Slay the Spire 2 Key Event: Should You Keep the Glowing Key
During certain runs in Slay the Spire 2 you can encounter a strange event involving a glowing key and an armored knight demanding it back. This moment often confuses players because keeping the key gives a short term downside but leads to a powerful reward later.
Knowing when to keep the key can turn a normal run into one with a very strong relic.
What Happens If You Keep the Key In Slay the Spire 2
If you keep the key in the Slay the Spire 2 key event, you fight the knight and receive the Lantern Key which unlocks a special event in the next act.
After defeating the knight you gain the Lantern Key. The key behaves like a curse during fights because it appears in your hand but cannot be played.
You must carry it until the next act where it triggers a follow up event.
The Lantern Key Follow Up Event
In the next act you will eventually encounter an event where a character named Repy is trapped inside a cage. At this point the Lantern Key gives you two possible choices.
You can use the key to open the cage or use the key to open a nearby chest.
Your choice determines the reward you receive.
Free Repy With The Key
If you unlock the cage, Repy is released and rewards you with the relic History Course.
History Course is a powerful relic that repeats your previous action.
At the start of your next turn the relic automatically plays a copy of your last played Attack or Skill.
This can double damage or repeat important setup cards depending on what you played previously.
Open The Chest Instead
The other option is using the Lantern Key to open a locked chest.
This choice gives smaller rewards immediately.
Two random potions
Two random relics
While this can still be useful, it usually lacks the long term power of the History Course relic.
Why Most Players Keep The Key
The Lantern Key event is often worth taking because the History Course relic is extremely strong.
Repeating your last Attack or Skill every turn can create huge value.
Examples include:
Repeating powerful attacks for extra damage
Replaying defensive Skills to generate more Block
Triggering key combo cards twice
Because of this potential, many players choose to fight the knight and keep the key whenever the event appears.
When You Might Not Want The Key
There are a few situations where giving the key back can make sense.
If your health is extremely low, the knight fight might be risky. Taking the gold instead can sometimes be safer for fragile runs.
However, if you can survive the battle, keeping the key usually leads to the better reward later.
Final Blurb
The Slay the Spire 2 key event gives players a risky choice early in a run. Fighting the knight and keeping the Lantern Key creates a follow up event in the next act where the key unlocks powerful rewards. Most players aim to free Repy to obtain the History Course relic, which can repeat your last Attack or Skill every turn.
FAQ
What is the key event in Slay the Spire 2
The key event involves finding a glowing key and choosing whether to return it for gold or fight a knight to keep it.
Should you keep the key in Slay the Spire 2
Keeping the key usually leads to better rewards later, especially the History Course relic.
What does the Lantern Key do
The Lantern Key triggers a special event in the next act where you can unlock a chest or free Repy for a relic reward.
What happens if you free Repy
Freeing Repy gives you the History Course relic which repeats your last played Attack or Skill at the start of the next turn.

