Full outcome numbers for every first-run event: HP swings, relic prices, card adds, and which choice is correct at A10.
Slay the Spire 2 replaces STS1's text-first events with full-screen illustrated scenes, and the choice text is deliberately obscure — you almost never know the exact HP or gold outcome before you click. This guide documents every first-run event with the exact numbers pulled from live runs and community wiki data, so you can route around the bad options and take the free HP when it shows up.
Events are never skipped at Ascension 10 and above. Free HP, free gold, and free removal are worth far more than any combat reward, and the penalties on bad choices are capped — a -5 HP mistake is recoverable, a 30-damage Inkblot turn with 40 HP is not. Read through each event once, remember the correct choice, and your A10 runs will gain roughly one full Rest Site of value per floor.
Verification note
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Fast takeaway
This guide is built around one practical question, so you can use it during a run instead of digging through a broad overview.
If the answer depends on a mechanic, a character system, or a recent patch, the related links show you what to open next.
Use this when you want a direct answer instead of a broad overview.
Follow the related links if this decision depends on a mechanic, character system, or co-op rule.
Check the update pages whenever balance changes might shift the recommendation.
On this page
Byrdonis Egg is the first event most players meet and the one most players misplay. A glowing speckled egg sits on an altar with no monster in sight. Text invites you to take it, leave it, or crack it open. The illustration hints at danger but the payoff is non-obvious until you see the fight.
The correct first-run action is to leave the egg. Taking the egg locks you into a forced elite-tier fight against Donis Harpy, and the reward is a single card pick from a limited pool. Cracking the egg gives you a random common relic, but the egg itself is replaced by a 2-cost Curse card named Broken Shell that cannot be removed through normal means.
Blue Sapphire Seed is the best event in the game. A tiny blue sprout grows out of a crack in the floor, and the text offers to swallow it, plant it, or ignore it. Two of the three options are strictly positive and one is a placeholder.
Swallow gives +9 HP immediately with no downside. Plant gives nothing this run but marks the seed as grown, which unlocks a cosmetic flower in future runs. Ignore does nothing. On A10 every run, swallow. There is no trap and no hidden cost.
Sword in the Stone replaces STS1's Golden Shrine slot. A weathered sword sits embedded in a rock. You can pull it, leave it, or worship the rock. The outcomes trade HP for card and relic value at different curves.
Pulling the sword costs 6 HP and gives one random rare Attack card from your class pool. This is efficient on any Strength-focused class (Ironclad, Regent Forge) because the card floor is high. Leaving returns you to the map with no change. Worshipping grants +1 random common relic and adds a 1-cost Skill named Prayer that costs 0 after worship but removes itself from the deck on first play.
Brain Worm is the only event that can ruin a run quietly. A wriggling parasite drops from the ceiling. The text promises free upgrades in exchange for a bite. Most players take the bite because upgrades are the most valuable currency in the game.
The bite gives you one free upgrade per combat for the rest of the run, but every upgrade costs 5 HP at the end of the combat in which it resolves. The math is brutal: three upgrades cost 15 HP, and the worm cannot be removed at Rest Sites. Only the Merchant can remove the worm, and the removal cost scales with how many upgrades you have already taken.
Trading Merchant is the most flexible event. A traveling merchant offers to swap any relic in your inventory for a relic from his stock. His stock is randomized but always contains at least 5 relics, and rare relics cost an additional 50 gold on top of the trade.
The correct choice depends on your current inventory. If you are holding a starter relic that your build has outgrown (Cracked Core on a non-orb Defect build, Burning Blood on a block-focused Ironclad), trade it for any common from the stock. If your inventory is already tuned, leave. Trading a rare for a common is always wrong because the merchant never pays the difference in gold.
Lost Wisp is a pure-choice event with no HP cost. A glowing blue wisp flickers in a dark clearing. The text offers to follow it, catch it, or ignore it. Two of the three options give value.
Follow gives +1 upgrade to a random card in your deck. Catch gives +1 common relic. Ignore gives nothing. The correct choice depends on deck composition: if you already have 10+ cards, take the upgrade because the variance is low. If your deck is under 10 cards, take the relic because the upgrade slot might hit a Strike or Defend you would rather remove.
Fake Merchant appears in Act 1 after floor 5 and looks identical to a real merchant, except the sprite has a slight red tint around the eyes. He offers a random rare relic at half the normal price — 75 gold instead of 150. If you buy, the relic is fake and gives no effect, and you lose the gold permanently.
The tell is the eye color and the price. Any relic under 100 gold in Act 1 is a Fake Merchant lure. Real merchants sell rares at 150 minimum. Walking away costs nothing. Attempting to haggle triggers the same outcome as buying. Always walk away.
Shining Chorus (冷光合唱团) is an Act 2 event where three singing spirits offer to upgrade cards in exchange for a song. The text implies a cost but the event is actually free — the spirits only want you to listen.
The correct choice is Listen. You get +3 upgrades to randomly chosen cards in your deck. Refuse gives nothing. Attack the chorus triggers a forced elite-tier fight against three Soul Singers (30 HP each, combined 24 AoE damage per turn). The combat reward is one rare card, which is strictly worse than the three free upgrades.
Round Table Tea Party is a mid-Act-2 social event. Four illustrated nobles invite you to share a cup. The text warns about the tea but does not specify the effect. This is one of the rare events where the small option is the correct option.
Drinking the tea costs 11 HP and grants one free card removal. On A10, 11 HP for a guaranteed removal is better than any Merchant price (starts at 75 gold, +25 per removal). Refusing the tea insults the nobles and triggers a fight against one noble (60 HP, 18/turn Attack) for a card reward. Leaving gives nothing.
Training Dummy is an Act 1 event that gives permanent Strength in exchange for beating up a straw dummy. The dummy has three selectable HP values, and the Strength reward scales with the HP tier you pick. The catch is that the dummy counts as a combat encounter for relic purposes (Tungsten Rod ticks, Runic Cube draws), and if you fail to kill the dummy in 3 turns you lose 20 HP.
The correct HP tier depends on your current damage output. 75 HP is safe on any Ascension 10 starter deck. 150 HP requires at least one damage card or a Strength relic. 300 HP requires an upgraded damage card or a full Strength archetype. The Strength reward is permanent and does not count against the 3-Strength soft cap that exists on most single cards.
FAQ
Sapphire Seed Swallow (+9 HP free), Shining Chorus Listen (+3 upgrades free), and Round Table Tea Party Drink (-11 HP for +1 removal). These three choices have no class-dependent drawbacks and should be taken on every single Ascension 10 run.
Two tells. First, the price: any rare relic under 100 gold in Act 1 is Fake Merchant bait. Real merchants sell rares at 150 minimum. Second, the sprite has a subtle red tint around the eyes. If you see either signal, walk away. There is no successful haggle outcome.
Only if you have infinite heal (Blood for Blood + Feed on Ironclad, Catalyst + self-damage on Silent). The -5 HP per upgrade compounds fast, and the Merchant removal cost scales with upgrade count. Most A10 runs cannot pay the removal cost once 4+ upgrades have been applied.
Only on confirmed Strength archetypes. Ironclad Heavy Blade decks and Regent Forge decks can clear 300 HP in 3 turns with one upgraded Attack card. Any other archetype risks the -20 HP fail penalty, which wipes out the Strength value. Take 75 or 150 instead.
Events are rolled into the map like elites and shops, so skipping them means taking extra combat floors instead. At A10, combat floors are strictly worse value than events because you lose HP for a card pick you might not need. Always path through at least one event per act, ideally two.
The Crack option can hit S-tier commons (Ice Cream, Tungsten Rod) and is statistically positive, but Broken Shell Curse is a permanent deck slot loss. Only take Crack if you already have (Exhaust payoff) or Necrobinder's Doom tools that benefit from Curses in the deck.
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