- Spend on the failure you feel every session.
- Prefer range, depth, or storage only when they remove a repeated stop.
- Do not split one batch across three partial fixes.
Workbench
Spend the next batch on the upgrade that removes the repeated failure.
This planner helps you choose whether the next upgrade should go into range, depth, storage, power, or search efficiency.
Best fit
Use this when several upgrades all look tempting and you need one calmer way to decide which one actually fixes the run.
Upgrade workbench
Name the repeated failure before you spend the next batch.
Upgrade help
What this page should stop you from wasting.
Upgrades are only useful when they remove the thing that keeps breaking the run. If the planner cannot point to one repeated failure, the safest upgrade is often the one that reduces the biggest backtrack.
- Buying an exciting upgrade before the real bottleneck is known.
- Upgrading base and vehicle support at the same time when one of them is already enough.
- Ignoring the route or storage problem that made the upgrade feel necessary.
- Open Base Planner if home friction is still the bigger issue.
- Open Vehicles if travel range or depth is the wall.
- Open Resources if the batch has not even been earned yet.
Upgrade depth
What the upgrade planner should fix first.
Upgrade pages need to make the next purchase feel like a decision, not a shopping list. The reader should leave knowing which repeated failure disappears first if they spend the batch now.
- Choose the upgrade that removes the most repeated pain.
- Spend on travel, storage, depth, or safety only if the current run is already bottlenecked there.
- Hold materials if the next upgrade does not change the next session.
- Upgrading for novelty instead of impact.
- Ignoring the failure that keeps ending the run.
- Buying a nice-to-have upgrade before the blocker is gone.
- Open Vehicles Center for travel and depth upgrades.
- Open Base Building Center when the blocker is storage or layout.
- Open Vehicle upgrades for a more specific handoff.
Upgrade order
Which upgrade usually pays back first.
If several upgrades are available, pick the one that removes the most repeated failure from the next few runs. The right answer is the thing that changes your trip pattern, not the thing that simply looks stronger on paper.
| Upgrade type | Best when... | Why it wins |
|---|---|---|
| Range | Trips are too short or too stressful to repeat. | It changes where you can safely go. |
| Storage | Inventory is causing early returns. | It removes repeat cleanup trips. |
| Depth | The route stops at a shallow boundary. | It opens the next zone instead of extending the old one. |
| Safety | One threat keeps ending the run. | It reduces the chance of losing the batch. |
Upgrade stop rule
Do not chase the strongest upgrade if the first fix already solved the run.
The best upgrade page should also tell you when to stop. If the problem is already easier to manage, the next upgrade may be a delay, not progress.
Buy range
When you are blocked by short, stressful trips.
Buy storage
When the batch keeps forcing you home early.
Wait
When no upgrade changes the next few runs enough.
Low-value guardrail
This planner should end with one upgrade choice and one rejected option.
The upgrade planner is not useful if it simply lists every exciting improvement. It should force a comparison between the upgrade that sounds strong and the upgrade that removes the next repeated failure. That is the difference between a real planning tool and a thin directory.
| If the run fails because... | Prioritize... | Reject for now... |
|---|---|---|
| You return early with half a route unfinished. | Range or depth that reaches the target cleanly. | Storage upgrades that only make the same weak route longer. |
| You reach the target but cannot carry the useful batch. | Storage or base drop-off support. | Extra travel power before the inventory problem is solved. |
| Threat pressure ends the trip before the payoff. | Safety or a route change that protects the batch. | Pure speed if the danger cue is still misunderstood. |
| The base cannot process returns quickly. | Base support before another travel upgrade. | Depth pushes that create more cleanup at home. |
A good result is specific enough to act on: buy storage because the route already works but returns are wasteful, or wait because no upgrade changes the next session. If the result is still vague, leave for Route Planner, Base Planner, or Resources before spending.
Planner acceptance test
Before you spend, write the upgrade reason in one sentence.
Use this page until the upgrade can be defended without guessing: "I am buying this because it removes this repeated failure on this next route." If the sentence needs three different reasons, the plan is still unfocused. Split the problem again and solve the loudest blocker first.
This also prevents duplicate upgrade content across the site. Vehicle pages can explain travel upgrades, base pages can explain home support, and this planner only decides which improvement deserves the next spend.
If the planner cannot produce that sentence, the safest action is to wait and fix the route, base, or material plan first.
One clear spend beats three half-finished improvements.
Use the rejected option as proof that the choice is deliberate.
Then spend only if the next session changes.