Slay the Spire 2 Boss

Kin Priest Boss Guide

Boss • Act 1 - Overgrowth
Base HP
190
Ascension HP
199
Moves
4
Encounters
1
Boss Strategy

How to Beat Kin Priest

Quick Strategy

Treat The Kin as an early frontload check, not a long scaling fight. Kin Priest starts with two Kin Followers, and the dangerous part is the first few turns while all three enemies are contributing damage and the Priest is applying Frail and Weak. Kill the Followers first by default. AoE is excellent when it removes both quickly, but strong single-target damage is equally valid if it deletes one minion immediately. Preserve HP for the turn-two and turn-three pressure, use Strength reduction efficiently against the multi-hit attacks, and once the Followers are gone the remaining Kin Priest is much easier to manage.

What This Fight Tests

Minion removal

The deck needs enough frontloaded damage to remove two roughly 62–63 HP Ascension Followers before their Strength buffs and multi-hit attacks become a sustained source of incoming damage.

Turn-two and turn-three survival

The hardest part of the encounter happens early while the Followers are still alive and Kin Priest has already begun applying debuffs. Entering with enough HP or dense defense matters more here than preparing for an extremely long solo-Boss phase.

Multi-hit mitigation

Kin Followers use Boomerang and Kin Priest uses Soul Beam, while both the Followers and Priest gain Strength through their cycles. Strength reduction therefore scales very efficiently across the dangerous turns.

Damage concentration

AoE is valuable, but the actual goal is enemy-count reduction. If high single-target damage removes one Follower faster than a weak AoE line, concentrated damage can be the better defensive play.

Key Decisions

Kill the Followers first

The encounter is dangerous because three enemies are acting at once. Kin Priest by itself is much less threatening, so I normally turn damage into enemy-count reduction before working through the Priest’s 199 HP. Every Follower removed cuts both current damage and future Strength-scaled multi-hit pressure.

AoE is useful only when it actually accelerates a kill

I do not automatically choose the AoE line just because there are multiple targets. If an AoE leaves both Followers alive while a strong single-target card kills one immediately, the single-target line can prevent more damage. The real objective is removing attackers, not maximizing total damage shown on the turn.

HP is part of the solution

The early turns can be awkward to fully block because Kin Priest applies Frail while multiple enemies are still attacking. I would rather enter the fight with a healthy HP buffer and spend early Energy killing Followers than try to perfect-block every point and allow all three enemies to keep cycling.

Strength reduction belongs on the multi-hit window

Temporary Strength reduction gets multiplied across every hit of Boomerang and Soul Beam. If I only have one strong Strength-down effect, I save it for the turn where several enemies or several hits are contributing rather than spending it on one small single hit.

Once the Followers die, stop treating the fight as an emergency

After the minions are removed, Kin Priest still applies Frail and Weak and eventually gains Strength, but the fight becomes much more manageable. At that point I can shift from pure frontload into normal scaling, Block, and damage conversion instead of continuing to spend every resource as though three enemies were still alive.

Combat Data

Moves

4 moves

Soul Beam

Attack
BEAM
Damage
3 × 3 → 3 × 3
9 total
Enemy AI

Attack Pattern

Cycle

Orb of Frailty → Orb of Weakness → Soul Beam → Dark Ritual → repeat

Initial move: Orb of Frailty
View pattern states
Orb of Frailty
move
Next: ORB_OF_WEAKNESS_MOVE
Orb of Weakness
move
Next: BEAM_MOVE
Soul Beam
move
Next: RITUAL_MOVE
Dark Ritual
move
Next: ORB_OF_FRAILTY_MOVE
Fight Plan

Kin Priest Fight Plan

The raw move pattern tells you what is coming. This plan focuses on what I want the deck to accomplish before each dangerous part of the fight.

Phase 01

Remove the Followers

Reduce enemy count before the early Frail and multi-enemy pressure create an expensive defensive turn.

  • Start the fight with a clear minion-removal plan. Default damage should go into the Kin Followers rather than Kin Priest.
  • Use AoE when it materially shortens the time both Followers remain alive. A strong AoE potion or card can turn the entire encounter from a three-enemy fight into a much simpler one very quickly.
  • If the deck lacks good AoE, focus one Follower down completely instead of splitting damage evenly between both.
  • Accept controlled HP loss when spending the same Energy on damage removes a Follower and prevents several future attacks.
Watch for
  • Sending early damage into Kin Priest because it is the named Boss while both Followers remain alive.
  • Splitting damage between both Followers without actually killing either one.
Phase 02

Survive the frontload

Get through the turn-two and turn-three pressure while finishing the remaining Follower.

  • Account for Frail when evaluating Block. The same defensive hand is worth less once Orb of Frailty has landed.
  • Preserve dense Block, HP, potion support, or Strength reduction for the turns where several enemies are attacking at once.
  • Use Strength reduction on the multi-hit-heavy turn whenever possible. Every point removed can reduce several separate hits.
  • Continue prioritizing the last Follower until it dies. Do not switch to Kin Priest just because the minion is already low.
Watch for
  • Calculating defense from printed Block values without accounting for Frail.
  • Leaving a nearly dead Follower alive for another complete attack cycle.
Phase 03

Solo Kin Priest

Transition from emergency frontload into an ordinary one-target Boss fight and finish before repeated Dark Ritual cycles create unnecessary scaling.

  • Once both Followers are gone, reassess the fight instead of continuing to burn every temporary resource immediately.
  • Use the smaller Orb of Frailty and Orb of Weakness turns to establish any remaining scaling that could not safely be played during the three-enemy opening.
  • Respect Soul Beam as the main multi-hit turn, especially after Dark Ritual has added Strength.
  • Convert the established engine into damage before repeated Dark Ritual cycles make Soul Beam increasingly expensive to defend.
Watch for
  • Continuing to panic-spend resources after the encounter has already been reduced to one manageable enemy.
  • Over-scaling through repeated Dark Ritual cycles instead of closing the fight.

Dangerous Turns & Windows

Danger Window
Orb of Frailty with Followers alive

Kin Priest opens with Orb of Frailty for 9 Ascension damage and applies Frail. The real danger is that the following early turns still include attacks from the Followers while your Block efficiency is reduced.

Response: Enter with enough HP or dense defense to tolerate imperfect blocking and spend early damage removing Followers before Frail turns multi-enemy pressure into a larger problem.
Danger Window
Follower Quick Slash pressure

Each Kin Follower begins by using Power Dance to gain 2 Strength, then moves into Quick Slash. That means the early attacks are already being amplified while Kin Priest continues its debuff cycle.

Response: Do not give both Followers several free cycles. Frontloaded damage that removes even one attacker materially lowers the next turn’s total pressure.
Danger Window
Follower Boomerang

Boomerang is a two-hit attack, and the Followers gain Strength through Power Dance. Strength therefore applies repeatedly across the attack and gets worse with later cycles.

Response: Kill the Followers before repeated Boomerang cycles when possible, and use Strength reduction efficiently when the multi-hit turn cannot be avoided.
Danger Window
Kin Priest Soul Beam

Soul Beam hits three times for 3 base damage per hit. After Dark Ritual begins adding Strength, every Strength point is multiplied across all three hits.

Response: Save Weak or Strength reduction for Soul Beam when it provides more mitigation than using the same effect on the Priest’s small single-hit debuff attacks.
Danger Window
Dark Ritual

Kin Priest gains 2 Strength before looping back to Orb of Frailty. The solo fight starts manageable but becomes less comfortable if several cycles are allowed to repeat.

Response: Use the safer single-target phase to convert scaling into lethal rather than settling into an unnecessarily long defensive loop.
Before the Fight

How to Prepare for Kin Priest

I use these checks before committing the final rewards, upgrades, shop purchases, and potions leading into the Boss.

FrontloadCritical

Can I kill a 62–63 HP Follower quickly?

Ready when

The deck has enough immediate single-target damage or AoE to remove at least one Follower before several multi-enemy attack turns occur.

Warning

A deck with excellent long-fight scaling can still lose too much HP before that scaling matters if both Followers survive the opening.

AoEHigh

Does my AoE actually shorten the minion phase?

Ready when

AoE damage meaningfully advances both Followers toward death rather than merely spreading modest damage across all three enemies.

Warning

Weak AoE that leaves every enemy alive can prevent less damage than a single-target card that immediately removes one Follower.

HPHigh

Can I absorb the early Frail frontload?

Ready when

Current HP allows the deck to spend some early Energy on killing Followers even when the opening attacks cannot be fully blocked.

Warning

Entering low HP can force defensive turns that leave both Followers alive and make the following cycle even harder.

Strength reductionHigh

Can I reduce the multi-hit turns?

Ready when

Weak or Strength-down can be available for Follower Boomerang, Kin Priest Soul Beam, or a turn where several Strength-scaled hits overlap.

Warning

Using temporary Strength reduction on one small single hit wastes much of the matchup-specific value.

PotionMedium

Can one potion delete a Follower early?

Ready when

An Explosive, Fire, offensive, or scaling potion can materially reduce the number of enemies before the dangerous early turns.

Warning

The most valuable potion use may be preventing two or three future minion attacks rather than saving the potion for the easier solo Priest phase.

ScalingMedium

Can I still finish Kin Priest after spending early resources on minions?

Ready when

The deck has enough remaining damage or scaling to handle 199 Priest HP once the Followers are removed.

Warning

Frontload solves the dangerous opening, but the deck still needs a real plan to convert the safer second half into a kill.

Character Matchups

Kin Priest by Character

The Boss does not change between characters, but the part of the fight that matters most often does. These notes focus on what each character should adjust rather than repeating the general strategy.

Silent has one especially strong matchup tool in Piercing Wail. The encounter combines multiple attackers with Strength-scaled multi-hit turns, so temporary Strength reduction can prevent damage from both the Followers and Kin Priest at once. The card is strongest when saved for the early overlap or later Soul Beam rather than spent on one small single hit.

Prioritize
  • Use Piercing Wail or another Strength-down effect on a turn where several hits are occurring rather than on an isolated small attack.
  • Prioritize enough frontloaded physical damage to remove Followers before the fight becomes a prolonged three-target problem.
  • Use AoE when it genuinely accelerates both minion kills, but focus one target when single-target damage removes an attacker faster.
  • Preserve HP through the opening instead of relying on Frail-reduced Block to perfect-defend every turn.
Watch for
  • Using Piercing Wail before the multi-hit pressure actually arrives.
  • Spreading damage across all targets without reducing enemy count.
Failure Analysis

Common Kin Priest Mistakes

These are the decisions that can make a deck look strong on paper but still fail this specific fight.

01

Attacking Kin Priest first

You focus the 199-HP Boss immediately because it appears to be the main target.

Why it fails

The dangerous part of The Kin is having multiple enemies alive at once. Kin Priest alone is comparatively manageable, while the Followers keep adding Strength-scaled attacks if they remain on the field.

Better decision

Kill the Followers first by default, then fight Kin Priest alone.

02

Splitting damage between both Followers

You lower both minions evenly but fail to kill either one.

Why it fails

Two half-dead Followers still produce two complete attack sequences. Removing one enemy entirely prevents more future damage than having both survive at low HP.

Better decision

When AoE will not kill both soon, focus one Follower down and immediately reduce enemy count.

03

Taking weak AoE just because the fight has three enemies

You assume any AoE is automatically a strong The Kin answer.

Why it fails

Total damage does not matter as much as how quickly an attacker disappears. Low-output AoE can leave all three enemies active while stronger single-target damage would already have removed one.

Better decision

Judge AoE by whether it changes the kill timing of the Followers, not by the total number printed across three targets.

04

Trying to perfect-block the opening

You spend most early Energy defending while both Followers remain alive.

Why it fails

Frail makes Block less efficient, and the Followers continue scaling. Preventing one current hit can cost more HP overall if it delays the first minion kill by another full cycle.

Better decision

Use HP as a controlled resource and prioritize frontload when killing a Follower prevents more future damage than perfect-blocking the current turn.

05

Using Strength reduction on a small single hit

You spend Weak or Strength-down as soon as it appears even though only one small attack is incoming.

Why it fails

The Kin contains several multi-hit attacks and multiple enemies. The same Strength reduction can prevent much more total damage when applied during Boomerang, Soul Beam, or a multi-enemy overlap.

Better decision

Save temporary Strength reduction for the highest-hit-count turn unless using it earlier is required to survive.

06

Ignoring HP before the Boss

You take a marginal upgrade while entering The Kin with too little HP to tolerate the early multi-enemy turns.

Why it fails

The frontload arrives before a slow engine has time to stabilize, and Frail makes ordinary Block less reliable during that window.

Better decision

Rest when the extra HP lets you spend the opening turns killing Followers instead of being forced into pure defense.

07

Continuing to panic after the minions die

You keep spending potions and temporary resources as though the three-enemy opening is still active.

Why it fails

Kin Priest alone is much less dangerous. Once the Followers are gone, the fight gives you more room to set up and make normal single-target decisions.

Better decision

Reassess after the second Follower dies. Preserve unnecessary resources and shift into a normal Priest kill plan.

Entity Relationships

Appears In

1 encounter

The Kin

Boss
Act 1 - Overgrowth →
Other Monsters
Kin Follower →
Game ID: KIN_PRIEST Data version: v0.107.1 · Main Type: Boss