Five resources, and which one to spend first
Two of these reset when you die and two do not. Mixing them up is why some players feel stuck at Depth 2.
Spend Expenite inside the run, hold Flux Quartz for a dead draft, and dump every Merit into Enhancement slots before cosmetics. Scrip is cosmetic only and Update 3 refunded everything already spent.
Five resources, two of which survive the run. Mixing them up is the most common reason a player with thirty hours looks like a player with three.
Expenite is spent inside the run and dies with it. Flux Quartz buys rerolls and also dies with the run. Merits, Scrip and Reclaimer Points persist, which makes them the ones worth thinking about between missions.
Which resource is which
| Resource | Where it comes from | What it buys | Survives death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expenite | Ore veins, buckets, vials, enemy kills | In-run upgrades and Artifacts | No |
| Flux Quartz | Walls of facility caves | Rerolls at the Refractor Terminal | No |
| Merits | Directives, Deployments, Gauntlet levels | Enhancement slots, tiers, Ascensions | Yes |
| Scrip (C-Scrip) | Reclaimer Points, Gauntlet levels | Cosmetics, paint jobs, pickaxe parts | Yes |
| Reclaimer Points | Any mission, win or lose | Chips, then Enhancements | Yes |
Source: official wiki resources page and official patch notes, checked 2026-11-15.
Spending order that moves an account
- Spend Expenite the moment an upgrade is available, unless a reroll is due. Holding it buys nothing.
- Spend Flux Quartz only when a whole draft is dead. One saved reroll is worth more at the boss floor than three spent on floor two.
- Dump Merits into Enhancement slots before anything else. Each slot applies to every future run with that Reclaimer.
- Take Ascensions once your slot count is comfortable. The first one unlocks Gauntlets, which is content you cannot otherwise touch.
- Leave Scrip alone until the rest is handled. Cosmetics do not help you clear Depth 4.
Why kills pay now
Update 3 made enemies drop Expenite by default, after the feature spent Update 2 as an optional Alteration called Headhunter. The developers said plainly that the feedback was that it was more fun, and they agreed.
That change is why "mine everything" is now the wrong habit. A vein is worth a detour, a kill is worth the route you were already walking. Limited time on a floor means killing on the way and taking whatever ore is on the path.
Merit trap
Merits are the gate on everything permanent, and the early prices are small enough to look free. They are not.
| Permanent unlock | Rough cost | Worth it early |
|---|---|---|
| Enhancement slot 2 | 300 Merits | Yes, immediately |
| Enhancement slot 3 | 600 Merits | Yes |
| First Ascension | 1000 Merits | Yes, once per class |
| Second Ascension | 2000 Merits | Only with a reason |
| Higher Enhancement tiers | Varies, described as hefty | After slots |
Slot prices are from the official wiki loadout page, checked 2026-11-15. The pattern matters more than the exact numbers: slots are cheap, tiers and repeat Ascensions are not.
Official Ghost Ship Games announcement art.
One rule for the pile
More than 2,000 Merits in hand with fewer than four Enhancement slots on your main Reclaimer means you are saving for something that will not help you.