the draw pile; Tremble gains Exhaust
- Regent: Multiple buffs across Falling Star, Glitterstream, Parry, Refine Blade, Celestial Might, Guiding Star, and Sword Sage
- Defect: Voltaic nerfed, energy cost raised from 2 to 3
- Relics: Several rarity shifts, with Tiny Mailbox moving from Common to Uncommon and now providing 2 potions instead of 1
- Skulking Colony enemy nerfed after swinging too far in the other direction from a previous buff
The feedback form also got a significant upgrade. The character limit for in-game feedback jumped from 500 to 8,000, a 16x increase. Mega Crit specifically called out that in-game feedback through F2 is the preferred channel for player input going forward.
What this tells us about the early access process
The key here is that Mega Crit moved fast. The original patch dropped, the community reacted, and within days the studio had a response patch live on the beta branch with clear explanations for every decision. That kind of turnaround matters during early access, where the implicit contract between developer and player is that feedback actually shapes the game.
The studio was also transparent about what it still wants to address. Sly synergies for the Silent remain on the radar. Borrowed Time is earmarked for a full rework. Gloom, the Ascension modifier, will be redesigned entirely. None of these are promises with timelines, but naming them publicly sets expectations.
For players tracking the full patch notes and ongoing beta changes, the Steam Community hub is the most reliable place to follow updates as Mega Crit continues iterating toward the full release. Make sure to check out more:
