Slay the Spire 2 The Fool guide: how to unlock, Arrows, Melodies, every card and early builds

The Fool is on the public-beta branch and unlocks after one Defect run

If you launch the normal version of the game, the Fool is not there. Mega Crit put the character on the beta branch only, and updated the main branch to the older v0.111.0 instead.

1. In your Steam library, right-click Slay the Spire 2 and choose Properties.
2. Open Game Versions & Betas.
3. Pick public-beta from the dropdown and let Steam download the update.
4. Launch the game and check the Timeline in the main menu for new Epochs.
5. If the Fool is still locked, play a run with the Defect. Winning is not required. This reveals the Escape Artist Epoch, which unlocks the Fool.

The Fool is the last character in the unlock chain. The Slay the Spire Wiki and the game data on Spire Codex both list the Fool as unlocking after the Defect, the same way the Defect unlocks after a Necrobinder run. If you have not opened every character yet, keep playing one run with each new character until the Fool appears. Our Regent guide covers one of the characters you pass on the way.

Two more things to know before you switch. The patch notes say a run saved on a newer version tells you to update when opened on an older one, so a run started on the beta will not continue on the main branch. And Mega Crit has not given a date for the Fool reaching the main branch. The notes only say the new content needs “lots of testing” first.

The Fool starts with 77 HP, ten cards and the Song Bow

The starting deck has one more Strike than Defend and a single unique card. Numbers in brackets are the upgraded values.

The starter relic is Song Bow: start each combat with 6 Aim. Aim adds to your next Arrow, so the first Foolish Shot of every fight hits for 21, then 15 after that. Players on r/slaythespire call it the highest-damage starting kit in the game, and it ends a lot of Act 1 fights early.

The upgraded version of Song Bow is Storyteller: start each combat with 12 Aim and gain 3 Aim at the end of each turn. The wiki lists it as the result of taking Touch of Orobas from the Ancient Orobas at the start of Act 2.

You have one Arrow, and it comes back after three more hits or a kill

Every card that says Shoot an Arrow uses the same Arrow. The Fool starts each combat with one. When you Shoot, the Arrow sticks in the target and that enemy is Impaled. While the Arrow is stuck, your other Shoot cards cannot be played.

The Arrow is Dislodged, which means it returns to you, in one of three ways:

• Hit the Impaled enemy three more times. The in-game text counts hits, and players report that each hit of a multi-hit card counts on its own.
• Kill the Impaled enemy.
• Play a card that Dislodges. Wrest, Uproot and Recall pull the Arrow out at once and add a bonus. Epic Retrieval pays 3 Energy if its hit is the one that frees the Arrow.

Aim is spent by the next Arrow

Aim is a buff that makes your next Arrow deal more damage. It does not fade between turns, so you can stack it with Nock, Cho Ready, Archery or Brace and then fire. Heavy Shot counts your Aim twice. Players compare Aim to the Regent’s Vigor, and some report that multi-hit Shots such as Rapid Shot get the most out of it. We could not confirm the exact per-hit maths a second way, so test it on a weak enemy first.

Impaled enemies are a resource too

Some cards want the Arrow left in. Wah Hammer deals double damage to an Impaled enemy, Bow Smack refunds 1 Energy, Ki Hop draws cards, and the Serrated Arrows power makes Impaled enemies take more damage from all your Attacks. Others want the Arrow in your hand: Cho Firm gains its Block twice if you still hold one.

Cards named Wah, Cho or Ki give a Melody that lasts one turn

The game does not explain this anywhere on the cards, which is why it is the mechanic players ask about most. Playing a card with Wah, Cho or Ki in its name gives you the matching Melody. Player testing and creator breakdowns agree that Melodies go away at the end of your turn. RiptideLab’s first-impressions video adds that each Melody can only be gained once per turn, which we could not confirm a second way.

• Wah cards deal damage.
• Cho cards gain Block.
• Ki cards give Energy, card draw or setup for next turn.

Cards with more than one of the words give more than one Melody. Wah Cho, Wah Ki and Cho Ki give two, and the rare Wah Cho Ki gives all three at once. The name has to be exact: one player tested the Regent card Kingly Punch and it did not count as a Ki card.

Melodies do nothing on their own. The payoff comes from cards that check for them:

• Per-Melody effects: Rhythm Strike and Melodic Shot hit an extra time for each Melody you have, Harmonic Shield gains Block for each one, Steady Cadence draws a card for each one, and Coda costs 2 less for each one.
• Powers that trigger when you gain one: Motif draws a card for any Melody, Song Path gives Block for Cho, Violent Chord damages all enemies for Wah, and Tune makes your next card free if you end the turn with Ki.
• All three in one turn: Lullaby gives 20 Block, and the Conductor’s Baton relic cuts incoming attack damage by 25% until your next turn.

Stretch stores Block for later, and Sadness clogs your hand until you turn it into Joy

Stretch

Stretch is added to the next Block you gain from a card, then it is used up. Like Aim, it stays between turns. Deep Stretch, Hidden Roots, Bounce and Blossom Shot build it, and Cho Ki gives back any Stretch you have spent. Players describe it as the Block version of Aim, and several rate it a solid defensive plan because it does not expire at the end of the turn.

Sadness and Joy

Sadness is a status card that is Unplayable and has Retain, so it stays in your hand turn after turn. A group of Fool cards have above-average numbers and add Sadness as the cost: Vitriol applies 2 Weak for 0 Energy, Rummage draws 3 cards for 1, and Sorrowful Strike deals 13 damage for 1.

You then have three ways to use the Sadness you make:

• Turn it into Joy. Punch of Joy and the Ecstasy power transform Sadness into Joy, a 0-cost card that gives Energy. The game data lists Joy as gain 1 Energy (2 when upgraded), draw 1 card, Exhaust.
• Exhaust it for Stretch. Growth exhausts every Sadness in your hand and gives 4 Stretch for each.
• Get paid for making it. All Is Well gives Block each time you create a Sadness, Anguish deals more damage for each one created this combat, and the Fertilizer relic gives 1 Strength each time.

The Fool has 79 cards in the regular pool: 20 common, 35 uncommon and 24 rare

Every card below was checked against two sources on November 13, 2026: the Slay the Spire Wiki and Spire Codex’s data for beta v0.113.0. Numbers in brackets are upgraded values. This is a beta, and Mega Crit says it expects “a great number of content and balance changes”, so treat every number as temporary.

Common cards (20)

Uncommon cards (35)

Rare cards (24)

Ancient cards (2)

These two are not in card rewards. According to the wiki, Divine Shot comes from the Archaic Tooth relic and Lost Lute from the Dusty Tome relic.

The two sources disagree on two details here. The wiki lists Divine Shot at 1 Energy, while the game data and two player reports have it at 0. The wiki words Lost Lute as triggering when you draw a Melody, and the game data says when you gain one.

Multiplayer-only cards (6)

Cards made by other cards

• Sadness (status): Unplayable. Retain.
• Joy (0 cost skill): Gain 1 (2) Energy. Draw 1 card. Exhaust. The wiki does not list the card draw.
• The Shot (1 cost attack, made by Florescence): Shoot an Arrow to deal 10 (13) damage for each card Exhausted by Florescence.

Mythic Form deals you one of 22 free Tarot cards every turn

Mythic Form is a 3-cost rare power: at the start of your turn, add a random Tarot card into your hand. Every Tarot card costs 0 and Exhausts. For now Mythic Form is the only way to get them. It is the card players single out most often as too strong, so it is a likely target when balance changes start.

The Fool has seven unique relics and three unique potions

Nine cards and all of these relics and potions are locked behind Fool Epochs

A fresh Fool does not see the whole pool. Like the other characters, the Fool has Timeline Epochs that add cards, relics and potions as you hit milestones.

Quiver, the only card that gives you a second Arrow, is in the first Epoch. Beat Act 1 once before you judge the Arrow build.

Early players build the Fool around Melodies, with Arrows as the Act 1 carry

None of this is official. It is the consensus from the first two days of r/slaythespire threads and creator videos, mostly on low Ascension, and it will shift as Mega Crit patches the character.

Act 1: lean on Foolish Shot and take one or two ways to get the Arrow back

A 21-damage opener for 1 Energy carries early hallway fights. What the starting deck lacks is a clean way to free the Arrow, because spending three Strikes to do it is slow. Players favour Wrest (0 cost, Dislodge and draw 2), multi-hit attacks and 0-cost attacks over adding more Shoot cards. Wah Hammer, Bow Smack and Ki Hop are the common cards that reward you while the Arrow is still stuck.

Melodies are rated the most consistent package

RiptideLab, after six hours with the character, found the Melody cards overshadowed the Arrow cards in every run, and a player who pushed the Fool to Ascension 10 came to the same view. The cards named most often:

• Motif (uncommon power): draws a card for each Melody you gain. Players treat it as the engine of the build.
• Wah Cho Ki (rare): Block, damage and draw for 1 Energy, and it gives all three Melodies, so it triggers every Melody payoff at once.
• Song Path (uncommon power): extra Block whenever you gain a Cho Melody. Several players call it the Fool’s best Block source.
• Wah Symphony (rare): area damage that grows with every Wah, Cho or Ki card you own.
• Ki Rest (uncommon): 5 Energy next turn, and it Retains your hand if you have a Wah or Cho Melody.

Aim and Arrows hit hardest but need support

The Arrow build stacks Aim, fires once, then gets the Arrow back and repeats. Players who made it work point to Quiver, Serrated Arrows, Explosive Arrows for area damage, Yah! for Energy and Whistling Arrows for Block. The common complaint is that it has little Block of its own and falls apart on bad draws. RiptideLab notes that Yah! only pays out the first time you Dislodge each turn.

Sadness works as a side dish

Few players build a whole deck around Sadness. The usual advice is to take one or two of the strongest Sadness cards, Vitriol and Rummage are named most, and accept the clutter in short fights. If you do go deeper, RiptideLab’s pick was Ennui with Ecstasy: draw extra cards every turn and turn the Sadness into Joy.

Remove a Strike first, by majority opinion

Players are split on whether the Fool wants to remove Defends, since Strikes help free the Arrow and Stretch makes a single Block card go further. The more common view in that debate is still to remove a Strike first, because the deck starts with five and better ways to Dislodge show up quickly.

Blitz and Dread are new game modes, not Fool keywords

The same patch added two modes, and searches often mix them up with the Fool’s mechanics. Neither is tied to the character.

• Blitz is a shorter, deckbuilding-focused mode with no map, a Merchant whose wares “feel a bit off” and Gold that no longer matters. It has 5 Ascension levels shared across all characters and unlocks once you complete an Ascension run at any level. Players in one thread report that an abandoned Ascension run counts, and that a win on the Fool with no Ascension does not.
• Dread turns on every Ascension modifier, makes bosses stronger, has each boss buff every enemy in its Act and piles on Curses as you climb. It needs Ascension 10 on all characters, and Mega Crit says that includes the Fool.

Our news story on the patch has the rest of the v0.113.0 changes.

Mistakes new Fool players make

• Mistake: Looking for the Fool on the main branch. Fix: Opt into public-beta in Steam’s Game Versions & Betas menu.
• Mistake: Taking every Shoot card offered. Fix: You have one Arrow. Take ways to Dislodge it before a third Shoot card.
• Mistake: Firing before stacking Aim. Fix: Aim is spent by the next Arrow, so play Nock or Cho Ready first.
• Mistake: Expecting any card with “Ki” in a longer word to count. Fix: Only cards with Wah, Cho or Ki as a separate word in the name give a Melody.
• Mistake: Letting Sadness pile up. Fix: It has Retain. Carry Growth, Punch of Joy or Ecstasy if you run more than a couple of Sadness cards.
• Mistake: Judging the Arrow build before Quiver is unlocked. Fix: Beat Act 1 once to add it to the pool.

FAQ

Source & credit

Slay the Spire 2 is developed and published by Mega Crit. Branch steps, mode rules and quotes come from Mega Crit’s Beta Patch Notes v0.113.0 on Steam. Card, relic, potion and Epoch data was cross-checked between the Slay the Spire Wiki on wiki.gg and Spire Codex’s game data for v0.113.0 on November 13, 2026, and the places where they differ are marked. Mechanics the game does not spell out, and all build advice, come from r/slaythespire threads and RiptideLab’s first-impressions video on YouTube, and are labelled as player reports. The Fool is in beta, so numbers can change with any patch. Art is from Mega Crit’s patch notes and screenshots are from the official Steam store page.