Which upgrade should you buy next?

Buy for the delay you can see

Start with the thing you are waiting for. More training helps when speed is short. More clone capacity helps when you need more workers. Faster summoning helps when the portal is the wait. If the target is locked behind a previous-target steal counter, finish that condition before assuming a purchase will unlock it.^↗↗

There is no tested universal purchase order here. The useful comparison is the price of one change against the time or income it adds to your own setup.

What each upgrade changes

Portal, Number of Clones and Steal are separate columns on Superlex’s 1:29 screen. The treadmill comparison is visible at 1:38–1:39. The base multiplier reference comes from LukeBlox at 3:01. None of these sources establishes every later level, cap or price.^↗↗↗

Recorded example: Basic → Silver

In Superlex Plays’ late-September recording, the treadmill shop shows Basic equipped and offers Silver for game cash. The next inspected frame shows Silver equipped and a cash deduction. This is a recorded purchase we inspected, not a purchase made on our own account.^↗

The displayed gain is three times as large. To see what that means, suppose you need 300 more speed: at +1 per second that takes 300 seconds; at +3 it takes 100 seconds. That is 200 seconds less training under those rates. This is our arithmetic with an illustrative 300-speed gap, not a timed test from the video.

Use your own remaining gap: training time = speed still needed ÷ effective speed gained per second. Keep boosts and other bonuses the same when comparing. If your measured rate differs from the shop label, use the measured rate.

This does not mean three times the cash or a known cash payback. A treadmill improves training; the value of reaching another target still depends on successful runs and what you hatch. Use a cash payback calculation only when you have comparable income readings.

Measure one purchase

1. Record the setup: date, upgrade level, target, active pets and any boosts. Write down the price shown in your game.
2. Choose the result that matches the upgrade. For training, measure speed gained. For clone supply, count successful returns. For a direct cash improvement, measure cash gained.
3. Use the same observation length before and after. For example, use two minutes on each side, starting a fresh interval after the purchase.
4. During an income test, avoid other purchases, sales and reward claims. Keep pets and boosts unchanged. If a boost expires, the two readings are not comparable.
5. Record any new pet separately. A new hatch changes the income setup, so do not attribute its entire cash gain to a clone upgrade.

Calculate cash payback only from cash

Extra cash per minute = after-upgrade income minus before-upgrade income. Simple payback time = upgrade cost divided by that extra income.

For illustration only: a 1,200-cash purchase raising income from 100 to 160 per minute adds 60 per minute, so it takes 20 minutes to recover the cost if that difference holds. These numbers are invented to explain the formula; they are not the Silver example or current game data.

A zero or negative increase gives no useful cash payback. Check another interval and keep target access or saved training time as separate benefits. The planner also compares buying with continuing to save, which matters when you are close to a cash goal.