Sir Chadwell Build Megabonk

Sir Chadwell has three distinct build paths documented on his wiki page, each built around how to handle the conflict between his Corrupted Sword's low-HP damage bonus and items that regenerate HP.

Sir Chadwell starts with Corrupted Sword and the Curse passive: +1% Difficulty per level. Higher Difficulty increases enemy HP, Damage, and Speed and their spawn rates, which the wiki confirms also increases XP and Gold gained per run. The wiki explicitly warns never to take Cursed Tome with Chadwell since his passive already increases Difficulty passively.

Corrupted Sword deals significantly more damage at low HP and significantly less at high HP. This creates a build choice: optimise for Corrupted Sword's low-HP damage, or sacrifice its potential for Holy Book scaling.

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Sir Chadwell

Passive, Curse: +1% Difficulty per level. Increases enemy HP, Damage, Speed, and spawn rates. Also increases XP and Gold per run. Never take Cursed Tome per the wiki.

Starter weapon:

Corrupted Sword

HardMeleeCurse passive

Never take Cursed Tome. The Sir Chadwell wiki explicitly states to never take Cursed Tome when playing Chadwell because his passive already increases Difficulty by +1% every level. Stacking Cursed Tome on top makes enemies dangerously powerful without proportional returns.

How to Build Sir Chadwell in Megabonk

The Sir Chadwell wiki documents three distinct build paths based on item toggling before the run. Each path handles the Corrupted Sword and HP Regen conflict differently.

Toggle OFF: Holy Book. Toggle ON: Cursed Grabbies. This path fully optimises Corrupted Sword's low-HP damage bonus. Cursed Grabbies reduces Max HP each time it procs, keeping HP permanently low and dealing damage the wiki confirms can rival or surpass most Legendary items in a long run. The wiki advises banishing Beefy Ring if using this path since Cursed Grabbies' Max HP reduction reduces Beefy Ring's damage output.

Weapons

Tomes

Key Items

Corrupted Sword

Aura

Aegis

Black Hole

Damage Tome

Quantity Tome

Size Tome

Cursed Grabbies

Gamer Goggles

Demonic Soul

Weapons

Corrupted Sword Aura

Aura

Aegis

Black Hole

Tomes

Damage Tome

Quantity Tome

Size Tome

Upgrade Priority

Phase	Pickup	Why
0-4 min	Corrupted Sword + Quantity Tome	Corrupted Sword deals more damage at low HP. Quantity Tome fires more slashes per cycle. The wiki confirms keeping HP low is the core mechanic for the Corrupted Sword path. Never take Cursed Tome per the wiki.
4-8 min	Damage Tome + choose your build path	Damage Tome applies to all weapons including the Corrupted Sword and its backwards piercing slash. At this point decide which build path to take: Cursed Grabbies (toggle off Holy Book), Leeching Crystal x2 (lock HP Regen at 0), or Beefy Ring + Holy Book.
8-12 min	// chosen item path	All three paths are detailed on the wiki. Cursed Grabbies reduces Max HP and deals escalating damage. Leeching Crystal x2 locks HP Regen at 0 removing the Corrupted Sword conflict with Holy Book. Beefy Ring + Holy Book is the most commonly chosen option per the wiki.
12+ min	Damage Tome upgrades + legendary items	Chadwell's Curse passive increases enemy spawn rates, giving more XP. By late runs Chadwell can reach very high levels compared to other characters, making Damage Tome and weapon level upgrades scale exceptionally.

Toggle ON: Leeching Crystal. Toggle ON: Holy Book. Find exactly 2 Leeching Crystals during the run. The wiki confirms this locks HP Regen at exactly 0, removing the conflict between Corrupted Sword and Holy Book. 3 or more Leeching Crystals causes negative HP Regen, which can then trigger Golden Shield and similar on-damage items. Beefy Ring still provides large damage bonuses in this path per the wiki.

Weapons

Tomes

Key Items

Corrupted Sword

Aura

Aegis

Sword

Damage Tome

Quantity Tome

Size Tome

Item Leeching Crystal

Beefy Ring

Holy Book

Weapons

Corrupted Sword Aura

Aura

Aegis

Sword

Tomes

Damage Tome

Quantity Tome

Size Tome

Toggle OFF: Cursed Grabbies and Leeching Crystal. Toggle ON: Holy Book. The wiki calls this "the most commonly chosen option." Holy Book deals more damage the more healing received between its pulses. This path sacrifices 86.66% of Corrupted Sword's damage potential per the wiki, but Holy Book can eventually one-shot everything in very long runs. Beefy Ring still works fully in this path. Best for players who prefer not to manage exact HP thresholds.

Weapons

Tomes

Key Items

Corrupted Sword

Aura

Aegis

Sword

Damage Tome

Quantity Tome

HP Tome

Beefy Ring

Holy Book

Demonic Soul

Weapons

Corrupted Sword Aura

Aura

Aegis

Sword

Tomes

Damage Tome

Quantity TomeHP HP Tome

How to Play Sir Chadwell in Megabonk

Never take Cursed Tome on Chadwell

The Sir Chadwell wiki page explicitly states to never take Cursed Tome when playing Chadwell. His Curse passive already adds +1% Difficulty per level. Taking Cursed Tome on top would stack Difficulty so high that enemy HP, Damage, and Speed outpace any build's ability to compensate.

The Corrupted Sword deals more damage at low HP

The Corrupted Sword wiki confirms damage is significantly increased at low HP and severely reduced at high HP. Staying at or near low HP is the core mechanic for two of the three Chadwell build paths. The Cursed Grabbies path and Leeching Crystal path both work toward maintaining low HP.

All three build paths are documented on the wiki

The Sir Chadwell wiki is unusually detailed, documenting exactly which items to toggle on or off for each build path. Cursed Grabbies path: toggle off Holy Book. Leeching Crystal path: find exactly 2 crystals to lock HP Regen at 0. Holy Book path: the most commonly chosen, toggle off Cursed Grabbies and Leeching Crystal.

Curse passive gives more XP and Gold

Chadwell's +1% Difficulty per level increases enemy spawn rates alongside their stats. Higher spawn rates mean more enemies, more kills, more XP, and more Gold per run. The wiki confirms this means Chadwell can reach higher levels than other characters in equivalent time, making Damage Tome and weapon levels scale further.

Best Items for Sir Chadwell

All three items are named directly on the Sir Chadwell wiki page as the defining items of each of the three build paths.

Cursed Grabbies

Named on the wiki as the core item for the Corrupted Sword path. Toggle off Holy Book to use. Reduces Max HP each proc, keeping HP low to maintain Corrupted Sword's full damage bonus. The wiki confirms it can deal damage rivaling or surpassing most Legendary items in a long run.

Leeching Crystal

Named on the wiki for the Leeching Crystal path. Find exactly 2 to lock HP Regen at exactly 0, removing the conflict between Corrupted Sword and Holy Book. The wiki notes 3+ causes negative HP Regen which enables items like Golden Shield but requires careful management.

Beefy Ring

Named on the wiki for both the Leeching Crystal path and the Holy Book path. Scales damage from Max HP. The wiki calls Holy Book + Beefy Ring the most commonly chosen Chadwell option. In the Cursed Grabbies path Beefy Ring should be banished per the wiki since Cursed Grabbies reduces Max HP.

How to Unlock Sir Chadwell in Megabonk

Sir Chadwell requires completing Forest Tier 3 and having Corrupted Sword unlocked.

Unlock Corrupted Sword

First unlock Cursed Tome by defeating a stage boss in under 5 minutes. Then take Cursed Tome in a run and upgrade it to Level 20 within 10 minutes of starting. Purchase Corrupted Sword from the Unlocks tab for 8 Silver once done.

Complete Forest Tier 3

Clear all three Forest tiers in a single run. Any character can be used. The Forest stages contain enemies that are generally weaker than Desert stages, making this more accessible once your unlocks are in good shape.

Buy Sir Chadwell from the Unlocks tab

Return to the Main Menu, open the Unlocks tab, and purchase Sir Chadwell with Silver once both conditions are met.

How Good is Sir Chadwell in Megabonk?

Sir Chadwell is one of the most complex characters in Megabonk. His Curse passive creates a unique run dynamic where enemy scaling accelerates relative to other characters, but so does XP and Gold income. The Corrupted Sword is the highest-damage weapon at low HP in the game, but requires precise HP management. The wiki notes Chadwell is a poor match for extremely long runs due to Difficulty accumulation, but excels in well-executed mid-length runs with the correct build path chosen before starting.

For a full character ranking see the Megabonk tier list.

For broader help with the game, our Megabonk tips guide covers mechanics, survival strategy, and beginner advice.