Potions are single-use items you carry and use to deal damage, gain cards, or boost your stats. In the original Slay the Spire they come in three rarities, Common, Uncommon, and Rare, and you can only hold a few at a time. Knowing what each one does and when to use it is a big part of getting through the tougher floors.
Rarity
Common
Attack Potion
Adds a free Attack card choice, with Sacred Bark giving two copies.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Choose 1 of 3 random Attack cards to add to your hand; it costs 0 Energy this turn. With Sacred Bark, add 2 copies of the chosen card, both costing 0 Energy this turn.
Blessing of the Forge
Upgrades the cards already in your hand for the fight.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Upgrade all cards in your hand for the rest of combat. Sacred Bark does not change this effect.
Block Potion
Adds Block to cover an incoming hit.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 12 Block. With Sacred Bark, gain 24 Block.
Blood Potion
Restores part of Ironclad's maximum HP.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- Ironclad
- Effect
- Heal for 20% of your Max HP. With Sacred Bark, heal for 40% of your Max HP.
Bottled Miracle
Gives the Watcher Miracle cards for extra Energy.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- Watcher
- Effect
- Add 2 Miracles to your hand. With Sacred Bark, add 4 Miracles.
Colorless Potion
Adds a free choice from the Colorless card pool.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Choose 1 of 3 random Colorless cards to add to your hand; it costs 0 Energy this turn. With Sacred Bark, add 2 copies of the chosen card, both costing 0 Energy this turn.
Dexterity Potion
Raises Dexterity to improve Block gained from cards.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 2 Dexterity. With Sacred Bark, gain 4 Dexterity.
Energy Potion
Adds Energy for the current turn.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 2 Energy. With Sacred Bark, gain 4 Energy.
Explosive Potion
Damages every enemy at once.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Deal 10 damage to all enemies. With Sacred Bark, deal 20 damage to all enemies.
Fear Potion
Makes the target take more damage from attacks.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Apply 3 Vulnerable. With Sacred Bark, apply 6 Vulnerable.
Fire Potion
Deals direct damage to one enemy.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Deal 20 damage to the target enemy. With Sacred Bark, deal 40 damage to the target enemy.
Flex Potion
Raises Strength for one turn before the bonus wears off.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 5 Strength; at the end of your turn, lose 5 Strength. With Sacred Bark, gain 10 Strength and lose 10 Strength at the end of your turn.
Focus Potion
Improves the Defect's Orb effects.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- Defect
- Effect
- Gain 2 Focus. With Sacred Bark, gain 4 Focus.
Poison Potion
Applies Poison to one enemy.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- Silent
- Effect
- Apply 6 Poison to the target enemy. With Sacred Bark, apply 12 Poison.
Power Potion
Adds a free Power card choice, with Sacred Bark giving two copies.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Choose 1 of 3 random Power cards to add to your hand; it costs 0 Energy this turn. With Sacred Bark, add 2 copies of the chosen card, both costing 0 Energy this turn.
Skill Potion
Adds a free Skill card choice, with Sacred Bark giving two copies.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Choose 1 of 3 random Skill cards to add to your hand; it costs 0 Energy this turn. With Sacred Bark, add 2 copies of the chosen card, both costing 0 Energy this turn.
Speed Potion
Raises Dexterity for one turn before the bonus wears off.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 5 Dexterity; at the end of your turn, lose 5 Dexterity. With Sacred Bark, gain 10 Dexterity and lose 10 Dexterity at the end of your turn.
Strength Potion
Gives a lasting Strength increase for combat.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 2 Strength. With Sacred Bark, gain 4 Strength.
Swift Potion
Draws cards immediately.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Draw 3 cards. With Sacred Bark, draw 6 cards.
Weak Potion
Reduces the target's attack damage.
- rarity
- Common
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Apply 3 Weak. With Sacred Bark, apply 6 Weak.
Rarity
Uncommon
Ancient Potion
Provides Artifact to block incoming debuffs.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 1 Artifact. With Sacred Bark, gain 2 Artifact.
Cunning Potion
Gives the Silent upgraded Shivs to play.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- Silent
- Effect
- Add 3 Upgraded Shivs to your hand. With Sacred Bark, add 6 Upgraded Shivs.
Distilled Chaos
Automatically plays cards from the draw pile.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Play the top 3 cards of your draw pile. With Sacred Bark, play the top 6 cards of your draw pile.
Duplication Potion
Repeats your next card play, or the next two with Sacred Bark.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- This turn, your next card is played twice. With Sacred Bark, your next 2 cards are played twice this turn.
Elixir
Lets the Ironclad exhaust selected cards from hand.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- Ironclad
- Effect
- Exhaust any number of cards in your hand. Sacred Bark does not change this effect.
Essence of Steel
Adds Plated Armor for extra Block over time.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 4 Plated Armor. With Sacred Bark, gain 8 Plated Armor.
Gambler's Brew
Trades unwanted hand cards for an equal number of draws.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Discard any number of cards, then draw that many. Sacred Bark does not change this effect.
Liquid Bronze
Gives Thorns to damage attackers.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 3 Thorns. With Sacred Bark, gain 6 Thorns.
Liquid Memories
Returns a card from the discard pile to hand at no Energy cost.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Choose a card in your discard pile and return it to your hand; it costs 0 Energy this turn. With Sacred Bark, choose 2 cards and return them to your hand; they cost 0 Energy this turn.
Potion of Capacity
Expands the Defect's Orb slots.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- Defect
- Effect
- Gain 2 Orb slots. With Sacred Bark, gain 4 Orb slots.
Regen Potion
Restores HP over several turns.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 5 Regeneration. With Sacred Bark, gain 10 Regeneration.
Stance Potion
Moves the Watcher into Calm or Wrath.
- rarity
- Uncommon
- Character Pool
- Watcher
- Effect
- Enter Calm or Wrath. Sacred Bark does not change this effect.
Rarity
Rare
Ambrosia
Moves the Watcher into Divinity.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- Watcher
- Effect
- Enter Divinity Stance. Sacred Bark does not change this effect.
Cultist Potion
Builds Ritual, adding Strength each turn.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 1 Ritual. With Sacred Bark, gain 2 Ritual.
Entropic Brew
Refills empty potion slots with random potions.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Fill all empty potion slots with random potions, including the slot this potion vacates. Sacred Bark does not change this effect.
Essence of Darkness
Channels Dark Orbs based on the Defect's Orb slots.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- Defect
- Effect
- Channel 1 Dark Orb for each Orb slot. With Sacred Bark, channel 2 Dark Orbs for each Orb slot.
Fairy in a Bottle
Prevents death once and restores HP instead.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- When you would die, heal to 30% of your Max HP instead and discard this potion. With Sacred Bark, heal to 60% of your Max HP instead.
Fruit Juice
Raises maximum HP.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Gain 5 Max HP. With Sacred Bark, gain 10 Max HP.
Ghost in a Jar
Grants Intangible to reduce incoming damage.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- Silent
- Effect
- Gain 1 Intangible. With Sacred Bark, gain 2 Intangible.
Heart of Iron
Adds Metallicize for recurring Block.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- Ironclad
- Effect
- Gain 6 Metallicize. With Sacred Bark, gain 12 Metallicize.
Smoke Bomb
Escapes a non-boss fight at the cost of its rewards.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Escape from a non-boss combat and receive no rewards. Sacred Bark does not change this effect.
Snecko Oil
Draws cards and randomizes the hand's Energy costs for the fight.
- rarity
- Rare
- Character Pool
- All characters
- Effect
- Draw 5 cards and randomize the costs of all cards in your hand for the rest of combat. With Sacred Bark, draw 10 cards; the costs are randomized as normal.
How Potions Work and How to Use Them
Using a potion costs no Energy and doesn't count as playing a card, so it's an extra move on top of your turn. Most potions only work during a fight, so the usual approach is to hold them until a battle gets hard. They stay with you from floor to floor, which means you can save one for a boss or a tough elite fight.
Types of Potions in Slay the Spire
Potions come in three rarities, Common, Uncommon, and Rare, and their effects vary widely, so it helps to know the main groups.
Some potions put cards straight into your hand. The Attack, Skill, Power, and Colorless potions each offer a choice of three, and those cards cost nothing that turn.
Others hurt enemies or weaken them. Fire Potion hits one enemy hard, and Explosive Potion hits every enemy at once. Poison, Weak, and Fear Potions each apply a lasting effect to a single enemy.
Strength and Dexterity Potions raise those stats, and Energy Potions give you extra Energy. Flex and Speed Potions give a bigger boost that wears off at the end of the turn. Swift Potion draws three cards, and Snecko Oil draws five and mixes up the cost of the cards in your hand.
Block Potion and Essence of Steel protect you from damage, and Liquid Bronze punishes enemies that attack you. Ancient Potion and Cultist Potion set up effects that last through the fight.
Each character also has three potions of its own, one for each rarity. Ironclad has Blood Potion, Elixir, and Heart of Iron. Silent has Poison Potion, Cunning Potion, and Ghost in a Jar. Defect has Focus Potion, Potion of Capacity, and Essence of Darkness. Watcher has Bottled Miracle, Stance Potion, and Ambrosia.
How to Get Potions and the Drop Rate
Most potions come from fights. After a battle, there's a chance one drops, and that chance starts at 40% at the beginning of each Act. A drop lowers the chance by 10 points for the next fight, and a fight with no drop raises it by 10 points. That evens out your potions over time.
When a potion does show up, its rarity is picked at roughly 65% Common, 25% Uncommon, and 10% Rare. Shops sell them too, at about 50 gold for a Common, 75 for an Uncommon, and 100 for a Rare. A few events hand out or sell potions as well, and some of those give you a random one regardless of rarity.
How Many Potions You Can Carry (Potion Slots)
You start with three potion slots, and Ascension 11 cuts that to two. The Potion Belt relic adds two more, so you can hold five (four at Ascension 11). When every slot is full, you can discard one to make room for a new potion. Sozu stops you from picking up any new potions while you hold it, though the ones you already have still work.
Sacred Bark and Other Relics That Change Potions
Sacred Bark doubles the effect of most potions, so a Fire Potion that deals 20 damage deals 40 instead. It's a boss relic, so you're offered it after beating a boss, and it's most useful in runs where you lean on potions. White Beast Statue takes a different approach. It guarantees a potion drop after every fight, so you never leave a fight empty-handed.
Best Potions for Emergencies
Most potions help for a turn or a fight, but a few can change how a whole run goes. Fairy in a Bottle works as a second life, so a fight that would have ended your run doesn't have to. Smoke Bomb gets you out of a fight that's going badly, but you give up its rewards, so it's best saved for a true emergency.
FAQ
Can you use potions outside of combat?
Three of them can. Fruit Juice raises your max HP by 5, Blood Potion heals 20% of your max HP, and Entropic Brew fills every empty slot, including its own, with random potions.
Does Sacred Bark double every potion?
No. Seven potions are left out: Ambrosia, Blessing of the Forge, Elixir, Entropic Brew, Gambler's Brew, Smoke Bomb, and Stance Potion.
Does Fairy in a Bottle need to be drunk?
No. It works on its own the moment you would die, healing you to 30% of your max HP. The potion is then used up.
Can you use Smoke Bomb on a boss?
No. It only works in regular fights and elite fights, and it can't be used while you're Surrounded.