Each act has its own pool of possible Ancients. You meet one Ancient between acts and choose from their blessing options (typically pick 1 of 3). The Ancient you encounter is random, but they are visible on the map before you reach them, so you can plan ahead.
Ancients never repeat in the same position within a single run. Neow fills the Act 1 blessing role (same as the original game), while later Ancients shape Acts 2 and 3.
Neow returns from Slay the Spire 1 and works the same way: at the start of every run, she offers starting blessings like card transforms, relic swaps, HP trades, and bonus gold. The key is to pick a blessing that supports your first few fights rather than one that only pays off in Act 3.
Tezcatara is a large witch surrounded by massive candles. Her blessings offer high upfront power that is often temporary or comes with a permanent cost.
The Golden Path — Transforms the act map into a simplified golden route. Reduces difficulty but also limits reward opportunities. Best when your deck needs to coast through Act 2 without taking risks.
Wax Choker — Grants 4 temporary Wax Relics that melt away during the act (one every 3 combats, left to right). Safest default choice because it gives consistent short-term value without permanent commitments.
Heap of Coals — Supercharges your Strike cards but makes them permanently impossible to remove from your deck. Appealing early but dangerous long-term because Strikes become dead weight in Act 3 when deck compression matters most.
Pael appears as an alternative to Tezcatara. Her blessings center around Exhaust card effects and synergize heavily with Exhaust-based builds. Ironclad and Necrobinder benefit most from Pael's offerings because their card pools have the deepest Exhaust interactions.
If you are running Silent or Regent without Exhaust support, Pael's blessings are usually weaker than Tezcatara's Wax Relics.
The most reliable decision framework across all community sources comes down to three questions: Does this blessing match my build direction? Is the cost manageable for the rest of the run? And what is the safest fallback if I am unsure?
When unsure, pick Wax Relics — They provide consistent short-term value without permanent downsides. The relics melt away by late Act 2 or early Act 3, so there is no long-term lock-in.
Avoid Heap of Coals unless your build wants Strikes — Permanently locking Strikes in your deck sounds minor but becomes a real problem when you need a lean deck for Act 3 bosses.
Match Pael to Exhaust builds — Ironclad Corruption decks and Necrobinder Exhaust decks get the most from Pael. Everyone else usually prefers Tezcatara.
Evaluate Golden Path by deck state — If your deck is fragile and needs to survive Act 2, the simplified route can save a run. If your deck is strong and wants more rewards, Golden Path costs you potential relics and card choices.
