Ancient Fleece

Ancient Fleece is a relic that modifies how critical hits affect orb (shot) damage. Each additional critical triggered on a shot multiplies that shot's damage by a factor of {[CRIT_STACK_BONUS]}. The effect stacks multiplicatively with multiple additional crits on a single shot, producing exponentially larger damage when several crits occur together.

The relic appears as a special variant of the Critsomallos Fleece lineage and is not available through normal in-run acquisition. It can only be selected from the Custom Start relic pool. To unlock Ancient Fleece for Custom Start, the player must complete a normal run (not started via Custom Start) while carrying the Critsomallos Fleece relic.

Practical notes for use and strategy:

• Ancient Fleece is most powerful in builds that reliably produce multiple criticals on a single orb (for example, effects that grant extra crit chances, multiple crit sources, or chains of crit-triggering mechanics). Because multipliers stack, two extra crits produce a much larger increase than a single extra crit plus an additive bonus would.
• Combining Ancient Fleece with high-base-damage orbs and orb-enhancing relics amplifies its benefit; prioritize synergies that increase base shot damage and crit frequency.
• The relic’s multiplicative stacking makes it volatile: while it enables extremely high single-shot damage, builds that rarely produce multiple crits will not fully leverage it. Aim to maximize crit procs per shot to justify taking the relic from Custom Start.
• Since the relic cannot be obtained during a standard run, plan runs intended to unlock it by carrying Critsomallos Fleece and completing a normal (non-Custom Start) run. Once unlocked, it can be chosen in Custom Start selections for runs where its multiplicative crit scaling is desirable.