Against The Storm: Best Upgrades To Get As Soon As Possible

Against The Storm offers a lot of upgrades for players who are struggling to complete a run. Once activated, upgrades provide different bonuses and advantages that players can capitalize on such as additional starting resources, enhancements to buildings, and more Cornerstone choices.

Upgrades cost Citadel Resources, and these are obtained by finishing a run. That said, spending on the best upgrades is essential if players want to consistently finish a settlement. Here are upgrades that players should aim to acquire as soon as possible since they provide a ton of upside and make settlement and seal runs easier to accomplish. The tables below show the requirements needed for each upgrade.

10 Rainpunk Engines: Obsidian Archive

Utilizes Rainwater For Buildings To Boost Their Performance

As players become more familiar with the various buildings and the Rain Collector, they will have to get the Rainpunk Engines upgrade. Once acquired, it allows players to install piping in their production structures. Buildings with piping can utilize the water collected from the Rain Collectors to boost its performance, whether it’s churning out products or food items.

During the later stages, players will need to discern what kind of buildings use what type of rainwater, and whether they would want to install piping on them to improve their productivity.

9 Additional Cornerstone Choice: Monastery Of The Vigilant Flame

Gives Players One Additional Cornerstone To Choose From At The Start Of Runs

Every run in Against The Storm has players choose between a number of Cornerstones each time they gain Reputation, complete an order, or just before they start a run. Once players have a build in mind, they will also know which Cornerstone will complement their strategy.

This is why getting the Additional Cornerstone Choice upgrade as fast as possible is a great choice. It’s always a good thing to have more choices of buffs and perks, and with this upgrade, players can adjust their builds accordingly.

8 Cornerstone Reroll Charge: Monastery Of The Vigilant Flame

Gain +1 Free Reroll Of Cornerstones Per Completed Settlement

While Cornerstones are extremely useful, oftentimes picking the right one is a hard bargain, especially for players who are gunning for a specific build in their runs. This is especially true during the early stages when the available Cornerstones might not jive well with players’ strategy.

When this regularly happens, getting the Cornerstone Reroll Charge upgrade will let players have more options to choose from each time another day cycle completes and a plethora of Cornerstones becomes available. This upgrade gives players more flexibility with their builds and also allows them to adapt.

7 Special Discount: Dim Square

10% Discount On Perks And Blueprints Sold By Traders

Traders are essential for surviving and even accomplishing runs in Against The Storm. Apart from various goods and resources, they also sell blueprints and perks that significantly help players with their settlements.

That said, perks and blueprints from traders tend to be on the expensive side, since Amber is expensive, and these items are only purchased using Amber. To alleviate this, acquiring the Special Discount upgrade will lower the traders’ prices of perks and blueprints by 10%, which in some runs is crucial for completing orders and gaining reputation points.

6 Hearth Upgrade – Neighborhood: Brass Forge

Allows Upgrading Of Hearths To Neighborhood Level

During the course of a run, villagers will experience more severe hostility and other factors that lower their resolve. Having villagers with low resolve can result in them leaving the settlement. One way to counteract this is by getting their hearths to level up and become a neighborhood.

The Hearth Upgrade – Neighborhood does this: once the requirements are met, players’ Ancient Hearth will level up to become a neighborhood. Apart from the cool aesthetic, the upgraded hearth gives the following buffs: +10% to global production and +150 Corruption resistance.

5 Additional Blueprint Choice: Obsidian Archive

Players Have One More Blueprint Option When Using Reputation Points

Each time a player completes an Order or a glade event, they get a chance to earn Reputation. Players can spend one Reputation point to choose between a selection of building blueprints that they can build within their settlement. In some cases, the choices do not line up with the player’s strategy, and they are forced to pick one just for the sake of picking a blueprint.

To give more options, players have to get the Additional Blueprint Choice upgrade as soon as possible. Once this is acquired, players have more blueprints to choose from whenever they earn Reputation.

4 Extra Merchandise: Dim Square

Traders do not just offer timely goods and crafting materials whenever they reach a player’s settlement. They also have a chance to bring Cornerstones and blueprints that can be sold for Amber.

Getting the Extra Merchandise upgrade enables traders to have one more Cornerstone or blueprint for sale each time they arrive. This gives players more options when establishing their settlement or fine-tuning their builds: picking the right perk and blueprint will further maximize the settlement’s efficiency for producing goods for trade and for the villagers.

3 Starting Resources – Planks: Dim Square

Players Have The Option To Start Their Run With 5 Additional Planks

Planks are one of the most important crafting materials in Against The Storm. Most housing buildings, second-tier production structures, and most of the mid to high-level items require planks as one of their materials.

This is why getting planks as early as possible bolsters a player’s chances of establishing crucial structures for their settlement. Getting this upgrade, therefore, further equips players with another essential starting material they can utilize to jumpstart the establishment of their settlements. 5 Planks are enough, for example, to build a Big Shelter that can house a number of villagers in the early stages.

2 Embarkation Points: Pioneer’s Gate

+1 Embarkation Point Players Can Use For Bonus Resources Or Blueprints Before Starting A Run

Embarkation Points let players stock up on more materials before they set off to establish a settlement. Having extra materials is always welcome since these materials will be utilized by players for building structures or feeding their villagers.

Getting the Embarkation Points as soon as possible grants players more starting materials for their runs. This allows them to prepare for whatever tile they will run with the proper resources at their disposal.

1 Embarkation Bonus – Villagers: First Dawn Headquarters

Grants Players Additional Villagers If Chosen As An Embarkation Bonus

Villagers are the lifeblood of establishing a settlement. This is why having a number of them early is a great start since players can command them to gather more resources and quickly build shelters. Luckily, before players start a run, they are given Embarkation Points that allow them to add more starting resources.

The Embarkation Bonus – Villagers is an excellent upgrade to get as soon as possible since it gives players additional villagers to command. More villagers early in the run means players can assign them to woodcutting or to gather whatever nodes are available in their starting camp and get more resources faster.