Relics are one of the biggest power spikes in Universal Tower Defense. A well-rolled set can rival or even outclass Traits, and the wrong one can quietly waste a Mythic unit’s potential. The system looks simple at a glance, but there are three layers that matter: how you get relics, how set bonuses work, and how main and sub-stat perks stack.
How relics work in Universal Tower Defense
Each unit can equip up to three relics: one Head piece and two armor pieces (Body and Leg). Every relic does two things at once. It provides flat stat perks that are always active, and it can contribute to a three-piece set that unlocks powerful conditional bonuses.
Armor relics (Body and Leg) drop from Story stages tied to three locations: Ninja Forest, Marine Base, and Hollowed Moon. Each of these stages has two thematic sets, so there are six sets in total. Higher Story difficulties increase the chances of rarer relics, which come with stronger numbers and more perk rolls.
Head relics drop from the Virtual Realm. They are the third piece that completes a set for a specific stage and theme, so you need the matching Head, Body, and Leg on the same unit to fully activate that set’s effects.
All relic sets and set bonuses
Every relic belongs to one of six named sets. The armor pieces in a set share the same Body/Leg bonus, while the Head piece gives a unique effect. When a unit equips all three pieces from the same set, the Head effect and the Body/Leg effect are both active.
| Relic set | Stage / Theme | Head effect | Body & Leg effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Ninja | Ninja Forest (Naruto) | Increases buffs received by the unit by 1.1×. | +5% base Damage, +10% Wind Damage. |
| Master Ninja | Ninja Forest (Naruto) | Every 5 attacks, DoT damage is increased by 20% for 10 seconds. | +5 base Damage, +10% Dark/Rose/Fire Damage. |
| Sun God | Marine Base (One Piece) | After every 6 attacks, gains a damage buff equal to the unit’s Range for 7 seconds (1% Damage per 1 Range). | +5 base Damage, +10% Light/Water/Ice Damage. |
| Laughing Captain | Marine Base (One Piece) | Reduces Active Ability cooldown by 10%. | +5 base Damage, −5% Attack Cooldown, +5% Range. |
| Berserk Shinigami | Hollowed Moon (Bleach) | Every 6th attack deals 20% bonus True Damage that ignores all resistances. | +5 base Damage, +15% Armor Damage. |
| Ex-Captain Uraharo | Hollowed Moon (Bleach) | Refunds 5% of the Yen spent on upgrading that unit. | +10 Critical Rate, +25% Critical Damage. |
Set bonuses are always “per unit”. If one unit runs a full Laughing Captain set and another runs full Sun God, both sets are active independently as long as each unit is wearing its own three-piece set.
Best relic sets for key roles and units
Each set is clearly tuned around specific damage types or mechanics. The strongest choices change depending on whether a unit is a main DPS, a support, or a farm tool.
Junior Ninja set (buff receivers and Wind units)
Junior Ninja leans into external buffs. The Head’s buff amplification makes any incoming damage or range bonuses stronger, while the armor focuses on Wind damage and a small generic Damage bump.
- Who wants it: Wind-element DPS that sit inside powerful auras, such as teams built around Miku (Super Star) or other high-value buffers.
- Why it works: The 1.1× buff multiplier scales every external boost on that unit, which stacks well with high-uptime support effects.
Master Ninja set (Fire, Dark, Rose DoT units)
Master Ninja is tuned for damage-over-time skills. The Head periodically increases DoT damage after a fixed number of attacks, and the armor adds flat Damage plus elemental modifiers for Dark, Rose, and Fire.
- Who wants it: Fire, Dark, or Rose units that rely heavily on Burn or other DoTs, such as Admiral (Magma), Spade (Donut), Cyborg (Fearless), Rogue Oni, or Sasku (Chakra) when built around status effects.
- Why it works: The periodic 20% DoT boost multiplies long uptime burns and bleeds, while the element-specific bonus feeds straight into their main damage type.
Sun God set (ranged Light/Water/Ice carries)
Sun God rewards high Range and fast attack cycles. The Head converts Range into a temporary damage buff after a set number of attacks, and the armor favors Light, Water, and Ice damage.
- Who wants it: Light, Water, or Ice units with strong attack speed and large Range, such as Kriatu (Cheater) and other long-range carries in those elements.
- Why it works: On units that already stack Range through stat rolls and upgrades, the Head can grant large, frequent damage buffs on top of an elemental increase.
Laughing Captain set (active-ability and support units)
Laughing Captain is the all-rounder and the default choice for many meta supports. The Head cuts Active Ability cooldown, and the armor brings a mix of Damage, cooldown reduction, and Range.
- Who wants it: Any unit that does significant work through active skills or needs tight cooldowns, including Lulu, Rule (ROOM), Virtual Idol (Super Star), Scarlet Maid (World), Namo, and many Hybrid supports.
- Why it works: Shorter cooldowns mean more stuns, teleports, buffs, or nukes per wave, while the small Range and Damage boosts keep them relevant as attackers if they deal damage.
- General note: As a flexible package with no element lock-in, this set is usually the best “safe” option if you are unsure what to run on a support.
Berserk Shinigami set (armor-shred and true damage setups)
Berserk Shinigami focuses on cutting through defenses. The Head gives every sixth attack a chunk of bonus True Damage, and the armor boosts Armor Damage specifically.
- Who wants it: Frontline DPS that repeatedly hit armored targets or units whose role is to soften high-defense enemies, such as Berserker (Enraged) or Greybeard.
- Why it works: Extra Armor Damage plus periodic True Damage creates reliable progress even against enemies with high resistances or secondary health bars.
Ex-Captain Uraharo set (crit-based Mythics and Secrets)
Ex-Captain Uraharo is the crit specialist set. The Head returns a small portion of Yen spent on upgrades, and the armor raises both Crit Rate and Crit Damage by large amounts.
- Who wants it: High-rarity units that are already built around critical hits, especially those running the Duelist trait. Jinoo (Monarch), Kriatu (Cheater), Pebble, and other crit scalers benefit heavily.
- Why it works: The refund effect makes upgrading these expensive carries slightly more forgiving, while the Crit stats multiply their entire game plan. Kriatu is a special case: he gains additional crit only from Traits, so Crit Rate from relics does not help him the same way and is usually better spent elsewhere.
How to activate relic set bonuses
Set bonuses do not care about rarity, only about matching set names and slots. A unit gains full benefits as long as three relics from the same set are equipped in the correct slots.
Step 1: Open your unit inventory and pick the unit you want to build around. Equip one Body relic and one Leg relic that share the same set name, such as Laughing Captain or Master Ninja.
Step 2: Equip a matching Head relic from the same set on the Head slot. Once all three are present, the game automatically enables that set’s Head effect and Body/Leg effect for that unit.
There is no extra menu to toggle set bonuses; the icons and text on the relic tooltip will update from “inactive” to “active” when the requirements are met.
Main stats and sub-stats on relics
Relic stats are divided into one Main Stat and one or more Sub-Stats, also referred to as perks. The Main Stat is the most impactful and scales heavily with each upgrade level. Sub-Stats are smaller bonuses that stack up across rolls.
Body relic perk types
| Slot | Possible main stats | Possible sub-stats |
|---|---|---|
| Body | Damage, Crit Damage, Hyper Armour Dmg, DoT | Damage, Seconds Per Attack (SPA), Range, Crit Rate, Crit Damage, DoT, Buff Potency, Effect Res |
Body pieces are where you build most of a unit’s offensive identity. A Damage main stat suits general DPS; Crit Damage pairs with crit-based traits; DoT main stats favor burn or bleed units. Hyper Armour Dmg increases damage against shielded or secondary health bars.
Leg relic perk types
| Slot | Possible main stats | Possible sub-stats |
|---|---|---|
| Leg | Damage, Seconds Per Attack (SPA), Range, Crit Rate | Damage, Seconds Per Attack (SPA), Range, Crit Rate, Crit Damage, DoT, Buff Potency, Effect Res |
Leg pieces add a second offensive pillar, usually leaning toward Attack Speed (SPA), Range, or Crit Rate. On main DPS units, Damage/SPA combinations are common; on supports, SPA and Range help keep skills and CC in play as often as possible.
Head relic perk types
| Slot | Possible main stats | Possible sub-stats |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Buff Potency, Elemental Damage | Damage, Seconds Per Attack (SPA), Range, Crit Rate, Crit Damage, DoT, Buff Potency, Effect Res |
Head main stats are much more specialized. Buff Potency increases the strength of buffs the unit gives, which is ideal for dedicated support units such as Virtual Idol (Super Star) or Shunks (Conqueror). Elemental Damage boosts whichever element the Head piece specifies and suits mono-element DPS builds.
Upgrading relics and unlocking more perks
Relics can be leveled through Power Ups, which cost gold. Higher-rarity relics reach higher maximum levels and pick up more perk rolls along the way.
Step 1: Open your relic collection, select the relic you want to upgrade, and choose the Power Up option. Confirm the upgrade cost in gold before proceeding.
Step 2: Upgrade in cycles of three levels whenever possible. Every third successful Power Up has a chance to roll a brand new sub-stat, expanding the relic’s perk list. These new perks can be any of the sub-stat options allowed for that slot.
Step 3: Continue upgrading to improve both the Main Stat and any existing sub-stats. The Main Stat can reach very high values; for example, a modest Crit Damage main stat can climb from single digits to large percentages by the time a Legendary relic reaches its cap.
Each Power Up attempt can fail at higher levels, reducing the effective success rate and making Mythic relics expensive to finish. Choosing the right base piece before committing gold is important, especially when chasing a particular Main Stat like Buff Potency or DoT.
Relic synergy with Traits and units
Traits, main stats, and set bonuses stack multiplicatively in many cases, so the strongest builds respect what a unit is already good at rather than trying to fix weaknesses.
- DoT units + Master Ninja + Wizard/Astral traits: Fire and Dark DoT carriers like Admiral (Magma), Spade (Donut), Cyborg (Fearless), and Rogue Oni scale extremely well when their Trait, relic DoT main stats, and Master Ninja Head bonus all push the same status effects.
- Active-ability supports + Laughing Captain + cooldown-focused traits: Lulu, Rule (ROOM), and Virtual Idol (Super Star) care about ability uptime. Laughing Captain plus traits that cut cooldown times lets their skills define entire waves.
- Crit-based carries + Ex-Captain Uraharo + Duelist: Jinoo (Monarch) and other high-rarity crit units benefit heavily from extra Crit Rate and Crit Damage paired with Duelist or similar traits, turning each hit into a pseudo-nuke.
- Armor breakers + Berserk Shinigami: Units whose role is to open up armored enemies like Berserker (Enraged) or Greybeard can make difficult Infinite and Challenge waves much more manageable with this set.
Relics are also forgiving in one specific way: they can be moved between units at any time. That makes it reasonable to build one or two premium sets for your account and rotate them onto whatever carries you are using for Nightmare, Infinite, Challenges, or Virtual Realm runs.
Once the logic of each set and stat line is clear, relics stop being a confusing pile of loot and start acting like a precision tuning layer for your best units. Focus on getting at least one solid Laughing Captain set for support, one Master Ninja or Sun God set for your main DPS, and an Ex-Captain Uraharo or Berserk Shinigami set for crit or armor-focused carries. From there, every Power Up and new drop has an obvious place in your roster instead of sitting in your inventory as unexplained gear.
