Relics are the biggest source of power during a run in How Many Dudes. While every Relic has a purpose, some provide such a massive impact that they can completely change how your run plays out. The best Relics don’t just increase a few stats—they improve your entire roster, create powerful synergies, save Dudes from dying, or scale throughout the entire run.
One thing I learned after playing for a while is that you shouldn’t judge a Relic only by the numbers written in its description. A Relic that gives 10% Attack Power may sound good, but another Relic that repeatedly saves your team from being wiped out is often worth much more. Likewise, some Relics become incredibly powerful only when paired with the right Dude Types or specific team compositions.
How Many Dudes Best Relics Guide – Best Relic for Dudes
Below are the Relics that consistently provide the highest value across most runs.
Incident Calendar
If I had to recommend one Relic that almost always feels good to pick, it would be Incident Calendar.
Every second during battle, your entire team gains 1% Attack Power. The only downside is that the stacks reset if one of your Roster Dudes gets knocked out.
On paper, 1% doesn’t sound impressive, but it adds up incredibly fast during longer battles. If your team survives without losing anyone, everyone becomes significantly stronger as the fight continues.
This Relic performs especially well with defensive teams that can comfortably survive until the Attack Power stacks become overwhelming.
Nuclear Codes
Few Relics offer the same game-changing potential as Nuclear Codes.
It immediately grants your team 5% Attack Speed, but that’s only the beginning.
Every time your Dudes attack, they slowly solve a hidden Nuclear Code. Once the entire code is completed, every enemy instantly takes 20,000 damage.
Against bosses or elite enemies, this massive burst can completely change the outcome of a battle.
Even if it doesn’t activate every fight, when it finally does, it feels incredibly satisfying.
Universal Healthcare
Simple doesn’t always mean weak.
Universal Healthcare permanently increases every Dude’s Max HP by 10%.
Unlike many Relics that only benefit specific Dude Types, Universal Healthcare improves literally your entire roster regardless of your build.
More health means surviving heavy attacks, giving healers more time to work, and increasing the value of Temporary Health and healing effects.
This is one of those Relics that quietly carries runs without drawing much attention.
Liquid Courage
Damage is important, but surviving long enough to deal that damage is even more important.
Liquid Courage grants 10% Toughness to every Dude.
Because Toughness reduces incoming damage from nearly every source, this Relic remains useful from the first battle until the final boss.
It’s especially valuable when combined with other defensive Relics since damage reduction stacks incredibly well.
Motivational Poster
Another universally strong Relic is Motivational Poster.
Every Dude gains 10% Attack Power.
There are no conditions, cooldowns, or special requirements.
Every attacker immediately becomes stronger, making this one of the safest offensive Relics you can pick regardless of your roster.
Arsenal
Arsenal provides one of the best combinations of offensive stats.
Every Dude gains:
- 5% Crit Chance
- 20% Crit Damage
Both bonuses scale well throughout the run, especially if you later collect additional Critical Hit Relics.
Characters that naturally attack quickly benefit even more because they land Critical Hits more frequently.
Safety Glasses
Safety Glasses is one of my favorite balanced Relics.
It grants:
- 10% Deflection
- 10% Attack Speed
This improves both offense and defense simultaneously.
Attack Speed increases damage output while Deflection helps prevent incoming damage.
Very few Relics provide this much overall value without requiring any specific team composition.
Shield Belt
If your team struggles staying alive, Shield Belt is an easy recommendation.
Every Dude receives 15% Deflection.
Deflection is one of the strongest defensive mechanics in the game because it completely prevents incoming attacks while redistributing only part of the damage.
Large teams especially benefit since redirected damage has more healthy teammates available to absorb it.
Medical Nanites
Medical Nanites gives every Dude:
- 5% Toughness
- 1% Regeneration
The combination is surprisingly effective.
The Toughness reduces incoming damage while the Regeneration slowly restores health throughout every battle.
Neither bonus is flashy, but together they noticeably improve your team’s consistency.
Hidden Daggers
If your roster focuses on melee attackers, Hidden Daggers becomes incredibly valuable.
It grants 40% Cleave to every Dude.
More Cleave means more enemies hit with every attack, dramatically increasing your overall damage against groups.
Wave clearing becomes much faster after picking this Relic.
Ring of Shielding
Healing becomes much stronger with Ring of Shielding.
Whenever a Dude receives more healing than they actually need, 25% of that Overhealing becomes Temporary Health.
Instead of wasting healing, your team gains protective shields.
This Relic becomes amazing when combined with strong healers like:
- Cleric Dude
- Medic Dude
- Chef Dude
- Explorer Dude
Mana Collector
Mana Collector constantly strengthens your frontline.
Every 2 seconds, every Dude gains Temporary Health equal to 6% of their Max HP.
The shields remain until depleted, allowing your team to slowly build extra protection throughout battle.
Long encounters become much easier because your Dudes repeatedly refresh their defenses.
Purple Heart
Purple Heart rewards Critical Hits.
Whenever any Dude lands a Critical Hit, they gain Temporary Health equal to 10% of their Max HP.
The effect has only a short cooldown, making it surprisingly consistent on Crit-focused teams.
This Relic works especially well with Rangers, Ninjas, Samurai, Wizards, and other high-Crit builds.
Brass Knuckles
Brass Knuckles provides explosive early damage.
When battle begins, everyone gains 30% Attack Power.
The bonus slowly decreases over time until disappearing.
Many battles end before the entire buff expires, making this Relic extremely valuable for clearing normal encounters quickly.
False Face
The first few seconds of battle are often the most dangerous.
False Face gives every Dude 20% Evasion for the opening 8 seconds.
Avoiding those early attacks often prevents teammates from getting overwhelmed before healers begin stabilizing the fight.
Stasis Cube
Stasis Cube creates one of the strongest openings in the game.
Enemies cannot attack for the first 2 seconds after combat begins.
Those two seconds give your team free damage, allow healers to prepare, and often eliminate weaker enemies before they even have a chance to attack.
Against dangerous enemy waves, this Relic feels incredibly powerful.
Dog Tag
Dog Tag rewards perseverance.
Whenever one of your Dudes gets knocked out, everyone permanently gains 20% Run Speed for the rest of the battle.
The bonus stacks up to 50 times.
Although losing teammates isn’t ideal, Dog Tag helps your remaining survivors recover and fight more effectively.
Living Will
Whenever any Dude gets knocked out, the 10 most injured teammates immediately recover 20 HP.
This often prevents additional knockouts by giving your surviving team an instant burst of healing.
During difficult fights where multiple teammates are falling, Living Will frequently keeps the rest of your roster alive.
Sewing Kit
Sewing Kit introduces one of the strongest defensive effects available.
Whenever a Dude takes non-fatal damage, they have a 15% chance to instantly heal for the exact amount of damage they just received.
Sometimes it feels like your Dudes simply ignore huge attacks because they immediately recover the lost health.
It performs especially well during long boss fights.
Emergency Ring
Emergency Ring is another fantastic survival Relic.
Whenever a Dude would normally die, they have a 15% chance to survive with:
- 1 HP
- 100% Deflection for 3 seconds
Those three seconds often give healers enough time to completely rescue them.
Loaded Dice
If your run depends on finding better upgrades, Loaded Dice is amazing.
It immediately grants:
- 2 Pocket Dice
- 50% cheaper Pocket Dice
- A 50% chance that Pocket Dice isn’t consumed when used
Being able to reroll Merchants, Relics, and Trinkets multiple times dramatically increases your chances of building a powerful setup.
Cosmic Geode
Cosmic Geode transforms Meteors into devastating battlefield tools.
It provides:
- 2 Meteors immediately.
- Meteors cost 50% less.
- Double explosion radius.
- Applies 50% Vulnerability for 6 seconds.
Later Meteors become incredibly destructive while also making enemies take far more damage afterward.
Ion Storm
Ion Storm is the Bottled Lightning equivalent.
It grants:
- 2 Bottled Lightning.
- 50% cheaper purchases.
- Double damage.
- Triple stun duration.
This turns Bottled Lightning from a useful consumable into one of the strongest crowd-control tools available.
Pumpkin Latte
Pumpkin Latte significantly upgrades Health Potions.
Instead of healing only half your roster, Health Potions now:
- Heal every Dude.
- Grant 20% Toughness for 5 seconds.
If your build relies on frequent healing, this Relic provides enormous value.
Mobius Strip
Consumables become dramatically stronger with Mobius Strip.
You immediately receive:
- 2 Dude Juice.
Additionally, every Consumable used during battle has a 30% chance not to be consumed.
Extra revives alone make this Relic worth considering.
The strongest Relics in How Many Dudes aren’t always the ones with the biggest numbers—they’re the ones that consistently provide value throughout an entire run. Universal upgrades like Universal Healthcare, Liquid Courage, Medical Nanites, Safety Glasses, Motivational Poster, and Arsenal are almost never bad picks because they strengthen every Dude on your roster regardless of your team composition. Utility Relics such as Loaded Dice, Mobius Strip, Cosmic Geode, and Ion Storm can also have a huge impact by giving you stronger consumables or helping you find better upgrades later in the run.
From my experience, the absolute best runs usually come from combining powerful global Relics with a few Dude-specific ones that perfectly match your roster. Don’t feel like you always have to chase the rarest Relics—sometimes stacking several strong universal bonuses creates a much more consistent team than relying on one flashy effect. If you’re ever unsure what to take, prioritize Relics that improve your entire roster first, then build around the strengths of the Dude Types you’ve recruited. That’s the approach that has given me the most consistent success across long runs.