A lot of this list is single-run conditions that don’t conflict with each other, so you can earn several at once instead of replaying for each. Each plan below is one run. Achievements in a plan are marked with a ⛓ badge further down.
Start a Silent run and draft every Poison card you are offered. Plague (3 poison kills in one combat) and Catalyst (99 Poison on one enemy) both come from the same scaling, and a winning run also lands Emerald.
- ✓▢Emerald — Beat the game with the Silent.
- ✓▢Plague — Defeat 3 enemies with Poison in a single combat.
- ✓▢Catalyst — Apply 99 or more Poison on a single enemy.
Plague and Catalyst are single-combat checks, so they can land in different fights of the same run. Multi-enemy hallway fights are the easiest place for Plague; a long elite or boss fight is the easiest place to stack Catalyst.
A second Silent run built around Shiv generation instead of Poison. Ninja needs 10 Shivs played in one turn, and every Shiv counts as a card played, which is the easiest route to Infinity's 25 cards in a single turn. Win the run for Emerald if you still need it.
- ✓▢Ninja — Play 10 Shivs in a single turn.
- ✓▢Infinity — Play 25 cards in a single turn.
- ✓▢Emerald — Beat the game with the Silent.
Kept separate from the Poison plan on purpose: both are Silent, but a deck that dilutes itself chasing both archetypes is much weaker. Infinity is not Silent-only - any character with a big enough turn can get it - but Shivs make it far easier.
Start a Defect run and build around orbs. Neon (channel 9 Plasma in one turn) and Focused (25 or more Focus during combat) both reward an orb-scaling deck, and winning the run gives Sapphire.
- ✓▢Sapphire — Beat the game with the Defect.
- ✓▢Neon — Channel 9 Plasma in a single turn.
- ✓▢Focused — Have 25 or more Focus during combat.
Both are per-combat or per-turn checks, so a long boss fight is the best place to set them up once the deck is online.
Start an Ironclad run and draft block-scaling cards. Barricaded asks for 999 Block during combat; Impervious asks for 99 - so the moment Barricaded pops, Impervious has already passed on the way.
- ✓▢Ruby — Beat the game with the Ironclad.
- ✓▢Barricaded — Have 999 Block during combat.
- ✓▢Impervious — Have 99 or more Block during combat.
Nesting: chase Barricaded only. Jaxxed (50 Strength) and The Pact (exhaust 20 cards in one combat) are also Ironclad-friendly but pull the deck in a different direction, so they are left out of this plan rather than promised alongside it.
Act 1 robot boss. Manages Mode Shift (defensive transformation). Attack between Mode Shifts. Most starter decks beat this. Unmissable for any successful Act 1 run.
RNG variant of Act 1 boss (Slime Boss or Ghost). The Ghost is the rarer roll. Beat any character with a focused build. Same difficulty as Guardian once you encounter it.
Slime Boss splits into smaller slimes at 50% HP. Tank the damage, focus the main blob until split, then AoE the smaller ones. Best with Whirlwind or Twin Strike Ironclad.
Tankiest of Act 2 bosses. Stacks Strength. Use Weak debuffs (Silent's debuffs) and high-burst damage. Strip his Strength via Apparitions or Wraith Form.
Beat the game with any character. Ascension mode then unlocks — adds difficulty modifiers. First-win achievement.
Act 2 boss (one of three). The Automaton has a self-stacking buff phase. Burst damage before it gets out of hand. Strong builds win in 4-5 turns.
Summons two minion adds. Kill the adds first or you'll be overrun. AoE damage cards (Whirlwind, Sneaky Strike) work best. Focus Collector after adds are clean.
Ironclad Exhaust deck. Cards like Feel No Pain + Sentinel + Reaper + Corruption. Each exhausted card counts. 20 in one fight = late-fight Reaper spam on a Corruption-loaded deck.
Stack energy gain. Defect's Capacitor + relic Coffee Dripper. Ironclad's Berserk + Bloodletting. Silent's Adrenaline card. Build up energy across turns; spike to 9 on a single turn.
Late in any combat, take damage down to 1 HP, then finish the enemy. Easier on weak enemies — let them hit you then deal the killing blow. Try in early floors where damage is predictable.
Block-focused build. Ironclad with Barricade + Iron Wave. Silent with Wraith Form + Cloak and Dagger Block. Watcher in Calm stance with Worship + Prostrate. Block ALL incoming damage.
Beat Act 3 final boss with Ironclad. Strength build (Demon Form + Limit Break + Reaper) or Block tank (Barricade). Most accessible character — get this first.
Act 3 boss. Three shapes attack in sequence. Each shape has a unique buff/debuff. AoE damage to handle multiple targets. Watcher with Wallop or Ironclad with Whirlwind.
Act 3 boss. Massive HP pool. Sustained damage build (Strength scaling or Poison scaling) is the only viable path. Block his big telegraphed attacks.
Skills + Powers only — no Attack damage. Defect with Bias + Echo Form can stall + power-attack via reflects. Silent's Poison/Thorns are pure non-attack damage. Pick weak enemies for the test.
Find a 3+ enemy combat. Silent Poison build. Apply Poison broadly via Bouncing Flask or Noxious Fumes. Wait for poison ticks to kill each.
Beat Act 3 final boss with Silent. Two main archetypes: Poison (Catalyst + Bouncing Flask) or Shiv spam (Storm of Steel + Accuracy). Both viable.
Act 3 boss. Every 12 cards you play, his next turn skips. Use this to time your damage burst. Strong burst-damage cards (Reaper, Whirlwind) shine. Don't overplay during his fast turns.
Defect uses Orbs (Lightning, Frost, Plasma, Dark). Channel + Focus build. Bias + Echo Form is a meta build. Beat Act 3 final boss.
Ironclad's Barricade + Body Slam combo. Silent's Wraith Form + Block scaling. Defect's Defragment. Stack until 99+ shows on the HUD.
Silent with Catalyst + Noxious Fumes + Bouncing Flask. Apply Poison repeatedly. Catalyst card doubles existing Poison — use on a high-Poison enemy.
Each Power card or buff effect counts. Strength + Dexterity + Demon Form + Plated Armor + etc. Ironclad with multiple Power cards stacked. Watcher's stance-buff combinations also work.
Silent with Accuracy + Storm of Steel + Cloak and Dagger. Generate shivs (Cloak + Storm), play them all in one turn. Shivs are 0-cost so unlimited plays.
Watcher uses stances (Calm, Wrath, Divinity). Stance dance for max damage. Beat Act 3 final boss. Mantras + Pressure Points scaling are meta.
Daily Climb has random modifiers + character + seeds. Win one with the modifiers in your favour. Reset and retry daily. Some modifier combos are easier than others.
Multiple ways: Ironclad with Dropkick combo. Silent infinite-shiv builds. Defect's Coolheaded loops. 25 cards = chain card-draw effects until your hand keeps refilling.
Ironclad with Demon Form + Limit Break + multiple Strength relics. Or any character with Vajra relic + Heavy Blade. Build accumulates over turns; 50+ requires extended fights.
Build a deck that EXHAUSTS heavily. Cards in Exhaust pile don't count. Aim for total deck size: 5-6 cards, exhaust 2-3 in early turns. Best on Ironclad with Corruption + Exhaust archetype.
After Ascension 20+ and beating Act 3, light all 4 key candles to access Act 4 (the Ending). Reach the Heart and beat it. Massive HP boss. Block + scaling damage.
Same as Ruby+ but Silent. Poison or Shiv build. Heart has insane HP; Catalyst-boosted Poison stack of 100+ is the strategy.
Each character has its own Ascension track. Beat Act 3 final boss while on Ascension Level 10 with any character. Each ascension level you complete unlocks the next.
Transient is an Act 3 elite that grows weaker over turns but disappears at turn 5. Beat it before turn 5 ends. Burst damage. Limit Break + Reaper or Whirlwind.
Same as Ruby+ but Defect. Plasma scaling or Lightning storm builds. The Heart's massive HP requires extended scaling builds.
Same as Ruby+/Emerald+/Sapphire+ but Watcher. Divinity stance + Lesson Learned for HP scaling. Pressure Points + Mark scaling. Watcher is often considered the strongest Heart-killer.
First time beating the Heart — auto-completes with the first Ruby+ / Emerald+ / Sapphire+ / Amethyst+ achievement.
Build for nova-strike: Strength + Whirlwind + multiple AoE attacks in one turn. Easiest: Ironclad with Limit Break + Reaper + Whirlwind. Hit Hexaghost (Act 1 boss) on turn 1.
Barricade relic + infinite block scaling. Ironclad with Barricade + Iron Wave + repeated turns. Best vs Time Eater (he doesn't kill you in 1 turn). Or Watcher Stalwart Mantra builds.
Ironclad-only achievement. Use the Feed card to land the killing blow on Donu (one of the Heart's prep bosses or a specific encounter). Feed permanently raises max HP for kills.
Ascension 20 enables the Heart fight as the true final boss. Hardest base content. Requires mastered builds + map routing + careful relic choices.
Skip nearly all combat events. Take elite/boss fights only when forced. Build aggressively (Whirlwind + Strength for Ironclad). Map routing: most direct path through each act. Practice run.
Defect generates Plasma via Capacitor + Plasma Cards. Generate 9 in one turn (multiple Capacitors + Plasma channels). Late-game Defect with Focus scaling.
Defect-only. Stack Focus via Focused Channel + relics. 25 Focus is heavy investment — late-game fight where you have multiple Focus cards + Capacitor relic.
Skip card rewards. Remove cards at every campfire. End with a 5-card deck (1 attack, 1 defense, 1 power, 2 wildcard). Best on Ironclad with Barricade + Body Slam infinite combo.
Skip every Uncommon and Rare card reward. Basic + Common only. Forces creative use of weak cards. Best on Silent or Ironclad — their commons are functional. Many Commons trigger neat synergies.
Skip every relic offer after the starting one. No Pandora's Box, no event relics. Run is brutal — no synergies, just raw card play. Best on Watcher (her stance system carries the run).
Auto-completes when every other Slay the Spire achievement is earned. The 100% milestone. Hundreds of hours of play typically.
