Slay the Spire 2 Announced for 2025 — But Where Are Defect and Watcher? Players in Shambles: 'How Am I Supposed to Climb the Tower Without Her?!'

Slay the Spire 2 is officially real, slated for a 2025 release — but before the hype could even settle, the community zeroed in on something devastating: the Defect and the Watcher appear to be missing from the sequel's roster. The announcement trailer showed no sign of these two beloved characters, and NGA's comment section immediately turned into a collective meltdown.

The OP posted a trailer screenshot with a lament: 'They cut my #1 and #4 favorite characters — Lao Ji and Lao Zi, will we ever meet again?' In Chinese community slang, 'Lao Ji' (牢机, roughly 'Old Machine') is an affectionate nickname for the Defect (the robot character), while 'Lao Zi' (牢紫, 'Old Purple') refers to the Watcher — named after her iconic purple robes. For StS veterans, these two are irreplaceable pillars of the game.

The comment section erupted in grief. One player wailed: 'What am I supposed to play without my purple queen?' Another asked the real question: 'No purple lady — how am I even supposed to climb the tower?' One commenter channeled full melodrama energy: 'Watcher! How am I supposed to live without you, Watcher!' It's clear the Watcher holds a special place in the community's heart.

But this being the Chinese gaming community, the mourning phase lasted approximately five minutes before the meme engines fired up. A pragmatic commenter pointed out: 'Ji Bao (鸡煲, community nickname for Defect) and Chao Mo (超模, 'OP queen', nickname for Watcher) were both late additions to the first game through updates, so they're definitely planned for the sequel too.' Then the copium kicked in: 'Ji Bao, how am I supposed to live without you, Ji Bao, take me with you — gorgeous hunter activate!' The last part is a reference to a popular Slay the Spire deck archetype.

Amid the chaos, some actual gameplay intel surfaced. Multiple commenters leaked detailed descriptions of the new Necromancer class, which features a unique graveyard mechanic — playing and discarding cards adds to your graveyard count. Certain cards trigger 'Soul Transfer,' consuming the graveyard to enter a special state that splits you into a clone. The clone grants +2 energy and makes your attack cards hit twice, but armor and healing are halved since they're split between you and your duplicate. A 'Spirit Recall' ability reunites you with your clone, doubling your current HP.

Additional leaks described the Necromancer's summoning system: three summon slots by default, with four types of skeleton minions — Mage Skeleton (3 random damage at end of turn), Guard Skeleton (2 armor at end of turn), Charge Skeleton (6 charge at end of turn), and Arcane Skeleton (1 energy at start of turn). All skeletons provide permanent effects while alive. Players can also detonate skeletons for burst damage, and even use forbidden arts to massively buff skeleton stats at the cost of gradual decay each turn.

But these elaborate skill descriptions quickly became meme fodder. One commenter shot back: 'Is this a Reno joke or what?' — comparing the overly detailed Necromancer breakdowns to the classic Hearthstone Reno Jackson meme format, implying people shouldn't take these leaks too seriously. Another player delivered the ultimate cold take: 'Whatever, the base game is just a mod launcher anyway' — suggesting the real value of Slay the Spire has always been its massive modding community, not the official roster.

The discussion about visuals and gameplay direction was more measured. Some players were underwhelmed that the trailer's graphics looked nearly identical to the first game, hoping for a 2D-to-3D evolution — though they worried this might complicate modding. Others brought up Darkest Dungeon 2 as a cautionary tale: despite undeniable improvements in visuals and presentation, DD2 was divisive because it abandoned its unique gameplay identity to become 'just another tower-climbing roguelike like StS.' One commenter bluntly stated: 'I thought it was genuinely stupid. Beat it once and never touched it again.'

The most poetic eulogy came from a commenter who wrote: 'Ji Bao went to challenge Sukuna (from Jujutsu Kaisen) and tragically didn't make it back...' — using an anime reference to send off the cut character in a way that's simultaneously tragic and hilarious. Another commenter coldly listed the three possible fates for classic characters: 'Best case: paid DLC. Worst case: merged into other characters. Absolute worst case: they become enemies.' Meaning the Defect and Watcher could return as DLC, get absorbed into other characters' kits, or — the darkest timeline — show up as bosses you have to fight.

Overall, the Slay the Spire 2 announcement has stirred up a complex cocktail of emotions: excitement for the Necromancer's graveyard and summon mechanics, heartbreak over the apparent absence of two fan-favorite characters, and the community's signature blend of copium-fueled hope and savage meme energy. As is tradition in the Chinese gacha and roguelike community, the more they care about something, the harder they roast it. Whether the Defect and Watcher will return in some form — DLC, updates, or otherwise — remains to be seen. For now, the tower climbing continues, albeit with a few empty roster slots and a whole lot of memes.