🏆 Tier List
📖 What Each Tier Means
Must Buy
Buy immediately, regardless of phase. These upgrades have game-changing income multipliers or unlock critical automation. Never skip.
High Priority
Strong income boosts that compound well. Buy these second, after S-tiers. Excellent ROI relative to cost.
Buy When Ready
Solid upgrades that provide value, often required for progression gates or manager automation. Don't rush them over S/A, but don't ignore them.
Situational
Only useful in specific situations — usually when you have excess cash or when a manager is already handling the target income line. Context-dependent.
Skip / Cosmetic
Pure aesthetics or decorations that provide no income benefit. Only buy if required to unlock a hidden upgrade button (check in-game first).
📐 How We Rank Upgrades
Each upgrade is evaluated on four criteria:
- ROI Speed — How quickly does the upgrade pay for itself in income gained?
- Multiplier Type — Is it additive (+X%) or multiplicative (×N)? Multiplicative upgrades always tier higher.
- Persistence — Does it survive Evolution resets? Permanent upgrades are valued higher.
- Unlock Gating — Does it unlock other upgrades? Gate-openers are ranked higher than their income contribution suggests.
Note: Phase matters. Street Flyers is A-tier early game but becomes less impactful in high-Evolution runs where you skip the Lemon Stand phase entirely.