Gold & Economy
Gold sources, shop prices, the interest mechanic, and the hold-vs-spend decision that shapes every run.
Gold & Economy
Gold is how your build grows. Every shop is a decision about what kind of run you're running. Every trap is a question: pay the toll, or disarm?
Sources
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Basic combat | +8–12 gold |
| Elite combat | +18–25 gold |
| Boss combat | +35–50 gold |
| Skip reward bonus | +8–15 gold |
| Efficient relic (win with >50% HP) | +15 gold |
| Lucky Coin relic | +5 gold per combat |
| Traps (if disarmed) | +10–20 gold |
| Adaptable relic (Wanderer) | +2 gold per unique die per hand |
| Penny Pincher relic (Trickster) | +1 gold per 1 or 2 rolled |
| Tax Collector shrine blessing | +2 gold after each combat |
Sinks
| Sink | Cost |
|---|---|
| Common relic (shop) | 30 gold |
| Uncommon relic (shop) | 60 gold |
| Rare relic (shop) | 100 gold |
| Common consumable (shop) | 15 gold |
| Uncommon consumable (shop) | 30 gold |
| Rare consumable (shop) | 50 gold |
| Heal 20 HP (shop) | 25 gold |
| Remove a curse (shop) | 50 gold |
| Shrine Atonement (if karma < −5) | 50 gold |
An average Act 1 gives you ~60–80 gold if you play every combat + pick up one shop bonus. That's enough for 1 uncommon relic OR 2 common relics OR 2–3 consumables OR a heal + small spend. You can't afford everything.
Interest
Holding gold pays interest, Balatro-style:
- +1 gold per 15 gold held after each combat
- Capped at +3 per combat (i.e., no extra return past 45g)
This creates a real hold-vs-spend tension. Sitting on 45g between combats earns you a free consumable per fight. Dropping to 15g to buy a relic costs you 3g/combat for a handful of combats.
If you're going to spend, try not to drop below 15 gold — that's the minimum to keep earning interest at all. Below 15, you're leaving passive income on the table.
Shop prices by rarity
| Item | Common | Uncommon | Rare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relic | 30 | 60 | 100 |
| Consumable | 15 | 30 | 50 |
A Merchant Prince keystone knocks 20% off every price. A cursed Obelisk relic loses you 5g per combat. Stacking either affects the math more than it looks.
The hold-vs-spend decision
A simple rule of thumb:
- Spend when you see a build-enabling relic. If you're on a Pairs build and Loaded Dice shows up in the shop for 30g, buy it — interest will never outpace the per-hand scaling.
- Hold when shops are stocked with filler. If everything in the shop is off-build, bank the gold and wait. The next shop is 5 floors away and interest is tax-free.
- Always buy heals in Act 3. The gold you spend on 20 HP in the Act 3 shop is worth more than the gold you carry into the final boss.
Economy-focused archetypes
- The Wanderer — signature Adaptable earns +2g per unique die per hand. Starts with +15 gold. Shops always have a relic (guaranteed selection). The strongest economy character.
- The Trickster — Penny Pincher generates +1 gold on 1s and 2s. Low HP forces shop spending on heals, but the income density is high.
Karma and shops
Every shop is also a karma decision. You can rob the merchant for free items and a fight, but every robbery locks you further away from the "save the world" ending. See Bosses for how Memory Fragments and karma interact with the secret path.
- Buy at full price → Karma +1 (repeat purchases stack)
- Rob the merchant (win) → Karma −10, free items
- Rob the merchant (lose) → Run ends
- Atonement at a shrine (pay 50g) → Karma +15, once per low-karma shrine
Low karma scales up shop prices, spawns bodyguards in future shop fights, and locks you out of the good ending. High karma is cheap, safe, and narratively rewarding — but you earn less raw gold.
Merchant Prince: the economy keystone
- Merchant Prince — shops cost 20% less, +8 gold per elite/boss. Curse: −10% combo damage.
Take this for any build that's buying 3+ relics over the course of a run. The 20% discount pays for itself after the second uncommon relic.
Related: Run Structure · Archetypes · Skill Tree
