Intro
Strategic Overview contains two different upgrade menus, the purpose of which is to provide passive game-wide bonuses in the form of special perks and raw stat bonuses.
This guide will focus on Procedural Efficiency.Eventually the entire "talent tree" can be completely upgraded, so there is no need to worry about speccing into the wrong perks. However, there are some options which are more efficient than others and will help new players progress faster if they are taken. The list of options below attempts to use the least amount of points to gain the biggest advantage possible.
Procedural Efficiency
Procedural Efficiency is divided into different tiers related to a Sector. To unlock a specific tier, simply complete the associated Sector’s Normal Mode stages.
Note: Certain nodes require 1 upgrade level to unlock the preceding node.
The currency needed to upgrade these nodes is gained by clearing floors in Endless Exploration. Because of the initial scarcity of this currency, specific nodes have been highlighted in the picture above which offer the greatest immediate value based on the assistance provided while progressing.
Recharge Boost
Increase the recharge of Ultimate Skills by +20% (Max)
Building Ultimate meter 20% faster is always valuable at any stage of the game, especially early game when certain Ultimates might be the difference between winning and losing during progression.
Function Compatibility
Increases base limit of Function Cards by 4 (Total)
Incredibly valuable Cache Coin saving upgrade. Normally to increase Function Card limit, it must come from a random Anomaly or bought for 80 - 100 Cache Coins per 1 limit. Needless to say, a 320 - 400 Cache Coin value is hard to beat.
Free Overclock
Enables choosing an Overclock for free 1 time per level (2 Max)
In short, this is another Cache Coin saving perk. It’s a great pick when paired together with other Overclock-related perks such as Overclock Function, which can be found further down.
Overclock Compatibility
Increases the amount of times Overclock can be used by 2 (Max)
Valuable because it allows picking more than one Overclock, taking advantage of Free Overclock and providing a bigger advantage to parties. The initial limit of Overclock selection is 1 and with this upgrade, players can choose up to 3 Overclocks.
Support Reinforcements
Increases the amount of Friend Supports that can be used daily by 5 (Total)
Disclaimer: If EN launches with the update which removes the usage limit of friend supports in farming stages, this upgrade becomes a lot less urgent and should be considered an Honorable Mention instead.
The initial daily limit of Friend Supports is 5. With this upgrade, players will be able to use a total of 10 per day. Immensely helpful when progressing through the story and especially the first-time clears of resource stages where Function Cards are unavailable. Who doesn’t enjoy taking advantage of a whale’s 5★ Aki or Hubble?
Overclock Function
Upgrades the ‘Obtain Random Function Card’ Overclock
What this does exactly is change the Overclock to allow players to pick 1 specific Function Card out of any that are available within the stage. Incredibly useful for finishing off a 2-set or 4-set bonus, or just picking a very strong card that will aid the party.
Recovery Rate Boost
Increase Doll post-battle recovery by +25% (Max)
Post-battle recovery is the stat which determines how much HP is healed automatically at the end of a battle. This upgrade is a nice boost to that healing and helps to keep the party topped off as they progress through stages.
Lv. 1 Precise Maintenance is additionally required to unlock this node.
Entropy Blocker
Reduces the damage taken by Entropy Liquid tiles by -30% (Max)
Entropy Liquid tiles are essentially poison tiles. It spreads through the entire map and deals DoT damage to all Dolls standing on them. It is an unavoidable map mechanic within Sector 5 and the first event, Alternative Evolutionism. Unfortunately this perk can’t be learned until after Sector 5 Normal has been completed, but it will be nice to have when progressing through Sector 5 Dark Mode and immensely helpful in the aforementioned event.
Honorable Mention
Tactical Point Recovery
Increases Tactical Point recovery speed by +30% (Max)
Tactical Points are the resource used to cast the Professor’s skills. While the other upgrades aren’t as impactful, having a +30% boost to this resource gain will find a lot of use in clearing the more difficult resource farming stages where Function Cards are unavailable. Even though this perk is unlocked after clearing Sector 2, it shouldn’t be needed that early and thus it is lower on the priority list.
Lv. 1 Tactical Point Compatibility is additionally required to unlock this node.
