Shrines are something of a mixed blessing in the Enter the Gungeon. Each shrine provides a benefit to the player when activated, but almost always at a cost. Usually, the rewards outweigh the benefits, but RNG in this roguelike has a nasty habit of making the opposite true.
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Here are arguably some of the better Shrines to encounter in the game. Your access to resources or stash of items will affect which Shrines are most important for you, but, generally speaking, players will be hoping to run into at least a few of these 10 shrines during their runs.
10 Peace
The Peace Shrine is different from other Shrines in that it hinders the player’s offense. The player can offer up their currently held weapon in exchange for a full heart of healing. If you’re low on health with a few spare weapons on hand, this can be a great deal.
The reason it doesn’t rank higher is giving up a weapon for a heart of health is a steep price that should only be done when desperate or overflowing with junk weapons. Nine times out of ten you want to hang onto your spare guns.
9 Blank
The Blank shrine will reward the player with a chest of random quality and rarity whenever a Blank is used in its vicinity. The content of that chest could make this one of the best Shrines in the game... or it could make it one of the worst.
Due to RNG for both the chest spawned, the odds of it being locked, and the loot inside this Shrine should only really be used if you have a lot of spare Blanks. If the shrine is deep in the Gungeon, it has the ability to spawn better chests than what you’d find on the beginning levels, so keep that in mind.
8 Junk
The Junk shrine will reward players with a piece of armor in exchange for a piece of junk. This is a fantastic trade, as Junk is largely useless. The only reason this trade might be a bad idea is if you have the Trashcannon or if you're playing as The Robot.
The Trashcannon gets a 25% boost to damage if the player has junk in their inventory, though this doesn’t stack, so keep at least one and offer up the extras if you find yourself in that situation. The Robot gets a permanent 5% damage increase for each junk item in their inventory, so do not use the Shrine at all if playing as The Robot.
7 Angel
The Angel shrine comes with a steep cost for an extraordinary benefit. At the cost of a heart container, the player will receive 25% more damage. For offensive-based players, this is an excellent trade, and, with the right gun, it can help sweep rooms and melt bosses.
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For defensive players, this is a bad trade, as health and armor are the priority over damage. It’s also a bad trade if it’s found early in the game when the player has few heart containers. It can be worth it for the right player who excels at bullet hell games, though.
6 Dice
The Dice Shrine is easily the best and the worst Shrine in the game, which plants it firmly in the middle of this list. The player will have a positive and a negative effect put upon them when using this shrine.
Positive effects can do things like remove 10 curses, give one to 10 Blanks, or even refill all guns. The negative effects can remove blanks, take money, or even explode and hurt the player, among others. While using this shrine, be sure to have a junk weapon in your hand, as it could be taken, and hope for the one in 10 chance that nothing negative will happen to you.
5 Cleanse
Cleanse is a Shrine that, for the cost of five shells, will remove a single point of curse. This can be done as many times as the player wishes, assuming they have the shells for it.
If the player is swimming in Shells and is burdened with high levels of curse, this Shrine is a lifesaver. The ability to reset Curse levels can get the Jammed enemies off a player’s back. It also gives some breathing room to continue using Shrines that might add curse on to them later.
4 X.Y.
The X.Y. Shrine is often overlooked by players, but it has tremendous utility in this game. At the cost of 10 Shells, which increases with each successive use, there is a chance for any particular gun to suddenly fire 2-4 shots in random succession. Those shots have a chance to not consume any ammo when firing.
That rapid fire rate is great for quickly taking down spongy enemies when it does happen. Also having the chance to fire powerful weapons without burning any ammo is a powerful thing. It’s still the victim of RNG, which is why it doesn’t rank higher, but players should definitely trigger this Shrine when the shells allow.
3 Challenge
When triggered, this Shrine will summon three waves of enemies for the player to fight. If those enemies are defeated the Shrine will spawn a chest.
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Granted, there’s still RNG involved, so the player could expend valuable ammo, hearts, and blanks surviving the waves only to get a junk item from the chest. But, if this Shrine is on a lower level than your starter weapon can handle or if you’re brimming with ammo and could use chest loot, then absolutely trigger it.
2 Glass
This Shrine is unique in that it costs the player nothing to trigger it for a beneficial effect. When activated the player will be accompanied by three Glass Guon Stones that orbit the player and block incoming bullets. If the player takes damage, the Glass Guon Stones shatter.
There is literally no downside to using this Shrine, and the player is gifted with a defensive tool to help them survive. It might not be the most impressive Shrine on this list, but even veterans appreciate it when they see it.
1 Beholster
This is easily the best Shrine in the game and the hardest to trigger. The Beholster requires the player to sacrifice the Com4nd0, M1911, Void Marshal, Machine Pistol, Eye of the Beholster, andthe Trank Gun. In exchange, it will spit out the Eye of The Beholster with the added perk of causing those same weapons to orbit the player and fire upon enemies.
It’s a steep cost, as those weapons are incredibly useful, and triggering this Shrine will likely require multiple runs. If you can pull it off, however, you are gifted with a powerful ability to obliterate end game foes, assuming you have the ammo for it.
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