Reading the upgrade tree
Where the unlocks come from, and how to decide what to take next.
Unlocks arrive from four different places
The upgrade data separates them by source. Ritual entries are performed at the temple. Ability entries are granted as permanent powers. Building entries unlock structures in the build menu. Shrine and Temple entries relate to those structures. Knowing which pool a name belongs to tells you how to get it.
Abilities are the permanent ones
There are five ability entries and each changes how a run works. The Hunger lets you eat once per crusade for a heart that varies with what is eaten. Resurrection sacrifices a follower the first time you are killed on a crusade. Omnipresence returns you to the base instantly. Darkness Within gives a Diseased Heart at the start of every run. Winter’s Touch toggles winter at Yngya’s shrine.
Buildings are gated behind each other
Building unlocks come in numbered tiers: Healing Bay then Healing Bay II, Janitor Station then Janitor Station II, Outhouse then Outhouse II, Morgue I through III, Crypt I through III, Missionary I through III, Ranch then Ranch II, Farmer Station then Farmer Station II. A tier two is an upgrade of the tier one, so buying the first is the prerequisite for the second — plan the pair, not the single building.
Devotion is a logistics problem
Shrines of Nature unlocks the Lumber Shrine, Stone Shrine and Foraging Shrine, and states that when they are lit they produce for you. Collected Shrine of Disciples has Disciples collect Devotion from other structures in a radius and deposit it. Empowered Shrine of Disciples lets Disciples pray there to give you boosts while crusading. These turn collection into a placement decision.
Crusade power and cult power are separate pools
Weapon family upgrades, curses and the Relics line make you stronger in a crusade. Building, PUpgrade and Follower entries change the cult. Sacrifice of the Flesh is the bridge: it grows your strength and unlocks new abilities and weapons, and higher level followers are worth more when sacrificed. If a run feels impossible, that is usually a crusade pool problem, not a cult problem.