Buildings

“Raise the Heart-Cairn, tap the Wells, grow the twice-woven wood, weave defenders at the Grove, recover the old patterns one scrap at a time — every step of that loop was paid for.” — The Seamkeeper’s Codex, Age IV

Your Sanctuary has sixteen buildings. Tap any building to open its action panel; upgrades cost resources and time, and one construction runs at a time — so what you queue is one of your most important decisions.

At a glance

Building	What it does	Priority
Heart-Cairn	Caps the level of every other building	Always keep it moving
Spirit Well	Produces Spirit Essence (1,200/h at base, compounding per level)	Highest early
Ironbark Grove	Produces Ironbark (800/h at base)	High early
Astral Mine	Produces Astral Ore passively (300/h at base)	Medium — supplements gathering
Alchemist’s Lab	Produces Gold Coins (150/h at base)	Rises with alliance play & troop tiers
Circle of Knowledge	Personal research — the 64-node tree	Never idle
Sylvan Grove	Trains troops; sets your troop capacity & march sizes	High
Academy	Training queue size (5 → 25), −1.5%/level training time, gates your max troop tier	Medium
Healing Font	Restores wounded troops; capacity grows steeply per level	High before fighting
Guardian Den	Home of your Guardian roster	Unlocks your roster; level as needed
Vault	Storage (+3%/level)	Situational
Forge	−1%/level building upgrade cost/time	Quiet long-term value
Lookout Tower	Map intelligence	Situational
Sanctuary Wall	Your Sanctuary’s defensive line	Rises later
Embassy	Alliance functions	With your alliance
Bestiary	Records of the Echoes you’ve fought	Flavor & records

The ones that deserve detail

Heart-Cairn

The anchor of the Sanctuary — most other buildings can’t be upgraded past it. If you’re ever unsure what to build, the answer is usually “whatever lets the Heart-Cairn move again.” Its cost curve is steep, so start its upgrades before you log off.

Spirit Well, Ironbark Grove, Astral Mine, Alchemist’s Lab

The four producers. Output compounds roughly +20% per level, so early levels are the cheapest income you will ever buy. The Alchemist’s Lab looks skippable early — until you want an alliance (creation costs 5,000 Gold Coins) or higher-tier troops (Tier 3+ training costs include Gold). Don’t leave it at level 1 forever.

Sylvan Grove

Troop capacity starts at 500 and grows ~150 per level; each Grove level also adds +250 troops to every march you send (base 1,000). It’s not just a barracks — it’s your logistics ceiling. (Higher troop tiers unlock with your Academy level, not the Grove.) See Training & Healing.

Healing Font

Capacity grows fast per level (100 at level 1, 443 by level 10, and steepening). Its level decides how many wounded you can hold after a battle — overflow is lost. Each level also cuts healing cost/time by 2%. The single most common early-game regret is an under-leveled Font. Level it before your first monster node, and check it’s empty before a big fight.

Circle of Knowledge

The research building. One study at a time; the tree has 64 nodes across seven branches. Full guide: Research.

Build order rule of thumb

Producers → Heart-Cairn → whatever your next goal needs (Font before fighting, Grove before big marches, Lab before alliance/T3 troops). The Forge’s discount compounds quietly forever — slot it in when the queue is otherwise idle.