Agent Progression Systems
Agent progression uses three systems: level ascension, core skills, and W-Engine enhancement. Each demands distinct materials—some farmable weeks ahead, others locked behind agent-specific content.
Level cap progression follows five phases at levels 10, 20, 30, 40, 50. Reaching 60 requires completing all promotions using Basic, Advanced, and Higher Certification Seals specific to each specialty. Sunna needs Support seals, Aria needs Anomaly seals, Nangong Yu needs Stun seals—all farmable through Combat Simulation before banner launch.
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Level Cap Requirements
- Promotion 10: Basic Seal x4, 24,000 Dennies
- Promotion 20: Advanced Seal x12, 56,000 Dennies
- Promotion 30: Advanced Seal x20, 120,000 Dennies
- Promotion 40: Higher Seal x10, 200,000 Dennies
- Promotion 50: Higher Seal x20, 400,000 Dennies
Total: 800,000 Dennies for ascension. Add specialty seals: Sunna needs Ruler x30, Aria needs Controller x30, Nangong Yu needs Buster x30.
Core Skills Breakdown
Five core skills: Basic Attack, Dodge, Assist, Special, Chain Attack. Leveling 1-12 consumes three chip tiers plus attribute-specific chips.
Sunna and Nangong Yu use Physical chips: Basic x25, Advanced x75, Specialized x250 each. Aria uses Ether: Basic x25, Advanced x75, Specialized x250. Farm from Combat Simulation Skill mode at 20 Battery per run.
Skills 11-12 require Specialized Chip x15 and Hamster Cage Pass x1 per skill. Maxing all five needs 5 passes total—get 3-5 weekly from Hollow Zero, plus City Fund and events.
Material Categories
Universal (pre-farmable): Dennies, attribute chips, certification seals, W-Engine components.
Agent-specific (post-release): Sunna needs Clouded Crystalline Substance x9, Aria needs Higher Dimensional Data: Falling Fist x60 or Spiked Corruption Core x60, Nangong Yu needs Exuvia of Refinement x9 from Miasma Priest plus Higher Dimensional Data: Miasmic Elytron x60.
Core Skill F alone requires boss material x4, Higher Dimensional Data x30, and 200,000 Dennies. Notorious Hunt allows three free weekly rewards.
3-Week Pre-Farming Timeline
Week 1: Dennies and Universal Materials
Target 4M total Dennies: 800K ascension, 2.905M skills, 400K W-Engine. Combat Simulation Dennies stages yield 15,000-20,000 per 20 Battery run.
Farm Basic and Advanced Certification Seals through Promotion mode. Each agent needs Basic x4, Advanced x32 (36 total). Run daily without stamina conflicts.
W-Engine components if using signature weapons: Basic x4, Reinforced x32, Specialized x30 from W-Engine mode. Costs 200 Energy Modules and 400K Dennies for 0-60 enhancement.
Week 2: Chips and Boss Materials
Attribute chip farming becomes primary focus. Physical agents (Sunna, Nangong Yu) need 350 Physical chips each. Aria needs 350 Ether chips. Combat Simulation Skill mode at 20 Battery per run.
Prioritize Specialized Chips first (lower drop rates), then Advanced, then Basic. Allocate 60% stamina to chips, 40% to Dennies.
Start weekly boss farming. Defeat all three Notorious Hunt bosses for diverse materials. Three free weekly rewards reset Mondays.
Week 3: Higher Seals and Passes
Higher Certification Seals: 30 per agent (10 for Promotion 40, 20 for Promotion 50). Farm from advanced Promotion encounters.
Hollow Zero runs for Hamster Cage Passes—weekly completions yield 3-5. Combined with City Fund and events, secure 5 passes before launch for immediate skill maxing.
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Daily vs Weekly Priorities
Daily: Combat Simulation for chips/Dennies using natural stamina (240 Battery).
Weekly: Notorious Hunt (3 free rewards), Hollow Zero (passes), Expert Challenge (Higher Dimensional Data).
Balance: 70% stamina to new agent prep, 30% to current team. Adjust to 50/50 if struggling with endgame content.
Dennies Farming
Maxing one agent 1-60 with full skills: ~3.7M Dennies (800K ascension, 2.905M skills). Add W-Engines and Disc Drives: 4.5M total.
Ascension Costs
24K + 56K + 120K + 200K + 400K = 800,000 Dennies. Skills dwarf this at 2.905M. W-Engine adds 400K. Disc optimization adds 200K-500K.
Efficient Routes
Combat Simulation Dennies stages: 15,000-20,000 per 20 Battery (advanced difficulty). Natural stamina yields 750K-1M weekly.
Notorious Hunt: 50,000-75,000 per boss clear. Three weekly bosses = 150,000-225,000 passive Dennies.
Commissions: 100,000-150,000 weekly. Explosive Last Train rewards Senior Investigator Log x300 convertible to Dennies.
Passive Income
City Fund milestones, event rewards (200K-500K per major event), HIA Club daily bonuses. Monthly cards reduce active farming pressure. Passive sources contribute 15-20% of total needs.
Universal Materials Checklist
Certification Seals by Rarity
Basic: 4 per agent from entry Promotion mode.
Advanced: 32 per agent from mid-tier encounters.
Higher: 30 per agent (10+20) from advanced stages—primary bottleneck.
Specialty: 30 per agent (Ruler/Controller/Buster) from role-specific encounters.
Investigation Points
Allocate to Hamster Cage Passes first—bottleneck skill maxing with no alternative farming. Secondary: Specialized Chips (lower drop rates). Avoid Basic/Advanced chips.
Reserve 20% for emergency post-launch needs. Agent materials occasionally appear in shops.
W-Engine Materials
Basic x4, Reinforced x32, Specialized x30 apply across all weapons. Pre-farm enables immediate signature maxing.
W-Engine Energy Modules: 200 per weapon. Stockpile 400-600 for dual enhancement. Modules accumulate through dailies, events, shops.
Synergize with chip farming through shared Combat Simulation access. Allocate 25% weekly stamina if planning signature investment.
Weekly Boss Materials
Notorious Hunt Rotation
Three weekly bosses including Miasma Priest (Scott Outpost). Miasma Priest drops Exuvia of Refinement x3 per free clear (Nangong Yu needs this). Defeat all three weekly for diverse stockpiles.
Free rewards reset Mondays. Three free clears = maximum efficiency without stamina cost. Paid clears viable only when targeting specific confirmed materials.
Higher difficulties drop more materials. Expert yields 4-5 per clear vs 3 minimum on Advanced. Three weeks of Expert clears = 36-45 materials per boss.
Stockpiling Strategy
Pre-farm all bosses equally until official announcements. Balanced stockpiling ensures readiness regardless of requirements.
Clouded Crystalline Substance serves multiple agents—high priority. Exuvia of Refinement specifically supports Nangong Yu (Phase 2: Feb 27-Mar 20, 2026). Prioritize Miasma Priest during Phase 1 weeks 1-3.
Core Skill Priorities
Skill Order by Role
All agents: Special skill first (largest performance gain).
DPS (Aria): Basic Attack second (damage scaling).
Support (Sunna): Assist second (team synergy).
Stun (Nangong Yu): Chain Attack second (stun buildup).
Third: Dodge (energy generation). Fourth: remaining skills.
Chip Farming Routes
Skill mode drops attribute chips matching enemy types. Each 20 Battery run yields 3-5 chips. Specialized drops at 15-20% rates.
250 Specialized chips needs 50-65 runs (1,000-1,300 Battery). Natural regen: 240 daily = 12 runs = 36-60 chips daily.
Match team elements to stage weaknesses. Ice teams for Fire stages, Electric for Water, Physical for Ether.
Expert Challenge Efficiency
Expert Challenges drop Higher Dimensional Data. Miasma Ravager Avarus yields Miasmic Elytron at 40 Battery per attempt.
Nangong Yu needs Miasmic Elytron x60 = 60 clears at 40 Battery each (2,400 total). Spread across 3 weeks = 800 weekly = 115 daily (achievable with natural regen).
Aria splits between Falling Fist x60 (S1) and Spiked Corruption Core x60 (S2/S3). Farm whichever your team clears efficiently.
Total for Level 12
All five skills maxed: Basic x25, Advanced x75, Specialized x250, Hamster Cage Pass x5, 2.905M Dennies per agent.
Physical agents share chips—farm 500 total Physical for both Sunna and Nangong Yu.
Boss materials: 9 per agent. Higher Dimensional Data: 60 per agent. Core Skill F alone = boss x4 + Data x30 (44% of total boss needs).
Stamina Budget
Daily natural regen: 240 Battery. Supplement with level-ups, events, optional shop purchases.
Daily Allocation
Week 2-3: 60% to chips (144 Battery = 7 Skill runs = 21-35 chips). 40% to Dennies/seals (96 Battery = 4 Dennies runs + 1 seal run).
Weekly bosses: zero stamina for three free rewards. Hollow Zero: 200 Battery weekly for passes.
Expert Challenges: 40 Battery per attempt. 60 clears = 2,400 Battery across 21 days = 115 daily (48% natural regen). Alternate focus days: chips Mon/Wed/Fri, Expert Tue/Thu/Sat.
Energy Module Optimization
Modules accumulate through dailies. Use during double-drop events or bonuses only. Stockpile 400-600 for emergency post-launch farming.
Current Team Balance
Maintain 30% stamina for existing agents. Players clearing all content comfortably can push to 80-90% pre-farming.
Prioritize current Disc farming only if lacking functional sets. Delay new agent Discs until post-acquisition. Universal materials always outweigh speculative Disc farming.
Agent-Specific Materials
Post-Release Identification
Higher Dimensional Data variants often introduce new Expert Challenges with agent releases. Monitor patch notes for additions.
Story missions may gate material access. Complete all available story before launch for immediate farming access.
First Week Post-Acquisition
Days 1-3: 100% stamina to agent-specific materials. Leverage pre-farmed universals for immediate ascension and partial skills.
Weekly boss materials need sustained farming if pre-stocks insufficient. Nangong Yu's Exuvia needs 3 weeks minimum (9 total from Miasma Priest free rewards). Early Phase 2 acquisition (Feb 27 start) enables completion before Mar 20 end.
Catch-Up Timeline
Starting post-launch: 2-3 weeks for complete maxing (weekly boss resets, pass acquisition). Prioritize Special skill first for functional performance within week 1.
Stamina refills accelerate catch-up. Five daily refills (600 Battery) double output, compressing 3 weeks to 10-14 days. Balance costs against progression needs.
Common Mistakes
Wrong Material Types
Don't over-farm Basic/Advanced while neglecting Higher-tier. Higher Seals and Specialized Chips gate final stages. Avoid >10% surplus Basics.
Verify damage attributes before chip farming. Sunna/Nangong Yu = Physical, Aria = Ether. Cross-reference official announcements.
W-Engine Neglect
Signature weapons amplify performance significantly. Allocate 25% stamina to components (week 1) for immediate maxing.
Stockpile 400 modules for signature, 600+ for alternative testing. Prevents weapon progression delays.
Disc Drive RNG
Don't pre-farm Discs before acquisition. Stat RNG and unknown builds waste stamina. Delay until post-acquisition and community optimization.
Focus exclusively on guaranteed-use materials: Dennies, chips, seals, boss drops. Disc farming belongs weeks 2-3 post-acquisition.
Pull Currency Neglect
Materials worthless without agent. Prioritize Polychrome/Master Tapes alongside farming. Reach 80-160 pulls (soft/hard pity) before launch.
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Day 1 Execution
Immediate Application
- Ascend to 60 using seals + 800K Dennies (2-3 minutes)
- Upgrade Special to 12 using chips + first pass (largest gain)
- Apply second priority skill (Basic/Assist/Chain per role)
- Use remaining passes on Dodge, damage, utility skills
- Complete skill maxing: 2.905M Dennies, all chips (10-15 minutes)
Combat Testing
Test in Combat Simulation or story. Validate priorities, identify adjustments.
Adjust remaining upgrades based on feedback. Low energy? Prioritize Dodge earlier. Low ultimate uptime? Elevate Chain Attack.
Final Optimization
Apply W-Engine components: 400K Dennies, 200 modules for 0-60 (15-25% performance gain).
Begin targeted Disc farming. Support: Energy Recharge/HP. DPS: Crit/ATK. Stun: Impact/ATK. Farm 4-piece sets first, optimize substats later.
Future Preparation with BitTopup
Maintain stockpiles between banners. BitTopup's reliable service provides consistent Polychrome access with competitive pricing and excellent support.
Plan next cycle immediately. Nangong Yu Phase 2 (Feb 27-Mar 20) follows Sunna/Aria. Continuous prep maintains day-1 capability across all releases.
FAQ
How many Dennies to max an agent?
3.7-4.5M total: 800K ascension, 2.905M skills, 400K W-Engine, 200K-500K Discs. Pre-farm 4M minimum.
What to farm before new banners?
Certification seals (Basic x4, Advanced x32, Higher x30, Specialty x30), attribute chips (Basic x25, Advanced x75, Specialized x250), W-Engine components (Basic x4, Reinforced x32, Specialized x30), 4M Dennies, Hamster Cage Pass x5. Weekly boss materials and Higher Dimensional Data need 3 weeks sustained farming.
Can you pre-farm agent-specific materials?
Agent-specific Higher Dimensional Data and certain boss drops can't pre-farm until release (new Expert Challenges/story). Weekly boss materials like Exuvia and Clouded Crystalline farm advance through Notorious Hunt. Focus universals, then immediately farm specifics post-acquisition.
How long to max new agents?
With complete pre-farming: 15-30 minutes application + 1-2 days agent-specific farming. Without: 2-3 weeks (weekly resets, pass rates). Pre-farming reduces time 90%.
Which skills first?
Special first (all agents). Second by role: Basic Attack (DPS/Aria), Assist (Support/Sunna), Chain Attack (Stun/Nangong Yu). Third: Dodge. Maximizes performance per pass.
Most efficient Dennies farming?
Combat Simulation Dennies stages: 15K-20K per 20 Battery (advanced). Weekly Notorious Hunt: 150K-225K from free rewards. Daily commissions: 100K-150K weekly. Events add 200K-500K during prep windows.
