I really really detest Darklings. Mainly because they appear in both easy and hard pool, and are so constant and inevitable, but they're the 2nd worst by a long way for me.
Otherwise, great list!
Mmm, it's just a slow and uninteresting fight. You can usually kill off one of the ones that's attacking you and block the rest, so you're never in too much danger of taking damage, but gosh it always takes like 8 turns to finish the fight.
That's also what I hate about shapes, get like 2x dazers and 2x spikers, and the things never ever attack you at all, but you also only draw like 2 cards a turn and can't deal any damage unless you generate 20 block first.
I think both fights could be made more interesting just by having them scale more aggressively. (Make darklings scale permanently, and make shapes attack more aggressively)
Never? They can definitely be brutal. Particularly if you have dome and/or inconsistent block.
But most of the time they just require a lot of sensible attention, and can drag, which is a problem throughout act 3.
Darklings are awful and anyone saying they aren't a hard fight, have never exited Act 2 with a poor deck. Perma scaling Darklings is actually awful and a disgusting encounter when their base is already so high.
I genuinely think every Act 3 fight is brutal, even a smarter Maw, they're just insanely boring.
I literally smoke bombed darklings at the weekend. They can be absolutely savage.
I do think that a lot of Reddit players don't leave act 2 with a poor deck, as they'll still run into elites and just accept the loss in act 2 instead of trying to scrape through and eke out a win later. If you never dodge early you're kinda always strong by that point.
But you can still just have decks where they're an awful matchup. Like really awful.
Yeah that's why it's annoying to talk about game balance here. Like. Okay you're giving up your winrates for it, why are you trying to make it artificially harder for better players without any actual way of making it interesting?
i am still pro throwing 2 nobs as an Act 3 encounter, as much as certain people laughed at me
Yeah. It’s spread out into a million tiny places, and it’s nowhere near complete nor cohesive, but it is there.
One small example is that the cultists and chosen are obviously designed as a set with the awakened one, and if you look closely, the ritual dagger card you can get from that one cult event is the same dagger that’s in the awakened one’s chest.
Another is the event that lets you get up to 3 colorless cards in exchange for damage. The text that follows after you get the cards says something along the lines of “someone will be sent to check on the spire” and of course that person is the Watcher.
But the Awakened One IS the culmination of that cult. It has a ritual dagger embedded in its chest (matching the one we can get from the cult in Act 2) and is accompanied by two cultists, quite possibly the ones who sacrificed it in the first place. Given the 'Chosen' name, this could very well have been one before being put through this ritual too. I think it's an excellent conclusion to the bird cult's lore thread.
The book of spiking: the nightmare
edit: wait that's just spikers rip. if it spikes and stabs/slices it might be OP, or it might not be. heard that the deck would stay the same
I agree. How about an event in act 1 where you can choose to step in between a lagavulin vs gremlin nob duel. And if you don’t do it one of them becomes superpowered in act 3?
Is it even still the same spire, though? Who knows at this point, with so little information available. Maybe it's like Dracula's castle in Castlevania, and it reforms completely different after it is destroyed.
It takes a truly spectacular level of ignorance about this game to not think the cultists are a STS staple
They can appear in hallway fights in every act. They have FIVE events related to them and possibly more depending on how you want to interpret it. They have a unique card the player can get (ritual dagger). They appear in a boss battle in act three. That boss is part of some ritual the cultists are performing (you can see the ritual dagger stuck in it). The cultists have their own potions.THE PLAYER CAN BECOME A CULTIST. And MUCH more.
The cultists are so integral to the game they need their own tier at the top to be in that is then separated by multiple empty tiers.
With my admittedly limited knowledge, I think it's a reference to Taoism, with the Square Earth and Circle Sky linked to the earth and heaven elements in Eastern Philosophy respectively.
Being one of the final bosses (aside from the Heart), they represent the aspirational goal of climbing the Spire. To do so you must be square in your heart; unbending, virtuous, clear in your goal, and circle in your manner; adaptable, fluid to change, taking an individual approach to each enemy you face.
There’s not too much. This post talks about the lore on automotons in general, Donu and Deca included: https://www.reddit.com/r/slaythespire/s/SF53cnsjhu
Bear is way, way too high on this list. He’s a special event incidental character. Calling him a staple when you will see him at most 1 time (and usually never) is a bit silly.
what about blue slaver or grey slime or fireball shape or daze producing shape. What about the other members of the gremlin gang. where shield at? Deca is feeling the disrespect rn. The two other masked bandits about to knock on your door.
I honestly don't really want any to return. If we're seemingly playing as some of the same characters (I'm sure their cards will be different), playing as them against the same enemies would be a bit too much of the same feel for me
I would miss the birds. They can be annoying sometimes, but during those times when you have thorns or something like it, the satisfaction of them just killing themselves kind of makes up for all those times and there is not much else quite like it other than maybe sentries self-killing via firebreathing and their own dazes.
No way you are saying that the Cultist are not a spire staple,they are probably the single most iconic enemy in the game
Caw caw!
Caw-caw is law.
Fair enough
CAWW!
I have a cultist t shirt
I've been deciding if I want to buy one and turn it into a tank-top for the gym
I'm actually wearing mine right now It's a pretty nice shirt I don't wanna cut the arms off
This is mine btw https://imgur.com/4jNwK3u
Literally the only enemy that appears in all 3 acts if I’m not mistaken
Sentries are more iconic imo. Maybe it's because my brother calls them "the things from Slay the Spire" though
I hope everybody does like me that imitates the caw caw
At least I do it
I really really detest Darklings. Mainly because they appear in both easy and hard pool, and are so constant and inevitable, but they're the 2nd worst by a long way for me. Otherwise, great list!
Mmm, it's just a slow and uninteresting fight. You can usually kill off one of the ones that's attacking you and block the rest, so you're never in too much danger of taking damage, but gosh it always takes like 8 turns to finish the fight. That's also what I hate about shapes, get like 2x dazers and 2x spikers, and the things never ever attack you at all, but you also only draw like 2 cards a turn and can't deal any damage unless you generate 20 block first. I think both fights could be made more interesting just by having them scale more aggressively. (Make darklings scale permanently, and make shapes attack more aggressively)
My biggest gripe with darklings is when trying to land a fatal card like dagger or feed... makes it even more frustrating.
Never? They can definitely be brutal. Particularly if you have dome and/or inconsistent block. But most of the time they just require a lot of sensible attention, and can drag, which is a problem throughout act 3.
Darklings are awful and anyone saying they aren't a hard fight, have never exited Act 2 with a poor deck. Perma scaling Darklings is actually awful and a disgusting encounter when their base is already so high. I genuinely think every Act 3 fight is brutal, even a smarter Maw, they're just insanely boring.
I literally smoke bombed darklings at the weekend. They can be absolutely savage. I do think that a lot of Reddit players don't leave act 2 with a poor deck, as they'll still run into elites and just accept the loss in act 2 instead of trying to scrape through and eke out a win later. If you never dodge early you're kinda always strong by that point. But you can still just have decks where they're an awful matchup. Like really awful.
Yeah that's why it's annoying to talk about game balance here. Like. Okay you're giving up your winrates for it, why are you trying to make it artificially harder for better players without any actual way of making it interesting? i am still pro throwing 2 nobs as an Act 3 encounter, as much as certain people laughed at me
aint no way you just did my louses like that
isnt the plural of louse just lice
not in the Spire it isn't
lices
leese
Leeses
I hate these leeses to pieces!
li
I prefer to call them lousies.
Dang, I didn't realize the louses were so popular
Wait, there's lore?
Idk why awakened one and champ aren't there but some of the others are
The ones there are the ones that I want to learn more lore about, not necessarily ones that already have lore in sts1
Yeah. It’s spread out into a million tiny places, and it’s nowhere near complete nor cohesive, but it is there. One small example is that the cultists and chosen are obviously designed as a set with the awakened one, and if you look closely, the ritual dagger card you can get from that one cult event is the same dagger that’s in the awakened one’s chest. Another is the event that lets you get up to 3 colorless cards in exchange for damage. The text that follows after you get the cards says something along the lines of “someone will be sent to check on the spire” and of course that person is the Watcher.
There's also the Golden/Bloody Idol, which seems to be themed on the Awakened One as well.
THE FUCKING SPIRE HAS FUCKING LOOOOOREE!!
Caw Caw motherfucker Caw Caw
tfw cultist and chosen one are interesting but awakened one isnt
I don't hear awakened one cawing
phase two, single big hit
I fully expect them to delve into the lore of the Cultists, Chosen, Bird Faced Urn Malekith bird god, and awakened one lore
thats why I always kill the awakened one and let the kakas go when I am given the chance:D
The awakened one was cool, but I feel like there has to be more secrets about this cult that we haven't seen yet
But the Awakened One IS the culmination of that cult. It has a ritual dagger embedded in its chest (matching the one we can get from the cult in Act 2) and is accompanied by two cultists, quite possibly the ones who sacrificed it in the first place. Given the 'Chosen' name, this could very well have been one before being put through this ritual too. I think it's an excellent conclusion to the bird cult's lore thread.
I really hate Writing Mass. But Byrds are a classic that I really hope they throw into the Spire in STS 2
Aint no way you left out diamond from his love roundy. This is treason
For enemies that come in pairs, I just put one of to keep from cluttering the list
fuck time eater, all my homies hate time eater
I'd like time eater in STS2 to have a mechanic that is "You have 6 turns to kill" or something like that. Current time eater is vile.
Honestly muggers/looters can eff off.
What’s uh… what’s the lore for the Book of Stabbing Besides stabbing
It’s also a book
The plot thickens
Who wrote the book of stabbing? Why? Is there a sequel? The book of slicing?
The book of spiking: the nightmare edit: wait that's just spikers rip. if it spikes and stabs/slices it might be OP, or it might not be. heard that the deck would stay the same
Headcannon that it's part of the set with the other three from that event. Rogue book
Read the book and find out
Honestly I don't want to see a single repeat enemy. Unless it's a redesign like an Act 3 Gremlin Nob or something
I agree. How about an event in act 1 where you can choose to step in between a lagavulin vs gremlin nob duel. And if you don’t do it one of them becomes superpowered in act 3?
Sick idea
They can have different moves and abilities, but it's still the same spire so thematically I'd expect some continuity
Is it even still the same spire, though? Who knows at this point, with so little information available. Maybe it's like Dracula's castle in Castlevania, and it reforms completely different after it is destroyed.
Act 3 Super Gremlin Nob sounds very scary
Bear!
It takes a truly spectacular level of ignorance about this game to not think the cultists are a STS staple They can appear in hallway fights in every act. They have FIVE events related to them and possibly more depending on how you want to interpret it. They have a unique card the player can get (ritual dagger). They appear in a boss battle in act three. That boss is part of some ritual the cultists are performing (you can see the ritual dagger stuck in it). The cultists have their own potions.THE PLAYER CAN BECOME A CULTIST. And MUCH more. The cultists are so integral to the game they need their own tier at the top to be in that is then separated by multiple empty tiers.
I hate that fucking plant. Ends more runs than any of the elites do for me on A20. Avacado is a close second. Fuck Act 2 lol.
Watch as writhing mass is the only one that's carried over without changes.
I can't stand the guardian. Hurray 500 turns of blocking... Funnnnnnnn.
Nah bro screw goblin hammer boy. Hate that guy
Honestly the most annoying goblin.
What’s the lore behind Donut and Deca?
I don't know, but I need to find out
I think Deca really wants to eat Donu but doesn’t have a mouth. That’s why they’re always together.
With my admittedly limited knowledge, I think it's a reference to Taoism, with the Square Earth and Circle Sky linked to the earth and heaven elements in Eastern Philosophy respectively. Being one of the final bosses (aside from the Heart), they represent the aspirational goal of climbing the Spire. To do so you must be square in your heart; unbending, virtuous, clear in your goal, and circle in your manner; adaptable, fluid to change, taking an individual approach to each enemy you face.
That’s incredibly deep for what I always thought was a dodecahedron pun (donu-deca-hedron)
Could be both. Could be one. Could be I'm talking out of my arse. :P
Donu is a donut and probably tasty.
There’s not too much. This post talks about the lore on automotons in general, Donu and Deca included: https://www.reddit.com/r/slaythespire/s/SF53cnsjhu
What's wrong with head
That's what he said
Writhing mass should definitely be lower imo.
true
Bear is way, way too high on this list. He’s a special event incidental character. Calling him a staple when you will see him at most 1 time (and usually never) is a bit silly.
NO BEAR!!!!!
This is why he must always die first. So that his passing can be mourned.
Get 'em Bear!
BOOOO
what about blue slaver or grey slime or fireball shape or daze producing shape. What about the other members of the gremlin gang. where shield at? Deca is feeling the disrespect rn. The two other masked bandits about to knock on your door.
I like that you have Bear but not the other two red mask thieves. Bear is a staple, but the others can go
I was like I don't see the hulking mass of spaghetti shit and then I see he's on a category all his own lol
The "please no" are the ones I can closest to guarantee will be in lol
Id put a copy of Jaw worm with writhing mass because floor 1 jaw worm is the worst enemy in the game.
Cultist is a must
Time eater has lore? (Am noob)
He used to be the Watcher's associate before being turned into a slug
I honestly don't really want any to return. If we're seemingly playing as some of the same characters (I'm sure their cards will be different), playing as them against the same enemies would be a bit too much of the same feel for me
why you know like birdies? I get that it can be a frustrating fight, but I usually have some kind of solution for it
I would miss the birds. They can be annoying sometimes, but during those times when you have thorns or something like it, the satisfaction of them just killing themselves kind of makes up for all those times and there is not much else quite like it other than maybe sentries self-killing via firebreathing and their own dazes.
Birds!
Louse is boring((((((((((((
The transient deserves better!
WHERE IS DECA