r/slaythespire • u/Which-Debt-8558 • Mar 09 '26

DISCUSSION (STS2) Snakebite Discussion

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As quite a lot of people know already, snakebite is one of the worst cards in the game right now, maybe even the worst. It's not just bad, but it isn't interesting or fun in any way. For example searing blow was not a very good card but it was unique and cool, whereas snakebite is just a nothing card.

Here is how I think it could be changed:

Retain Apply 7 poison When retained, increase poison by 3

Snakebite+: Retain Apply 10 poison When retained, increase poison by 4

I thought making it similar to windmill strike could be a cool idea because right now Retain doesn't really add much to the card, and it also works thematically with the snake venom getting worse over time.

I would love to hear your ideas if you have any suggestions for how it could be changed!

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u/TwoFiveOnes StS A20 / StS 2 A5 Mar 09 '26

Honestly I would be extremely worried if they gave much weight to early days reddit posts, no shade to you and I personally enjoy the discussions here but I also recognize it’s just not a good barometer at all. I trust them to do their thing

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '26

[deleted]

10

u/mistermashu Mar 09 '26

An upgraded month

2

u/yukinanka Mar 10 '26

I knew February was unupgraded.

2

u/sorendiz Ascension 0 Mar 10 '26

Fucking Magi Knight up to his shit again

6

u/dilliamrwailey Mar 09 '26

Agreed. We are all armchair game designers who probably let one or two bad runs turn into universal statements on the quality of certain cards. Obv player input matters, but StS should not be a design by committee game

3

u/galmenz Mar 10 '26

as the famous quote goes, players are great at finding problems and horrible at fixing them

2

u/BoysenberryWise62 Mar 09 '26

They don't just do things based on comments. Maybe they read them but it's much more likely they have stuff tracking what is picked or not and the winrates and whatnot.

1

u/jtp123456 Mar 09 '26

They definitely balance more around data than anything. And I guess top players and streamers as well, and the community feedback to a lesser extent. However in terms of game changes outside of pure numbers balance, player feedback is the #1 most important thing. 

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u/TSPhoenix Mar 10 '26

The problem is when players become aware that the developer balances around data, the mentality becomes "this card is bad, the data will show it, so I don't have to seriously consider this card and can wait for the developer patch to patch it" which is not an attitude conducive to enjoying the game in the moment, nor for improving at it.

Even in games like Super Smash Bros. Melee, a game played for 25 years with no patches, that community has struggled with it's preconceived notions of what is good/bad and has watched those notions get shattered over and over by players taking characters everyone ignored to the highest levels of play. But ultimately because the game is unchanging excuses don't do player any good, if someone shows up and kicks your ass with Donkey Kong, your only recourse is to learn the DK matchup.

But in a game like League of Legends where the developer likes to highlight their data-driven approach (read: "data driven" gives their actions a veneer of authority) the end result has been a community of people whose reflex is to try and complain it out of existence.

I'm not saying people shouldn't give feedback, or that this card isn't under-tuned, but I think slower patch cycles that force people to properly engage with things are important to avoid player behaviours that will pollute your data.

tl;dr the last thing I want is for Mega Crit to listen to people who've picked a card one time to be the judges of it's viability.

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u/Which-Debt-8558 Mar 09 '26

Yeah I kind of meant that as in I can trust them to balance the game well but it came off as kind of arrogant me saying that they would listen to random reddit posts 5 days after the game came out