Currencies & Passes
The six currencies besides Gold — where to get them and what they're for. Also how to choose what the two top-right slots display.
Gold isn't the only thing you'll hold. There are two slots in the top-right corner of the screen, and you choose what they display.
Six currencies
| Currency | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Gold | Almost every transaction |
| Union Points | The Union Exchange and Union-only blueprints |
| Auto-Explore steps | Explore auto-progress — per step |
| Auto-Gather steps | Gathering auto-progress — per step |
| Spire Climbing Pass | Retracing floors you've already climbed in the Spire — per floor |
| Outpost Shield | Deploying absolute protection on your Outpost — per use |
The two step currencies
Auto-Explore steps and Auto-Gather steps are, as their names say, used only for their own activity. You can't swap one for the other.
They work the same way.
- 1 step = 1 pass. Setting a longer run doesn't raise the per-step price.
- Not a single coin of Gold is spent. Paying with Gold makes the later steps pricier, so the longer the expedition, the more passes pay off.
- The full amount is deducted when you set out, with no refunds. If you retreat midway or fall, you don't get any back.
Spire Climbing Pass
1 pass = 1 floor. To start from floor 20, you need 19 passes.
You can only retrace floors you've already climbed. Floors you've never reached won't open no matter how many passes you have, and records are kept separately for each tower.
You also receive 60% of the materials and Essence the skipped floors would have given. Gold and gear, however, only come from climbing yourself.
Outpost Shield
While it's up, nobody can break into your Outpost. Each Shield is used up once deployed, and you can keep stockpiling your balance.
Where to get them
| Source | What you get |
|---|---|
| Otherworld Chests | All four, rarely, from Sturdy grade and up |
| Spire descents and full climbs | Spire Climbing Passes |
| Level milestones | Outpost Shields |
| Union | Union Points (Hall of Contribution · joint goals) |
| Shop "Premium" tab | All four — real money |
| Otherworld Covenant | All four, across the two reward lanes |
The biggest way to collect passes without spending real money is Otherworld Chests. The higher the chest grade, the more you get at once.
🔴 You can't buy Gold with real money
The Premium tab in the Shop sells only the four items above and the Otherworld Covenant. It doesn't sell Gold, or anything that can be turned into Gold.
Gold is the resource that sets this game's difficulty — the moment we sell it, we'd be selling difficulty. So real money buys time, never power.
What doesn't show in the top-right
- Union Merit — there's nothing to spend it on. It only accumulates, and it raises your Union rank.
- Boss Seals — tracked separately for each World Boss; check them at the top of that screen.
- Conqueror's Sigil — not a currency but a material. It goes into your Inventory.