Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate adds some serious firepower to the classic game of chess. The Royal Shotgun doesn't make you invincible, though; each time you clear a board, the enemy army gets stronger. The good news is you'll also receive an upgrade.
From extra ammo to special abilities, choosing the right upgrade cards can make all the difference when it comes to completing a run. You're never guaranteed to see any particular card, and some are much rarer than others. If you see one of these top-quality cards between levels, it's almost always worth taking - just beware of the enemy upgrade that's offered alongside it!
10 Crow's Blessing
This simple upgrade gives the Royal Shotgun an extra two spaces of effective range. This can allow you to start shooting earlier in a level, without having to move into the threat range of the enemy Knights. It also opens up the possibility of picking off the enemy King or a threatening piece from a distance if you're cornered.
When blasting the Pawn line from afar, remember to keep in mind which pieces are behind them. The last thing you want is to remove a Pawn on🦹ly to open the path for a Rook to take you out!
9 Elite Gem
Stat boosts may not be fancy, but they're undeniably useful. There's a lot to be said for using the same strategy, only better. The Elite Gem lets you refill your ammo faster, and gives you an extra space of range.
Levels that run long can result in a strain on your ammo res♐erves, and having the Elite Gem in your inventory goes a long way toward preventing tha𒊎t.
8 ⛎ Rightful Curtsy
This excellent upgrade gives your shots a fifty percent chance of pushing hit pieces back one space. It can be used to move enemies out of position and give y🎀our King more breathinཧg room.
Best of all, if you have two copies, their🐽 bonuses stack, giving you a guaranteed knockback with every shot!
7 Moat
Taking this upgrade puts a Moat across the middle of the board, forcing any non-Knight pieces to stop when they enter it. Whether you're facing down a legion of Pawns or an elite force of Rooks and Bishops, the Moat will buy you extra time to clear the field before going after the enemy King.
Be warned that the Moat works both ways - you'll also have to stop when you enter the Moat if you're using a soul to copy another piece's movement!
If you complete a run with the Moat and two copies of Rightful Curtsy in your inventory, you'll earn the Boundaries Achievement!
6 Courteous Jousting ജ ✃
On most levels, the first pieces you'll have to face are usually Knights. If you have Courteous Jousting, that can work in your favor. Not only does this card reduce your fire arc, allowing for more accurate shots, but it also gives you an extra turn each time you destroy a Knight.
If you take Courteous Jousting, be on the lookout for the Cavalry enemy upgrade. It spawns Knights in the corner of⛄ the board on turn twenty, giving you late-game tar💃gets to earn bonus turns.
5 ℱ 💛 Small Fry Harvest
On most runs there will be꧂ a lot of Pawns on the board. With Small Fry Harvest, you can turn their numbers to your advantage.
This upgrade restores one shotgun shell for every Pawn you destroy. It can be useful to leave a few on the board to blast in the mid-to-late game, but don't let them reach your board edge or they'll upgrade to more powerful pieces.
4 ♏ Kingly Alms🐻
This relatively rare upgrade lets you spend two loaded shells to toss a grenade onto the board. It will bounce around before exploding, so it's not exactly a precision weapon, but it deals massive damage to any pieces caught in its blast.
Be sure to throw the grenade from a safe distance - if the explosion hits your piece it's game over.
3 🌼 Majestic Censer
The extra ammo capacity granted by the Majestic Censer is nice, but its real strength is in the additional soul slot it grants. Being able to store two souls rather than one vastly expands your movement options, making it much harder for the enemy pieces to force a𒀰 checkmate.
If you also have Gradual Absolution, which increases your firepower for each empty soul slot you have, rapidly claiming꧟ and spending souls can make you an unpredictꦰable terror of the chessboard!
2 🐼 ꦕ Subtle Poison
Subtle Poison is a rare card that can make a🍰 run much, much easier. It reduces the HP of all Kings and Queens by one, making them easier to take down. Better yeℱt, for the first fifteen turns of a level, Queens are restricted to moving like Kings.
Subtle Poison is a great card to take alongside the King's Mistress enemy upgrade, since having two weak Queens on the board means you can easily harvest their souls. 🎀Just be sure to take them out before the poison wears off!
1 Black Mist 🥂
Far and away the best upgrade card in the game, Black Mist should be taken whenever it appears, especially on higher difficulties. Each copy of Black Mist in your inventory gives you an extra life on each floor, saving you from checkmate.
If your piece is captured while you have a Black Mist available, you'll teleport to a new space nearby. Use the new position and any souls you have to get to a safe position and plot your revenge.