All 11 equipable items and when each one is worth the slot
Items drop from chests and bosses, only one can be equipped at a time, and they last the run. Here is every item with its real effect and the situation where it beats the one you already have.
How items work
During a run you can find equipable items in chests and they drop from bosses. You can only carry one at a time: if you find a second one, you choose which to keep. They last exactly as long as the run, so an item is never a permanent decision — it is a decision you get to re-make several times a run.
The second item is the interesting one. Because you can only hold one, every new item is a comparison rather than a reward. The question is never "is this good" but "is this better than what I am holding right now".
The full list
| Item | Effect | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| Remains | Recover 1.5% of your health per second | Long arenas and the minute-30 chase |
| Choice Band | +40% damage, but you can no longer switch moves | When one move clears everything |
| Quick Claw | −20% cooldown on all of your moves | Almost always an upgrade |
| Focus Band | A hit that would KO you leaves you on 1 HP instead (every 60s) | Boss and rift fights — one save per minute |
| Shell Bell | Recover health from the damage you deal | High-damage builds that also want sustain |
| Coin Amulet | +50% Pokémonet coins at the end of the run | Farming runs, not survival runs |
| Lucky Egg | +30% experience | Levelling speed on the partner you are levelling |
| Life Orb | +30% damage, but each attack costs a little health | High-damage, short-fight situations |
| Choice Scarf | +35% movement speed | Kiting builds — often the best stat in the game |
| Rough Skin | Melee attackers take damage when they hit you | When the horde is mostly contact damage |
| Assault Vest | +20% damage reduction from incoming hits | Replacing a dodge you cannot make |
The three items that change how you play
Most items are a bigger number. Three of them change decisions instead, which is why they are worth more than their stat lines suggest.
- Choice Band removes your ability to switch moves. It is the best item in the game if one move already covers the screen, and a trap if your fight changes shape mid-wave.
- Focus Band turns death into a one-second mistake, once a minute. It is worth holding specifically for a rift legendary, not for the map.
- Choice Scarf is pure positioning. +35% speed changes which attacks you can dodge and which lanes you can keep, which upstream beats raw damage for most builds.
Life Orb and Choice Band both trade safety for damage. That trade is fine in a fight you will win quickly and terrible in one you will not. Judge them by the length of the fight, not by the size of the number.
Running a coin route instead of a survival route
Coin Amulet changes what a run is for. It does not make you safer or stronger, it makes the run worth more coins at the end. If you are playing for permanent per-Pokémon upgrades, a farming route with the amulet and Lucky Egg is a completely different session from a survival route.
Just do not confuse the two. A farming run accepts smaller risks, moves slower, and ends earlier — and if you start treating it as a survival run you will lose coins and progress on a bad difficulty spike.
Practical rules
- Take an item only if it beats the one you have. There is no such thing as a bad item, only a worse comparison.
- Hold Focus Band for the moment that matters. Popping it on the map wastes the single most valuable second in the game.
- Read the downside of the aggressive items. Life Orb's cost scales with your attacks, so a fast-cooldown build pays it constantly.
- Switching items mid-run is allowed and free — the cost is the choice, not the swap.
Questions about this
Can I equip more than one item?
No. You carry one at a time, and finding another forces you to choose which to keep. Items last for the length of the run.
Where do items come from?
Chests found during the run, and bosses. Bosses are the more reliable source.
Is Focus Band worth saving for a rift?
Yes. It triggers once every 60 seconds and leaves you on 1 HP, which is most valuable in a fight you would otherwise lose rather than in ordinary map play.
Written for PokéSurvivor.online, an independent guide. Not affiliated with Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company. If a number here ever disagrees with the game you are playing, the game wins — tell us and we will fix the page.