Vampire Crawlers Relics Tier List — Best Relics Ranked (2026)
Relics are permanent upgrade items hidden throughout Vampire Crawlers' dungeons. Once collected, each relic provides a permanent gameplay effect that can be toggled on or off at the Museum in the Village. There are 15 relics total, and the order in which you obtain them significantly impacts your progression speed and build options. This tier list ranks every relic from S-tier (must-get immediately) to C-tier (situational), factoring in the relic's impact on gold economy, combat power, quality of life, and synergy with other systems.
Last updated: July 2026. All data verified against Vampire Crawlers version 1.0 patch.
Full Relic Tier List — All 15 Relics Ranked
| Tier | Relic | Category | Effect | Location / Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Combo Stack | Offensive | Play cards in ascending mana cost order for a growing damage multiplier. Core combat mechanic. | Tutorial — received automatically. Cannot disable. |
| S | Overkill | Utility | After beating a boss, keep attacking during the overkill window for bonus gold. Cap: 500 gold. | Teeny Bridge — found in breakable crate. |
| S | Ultimate Ultra Overkill | Utility | Increase Overkill gold cap from 500 to 5,000. 10x more gold from overkill. | Curd Refinery — requires Overkill first. |
| S | Gem Hammer | Offensive | Unlock the Blacksmith in the Village. Socket gems into cards for permanent stat bonuses. | Mad Forest — breakable crate near dungeon end. |
| S | Stardust Anvil | Offensive | Unlock the Blacksmith's gem slotting — add up to 3 gem slots per card for massive scaling. | Teeny Bridge — high priority relic. |
| S | Polentir | Special | Unlock the Fortune Teller tent in the Village. Grants access to the Arcana system for run-wide passive bonuses. | Furious Forest — required for Arcana builds. |
| A | Guiding Light | Utility | Highlight destructible objects (barrels, crates, torches) on the mini-map. | Inlaid Library — get this early for relic hunting. |
| A | Grim Grimoire | Utility | Pause menu shows all discovered card evolutions and combos. Tracks your collection progress. | Library West Wing — invaluable for planning evolutions. |
| A | Arcana Finder | Special | Random Arcana chests spawn in dungeon floors, providing more Arcana choices before each run. | Library Sanctum — pairs with Polentir for Arcana builds. |
| A | Lapidary Loupe | Offensive | Unlock the Jeweler counter — adjust gem drop rates or ban specific gem types for targeted farming. | Gallo Tower — enables targeted gem farming. |
| B | Milky Way Map | Utility | Shows enemy positions and types on the dungeon mini-map before each encounter. | Default — unlocks after completing any 2 dungeons. |
| B | Rilevatore | Utility | See weapon effect previews when hovering over enemies — damage, status, and hit chances. | Default — unlocks after completing any 2 dungeons. |
| B | Bomba Infernale | Special | One-click clear all enemies on Floor 1 of any previously completed dungeon. Saves farming time. | Dairy Plant — great for speedrunning or targeted farming. |
| B | Sorceress' Tears | Utility | Adds a Speed Up button to the world map for 2x animation speed during dungeon traversal. | Gallo Tower — quality of life improvement. |
| C | Ovenkilt | Special | Overkill triggers on the last enemy of every encounter, but chests no longer give gold. High-risk trade-off. | Cappella Ultima — final relic. Can toggle off if needed. |
S-Tier — Must-Get Relics (Priority Order)
1. Combo Stack
Combo Stack is the foundational combat mechanic of Vampire Crawlers. Playing cards in ascending mana cost order (0 → 1 → 2 → 3+) multiplies the damage of each subsequent card. The longer the chain, the higher the multiplier. An 8-card chain in one turn deals dramatically more damage than two 4-card chains across two turns. You receive Combo Stack automatically during the tutorial — it cannot be disabled and should never be turned off. Mastery of combo chaining is what separates new players from endgame veterans.
2. Overkill + Ultimate Ultra Overkill
These two relics together form the engine of your gold economy. Overkill (Teeny Bridge) grants a post-boss damage window worth up to 500 gold. Ultimate Ultra Overkill (Curd Refinery) raises the cap to 5,000 gold — a 10x increase. Together they generate the gold needed to max every village upgrade. Get Overkill first, then UUO immediately after. Priority: acquire both before doing significant village upgrade grinding. Without UUO, you will spend 10x longer upgrading.
3. Gem Hammer + Stardust Anvil
The gem socket system is Vampire Crawlers' primary endgame scaling mechanism. Gem Hammer (Mad Forest) unlocks the Blacksmith. Stardust Anvil (Teeny Bridge) expands each card to 3 gem slots. With 3 gems per card and a full deck, the stat bonuses compound rapidly. Teeny Bridge contains two S-tier relics (Stardust Anvil and Overkill), making it the single most important dungeon for early progression. Prioritize clearing Teeny Bridge as soon as you can handle the difficulty.
4. Polentir
Polentir (Furious Forest) unlocks the Fortune Teller and the Arcana system. Arcana cards are run-wide passive modifiers that fundamentally change how your deck performs — from preventing combo chains from resetting (Chain Link) to making repeat cards free (And Another). Without Polentir, you cannot access any Arcana, cutting you off from the game's most powerful build-defining system. Combined with Arcana Finder (Library Sanctum), you gain both Arcana access and increased Arcana availability.
A-Tier — High Priority, Acquire After S-Tier
Guiding Light
Guiding Light highlights every destructible object (barrels, crates, torches) on the mini-map. This is effectively a relic-hunting tool — most relics are hidden inside breakable objects, and without Guiding Light, finding them requires methodical clearing of every room. Get this early (Inlaid Library) to make all other relic hunts easier. It also reveals Floor Chickens (healing items hidden in destructibles) which are invaluable during boss fights.
Grim Grimoire + Arcana Finder + Lapidary Loupe
Grim Grimoire (Library West Wing) tracks all discovered card evolutions in your pause menu. This is invaluable when planning which weapon/item pairs to draft. Arcana Finder (Library Sanctum) adds random Arcana chest spawns to dungeon floors, greatly expanding your pre-run build options. Lapidary Loupe (Gallo Tower) unlocks the Jeweler, allowing you to adjust gem drop rates — target the specific gem colors your deck needs. These three A-tier relics round out your build optimization toolkit.
B-Tier — Quality of Life, Optional But Helpful
Milky Way Map + Rilevatore
These two relics unlock automatically after completing any 2 dungeons. Milky Way Map shows enemy positions and types on the mini-map before each encounter, letting you plan your card play order. Rilevatore shows weapon effect previews when hovering over enemies — damage estimates, status applications, and hit chances. Both are useful but not game-changing. They are free unlocks, so there is no reason to skip them.
Bomba Infernale + Sorceress' Tears
Bomba Infernale (Dairy Plant) clears Floor 1 of any completed dungeon instantly, saving time when farming. Sorceress' Tears (Gallo Tower) adds a 2x speed button to the world map. Both are pure quality-of-life improvements — they do not affect combat power or gold income. Convenient for repeat playthroughs but unnecessary for progression. Skip these if you enjoy the slower pace; pick them up for faster farming sessions.
C-Tier — Situational, Use With Caution
Ovenkilt
Ovenkilt (Cappella Ultima, the final dungeon) triggers Overkill on the last enemy of every encounter instead of only bosses. However, it disables all gold from chests. This is a high-stakes trade-off: you get more frequent overkill windows but lose the reliable gold from chest drops. It can be toggled off at the Museum, so feel free to experiment. In most builds, regular chest gold + boss overkill (from the standard Overkill relic) generates more consistent income than Ovenkilt's per-encounter overkill. Only enable Ovenkilt if your deck can reliably generate large overkill chains against individual enemies on every floor.
Key Relic Synergies & Combos
| Synergy | Combined Effect |
|---|---|
| Overkill + Ultimate Ultra Overkill | Together they transform gold economy. Overkill grants 500 gold cap per boss; UUO raises it to 5,000. Essential for power-leveling village upgrades. |
| Gem Hammer + Stardust Anvil + Lapidary Loupe | The gem trifecta. Hammer unlocks socketing, Anvil expands to 3 slots, Loupe lets you target-farm specific colors. This trio defines endgame scaling. |
| Polentir + Arcana Finder | Polentir unlocks Arcana access; Arcana Finder increases availability. Together they give you consistent access to powerful run-wide modifiers. |
| Guiding Light + Relic Hunting | Get Guiding Light early (Inlaid Library) before hunting other relics. Highlighted destructibles make finding remaining relics trivial. |
| Milky Way Map + Rilevatore | Both unlock after 2 dungeons. Map shows enemy positions; Rilevatore shows damage previews. Combined they provide complete pre-combat intelligence. |
| Bomba Infernale + Overkill | Speed-run Floor 1 with Bomba, then farm Overkill gold on boss floors. Maximizes gold per minute for village upgrade grinding. |
Recommended Relic Acquisition Order
Follow this order for optimal progression. Dungeons are listed by priority within each phase.
| # | Dungeon | Relic(s) | Why This Order |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tutorial | Combo Stack | Free — automatic unlock. Core combat mechanic. |
| 2 | Mad Forest | Gem Hammer | Unlocks Blacksmith early for gem socketing. |
| 3 | Any 2 dungeons | Milky Way Map + Rilevatore | Free default unlocks for pre-combat info. |
| 4 | Inlaid Library | Guiding Light | Makes all future relic hunts easier. |
| 5 | Teeny Bridge | Overkill + Stardust Anvil | Gold engine + 3-slot expansion. Highest priority dungeon. |
| 6 | Furious Forest | Polentir | Unlocks Arcana system for build diversity. |
| 7 | Library West Wing | Grim Grimoire | Tracks evolution combos for build planning. |
| 8 | Library Sanctum | Arcana Finder | More Arcana drops for run variety. |
| 9 | Curd Refinery | Ultimate Ultra Overkill | 10x gold cap — transform your economy. |
| 10 | Gallo Tower | Lapidary Loupe + Sorceress' Tears | Jeweler unlock + speed QoL. |
| 11 | Dairy Plant | Bomba Infernale | Farming speed QoL. |
| 12 | Cappella Ultima | Ovenkilt | Final relic — endgame trade-off. |
Relic Hunting Tips & Tricks
- - Get Guiding Light first. It highlights destroyable objects on the mini-map, making every other relic hunt trivial.
- - Relics are always in the same dungeon. The location never changes between runs. Once you know where a relic is, you can sprint directly to it.
- - Break everything. Barrels, crates, torches, and vases can all hide relics. If you don't have Guiding Light, clear every room completely.
- - Teeny Bridge is the most valuable dungeon. It contains two S-tier relics (Overkill and Stardust Anvil). Prioritize clearing it.
- - Relics can be toggled. Visit the Museum in the Village to enable or disable any collected relic. Ovenkilt is the primary candidate for toggling off.
- - Ovenkilt advice. Only enable it if your deck reliably generates large overkill chains against individual enemies. Most builds perform better with regular chest gold + boss overkill.
Related Guides
- Vampire Crawlers Tier List — Crawlers, Weapons & Arcana Ranked
- Beginner Strategy Guide — First Hour & Early Progression
- Best Builds & Deck Compositions for All Crawlers
- Dungeon Guide — Walkthroughs, Bosses & Secrets
- Weapon Evolution Guide — Recipes, Requirements & Tips
- Class Tier List — Best Crawlers for Every Role
$ tierlist.relics — loaded 15 relics | status: complete
Data verified against Vampire Crawlers v1.0. Last updated: July 2026.