Upgrades are run-scoped power-ups. Claude B's rule for the turn kit is that "upgrades become strategies, not sidegrades": each one reshapes the action economy and carries a real downside, so builds diverge.
The upgrades#
| Upgrade | Class | Gives | Costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Survey | Sentinel | Survey is a bonus action | Survey radius 5 → 3 |
| Long Anchor | Sentinel | Pull reaches 5 | Pull cooldown 2 → 3 |
| Eager Friend | Coordinator | Your companion gets one more job a room | It starts at Composure 1 |
| Shared Turn | Coordinator | Direct gives two extra actions, not one | Swap cooldown 3 → 5 |
| Wide Ring | Warden | Ward is a 5×5 ring | It lasts 1 round, not 2 |
| Deep Roots | Warden | Stand Fast holds for 2 rounds | No action in its second round |
| Light Membrane | Any | +1 movement | Reach −1 and Composure 3 → 2 |
| Settled Hands | Any | Settle also gives a recovery Care to the weakest connection in reach | Settle has a 2-round cooldown |
Numbers#
Claude B ran the expert bot on 51 rooms per class (Gardens, Vessel, Tracts and Hearth), once for each option. SIMULATION, 2 November:
- Upgrades changed the expert's result in about 3 rooms in 10.
- Top tolerant pick rates: Light Membrane 31% (Warden), Long Anchor 27% (Sentinel). No option was above 35% overall.
- Tuned after the first run: Light Membrane gained its Composure cost (it was 39% for the Warden), and Long Anchor was cut from 6 to 5 (it was 42% strict).
- Above 35% in one place (allowed as location variety): Light Membrane in Vessel Margins (Warden 44%) and the Tracts (Warden 38%).
- The Coordinator upgrades are not measured, because the bots drive only the Ranger.
"Strategies, not sidegrades" is not yet met in bot play: upgrades remain the quietest choice. Claude B's next step is a playtest. If players do not feel them, the first lever is bigger effects and costs.
Development#
In the real-time design, upgrades were offered between rooms and lost at run end. Studios drills and resident bonds unlock eligibility. The alpha passes a run's upgrades into each room only when the turn catalogue lists that id for the class. The lead's audit found that the alpha's economy still exposes the old real-time upgrade pool, so the offer side is not reconciled.
Retired real-time upgrades#
wide-survey, quick-retract, slingshot, loyal-friend, quick-swap, lasting-ring (and earlier long-tendril, wide-steer, counter-brace). Some ids are still used by the Studios drill design.
See also#
Kit history · Imprints · Workshop tools · Signal tuning
Sources#
b89f778c2:src/main-game/alpha/public/encounter/src/skills/turns/catalog.js215bfbf88:docs/game-balance/31-turn-based-encounters.mdb89f778c2:src/main-game/alpha/public/encounter/src/skills/kit/catalog.js- docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-11-02-lead-full-project-reconciliation-audit.md (working copy, not in Git)