Core mechanism
The current item data uses Growth as a stack tag. The High Priestess turns 20% of Destination overhealing into Growth stacks, while Origin Chalice starts with Growth and improves relic-return odds as Growth rises. Acid Amulet can also feed Growth when its Shatter condition is active.
Best Hunter to start with
Current starting point
Lanny
Lanny is the clearest Hunter to test a delayed economy-to-power curve because his route data already names coins, trading, and a reserve policy. Calling him the best universal Growth Hunter is Needs Testing.
Evidence boundary
These pages use the current Planner data and patch records. Any strength claim without a public damage test is marked Needs Testing.
Recommended weapons, skills, relics, and Tarot
Weapons
Vintage Musket
Reliable physical family; the standard first pick.
Test this item in Planner
Ember Spark
Fire family; builds Ignition.
Test this item in PlannerSkills
Lanny's Piggy Bank
Builds the coin reserve.
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Trading Expert
The engine of Lanny's economy archetype: cumulative coin spending periodically converts into an unidentified Epic relic. It reframes every purchase as progress toward free loot, so builds around it want aggressive income skills and constant spending rather than hoarding.
Test this item in PlannerRelics
Acid Amulet
Pure fodder value: pick it up cheap, then break it down for a free random relic, while its [Shatter] bonus banks permanent [Growth] stacks. In acid builds that scale off [Growth], it is a low-cost way to feed both your relic economy and your stack count.
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Origin Chalice
The engine of a dismantle economy: it starts you with a big pile of [Growth], then gives every relic you break down a chance to bounce back into your hands, and that refund chance keeps climbing as your [Growth] grows. Builds that churn through relics get compounding value the whole run.
Test this item in PlannerTarot
The High Priestess · Upright
[Destination]: restores 10% Health; 20% of overhealing becomes [Growth] stacks.
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Justice
A verified upright face for growth, boss, survival builds. Take it when the run can satisfy its stated trigger; the exact ranking still needs in-game testing.
Test this item in PlannerHow to start early
Use a reliable weapon before chasing stacks. Lanny's Piggy Bank and Trading Expert are only useful when the current room can already be cleared and later spending will create a visible advantage.
Mid-run conditions
Choose one way to accumulate Growth—healing, dismantling, or economy—and make the next purchase reinforce it. Origin Chalice and Acid Amulet both ask for a run that is already willing to dismantle; do not add them to a pure damage route by name alone.
When the core item does not appear
If the stack engine is late, stop waiting and take weapon damage, reload, room coverage, or survival. A delayed payoff that cannot clear the next room is not progress; the exact pivot threshold is Needs Testing.
Boss and room-clear performance
Growth has its best case in long fights because accumulated stacks and economy have time to matter. There is no public damage measurement, so the boss ceiling and break-even point are Needs Testing.
Early room clear is the gate. Keep a weapon with a reliable tag before adding another delayed piece; if packs are already the failure point, Growth has no time to pay back.
Common mispicks and conflicts
Growth pieces can compete for the same dismantle, healing, or economy slots. The High Priestess needs Destination overhealing, Origin Chalice wants relic turnover, and Little Makes Mickle is marked Needs Testing; do not assume all three stack cleanly.
Patches that changed this route
Patch 1.0.466 capped several repeat triggers, including Reversed Fool, so Growth routes that borrow Embarkation or dismantle loops have a ceiling. Patch 1.0.479 keeps the current item text as the source of truth for changed relics.