How to get high scores (Amplified)

A fairly in-depth guide on how to get high scores.

Introduction

This guide provides a general outline to determine what items to pick up and which shrines to activate in order to obtain as high of a score as possible. Please note that this does not cover every edge case, but is rather intended to serve as guidelines!

Core components

The following components are vital to achieving a high score:

• Crown of Greed: Obtained by killing the shopkeeper. This doubles all gold collected while draining 1 gold per beat.
  
• A way to destroy shop walls: Shop walls contain 10 gold each (20 gold w/ crown of greed). The two most effective ways to dig these walls are either to use the blood shovel, or blood drum + shovel of strength. Extra bombs and the bomb spell are also effective.
  
• A source of consistent healing: Digging shop walls cost a large chunk of health. Using a Shopkeeper familiar, healing spell, blood weapon, or ring of regeneration can help offset the health cost of digging shop walls.
  
• A consistent method to open crates/barrels: Once you obtain the crown of greed, additional items are a bit more rare. Every floor has either a crate or a barrel; opening all of them increases your potential items and gives extra gold.

Ideal items per slot

Your builds drastically differ from run to run. I would recommend the following:

• Weapon:
  
  • Gold weapons: Gold weapons yield the highest score, especially accompanied by a source of healing. Gold weapons make enemies drop up to 3 additional gold, based on multiplier. With the crown of greed, that's 6 gold per enemy; this small bonus adds up very quickly.
    
  • Blood weapons: Every 10 enemy kills grants you half a heart. That half heart can be used to dig a shop wall, yielding 30-40 gold (60-80 w/ crown of greed) per blood dig. This trait makes blood weapons an ideal pick for runs where healing is scarce.
    
  • All other weapons: Obsidian, titanium, glass, guns, and specialty daggers all take the back seat to blood/gold weapons in score runs. They should only be used as interim weapons if you want to maximize your score.
• Head:
  
  • Crown of greed: The crown of greed always takes number 1 priority; no other head item can even come close to its gold benefit.
    
  • Blast helm: Be sure to pick it up to get its 3 bombs before swapping back to the crown of greed.
    
  • All other head items: Temporarily swapping to another head item can alleviate the gold siphon from the crown. Swap out the crown, then pretend you're Monk for the rest of the floor avoiding gold piles. Once everything is dead, pick up your crown then scoop up all dropped gold. Be mindful of when the song ends, as this tactic risks you leaving behind gold if you don't pick it up in time!
• Body:
  • All body items: Armor has the least impact on score. Equip whatever you find/prefer. It is worth noting that quartz and glass armor prevents instantly dying to shopkeepers, which can be used to tank a hit if you're just shy of being able to kill them.
• Feet:
  
  • Ballet shoes: These are amazing for keeping your x3 multiplier up if you're not flawless at the game. Not only does it allow skipping beats without losing your groove chain, but killing a single enemy after losing it kicks your multiplier right back up to x3 again. This makes it extremely valuable in score runs, especially in boss fights where the multiplier is most valuable.
    
  • Boots of Leaping/Lunging: These boots are particularly useful to help alleviate the crown of greed's gold drain.
    
  • Boots of Pain: Particularly useful for opening crates/barrels. Does not synergize well with spears, longswords, bows, warhammers, or cutlasses.
    
  • All other boots: Equip at your personal preference. Boots in general are advantageous but situational items.
• Torch:
  • All torches: Use at your personal preference. My personally preferred torches are either the torch of strength or torch of walls.
• Ring:
  
  • Ring of Wonder: The best ring if you manage to obtain it. Its across-the-board stat increases are extremely valuable, more so than any other ring. Wearing the ring of becoming is very risky, but has an extremely high payout if you can transmogrify it.
    
  • Ring of Gold: If you do not have the shopkeeper familiar, the ring of gold is one of the best rings to have. Not worrying about picking up gold lets you clear levels much faster, which means less gold drain from the crown of greed. This ring also increases the amount of gold dropped per enemy, and stacks with gold weapons. However, if you do have the shopkeeper familiar, I would advise against using this ring. The health gained from gold piles is much more valuable, since you're able to dig more shop walls.
    
  • Ring of Shadows: Another high risk/high reward ring. This allows you to take all shop items for free, but drastically lowers vision. If you manage to find a transmogrifier or conjurer shop, you can summon/transmogrify as many items as you'd like for free. Typically once I find one of these two shops, I'll create an ideal build for myself, then swap the ring out last.
    
  • Ring of Mana: If you manage to get a healing spell + ring of mana, this will provide all the healing you need to dig all shop walls.
    
  • Ring of Luck: Really good for crate/barrel contents. Gold is frequently large piles, and food is frequently a drumstick or ham.
    
  • Ring of Regeneration: Heals 1 heart per floor, meaning you can dig 2 shop walls if you don't otherwise take damage.
    
  • Ring of Charisma: Lowers shop costs, which can be particularly useful if you're conjuring or transmogrifying multiple items. Other than that, it has little use since the shopkeeper is generally dead for the majority of a score run.
    
  • Ring of Peace: This is the one ring you actively want to avoid. This lowers the number of enemies per floor, as well as prevents minibosses from being in their stronger form. Both of these changes lowers the amount of potential gold for you to obtain, which is the opposite of what a score run aims to accomplish.
    
  • All other rings: Use what's available and what you prefer.

Additional helpful items

The following list are items that provide a distinct major advantage in score runs:

• Gigantism scroll: Dropped from "Lord" enemies or the shrine of war. Once you have the blood shovel, gigantism scrolls let you dig an entire shop without losing health. Activate gigantism, and blood dig to your heart's content without taking damage. Glass, obsidian, and crystal shovels also let you dig shop walls with gigantism. The shovel of strength + blood drum does not.
  
• Scroll of need: Can be obtained from shops or bombing an activated shrine of risk. Basically translates to a free potion if used at the right time. Blood dig walls until you're at 1/2 heart, use scroll of need, get a potion.
  
• Potion: Basically a free way to refill your hearts so you can dig more shop walls. Don't be afraid to blood dig yourself to 0 health in zone 4/5 so you can activate your potion! You no longer have death insurance, but you can blood dig several floor's worth of shop walls with that extra health.
  
• Bomb charm: An absolutely incredible advantage if you come across this item. One bomb saves about 3 blood digs since the explosion is 5x5. Place these bombs 1 tile away from each corner to maximize blast radius.
  
• Pacemaker: Translates to extra beats/time to get everything you want on a floor. Activate, then quickly pick up remaining gold, dig additional walls, etc.
  
• Nazar: Picking up this charm comes at a slight gold opportunity cost, since spirits no longer spawn (and hence you don't get their gold). Passing up this charm is a matter between weighing your risk of being screwed over by spirits vs. the extra gold you gain from killing them. You're only missing out on a couple hundred gold, but if you truly want to squeeze every ounce of gold in a run, passing this charm up might be a better option.

How and when to get the Crown of Greed

When to "cash-in" on obtaining the crown differs from run to run. Factors include the cost/value of the current items he offers, when you feel comfortable enough to go without his extra three items per floor, and if you have the items to kill him.

On a typical run, killing him around 1-3 or 2-1 is a good mix between item offerings and doubling gold early on. Occasionally a kill in 1-1 is beneficial if you have the means to do so and his items are amazing, and occasionally delaying killing him until 2-3 is more beneficial if you are super unlucky with items.

Remember that every level that you don't have the crown equipped comes at a pretty steep "gold opportunity cost". This is especially true for boss levels. Assuming you have max multiplier, the following list outlines how much gold you miss by not wearing the crown:

• Zone 1: 150 gold
  
• Zone 2: 375 gold
  
• Zone 3: 600 gold
  
• Zone 4: 750 gold
  
• Dead Ringer: 900 gold
  
• Necrodancer: 900 gold
  
• Total opportunity cost of killing bosses without the crown of greed: 3675 gold

As far as cold-blooded murdering goes, there are a LOT of ways to kill the shopkeeper. Some of these points are straight out of the codex level. With the right item combinations, you can get pretty creative! I'd love to hear your lethal item combos in the comments.

Items with guaranteed low-risk kills:

• Two bombs: By far the most common way to kill the shopkeeper. Drop two bombs on two consecutive beats, move out of harms way, then finish him off with any weapon.
  
• Fireball scroll: Activate the scroll to deal 8 damage, then finish him off with any weapon.
  
• Fireball tome: Use all three on consecutive beats to kill him. Each fireball deals 3 damage. The fireball spell can also be used 3 times using blood magic.
  
• Earth tome: Use the earth tome near the shopkeeper, then go to the other side of him and use the tome again. Sandwiching him between walls kills him instantly. The earth spell can also be used twice using blood magic.
  
• Pulse scroll: An instant one-hit kill, as the pulse scroll deals 10 damage.
  
• Pulse tome: Use two pulse tome spells on consecutive beats while 2 tiles diagonal from the shopkeeper. The Pulse spell can also be used twice using blood magic.
  
• Throwing stars: Use all three on consecutive beats to kill him.
  
• One-shot daggers and spears: Throwing a blood dagger/spear while at 1/2 heart, throwing a gold dagger/spear immediately after using a riches scroll, or throwing any dagger/spear after striking a blood drum deals a quick and painless death.

Slightly riskier or situational methods that require aggro (bomb, fireball, dragon breath, etc.)

• Aggro + Freeze: Freeze him for free hits to kill him. Attacking with a frost dagger/frost ring, using a freeze scroll/tome/spell, or intentionally activating a frost charm are all effective. Frost familiar can also be used, just make sure you attack twice then retreat a beat before attacking again. Frost familiar's freeze only lasts 3 beats.
  
• Aggro + Shield: Use a shield scroll/spell/ring for free hits to kill him.
  
• Aggro + anything that can one-shot: Once the shopkeeper is damaged, Finish it off using any of the following "high damage" weapons:
  
  • Blood weapons while at 1/2 heart
    
  • Gold weapons immediately after picking up gold
    
  • Using the blood drum
    
  • Frost dagger or frost ring
• Aggro + knockback: Use a weapon with knockback (flail or ring of war) to keep him at bay. Attack, sidestep, repeat.

Digging/Bombing shop walls

When doing score runs, health and bomb management are key.

• It takes 8-9 blood digs to completely clean out a shop. Bombs and the bomb spell help offset the health cost.
  
• The two best spells to maximize shop wall digs are the healing spell and bomb spell. If you obtain both of these spells, you have a significant advantage.
  
• Healing sources dictate how liberal you are with blood digs. If you have multiple sources of healing, don't be afraid to spend hearts digging even single shop walls. On the other hand, if you don't have any sources of healing, being conservative by only digging 1-2 corners per floor might be advantageous in the long run. You never know when you might find magic food or cursed heart containers.
  
• If you're able, be conservative with bombs even if you have a decent number. Holding out for the bomb charm makes each bomb almost twice as effective. If you've reached zone 5 and still haven't seen the bomb charm, spend the remaining bombs you have.
  
• Prioritize corners before you dig sides, since corners let you dig four walls instead of three.
  
• Don't forget that secret shop walls contain gold as well.

Shrines

Shrines can drastically affect your score. As with many other components of the game, they increase risk while increasing reward. Activating the following shrines is highly recommended:

• Blood Shrine: The blood weapon and (especially) blood shovel are hugely advantageous for score runs. The only reason why you wouldn't activate this is if you already had a blood shovel and a consistent source of healing. Tip: If you want to get the blood shovel from this shrine but keep your weapon, do not activate it from below.
  
• Shrine of War: Always activate this shrine. Enemies become their hardest form, which means they drop a lot more gold. You also receive a gigantism scroll, which can be used for an entire floor of no-cost blood digs. Bomb the activated shrine to get a defense charm.
  
• Boss shrine: Always activate this shrine. More bosses = more gold. Plus, bombing the activated shrine rewards you with the highly useful strength charm. Tip: Avoid activating this shrine from below if you want to have more than 1 beat to choose your item without losing your groove chain.
  
• Darkness Shrine: If you haven't seen the conjurer or transmogrifier, activating this shrine can have massive benefits on a future floor. If you're willing to go through the effort of feeling your way in the dark, you will be rewarded for it. If you've already passed the conjurer and transmogrifier, there's really not much reason to activate this shrine.
  
• Shrine of Peace: Only activate if you're willing to give up your current weapon. This can easily be circumvented if there's an extra weapon on the floor, or if you throw your weapon you want to keep. If you have the blood shovel, don't forget to use your health to blood dig before you activate the shrine. Activating the shrine brings you back to full health, so use as much of your existing health as possible before activating it.
  
• Shrine of Space: Good to activate, since the extra room contains extra enemies and extra enemies means extra gold. Taking the obsidian shovel is recommended, as it lets you dig catacomb walls at max multiplier. It also allows you to dig shop walls at max multiplier after using a gigantism scroll. Activating it also takes 3 shovels out of the item pool, making it easier to obtain a blood shovel from the conjurer/transmogrifier. Bomb an unactivated shrine to get a dungeon map.
  
• Shrine of Risk: The main reason why you'd want to activate this shrine is to bomb it. Bombing an activated shrine of risk gives you the scroll of need, which can be activated at 1/2 heart to obtain a potion. If you don't have a consistent source of healing, caution is advised when activating this shrine. Attrition damage can be detrimental to the number of shop walls you dig.
  
• Shrine of Pain: Basically 4 free items if you have at least 2.5 hearts and a bomb. Tank four hits next to it, then bomb it for cheese to replenish your health. If you take 5 hits, the shrine fully activates and you'll instead get the Ring of Courage when you bomb it.
  
• Shrine of Sacrifice: Bomb for a free heart container. If you're willing to invest the time to activate it, it might be worthwhile. Killing a boss next to the shrine awards your choice of 3 glass weapons; killing 5 enemies next to the shrine awards your choice of 3 random items.
  
• Shrine of Uncertainty: There are no downsides to activating this shrine. It gives you a free mystery weapon, and if you don't like it, you can go back and pick up your former weapon. Unfortunately it can't ever be a blood or gold weapon, so if you already have one of those, don't waste your time. Bomb the shrine before activating it to get a mystery ring (a random ring where the sprite is obscured).
  
• Shrine of Luck: Only use if you have the lucky charm or ring of luck so you can guarantee you get items from it. Be careful not to spend too much gold rolling for items. If you have extra bombs, using one on this shrine gives you a random item. Typically activating this shrine 3 times is a good balance between items and cost.

Key Targets to kill

This section outlines specific enemies/shopkeepers to eliminate.

• Leprechaun: Killing the leprechaun in just the right way gives a massive gold boost. After obtaining the crown of greed, let the Leprechaun spawn by leaving a large pile of gold (minimum 50 coins) sit for 8 beats. If you are using a 1-range weapon, buffer dig once so you are right next to the Leprechaun when he spawns. Hit him once, then run away for around 12 beats. If you need to turn a corner, hit him once so he gets knocked back. Every beat that he chases you, he drops 25 gold (50 gold w/ crown) up to 16 beats. After 16 beats of chasing you, he disappears, taking the lucky charm and 100 gold with him. Getting all 16 piles of gold + what he drops on death with the crown of greed nets you 1000 gold. WARNING: If the Leprechaun hits you, he steals all your gold! Do not let this happen, as it can easily ruin a score run.
  
• Pawnbroker: Killing the pawnbroker at max multiplier with the crown gives you 600 gold. If you also intend to dig the pawnbroker's shop walls, be sure to do so before you kill him since the room turns to tar when you attack him. He has 6 hearts - 2 bombs can kill him, or 1 bomb + a 2-range weapon. It is possible to kill him with a dagger and a single bomb if your placement is exact.
  
• Health shopkeeper: It is very easy to get the health shopkeeper items for free, and killing him gives you the gluttony charm. Any form of aggro instantly kills the shopkeeper, but whatever you do, make sure that you are adjacent to a wall when he dies. There's only one booby trap bomb instead of two, there's no risk of the bombs hitting his dropped items, and that booby trap bomb explodes the shop walls nearby giving you additional gold.
  
• Bosses: It is naturally required to kill bosses in order to progress; however, killing bosses without a multiplier comes at a very steep gold opportunity cost. If you are wearing the crown of greed, the following list is how much gold you miss by killing a boss without a multiplier:
  
  • Zone 1: 200 gold
    
  • Zone 2: 500 gold
    
  • Zone 3: 800 gold
    
  • Zone 4: 1000 gold
    
  • Dead Ringer: 1200 gold
    
  • Necrodancer: 1200 gold
    
  • Total opportunity cost of killing bosses without multiplier: 4900 gold

Learning and improving

The two main ways to improving your score would be the following:

• Practice: It really, truly helps. The scores you consistently obtain are directly proportionate to the amount of time you invest practicing.
  
• Learn from the best: Every legitimate high score comes with a replay you can watch. The game updates somewhat frequently, invalidating all existing replays. However, daily challenge replays are always current so they are readily available. It is also a great way to directly compare their run to yours so you know exactly how to improve.

Conclusion

As mentioned before, there are many more facets to score running, many of which are unique situations that can only be learned with experience.

What are your strategies for score running? What was something that you learned from this guide? I am eager and open to feedback, and am happy to update this guide with any comments from players.

[Wesly124X]

as far as I know, you're good at making new character modes for the game. I wanna know how you do it.

[JustSparky]

@Hammer. Bros.

The bit about Space seems to have been edited since I commented, it originally didn't mention its effect.

[Gigazelle]

Here's a gif of killing the pawnbroker with a bomb and a dagger: http://i.imgur.com/T4qluFk.gif

I have updated the comments on the shrine of space.

[TruthOrMare]

"It is possible to kill a pawnbroker with a dagger and a single bomb if your placement is exact."
You're talking about a 1 dmg basic dagger right? Pawnbroker floats so he's not affected by tar tiles. So I don't think you can't kill him like that.
Also shrine of space is already mentioned in the comments.
Ring of war can help since it spawns more enemies and a harder miniboss.
What about the urn?

Other than that, this guide is awesome! great work

[JustSparky]

Regarding the shrine of space, wouldn't the extra room spawn extra enemies? if that's true, then it could be worth activating the shrine if you already have a map.