Resources

“It’s good ground, the world. What’s left of it. Worth the walk.” — The Seamkeeper’s Codex, a salvager’s field notes

The four working resources

Spirit Essence

The universal input: construction, troop training, healing, research — everything drinks Essence. Produced by the Spirit Well (1,200/h at base, compounding per level). If you’re Essence-starved, your Well is under-leveled; there is no other fix that lasts.

Ironbark

The construction wood. Produced by the Ironbark Grove (800/h at base). Demand comes in bursts with big building upgrades — if a queue item is waiting on Ironbark, check the Grove’s level against your Well’s.

Astral Ore

The advancement metal: higher-tier troops and research costs lean on it. Two sources — the Astral Mine at home (300/h at base, passive) and gathering marches to world-map nodes, which out-earn the Mine substantially when you run them actively. The Mine is your floor; the map is your ceiling. See Marches & Gathering.

Gold Coins

The coordination currency. Produced by the Alchemist’s Lab (150/h at base). Spent on alliance creation (5,000), alliance research studies, and higher-tier troop training (Tier 3+). It accumulates slowly, so start the Lab before you need it — retroactive regret is the standard way players learn this.

Obsidian

The premium currency — used mainly to speed timers (construction, training, research). Earned in-game in small amounts; spendable in one big way: time.

Caution

Spending Obsidian to rush a production building early is the one genuinely good rush — it buys rate, not stockpile. Rushing a troop batch you don’t need tonight is the classic waste. When in doubt, hold it.

Storage & protection

The Vault adds +3% storage per level. Early on you’ll spend resources as fast as you make them; later, when big upgrades make you hold five-digit stockpiles, Vault levels stop you capping out while you save.

Reading a shortage

Every shortage is a rate problem wearing a stockpile costume. Short of X once — gather/wait. Short of X every day — the producer for X is under-leveled. Fix the producer.