Game clearing efficient build with Relic and Arcana guide

This guide is there to help you clear the game without the Chaos Arcana (which makes it a lot easier).
It also includes a list of relics and spells that will make it more efficient and make your life easier during the trials.

The Setup

• Basic: Aqua Arc
  
• Dash: Circuit Line
  
• Standard: Bouncing Bubble
  
• Signature: Rock n' Roll
  
• Relic: Regenerative Inkwell
  
• Outfit: Awe

I've managed to beat Sura consistently with this build almost every time, so I'm pretty confident with its efficiency.

If you manage to be constantly hitting at least 1 enemy, you can cast at least 1, and even 2 signature spells per fight, and 1 signature gives you 25HP with the inkwell.

For this build, a defensive outfit would seem more appropriate, but in my experience, a high crit chance is more preferable, especially considering all the synergies you can get with relics that benefit from a high crit. More power means shorter fights, and thus fewer occasions to get hit.

Now, why these spells? Because they're great at keeping enemies away from you, and most importantly, they get a lot of hits, which prevent the signature charge decay. You should never be in a position where you are not hitting an enemy.

This set of spells should make it easy for you, but you should also choose your 5th and 6th in order to make it even easier.
Lightning spells and agents in general are quite helpful in that regard.

When you have a signature ready, use it immediately so you can start charging it as soon as possible. Your signature is now your healing spell.

Save your money for relics and enhanced spells. Don't spend it on new spells unless you find a very good one (like an agent spell, or Fuelled Berserk).

Always clear the stages to 100%, as you'll need the money. Don't rush into fights, be careful when entering a new zone and stay mobile so you don't get cornered.

The Relics

These are the relics that you should take in priority, without a second thought

• Anything that will heal you: Vampire's Eyeglasses, Regenerative Inkwell (which you should already have), Jewelry Box, Pathfinder's Knapsack.
  
  
• Anything that will increase your max health or give you shield: Takeout box, Tea of Mercy, Giant's Heart, Super Carrot Cake, Ring of Recycling.
  
  
• Anything that will increase your overall damage: Amulet of Sundering, Analytical Monocle, Dark Katana, Assassin's Blade, Sidewinder's Badge, Wanderer's Mechanism, Tapping Gloves, Sinister Ledger, Captain's Ring, Full House, Cartographer's Quill, Merchant's Cart.
  
  
• Cushioned Flip-flops: Will make your signature harder to charge, but will also make you a LOT harder to hurt. This is an extremely effective defensive spell.
  
  
• Surefire Rocket: Awesome synergy with the other signature-based relics. More signature means more healing.
  
  
• Any Sprite... If you can pick, take the freezing one in priority.
  
  
• Leemo's Leaf: This will get you out of many bad situations. Useless if you already have the chaos dash, though.
  
  
• Pop-up Primer: Definitely take it if you already have an agent spell. Don't bother otherwise.

The relics that you should take depending on how far you've made it in the trials

• Relic Rewards Card: For obvious reasons. Ditch it when your inventory is full.
  
  
• Thesis on Defense: Very useful if you find it at the beginning of the trials. Not worth the inventory space otherwise.
  
  
• Fuzzy Handwarmers: Take it if you haven't already faced Frost Queen Freiya, and ditch it afterwards. Useless otherwise.
  
  
• Super Sunscreen: Take it if you haven't already faced Flame Empress Zeal, and ditch it afterwards. Useless otherwise.
  
  
• Gummy Vitamins: Take it if you haven't already faced Earth Lord Atlas, and ditch it afterwards. Useless otherwise.
  
  
• Anything of Midas, unless you are near the end of the trials. You should ditch them for more useful items if you need room.
  
  
• Raspberry Cookie Box: Very useful, unless you're near the end of the trial. Ditch it to make room for more useful items when your inventory is full.
  
  
• Permafrost Cube / Phoenix Talon / Tesla Coil: Awesome during the trials, useless for boss fights. Ditch them at the end if you find more useful items.

There are many other good relics but keeps in mind that your inventory is limited. Those are not the only ones you should take. They're the ones that you should take in priority.

About cursed relics

• Volatile Gemstone: This will litterally turn your signature into a healing machine-gun. Take it without a second though, ESPECIALLY if you have the Surefire Rocket.
  
  
• Anchor of Burden: Take it if you don't already have more than 1 cursed relic and are not planning on taking any more. The speed reduction is barely noticeable, but the gain in power definitely is.
  
  
• Golden Armor/Saber of Envy and Armor of Greed: Only take it near the end of the trial, when your item list is almost already full. Very efficient, but don't plan on buying anything else afterwards.
  
  
• Alchemist's Stone: If you already have unlocked everything, you should definitely take it. Gems become pretty much useless after that, since you'll never spend more than 20 between each playthrough.
  
  
• Silver Spinning Top: Only take it if you have the Cushioned Flip-flops, the Sidewinder's Badge and an enhanced basic (or the chaos one). Will make you very slow, but will also make you nearly invincible. That being said, you need to be very confident in you dashing abilities, as it becomes your only way to move. Might not be a good idea otherwise.
  
  
• Tiny Crocodile Heart: Only worth it if it appear in the first world. Reduces your max to 250HP, but you should be able to raise it to the 750HP cap by the end of the trial. Otherwise, you might not be able to get back your 500HP before meeting Sura.
  
  
• Paronomasicon: Take it if you're near the end of the trial, or if you're VERY confident in your skills...
  
  
• Overpriced Insurance: Totally worth it near the end of the trial if your inventory is not already full, not so much otherwise.

Don't get the others. They're just not worth it in my experience, and will make you fight against Sura a lot harder.

The Arcana

You should prioritize buying relics over arcana most of the time. That being said, enhancing your basic and standard spells should also be a priority.

Those are the spells you should buy if you find them in the arcana shop, and if you have some money left after buying relics from the relic shop.

They're not the only good spells, but they're the only ones on which you should spend your money.

Air

• Mach Stunner: Doesn't deal a lot of damage, but has a wide area of effet and constantly hits enemies, preventing you from losing signature charge.
  
  
• Whirling Wind Agent: Arguably the best agent spell in the game. Will harass your enemies and take the aggro for you.

Earth

• Earth Stomp Agent: Very powerful agent, especially with the Pop-up Primer. Will take the aggro for you.
  
  
• Earthen Aegis: Will protect you from pretty much anything that is not a spear. Just keep in mind that it doesn't make you invincible, even if it appears so.
  
  
• Rippling Rupture: Almost as good as Mach Stunner. Very useful for keeping enemies at bay, especially in narrow spaces.

Fire

• Dragon Arc: Great range, gets a lot of hits, and reloads very quickly. One of the best attack spells to combine with Bouncing Bubbles to keep your signature charging.
  
  
• Fuelled Berserk: Makes your basic extremely powerful, and if you have the Cushionned Flip-flops, it also turns you into a nearly invincible tank. This allows you to rip through bosses, and makes short work of Taffy.
  
  
• Rapid Fire Agent: Not the best agent, but still an agent, and you should definitely take it.

Lightning

• Magsphere: Just cast this and you'll never have to worry about ranged attacked any more... That is, until it runs out. Arguably one of the best defense spells in the game.
  
  
• Line Shock Agent: Not the best agent, but still an agent, and you should definitely take it.
  
  
• Spark Array: The range of this thing is ridiculous. No matter the size of the room, it will hit and shock whoever's in it.

Water

• Snowflake Chakrams: Will hit pretty much anything around you and lasts for a long time. It has so much range you can even use it for attack. One of the best defensive spells in the game.
  
  
• Water Pulse Agent: Not the best agent, but still an agent, and you should definitely take it.

Honorable Mentions

Buy these if you don't have anything better and nearly at the end of the trials.

• Cardice Prime: Deals a lot of hits and keeps enemies from getting too close. Great both at protecting you and charging your signature spell, but lacking range and has a long cooldown.
  
  
• Shock Assault: Powerful, deals a lot of hits to many enemies and makes you invincible while in use. But you'd better not miss or you'll use it for nothing. Also you'll take the risk of getting hit as soon as it ends.
  
  
• Volt Pinball: Great protection spell but ends quickly and has a long cooldown. Will leave you naked after casting it if you have nothing to follow up with.
  
  
• Aqua Beam: Great range, great power, great knockback, but only 2 uses and a very long cooldown. Still a good choice, but not worth spending money on.

[Rat]

what is the full house relic?

[that one bed stain]

I personally use a build that is focused ob buffing my basic as much as possible:
Basic: Stone Shot
Dash Anything (I really like Wave Front)
Standard: Fuelled Berserk
Signature: Toxic Bollas
Relic: Combo Glove
Outfit: Venture
A good relic that also works with this very well is Sanguine Wear cuz you'll be hitting several crits with the speed that Fuelled Berserk gives to Stone Shot plus the extra combo with Combo Gloves.

[BINGOBONGO]

I have been having a lot of success with this build:
Basic: Bolt Rail
Dash: Ignition Rush
Standard: Cardice Prime
Signature: Tearing Whirlwind
Relic: Vampire Sunglasses
Outfit: Awe

[catruzz]

Thank you @MisfuneShiro for your build! Finally I won with your build in COOP.
Basic: Stone Shot
Dash: Any (I used Ignition Rush)
Standard: Fuelled Berserk
Signature: Shock Assault
Relic: Vampire Sunglasses
Outfit: Awe

My teammate's build:
Basic: Air Spinner
Dash: Gust Burst
Standard: Cardice Prime
Signature: Eroic Blaze
Relic: Vampire Sunglasses
Outfit: Awe

[MickaelKicker]

@PeaceMaker: Earth Stomp Agent, Rapid Fire Agent, etc.
This guide is a bit outdated, since then some very good items and arcanas have been added, and I haven't found the time to update it. But it should still work :)

[PeaceMaker]

Sorry but What do you mean by "agent spell"? Thank you for the guide :D

[ArgentJava]

Running kosher(no chaos arcana), this is what I've found to be pretty enjoyable:

Cloak - Venture
DAMAGEandmovementspeed. Hp reduction is managable

Starting Relic - Token of doom/Amulet of sundering
I'm either aiming for some guaranteed damage upfront, or I'm willing to try my luck with Nox. While some of the cursed relics can sometimes seem as attractive as seaweed, more often than not the benefits outweigh your apprehensions.

Basic: Bouncing blaze(preferably something with range)
Dash: Gust burst(with all these fire it's best to keep the dash simple so we can still see)
Standard: Exploding fireball/Flame cleaver
Signature: Tracer barrage/Aqua beam

Relics that are absolutely worth grabbing any time you see them imo:
Horse mask, limited edition robe, graduation cap. If you decided to start with the Token of doom, or find yourself accruing cursed relics, buy any and all "curse eater" items.

[Heavenly Peaks Purveyor]

Chaos arcana doesn't seem to make it all that much easier IMO. But, that's just my opinion.

Personally I use:

Cloak (Awe Crit ^)
Spells - Riptide (Basic), Vortex (Dash), Aqua Beam and Spell of choice, either lightning or chaos element.

Relic of Choice - Dice (forget the name, the red ones that cause massive damage occasionally).

Strategy - Boost crit as much as possible, if that's not possible focus on getting 1-2 of nix's atk up relics (I prefer the stylus or glass cannon--optimally both. Adorable mimic is also a nice plus). Only go for the Double Trouble if you're extremely confident and have the Stygis Shell to avoid getting destroyed.

Basically the dice *should* trigger one or twice during boss fights which is enough to help you win, even if you take a few hits.

It doesn't always, but it does work really well and I find myself liking it more and more each time I use this build.

[Barbabranca]

I've had consistent success with the following build:

Basic: Bolt Rail
Dash: Circuit Line
Standard: Volt Pinball
Signature: Cardice Prime
Relic: Vampire’s Eyeglasses
Outfit: Awe or Shift

General strategy: right before entering a room, fire up Cardice Prime and Volt Pinball and go rub yourself on some baddies . Use Bolt Rail in the meantime for some directed damage. Dash your way out of trouble, the shock should stop enemies long enough to cool down your arcana.

In-dungeon purchases: I give priority to relics increasing critical damage (so Vampire's Eyeglasses are triggered more often, helping you replenish health) and reducing arcana cooldown (Cardice Prime's is just so long). As for arcana, I'll only buy enhanced versions of the starting build .

[Ouja]

Basic: Bolt
Dash: Circuit Line
Standard: Shock Assault
Signature: Shock Array
Outfit: Hope (Upgraded) or Awe
Relic: Battery of Taranis or Vampire Sunglasses.

Lots of stun on enemies, quick cool downs and a lot of crits. If you happen to pick either outfit, I'd pick up anything that increases crits later in the game or the vampires sunglasses.
Aim for enhancing these base Arcana and take whatever bosses drop. (I'd suggest using Boss Arcana that are either projectile base or can stunlock enemies. Projectiles mainly for the first phase of the final boss.) In the end, it all comes down to your skill however, as I still have trouble with the Wind boss if he's the third boss.