Defect
The Defect is one of three returning characters in Slay the Spire 2. It’s a robot that fights by slotting elemental Orbs into a queue that both passively and actively generates damage, Block, and more. Builds range from methodical Orb management to spamming low cost Attacks.
What's Changed in Slay the Spire 2?
There are a few big changes:
- The all-new Glass orb which does 4 damage to all enemies, decreasing by 1 each turn until it reaches 0, at which point it stops functioning. Evoking will do 8 damage to the entire team.
- Status card synergy has been improved via cards like Smokestack, Iteration, and Trash to Treasure.
- Unique orb count is more explicitly rewarded through Coolant, Compile Driver, and Synchronize.
Defect Builds
Slay the Spire 2 is still fresh and the meta is still being figured out. We're working with experienced players to put together in-depth guides for each of the Defect's main build archetypes. In the meantime here’s an idea of what looks popular.
Orb and Focus Builds
The Defect’s Orb and Focus build is the most reliable playstyle. Stack focus through Defragment to amplify every Orb’s passive and Evoke values and use Frost as needed for defense and Lightning for offense. Prioritize Focus upgrades early and manage your Orb slot count intentionally, more slots isn’t always better.
Claw Builds
Claw builds are all about spamming the common 0-Cost Claw card and drawing it as much as possible while cycling through your deck. With damage increasing each time it’s played, you almost completely ignore the Orb mechanic. With All for One, you can reliably return it to your hand, but without it the build is a bit inconsistent.
Uproar Builds
Uproar builds want to thin their deck as much as possible to the point that Uproar is the only Attack card in it. That way your Uproar chains into another Uproar and into Uproar and so on. It’s really consistent if you can get it up and running but it does take purposeful set up.
Exclusive Defect Relics
Each of the Defect’s exclusive relics feeds directly into one of its core strategies. The Orb builds get consistent boosts while Power Cell significantly boosts Claw builds.
Exclusive Defect Potions
There are three Defect exclusive potions: one that fills all Orb slots with Dark orbs, one that gives you more Orb slots, and another that generates Focus.
Exclusive Defect Mechanics
The Defect does have some exclusive mechanics to learn:
- Orbs - The Defect’s signature mechanic. Orbs sit in slots and trigger a passive effect at the end of every turn. When a new Orb is Channeled into a full queue, the rightmost Orb, triggering a stronger effect one time before it is removed. There are five types: Lightning deals damage, Frost generates Block, Dark builds up over time before being Evoked for large amounts of damage, Plasma generates extra Energy, and Glass deals AOE.
- Focus - A stat exclusive to the Defect that increases the numerical value of every Orb’s passive and Evoke effects.
- Channel - The keyword for adding an Orb into your queue.
- Evoke - The keyword for triggering an Orb’s active effect and removing it from the queue.