Hector's starting weapon. Spins a mace in a 3/4 circle from above the character, scales Amount as additional hits per cast, and evolves into Stamazza with max-level Hollow Heart for a catastrophic 100x critical damage multiplier. Evolving after obtaining Black Disk unlocks Isaac.
Stamazza has the highest critical damage multiplier in v1.13.
The wiki describes Stamazza in unusually direct language: "Evolved Mace. Has a catastrophically high critical damage multiplier." That multiplier is 100x. Stamazza inherits Mace's 1% crit chance (Luck-scaled) and upgrades the multiplier from 5x to 100x. So a single Stamazza cast that crits hits for one hundred times its base damage. Combined with Limit Break's Chance +1% per tier (max 100% guaranteed crits), endgame Stamazza builds reach a state where every cast crits for the 100x multiplier.
The base Mace itself already crits at 1% for 5x damage. Most v1.13 weapons have no native crit mechanic at all. Mace is one of the few base-form weapons that ships with a built-in critical-hit system, which makes Luck-scaling passives meaningfully relevant on this weapon from level 1 onward. After a few runs the build flow becomes clear: stack Luck early on Mace, then watch the per-cast damage variance widen as the 5x crits land.
The unlock chain is two-step. Mace evolves into Stamazza with max-level Hollow Heart. Standard recipe. The unusual part is the Isaac unlock: per the wiki, "Evolving it after obtaining Black Disk unlocks Isaac as playable character." Black Disk must be acquired BEFORE the Stamazza evolution triggers, which is rare in v1.13. Most evolutions unlock characters automatically on first completion; Mace requires a prerequisite item pickup.
Hector starts with Mace. He is a Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (2005) Devil Forgemaster, and Isaac (the unlock target) is his rival Devil Forgemaster from the same source game. Both characters share a Familiar-follower mechanic, with Hector capping at 4 Familiars and Isaac at 6.
Mace by inflicting 50,000 total damage with Mace. Auto-equipped on Hector as starter
Stamazza at max level paired with max-level 
Hollow Heart. Critical multiplier jumps from 5x to 100x
Black Disk unlocks Isaac, Hector's Devil Forgemaster rival from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Hector: 100 HP, +25% Magnet, +20% Growth, +20 Reroll/Skip/Banish, hidden Familiar follower every 10 levels (max 4)Mace is classified as a magic weapon in the Ode to Castlevania DLC with internal ID `TP_MACE1`. The magic-weapon classification matters for the Spectral Sword interaction: Mace can be picked from the Spectral Sword weapon pool, which means non-Hector characters running Spectral Sword have a chance to roll into Mace mid-run. Hector himself can pick Coat of Arms or Spectral Sword as alternate starting weapons via skin selection.
The base firing pattern is a spinning mace from above the character. The wiki effects block describes it: "summons a mace that spin around the character (starts from above and spins down to 3/4 circle), damaging enemies it touches." So the rotation is a partial circle (3/4 of full rotation), starting from the top and sweeping down through the right or left side of the character. This is different from spinning weapons that complete full circles (Garlic, Santa Water, evolved Stamazza).
The level 1 description includes an unusual line: "Amount affects number of hits." On most weapons, Amount controls how many projectiles fire per cast. On Mace, Amount controls how many hits each spinning cast can land before completing its rotation. This is a stat-scaling distinction worth noting because it changes which passives provide the most value. After a few runs the priority becomes clear: Amount stacks more efficiently on Mace than on most spinning weapons because each Amount tier directly multiplies the per-cast hit count.
In our testing, Mace pairs with high-Luck builds because both base and evolved forms have a 1% Luck-scaled critical hit chance. Clover plus Hector's Familiar-follower bonus quickly pushes Luck high enough that the 1% base chance becomes a meaningful damage source at the 5x multiplier on Mace, then becomes a build-defining damage source on Stamazza at the 100x multiplier.
Mace has 8 levels. The level-up structure mixes Damage, Area, and Duration picks across the scaling, plus the unusual Amount-affects-hits scaling at level 1:
| Level | Bonus |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Amount affects number of hits. Base stats: 30 Damage, 0.45s Duration, 3.5s Cooldown, 1% crit chance for 5x damage |
| Level 2 | Effect lasts 0.2 seconds longer (+0.2 Duration) |
| Level 3 | Base damage up by 20 |
| Level 4 | Base Area up by 20% |
| Level 5 | Effect lasts 0.2 seconds longer (+0.2 Duration) |
| Level 6 | Effect lasts 0.1 seconds longer. Base damage up by 10 |
| Level 7 | Base Area up by 10%. Base damage up by 10 |
| Level 8 | Base Area up by 10%. Effect lasts 0.1 seconds longer |
At max level, Mace gains +40 Base Damage, +40% Area, and +0.6 seconds Duration above level 1. The Damage scaling sits in the upper-mid tier of v1.13 weapons; the Duration scaling is what differentiates Mace from comparable spinning weapons because longer duration means more rotations per cast, which combined with Amount controlling hits-per-rotation produces the layered damage scaling.
Stamazza inherits Mace's stat caps but adds a critical-hit-specific Limit Break tier: Might +0.25% (max 10), Area +2.5% (max 500%), Amount +1 (max 10), Speed +5% (max 300%), Duration +100ms (max 5.0 seconds), and Chance +1% per tier (max 100%). The Chance stat is the build's late-game scaling axis; each Limit Break Chance tier adds +1% to the crit roll, eventually reaching guaranteed 100% crits where every Stamazza cast hits for the 100x multiplier.
The Stamazza wiki page describes the crit mechanic with unusually expressive language: "Has a catastrophically high critical damage multiplier." That multiplier is 100x. The wiki entry continues: "By default, it is capable of dealing critical hits, which deal a massive 100x damage and have 1% chance to occur. This critical hit chance is affected by Luck."
| Form | Crit chance | Crit multiplier | Effective DPS impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mace (base) | 1% Luck-scaled | 5x base damage | Modest. Each crit adds ~4x base damage on top of standard hit |
| Stamazza (evolved) | 1% Luck-scaled | 100x base damage | Build-defining. Each crit replaces standard hit with one-shot or near-one-shot enemy clear |
| Stamazza + Limit Break | Up to 100% (guaranteed) | 100x base damage | Endgame. Every cast crits for 100x multiplier |
Going from 5x to 100x is a 20x amplification on the same base damage. Mace's level 8 base damage is 70 (30 base + 40 from level-up scaling). A 5x crit at base does 350 damage; a 100x crit at base does 7,000 damage. Stamazza inherits the +80 base damage from the evolved form, pushing the per-crit damage to 8,000+ before any Might multiplier or Spinach pick. Across multiple runs, Stamazza crits land in the 12,000-25,000 damage range against late-game elite enemies, which is one-shot territory for most non-boss density.
The wiki specifies an unusual side effect of Stamazza crits: "These critical hits make a short gameplay delay as effect and show the damage numbers even if damage numbers are turned off in the options menu." So Stamazza crits override player UI preferences to ensure the damage numbers are visible. The brief gameplay delay also functions as visual emphasis. Both effects underline that the 100x multiplier is treated as a special gameplay event rather than a routine damage roll.
Stack Luck aggressively. Both Mace and Stamazza have a 1% base crit chance. Each +1% Luck pushes the chance higher. Hector's character bonuses don't include direct Luck scaling, but Clover plus the Wandering the Jet Black arcana plus stage drops can push Luck past +200% by mid-game, which raises the crit chance to ~3%. Limit Break's Chance +1% per tier provides the only path to 100% guaranteed crits.
Mace evolves into Stamazza when paired with max-level Hollow Heart. The recipe requires Hollow Heart at MAX level (5), not just present in inventory. This makes Mace one of several Castlevania DLC weapons that share the max-level Hollow Heart gate. The shared gate matters because it groups several evolutions onto the same passive grind: Pako Battiliar's Mazo Familiar evolution also uses max-level Hollow Heart, so a single Hollow Heart max-leveling investment can serve multiple weapon evolutions in the same run.
| Step | Requirement |
|---|---|
| 1. Equip Mace | Auto-equipped on Hector. Pick from level-up offers (or roll from Spectral Sword pool) on other characters |
| 2. Level Mace to 8 | Standard level-up path |
| 3. Find Hollow Heart | Stage item only. Spawns in Mad Forest, Moongolow, and Boss Rash |
| 4. Max Hollow Heart (level 5) | Reach the passive's max level. Provides +149% Max Health at max (multiplicative 1.2x per level) |
| 5. Open chest at min 10 or 20 | Standard evolution gate. Stamazza replaces Mace in the slot |
Hollow Heart is one of the few passives that uses multiplicative stacking instead of additive. Per the wiki, each level "multiplies the current value of Max Health by 1.2." So level 1 produces 1.2x Max Health, level 2 produces 1.44x, level 3 produces 1.728x, level 4 produces 2.0736x, and level 5 produces 2.48832x: a +149% total Max Health bonus at max level. The multiplicative scaling is unusual for v1.13 passives and provides significantly more sustain than additive +20% per level would.
Stamazza is described as a hammer rather than a mace. The wiki effects block specifies the rotation pattern changes: Stamazza "gains significantly increased Area compared to the Mace, while also acquiring a fixed attack duration (full circle and 1/3 circle)." So Stamazza spins through a full 360-degree rotation plus an additional 1/3 circle, which is wider than Mace's 3/4 partial rotation. The Area increase combined with the longer rotation pattern produces a much wider damage zone per cast.
Most v1.13 evolutions unlock the connected character automatically when the evolution completes for the first time. Mace's Isaac unlock is different. The wiki specifies: "Evolving it after obtaining Black Disk unlocks Isaac as playable character." Black Disk must be acquired BEFORE the Stamazza evolution triggers. If the player evolves Mace without Black Disk first, Stamazza is created but Isaac does not unlock.
| Step | Requirement | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Obtain Black Disk first | Pick up Black Disk during the run BEFORE the evolution chest opens | Players evolve Mace without Black Disk and miss the unlock |
| 2. Evolve Mace into Stamazza | Standard recipe (max Mace + max Hollow Heart, open chest at min 10+) | Players forget to max Hollow Heart for the evolution itself |
| 3. Complete the run or stage | Isaac unlocks at the end-of-run summary screen | None - this step is automatic |
Black Disk is a standard pickup-style item from the Castlevania DLC. Players can verify Black Disk is in inventory by checking the run's collected-items panel. The pickup is consistent with other DLC item-gating mechanics like Lebkamm cookies for stage-specific unlocks; Black Disk specifically gates Isaac without affecting the Stamazza evolution itself.
Isaac is Hector's antagonist in the Castlevania: Curse of Darkness source game. Hector is the protagonist and Isaac is the rival Devil Forgemaster who killed Hector's wife. The two-step Black Disk gate is poncle's design choice to thematically link Isaac's unlock to a specific narrative beat (Black Disk references the cursed forging items used by Devil Forgemasters). Players who want Isaac via the cheat-code path can use "guiltydevil" in the Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane to bypass the entire Mace-evolution requirement.
Run Hector first. He starts with Mace and his Familiar-Forge level-up option (every 7 levels, max 16) lets him reroll level-up offers efficiently to find Hollow Heart and Black Disk both. After the Stamazza evolution + Black Disk pickup unlock Isaac, swap to Isaac runs (he starts with Trident, not Mace) for endless-mode pushes with his +20% Speed/Area baseline.
Hector is the natural carrier for Mace. He starts with 100 Max Health, +25% Magnet, +20% Growth, and +20 Reroll/Skip/Banish. His unique mechanic gains a hidden Familiar follower every 10 levels until level 40, capping at 4 Familiars total. Additionally, he is offered a Familiar Forge every 7 levels as a 4th level-up option, up to a max of 16 Familiar Forges regardless of weapon slot caps.
Hector's Familiar Forge mechanic is unusual. The 4th-option Familiar Forge slot bypasses the standard 6-weapon and 6-passive caps, which means players can stack Familiar Forges as additional level-up resources without sacrificing the core build slots. Hector unlocks by finding 7 Karma Coins after opening the Scorpion Gate, and costs 500 gold to purchase after unlock.
Hector+MaceMace+Max Hollow Heart→StamazzaHollow Heart (evolution gate, plus multiplicative Max Health for sustain)
Clover (Luck stacks the 1% crit chance toward higher proc rate)
Spinach (Might multiplies base damage AND crit damage on the 100x multiplier)
Duplicator (Amount adds hits per cast - unusual scaling for spinning weapons)
Candelabrador (Area widens Stamazza's full-circle rotation hitbox)
Empty Tome (Cooldown tightens cast frequency for more crit roll attempts)Spinach deserves a callout. Most damage multipliers (Might) apply to base damage, which then gets multiplied by the crit multiplier. So a Spinach pick on Stamazza stacks favorably: +Might raises base damage, the 100x crit multiplier amplifies the higher base, and the resulting per-crit damage scales aggressively. Across multiple runs, Spinach-enabled Stamazza builds produce per-crit damage in the 15,000-25,000+ range versus 8,000-12,000 without Spinach.
Bracer is intentionally excluded. Speed scales projectile travel speed but does not affect Mace's spinning rotation pattern, crit chance, or crit multiplier. Bracer slots are better filled by Empty Tome (Cooldown tightens cast frequency for more crit attempts) or Clover (Luck directly raises crit chance).
Wandering the Jet Black (XXI) provides additional Luck scaling, which directly raises the 1% crit chance on both Mace and Stamazza. Combined with Clover and Hector's Familiar-Forge level-up rerolls, this arcana pushes Luck to high values reliably by mid-game. Higher Luck means more crit procs, and on Stamazza specifically each crit hits for the 100x multiplier.
Game Killer (XX) freezes enemies at 1 HP, which combined with Stamazza's 100x crit multiplier produces a build state where every crit lands as a final-blow execution. The interaction between Game Killer's 1-HP freeze and Stamazza's high-multiplier crits is one of the more reliable late-game enemy-clear patterns in the Castlevania DLC.
Mace pairs well with weapons that don't compete for the Cooldown stat priority. Stamazza's effective DPS scales steeply with Cooldown reduction because each cast is another crit roll attempt. Pair Mace with weapons that have natural multi-hit patterns or per-second damage models rather than weapons that also want aggressive Cooldown stacking. Run Hector's optional Spectral Sword starter via skin selection if you want a second magic weapon that pairs with the same Spectral Sword pool eligibility.
Mace's Hector and Isaac unlocks both reference Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (2005), a PlayStation 2 / Xbox action game and the direct sequel to Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. In the source game, both Hector and Isaac are Devil Forgemasters: humans who can summon and control demonic creatures called Innocent Devils as combat companions. Hector is the protagonist, a former Devil Forgemaster who renounced his craft and lives peacefully until Isaac (the rival Forgemaster) murders Hector's wife and triggers the revenge quest that drives the source game's plot.
The Familiar follower mechanic in Vampire Survivors directly translates the Innocent Devils combat-companion system from Curse of Darkness. Hector caps at 4 Familiars (one per Innocent Devil category in the source game's hierarchy), while Isaac caps at 6 Familiars (reflecting Isaac's status as the more advanced Devil Forgemaster who never renounced his craft). The +1% Familiar gain every 10 levels mirrors Hector's gradual rebuilding of his Forgemaster abilities over the course of Curse of Darkness.
Stamazza's name and 100x crit mechanic reference Italian crit-strike folklore terminology, while the underlying weapon design (a hammer that gains a fixed full-circle attack duration) mirrors Hector's heavy-weapon combat style in Curse of Darkness. The "guiltydevil" cheat code for Isaac references the moral framing of the source game where Isaac is portrayed as morally fallen for his Devil Forgemaster work, while Hector seeks redemption. The 8x crit theme connects to other Castlevania DLC weapons; Tyrfing also features a high crit multiplier system (in our prior Tyrfing guide), grouping the Castlevania DLC as a crit-mechanic-heavy weapon set.
Inflict 50,000 total damage with Mace in any run. Mace is auto-equipped on Hector as his starting weapon, so playing Hector accumulates the damage automatically. The 50,000 damage threshold is per-weapon cumulative across runs, not a single-run requirement, so the unlock typically completes within 1-2 Hector runs.
Evolve Mace at max level (level 8) when paired with max-level Hollow Heart (level 5). Hollow Heart must be at MAX level for the evolution to trigger. Hollow Heart is a stage-item-only passive found in Mad Forest, Moongolow, and Boss Rash. Open any chest at minute 10 or later with both at max level to receive Stamazza.
Stamazza has a 1% Luck-scaled chance to deal critical hits at 100x base damage. The wiki describes the multiplier as 'catastrophically high,' which is accurate; 100x is the highest crit multiplier in v1.13. The base Mace form has the same 1% chance but with a 5x multiplier; the evolution amplifies the multiplier 20-fold while keeping the same base chance.
Evolve Mace into Stamazza AFTER obtaining Black Disk in the same run. Black Disk must be in inventory before the evolution chest opens. If you evolve Mace without Black Disk first, Stamazza is created but Isaac does not unlock. The two-step gate is one of the few v1.13 evolutions with a prerequisite item requirement. Alternatively, the cheat code 'guiltydevil' in the Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane unlocks Isaac directly.
Hector starts with 100 Max Health, +25% Magnet, +20% Growth, and +20 Reroll/Skip/Banish. He gains a hidden Familiar follower every 10 levels up to level 40, capping at 4 Familiars total. Additionally, he's offered a Familiar Forge every 7 levels as a 4th level-up option, up to a max of 16 Familiar Forges regardless of weapon or passive slot caps. The Familiar Forge bypass is unusual and lets Hector stack additional resources without sacrificing core slots.
Isaac starts with 100 Max Health, +20% Speed, +20% Area, +25% Magnet, and +20 Reroll/Skip/Banish. His starting weapon is Trident (NOT Mace). He gains the same Familiar follower mechanic as Hector but caps at 6 followers at level 60 instead of 4 at level 40. The higher Familiar cap reflects Isaac's more advanced Devil Forgemaster status in the Curse of Darkness source game lore.
Damage, Amount (affects number of hits, NOT projectiles), Cooldown, Area, Duration, Luck (scales the 1% crit chance), and Might. Speed does NOT affect Mace's spinning rotation pattern, so Bracer is a low-priority passive on this weapon. Luck is the unusual priority because both Mace and Stamazza have a 1% crit chance scaled by the Luck stat.
Stamazza is the evolved form of Mace, requiring max-level Hollow Heart. The wiki describes it as a hammer with significantly increased Area compared to Mace, plus a fixed attack duration (full circle and 1/3 circle). The defining feature is the 100x critical damage multiplier with 1% Luck-scaled chance. Limit Break adds Chance +1% per tier, eventually reaching 100% guaranteed crits where every cast hits for the 100x multiplier.
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Image sprites and screenshots sourced from the Vampire Survivors Wiki (vampire.survivors.wiki) under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.