← Chief Gear & CharmsChief Expansion · Upgrade Priorities
“What should I upgrade next?” needs more than one answer.
There is no useful universal upgrade order without context. The right answer changes when a set breakpoint is close, when your account has a specific job, when an exchange unlock is within reach, or when waiting makes the exact same upgrade worth more.
The rule before the tree
Do not follow the answer. Understand why it won.
A decision tree is only useful if you could make the same decision without it next time. Every branch below explains what changes the value of an upgrade — set bonuses, account purpose, system rules, unlocks or timing.
If two choices are still equal after you run the tree, that is when a simple baseline such as Infantry → Marksman → Lancer can break the tie for Chief Gear. It is a tie-breaker, not a commandment.
Decision tree
Run this before you touch the button.
1
Ask yourself
Are you close to a 3-piece or 6-piece Chief Gear breakpoint?
If yes
Usually finish the breakpoint.
Why: Three qualifying Gear pieces advance Defense for all three troop types; six advance Attack for all three. If one catch-up upgrade triggers that bonus, its value reaches beyond the individual piece you clicked.
If no
Move to the account-goal question.
Why: If neither option changes a set bonus, you have less reason to force the lagging piece forward. Your actual formation, event goal or weak troop line becomes a better tie-breaker.
2
Ask yourself
What are you actually trying to improve?
If yes — you have a clear goal
Name the job before choosing the troop.
Why: General PvP, Bear, a Lancer-heavy formation and a two-troop setup do not ask the same thing from your stats. A priority only makes sense when it serves something your account actually does.
If no — not yet
If you cannot name the job, use the balanced baseline.
Why: Specializing without a goal is just random uneven progression. A balanced baseline protects the account while you learn where your real bottleneck is.
3
Ask yourself
Are you choosing between Chief Gear and Charms?
If yes
Treat the two systems differently.
Why: Gear has 3-piece and 6-piece set pressure, so letting pieces drift apart can delay all-troop bonuses. Charms have no matching-set bonus, so uneven investment is much easier to justify when it serves a specific troop or goal.
If no
Stay inside the rules of the system you are upgrading.
Why: A good Charm strategy can be a bad Gear strategy. Do not copy an upgrade order across systems just because both screens live under your Chief.
4
Ask yourself
Can one deliberate push unlock a material exchange?
If yes
Consider letting one piece or Charm run ahead.
Why: Mythic T2 ★★★ Gear unlocks the Enhancement Material Exchange, and a Level 11 Charm can unlock the Charm Material Exchange once your state progression allows it. You are buying access to a permanent resource-management tool, not merely another stat bump.
If no
Do not manufacture a giant gap just to feel progress.
Why: Without a breakpoint or specific account goal, pushing one item far ahead can consume scarce materials while delaying broader upgrades that may help more of your formation.
5
Ask yourself
Does this upgrade need to happen now?
If yes
Spend if it solves an immediate problem.
Why: A needed battle breakpoint, set bonus or system unlock can be worth taking immediately. Event efficiency should not make the account unusable when the stats have a real job today.
If no
Bank it for a scoring window.
Why: If waiting changes nothing about your account's immediate performance, the same permanent upgrade can often be completed during a relevant event and earn points on top of the stats.
What this looks like on a real account
Same materials. Different correct answers.
Balanced / developing
Build a floor, then specialize
If nothing else is close or urgent, keep the account functional as a whole. Infantry → Marksman → Lancer is a useful Gear tie-breaker for many accounts, not a rule you must obey forever.
Bear-focused
Marksman can lead
Bear is a damage problem, not a balanced-PvP problem. Marksman Charm investment can reasonably move ahead because you are deliberately improving the troop line doing the job.
Specialized formation
Follow what you actually field
If your account intentionally leans Lancer-heavy or uses a two-troop formation, let that real formation break ties — especially with Charms, where there is no matching-set pressure.
Near a Gear set bonus
Finish the breakpoint
A third qualifying Gear piece advances all-troop Defense; all six advance all-troop Attack. One catch-up upgrade can therefore affect the whole formation instead of only the troop line on one piece.
Near the Gear exchange
A one-piece push can be intentional
Mythic T2 ★★★ on one Chief Gear piece unlocks the Enhancement Material Exchange. The value is not just the stats on that piece — it is permanent access to a system that changes future material planning.
Nothing meaningful is close
You are allowed to wait
If the upgrade does not hit a breakpoint, fix a weakness or unlock a useful system, there may be no reason to spend today. Banking materials can preserve options and let the same upgrade earn event points later.
Two examples
The WHY changes the answer.
Account A
One upgrade from the 3-piece Defense breakpoint
Choice: catch up the qualifying Gear piece.
Why: that upgrade advances Defense for Infantry, Lancer and Marksman together. Pushing an already-ahead favorite piece may improve its troop stats without advancing the set bonus.
Account B
No set breakpoint close, Bear damage is the goal
Choice: let Marksman Charm investment lead.
Why: Charms do not have Gear's matching-set pressure, and the account has named a specific damage job. The same unevenness that would deserve scrutiny on Gear can be intentional here.
The option people forget
Sometimes the correct upgrade is nothing.
Enough materials is not the same thing as a reason to spend them. If you are not hitting a set threshold, fixing a real weakness, unlocking a useful system or preparing for something immediate, keeping the materials can be the stronger move.
And if a relevant scoring event is close, waiting can make the exact same permanent upgrade pay twice: once in stats and once in event points. Red dots are not strategy.
Frost takeaway
The goal is to stop needing a priority chart.
Check the breakpoint. Name the job. Respect the system. Look for a meaningful unlock. Then decide whether the upgrade needs to happen now. Once you understand those five questions, “what should I upgrade next?” becomes an account decision instead of somebody else's universal rule.