The game contains cartoon violence, demonic imagery, and references to punishment in Hell.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
There is no separate equipment screen containing a fixed set of weapons. Instead, the game uses cards for towers, garrisons, buffs, defensive effects, deck manipulation, and temporary abilities. Build your run by choosing cards from level-up rewards, shops, unlocks, promotions, and challenges. Use towers for persistent damage, garrisons for disposable or timed units, and support cards to strengthen the damage type or structure you already have. Merge matching cards when you need a higher tier or a free slot, but do not automatically merge active structures if keeping both provides more attacks or coverage.
Verified system
What counts as equipment
Heretic’s Fork presents weapons and equipment through its card system. The Steam store describes the core loop as choosing a demon subordinate, protecting the rift, punishing sinners with towers, building a deck, and earning more cards during shifts. In practice, the cards you collect form both your equipment pool and your run deck.
The most important distinction is between structures and support effects. Towers remain on the field and normally continue attacking until you destroy or merge them. Garrisons create allied units, so their value depends on factors such as spawn rate, damage, range, lifespan, or the number of units active. Other cards alter statistics, heal the tower, create shields, draw cards, change costs, or affect how quickly your deck cycles.
There is no verified public list that permanently covers every current card and unlock condition. The pool has expanded through normal progression, promotions, challenges, and character-specific content. Treat community catalogues as useful references rather than final authority.
- Towers are the clearest choice for persistent, repeatable damage.
- Garrisons are useful when you can support their lifespan, spawn rate, or damage.
- Buff and utility cards are equipment even when they do not create a visible structure.
- The card text and affected-stat icons in your current build are the safest reference.
| Category | Main job | Best use case |
|---|---|---|
| Tower | Persistent damage from a placed structure | Reliable coverage against regular waves and bosses |
| Garrison | Spawns allied units for a limited or conditional duration | Pressure, blocking, contact damage, or damage-type support |
| Stat support | Improves damage, attack speed, range, area, healing, or shields | Scaling one focused build instead of spreading upgrades |
| Utility or ability | Changes cards, costs, draw, recharge, or immediate survival | Fixing a weak hand or answering a dangerous wave |
A single official spreadsheet covering every item name, tier, cost, drop source, and current value was not found. Do not rely on an old list for exact numbers or guaranteed acquisition routes.
Acquisition
How to obtain cards and equipment
The main way to expand a run is through progression during a shift. The game’s store description confirms that successful play earns more cards for the deck. Level-up choices, reward selections, shops, and other run menus can therefore change the equipment available before the next wave.
Permanent collection growth is broader than ordinary run rewards. Community and developer notes identify cards unlocked through promotions and challenges, while character or variant content can add more options. Some content is therefore unavailable until the relevant requirement is completed. Because unlock rules have changed over time, use the current Collection, promotion, challenge, or character screen instead of assuming that an older guide’s route still applies.
When a card appears, inspect what it affects before selecting it. A card may look powerful but provide little value if your current structures do not use its statistic. For example, a garrison-focused bonus is not automatically useful in a tower-heavy run, and a damage-type bonus can be wasted if your deck has not committed to that type.
- Take level-up and shop cards that support your existing damage plan before collecting unrelated options.
- Check challenge and promotion menus for content that does not enter the normal pool immediately.
- Use the card preview and affected-stat indicators before spending credits or selecting a reward.
- If a card’s source is not shown in the current interface, treat its exact unlock route as uncertain.
| Acquisition route | What it provides | Practical advice |
|---|---|---|
| Run rewards | New cards during the current shift | Choose cards that improve the structures already in play |
| Shops and purchases | Targeted access when the right card appears | Spend resources on reliable scaling or a needed answer |
| Collection unlocks | Cards added to future pools | Prioritize unlocks that support your preferred damage type |
| Promotions and challenges | Special or variant content | Check the requirement because availability may not be automatic |
| Character-specific content | Cards tied to a character or variant | Read the character rules before building around them |
The public sources confirm several acquisition categories but do not document every current card’s exact route. The game’s menus are the source of truth for your save.
Use cases
Choosing the right equipment for a run
Start by deciding whether the run will rely mainly on towers, garrisons, or a damage type such as Holy, Unholy, or Hellfire. A focused plan makes support cards more valuable because each upgrade improves more of your active field. A mixed deck can work, but it usually needs more specific bonuses and gives up consistency.
For general survival, prioritize coverage before specialist effects. A structure that can reach many enemies, clear groups, or cover a leak is often more useful early than a card that only improves a narrow interaction. Once the field is stable, add attack speed, global damage, range, area, or damage-type scaling according to the statistics shown by your structures.
Defensive cards matter most when they prevent a failed shift rather than merely adding damage. Healing, shields, regeneration, and effects that reduce pressure can buy the time needed for a slow tower or garrison plan to scale. Deck manipulation, draw, and recharge effects are valuable when your build depends on seeing one key card repeatedly.
The best choice is contextual. A community recommendation may identify strong combinations, but patch changes and card text can alter the result. The developer’s March 2026 notes, for example, corrected saved effects for many cards and clarified that Trinity does not provide its passive bonus while inactive. That makes current wording more important than an older tier list.
- Use persistent towers when you want dependable damage every wave.
- Use garrisons when their lifespan, spawn rate, or unit statistics are supported by your deck.
- Choose global bonuses when your build is still flexible; choose narrow bonuses after committing to a type or structure.
- Keep at least one defensive or recovery option if the stage can punish leaks quickly.
- Read inactive, charge, duration, and cooldown wording carefully before building around a card.
| Situation | Preferred equipment approach | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Early run | Reliable tower or broad damage support | It gives immediate coverage before the deck is refined |
| Tower build | Tower damage, attack speed, range, or area | Several permanent structures benefit from the same investment |
| Garrison build | Spawn rate, lifespan, garrison damage, or recharge | The units need enough time and frequency to matter |
| Boss pressure | Focused damage, attack speed, or high-tier structure | Single-target consistency becomes more important |
| Emergency defense | Healing, shield, control, or temporary burst | Survival is more valuable than long-term scaling when the tower is threatened |
These priorities are practical guidance rather than official rankings. Structure performance can vary by character, stage, torment level, unlocked pool, and the exact card text in your version.
Upgrades
When to merge and when to keep cards separate
The merge system is one of the most important equipment decisions. Combining matching cards can provide a guaranteed stronger version of that card when the relevant upgrade is available. Combining cards can also free a structure slot, which may be more valuable than the small increase from keeping two low-tier cards on the field.
Do not merge automatically. Two separate towers can provide more simultaneous attacks, coverage, or different effects than one upgraded tower. Similarly, a repeatable low-tier support card may be worth keeping if you can play it repeatedly and it improves the whole build. Merge when you need a higher tier, require a specific upgraded effect, or need space for a better structure.
Before confirming a merge, hover over the structure or card and inspect what changes. Some upgrades improve attack speed, while others improve damage, range, projectile count, area, pierce, or another statistic. The visible tier alone does not tell you whether the upgrade improves the part of the structure your run needs.
- Merge identical cards when you want a predictable stronger version.
- Merge active structures when the extra slot will immediately improve your field.
- Keep separate structures if their combined coverage is better than one upgraded copy.
- Do not sacrifice a useful repeatable support card solely because it is low tier.
- Verify the result in the upgrade preview before committing valuable cards.
| Merge decision | Usually correct when | Potential mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Merge matching cards | You need a guaranteed higher-tier version | Losing two useful effects for a small improvement |
| Merge active towers | Your structure slots are full or a stronger tier solves a threat | Reducing coverage during a dangerous wave |
| Keep support cards | They can be replayed or affect the whole build | Leaving the deck too diluted with weak, unrelated effects |
| Sacrifice for a random upgrade | The current cards are redundant and you need a higher ceiling | Destroying the only answer to a stage mechanic |
The developer has fixed issues involving saved card effects and has documented rare upgrade and tower-control problems. If an upgrade behaves unexpectedly, compare the current card text and patch notes before assuming the interaction is intended.
Reference workflow
A safe way to research any card
For an unfamiliar card, first read its full in-game description and identify whether it affects towers, garrisons, the tower core, enemies, or the deck. Next, check which statistics are displayed on the structure it is meant to support. Finally, test the card in a low-risk shift or compare its before-and-after values in the preview.
Use official store information and developer patch notes for broad systems, current fixes, and confirmed changes. Use the community wiki and guides for detailed structure behavior, examples, and practical comparisons, but label those details as community information. If sources disagree, report the disagreement and follow the current in-game text.
This approach is safer than copying a complete-looking list because the public card pool is not static. It also avoids claiming a drop rate, item tier, unlock route, or platform behavior that has not been verified.
- Confirm the card category and affected statistics.
- Check whether the effect is passive, active, charged, timed, or conditional.
- Compare its value with the structures actually in your current run.
- Check recent developer notes if the behavior conflicts with an older guide.
- Record uncertain values as version-dependent instead of presenting them as permanent facts.
Verified facts come from the store listing and developer announcements. Structure behavior and build advice may rely on community references and should be treated as practical guidance, not official balance documentation.
FAQ
Common questions
Does the game have a separate equipment inventory?
Not in the usual RPG sense. Towers, garrisons, buffs, abilities, and utility effects are represented by cards in the run deck and collection. The card system is the practical equipment system.
How do I get more equipment cards?
Choose them from run rewards, level-up selections, and shops, then expand the permanent pool through normal unlocks, promotions, challenges, and character-specific content. Exact routes can change, so check the current in-game menus.
Should I merge every pair of matching cards?
No. Merge when you want a guaranteed stronger version, need a free structure slot, or have redundant cards. Keep separate towers when their combined coverage and attack frequency are more useful.
Are towers or garrisons better?
Neither is always better. Towers provide persistent placed damage, while garrisons create allied units and often need support for lifespan, spawn rate, or damage. Choose the category that matches your available bonuses and preferred build.
Why does an old guide disagree with my card?
Cards and interactions have been adjusted, new content has been added through challenges or promotions, and some saved-effect bugs have been fixed. Use the current card text and recent developer notes as the final authority.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.