Balatro has received its first major update (console release still pending), and with it comes a staggering number of changes. Everything from performance to bugs, and even Jokers have had a tweak, but the most interesting additions are the new mechanics. Namely, Rental and Perishable.
These powerful new mechanics join the ranks of Eternal and help fill up the ‘Sticker’ collection in Balatro. These are very powerful modifiers that largely make the game harder, however, some benefits hide under the surface. In this guide, we are going to focus on Rental. Feel free to check our guides on Perishable and Eternal afterwards.
More Balatro content:
Deck Unlock Guide | Planet Card Guide | Tarot Card Guide | Spectral Card Guide | Legendary Joker Guide | Modifier Guide | Blank Voucher Guide | Best Legendary Jokers | Tag Guide | How To Unlock Cavendish
How To Unlock Rental Stickered Jokers In Balatro
Stickers are a system in Balatro that don’t come into play until you’ve gained some level of mastery. These modifiers are locked to Stakes – cumulative difficulty modifiers that unlock sequentially when you win a run of Balatro. When you first start the game/play a run with a new deck, you are on White Stake. The final Stake is Gold.
Getting to (and beating) Gold Stake is incredibly difficult, which means many players will not see Rental for quite some time. This is because Rental Jokers only appear when playing on Gold Stake Difficulty. The challenge here is not to be underestimated – it will take you a long time to get this far on even a single deck.
What Does Rental Do?
Rental is very powerful because it allows you to purchase Jokers at a very low price – $1 to be exact. This price is locked regardless of Joker Rarity and Edition. The downside, however, is that these Jokers will cost you $3 every round. If you don’t have the money to pay, you will go into the negatives, basically your economy.
In short, you are paying a very low initial price to potentially gain access to a powerful Joker, but are locked into paying a substantial sum of money every Round you keep it in your inventory. Nasty indeed.
Rental Stickers will spawn around 30% of the time.
Does Rental Stack With Other Stickers?
Rental stacks with Eternal and Perishable Stickers (although never both at the same time). Rental also stacks with Editions. Be very cautious when buying an Eternal Rental Joker as you can never get rid of it, and you will be forced to pay for it over, and over again.
How Does Rental Impact The Game?
Rental Jokers are an interesting addition to the game, however, they can be crippling. This is especially true early on when you don’t have a strong economy. Many common Jokers are worth less than the Rental price, so these weaker Jokers become very hard to take. The rarer the Joker, however, the more enticing Rental becomes.
Rental is also very weak on food-based Jokers as you are paying a very high price for a card that is ultimately temporary.
All that being said, if you have a good enough money engine, Rental becomes an afterthought. The same is true if you are running a build using Vagabond that requires you to have a small amount of money to gain any benefit.
Overall Rental is a great addition to the game and is far more interesting than the -1 Hand Size that it is replacing.
That’s all we have on Balatro for now. Be sure to check back for more tips, tricks, and guides.
