STS2 Patch Notes — 2026-01-29

Last week's patch was a bit on the smaller side, so to make up for it, this one is BIG. We've got a huge pass on enemy HP values and Ascension scaling, some new, reworked, returning, and deprecated content, UI/UX improvements, and a lot of changes to content unlocks.

CONTENT

Ironclad

• Re-added Juggernaut card
• Deprecated Crush card
• Reworked Laughing Stone relic

Silent

• Reworked Follow Through card
• Tough Bandages relic from StS1 returns to the game
• Deprecated Soup Recipe relic

Defect

• Defect's 2nd card unlock set unlocks Flak Cannon rather than Iteration
• Defect's last card unlock set unlocks Turbo and Scavenge rather than Feral and Supercritical
• Chill card from STS1 returns to the game
• Reworked Subroutine card
• Deprecated Deep Freeze card

Necrobinder

• Necrobinder's 2nd card unlock set unlocks Afterlife rather than Invoke
• Necrobinder's last card unlock set is now Sculpting Strike, Veilpiercer and Banshee's Cry
• Reworked Oblivion card
• Reworked Dying Sigil relic

Regent

• Regent's 2nd card unlock set unlocks Patter rather than Radiate
• Regent's last card unlock set unlocks Begone rather than Quasar

Potions & Relics

• The 3rd potion unlock set now includes Powdered Demise rather than Lucky Tonic
• The 3rd relic unlock set now unlocks Vexing Puzzlebox rather than Bellows
• The 4th relic unlock set now unlocks Miniature Cannon rather than Gorget
• Akabeko relic from STS1 returns to the game, but is now Uncommon
• Deprecated Squeeze Toy relic

Ancients

• Neow Bundles are random once again
• Added Neow's Fury card (for New Neow blessing)
• Added new Neow blessing - Transform 1 card
• Reworked Crossbow relic
• Reworked Meat Cleaver relic
• Removed Compendium and Vakuu epochs from the game (Vakuu is now always unlocked by default)

Events

• Tinker Time event is now unlocked by default
• Trash Heap is now the first unlocked event instead of Tinker Time

BALANCE

General

• Reordered Ascensions: Deadly Enemies is now A9, Tough Enemies is now A8, Scarcity is now A7, and Gloom is now A6

Defect

• Nerfed Focused Strike card: damage decreased from 10(12) -> 9(11)
• Buffed Hailstorm card: requirement changed from 2 Frost -> 1 Frost channeled
• Buffed Momentum Strike card: damage increased from 9(12) -> 10(13)
• Nerfed Rocket Punch card: damage decreased from 15(18) -> 13(14)

Necrobinder

• Changed Bodyguard card:

- Energy cost decreased from 2 -> 1

- Summon decreased from 8(12) -> 4(6)

• Nerfed Danse Macabre card: Block gain decreased from 4(6) -> 3(4)
• Nerfed Right Hand Hand card: changed from adding to Hand from any pile -> "return this to your Hand from the Discard Pile."

Potions & Relics

• Changed Snecko Skull relic: rarity decreased from Rare -> Common
• Changed Vambrace relic: no longer doubles block from Melancholy card

Enemies

• Buffed Frog Knight: Plating now scales with Tough Enemies Ascension from 15 -> 19
• Buffed Phantasmal Gardeners: Skittish power now scales with Tough Enemies Ascension from 6 -> 7
• Nerfed Byrdonis: HP decreased from 93(99)-98(99) -> 91(99)-94(99)
• Changed Chomper: HP changed from 61(63)-64(66) -> 60(63)-64(67)
• Changed Decimilipede: HP changed from 42(44)-50(54) -> 42(48)-48(56)
• Buffed Devoted Sculptor: HP increased from 144(151)-162(164) -> 162(172)
• Changed Flail Knight: HP changed from 101(103)-106(109) -> 101(108)
• Changed Flyconid: HP changed from 47(49)-52(53) -> 47(51)-49(53)
• Buffed Fossil Stalker: HP increased from 51(53)-53(55) -> 51(54)-53(56)
• Buffed Fuzzy Wurm Crawler: HP increased from 55(57)-57(59) -> 55(58)-57(59)
• Changed Globe Head: HP changed from 146(149)-156(160) -> 148(158)
• Changed Haunted Ship: HP changed from 61(63)-64(66) -> 63(67)
• Buffed Infested Guardian: HP increased from 199(206) -> 199(209)
• Buffed Infested Purifier: HP increased from 189(194) -> 189(199)
• Nerfed Knowledge Demon: HP changed from 387(399) -> 379(399)
• Buffed Mawler: HP increased from 70(74) -> 72(76)
• Buffed Mecha Knight: HP increased from 300(314) -> 300(320)
• Buffed Myte: HP increased from 61(63)-67(69) -> 61(64)-67(69)
• Buffed Phrog Parasite: HP increased from 61(64)-64(68) -> 61(66)-64(68)
• Buffed Queen: HP increased from 386(399) -> 400(419)
• Buffed Slimed Berserker: HP increased from 266(273) -> 266(276)
• Nerfed Sludge Spinner: HP decreased from 39(41)-42(44) -> 37(41)-39(42)
• Changed Snapping Jaxxfruit: HP changed from 31(32)-36(37) -> 31(34)-33(36)
• Buffed Spectral Knight: HP increased from 91(94)-93(97) -> 93(97)
• Buffed Soul Nexus: HP increased from 234(246) -> 234(254)
• Changed The Forgotten: HP changed from 105(107)-109(111) -> 106(111)
• Changed The Lost: HP changed from 93(95)-97(99) -> 93(99)
• Changed Thieving Hopper: HP changed from 77(82)-80(85) -> 79(84)
• Changed Turret Operator: HP changed from 41(44)-49(49) -> 41(51)
• Buffed Vine Shambler: HP changed from 60(63) -> 61(64)
• Changed Louse Progenitor:

- HP changed from 134(136)-139(141) -> 134(138)-136(141)

- Curl Up move's Block gain now scales with Ascension from 14 -> 18

• Changed Mad Crab:

- HP decreased from 94(96)-97(99) -> 79(84)

- Hardened Shell power max HP loss per turn decreased from 25 -> 20

- Inertia power now scales with Ascension from 10 -> 13

• Changed Magi Knight:

- HP changed from 81(82)-85(86) -> 82(89)

- Power Shield move's Block gain now scales with Ascension from 5 -> 9

• Changed Seapunk:

- HP decreased from 47(49)-51(53) -> 44(47)-46(49)

- Bubble move's Block now scales with Ascension from 7 -> 8

• Changed Sewer Clam:

- HP decreased from 60(63) -> 56(58)

- Plating now scales with Ascension from 8 -> 9

• Changed Slumbering Beetle:

- HP changed from 83(86)-88(92) -> 86(89)

- Plating now scales with Ascension from 15 -> 18

• Changed Tunneler:

- HP changed from 85(88)-91(95) -> 87(92)

- Below move damage increased from 21(24) -> 23(26)

• Buffed Vantom: Dismember move damage increased from 26(28) -> 27(30), Wounds from 2 -> 3

Ancients

• Changed Neow's Booming Conch relic: changed from 1 Strength and 1 Dex -> 2 Strength and no Dex

Events

• Changed Crystal Sphere event:

- Can no longer spawn unless the player has at least 100 Gold

- Larger Gold option is now a 2x1 tile size instead of 1x1

- Payment Plan option now also only gives 5 divinations

- Deprecated Uncover Fortunes option

- Uncover Future option now costs 50 Gold + random 1-49 Gold

ART

• Added portrait art for the following cards:

- Tank

- Ignition

- Legion of Bone

- Largesse

- Sneaky

• Brought back old portrait art for Bodyguard card
• Updated portrait art for Chill card
• Restored Juggernaut card portrait and power art
• Updated several potion assets

USER INTERFACE & EXPERIENCE

• Added new UI assets for:

- FTUE pointer arrow

- Multiplayer character select icon

- Card upgrade arrow

- Multiplayer emotes

- Discovery icons for game over screen

- Patch notes icon

- Statistic screen icons

- Backpack save icon

- Multiplayer disconnect icons

• Added hitbox and increased radius of map eraser from 10 -> 16px
• Added settings toggle for "Reduce GPU in Background"
• Added a higher quality slot glow asset
• Incorporated new Compendium small buttons with icons
• Timeline Eras are now a smaller grouping + icons are updated to high-res
• Temporarily hid Era names and years as they will be receiving changes
• Removed Statistics button from the main menu
• Updated main menu button flourishes so they're more clearly decorative and less arrow-looking
• Updated asset for locked Epochs
• You can now access the Run History and Character Stats screens mid-run
• Punch-Off event now visually appears to take place in a combat room the entire time instead of fading from a traditional event to a combat
• Ringing Affliction now displays on all valid cards when the Ringing debuff is on the player, not just after they play a card
• A popup is now shown when localization override files have validation errors
• Added French language support
• Added Chinese (zhs) translations
• Added localizable time formatting
• Removed some English placeholders from Chinese (zhs) loc

WRITING

• Updated the text for several Epochs (a full pass is still to come)
• Fixed some story ordering issues in the Silent, Regent, and Necrobinder Epochs
• Renamed the following potions:

- Swirling Potion -> Bottled Potential

- The Formula -> Gigantification Potion

- Potion of Sadness -> Shackling Potion

• Renamed The Formula power -> Gigantification
• Biiig Hug relic description now mentions that it removes cards upon pickup
• Fur Coat and Nutritious Soup relic descriptions now mention that they trigger "on pickup"
• High Five card is now clearer that Vulnerable is not applied if Osty is dead
• Converted all ellipses to three periods in Ancient dialogues

BUG FIXES

General

• Added missing German localization keys
• Auto-sized text now works for Card Library tickboxes and the End Turn button, so they no longer overflow
• Fixed crash with power VFX when creature no longer exists
• Fixed missing reticle on map points when navigating via controller
• Fixed Run History potion slots not accounting for relics that modify your potion slot count
• Synchronized health bar width calculations to prevent persistent orange bar
• Unlocked content is now colored correctly in the Epoch inspect screen's unlock info text

Ironclad

• Unmovable card now properly doubles all Block from multi-Block cards like Second Wind

Silent

• Graceful card now shows how many cards you will draw (including the extra cards)

Colorless Cards

• Hand of Greed card now only plays its Gold VFX when it is fatal

Potions & Relics

• Fixed being unable to look at map/deck screen when removing a card from the shop via Merchant Robes relic
• Hovering over Blood-Soaked Rose relic now properly shows Enthralled card hovertip

Ancients

• Fixed Ironclad/Vakuu dialogue not displaying from the correct character

Events

• Fixed being able to see sliver of the rewards at the top of the Crystal Sphere event grid
• Fixed dying to the Slippery Bridge event making health appear as 0/0 HP in the Run History
• Luminous Choir event no longer appears when no relics are available