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Contenu cachéVérifié March 17, 2026

Guide du boss secret marchand

Comment déclencher le combat caché contre le boss Faux Marchand dans Slay the Spire 2 : la chaîne complète de la Potion Immonde, stratégie du combat et la relique exclusive Tapis du Marchand???.

GamerBlurb: What The Fake Merchant IsKotaku: Secret Merchant Boss FightNeonLightsMedia: Knockoff Relics and Foul Potion Secret

Slay the Spire 2 cache un combat de boss secret derrière une chaîne d'événements en deux étapes. Si vous trouvez une Potion Immonde dans l'événement du Courrier de Potions et que vous la lancez ensuite sur le Faux Marchand dans une salle Inconnue ultérieure, le Marchand vous attaque. Gagner le combat récompense 300 or, toutes les reliques contrefaites de l'inventaire du Marchand, et l'exclusive relique Tapis du Marchand???.

Ce guide couvre la chaîne d'activation exacte, la mécanique du combat contre le boss et pourquoi le combat vaut presque toujours la peine quand l'opportunité se présente.

Note de vérification

Vérification croisée avec les guides de Kotaku, NeonLightsMedia, TheGamer, TPoseGaming et GamerBlurb sur le Faux Marchand.

Résumé rapide

Ce guide se concentre sur une question pratique précise, pour que vous puissiez le consulter pendant une partie sans avoir à lire un résumé général.

Si la réponse dépend d'une mécanique, d'un système de personnage ou d'un patch récent, les liens associés vous indiquent quoi consulter ensuite.

Utilisez-le comme référence rapide en partie, pas comme une encyclopédie.

Si la décision implique une mécanique ou un système de personnage, consultez aussi les pages liées.

Les changements d'équilibrage peuvent modifier les recommandations : vérifiez les pages de mises à jour.

Sur cette page

Step 1: Find the Potion Courier eventStep 2: Find the Fake MerchantStep 3: Throw the Foul Potion to trigger the fightBoss fight: The Merchant???Rewards breakdown100% completion significance

Step 1: Find the Potion Courier event

The Potion Courier is an Unknown room event where you find a courier collapsed on the ground with a batch of foul-smelling potions and a note addressed to a merchant. You are given two choices: take 3 Foul Potions, or take 1 random Uncommon Potion.

Always take the 3 Foul Potions if you plan to trigger the secret boss. One Foul Potion is consumed to start the fight, and the remaining two are usable in combat (they deal 12 damage to all enemies and 12 damage to you). Even if you never find the Fake Merchant, Foul Potions still function as cheap AoE damage items — they are not wasted.

  • The Potion Courier event can appear in any act as an Unknown room event.
  • The event is random — you cannot force it to appear. Multiple runs may pass without seeing it.
  • Foul Potions occupy potion slots. If your potion belt is full, you may need to use or discard an existing potion first.
  • The Foul Potion deals 12 damage to ALL characters in combat, including you. Plan accordingly if you use the spares in regular fights.

Step 2: Find the Fake Merchant

The Fake Merchant appears as an Unknown room event in Act 2 or Act 3. The event looks like a normal shop, but the merchant's rug has a visible "For Sale" tag and all relics on display have "???" appended to their names. These are knockoff relics — weaker versions of real relics at roughly one-quarter of the normal shop price.

Without a Foul Potion, you can only buy knockoff relics at their discounted prices and leave. The knockoff relics are functional but weaker: Orichalcum??? grants 3 Block at end of turn (real: 6), Happy Flower??? grants energy every 5 turns (real: every 3). Buying them is rarely worth the gold.

  • The Fake Merchant event is separate from normal shops on the map. It appears in Unknown rooms, not shop nodes.
  • Knockoff relics available include: Heart of Iron???, Anchor???, Venerable Tea Set???, Strike Dummy???, Lee's Waffle???, Blood Vial???, and Orichalcum???. Each is a weaker copy of the original.
  • If you see the Fake Merchant without a Foul Potion, note it for future runs. The event exists in the event pool and can appear again.
  • Do not waste gold buying knockoff relics. If you have a Foul Potion, you get all of them for free by winning the fight.

Step 3: Throw the Foul Potion to trigger the fight

When you have a Foul Potion in your inventory and encounter the Fake Merchant, an additional option appears: throw the Foul Potion at the Merchant. Selecting this option consumes one Foul Potion and initiates a combat encounter against The Merchant???.

The fight cannot be triggered any other way. If you sold or used all three Foul Potions before finding the Fake Merchant, the opportunity is lost for that run.

  • Throwing the Foul Potion is not reversible. Once you choose to throw it, the fight begins immediately.
  • The fight uses your current deck, potions, and relics — there is no special preparation phase.
  • Remaining Foul Potions (you started with 3, used 1 to trigger) can be used during the boss fight itself for 12 AoE damage.

Boss fight: The Merchant???

The Merchant??? has approximately 165 HP and fights at roughly the difficulty of an Act 3 elite or an easy boss. The Merchant attacks for 9-20+ damage per turn and has no complex phase transitions or instant-death mechanics. This is a straightforward damage race with moderately high incoming damage.

Compared to Act 3 elites like the Mecha Knight (300 HP, Artifact stacks, Strength scaling), the Merchant??? is significantly easier. Most decks that have reached Act 2-3 can handle this fight without major risk.

  • Treat the fight like an elite encounter. Block on heavy attack turns, deal damage on lighter turns.
  • Use your remaining Foul Potions during the fight. Two Foul Potions deal 24 damage to the Merchant (and 24 to you). At 165 HP, that is roughly 15% of the boss's health for free.
  • The self-damage from Foul Potions (12 per use) is manageable if you have 40+ HP. If you are below 30 HP, consider whether the self-damage is worth the extra burst.
  • Standard combat potions (Fire Potion, Strength Potion, Block Potion) are effective here. The Merchant has no special resistances or immunities.
  • There is no turn timer or anti-stall mechanic. Defensive decks can take their time.

Rewards breakdown

Defeating The Merchant??? is one of the most rewarding single encounters in the game. You receive three categories of rewards: gold, relics, and a card reward.

  • 300 gold: A massive payout. For context, a typical elite fight yields 30-40 gold. This single fight equals 8-10 elite fights worth of gold.
  • All knockoff relics: Every relic the Merchant was selling (4-6 knockoff relics) is added to your inventory for free. While each individual knockoff is weaker than its real counterpart, 4-6 free relics add up to significant combined value.
  • Merchant's Rug??? relic: The exclusive relic. The Merchant's Rug??? has no gameplay effect — it does nothing. Its only purpose is Compendium completion. This relic cannot be obtained any other way.
  • Standard card reward: You receive a normal post-combat card reward screen with upgraded card options.
  • Total value: 300 gold + 4-6 relics + exclusive relic + card reward. No other single encounter in the game gives this much loot.

100% completion significance

The Merchant's Rug??? is required for full Compendium completion. Because the relic can only be obtained through this specific event chain, completionists must successfully execute the Potion Courier into Fake Merchant into Foul Potion throw sequence at least once.

The Merchant's Rug??? is a callback to the original Slay the Spire, where the Merchant's rug was famously not for sale. In STS2, the bootleg Merchant displays a rug with a "For Sale" tag, and defeating him makes the rug yours — the punchline to a joke that started in 2017.

  • The Compendium tracks all relics you have obtained across all runs. The Merchant's Rug??? slot remains empty until you complete the event chain.
  • Because both events (Potion Courier and Fake Merchant) are random, it may take many runs before both appear in the same run. There is no way to guarantee the chain triggers.
  • Co-op runs can also trigger the event chain. Both players receive the rewards.

Plus de conseils et guides

Questions fréquemment poséesGuide du débutantComment débloquer tous les personnagesItinéraire de l'Acte 1

FAQ

Que se passe-t-il si j'utilise toutes mes Potions Immondes avant de trouver le Faux Marchand ?

Le combat ne peut pas être activé sans Potion Immonde. Gardez-en au moins une si vous voulez tenter le combat secret.

La relique Tapis du Marchand??? est-elle vraiment utile ?

Non. Le Tapis du Marchand??? n'a pas d'effet de jeu. Il existe uniquement pour compléter le Compendium et comme trophée.

Le Faux Marchand peut-il apparaître dans l'Acte 1 ?

D'après les rapports communautaires, l'événement du Faux Marchand apparaît dans les salles Inconnues des Actes 2 et 3. L'événement du Courrier de Potions peut apparaître dans n'importe quel acte.

Sources

GamerBlurb: What The Fake Merchant Is

Authority

Fake Merchant encounter guide with knockoff relic comparison and boss fight strategy.

Kotaku: Secret Merchant Boss Fight

Authority

First major coverage of the hidden Fake Merchant boss fight triggered by the Foul Potion.

NeonLightsMedia: Knockoff Relics and Foul Potion Secret

Authority

Detailed Fake Merchant guide covering knockoff relic list, trigger chain, and reward breakdown.

TheGamer: Fake Merchant Secret Boss Fight And Rewards

Authority

Complete Fake Merchant guide covering Potion Courier event, trigger conditions, and all rewards.

TPoseGaming: Fake Merchant Guide

Authority

Step-by-step Fake Merchant boss trigger guide with Foul Potion acquisition details.