Dodgy Shortcut

Dodgy Shortcut is a relic that adds extra Critical Pegs to the pegboard while changing how orbs behave when they hit those Critical Pegs. Specifically, the board spawns an additional number of crit_pegs ({[PIT_ADDITIONAL_CRIT]}), and any orb that strikes a crit_peg will be sent straight downward, effectively causing a vertical drop rather than the usual bounce behavior. The relic is not obtainable through normal play; it is only available from the Custom Start selection, and unlocking it requires winning any normal run (not started from Custom Start).

Dodgy Shortcut is primarily associated with Critical Peg–focused strategies but imposes a strong caveat: because hitting a Critical Peg forces the orb to fall straight down, players generally avoid striking crit_pegs unless they have already built up substantial damage or have a specific plan for the downward trajectory. The forced vertical drop can be exploited or mitigated by particular synergies and board manipulation tools.

• Use with Critical Peg builds cautiously. The relic increases crit_peg count, which can boost opportunities for critical hits, but the downward knockback often prevents chaining orbs through multiple pegs unless damage is already high or the board layout is favorable.
• Synergy with Weighted Chip: Dodgy Shortcut pairs well with the Weighted Chip because the forced downward exit can be used to funnel orbs into one of the 2x exit slots when a Critical Peg sits above those slots. This gives a mild but useful positional control to ensure higher damage exits.
• Betsy's Hedge benefits strongly from this relic. Because Betsy's Hedge gains bonus damage and players may deliberately avoid hitting Critical Pegs to prevent vertical drops, the relic complements playstyles that favor selective peg targeting and build-up before committing to crits.
• Playstyle implications: prioritize builds that either can tolerate or capitalize on vertical drops (high single-orb damage, guaranteed exit multipliers) or use board-control relics and chips that reroute orbs. Avoid relying on peg-chaining strategies that require normal bounces through many pegs unless you can ensure the crits fall after your main damage has been applied.

Dodgy Shortcut originated as a joke relic created for Sifd's YouTube channel as an April Fool's item; its original description was an inside-channel reference. Despite its humorous origin, the relic offers tangible strategic effects that change pegboard planning and orb routing.