Upgrade Planning Guide
A Week 1 upgrade workbench for renewable resources, Shell respecs and weapon investment.
Week 1 economy rules
The official Week 1 Update makes Glimpses and Tarcores non-finite, so every Shell and Tarstone can be fully upgraded in one playthrough.
Tarstones now return more Tarcores when broken, while Merrick can sell Tarstones and Mether's Severance with stock that refreshes occasionally as the game progresses.
One-variable testing
Keep Shell, weapon and route fixed, then change one upgrade. Run a normal enemy, group and elite to see whether it changes a decision you make.
A rare effect that appears once is less useful than a modest improvement to recovery, posture or survival.
Reset a Shell deliberately
Mether's Severance can be given to Zhirelle to reset a Shell and refund all Glimpses spent on it. That makes a mistaken Shell path recoverable after the Week 1 Update.
Use the reset to solve a specific build problem, then rerun the same encounter set instead of changing the Shell, weapon and route simultaneously.
Record the purpose
Write the role of each upgrade: opening safety, posture, ranged control or recovery. Renewable resources reduce lock-in, but a clear purpose still prevents unfocused spending.
After an update, retest the affected decision rather than rebuilding everything.
Upgrade decision ledger
Record the current description, material cost, intended combat job and one repeatable test before purchasing. After the test, write whether the change improved opening safety, posture pressure, range control or recovery instead of merely noting that damage felt higher.
This ledger exposes an upgrade that duplicates an existing strength or depends on a rare situation. It also makes later patch reviews focused and reversible.
Week 1 recovery options
Glimpses and Tarcores are renewable after the Week 1 Update, so a single playthrough can eventually fund every Shell and Tarstone. Resource availability is no longer a reason to present one early branch as permanently exclusive.
For Shell choices, Mether's Severance lets Zhirelle reset the Shell and refund every spent Glimpse. Merrick sells the item and restocks occasionally as progression advances.
September 15 hotfix — Stones and reset access
Mether's Severance can now be used at the Genessa trainer. The Colossus Stone ability can be canceled during execution, while the Justiciar and Gloombound durability issues named in the notes are fixed.
The hotfix also removes an Egon's Stone Gloom exploit and fixes dungeons failing to load after that Stone was used. Treat pre-hotfix exploit or durability advice as obsolete.
September 25 hotfix — Stone and reset safeguards
The September 25 hotfix again addresses Egon's Stone: dungeons should load correctly after it is used, and open-world Gloom drops should no longer be removed. Do not preserve an exploit or recovery route that depends on the old behavior.
Cancelling Mether's Severance with a gamepad should no longer soft-lock the player. Complete one controlled reset test on the current build before treating an older cancellation warning as active.
Post-purchase audit
After buying an upgrade, rerun the exact pre-purchase encounter and compare the intended job, not only completion time. If the decision does not become safer or more repeatable, stop the branch and preserve remaining materials until the current economy and replacement path are understood.
Sources & visual context
Version note: open-beta behavior is never treated as permanent launch fact. Interface labels, balance, triggers and performance can change after the August 2026 release.
Upgrade Planning Guide FAQ
Are Glimpses and Tarcores finite?
No. The official Week 1 Update says Glimpses and Tarcores are no longer finite, allowing every Shell and Tarstone to be upgraded in one playthrough. This replaces launch-era advice that treated those resources as permanently scarce.
How do I respec a Shell?
Obtain Mether's Severance and give it to Zhirelle, the Shell keeper. She resets the selected Shell and returns every Glimpse spent on it. Retest the build after the reset before moving the refunded Glimpses into another path.
Where does Mether's Severance come from?
Merrick sells Mether's Severance as well as Tarstones. The official notes say those items restock occasionally as game progress advances. Check his current stock after reaching a new progression milestone instead of assuming a fixed timer.
How do I test fairly?
Change exactly one variable while keeping the Shell, weapon, route, and encounter as stable as possible. Run the same normal enemy, group, and elite before and after the purchase. Compare the intended decision rather than relying only on completion time or visual spectacle.
Will patches invalidate builds?
Patches can invalidate numerical breakpoints, costs, or individual effects, but they do not erase a clearly recorded build purpose. Note whether each choice provides opening safety, posture pressure, ranged control, or recovery. Retest the affected decision after an update instead of rebuilding blindly.