Every character in both games starts with 99 gold and 3 energy and draws 5 cards per turn. Starting HP, the two signature cards and the starting relic differ by character.
Starting kits
| Character | HP | Gold | Deck | Starting relic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| StS1 Ironclad | 80 | 99 | 5 Strike, 4 Defend, Bash | Burning Blood |
| StS2 Ironclad | 80 | 99 | 5 Strike, 4 Defend, Bash | Burning Blood |
| StS1 Silent | 70 | 99 | 5 Strike, 5 Defend, Survivor, Neutralize | Ring of the Snake |
| StS2 Silent | 70 | 99 | 5 Strike, 5 Defend, Neutralize, Survivor | Ring of the Snake |
| StS1 and StS2 Defect | 75 | 99 | 4 Strike, 4 Defend, Zap, Dualcast | Cracked Core |
| StS2 Necrobinder | 66 | 99 | 4 Strike, 4 Defend, Bodyguard, Unleash | Bound Phylactery |
| StS2 Regent | 75 | 99 | 4 Strike, 4 Defend, Falling Star, Venerate | Divine Right |
| StS1 Watcher | 72 | 99 | 4 Strike, 4 Defend, Eruption, Vigilance | Pure Water |
In StS1 the Defect starts with 3 orb slots.
What carries over between the games
- Ironclad (80), Silent (70) and Defect (75) keep the same starting HP in Slay the Spire 2.
- The Necrobinder has the lowest starting HP of any playable character in either game at 66. The Regent starts at 75.
- Starting decks hold 10 cards, except the Silent, who starts with 12 in both games.
- Burning Blood, Ring of the Snake and Cracked Core are the starting relics of the same characters in both games.
- The Watcher and Pure Water are not in Slay the Spire 2.
StS2 character unlock order
Only the Ironclad is playable at first. Each character unlocks after you play a run with the previous one:
- Play a run as the Ironclad to unlock the Silent.
- Play a run as the Silent to unlock the Regent.
- Play a run as the Regent to unlock the Necrobinder.
- Play a run as the Necrobinder to unlock the Defect.
Characters you cannot play
The "Random" entry on the StS2 character select is its own character record. It cannot be played: the game starts the run as one of the playable characters instead. Its unused kit has 1 HP, 1 gold, the Circlet and one Strike and one Defend from each character.
StS2 also contains Deprived, an unplayable character with 1000 HP, 99 gold, an empty starting deck and no relics. Its name is translated into 13 languages. See cut content in both games.