> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.cybercookie.party/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.cybercookie.party/upgrades.md).

# Upgrades & Profitability

Upgrades are bought on the **Earn** tab. There are two kinds:

* **Profit cards** — add flat **profit/hour** (passive income).
* **Boost cards** (the "Boosts" tab) — add **tap power**, **max energy**, or **energy regen** instead of profit/hour.

## The price & value formulas (exact)

For an upgrade with `baseCost` and `basePph`, at level `L`:

```
cost to buy level L      = round( baseCost × 1.5^(L-1) )
profit/hour at level L   = basePph × L          (profit cards)
effect at level L        = effectPerLevel × L   (boost cards: tap / energy / regen)
```

**Key takeaways:**

* Each level costs **1.5× the previous level**. Price grows geometrically → later levels get expensive fast.
* Profit/hour grows **linearly** (`basePph × L`). Because cost is exponential and value is linear, every card has a point of diminishing returns.
* The **total cost** to own levels 1..N is `baseCost × (1.5^N − 1) / 0.5`.

### Cost multiplier reference

How many times the `baseCost` you'll have spent to own a card up to level N:

| Levels owned (N) | Total cost = baseCost × … |
| ---------------- | ------------------------- |
| 1                | 1×                        |
| 3                | 4.75×                     |
| 5                | \~13.2×                   |
| 10               | \~113×                    |
| 15               | \~874×                    |
| 20               | \~6,649×                  |

So a card with `baseCost = 10,000` costs \~1.13M to reach level 10, and \~66.5M to reach level 20. This is why **spreading across many cards beats maxing one** — see below.

## What's most profitable? (how to optimize)

The relevant metric is **profit/hour added per coin spent** (efficiency), and secondarily the **payback time** (how many hours until the upgrade pays for itself).

```
efficiency(L)  = basePph / round(baseCost × 1.5^(L-1))
payback(L) hrs = cost(L) / pph_added(L)
```

Rules of thumb:

1. **Spread, don't tunnel.** Because each card's next level is 1.5× pricier, a fresh card at level 1 is almost always better value than pushing an already-high card. The in-game **"Recommended"** card already does this for you: it prefers an upgrade you don't own yet with the best profit-per-coin.
2. **Buy the cheapest eligible profit card first**, level it a few times, then move on when its next level's payback gets worse than a new card's level 1.
3. **Boost cards** (tap/energy/regen) don't add profit/hour — buy them for active play (tapping sessions), not for idle income.
4. **Invite-locked cards** are strong value once unlocked (see below) because their cost is modest for the profit they give — the "cost" is social (inviting friends).

## Card catalogue

Cards are organized into **Mining** (profit) and **Boosts** (tap/energy/regen). New cards unlock as your level rises; the highest tiers require level 11–18.

### Invite-locked cards

Some special cards require **referrals** to unlock (in addition to coins):

| Card             | Invites required |
| ---------------- | ---------------- |
| Squad Engine     | 1                |
| Referral Reactor | 2                |
| Network Effect   | 3                |
| Viral Engine     | 5                |
| Influencer       | 10               |

You must have that many referred players before you can buy the card. They pay off well — a good reason to share your referral link.

Next: [Balancers →](/balancers.md)


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