Quick Answer
Kill any Stage Boss without collecting a ground Item or temporary powerup and without using a Shrine. You may collect XP, Gold and normal weapon or Tome choices from leveling. After the objective completes, open Unlocks and buy Hero Sword for 30 Silver.
Safest interpretation: never open a chest, buy from a vendor or walk through a temporary powerup. Walking past an unused Shrine is fine; activating it is not.
Hero Sword Effect and Current Behavior
Forward melee swing
The front arc can damage multiple enemies, giving it real close-range pack coverage.
Ranged slash
Each attack also fires a piercing slash projectile for mid-range coverage.
Upgrade stats
Damage, Projectile Count, Projectile Speed and Size are its native weapon upgrades.
v1.0.17 fix
High Size now scales correctly with the ranged slash's travel behavior instead of making the projectile incorrectly slow.
Base values: Damage 11, Projectile Count 1, Projectile Speed 30 and Size 100%. Common upgrades add Damage +2, Projectile Count +1, Projectile Speed +4 or Size +15%.
Allowed vs Forbidden Challenge Checklist
| Action or pickup | Allowed? | Rule |
|---|
| XP and level-up choices | Allowed | Collect XP and choose weapons or Tomes normally. |
| Gold | Allowed | Gold itself is safe, although most purchases are not useful here. |
| Break pots or jars | Allowed, risky | Breaking is safe; accidentally collecting a spawned powerup is not. |
| Walk past a Shrine | Allowed | Simply passing it does not count as use. |
| Ground Item | Forbidden | Do not collect any inventory Item dropped on the map. |
| Temporary powerup | Forbidden | Avoid damage, speed, shield, heal, magnet, nuke and money-boost pickups. |
| Any Shrine reward | Forbidden | Do not charge, activate, purchase from or accept a Shrine effect. |
| Chest or Item vendor | Avoid | Accepting an Item fails the no-Items condition; leave rewards unopened. |
For the complete category boundary, see what counts as a Powerup. The mechanism page owns the general definition; this page owns the Hero Sword run plan.
How to Unlock Hero Sword
Choose a low-risk route.Forest Tier 1 is straightforward. Sticks & Stones can remove Item temptation, but it does not make Shrines or powerups safe.
Scale only through XP levels.Take reliable weapons and Tomes; do not depend on chest Items or Shrine stats.
Keep the fight area clean.Move away from dropped powerups and unopened chests before summoning the Boss.
Defeat any Stage Boss.Fight at safe range and do not touch a forbidden reward during or immediately after the kill.
Purchase Hero Sword.Once the objective registers, buy the weapon from Unlocks for 30 Silver.
Recommended Challenge Build
CL4NK: ranged Crit
Its per-level Crit scaling works without Items. Pair a ranged weapon with Damage, Cooldown and Precision Tomes.
Best simple damage routeSir Oofie: safe armor
Armor scaling makes mistakes less punishing. Add ranged coverage and take Damage, Cooldown and a sustain Tome.
Best forgiving routeMegachad: level scaling
Flex grants permanent Damage during the run, letting XP progression replace part of the missing Item power.
Strong scaling routeSafe Tome priorities
Damage and Cooldown are reliable. Quantity helps projectile weapons; Bloody Tome supplies sustain when Items are forbidden.
Avoid RNG dependencyPractical loadout: use one ranged boss weapon, one crowd-control weapon and a defensive option rather than filling every slot with short-range damage.
Best Hero Sword Build After Unlock
| Priority | Stat | Why it matters |
|---|
| 1 | Projectile Count | Adds more melee and ranged slashes per attack; the biggest early coverage gain. |
| 2 | Damage | Raises both parts of the hybrid attack. |
| 3 | Attack Speed | Produces slashes more often and smooths pack clearing. |
| 4 | Size | Widens the front swing and ranged slash; the v1.0.17 fix makes heavy Size scaling safer. |
| 5 | Projectile Speed | Extends practical ranged coverage after core damage and count are stable. |
A balanced setup uses Quantity Tome, Damage Tome, Cooldown Tome and either Size or a defensive Tome. See the Sword Master build for a full Sir Oofie route.
Why the Unlock Did Not Register
- You touched a temporary powerup hidden inside an XP pile.
- You activated or completed a Shrine, even though it did not award an Item.
- You accepted a chest or vendor Item; collecting it is separate from collecting a powerup.
- You broke a pot and automatically collected the powerup that appeared.
- You killed the Boss correctly but forgot that Hero Sword still needs to be bought from Unlocks.
Hero Sword FAQ
How do I unlock Hero Sword?
Defeat any Stage Boss without ground Items, temporary powerups or Shrine use. XP and level-up weapons or Tomes are allowed. Then purchase it for 30 Silver.
Can I collect XP or Gold?
Yes. XP, normal level-up choices and Gold are allowed.
Can I break pots?
Breaking a pot is allowed, but collecting a spawned powerup fails the attempt. Avoiding pots is the safer route.
Can I use a Charge Shrine or Boss Curse?
No. The restriction covers Shrine use, including Charge, Greed, Succ, Moai, Challenge and Boss Curse interactions.
Does Sticks & Stones complete the challenge automatically?
No. It helps remove Item temptation, but you must still avoid all temporary powerups and every Shrine interaction.
What does Hero Sword do?
It hits multiple enemies with a forward melee slash and also launches a piercing ranged slash projectile.
