Burning Blood

Burning Blood is the Ironclad's starter relic, carried from the start of every run. The effect is simple — auto-heal 6 HP after each combat — but the cumulative healing over a full run is massive and steadily raises your survival rate.

The real selling point is cumulative healing. Across a typical run of 20–30 fights, you pick up 120–180 HP of free healing. That saves campfires for Smith upgrades, increasing the number of cards you can improve. It is the most dependable early resource for Ironclad and the foundation for stable early runs.

After beating the Act 1 boss, Black Blood (12 HP heal) becomes available as an upgrade. In most cases you should take it, but if another boss relic is exceptionally strong you can keep or swap Burning Blood. In low-HP builds like Red Skull the healing can even become excessive, yet the upgrade is recommended in the vast majority of situations.