Blood Dungeon Bones & the Dogmancer

Bones are the permanent progression currency in Blood Dungeon. Unlike Blood, which resets every run, Bones accumulate across all sessions and are spent at the Dogmancer to buy permanent upgrades that make every future run easier.

How Bones work

You collect Bones during every run by killing enemies and completing objectives. At the end of a run — whether you die at wave two or clear all three bosses — your collected Bones are added to your total and immediately available at the Dogmancer.

There is no penalty for dying early. A run that ends at wave three still gives you the Bones you collected. This means the most efficient progression strategy is to run shorter sessions focused on collecting Bones rather than chasing full clears.

The Dogmancer and the Bone Shop

The Dogmancer is the skull-faced shopkeeper you visit between runs. His inventory includes:

• Health upgrades — additional hearts that increase your maximum HP across all characters
• Movement speed — base movement speed increase, valuable for every character
• Jump height — higher jumps let you reach arena secrets and escape enemy clusters
• Extra weapon slot — start each run with an additional weapon equipped. Launch coverage treats a second slot as the first high-impact buy. This wiki does not invent a four-slot cap.
• Base damage — WayTooManyGames lists damage among the permanent Bone Shop stats alongside speed and jump. Confirm the tooltip in your client.
• Not a bunkmate vending machine — Hypnomancer still unlocks from the second boss in Boiler. Named arenas unlock along the achievement spine, not as a published Bone price list. See Unlock Characters.

Upgrade tier recommendations

Not all upgrades are equal value. Here is a rough priority order based on current player consensus:

Highest priority

• Extra weapon slot (first) — starting with two weapon slots instead of one doubles your firepower from the first wave. This is the single most impactful upgrade.
• Health upgrades (first two) — extra hearts give you breathing room in difficult runs. First two hearts are relatively cheap.
• Movement speed (first two) — the game gets frantic after wave ten. Extra speed helps you kite and position.

Mid priority

• Jump height — valuable for arena knowledge and accessing elevated chests. Less immediately impactful than speed or weapons.
• More weapon slots after the second — useful if your client actually sells them. Do not assume a published four-slot cap.
• Named bunkmates after Gun Man or Barbarian — Baby’s magnum and extra gold are the usual next named step. Do not hunt Leech; it is an achievement, not a bunkmate. Do not treat the Dogmancer as a character store with invented prices.

Lower priority

• Pushing later arenas too early — Pit through Flood get harder. Stay in Catacombs until a second slot and extra hearts make deaths rare. Arenas are not a Bone Shop aisle.
• Cosmetic or convenience upgrades — the game includes unlockable skins and visual options that do not affect gameplay.

Bone economy

Bone rewards scale with how far you get in a run. Killing enemies gives Bones, but boss kills and chest collections give significantly more. The most efficient farming strategy is to push as deep as you can while maintaining consistent Bone collection rather than resetting immediately.

The Daily Dungeon is an extra mode (Vampire Ring / Play the Daily) plus a score habit. This wiki does not publish a Bone multiplier for it. Read the card in your client.

Bones and the global high score

Blood Dungeon tracks global high scores on a leaderboard. While Bones themselves do not affect your score directly, the permanent upgrades bought with Bones enable longer survival, which is what drives high scores. Treat the Dogmancer as your long-term score optimisation path.

Common mistakes

• Saving Bones too long — early weapon slots and health are high value. Spending Bones early accelerates all future runs.
• Ignoring the quest log — some upgrades or unlocks require quest completion in addition to Bones. Check the log after each session.
• Treating later maps as shop SKUs — walk the achievement spine when you are ready. Do not invent Bone prices for Flood.
• Skipping Daily entirely — enter once for Vampire Ring. Repeat for score if you care about Steam leaderboards, not because a fan page promised 2x Bones.