I've been having a grand time carefully picking my cards in Slay the Spire 2, but there's one aspect about the early access roguelike that makes me want to pull my hair out: Elites. These minibosses are supposed to be a challenge, and they are. But any time I manage to survive an Elite, I don't walk away feeling accomplished. Mostly, I just feel terrible.

Elites are a returning mechanic from Mega Crit's previous Slay the Spire, and they function much the same way. These are encounters with tougher enemies who dole out better rewards like Relics, more money, and upgraded card rewards. Slay the Spire 2 unfolds on a map with multiple branching pathways, and the player can decide where their hero traverses next. Elite encounters are never a surprise. You either opt in, or can prepare for the eventual fight by looking ahead.

Tempted by their bounty, I initially sought out as many Elite encounters as I could. Shockingly, I had a terrible time with this aggressive approach — so I started being more selective. For a while, I would only battle Elites when I felt that my deck was strong enough. This... also didn't work. Turns out there's only so much you can do when an Elite's........

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