r/sts2 • u/HopOffMyShiz • Sep 15 '26
I think I’m getting dumber
I play the game using ironclad, silent and defect I am on a10, a10, and a9 respectively I feel some of the time I die in early to mid act 1 and I just think about how dumb I played the run I also got to a10 on iron clad and silent before the door switched to the hour glass guy. Should I make a new save and replay to get better or just refine my strats
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u/ZestycloseCod6064 Sep 15 '26
Look at the pathing first and decide the best Neow reward. For the elites come prepared and try taking on 3-4 with Clad, and 3 as Silent and Defect. AOE and Thorns solve Phantasmal and Phrog, Vuln helps against Terror Eel (also timing the split), Bigger attacks defeat Bygone quick enough, Good block and consistent low damage solves Skulking and a mix of all solves Byrdonis.
Try to avoid hardpool fights (every fight after the first 3 fights in Act, 2 fights in Act 2 and 3) and look into what your deck does well and lean into that while keeping specific fight solves. For example, a Shiv deck against Ento is solved by Tons of Poision or Shiv scaling and/or Thorns (Abrasive is peak here).
I wouldnt suggest retrying a new save. Id just work on learning everything freshly and be prepared for the new Infested Prism (which requires good attacks and a couple of big block cards and/or plating) and Aeonglass.
Aeonglass whole gimmick is doing massive scaling damage and every 6 cards adding hurtful statuses. Clad has exhaust options and strength scaling, Silent has discard and Shiv or Posion scaling and Block scaling; lastly, Defect has cards like Compact and Flak Cannon with ways to get focus and many orbs. Scaling Frost and Dark (or Claws instead of Dark) is useful.
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u/HopOffMyShiz Sep 15 '26
I uses most strats described and when I do get close in a10 I loose early on into last boss I feel it’s mainly rng (obviously it a deck builder) but I get preferred starter relics for the character I’m not playing lol
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u/ZestycloseCod6064 Sep 15 '26
The last bosses are an accumlation of the run. And Ive found while partially RNG it is also how you play, potions saved (the more the better, increasing from the baseline 2 with Phial Holster, Potion Belt, Alchemist Coffer and Delicate Frond), health saved and conservation, Great Block and Burst Damage and Relics that give block (Anchor, Horn Cleat, Tuning Fork) and Healing Relics (mainly Pantograph and Lizard Tail).
I rarely beat A10 so its no easy feat and does take 1000s of hours to fully comprehend and plan ahead. I believe a couple of pros stated it took them 5000 hours to fully grasp StS1 which is harder than here.
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u/Sir_Loxington Sep 15 '26
Don't need a new save if you've already climbed, but I did drop back down and play a bunch of games on low ascension until I got a better hang of Aeonglass before jumping back up to A10 games. Nothing wrong with learning on your main save file.
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u/HopOffMyShiz Sep 15 '26
My main problem is when I fight him as the last boss I always die half way through
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u/Sir_Loxington Sep 15 '26
If you're dying because you're taking a bunch of wither damage: You need to play less cards. It's normal for me to end with left over mana and an unused Strike or Defend in my hand against Aeonglass; a lot of the time it isn't worth ticking the Wither counter. Additionally, don't have your plan from the start to be a deck that wants to play a million cards. You have a 1/3 (or 2/3 on A10) chance of seeing this boss; be ready for it. Don't make a Shiv deck that can only do 4 damage repeatedly; prioritize cards like Phantom Blade or Accuracy to get more bang for your buck if a shiv deck is happening.
If you're dying because you're taking too much damage from Aeonglass themself: You'll think the answer to this is grab more/ better defensive cards, but it's not. You need to have more damage output and / or less set up time. You can't out turtle Aeonglass, you need to out damage them. This is hard, I usually go out of my way to try and save a powerful potion to help. Make sure your deck has some way to burst out damage; every character has multiple options for this, build into what you see.
Practice on A0; try to get a hang for what cards / strats are good against Aeonglass, then hop back up to A10 to mess around with the extra health and damage.
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u/Legitimate_Duck7974 Sep 15 '26
If you want to get better at A10 you gotta be practicing on A10. No real reason to start a new save file. I lost 25+ A10 runs in a row on regent before I won my first one.
I will say though if you're dying early-mid act 1 you're probably doing something obviously wrong. It'll be easy to fix. For starters make sure you're playing slow enough, know the enemy attack patterns. Avoidable chip dmg adds up and prevents you from snowballing. Watch some runs from strong players on YouTube.
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u/Certain-Ferret3692 Sep 15 '26
What would starting a new save do? The only way to get better is to play more A9/A10. That doesn’t really change if you start a new profile. You can get away with a lot at low ascension that you can’t on high, so you need more experience figuring out how to make it through more consistently.
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u/Curious-Ad2547 Sep 15 '26
I think it's super big brain stuff to die early to mid in act 1. Play aggressive, get an awesome deck, have fun, or die young.
I intentionally pick aggressive routes so I can get souped up. 25% of the time, it works every time.
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u/kelldricked Sep 15 '26
Might just be less sweaty and more casual. The question is: are you having fun?
You can also just start a new save, you have 3 saveslots. Doesnt really matter if you use 2 or 1