Mega Crit is pushing back against player backlash regarding the difficulty of the Doormaker boss in Slay the Spire 2. The developer addressed the controversy in the v0.104.0 beta patch notes following a wave of negative reviews on Steam.
Slay the Spire 2's Steam rating recently dropped to "Mixed" following a second round of review bombing that began on April 17. According to Kotaku, the backlash followed a "Major Update" patch that introduced new debuffs to the Act 3 boss fight.
Despite the influx of roughly 27,000 negative reviews since mid-April, Mega Crit claims their internal data tells a different story. The studio released a new beta patch containing various buffs and reworks, but the focus remains on the Doormaker's win rate.
Data contradicts player sentiment
Mega Crit stated that players are currently achieving a higher win rate against the newly buffed Doormaker than any other boss in Act 3. The developers are using player metrics to assess the situation.
"We are currently monitoring the Doormaker and looking at a combination of in-game feedback, social media posts, and metrics," the patch notes state. The studio added, "We want to give players time to enough to adjust a bit, we’ll be balancing around knee-jerk reactions."
From analyzing millions of runs, the developers noted that "Doormaker’s overall difficulty/winrate is in a good place (slightly weaker than the other Act 3 bosses both in kill rate and damage dealt)."
While the developers admitted they want to ensure the boss's mechanics "aren’t too abrasive against certain playstyles," the data suggests the fight is mathematically easier than unbuffed bosses. Kotaku reported that the revelation regarding win rates has further frustrated players who have been vocal about the difficulty spike.
Even with 250,000 concurrent players daily, the game's community remains divided. The latest patch includes other significant changes, such as a rework for the Ironclad’s Drum of Battle card, buffs to the Neow’s Fury ancient relic, and an updated Axebot fight in Act 3.
