Best Upgrade Order
Guide artwork — not an in-game screenshot.
Recommended order
- Speed + Grasp (a few early levels)
- Bag upgrade
- More Speed + Grasp only as needed
- Pitchfork ($8)
- Pitchfork Sweep + Cooldown
- More Bag capacity
- Drone (40 Gems) and several efficiency upgrades
- Max normal Bag to 250
- Vacuum and heat/cooling upgrades
- Dynamite and its power/cooldown-style upgrades
This is a priority order, not a rigid calculator. Buy the cheaper support upgrade when it immediately fixes a bottleneck, but keep the next breakpoint in mind.
Why not max the starter hand?
Long playthroughs show the starter hand becoming a poor use of cash once the Pitchfork is available. The goal of the early hand upgrades is to make the first dollars tolerable — not to make the hand your end-game tool.
When should you upgrade the Bag?
Upgrade it whenever your current tool fills capacity so quickly that you spend more time walking to sell than digging. A focused guide demonstrates Bag steps to 100, then higher tiers until the normal Bag reaches 250.
Capacity is not glamorous, but it lets every later tool stay active longer.
Drone priority
The Drone is passive. Buy it early enough that it earns while you grind, then give it enough Speed/Grasp/Capacity to be useful. Do not dump every Gem into it if you also want permanent class progression.
Vacuum vs Dynamite
Choose the Vacuum as the sustained tool and Dynamite as the burst tool. Multiple videos agree that Dynamite feels valuable once the basic economy is already moving, but the focused fast route still centers the Vacuum for the long clear.
What about paid upgrades?
The game offers convenience purchases such as larger/infinite capacity and luck. This route does not assume paid advantages. A free route is slower, but it is fully workable with the in-round tools and Gem systems shown in the footage.