Discover everything you need to know about the best character tier list in Slay the Spire 2, including their playstyle and unique mechanics.
Slay the Spire 2 features returning characters from the previous title and new ones with unique mechanics. Each character has their own abilities, starting deck of cards, starting relic, health, and unique mechanics.
Choosing the best character and mastering it is essential to defeat the elite enemies and bosses in turn-based combat. The Necrobinder remains the top choice to take down any enemy, while The Silent and The Defect have some limitations. Run the character that suits your playstyle and synergizes with your expected build.
Table of contents
Best Character Tier List
Below is the best character list based on their cards and playstyle in Slay the Spire 2.
| Tier | Character |
| S-Tier | The Necrobinder |
| A-Tier | The Regent, The Ironclad |
| B-Tier | The Silent, The Defect |
S-Tier
The Necrobinder is the best character in Slay the Spire 2 because she can summon an ally to fight the enemies in combat. Her doom effect let her dominate the cluster of enemies and bosses.
The Necrobinder
Necrobinder is the best character in our tier list due to her core mechanics like Osty, Doom, Souls, and Graveyard. She is a dark necromancer-style character who uses magic to control battles and create powerful combos. This character has a max HP of 66, the lowest among the others. She is unlocked after completing a run with The Regent in Slay the Spire 2.
The Necrobinder can summon a large skeletal hand companion that attacks enemies and absorbs damage in combat. This ally can be resummoned using specific cards if it dies during battle. The Doom effect is a special debuff that gets stacked on the enemy, and they die instantly when the enemy’s HP becomes equal to or lower than their Doom stacks.
The soul mechanics is a real game-changer because it allows you to cycle your deck very fast and play many cards in a single turn.
| Pros | Cons |
| Powerful Combos | Lowest HP |
| Companion Tank | Hard to Master |
A-Tier
The Regent and The Ironclad are the A-tier character who also comes with powerful combos and relics to tackle enemies in combat, but with some minor limitations.
The Regent
The Regent is the first A-tier character in Slay the Spire 2 who focuses on building special resources (Stars) and upgrading the weapon (Sovereign Blade). He has a starting health of 75 HP (higher than the Nicrobinder) and a starting relic (Divine Right). The relic grants you 3 Stars at the start of combat to unleash huge combo turns. Regent has some cards that generate Stars, and there’s no cap on storing them.
The Sovereign Blade is the Signature Weapon of The Regent that lets a 2-energy attack deal 10 base damage. If the card has high Forge, then it deals massive damage. This blade can be upgraded with the card that has Forge. The blade’s damage increases permanently with each Forge, making it perfect for damage builds. He is the best character for players with skill who prioritize combos.
| Pros | Cons |
| Massive Damage Potential | Slow Early Game |
| Excellent Survivability | Punishes Mistakes |
| Flexible Builds |
The Ironclad
The Ironclad is the first character you start your journey in Slay the Spire 2. He has simple and straightforward mechanics with powerful combos. This heavily armored warrior has the highest HP at around 80 among other characters. He Burning Blood allows him to heal 6 HP after every combat, increasing his survivability.
The best thing that makes Ironclad better than The Defect or The Silent is his strength, which increases the damage of attack cards. Using some specific cards allows him to gain more Strength to dominate the enemies with massive damage.
The Ironclad also has an Exhaust mechanic that lets him remove cards from the deck to trigger powerful effects. He can also self-damage himself for much more powerful effects like energy, Strength, or drawing cards. His starting relic ensures that the mistakes are less punishing and lets you take risks earlier.
| Pros | Cons |
| Beginner Friendly (Easy Mechanics) | Ineffective in tough encounters |
| Highest survivability | Less flashy combos |
| Damage Scaling |
B-Tier
The Silent and The Defect are the B-tier characters in Slay the Spire 2, but it doesn’t mean that you should not play these characters. They are also very powerful if you play them properly with better cards.
The Silent
The Silent is a stealthy rogue-type huntress who has zero built-in healing and a relatively low health pool of 70. She specializes in poison, shivs, and discard combos to defeat any threat. Her Ring of the Snake (Starting Relic) lets her draw two additional cards at the start of the fight.
You can unlock this character after doing a run with Ironclad. Sly is the new mechanic added to The Silent, which allows you to play multiple cards in one turn without spending energy. When a card with Sly is discarded, it automatically plays itself for free.
The poison damage lets you deal damage over time to the enemies. She can stack the poison at the beginning of the fight to let the enemy lose large amounts of HP over time. Specific cards let the Silent perform small attacks (Shivs).
Pairing them with the damage buffs lets you deal high burst damage in combat. It’s worth mentioning that the discard engines can trigger many free card effects in one turn for powerful combos.
| Pros | Cons |
| Powerful Combos | Low Survivability |
| Multiple Builds | Weak Early Game |
| Card Draw | Lack Self-Healing |
The Defect
The Defect is the last character in our tier list who specializes in manipulating elemental Orbs in Slay the Spire 2. He has a starting HP 75 with Cracked Core (Starting Relic) that channels 1 Lightning Orb at the beginning of the fight. This character focuses on building orb engines that deal massive damage to enemies to protect him each turn.
The orbs automatically activate effects every turn for additional effects like block, generate energy, store damage, and release it in a burst. The orb leaving the slot can trigger the powerful effect for devastating combos. If the slots are full, the oldest Orb is removed and triggered. The Defect is the best character for players who prefer multiple builds and passive damage.
| Pros | Cons |
| Passive Damage | Complex mechanics |
| Viable Builds | Weak early game |
| More Powerful in the late game |
