Megabonk is a 3D survival game where your weapons attack on their own while you fight your way through randomly built maps. Tomes are upgrade items that boost your stats or improve your weapons, and they're one of the main ways to shape how your character plays. Rather than bringing them into a run, you pick them from level-up offers as you play, and they fill a limited number of Tome slots, so each choice matters. Knowing what each one does, and how to unlock the locked ones, helps you make those picks well.
Availability
Default
Agility Tome
Move faster to dodge, kite enemies, and cross the stage.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +15% Movement Speed per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Movement speed helps kiting and positioning with any weapon; it adds no damage directly.
Cooldown Tome
Attack more often with every weapon you hold.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +7.5% Attack Speed per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Raises attack frequency across eligible weapons; particularly useful with Revolver, Lightning Staff, Katana, Bow, Shotgun, and Firestaff, plus on-hit effects.
Damage Tome
Raise damage across your weapons with a flat multiplier.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +0.08× Damage multiplier per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Benefits every weapon; pairs well with Cooldown and Precision, while Quantity adds more attacks for compatible weapons.
Evasion Tome
Gain a chance to avoid incoming attacks entirely.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +10% Evasion per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; fits defensive and low-HP builds that need a chance to avoid attacks.
Golden Tome
Earn more Gold from sources during a run.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +12% Gold Gain per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; supports shop purchases and economy runs.
Health Tome
Add max HP as a larger buffer against damage.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +25 Max HP per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; supports tank and HP-scaling builds.
Knockback Tome
Push enemies away to create breathing room.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +20% Knockback per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Useful for crowd control on attacks that use Knockback; reaching Level 10 unlocks Black Hole.
Precision Tome
Raise crit chance, with excess crit chance feeding Overcrit.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +7% Crit Chance per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Benefits all weapons; high-hit-rate or multi-projectile attacks get more critical-hit rolls, and Damage boosts the value of each crit.
Projectile Speed Tome
Make your weapon projectiles travel faster.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +15% Projectile Speed per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Most useful for travelling projectiles such as Bow, Firestaff, Bananarang, Wireless Dagger, Tornado, and Dice.
Regen Tome
Recover health over time without relying on hits.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +40 HP Regen per minute per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; supplies passive sustain for longer runs.
Shield Tome
Absorb damage with a shield that recharges after you stop taking damage.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +25 Shield per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; fits Aegis and other shield-focused builds.
Silver Tome
Earn more Silver for permanent unlocks between runs.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +12% Silver Gain per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; improves Silver earned toward permanent unlocks between runs.
Size Tome
Make attacks and projectiles cover more area.
- Availability
- Default
- Effect per Level
- +10% Size per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Available from the start.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Useful with attacks whose hitboxes or area can grow, including Aura, swords, and area attacks.
Availability
Unlockable
Armor Tome
Take less incoming damage through higher Armor.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- +12% Armor per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Kill 5,000 enemies as Sir Oofie.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; supports tank and damage-mitigation builds.
Attraction Tome
Pick up XP gems from farther away.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- +75% Pickup Range per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Use the Shrine of Succ 8 times.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; extra pickup range helps XP farming and builds that spend less time moving through XP gems.
Bloody Tome
Heal from hits when Lifesteal procs, especially with rapid attacks.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- +10% Lifesteal per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Kill 12,500 enemies.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- High-hit-rate weapons trigger more Lifesteal checks; examples include Lightning Staff, Dragon's Breath, Aura, Poison Flask, Sword, and Black Hole.
Chaos Tome
Gain an unpredictable boost to one eligible stat per level.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- One random eligible stat boost per Tome level; the resulting value depends on the stat and upgrade rarity.
- Unlock Requirement
- Charge every Charge Shrine across all 3 stages of one Tier 3 run without leaving a shrine's charge zone.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Works as a flex pick when many random stats help the build; a dedicated stat Tome is safer when a weapon needs a specific breakpoint.
Cursed Tome
Raise enemy pressure and spawn density; take it when your build can handle the added threat.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- +3.5% Difficulty per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Beat a Stage Boss in under 5 minutes.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- More enemy density can help crowd-clearing builds and create more Lifesteal opportunities with Bloody Tome, but raises risk for slow or fragile setups.
Duration Tome
Keep lingering attacks and effects active longer.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- +15% Duration per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Upgrade Axe to Level 10.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Strong with lingering attacks: Axe, Bananarang, Poison Flask, Flamewalker, Aura, Tornado, Mines, and Black Hole.
Luck Tome
Improve reward rarity without guaranteeing top-tier offers.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- +8% Luck per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- The Tome has a 0.01% chance to drop when you kill an enemy.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; better reward rarity can improve the weapon and Tome upgrades offered during a run.
Quantity Tome
Add projectiles to attacks that support projectile count.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- +1 Projectile per Tome level for compatible attacks.
- Unlock Requirement
- Fire 5,000 projectiles.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Useful for projectile weapons such as Bow, Revolver, Lightning Staff, Shotgun, Bananarang, and Sniper Rifle; it does not add projectiles to Aura, Frostwalker, or Dragon's Breath.
Thorns Tome
Damage enemies when they hit you.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- +15 Thorns per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Block 250 attacks with Aegis.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- Fits defensive and retaliation builds; enemies that hit you take Thorns damage.
XP Tome
Gain more XP to reach new upgrades sooner.
- Availability
- Unlockable
- Effect per Level
- +7% XP Gain per Tome level.
- Unlock Requirement
- Break 20 pots in one run.
- Useful Weapon Synergies
- No direct weapon modifier; XP helps any setup reach weapon and Tome upgrades sooner.
What Are Tomes in Megabonk?
Tomes are upgrade items that change one part of your character or your attacks. Each has its own effect, such as faster movement, more damage, or better odds when you level up. Many of them apply across every weapon you carry, so a well-chosen Tome can help almost any build.
Some Tomes are simple, steady upgrades, while others trade safety for power. That means the way you use them matters as much as which ones you have.
How Tomes Work in a Run
Each Tome you pick fills one of your limited Tome slots, then levels up each time you pick it again. Once a Tome is in one of your slots, it keeps working for the rest of the run without any input from you. Some Tomes, like the Chaos Tome, add a random stat boost each time they gain a level.
How to Unlock Tomes in Megabonk
Not every Tome is open from the start. Each locked one opens once you finish its challenge, and those challenges vary a lot.
Some are simple totals, like the Armor Tome's 5,000 kills while playing as Sir Oofie, and that count carries over between runs, so you can work toward it over several games. Others depend on luck or precise play, such as the Luck Tome, which needs a very rare enemy drop with about a 0.01% chance, or the XP Tome, which needs you to break 20 pots in a single run.
Which Tomes Are Best in Megabonk?
XP and Luck come up most often as the strongest picks. XP raises the experience you earn, and Luck improves the quality of level-up choices and shrine rewards, so together they help you grow faster and pick better upgrades. Damage, Quantity and Cooldown come next, and they're the group to look at if your build relies on raw output.
Knockback and Evasion are more situational. Knockback pushes enemies back harder, which helps in melee builds against bosses, while Evasion helps you dodge attacks from large enemies and bosses.
Cursed and Chaos split opinion. Cursed makes enemies spawn faster, have more health and move quicker, but it also boosts XP and loot, so it's a high-risk, high-reward pick. Chaos is less predictable because its level-up bonus is random, which some players like and others avoid.
Since the right pick depends on your character and weapons, treat these as a starting point and choose the Tomes that fit what you're already doing.
FAQ
How many Tome slots do you start with, and how do you get more?
You start with a couple of Tome slots, and you can unlock more through quests and the shop.
How do you unlock the Chaos Tome?
Complete a Tier 3 run where you fully charge every Charge Shrine across all three stages without leaving any shrine circle, and the Chaos Tome opens for you.
Which Tome should a new player pick first?
The Health Tome is a solid pick for beginners because it raises your maximum HP. Shield is another good option, since it absorbs damage before your HP drops and recharges after a stretch without being hit.
Do Tome levels unlock anything else?
Yes, a few items need a Tome at a set level. Battery needs the Cooldown Tome at Level 5, Turbo Socks needs Agility at Level 5, and Echo Shard needs XP at Level 8. Cursed Grabbies require the Cursed Tome at Level 10, and Turbo Skates needs both Cooldown and Agility at Level 5 within the same run.