# Item guide

> How each item and evolved item changes a run. Tips for 42 items in tibo.dog, each linked to its full wiki page.

Source page: https://www.tibodog.wiki/guides/items · Wiki updated 6 Nov 2026, 03:55 UTC · Game version 75 (`main-CSuyb4iv.js`, data synced 5 Nov 2026, 21:45 UTC)

Breadcrumb: [Main page](/) › [Guides](/guides)

How each item and evolved item changes a run. Every tip below is the same text as on that item's page, which also has the numbers and sources.

## [Baked Buckler](/items/baked-buckler)

- One Buckler is worth the most early in a run, when attacker levels are low. Later on, 10 armor barely changes the numbers unless you already stack armor from Starch Plating.
- Armor and dodge work at different stages: [Ghost Skin](/items/ghost-skin) and dodge cancel a hit outright, and armor reduces the hits that land.

## [Boom Spud](/items/boom-spud)

- 20 damage is enough to finish most early pests, but pest HP grows over the run (about 3.4× by 20:00 on Normal, see [Enemy scaling](/enemy-scaling)). Treat Boom Spud as a way to clear crowds early and as a step towards Kaboom Spud.
- Holding Boom Spud makes [Rotten Spud](/passives/rotten-spud) four times as likely in level-up offers ([Level-up](/level-up#offer-weights)). If you plan to evolve it, accept the curse that comes with it.

## [Boss Buster](/items/boss-buster)

- Elites always drop a chest and bosses are the main thing between Tibo and the 20:00 mark ([Chests](/chests), [Bosses](/bosses)). Damage that only applies to them is still worth taking.
- It does nothing against ordinary pests. Pair it with something that clears crowds.

## [Chive Charm](/items/chive-charm)

- Maxed Chives and GPU together give 45% cooldown reduction, so you would need five more Chive Charms to reach the 60% cap. Below the cap each charm is a small but reliable bonus. At the cap it does nothing. **Measured** (build 41 `main-B2gf34bA.js`, headless `tools/play.mjs`, seed `wiki`, standard mode, normal difficulty; passives given with `give`, charms with `giveItem`): with Chives and GPU at level 5 the game's `cooldownMult` stat read 0.55, then 0.43 with 4 charms and 0.40 with 5, 6 or 20. One to three charms alone read 0.97, 0.94 and 0.91, and 25 charms alone read 0.40.
- The cap does not include fire-rate bonuses such as [Frenzy Fryer](/points-of-interest#frenzy-fryer), which work separately ([Stats](/stats#weapon-details)).

## [Coal-Baked Spud](/items/coal-baked-spud)

- It suits weapons that hit hard and not very often. A single big hit leaves a big fire, while many small hits keep overwriting each other with weak burns.
- [Slow Cooker](/passives/slow-cooker) lengthens every burn, but it is not this item's catalyst. The catalyst is Hot Sauce.

## [Compost Tea](/items/compost-tea)

- XP gain pays off over time. A copy found early in a run is worth more than one found near the end.

## [Copper Spoon](/items/copper-spoon)

- A bigger pickup range lets Tibo collect XP without walking into the crowd. It is a comfort pick rather than a power pick.

## [Coupon Book](/items/coupon-book)

- Coupon Book pays off when you plan to spend a lot of gold. It pairs naturally with gold gain from [Golden Gravy](/items/golden-gravy) or [Golden Fry](/passives/golden-fry).
- Crate prices climb quickly (30, 72, 115, 159 gold and up), so the same percentage saves more gold on later crates.

## [Crit Chip](/items/crit-chip)

- Crit Chip does nothing without crit chance. Each chip raises average damage by crit chance × 0.25 of a normal hit. With maxed Hot Sauce (23.1% crit) that is +5.8% of a normal hit, or about 4.7% more than Tibo dealt before.
- It is best once crit chance is already high, because the value of crit damage grows with how often you crit.

## [Cursed Crown](/items/cursed-crown)

- +30% damage equals three levels of [Butter Pat](/passives/butter-pat) and takes no passive slot. Whether the extra enemy HP is worth it depends on how comfortably your build is clearing.
- Curse makes kill-based item effects that scale with enemy max HP, such as [Kaboom Spud](/items/kaboom-spud), [Freezer Burn](/items/freezer-burn) and [Glacier Spud](/items/glacier-spud), hit harder, because those enemies have more HP.

## [Extra Eye](/items/extra-eye)

- An extra projectile is a large boost for weapons that fire one or two projectiles per volley, and it applies to every eligible weapon at once.
- If your main damage comes from the excluded weapon kinds, an Extra Eye does little for them.

## [Freezer Burn](/items/freezer-burn)

- You need a steady freeze source first: [Frozen Fries](/weapons/frozen-fries), [Root Cellar](/weapons/root-cellar), [Hash Bulwark](/weapons/hash-bulwark), [Cold Storage](/weapons/cold-storage) or [Permafrost Fries](/weapons/permafrost-fries). A [Spud Freezer](/points-of-interest#spud-freezer) freezes every pest on the map for 7.5 s, which makes a good moment to clear the screen.
- Slow Cooker is worth taking with this item even before the evolution, because longer freezes leave more time for frozen enemies to die.

## [Ghost Pepper](/items/ghost-pepper)

- The base dash has a 5 s cooldown and a single charge. [Butter Socks](/passives/butter-socks) adds charges and shortens the cooldown, so it gives Ghost Pepper many more windows to work with.
- The extra 0.15 s makes it more forgiving to dash through bullets and enemy bodies, because Tibo is still safe for a moment after he lands.

## [Ghost Skin](/items/ghost-skin)

- Unlike armor, dodge does not lose value as enemies level up over the run. Ghost Skin's 4.8% stays 4.8%, while the 10 armor from [Baked Buckler](/items/baked-buckler) drops from blocking 17% of a hit at 0:00 to 6% at 20:00.

## [Golden Gravy](/items/golden-gravy)

- Gold buys [Potato Crates](/points-of-interest#potato-crate), [Fry Cart](/points-of-interest#fry-cart) items and [Tater Slots](/points-of-interest#tater-slots) spins, which all give more items. Golden Gravy speeds that up while also raising damage.
- It pairs well with [Coupon Book](/items/coupon-book): one item increases the gold you earn and the other reduces what you spend.

## [Heavy Russet](/items/heavy-russet)

- Because the bonus comes in rare large hits, it is best against high-HP targets such as elites and bosses, where the full 15× counts.
- The [Microwave](/points-of-interest#microwave) can copy a held Heavy Russet, melting a copy of another Legendary item you hold, until you reach the 5-copy cap. Copies carry over when it evolves.

## [Hot Pepper](/items/hot-pepper)

- On its own, Hot Pepper is a small bonus. It is worth more when crits are already strong, for example with [Crit Chip](/items/crit-chip) or [Sour Cream](/passives/sour-cream).

## [Lucky Peel](/items/lucky-peel)

- One peel changes little. Several, or peels on top of [Four-Eyed Spud](/passives/four-eyed-spud) (+0.1 luck per level) or [Cursed Crown](/items/cursed-crown), add up to a fourth card more often.
- Luck only improves item rarity on future rolls. It is most worth having early, before you buy [Potato Crates](/points-of-interest#potato-crate) or visit Fry Carts.

## [Penny Spud](/items/penny-spud)

- Gold buys [Potato Crates](/points-of-interest#potato-crate), [Fry Cart](/points-of-interest#fry-cart) items and [Tater Slots](/points-of-interest#tater-slots) spins. A Penny Spud only pays off when you spend that gold, so it suits runs that route through those points of interest.
- Curse also raises gold gain, and the two multiply, so greed is worth a little more in cursed runs.

## [Philosopher's Potato](/items/philosophers-potato)

- It has no weakness and suits any build. Area and duration help aura, pool and orbit weapons; projectile speed helps shots reach targets.
- You cannot rely on finding one, but if a Fry Cart's bumped third slot rolls it, it is usually worth buying.

## [Pickle Jar](/items/pickle-jar)

- One level of [Root Network](/passives/root-network) gives 0.25 recovery, as much as two and a half jars. Treat the jar as a small bonus, not a healing plan.
- Recovery is most useful against chip damage. Big boss hits outpace it.

## [Porcupine Spud](/items/porcupine-spud)

- The fries scale with run time, so the item gets stronger late without any investment.
- It rewards builds that are hit often but survive, such as armor from Starch Plating, which is also its catalyst.
- Thorns from [Thorny Jacket](/items/thorny-jacket) add directly to every fry.

## [Salt Crystal](/items/salt-crystal)

- One crystal is a small boost. It is a Common, so several can turn up in one run, and they keep adding 4 points each.
- [Thorny Jacket](/items/thorny-jacket) contact damage is flat and is not raised by damage bonuses.

## [Second Spud](/items/second-spud)

- On Hard it is the only way to get a revive, which makes it much more valuable there than on Easy.
- Level-ups earned while Tibo is down wait until he gets up, so a revive does not waste XP.

## [Sharp Peeler](/items/sharp-peeler)

- It is worth most with weapons that fire single-target shots with low pierce, such as [Fry Knives](/weapons/fry-knives) or [Tot Toss](/weapons/tot-toss), and with dense crowds. Check a weapon's pierce on its page first: for weapons with unlimited pierce it does nothing.

## [Spicy Croquette](/items/spicy-croquette)

- Copies are not wasted when it evolves: every Spicy Croquette you hold becomes a Magma Croquette.
- While you hold the croquette, Big Bowl is offered more often on level-up cards (×4 weight), which helps reach level 5 (see [Level-up](/level-up#offer-weights)).

## [Spud Muffin](/items/spud-muffin)

- Max HP makes healing from [Pickle Jar](/items/pickle-jar), [Vampire Tot](/items/vampire-tot) and snacks more useful, since they are all capped at max HP.
- Muffins are better with Gravy Heart, which multiplies the flat bonus.

## [Starch Sock](/items/starch-sock)

- Extra speed helps you get around enemies, reach points of interest and outrun slow pests. Its effect is small unless you have several socks or Spud Sneakers as well.

## [Static Tot](/items/static-tot)

- It needs other enemies nearby, so it is strongest against crowds and weak against a lone boss.
- While you hold it, Root Network is offered more often on level-up cards (×4 weight) (see [Level-up](/level-up#offer-weights)).

## [Thorny Jacket](/items/thorny-jacket)

- On its own, 8 flat damage falls behind enemy HP within minutes (see [Enemy scaling](/enemy-scaling)). Its value is mostly in boosting Porcupine Spud, Fry Volcano and the hash brown shields, where it adds to every projectile or shard.

## [Time Tuber](/items/time-tuber)

- It pairs with weapons whose damage depends on how long their effect stays out, and with burn items such as [Magma Croquette](/items/magma-croquette).
- [Slow Cooker](/passives/slow-cooker) gives +0.1 duration per level if you want more of the same.

## [Vampire Tot](/items/vampire-tot)

- It is weakest early, when kills are slow, and best late in big crowds.
- Compare it with [Pickle Jar](/items/pickle-jar) (0.1 HP per second): Vampire Tot heals more only while you kill more than two enemies per second.

## [Wandering Eyes](/items/wandering-eyes)

- Builds that kill large crowds trigger it most. Because eye damage follows the dead enemy's HP, it keeps up with late-game enemies better than flat-damage items.
- While you hold it, Four-Eyed Spud is offered more often on level-up cards (×4 weight), and its luck is useful on its own.

## [Wide Ladle](/items/wide-ladle)

- Area is most useful for weapons that hit everything in a zone, such as auras, pools and novas.

## [All-Seeing Spud](/items/all-seeing-spud)

- Eyes from one kill can kill more enemies and trigger more eyes, so it snowballs best in dense crowds.
- Four-Eyed Spud at level 5 also gives +0.5 luck: a 50% chance of a fourth level-up card and better item rarity (see [Stats](/stats#luck)).

## [Bonfire Spud](/items/bonfire-spud)

- Hot Sauce stays in your build after the evolution. Its crit chance keeps making the igniting hits, and so the fires, bigger.
- Weapons that hit dense groups make the most of the spread, because a single proc can light a whole crowd.

## [Fry Volcano](/items/fry-volcano)

- Starch Plating at level 5 gives 100 armor, so a Fry Volcano build takes less damage per hit while still triggering on every hit that gets through.
- The blast centres on Tibo, so it clears enemies pressed against him, while the fries reach further out.
- [Thorny Jacket](/items/thorny-jacket) thorns count 1.5× in each fry and twice that in the blast.

## [Glacier Spud](/items/glacier-spud)

- With Slow Cooker maxed, the duration multiplier is 1.75 (1 + 0.5 + the base 0.25), so the freeze lasts about 2.6 s and the slow 3.5 s even with no other duration sources.
- Large groups of frozen and slowed enemies bunch up and are easy targets for area weapons. Glacier Spud is as much crowd control as damage.

## [Kaboom Spud](/items/kaboom-spud)

- Curse multiplies enemy HP ([Curse](/curse)), so the curse from Rotten Spud also makes every Kaboom blast bigger. The two scale together.
- Because the blast scales with enemy HP, Kaboom Spud stays useful late in a run, where Boom Spud's flat 20 damage falls off.

## [Magma Croquette](/items/magma-croquette)

- Bigger single hits make bigger blasts and burns, so it pairs well with crit and damage bonuses.
- Duration bonuses, such as [Slow Cooker](/passives/slow-cooker) or [Time Tuber](/items/time-tuber), lengthen the burn.

## [Meteor Russet](/items/meteor-russet)

- Meteor Russet turns Heavy Russet's single-target hits into area damage, so it helps against crowds as well as bosses.
- Meteor damage is a multiple of the triggering hit, and the number of meteors is capped. That favours weapons with big individual hits over many small ones.

## [Storm Tot](/items/storm-tot)

- The thunderclaps make it much better than Static Tot in tight crowds, where each clap hits several enemies.
- Root Network's recovery (+1.25 HP per second at level 5) is useful on its own, so the catalyst is rarely a wasted slot.

## Sources

Game version 75: `main-CSuyb4iv.js` / `boot-CPW8VVmR.js` / `sim-BkfBhQfw.js` from https://tibo.dog/, researched 2026-11-05. See [Versions & updates](/versions).
- Tips sections of the linked wiki pages; each page lists its own sources