(Previously detailed on the The Brave achievement page, and actually documented previouslyer on the GameFAQs board if you check the Wayback Machine)

Demonstration

First, you must have an unequipped sword or shield in your inventory with usable items (Scrolls, Herbs, Seeds) ahead of it. During an encounter with a Yakuza or Scam Buddha, when you use one of those items on the same turn that they happen to steal that unequipped item your inventory will update before your item use, which means you'll end up "consuming" the item that was directly under the item you picked. You still get the effects of the item you picked, and you keep the item you went to use but did not actually consume. If the "consumed" item was another item, that item will be gone, but if it was a currently equipped sword or shield, you will keep the stats of that sword or shield despite it now being removed from your inventory. For example,

1. • Use a Good Herb that is directly above your equipped Metal Bat
2. • Yakuza steals a Bronze Sword earlier in your inventory
3. • You will "consume" the Metal Bat while keeping the Good Herb untouched
4. • You will still do Metal Bat damage while not actually having one in your inventory anymore

• The textbox will say you used the item you end up losing, or in the case of you using the last item in the inventory, "playername used the (null)!". With the (null)'d item, you can't select the last item slot at all until you get a new item, but nothing special seems to happen with that item afterwards. So no infinite herb glitch at this moment

You can free up a space in your inventory this way and fill it up with no side effects. Once you equip a new sword or shield things will return to normal; there's no secret weapon-stacking move at least for now

Most importantly.... it does mean the Drop All Brave title is technically possible....
As shown here!
I had an Iceman's Sword stolen in the 70s earlier in the run and discarded all other equipment; this title will not unlock if there is any piece of equipment in your inventory, equipped or not - usable items only.

(Cheebala was a nickname I gave my dog Archie. He passed away a few weeks after finishing this guide, on 10/21/2026. Here he is with some Great Herbs

I love you arChee balaRchie ♥)

HP - 5

EXP - 5

Critical - 5

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Herb, Good Herb
EQUIPMENT - Veneer Shield

HP - 7

EXP - 10

Critical - 7

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Herb, Good Herb(? yep he's already forgotten)
EQUIPMENT - Club

HP - 10

EXP - 20

Critical - 11

• w/ Club: can still take 3 hits before reaching level 4 (floor 6)

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Herb, Antidote Herb, Sleep Scroll

HP - 8

EXP - 31

Critical - 9

• w/ or w/o Club: can one-shot after level 4 (floor 6)

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Herb, Antidote Herb
EQUIPMENT - Veneer Shield

Thing #5: I had the thought that you will always be outsped by the Shaolin boss if the first Stone outspeeds you (which happens on a second concurrent attempt without leaving the minigame, for some reason), regardless of how far you get ahead in the exp route, but it was not the case the one time after I thought of it; I would still assume Shaolin will outspeed you on such runs, as I think there is some credence to outspeeding him on runs where you outspeed the first guy

Sleep Scroll can help against many things early on: Bald CEO, the occasionally faster Shaolin boss, even the rare Herb-less B Buddha

As the neoseeker guide says, it is better to fight only Bronzes on floors 2 - 4, and you will level up early on floor 9 by only fighting Vipers. You can fight Golds though, as many as you like, as the exp route will level out by floor 15. There are a lot of detours that level ups can take however; for more details, please refer to the Exp Notes

• 2 Vipers, or 1 Gold + 1 Viper before floor 7 - level 4 on floor 6
• 2 Golds before floor 7 - level 4 on floor 7
• Vipers only - level 5 on floor 9
• 1 - 4 Golds - level 5 & 6 on floors 10 & 11
• 5 Golds - level 5 & 6 on floors 10 & 12
  (All routes will even out by floor 15)

If you kill 3 or more Golds, you should not kill a single Barmaid after reaching level 10 (floor 23) or you will delay the next few level ups by a floor until 37

Exp Notes Note: There are a few certain spots where being a higher level will let you outspeed those floors' enemies when you really want to; those being the levels listed with more than one floor listed. Otherwise it's a lot of cross-referencing numbers where I got a rare Buddha or two that pushes the floors back.... they're more in depth in the The Brave achievement page

HP - 15

EXP - 126

Critical - 14

• w/ or w/o weapon: can take two hits after level 6
• Can charge up for as much as 16 damage

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Herb, Good Herb, Scroll of Attack
EQUIPMENT - Bronze Sword

HP - 13

EXP - 126

Critical - 11

• w/ Club or Bronze Sword: can one-shot after level 7 (floor 15)

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Herb, Fire Scroll
EQUIPMENT - Plastic Shield

If you've killed >1 Gold: I would run from a floor 12 Gal unless you have a Club to two-shot them, as you might get stuck in an Herb + Fire Scroll loop

Once you're at level 6 & 42 HP you can safely Good Herb and tank a few Fires. At 20 HP & under I would run from Gals to more safely heal during B Buddhas - or even tank a hit from him and heal up afterwards - as you may keep more Herbs that way (rember the loop). You should never fail to run from a Gal, but B Buddha can prevent you; both can rarely ambush you

Bronze Sword is not worth going for as it will not two-shot anyone early on in the 20s

Fire Scrolls are high value; if you're low on Herbs I wouldn't fault you for using it on even the Ruby boss. They are not always necessary to use on the Guard boss in case you find a Scroll of Attack along the way

• Level 6 on floor 11
• Level 7 on floor 15

HP - 28

EXP - 420

Critical - 24

• w/ Bronze Sword: can two-shot after level 9 (floor 23)
• w/ Metal Bat: will two-shot before level 9 (floor 23)

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Scroll of Attack
EQUIPMENT - Metal Bat

HP - 28

EXP - 420

Critical - 20

• w/ Bronze Sword: can two-shot after level 9 (floor 23)
• w/ Metal Bat: will two-shot before level 9 (floor 23)

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb(?), Great Herb, Life Seed, Scroll of Attack(?)
EQUIPMENT - Bronze Sword

HP - 20

EXP - 273

Critical - 15

• w/ Ceramic Sword: will(?) be one-shot

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Blind Scroll, Experience Seed

HP - 4

EXP - 6,300

Critical - unsure

• ^ Fire Scroll me ^

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb
EQUIPMENT - Ceramic Sword

HP - ~100

EXP - 924

Critical - 30

• Takes way too many hits and is not worth it other than for super rare Scroll (which sucks)

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb(?), Double-Up Scroll (sucks)
EQUIPMENT - Ceramic Sword

Ruby boss will always be outsped, but future Rubys will outspeed you until level 10 (floor 28).

With a Fire Scroll it's worth running on floor 21 until you find Mt. Poop. Anyone can ambush you like always, but only Ruby can sometimes prevent you from running; however it's not necessarily worth using all resources healing during a Ruby to keep running, and if you get a Metal Bat from the boss I would not bother Pooping.
Mt. Poop is much more valuable & easier to deal with than Bald CEO - running from you aside - as you will gain 3 level ups; you will coalesce with the normal exp route at floor 37 (depending on Golds or Barmaids?). It can be killed with a crit, but regardless of weapon and even with a Scroll of Attack you will only ever do 1 damage normally.
Bald CEO at this point requires a Scroll of Attack & several Herbs, and will only accelerate the next two level ups by a floor or two. It can drop a Double-Up Scroll which will double your earnings on that floor when used, but who cares. (Scroll Trivia: I had the courage to save one until the final boss for a beefy $40; see: my epic $103 leaderboard run)

• Both drop Ceramic Sword which is the strongest weapon until Accurate / Crowbar

Experience Seed will allow you to outspeed Ruby sooner after level 9 (floor 23)

• Seed Trivia: you will not outspeed a faster enemy if you use the Seed during a fight with them

Scrolls of Attack are fine to use to kill Rubys & Big Hairs in one less turn if you don't have a weapon / have a Bronze Sword

If you've killed only Vipers: 2 Barmaids are fine to kill; one will not delay reaching level 9 (floor 23), but one more after floor 23 will delay level 10 to floor 29. The route will even out on floor 32

-> Conflicting Evidence Alert <- (it's hard to keep track of any of this or remember which one is true. I assume the bottom one is correct)
If you've killed any Golds: 1 Barmaid before floor 23 will delay level 9 to floor 24, but will even out at floor 28; 1 Barmaid after level 9 (floor 23) will delay level 10 to floor 29. The route will even out on floor 32
4 Golds + 1 Barmaid after reaching level 9 (floor 23): normal level up at 28

• A level up on floor 29 will sometimes make the Guard boss outspeed you !!

4 Barmaids (regardless of Viper count?) will delay level ups all the way to floor 49 and then I died while testing. In-game

tl;dr

• Level 8 on floor 20
• Level 9 on floor 23/24
• Level 10 on floor 28/29

HP - 30

EXP - 840

Critical - 36

• w/ Metal Bat: can be three-shot after level 11 (floor 32)
• w/ Ceramic Sword: will be two-shot

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Guard Scroll. This is the only enemy that does not drop any sort of Herb
EQUIPMENT - Plastic Shield, Iron Shield

HP - 34

EXP - 840

Critical - 40

• w/ Metal Bat: will be two-shot after level 11 (floor 32)

• w/ Bronze Sword + Scroll of Attack: can one-shot early on

• Can charge up for as much as 39 damage

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Scroll of Attack(?)
EQUIPMENT - Metal Bat

HP - essentially 1

EXP - 840

Critical - 20

• can never run away from?
• will always outspeed you (unless you have perfect exp route + two Poops??)

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Blind Scroll, Sleep Scroll

EQUIPMENT - Plastic Shield

Not much to say about these floors. If you get a Metal Bat I would just fight everyone, unless your Herbs are low

This may be the last set of floors you can get a Blind Scroll, which helps out a lot on the Graffiti boss; excess are safe to use during the 40s
Same with Attack Scrolls - they can save you a turn on Spring fights if you have a Metal Bat, though they are helpful against Warriors too

• Level 11 on floor 32
• Level 12 on floor 37

HP - 32

EXP - 1,260

Critical - 35

• w/o a weapon: will take three hits....

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Scroll of Attack(?)
EQUIPMENT - Accurate Sword

HP - 36

EXP - 1,260

Critical - 40

• w/o a weapon: will take three hits too....
• w/ Bronze Sword: probably takes three hits

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb(?), Antidote Herb, Blind Scroll, Sleep Scroll
EQUIPMENT - Antidote Shield

HP - 45

EXP - 1,260

Critical - 44

• w/ or w/o a weapon: will take three hits
• w/ Metal Bat: will take two hits after level 14 (floor 48)
• w/ Metal Bat & Scroll of Attack: will one-shot
• w/ Ceramic Sword: will two-shot

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Blind Scroll(?), Sleep Scroll

Shaolin boss sometimes outspeeds, even on a magical run that gets here at level 13. Why is anyone's guess

Bio is not worth fighting and strangely hard to run from, though it has low accuracy and can be two-shot with a Metal Bat. Antidote Shield is nice and all, but soon Barmaid 2 can drop a Magical Shield, and anyway it doesn't even prevent poison -_- (BuddhaFace no space)

Accurate Sword trivializes the next oh 30 floors (and is helpful against Nanos if you can hold onto it that long), but in my experience it has a lower drop rate than the Iceman's later on, and since you'll run into Sapphire soon you might as well commit to purposefully getting a Crowbar instead

Shaolin & Spring will outspeed you until level 13 (floor 42). They can be Herb hogs

*Level 13 on floor 42
*Level 14 on floor 48

HP - 30

EXP - 2,184

Critical - 35 *w/ Crowbar/Accurate Sword: will be one-shot after level 15 (floor 53)

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Hell Fire Scroll
EQUIPMENT - Magical Shield

HP - 60

EXP - 2,184

Critical - 40 definitely, though I swear I took a 35 before

• w/ Crowbar/Accurate Sword: can be two-shot after level 15 (floor 53)?
• takes one Hell Fire Scroll

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Sleep Scroll
EQUIPMENT - Anticrime Shield

HP - 42~

EXP - 2,184

Critical - 51

• w/ a Bronze Sword: takes three hits I'm pretty sure. Definitely when unarmed

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Scroll of Attack(?)
EQUIPMENT - Crowbar

HP - 37 - 47

EXP - 2,184

Critical - 35

• w/ a Bronze Sword: takes three hits I'm pretty sure. Definitely when unarmed

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb, Life Seed

Sapphires will always outspeed you unless you find enough rare Buddhas to reach level 16 partway through. Crowbar is high value through to the 80s however - with a Metal Bat, Graffitis & Shaolin 2s will take an extra hit - so you'll have to hope he's nice

Barmaid 2s can put you to Sleep & Hell Fire you twice if not thrice. You'll either have to hope she won't do that, that you kept a Fire Scroll with you this whole time, or just Sleep her. I would run from her until you get a Crowbar after level 15 (floor 53) or can ambush her; she will not prevent you but can ambush you herself
Magical Shield will cut her Scrolls in half; the only other enemy this will work on is the final boss, as this only affects Scrolls and not spells

Yakuza drop Sleep so you can Sleep them to get another sometimes. Recall the Yakuza / Scam steal exploit from earlier

• Level 14 on floor 53
• Level 15 on floor 59

HP - 64 - 67

EXP - 3,528

Critical - 55

• w/ Metal Bat: will be three-shot
• w/ Stainless Sword: can be two-shot

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb, Hell Fire Scroll
EQUIPMENT - Dragon Shield

HP - 70~

EXP - 3,528

Critical - 50

• w/ Metal Bat: takes 5 unguarded hits
• w/ Crowbar/Accurate Sword: takes 4 unguarded hits
• w/ Stainless Sword: takes 3 unguarded hits
• w/ I assume Metal Bat at least + Scroll of Attack: takes 2 unguarded hits

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb
EQUIPMENT - Iron Shield, Magical Shield

HP - 37 - 47

EXP - 2,184 !!

Critical - 35

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb, Life Seed

HP - 165 - 204; I'd guess around 180

EXP - 5,544

Critical - 60

• w/ basically any weapon: something like 8+ hits

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb(?), Double-Up Scroll
EQUIPMENT - Stainless Sword

HP - 4

EXP - 18,648

Critical - unsure

• Fire Scroll enough? Hell Fire definitely

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb(?)
EQUIPMENT - Blessing Shield

First big wall (no not the Buddha - he's later! :p ). If you have made it this far without a weapon.... I'd just reset man. it happens

Worth Sleeping Punk boss as he can outspeed. Dragon Shield will cut his spells in half (13); will also cut Tuna's & the final boss' spells in half. Note: spells and not Scrolls~

Worth fighting the Tech CEO as he can drop an early Stainless Sword, but soft-requires a Blind or Attack Scroll

Compost Buddha can drop a Blessing Shield which will heal you 5 HP points every action, even running away, and I think it may share the Demon Shield's defense value. Perhaps the most helpful item one can get, but requires a Fire Scroll from a long time ago, and, as always, nothing is guaranteed in Buddha's Quest

I grew acclimated to just facetanking Warrior with Crowbar, despite how uncommon it is to run from him and that he will always outspeed you unless you have a mystical early level 18 run. If sub-Crowbar then Scrolls of Attack are wiser, as Shaolin 2s will not be two-shot with a Scroll + Metal Bat
Hell Fire Scrolls are a last ditch usage in my mind, since he can guard to cut its damage in half, and they can be used to one-shot Shaolin 2s soon, or at best two-shot Scams

Assuming you have had no floor deviations you will hopefully reach level 18 on floor 70, allowing you to outspeed Shaolin 2s safely
Otherwise, Family's low exp here can push you as far back as floor 72 before leveling up:

• 3 Family - level 18 on floor 71 (this can potentially be as low as 1 Family if you went the Gold + Barmaid route. How specific however.... I cannot say)

• 4 Family - level 18 on floor 72 likely regardless

• Level 17 on floor 65

HP - >112, <129

EXP - 4,872

Critical - 70

• w/ Metal Bat: takes 5 hits
• w/ Crowbar: takes 4 hits
• w/ Stainless Sword: takes 3 hits
• w/ Crowbar at least? + Scroll of Attack: takes 2 hits

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb, Guard Scroll, Return Scroll

HP - 60

EXP - 4,872

Critical - 60

• w/ Crowbar / Accurate Sword + Scroll of Attack: will be one-shot
• w/ Stainless Sword: will be two-shot
• takes one Hell Fire Scroll

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb, Scroll of Attack
EQUIPMENT - Iceman's Sword

HP - 90~

EXP - 5,544 !!

Critical - 63

• w/ Iceman's Sword (without crits): takes three hits
• w/ whatever can do 30 damage + 1 Hell Fire Scroll: he dead

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb
EQUIPMENT - Stainless Sword

Graffiti boss can outspeed you, nonsensically
Future ones will always be outsped, and can be run from 94/95 times, but can 2/97 times ambush you. I think it's worth fighting them if you surprise them

Iceman's Sword is secretly the best weapon in the game and will save many of your runs, or perhaps doom them to yet another dice roll gone awry. It has the Shaolins' crit rate, though its normal hits are a little less than Stainless (e.g. 28ish vs. mid-30s against Holy Moly Buddhas). Very high value
If obtained, it lowers the need for Scrolls of Attack later, especially for the final boss. So if you don't get any, don't worry
If it's unable to get, Stainless will help a lot against a few of the remaining hassles. Any sword above that is nice and all but more of a nice bonus

While Scam does give more exp here, I did not actively notice any shift in earlier level ups from fighting them (usually at max 2 fights)

• Level 18 on floor 70 - 72
• Level 19 on floor 75

HP - >97

EXP - 6,216

Critical - 70

• w/ Iceman's Sword (without crits): takes 3 hits; might work with Crowbar?

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb, Sleep Scroll
EQUIPMENT - Demon Shield

HP - essentially 1

EXP - 6,216

Critical - 50

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb, Blind Scroll
EQUIPMENT - Demon's Rod

HP - 90~

EXP - 5,544 !!

Critical - 63

• w/ Demon's Rod?: takes three hits

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Good Herb
EQUIPMENT - Stainless Sword

Gigantic drops Sleep Scrolls and you could really use them soon. He can randomly outspeed you as well~
I would always go for the final hit instead of the safety heal, within reason ofc. He will always tank an Iceman crit (96 damage at level 21?)
This is purely anecdotal but I feel the Demon Shield lowers the enemies' crit chance. I had at least two runs through the ending without being crit, but then again I had several Shield-less runs do the same. See how much this game makes one doubt himself?

Scam is not worth fighting at this point, and there is no way to outspeed him or the Yakuza from earlier, nor Yakuza's dog(?)

Nano has Micro's qualities: always outspeeds, can't run from I'm pretty sure. Remember to heal past Gigantic's 70

Blind Scrolls can secretly be very helpful for the final 10 floors: Big Wall hates them, Holy Moly can be largely prevented, and it can be pivotal for the final boss
Also at this point, Gigantic, Holy Moly, and Tuna all have too few HP to warrant using a Scroll of Attack on them vs. just attacking them three times with a Stainless. Save one for the final boss, who you should absolutely be sure to heal up before

• Level 20 on floor 81
• Level 21 on floor 87

HP - 90~

EXP - 8,232

Critical - 95

• w/ Stainless Sword: takes 3 hits

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb(?), Scroll of Attack
EQUIPMENT - Buddha Slayer

HP - <98

EXP - 7,560

Critical - 90

• w/ Stainless Sword: takes 3 hits; might work with Crowbar?

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb, Hell Fire Scroll
EQUIPMENT - Dragon Shield

HP - 160~

EXP - 7,560

Critical - 90

• w/ Stainless Sword: should take 4 hits
• w/ Stainless Sword + Scroll of Attack: should take 3 hits
• w/ Demon's Rod / Buddha Slayer + Scroll of Attack: 2?

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb
EQUIPMENT - Buddha Shield

HP - 76~

EXP - 7,560

Critical - 80

• w/ Iceman's Sword: takes 3 hits....
• w/ Stainless Sword: should take 2 hits

~ ~ ~

ITEMS - Great Herb, Sleep Scroll, Experience Seed

One final random speed boss lol . Sleep Scroll is always a good idea, though you may have to resort to the Iceman crit. You just have to hope he won't show up immediately afterwards if you're at 95 HP or less. Your run probably just ended btw
You will outspeed them pretty late at level 23 (floor 97~). A Winter's Experience Seed after level 22 can make all the difference

Winter will be outsped at level 22 (floor 92). Don't underestimate even him

Big Wall is the best receiver of extra Scrolls. He can guard but it will not raise his defense as he is slower. aww

Tuna can use a blizzard spell for 45 damage. Fish is meat is murder

You just have to play as if nothing will crit you now. It's pretty much the only way through here. I Believe In You

• Level 22 on floor 92
• Level 23 on floor 97

HP - >324

EXP - unlisted, but I did level up off of her once

Critical - 120

• w/ Crowbar / Accurate Sword + Scroll of Attack: 6 hits
• w/ Stainless Sword / Demon's Rod + Scroll of Attack: 5 hits
• w/ Buddha Slayer + Scroll of Attack: 4 hits
• w/ Iceman's Sword: 3 crits + 2 (or 3?) small hits

Scrolls. Blind helps, Sleep is good, Attack is required (Iceman's aside)

Dragon Shield will halve her 60 damage blizzard

Stay resolute. Do not fear its crit, but do fear Sleep

Truly any run can make it - my 26th clear was with an Accurate Sword, a Scroll of Attack, and one(!) Great Herb. She stood around twice