Universal Tower Defense Relic Guide, How Relics Work and How to Build Units!

Relics play a huge role in Universal Tower Defense, especially once you start pushing harder stages and higher difficulty content. Many players struggle not because their units are weak, but because their relic setup is wrong. Also check out our Universal Tower Defense Codes & Tier List for more rewards!

This guide breaks down how relics work, where to farm them, and how to match the right relics with the right units so you can get the most damage possible without wasting time or gold. If you understand relics early, your progress will feel much smoother.

What Are Relics in Universal Tower Defense?

Relics are equipment items that can be attached to your units to boost their stats. These stats include damage, critical rate, critical damage, range, elemental damage, and even damage over time.

Each relic belongs to a specific set. When you equip multiple relics from the same set, you unlock a set bonus, such as extra damage or elemental boosts. This makes relic synergy very important. Higher rarity relics are stronger because they can be upgraded to higher levels and roll better stats.

Relic Rarity and Level Difference

Relics come in different rarities like Epic, Legendary, and Mythic. Mythic relics:

• Have higher max levels
• Provide stronger base stats
• Scale better when upgraded

However, rarity is not everything. A Legendary relic with the right stats can outperform a Mythic relic with bad rolls. For example, damage over time units benefit more from DOT stats than raw damage alone.

Best Way to Farm Relics

The most efficient relic farming method is through Story Mode.

Nightmare Mode (1000% Difficulty)

• Go to Multiverse Story
• Select Nightmare at 1000% difficulty
• You get a 50% chance to drop 1–6 Mythic relics
• Also rewards a solid amount of gems

Different story locations drop different relic sets:

• Marine Base drops Luffy-related relics
• Hollowed areas drop Jin and Kisuke-related relics
• Each stage targets specific sets, so farm based on what you need

How to Get Headpiece Relics

Headpiece relics can only be obtained from the Virtual Realm. This mode is harder and often ignored early on, but it’s important for completing full relic sets. Headpieces usually belong to the same sets as story relics, giving extra bonuses when equipped together. Completing Virtual Realm later is recommended once your main unit is strong enough.

Best Relic Sets for Different Unit Types

Elemental Units

Use relics that boost their element:

• Wind units benefit from Ninja-style sets with wind damage bonus
• Fire units perform best with fire damage and DOT relics
• Ice units should prioritize ice damage bonuses

Critical-Based Units

Units that scale with critical hits should use:

• Relics with critical rate and critical damage
• Sets that boost crit stats work extremely well here

Damage Over Time Units

DOT units need:

• Damage over time main stats
• Fire damage bonuses if applicable
• Extra damage is useful, but DOT is the priority

Enhancing Relics and Gold Cost

Upgrading relics costs a lot of gold, and upgrades can fail.

Important things to remember:

• Failed upgrades waste gold
• Each level adds random stat increases
• High-level upgrades get very expensive fast

Because of this, avoid upgrading bad relics. Only invest in relics with strong main stats and useful sub stats.

Best Unit to Invest Relics On

If you’re unsure where to start, Astral Ace is the safest choice.

Reasons why Astral Ace is worth building:

• Easy to obtain compared to ruler units
• Extremely strong damage and scaling
• Works well with fire, DOT, and damage relics
• Performs well even with average relic rolls

With the right relic setup, Astral Ace can compete with much rarer units.

All Relic Information Guide:

There are six relic sets in total, divided across three stages. Each set has a Head bonus and a Body & Leg bonus. Mixing and matching can work, but full sets give extra value.

Ninja Forest Relic Sets (Naruto Theme)

Junior Ninja Set

• Head Bonus: All buffs are increased by 1.1x
• Body & Leg Bonus: +5% Base Damage and +10% Wind Damage
• This set is great for early to mid-game units that rely heavily on buff effects.

Master Ninja Set

• Head Bonus: After every 5 attacks, DoT damage increases by 20% for 10 seconds
• Body & Leg Bonus: +5 Base Damage and +10% Dark, Rose, and Fire Damage
• A solid choice for damage-over-time units and elemental builds.

Marine Base Relic Sets (One Piece Theme)

Sun God Set

• Head Bonus: Every 6 attacks grants a damage buff based on unit range for 7 seconds (1% damage per 1 Range)
• Body & Leg Bonus: +5 Base Damage and +10% Light, Water, and Ice Damage
• This set scales extremely well with high-range units.

Laughing Captain Set

• Head Bonus: -10% Active Ability Cooldown
• Body & Leg Bonus: +5 Base Damage, -5% Attack Cooldown, and +5% Range
• Best for units that rely on skills and frequent attacks.

Hollowed Moon Relic Sets (Bleach Theme)

Berserk Shingami I Set

• Head Bonus: Every 6th attack deals 20% bonus True Damage that ignores resistance
• Body & Leg Bonus: +5 Base Damage and +15% Armor Damage
• Very strong against tanky enemies and high-resistance waves.

Ex-Captain Uraharo Set

• Head Bonus: Refunds 5% of Yen spent when upgrading the unit
• Body & Leg Bonus: +10 Critical Rate and +25% Critical Damage
• A top-tier set for long runs and expensive late-game upgrades.

Relics may look confusing at first, but once you understand sets, stats, and unit synergy, they become one of the most powerful systems in Universal Tower Defense. Focus on farming Nightmare story stages, match relic stats with your unit’s strengths, and don’t rush upgrades. Building one strong unit with proper relics is always better than spreading resources too thin. Master relics, and the rest of the game becomes much easier.