Bad Cheese

Bad Cheese is a relic introduced in v0.7.17 and reworked in v0.7.20 that triggers damage to all enemies whenever the player reloads. Its damage scales quadratically with the number of reloads in the current fight: each reload deals {[CHEESE_DAMAGE]} × (reload count)^2 damage to every enemy. This effect is applied on every reload, including reloads that occur while the player cannot otherwise act.

Bad Cheese pairs particularly well with low-Orb builds because having fewer orbs makes reloads occur more frequently, increasing both the number of triggers and total damage output over a fight. It also synergizes strongly with Round Guard: because Round Guard prevents the player from taking damage during reloads, the player can repeatedly reload to stack Bad Cheese damage without risk. In practice this enables an extreme “cheese” loop where emptying the orb inventory forces repeated reloads; each reload amplifies Bad Cheese and eventually kills enemies without the player needing to perform other actions. This loop is difficult to assemble reliably and is countered by certain encounters—most notably the Demon Wall boss, where the boss advances faster than the cumulative reload damage can kill it in time.

Bad Cheese still activates when combined with Decoy Orb, granting a free reload-based damage instance (typically 20 damage per reload from the relic's base value). The quadratic scaling means damage grows quickly with many reloads, so prolonged reload loops or encounters that allow repeated reloads will produce very large bursts of area damage. Players should note that this relic’s effectiveness depends on how often reloads happen in a single fight and on enemy pacing; it is powerful for attrition and stall strategies but can be ineffective against time-pressured bosses or in situations where reloads are limited.

• Deals {[CHEESE_DAMAGE]} × (reload count)^2 damage to all enemies on every reload.
• Best used with low-Orb loadouts to maximize trigger frequency.
• Synergizes with Round Guard to allow safe repeated reloads and potential infinite-damage loops.
• Still triggers with Decoy Orb, providing free reload damage even when the player cannot act.
• Ineffective against encounters that punish prolonged stalling, such as Demon Wall.