I am late to discovery Melvor Idle. Only started a handful of months ago. I have a normal character I am trying to get to 100% completion, a combat only, and an Ancient Relics mode. I appreciate the diversification in strategies and challenges each gives. I tried Adventure mode and it didn't seem to differ the strategies from normal enough for me since you could grind combat skills to increase the level cap on low level monsters - it would just take a while but not a true block. The unlocking skills with GP just seemed like normal with an emphasis on making money in the beginning. I am probably missing something because I know many really enjoy that mode.
I created a new challenge to try out that I am excited for. I am sharing it here in case anyone else is looking for something new while waiting for Melvor Idle 2 to release.
The basic premise is that you play on Adventure mode, but like Ancient Relics, content is locked behind dungeon clears. Instead of it being level caps, it is which skill you get to unlock. I have no idea if this will immediately soft lock of be too harsh. You can earn re-rolls to hopefully avoid this. Below is the full write up. I had claude create a web app for me to make it easy to track. Let me know if you try it out and your thoughts. TBH, I do not get on reddit much though.
What it is
Relic Roulette is an Adventure mode run where every non-melee skill starts sealed, and clearing dungeons is the only way to unseal them. It borrows the Ancient Relics idea of gating progress behind first dungeon clears, then adds a random draw. You never choose which skill comes next, so no two runs open up the same way.
The tension comes from Adventure's escalating skill costs. You might be desperate for a GP skill and draw Firemaking instead. You can bank rerolls for moments like that, but you have to earn them.
What you need
You need the full version of Melvor Idle and a brand-new Adventure mode character. The run works with the base game alone or with Throne of the Herald and Atlas of Discovery added. Into the Abyss is supported too, but the run is built around the first three.
The Relic Roulette tracker handles the randomizer and the bookkeeping. Everyone who opens it gets their own separate run. Before your first draw, open its Setup tab and:
- Switch on only the expansions you own.
- Pick a draw style: pure random, or pick 1 of 2 or 3.
- Turn on any variants you want (see below).
No tracker? A spreadsheet and a random number generator work fine. Number the sealed skills, roll for one each time you earn a draw, and cross it off.
The rules
You may only buy a skill in the Adventure shop after it has been drawn.
- Always open: Attack, Strength, Defence and Hitpoints. Ranged, Magic, Prayer and Slayer follow Adventure's normal rules unless you play the sealed combat variant.
- Sealed: Woodcutting, Fishing, Firemaking, Cooking, Mining, Smithing, Thieving, Farming, Fletching, Crafting, Runecrafting, Herblore, Agility, Summoning, Astrology and Township. Atlas of Discovery adds Cartography and Archaeology.
- Buy in order: Drawn skills are bought in the order they came up. Saving GP is fine; skipping the queue isn't.
- No take-backs: Once a skill is unsealed, it's locked in, even if you haven't paid for it yet.
- Adventure's cap still applies: No non-combat skill can pass your combat level.
Earning draws and rerolls
Each first clear pays once; repeat clears earn nothing.
| Source |
Reward |
Notes |
| Start of the run |
1 draw |
Your opening skill |
| First clear of any dungeon |
1 draw |
17 in the base game, 7 more in Throne of the Herald, 5 in Atlas of Discovery |
| Stronghold, Standard tier |
1 reroll |
Undead, Magic, Dragons and Gods |
| Stronghold, Augmented tier |
1 reroll |
Same four strongholds |
| Stronghold, Superior tier |
1 draw |
Same four strongholds |
| Milestones |
1 reroll |
Your own goals, I am using: Buy your first skillcape, find your first pet, complete all Normal township tasks, unlock slayer gear upgrade kit (strong), and discover first AoD combat, slayer area or dunngeon in Cartography |
A draw unseals a new skill. A reroll is a token you save up and spend when a draw lands on something you don't want. It replaces the whole offer with a new one.
The base game has more dungeons than sealed skills, so everything unseals eventually. The real challenge is the order skills arrive in during the early and mid game.
How a draw works
In the tracker, a clear becomes a purchase in four steps:
- Beat a dungeon for the first time, then tick it on the Clears tab. A draw is now ready.
- On the Draw tab, tap Draw. One sealed skill comes up, or two or three if you play pick mode.
- If you don't like it, spend a reroll for a fresh offer. Otherwise tap Unseal to lock it in.
- The skill joins the Buy next queue. Buy it in the Adventure shop when you can afford it, then tap Mark bought.
The Skills tab shows what's still sealed. If your group plays a house rule that leaves something open, tap Start open to take it out of the draw. Undo on the latest draw is there for misclicks, not second thoughts.
Variants
All of these are switches in the tracker's Setup tab, and they mix freely.
- Pick 1 of 2 or 3: Each draw shows several sealed skills. You keep one and the rest go back in the pool, so the run plays like a roguelike draft.
- Sealed combat skills: Ranged, Magic, Prayer and Slayer join the pool. Melee stays open. The God dungeons become a real gamble.
- Sealed features: Auto Eat Tiers II and III (drawn in order), potions in combat and familiars in combat must be drawn before you use them. Auto Eat Tier I stays open. You can add your own features too.
- Level cap ladder: A second, Ancient Relics style cap on non-combat skills. It starts at 10 and rises 5 per dungeon cleared, up to 99 (120 with Throne of the Herald). Both numbers are adjustable.
- Abyssal phase: For Into the Abyss owners. Abyssal clears earn abyssal draws, and each skill's Abyssal levels stay sealed until drawn.
- Tuning: Change the number of free draws at the start (0 to 5) and what each stronghold tier pays.