Decision rule: Dowsing Rod asks whether your map can afford five question rooms. Neow's Sacrifice asks whether one extraordinary potion is worth carrying Guilty. Pick the relic whose cost your starting character and first act can absorb, not the one with the flashier payoff.
What the two relics actually offer
The v0.109.0 beta adds two Neow relics with visible upside and explicit friction. That is important: neither should be evaluated as free starting power.
| Relic | Immediate effect | Delayed payoff | Real cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dowsing Rod | Adds Dowsing to the deck | After five ? rooms, Dowsing becomes Abundance | Route pressure and a dead quest card until completion |
| Neow's Sacrifice | Gives Ambergris | 50% max-HP healing plus an immediate extra turn | Guilty is added to the deck; potion slot is occupied until used |
Abundance costs one Energy, presents three upgraded Powers, adds your choice to hand, and allows it to be played for free that turn. That is a major late-Act payoff, but it is not a guarantee of the exact Power your deck wants.
Ambergris is easier to understand. Half your maximum HP plus another turn can reverse a boss fight, rescue an elite route, or let a slow engine finish setting up. Its value depends on whether you keep it for the fight that justifies Guilty.
Dowsing Rod: route without tunnel vision
The common mistake is counting question marks before checking what the route gives up. A good Dowsing route still needs early card rewards, at least one recovery or upgrade option, and enough flexibility to avoid a lethal elite.
Take the fast quest route when
- the first question rooms do not replace all early hallway fights;
- two route branches reconnect before the act becomes dangerous;
- your starting deck can beat normal fights without an urgent shop;
- a late campfire remains available before the boss;
- you can finish the fifth room without entering a forced elite at low HP.
Slow down when
- the quest path skips the only shop that can remove a weak starter card;
- your deck still lacks front-loaded damage;
- the map demands two early elites;
- question-room variance could leave you without card rewards;
- the fifth room arrives so late that Abundance barely affects the act.
The Act 1 pathing checklist still applies. Dowsing Rod adds another objective; it does not delete health, upgrades, or elite rewards from the route equation.
How to use Abundance
Abundance is strongest when the offered Power solves an immediate fight and can be played without consuming the rest of the turn. The free play matters as much as the upgrade. A three-Energy Power that would normally expose you becomes possible alongside block or setup.
Do not plan around one named Power appearing. Plan around categories:
| Deck need | Power type to prefer |
|---|---|
| Long boss scaling | Strength, Poison, Orb, Stars, or summon growth |
| Bad opening turns | Immediate block, draw, or setup acceleration |
| Inconsistent hands | Retain, draw, or card-order control |
| Multi-enemy pressure | Repeatable area damage or passive output |
If all three offers are merely decent, choose the one that improves the next hard fight. Abundance is a strong reward, not permission to pivot into a new archetype on the final floors.
Neow's Sacrifice: give Ambergris a job
Ambergris should have a target before the route is locked. "I will use it when low" is too vague. Better plans are: save it for the first elite, use it to survive the Act 1 boss setup turn, or spend it before a forced high-damage hallway sequence.
The extra turn can be more valuable than the heal. It gives scaling another trigger, refreshes Energy and draw, and may prevent the enemy from acting at a lethal breakpoint. That makes Ambergris especially attractive to decks with a slow but decisive setup.
The downside is twofold. Guilty reduces draw quality, and Ambergris occupies a potion slot. Passing useful common potions for several floors is a real opportunity cost. Read the potion guide before treating the slot as free storage.
Which relic fits each run?
| Starting situation | Better first look | Why |
|---|---|---|
Flexible map with clustered ? rooms | Dowsing Rod | The quest can finish without sacrificing core route value |
| Weak early deck facing a hard elite line | Neow's Sacrifice | Ambergris converts risk into a planned resource |
| Character needs card rewards quickly | Neow's Sacrifice | Dowsing routing may delay necessary drafting |
| Strong starter that can tolerate variance | Dowsing Rod | The deck can carry the quest card until Abundance appears |
| Potion slots already strategically important | Dowsing Rod | Ambergris could crowd out several useful pickups |
This is not a fixed tier list. The same relic can be excellent on one seed and awkward on the next because the map is part of its text.
Branch and source note
These relics are beta-only as of July 20, 2026. The details above are based on Mega Crit's official v0.109.0 notes, cross-checked against Untapped's structured summary. Do not expect the stable database to display them until the patch reaches main.
FAQ
Is Abundance guaranteed to offer my character's best Power?
No. It offers a choice of three upgraded Powers. Build a plan that can benefit from several categories of Power instead of relying on one exact hit.
Should Ambergris be saved for the boss?
Not always. Spending it to win an elite cleanly can earn a relic and preserve enough HP to improve at campfires. Give it a planned fight, then revise if the route changes.
Does Dowsing Rod make every question room better?
It makes each visited room advance the quest. The room outcome and the route opportunity cost still matter.
