10 tips and tricks for Ascension 10 in Slay the Spire 2

Slay The Spire 2 has been out for a while now, and all those who want a real challenge are busy tackling the 10 tricky levels Ascension The Spire has to offer.

If you thought completing the Spire on normal was difficult, well, give it a try with tougher enemies, more curses, fewer Potions and a double brutal Act 3 boss… and more!

Ascension 10 is certainly not for the faint of heart, requiring players to hone their skills and know every nook and cranny within the spire. Oh, and don’t forget you’ll need good luck too, if you want to finish in one piece!

If you are striving to overcome this great challenge, check out this list before you start your next run! If I can do it, so can you!

10

Being Offended Is Not Always Best

Batting Down the Hatches!

Ironically, one of the biggest stumbling blocks when trying higher Ascension levels, especially 9 and 10, is Act 1. Normal enemies hit harder, and special ones hit harder.

In Slay the Spire 1, it was a common strategy to do a full charge in the first act and run through all the enemies. Now it is quite the opposite. You want to pick strong defensive options and maybe one more expensive damage dealer.

Keeping yourself alive in the first act is the most important thing. You can worry about consistency over time. Just focus on the next battle; that’s all.

9

Don’t Waste Your Jars!

I Need Only Your Strongest Ingredients

Before, I felt that Potions were the bosses and dangerous elites. However, the more I play Ascension 10, the less I believe this is the case.

In general, you only have 2 potion slots in A10, and certain corridor battles can be just as difficult, if not more, than specials. Don’t be afraid to use a potion, even if you block 10 or more damage, or even end the fight 1 Turn early.

There are a lot of times I end up holding onto the pot myself, finding another one at the end of the fight and throwing it away. If in doubt, just use your potion and adjust your path accordingly. Those drugs won’t be much use if you’re dead now, right?

8

Greed Will Get You Killed

Life is Wealth!

This used to be a big problem for me. My first reaction when I get to the lounge is to upgrade my most played cards. That helps in the long run, right?

Yes, yes and no. After a good amount of time playing, I almost always find myself resting instead of hitting, unless I have a really strong deck. The main goal, as I said, is to stay alive by all means. You can always get event upgrades or item upgrades later, but keeping your health up is your first priority.

Killing is basically going to be the last action boss with less HP for the most part. Maybe some are unnecessary, but it’s always better to err on the side of caution.

7

Keep Your Deck Small

Kill Your Loved Ones

Do you often find yourself waiting for one of your ace cards to just land on the bottom of your deck?

Most of the time, this is because people end up taking almost all of the one card reward after each battle. Or maybe they take rewards from stores and events instead of reducing their space. Consistency is key here.

Having a small deck, and a healthy amount of draw and power cards, means you rarely get dead turns. A dead turn, where you only get status cards, strikes or defenses, can often end a seemingly winnable run. Keep it tight, and don’t inflate your deck.

6

Spend Time Pathing

A master cartographer

This seems like a very obvious point at first. But after every Ancient single, I take a good minute or so to examine each path ahead.

Use the legend on the side of the screen to find Rest Sites, Dealers, and Elites. You want a few good rest areas to keep your health up, too at least 1 merchant per Rule. Even if you don’t go through special people, encountering a common enemy can damage your health. If you don’t have rest sites, you’re pretty much done.

If you don’t have a lot of money, look at the vendors near the end of the Act. Your approach needs to have a healthy balance of everything.

5

Events Are Not Always That Eventful

A Boat Is A Boat, But A Mystery Box Could Be Anything! It could even be a boat!

And speaking of pathing, this can often be the death of many runs. It’s tempting to go through as many events as possible because it’s easy and fun. Some events are so powerful that they can win a run by themselves.

However, most of the time, you won’t get card rewards from this encounter. In the first 2 actions, you need a good selection of cards, both common and uncommon. You can’t beat the action with your first deck, unfortunately.

In the worst case, you get a bunch of events that deal damage and give you curse cards, which will shut down your deck. In the same way, be aware of events that allow you to choose an option multiple times, such as a hot spring event. Being too greedy here is an easy way to lose before you even get to the boss.

4

Be careful with the Elites

Gremlin Nob would be proud

This is the last point, I promise. Elites are notorious for cheating. It can be tempting, especially when you get a relic like the Black Star, to pick as many elite battles as possible to get powerful relic rewards.

However, in Ascension 10, these prominent people hit like a truck. If you want to go through them, focus on the special ones surrounded by rest sites or those near the end of the action. Choosing elite when you are just starting the action is very dangerous. You need more time for your desk to grow and flourish.

For me, I generally feel that 1 elite per action is more doable, unless my deck is going crazy. Then 2 elite is a viable option.

3

Don’t Force Build

The nail is the Law

I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, but for the A10 it’s very important. You can get away with fun constructive play on the first pair of Ascendancies. You might like to play Poison-Silence or Claw-Defect, I get it.

However, when things start to get serious, you can’t force the desktop. Instead, you need to choose a card that will take you to the next battle. Maybe you need defensive options, maybe you don’t have the power to pull. Sometimes it’s worth it to say a rare card if it means your deck will be stronger in the long run.

Synergies are great and all, but sometimes the card that makes the deck come together just won’t come to you. It’s rarely worth the risk.

2

Practice Losing and Review Your Losses

Don’t Cry Because It’s Gone, Smile Because It Happened

Ascension 10 is difficult. That is obvious. In fact, it’s so hard that you’ll lose most of your games, especially if you’re still learning how to play high Ascensions. Sometimes you just get unlucky; sometimes events suck, and cards don’t come.

This is normal. Getting used to losing and starting over with a new mindset is very important. Every time you play, you’re bound to make mistakes and misplay. However, learning from your mistakes is the most important thing.

After a loss, maybe go into your running history and look at your deck. Do you have a good credit card balance? Are you too greedy with smithing and events? I know how tempting it can be to save, but at the end of the day, this doesn’t help in the long run and will end up making you rely on something that isn’t part of the game.

1

Make sure your Deck Has Something for Every Situation

Only the Right Ones!

Consistency is key. If anything, this should be the most important thing in Slay the Spire 2. And if you’re forced to fight 2 Act 3 bosses at the end of every run, only compatible decks will get you through that extreme gauntlet.

So what is consistency? However, that all revolves around the balance of the deck. To go into that final gauntlet, you need to have a good balance of damage, block, power generation and card draw. If you can’t draw, you’ll be ridden by the Queen. If you can block well, Test Subject he will finish you.

And most importantly, you need something that will grow stronger as the battle progresses. All of these bosses increase their power every few turns, meaning they grow forever, so if you don’t have something to match them, you’ll be taken down quickly over time.

And it’s not good enough to sacrifice your HP to play powerful attack cards, because you need to make your health pool last 2 battles. So defensive options are important here.

Exhaust-Ironclad it does wonders for reducing the deck and removing status cards. The same can be said for Sly-Silent. Maybe you can take out orb slots for your Defect and fill them with frost or generate a ton of stars with Regent.

There’s only so much you can do, and to be honest, a lot of it will be luck, getting the right cards, picking Classics, etc. Keep twisting your head against it, and eventually it will start to click.

Systems

Released

March 5, 2026

The ESRB

e

Many players

Online Co-Op

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