You unlock cards in Slay the Spire 2 through the Timeline: new cards are rewards from Epochs, which you earn by hitting milestones and building score across your runs. Each character’s own card Epochs come from three milestones, beating Act 1, defeating 15 Elites and beating Ascension 1 with that character, while score Epochs add more cards as your runs pile up.
There is no shortcut. Mega Crit has said there will be no unlock-all button, and Daily and Custom runs cannot earn Epochs, so every card comes from standard runs. Here is how the system works in Slay the Spire 2, which milestones hand out cards, and the fastest order to open the whole pool.
How Card Unlocks Work in Slay the Spire 2
The first game unlocked cards with a progress bar for each character. The sequel replaces that with the Timeline, a set of Epochs that work as story fragments and as unlocks: each one adds new cards, relics, potions or features, and some open the next character or a new mode.
Epochs come in two kinds:
- Milestone Epochs, earned by doing something specific with a character, such as beating an act or defeating a set number of Elites.
- Score Epochs, paid for with the score you earn at the end of each run. Mega Crit’s Major Update #1 notes say “there are still points accrued for unlocking new cards and such,” separate from the leaderboard score, and a later beta fix describes an Epoch unlock earned at the end of a run with “the score that paid for it.”
New Epochs are revealed on the Timeline screen. Its unlock screen shows the cards, potions and relics each Epoch adds, so check it after a run to see what you have opened.
Character Card Epochs
Each of the five characters has its own set of milestones on the Timeline. Three of them unlock new cards for that character, three cards each:
| Milestone | What to do |
|---|---|
| Beat Act 1 | Defeat the Act 1 boss with that character |
| Defeat 15 Elites | Kill 15 Elites with that character, counted across runs |
| Beat Ascension 1 | Win a run at Ascension 1 with that character |
The other character milestones, beating Act 2 and Act 3 and defeating 15 bosses, mostly unlock relics, potions and story Epochs rather than cards. These milestones have been in place since Early Access began in March, and Mega Crit’s patch notes since have added Epoch art and fixes rather than new conditions.
Two things gate the Ascension milestone. First you need the character, and our guide to unlocking every character covers the order. Then you need Ascension itself, which opens once you beat Act 3 with that character, as our guide to how Ascension works explains. So each character’s last card Epoch takes two wins: one to open Ascension 1, and one more at Ascension 1.
Score Epochs: Cards From Playing
Score Epochs fill up as you finish runs, whichever character you play. Several of them add cards. Preon unlocks Automation, Catastrophe and Entropy, and The Architect, named for the final Ancient in our guide to whether you can beat the Architect, unlocks Prep Time, Eternal Armor and Jackpot.
You do not need to do anything special for these. Play full standard runs, and the score you bank at the end of each one moves you toward the next score Epoch.
Runs That Do Not Count Toward Unlocks
- Daily runs. Major Update #1 removed the ability to earn Epochs and achievements in Daily runs.
- Custom runs. The same change covers Custom mode.
- How to check. The game shows an icon in the top bar when a run cannot earn Epochs or achievements, and hovering over the character icon explains why.
Multiplayer runs are different. A March hotfix fixed players being unable to unlock Epochs after playing a multiplayer run, which tells you co-op runs are meant to count. Our guide to how multiplayer works covers setting up a co-op climb.
Is There an Unlock All Option?
No. In the February 2026 Neowsletter, a player asked whether there would be an unlock-all button for people who buy the game on other platforms, and Casey Yano of Mega Crit answered: “No. But we’re aiming to have some form of cross-platform saving.”
Mods can change a lot about the game, but they are unofficial, and our guide to installing and turning off mods explains how to switch them off again cleanly. If you want the cards the way Mega Crit intended, the milestones below are the path.
The Fastest Way to Unlock Every Card
- Open the whole cast first. Each run you finish opens the next character, so a handful of quick runs gets you all five. Character-specific Epochs cannot start until a character is open.
- Beat Act 1 with each character. It is the easiest card milestone, so every character’s first three new cards come early.
- Path through Elites. Taking Elite fights on your map gets you to 15 per character faster. Our best character guide and builds for the Ironclad, Silent, Regent, Necrobinder and Defect help you survive the extra fights.
- Win, then win at Ascension 1. Beating Act 3 opens Ascension for that character; one more win at Ascension 1 finishes its card milestones.
- Stick to standard runs. Every one banks score toward the score Epochs, while Daily and Custom runs bank nothing.
- Visit the Timeline after each run. That is where new Epochs show up, along with the cards they add.
What the Next Update Could Change
Slay the Spire 2 is in Early Access, and the card pool keeps growing. Mega Crit’s October 2026 Neowsletter said its next big beta patch is planned for November 12, with the main branch catching up to everything on the current beta. New cards and Epochs can come with updates like that, so the list of things to unlock may grow. Our guide to when the next update comes out has the details, and every other guide is on our Slay the Spire hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you unlock new cards in Slay the Spire 2? Through Epochs on the Timeline. Each character unlocks new cards by beating Act 1, defeating 15 Elites and beating Ascension 1, and score Epochs add more cards as you finish runs.
Do Daily runs unlock cards? No. Daily and Custom runs cannot earn Epochs or achievements.
Is there an unlock all cards option? No. Casey Yano of Mega Crit said “No” when asked about an unlock-all button in the February 2026 Neowsletter.
Do you have to win to unlock cards? Not always. Beating Act 1 and defeating 15 Elites do not need a full win, and score builds from every finished run. The Ascension 1 milestone does need wins.
Where do you see the cards you unlocked? On the Timeline screen, which shows the cards, relics and potions each Epoch adds.
Do multiplayer runs count toward unlocks? They are meant to. Mega Crit fixed a bug in March that stopped some players from unlocking Epochs after a multiplayer run.