Shovel Knight: Dig provides players with a brand-new look at the world of The Valley that they have come to know through their previous adventures with the titular Shovel Knight. More precisely, it explores the world beneath The Valley and allows players to discover what has been waiting for them just under the surface.
As a roguelite, players are given a new area to explore and an entirely new play style to adjust to. Through multiple descents into The Well, players will unlock more items in order to boost their chances of reaching the end. While some upgrades can be acquired through the natural progression of Shovel Knight: Dig, others have more niche unlock requirements. As a result, a new player may be lost when deciding what to unlock on a first playthrough, so here's a look at the best upgrades to unlock as soon as possible.
7 Flameo Ring
Returning fans from the previous Shovel Knight installments are sure to remember Chester, the helpful merchant who aids Shovel Knight by selling him relics throughout the original game. In Shovel Knight: Dig, Chester again sells wares to the hero, both during the various stages of The Well and up on the surface too. In order for Chester to appear on the surface, he must have been met in The Well at least once already. When players buy an item on the surface, it then becomes available to acquire during their exploration of The Well.
One of the first purchasable items from Chester on the surface is the Flameo Ring. Initially it costs 1000 Gems, but this goes up by 1000 additional Gems for each purchase. The Flameo Ring allows Shovel Knight to resist fire damage. This proves extremely useful when tackling the Smeltworks, one of the second stages players can delve into during a run, as it negates the vast amount of fire that appears in the stage.
6 The Final Guard
The Armorer is an integral part of Shovel Knight: Dig, providing players with some of the only upgrades that they can equip before going into The Well. After finding the Armorer in the Smeltworks and saving him from a variety of enemies, the Armorer will relocate to the surface and sell armor to Shovel Knight, provided the appropriate Armor Templates have been found in The Well.
The Armorer will have two Armor sets available for sale without any Armor Templates having been found: The Ornate Plate and Final Guard (though the Ornate Plate is just a golden version of Shovel Knight's basic armor). The Final Guard Armor set is particularly useful during a playthrough as it reduces the damage the player takes and keeps more Gems and Accessories after dying. There is a single drawback, however: when wearing this armor, players will obtain fewer Gems during a descent.
5 Follow Slot Upgrades
Hoofman is a new shopkeeper for Shovel Knight: Dig who has set up his shop just to the right of The Well. While he only sells two types of items across the entire game, these are crucial in order to improve the player's chances of making their way to the final boss. The first item is the Relic Key, which is used in order to unlock Relic Rooms throughout The Well, which in turn unlocks new Relics for players to use.
The second item Hoofman sells is a Follow Slot Upgrade. This allows the player to carry more keys, which in turn will give the player more chances to unlock new Relics across a run. Another benefit of the Follow Slot Upgrade is that it gives the player access to more Eggs, and so the chance to have more Pets which aid Shovel Knight in each individual run.
4 Shovel Blade Techniques
Shovel Blade Techniques are yet another unlockable that players can receive in order to boost their chances of reaching the final boss. Unlocking the Techniques as soon as possible will allow for more techniques to be unlocked through natural gameplay, as opposed to actively trying to hunt these Techniques down. In order to unlock extra Shovel Blade Techniques, players must first find Master Argus during a run.
After finding Master Argus in The Well, players will now be able to find him on the surface as well. By heading over to the far left of the surface, there will be a three-tiered platform, and when digging on the top of it, players will uncover a grave and Master Argus' arm sticking out of it. Now players will have access to Master Argus' challenges which, once completed, will unlock other Shovel Blade Techniques.
3 Whisker's Shortcuts
Being a roguelite,Shovel Knight: Dig sees players repeatedly delving into The Well after Drill Knight. Each stage can pose a significant challenge to new players, so overcoming one is no small feat early in the game. That being said though, each death becomes exceedingly punishing by resetting a player's progress.
After clearing Mushroom Mines for the first time, however, Whisker will show up on the surface for the first time. The Knight can then pay him to open up shortcuts to any world that they have visited, with costs ranging from 2000 to 6000 Gems. After a player has unlocked a shortcut, they can then pay to skip directly to the stage of their choice allowing them to jump back into their action right away (albeit with less gear).
2 Tome of Relic Thrift
Relics are one of the most crucial item types across Shovel Knight: Dig. Each Relic can wildly change the odds of a player's success in a run by providing a ranged attack or a temporary impenetrable defense. It does this at the cost of magic, which can be renewed through pickups and expanded with max magic upgrades.
Another way to get more use out of Shovel Knight's Relics is the Tome of Relic Thrift Accessory. This Accessory allows for a Relic to be used twice as many times before running out of magic. The Tome of Relic Thrift is one of the initial Accessories that Chester sells on the surface, so it can be unlocked for as little as 1000 Gems.
1 Coffer of Safekeeping
The Coffer of Safekeeping is one of the unlockable Relics available in Shovel Knight: Dig. The Coffer gives players temporary invulnerability when used, allowing Shovel Knight to absorb some damage, which makes this Relic, quite literally, life-saving.
The unlockable Relics, though, are randomly scattered throughout The Well. This means that even if a player finds a Relic challenge room, and has a Relic Key from Hoofman, it is not guaranteed that the Coffer of Safekeeping will be inside. So even though this is a particularly useful Relic, especially for new players looking to avoid taking damage, finding this Relic may prove a challenge, given its random chance of appearing.
Shovel Knight: Dig is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, and Apple Arcade.