Orc Incremental Progression Guide

Quick facts

First diagnosis

Name the battle result before buying.

Tactical layer

Draft, formation, target access, and spell timing.

Run layer

Combat upgrades and gold earned during the current cycle.

Permanent layer

Dark Rebirth, bonuses, Chieftains, and Blight progression.

Evidence boundary

Historical Demo thresholds do not become 1.0 thresholds automatically.

Start with the official progression loop

The official Steam page describes a loop built from drafting units and Totems, arranging formations, watching automatic combat, using tactical spells, earning gold, and advancing through reset-based permanent progress. It also names Dark Rebirth, permanent bonuses, Chieftain choice on ascension, offline gold, and boss milestones.

That establishes the layers of progression. It does not publish a full sequence of unlock levels or a universal timing rule. A practical guide should help identify which layer is limiting the run without pretending those missing numbers are known.

Layer	Typical signal	Controlled response
Tactical	A key ally dies early or attacks cannot reach the blocking enemy	Change one draft, position, or action timing
Combat power	The plan is sound but lacks enough survival or damage	Buy one matching upgrade and replay
Economy	The formation wins, but the next useful purchase takes too long	Compare earnings and purchase impact across similar runs
Permanent progress	Short-run spending no longer changes the wall	Evaluate an available reset and its stated permanent benefit
Build boundary	A guide cites a different Demo or release state	Stop and verify the claim before applying it

The beginner guide covers the first pass through these questions. This page handles repeated walls and the transition between layers.

Diagnose a tactical wall before adding power

A tactical wall is a repeatable combat failure that changes when formation, target access, or action timing changes. Extra power may eventually overcome it, but buying around a position error can be expensive and teaches little.

Survival failure

If the ally needed for the plan falls before acting, test protection or position first. A survival purchase is appropriate only when the same role remains exposed after a reasonable formation test. The staged formation reference and unit roles guide will own build-specific placement evidence.

Damage-delivery failure

If allies remain alive while the important enemy survives, separate raw damage from access. Damage that lands on an irrelevant target does not solve the wall. Change one position or role, then compare the same encounter.

Timing failure

The official store establishes tactical spells. It does not publish every cooldown or timing rule in the research snapshot. Record when the action becomes available and what changes after using it. Do not derive a hidden rule from a single animation.

Distinguish a run wall from an economy wall

A run wall responds to a specific combat purchase. An economy wall appears when the combat plan works but meaningful purchases arrive too slowly. The difference matters because buying more combat power can delay the economy choice that would shorten several future cycles.

Use this measurement:

1. Record the start and end of a comparable run.
2. Record gold gained and the next intended purchase.
3. Change one combat or economy choice.
4. Repeat the same segment.
5. Compare the useful outcome, not only the displayed number.

The upgrade priority guide provides the decision framework. It does not supply invented return-on-investment figures.

Treat historical Demo progression as context

Demo update v0.08 introduced Battlefront as the main incremental mode and warned that the Demo became imbalanced after several hours because some upgrades and rarities were reserved for the final game. This is unusually important evidence: it directly warns against carrying a late-Demo purchase curve into version 1.0.

Demo update v0.05 documented Warpath through an Accursed Elf upgrade, with Auto-Progress and a win without losing allies. Surviving allies continued through waves, and a mini-chest was part of the reward description. Those details belong to the staged Warpath reference as historical Demo facts.

Demo update v0.09 said Missions and Trials unlocked at the Accursed Elf stage and discussed Blight, Rage, Totem stacking, and Trials changes. Again, that is historical Demo evidence. The milestone tracker marks these checkpoints separately from unknown version 1.0 thresholds.

Place resets inside a diagnosed cycle

Dark Rebirth and permanent bonuses are official systems. A reset should therefore be evaluated as a trade: give up current run progress in exchange for a stated permanent change and a better next cycle. The checked sources do not publish a universal reset time.

Before resetting:

• State the wall the next cycle should change.
• Confirm the permanent system is available in the labeled build.
• Compare one more affordable short-run purchase with the reset option.
• Record the expected improvement in plain terms.
• Keep a save backup before manual troubleshooting.

Historical v0.09 discusses Blight gain inputs within a Dark Rebirth cycle, but the exact formula was not published. Do not calculate a threshold from incomplete inputs. The staged Dark Rebirth guide and rebirth planner will need validated current data.

Keep announced version 1.0 systems in their own lane

The release announcement expands permanent progression with nine Chieftain bloodlines and a branching Blight Tree containing more than 250 nodes. Chieftains are announced as battlefield units with a right-click signature action and martyrdom on sacrifice.

These systems are planned for 1.0 in the checked snapshot. The Steam page still showed Coming soon on August 28, 2026. Names, costs, node effects, and exact sequencing remain partly unpublished. They can explain the announced shape of later progression, not a current numerical route.

Use the release status page for the gate and the staged Blight Tree guide for future verified node data.

Include offline progress without inventing its output

The official Steam page states that offline progression generates gold. It does not publish the rate, cap, eligible duration, or calculation in the checked source set. The feature belongs to the economy layer, but its exact contribution must be measured rather than assumed.

Follow the offline gains checklist to separate elapsed time, save selection, cloud sync, and build differences. A disputed result can be a save-state issue rather than an economy rule.

Use a wall log instead of a rigid route

Record five fields: build, wall category, starting state, one change, result. A useful line might say that the front line survived longer but the group still failed to reach the same target. That rules out one diagnosis without claiming a formula.

Common progression failures are easy to recognize:

• Applying a historical Demo unlock to version 1.0 without a check.
• Buying across several layers before replaying.
• Calling slow progress a combat wall when the formation already wins.
• Resetting without a specific next-cycle hypothesis.
• Treating offline gold support as proof of an exact rate.
• Filling an unpublished Chieftain or Blight value with an estimate.

Progression advice stays durable when it identifies a decision and states the evidence boundary beside it.

Official source

Frequently asked questions

What should I diagnose first at a progression wall?

Start with the battle result. Identify whether allies die too early, damage cannot reach the important target, or the run lacks enough economy. Then test one matching change.

Are historical Demo unlocks valid for version 1.0?

They are useful context, not guaranteed 1.0 thresholds. Keep Demo observations labeled historical until an official release source or a verified build confirms the same condition.

Where do announced 1.0 systems fit in the loop?

The official announcement adds Chieftain bloodlines and a larger Blight Tree to permanent progression. Exact sequencing, costs, and optimization formulas remain unpublished in the checked sources.