What Epochs are, without the guesswork
Slay the Spire 2’s official Steam page describes Timeline fragments as something discovered over repeated attempts. In practical terms, the Timeline is your progression map: it tells you which branch is available, what a nearby unlock needs, and what you are working toward next.
That is why a fixed “unlock every Epoch in this order” list ages badly. The useful source is the requirement on your current Timeline node, on your current profile, on your current branch. Check that text before repeating a run for a condition that may not be yours.
A safe Epoch unlock routine
When you want to progress the Timeline, use this short routine before starting a run:
- Open the Timeline and select the next visible locked or eligible node.
- Read the exact requirement and take a screenshot or note it down.
- Confirm which profile and game branch you are using.
- Complete the requirement without changing profile or branch mid-investigation.
- Return to the Timeline after the run and check the next node, not just the rewards screen.
The point is not paperwork. It prevents two common mistakes: completing the right thing on the wrong profile, and assuming a run condition applied when it did not.
If an Epoch did not appear after a run
Start with the ordinary explanation before treating it as a corrupted save:
| Check | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Requirement | Did the completed run match the wording on that exact node? |
| Profile | Is this the profile where you began the run? |
| Branch | Did you change between main and beta while comparing results? |
| Mods | Can you reproduce the issue with nonessential mods disabled? |
| Restart | Does the Timeline look the same after one full restart? |
If all five checks line up and the node is still wrong, record the run result, the node wording, your game version, and whether mods were active. That is far more useful in a bug report than “Timeline broken.”
The v0.110 lost-Epoch repair
Mega Crit’s v0.110 beta notes document a specific progression repair: an Epoch unlock that was earned at the end of a run could be lost, leaving Timeline progress blocked. For affected saves, the official fix is intended to repair the state when the save is loaded.
Use the conservative path:
- Update to the branch containing the repair.
- Make a backup of the save before experimenting.
- Launch with no unnecessary mods.
- Load the affected profile and inspect the Timeline.
- Restart once, then confirm that the repaired state persisted.
This is not a promise that v0.110 fixes every Timeline state. It is a targeted remedy for the lost-Epoch case named in the notes. If the issue is different, preserve evidence instead of repeatedly editing files or rerunning a vague condition.
For the focused troubleshooting checklist, see Timeline and Epoch repair in v0.110.
Main branch versus beta matters here
The repair above is beta context. A guide can say “current” and still be wrong for your client if it silently mixes branches. Before following any Timeline advice, check the version shown in game. The site labels beta-sensitive pages so you can separate main-branch database facts from experimental changes.
If you also use Workshop content, keep progression troubleshooting separate from mod testing. The Steam Workshop mods guide has a clean-save workflow; it is much easier to report a real progression issue after you have ruled out an outdated mod or mismatched branch.
What to include in a useful bug report
Keep it short and reproducible:
- exact game version and branch;
- profile used;
- Timeline node wording;
- what you completed and where the expected unlock should have appeared;
- whether the issue remained after a restart;
- mod list, if any; and
- a screenshot before and after the run when possible.
That protects your own progress and gives the developer a route to reproduce the issue. For normal progression, trust the next-node requirement. For the documented v0.110 bug, trust the official repair before touching the save.
