Wisdom Tree Explained

Ember Shards, the permanent currency you earn from runs (standard, endless, or daily), are spent on the in-game screen called the "Wisdom Tree." Spending falls into four broad systems.

1. Permanent upgrades (staged, capped)

Permanent, run-independent boosts. Each stage costs more than the last, and every upgrade eventually hits a hard cap.

Castle HP — +10% of base per stage, up to 6 stages (+60% total)
Moves — +1 per stage, up to 4 stages (+4 total)
Damage dealt — +2% per stage, up to 25 stages (+50% total)
Starting skill / board expansion — one stage each (an on/off unlock)

2. Captain training (per unit kind)

Each of the 7 unit kinds can be trained individually. Every unit already starts with 25 stages (+30%) for free, and can be trained an additional 25 stages, up to a cap of 50 (+45% total). The rate diminishes: the first 25 stages give +1.2% each, while stages 26 through 50 give +0.6% each.

The 25 stages you actually spend shards on run from stage 26 through stage 50. Stage 26 starts at 25 shards, and the cost per stage climbs the further you go.

3. Run loadouts (spent per run — never runs dry)

Spend shards before a run starts to prepare for it. These never make you permanently stronger, so no amount of spending here can break the game's difficulty — this is the bottomless sink for shards once everything else in the Wisdom Tree is maxed out.

Bring a veteran — start with one tier-2 captain already placed
Extra Ember — raise this run's Ember cap by 15% of the base (and start full)
Early moves — +2 moves for the first few days
Opening skill — choose one skill to start with

4. Chronicles & music unlocks (no combat effect)

Lore entries — a captain's backstory, voices of the Dusk Legion, regional folklore, kingdom history — called "Chronicles," plus music-mode tracks, can be unlocked with shards. None of this affects combat power. See About the Chronicles.

Unlock conditions

Wisdom Tree items unlock progressively based on your best depth reached in Endless mode. The two base items (Castle HP, damage) are available from the start with no requirement. This gate only applies to the App Store release — dev builds and TestFlight always have everything unlocked.

Skill Database · Endless Mode & Ember Shards · Unit Roles Explained · Captains