UnofficialCommunity-compiled

CIFI: Traversal & Ouroboros Progression Guide

Entering Traversal in CIFI — Cell: Idle Factory Incremental? This main guide answers the questions players hit first: how Traversal is unlocked and gated, when to traverse, why the Ouroboros rank bar stops moving, and how players split their Zeus ship loadouts. Acronyms are glossed on first use; community sources are listed at the end.

Note: CIFI’s progression layers are dense. This page focuses on Traversal / Ouroboros bottlenecks players actually hit, with community-backed steps and version-sensitive caveats kept out of the way until you need them.

Quick answer

Community Knowledge How Traversal is gated. All play before Ouroboros counts as Traversal 0 (TR0). Unlocking the Ouroboros ship and pressing the Traversal button starts TR1[1]. To get there, you push Mod Points (MP) to e888, which unlocks the planet Sekhur-5; finishing its campaign unlocks Traversal with Ouroboros[1][2]. From then on, two limits apply to each Traversal: an Orb Battery (you must gain a set number of orbs, usually by buying mods) and a Time Battery (a minimum time in the TR, removed by a later upgrade)[2].

Recommendation When to traverse. Don’t traverse just because the battery allows it. Give each TR a goal, usually a specific orb upgrade, and leave once you have it. When you first unlock Ouroboros, players who answered say not to linger in TR0. Make a cloud save before every TR[2][3][4].

Community Knowledge Rank bar frozen after a TR. Ouroboros rank progress now follows your highest-ever count of loop mods bought. Right after a TR you are below that peak, so the bar shows no progress until the new run passes it. Your rank itself is kept[5].

Community Knowledge Two Zeus loadouts. The community has no single agreed setup. The most common advice is two loadouts: a Shards/MP build used for every reset, and a research (RP) build used only to grab the next research[6][7][8]. A smaller group runs three separate loadouts. Players further along say one all-in-one loadout is enough once your ships have many installs, though the install counts they give differ[7][8][9][10].

Community Knowledge Green button glowing? Players say to press it as soon as it appears. Waiting gains nothing, because the bonus is calculated retroactively[11].

Version-sensitive Multi-LR bricking warning? This warning appears when the multi-Loop-Reset slider would push your next Loop Reset requirement above the loops you can reach. The game then blocks the reset until you lower the slider. Right before a TR, players treat a brick as minor, because traversing gets you out of it, and some brick on purpose at that point[12][13].

Gloss: TR = Traversal (Reset) · LR = Loop Reset · LRR = Loop Reset Requirement · OO = Ouro Orbs · MP = Mod Points · RP = Research Points · GU = Gem Upgrade.

Stuck? Checklist (tap this first)

Community Knowledge Find your symptom below and see what players report. Details are in the sections further down.

If you see… Tap / do this
No Traversal option yet Reach e888 MP to unlock Sekhur-5, then finish its campaign[1][2] → How Traversal is gated
Battery full, unsure whether to traverse Pick the orb upgrade you want next TR and leave once you can afford it; the timer alone is not the signal[3][4] → When to traverse
Ouroboros rank bar not moving after TR Pass your old highest loop-mod count in the new run[5] → rank-bar fix
Unsure about ship loadouts (Zeus / pre-Ouro) Most players start with two: Shards/MP for every reset, RP only for the next research[6] → Zeus loadouts
Glowing green button Press it as soon as it appears[11] → green-button guide
Multi-LR bricking warning Lower the slider until the warning clears; just before a TR a brick matters much less[12][13] → details
Odd M0 bulk-buy toggle It controls whether bulk buy also buys M0; most players leave M0 buying on[14]
Offline rewards popup left open Close and reopen the app; time away is not counted while the popup sits open[15]

Game identity & scope

Game: CIFI — Cell: Idle Factory (also Cell: Idle Factory Incremental)

Scope: This is not a full beginner wiki. This main guide covers the jump from routine looping into Traversal (TR) and Ouroboros, which is where players most often ask why progress suddenly feels wrong. New players should start with the CIFI Beginner Basics Walkthrough.

Loop Reset vs Traversal Reset

Community Knowledge CIFI has two layers of reset. A Loop Reset (LR) uses Zagreus to prestige: you give up your current progress in exchange for MP. Each LR raises your Loop Reset Requirement (LRR), which is the number of loops Zagreus must complete before you can loop again. The community glossary advises keeping the LRR below your instant loops so you can loop whenever you need to[2]. If the LRR climbs above your instant loops, you are “bricked” and have to wait, sometimes a long time, before you can loop again[2]. In practice, replies in the Zeus guide thread suggest keeping the requirement about 20–50 loops below your instant loops[1].

Community Knowledge A Traversal Reset (TR) is the bigger Ouroboros reset. TRs are numbered by how many you have completed, and pre-Ouroboros play counts as TR0[1][2]. Ouro Orbs only arrive at the end of a Traversal, and one reply frames raising that payout as the main goal of each TR[4]. Expect the first TR to slow you down sharply. The Ouro guide puts this down to a system meltdown that happens after the first Traversal. Players add that you need to redo your ship installs afterwards, because meltdown hits generators but spares cell bonuses[3][4].


How Traversal is gated

Unlocking the first Traversal

Community Knowledge The game starts you in TR0. Once you unlock the Ouroboros ship and press the Traversal button, you begin at TR1[1]. The unlock comes late in Zeus. An e888 MP mod opens Sekhur-5, the fourth planet, and completing its campaign unlocks the ability to Traverse with Ouroboros[2]. The Zeus guide describes the final stretch as continuing from e850 until you reach e888 and Sekhur unlocks. It also treats reaching e888 with 890 or fewer Loop Resets as fine[1].

Community Knowledge That climb slows down. Players stuck around e800 MP were told there is a significant slowdown at that point. Replies say very long shard runs and Zeus AP/materials get you through it, or you can put more install points into the Zeus AP boosts and spend most of your AP on MP-boosting gear. Reported pace at this stage is roughly e5–20 MP a day, and it should slow down rather than stop[10]. Close to Sekhur-5, a reply in the Zeus guide thread describes the last steps as waiting for MP gains, resetting and repeating[1].

What limits each Traversal after that

Community Knowledge The glossary names two limits on traversing[2]:

  • Orb Battery (the Wyrmhole Battery): fills only after you gain a certain number of orbs in the TR, usually by buying mods.
  • Time Battery: a minimum amount of time you must spend in the TR. A later upgrade removes it; the glossary places this at Exo3, after which “shorts” (short TRs that end as soon as a set goal is hit) become possible.

Version-sensitive The orb requirement also appears to grow with the orbs you gain, not only with the number of TRs. A couple of replies in one thread describe late-game short TRs that keep orb gain low on purpose so the next Traversal requirement rises less. The reply that called this the strategy was unsure whether it still holds after an update, and another reader in the thread was hearing it for the first time. Treat it as lightly supported, late-game advice[14].

Community Knowledge Orb spending has a rule of its own. Early Gem purchases are forced: if you can afford the next Gem in the order, you must buy it before you can spend the rest of your orbs on Gem Upgrades (GUs)[3].


When to traverse: what most players do

Community Knowledge Have a goal, not just a full battery. Both community guides warn against traversing as soon as you are able unless you have a plan. The Ouro guide asks you to set a goal for each TR instead of traversing blindly when the time battery fills[2][3]. Sometimes that means staying longer to reach an orb breakpoint for a Gem Quality upgrade, a strong GU or a lifetime orb count. Other times it means leaving at the battery because no breakpoint is reachable in reasonable time. If a target will take much longer than planned, the guide suggests traversing earlier and picking the target up next TR[3].

Community Knowledge Leaving TR0 the first time. Replies in a first-Ouroboros thread that address timing agree: don’t linger once Ouroboros is unlocked. The pace and your goals change, and there is little left to do in TR0. They add that nothing in your current run can really be ruined by what comes next[4]. The practical tips before pressing are to exchange any leftover Tokenium, which is not lost but won’t come back until you unlock Zeus again, and, after the tutorial, to consider keeping the last 1.2 Ouro orbs for TR2. In the first TRs, players say to loop often, because long Loop Resets hurt progress there. For most players, the goal of the first couple of Traversals is getting back to unlocking Zeus[4].

Community Knowledge How long to stay in the first TR: views differ. One view is to check which upgrades you want next TR and leave as soon as you have the orbs for them. On that view, overstaying for arbitrary self-imposed goals is the mistake, and about a week of active play is a very loose time frame. The other view says the in-game Ouro battery timer is badly outdated and far too short to act as a green light. It suggests staying around two weeks, or as long as it takes to unlock the next big upgrade such as a gem level or node; this view had the lowest score in the thread. A third point is practical: the start of every TR takes a lot of playing time, so if you are busy, staying a couple more days beats traversing with no time to use it[4]. All three tie the exit to a specific upgrade rather than to the timer. Two replies also say the in-game Ouro guide is outdated and should be read with caution[4].

Recommendation Save before you go. The Ouro guide insists on a cloud save before every TR and on turning auto cloud save off until you are sure nothing went wrong. It repeats the same advice for anything big[3].


Shorter and longer Traversals: who does it differently

Community Knowledge Traversing fast. Traversing quickly is a minority approach: a single report from someone who did it for fun admits it is not the most efficient route, and its lesson is to stop the fast pattern around TR15–16 rather than run it to TR30, because the difference in gains keeps growing[4]. Once Exo3 removes the time battery, “shorts” become a planned tool. They are used to grab a nearby Gem or GU, or a quick set of campaign fragments[2][14].

Version-sensitive Very long Traversals. Further into the game, TRs get much longer. Players describe 400–900 hours as a usual long TR. A single 1,400-hour TR (up to around Exo1) is described as a niche strategy, and some players deliberately overstay for a huge orb payout[12]. These figures rest on a single detailed reply and depend on your stage.


Ouroboros rank bar not moving after a Traversal

Community Knowledge Players answering a frozen-bar question agree on the cause. Ouroboros rank progress now tracks your highest-ever number of loop mods bought. After a TR your count starts below that peak, so the bar shows no progress until the new run passes your old highest[5]. The rank is saved. The progress bar simply stays hidden until you own more mods than the minimum for your current rank[5]. Loop mods bought before Ouroboros do not count toward this[1].

Community Knowledge The same thread drifted into “zaglagging”: waiting for MP-boosting installs before starting the Loop Engine. Most replies call it pointless at most stages. The exceptions they give are when the Heph, Dem and Koi MP installs take less than about 5–10 minutes, or in shorts when a few minutes buys an extra install point. The in-game Zagreus guide still lists it as a tip. Zaglagging is not the reason the bar is frozen[5].

More detail: Ouroboros stuck rank bar fix.


Zeus ship loadouts: no single agreed setup

Community Knowledge There is no single loadout setup the community agrees on. Answers depend on how many installs your ships have and how far into the game you are, and players at similar stages still split their loadouts differently[6][7][8][9][10].

What most players do: two loadouts

Community Knowledge The Zeus Installs guide proposes two loadouts once burst’s short runs and higher caps arrive: a Shards/MP loadout and an RP loadout. The Shards/MP build is your “every reset” build, whatever the run length. The RP build is used only between very short runs and only until you hit the next research. If you are waiting hours for Koi101 (later Zeus101) and still not getting the research, you switched to it too early[6]. Even the RP build keeps some cells and generators, because cells give you more scientists in the research menu[6]. For point allocation, a reply in the Installs guide thread suggests maxing materials, then MP, then roughly 32:16:8:8:1:1 across shards, RP, AP, AllGens, cells and single gens. It adds that everyone’s install counts are slightly different[6].

Community Knowledge Most other replies land on two loadouts too, often phrased as one long and one short[7][8][10]. They give these reasons:

  • Shards and research grow with time spent in a run, while MP grows mostly with what you buy, so they suit different run lengths[7].
  • Every loadout has to ramp up after a reset, and doing that in three separate loadouts wastes time[7].
  • Time in the short RP loadout is mostly lost progress elsewhere, so players switch to it only when they are about to buy a research[8].
  • Running shards and MP together in long runs can squeeze out a couple of extra orders of magnitude of MP. Keeping them apart can mean narrowly missing loop-mod targets[7].

Community Knowledge Players disagree on where MP belongs. The Installs guide pairs MP with shards, while others put MP with cells in the short loadout and keep shards and RP for long runs[6][7][8]. One explanation reconciles the two. Early on, the split is long (shards/RP) versus short (MP). Later it shifts to MP/shards plus RP, because the idea of short and long loops stops mattering and RP costs get far apart[7]. After Ouroboros, a reply under the Ouro guide says the priorities stay the same as before Ouro apart from cells versus gens[3].

A smaller group: three loadouts

Community Knowledge Some players keep separate shards, research and MP loadouts, with materials in every loadout and AP in the ones used for long runs. They run research loadouts only when sure to reach a new goal within about an hour[7]. A Zeus-install rule of thumb also appears: three loadouts below 400 Zeus installs, two at 400 or more[7]. Separate MP, RP and shards runs were also suggested to a player stuck short of e888 who lacked the ship points for an all-in-one build[10]. Several other replies push back: three loadouts are called unnecessary, the third slot is called a diamond trap, and players advise against buying it[7][8][9][10].

Another group: one all-in-one loadout

Version-sensitive Players further along often drop the split entirely. The more installs you have, the less focusing on one resource gains you[7]. The thresholds they give differ:

  • 150+ installs on each ship, which for Zeus usually comes shortly after Exo4. Before that, a short/long split is optional[8].
  • Hundreds to thousands of installs per ship, for players around Hege. At that point split loadouts are called actively harmful, and the suggested single build is max materials, then max MP, then shards:RP:AP:AllGens at about 16:8:4:4[9].
  • Over 1,000 installs on most ships, where splitting makes very little difference[7].

Recommendation If you are in Zeus with modest install counts, the Installs guide’s two-loadout split is the most cited starting point. As your installs grow, check them against the thresholds above and merge into one loadout once the split stops paying off[6][8][9].


Multi-LR “bricking” warning

Version-sensitive What the warning does. The multi-LR slider lets one press perform many Loop Resets. Players use it to build up reset count quickly, especially at the start of a Traversal[13]. Each reset raises your Loop Reset Requirement. When the slider would push the next requirement above the loops you can actually reach, the game shows a bricking-danger warning, asks you to reduce the slider, and does not let you loop reset until you do[13]. The warning reportedly arrived with a bulk-buy change that raised the slider well above its old cap of 10[13].

Community Knowledge Getting around it. Asked whether the warning can be overridden with the slider at max, the top reply is a flat no[12]. The workaround one reply describes is this: open the slider from the orange loop reset button, then move it until the warning disappears. That gives the largest bulk reset the game allows, and beyond the warning there is also a hard limit[12]. Players add that the game still lets you go slightly past the requirement, about 1% of your max loops, according to the thread. A Discord consensus relayed in the thread puts the limit at roughly 150+ loops into the bricked state, but not much more[12]. Waiting for the warning to fade was also suggested, but for the person asking it came back on every press, which replies suspected was a bug[12].

Community Knowledge Is a brick permanent? It depends on timing. Mid-run, an overshoot can mean a very long wait before the next Loop Reset (months, in the bleakest description)[13]. Right before a TR it matters much less. A Traversal gets you out of it, so players don’t treat it as permanent there[12]. One detailed reply describes bricking as a normal tool rather than a disaster. Most bricks cost a few hours or at most a day, you keep progressing while bricked, and some players brick themselves on purpose at the end of a TR[12].

Community Knowledge Is a final maxed reset worth it? Players are lukewarm. The extra MP from one is described as worth roughly double-digit extra loop mods at most, with little effect on your orb count, and less useful still after a later upgrade (Inno2)[12]. Others stop using the slider once they are a hundred or two loops from bricking. They mainly use it early in a TR, or to reach the last few mod points for a big upgrade[13]. To clear the warning, players list four options: lower the slider, space resets out, buy upgrades that push the loop reset requirement further, or traverse[13].


More pitfalls

1. Green button hesitation

Community Knowledge Asked whether to save the green button for the end of a long run, players answer with near-agreement to press it as soon as it appears. Waiting brings no benefit and only delays progress, and the bonus is calculated retroactively, so there is no timing to optimize[11]. → green button timing

2. The M0 bulk-buy toggle

Community Knowledge This toggle decides whether bulk buy also buys M0. Most replies see no reason to hold M0 back, and holding it is described as a strategy from about a year ago that was mostly ridiculed[14]. A smaller group says there are stretches of the game where holding M0 off for a few Traversals makes sense, tied to keeping orb gain, and with it the Traversal requirement, low in late-game shorts (see How Traversal is gated)[14].

3. Offline popup left open

Community Knowledge The offline-rewards screen appears when the app has been in the background or closed for more than a minute[15]. Players report that if the screen stays up, the time you spend away after it appeared is not counted. Their fix is to close the app and reopen it, which recalculates, or to exit the game before locking the phone[15]. An adjusted version of the “disable the popup” suggestion is reportedly being looked at for the Overhaul, per a reply the thread treats as coming from the developer[15].


Orb pacing if you drift from the usual plan

Community Knowledge Orb income can feel punishing for players who don’t follow the usual Traversal plan. In the cited complaint, about 1,000 hours earned 400B orbs while the next significant orb upgrade cost 1T. The poster read that as at least three months of little progress for one upgrade[16]. It is a single report with no replies in our evidence, not a measured rule, but it is one reason the guides above push for a goal in every TR.


Version / patch context

Version-sensitive Balance moves, so older advice may be stale:

  • Patch 0.7.3.62, relayed from the developer’s Discord: fixed Ouroboros’ Catch Up Timer miscalculating, fixed missions calculating offline time incorrectly, and added a slight cost scaling to endless loop mods at the endgame (Sx/Sp Ouroboros Orbs)[17]. The catch-up fix is reported as not retroactive: bonus catch-up you already have stays, but it won’t build up the same way going forward[17].
  • The rank bar’s link to your highest-ever loop-mod count is described as a recent change[5], and the bricking warning arrived with a bulk-buy change[13].
  • The Zeus guide’s Loop Reset counts per MP level are, according to replies in its thread, only a rough guide[1]. Players describe the in-game Ouro guide as outdated[4].


Community sources

Claim classes: Observed Game Fact means verified directly in the game or official material; this page uses none. Community Knowledge means what players report in the r/CIFI threads below. Recommendation is our own advice drawn from those threads. Version-sensitive (Version Sensitivity) marks numbers, thresholds and behaviour that may change with updates.

Community claims come from r/CIFI threads collected through Arctic Shift. The four guide posts (glossary, Ouro Introduction, Zeus guide, Zeus Installs) are stored as verbatim excerpts.

  1. Zeus Guide - from discord (opens Reddit) — Community guide on TR0/TR1, the e850–e888 stretch to Sekhur, and Loop Reset requirement advice.

    u/ExpertOdin: “you start the game in Traversal 0 (TR 0). Once you unlock the Ouroboros ship and hit the Traversal button, you will start your Ouroboros journey at what we call TR1.” — original post 1qedbxx

    u/ExpertOdin: “From e850 onwards, you keep going, and that should get you all the way to e888 to unlock Sekhur.” — original post 1qedbxx

    u/ExpertOdin: “as long as you can get to e888 with 890 LR's or less, you'll be fine” — original post 1qedbxx

    u/ExpertOdin: “A good place to be is to have your loop reset requirement 20-50 below your instant loops.” — comment oazsw0l

    u/ExpertOdin: “The guide for LR count is just a rough guide.” — comment oazsw0l

    u/ExpertOdin: “Loops mods pre Ouro don't count so won't affect anything.” — comment p7hvckm

    u/ExpertOdin: “It's just waiting for some MP gains, resetting, waiting again rinse repeat” — comment p9pn3ja

  2. Glossary of Terms Commonly Used (opens Reddit) — Community glossary defining Sekhur, the Orb and Time Batteries, TR, shorts, LR, LRR and bricking.

    u/ExpertOdin: “Sekhur-5, the fourth planet that is unlocked by a e888MP mod, completing the campaign unlocks the ability to Traverse with Ouro” — original post 1rs2q5o

    u/ExpertOdin: “The Wyrmhole Battery, one of the two limitations to TR, must gain a certain number of orbs to fill (usually by buying mods)” — original post 1rs2q5o

    u/ExpertOdin: “The Time Battery, the other limitation to TR, the minimum amount of time that must be spent in a TR, a certain upgrade removes this” — original post 1rs2q5o

    u/ExpertOdin: “TRing as soon as you are able, not generally recommended without a plan” — original post 1rs2q5o

    u/ExpertOdin: “Traversal, usually followed by number to indicate how many Traversals you have completed, Pre-Ouro is considered TR0” — original post 1rs2q5o

    u/ExpertOdin: “Short TRs where, after the time battery is removed by Exo3, one can TR once they hit a specified goal, usually used to quickly pick up a near ouro Gem or GU, or to gain a quick set of fragments from Campaign missions” — original post 1rs2q5o

    u/ExpertOdin: “Loop Reset, the number of times you use Zag to prestige and reset your progress in exchange for MP.” — original post 1rs2q5o

    u/ExpertOdin: “the total number of Loops that Zagreus needs to complete in order to do a LR. You want to keep this number below your instant loops so you can loop when you need to” — original post 1rs2q5o

    u/ExpertOdin: “A state where your LRR is higher than your instant loops and you must wait (sometimes a long time) to Loop again.” — original post 1rs2q5o

  3. Ouro Introduction Guide - Unlock to Zeus Unlock (opens Reddit) — Community guide on having a goal per TR, forced Gem purchases, cloud saves and the post-TR slowdown.

    u/ExpertOdin: “Try to have a goal in mind for each TR instead of blindly traversing at the time battery.” — original post 1qerbiw

    u/ExpertOdin: “If you can afford the next Gem in the order you'll be forced to buy it before you're allowed to spend remaining Orbs on GUs.” — original post 1qerbiw

    u/ExpertOdin: “Always, always cloud save before a TR and turn auto cloud save off, until you are certain you didn't mess anything up.” — original post 1qerbiw

    u/ExpertOdin: “There will be times where you delay a TR to hit an orb breakpoint for a Gem Quality upgrade, a strong Gem Upgrade (GU), or a lifetime orb count. There will also be runs where you TR at battery when a breakpoint isn't possible within a reasonable time.” — original post 1qerbiw

    u/ExpertOdin: “After first traversal, you probably will notice that you have slowed down drastically - this is happening because of your systems meltdown” — original post 1qerbiw

    u/ExpertOdin: “Before doing anything big, do a cloud save.” — original post 1qerbiw

    u/ExpertOdin: “If it's going to take much longer than TR earlier and get Att1 next TR” — comment oeqqns4

    u/ExpertOdin: “The only that should change is importance of cells vs gens. Everything else has the same importance as pre Ouro.” — comment ofuhj7y

  4. Things to avoid for first Ouroborus loop (opens Reddit) — Community advice on leaving TR0, what to do before and after the first Traversal, and how long to stay in a TR.

    u/Green_Sprout: “Once its unlocked don't have around too long, the games pace and your goals will be very different.” — comment mliyihd

    u/Green_Sprout: “You can't really mess up your current run because of what comes next” — comment mliyihd

    u/JowyAtreidesBlight: “Most important part is to just use the ouroborous and not linger after youve unlocked it.” — comment mlj0kya

    u/Mc_Lovin246: “Exchange any tokenium you may have left. It is not lost, but you won't get it back until you unlock Zeus again.” — comment mlm3urj

    u/Mc_Lovin246: “Hit the button as soon as you can, there is nothing more to do in TR0 for a normal player.” — comment mlm3urj

    u/Mc_Lovin246: “Redo ship installs. Yes, it's painful. But necessary because meltdown hits the generators, and spares cell bonuses.” — comment mlm3urj

    u/Mc_Lovin246: “Long loop resets only hurt progress, so loop often.” — comment mlm3urj

    u/Mc_Lovin246: “Don't overstay the first traversal for arbitrary self-imposed goals. Check which upgrades you want in the next TR, and bounce as soon as you have the orbs for it. Very loose time frame is one week with active play.” — comment mlm3urj

    u/Potential-Parsnip-21: “After tutorial ends, you can either spend last 1.2 Ouro orbs on ×4 to cells or keep to use in TR2. I recommend keeping it.” — comment mlk22km

    u/Nova9z: “the goal for the first couple traversals for most people is to try and get back to unlocking Zeus.” — comment mlmnhhs

    u/Sweet_Dreams88: “It is waaaay outdated so do not consider this timer to be a green light for traversal. It's way to short.” — comment mlkk2k3

    u/Sweet_Dreams88: “Stay in every TR for around 2 weeks or as long as needed to unlock next big upgrade aka gem level or node.” — comment mlkk2k3

    u/Weird_Air2743: “the beginning of evry traversal is pretty time consuming so f.e. your weekend is booked out better stay 2 more days in a tr than tring and having no time to really make use of it .” — comment mlu0pcd

    u/Weird_Air2743: “you only get the at the end of every traversal so they tend to get forgotten a little bit but your main goal is too increse those at the end of every tr” — comment mlu0pcd

    u/Weird_Air2743: “only thing i would do diffrent is maybe stopping tr 15 tr 16 and not tr 30 with that plan cause the difference in gains becomes increasingly bigger.” — comment mlu0pcd

    u/Odd-Independence-618: “The in game guide for ouro is really outdated so i would take the advices in there with a grain of salt.” — comment mlj74r9

  5. Ouroboros rank up bar- not registering any progress (opens Reddit) — Community answers on why the rank bar freezes after a TR, plus a side debate on zaglagging.

    u/Toadleclipse: “Ouro rank progress is now tied to your highest # of loop mod bought, so if you just TR'd, you're won't get any more progress until you pass your old highest in your new run” — comment p6zwb38

    u/RazorSlazor: “It now tracks your highest ever loop mod installs. Check how many you currently have.” — comment p71qyy6

    u/ObjectifAdmin: “The rank is saved, but the progress bar wont appear before he get more mods than this minimum.” — comment p7193e9

    u/ObjectifAdmin: “No that's not the answer.” — comment p7193e9

    u/Caloooomi: “It's generally pointless to do at any stage of the game.” — comment p7033l5

    u/ExpertOdin: “Zaglag is okay when the Heph, dem, and koi MP installs aren't instant but take less than 5-10 minutes to get.” — comment p728tb4

    u/cyphol: “Only worth it for shorts if you need a few minutes to get an extra install point in a dem, koi or zeus for a lot of extra MP.” — comment p706ynl

    u/palacexero: “it's listed as a pro tip to get MP boosting installs on other ships before starting the Loop Engine.” — comment p70c6zr

  6. Zeus Installs Guide (opens Reddit) — Community guide proposing a Shards/MP plus RP two-loadout split in Zeus, with install ratios.

    u/ExpertOdin: “Thanks to the short runs of burst, and the increase caps, we can now consider splitting our loadouts into 2 – a ‘Shard/MP’ loadout, and an ‘RP’ loadout.” — original post 1qediqb

    u/ExpertOdin: “Generally speaking, your Shards+MP build will be your “every reset” build. Short, long, doesn’t matter use it. The RP build becomes a “…except when you want that next research” build. You would use it between super short runs, and only until you hit the next Research.” — original post 1qediqb

    u/ExpertOdin: “If you need to wait more than a few hours for Koi101 (and later, Zeus101), and hitting those don’t get your research – you swapped to this build too early to grab the research.” — original post 1qediqb

    u/ExpertOdin: “You want some cells/gens even in an RP build because cells get you more scientists/etc in the research menu.” — comment ohlbpx1

    u/ExpertOdin: “Everyone has slightly different install counts.” — comment owk90wi

    u/ExpertOdin: “Max mats > max MP > shards:RP:AP:AllGens:cells:single gens at 32:16:8:8:1:1 or something should be fine” — comment owk90wi

  7. Optimal loadout setups (opens Reddit) — Community discussion on two versus three loadouts, where MP belongs, and when one loadout is enough.

    u/tassietigermaniac: “Currently I've got a loadout for shards, a loadout for research and a loadout for MP” — original post 1m13zlh

    u/Mc_Lovin246: “There are regions of the game where two separate loadouts are good. The split here is one that focuses on RP, and one that sacrifices RP in favor of EVERYTHING else. Three loadouts are never necessary.” — comment n3eq2oh

    u/Mc_Lovin246: “The reason why dividing them up even further is bad: everything grows over time. Having to wait for this ramp-up in three separate loadouts, just wastes a lot of time.” — comment n3eq2oh

    u/Mc_Lovin246: “The more installs you have available, the smaller the benefit of focusing on one particular resource.” — comment n3eq2oh

    u/MissMormie: “I have one for shards and research and one for mp. Shards and research grows with time, mp grows mostly with things you buy” — comment n3eitos

    u/Sweet_Dreams88: “Cell / mp (shorts)” — comment n3gtyt0

    u/Sweet_Dreams88: “Shards/mats/rp and some into ap (long)” — comment n3gtyt0

    u/Weird_Air2743: “By combining shards and mp in long runs after hitting several shard upgrades i would often times squeez out e2 e3 more mp” — comment n3f0hp0

    u/Weird_Air2743: “Having shards and mp seperated i often missd my loop mod requirements buy e1” — comment n3f0hp0

    u/tzulik-: “You want mats in every loadout. AP preferably in those that take longer runs into account, that's primarily shards for me.” — comment n3ep0pk

    u/tzulik-: “Research runs don't take long for me, as I usually do them only when I'm sure to reach a new goal in <1 hour.” — comment n3ep0pk

    u/nellb13: “Depends on how many installs you have on your ships. I usually go based on my Zeus.” — comment n3f3oqh

    u/nellb13: “If you have 400+ then just use 2 installs:” — comment n3f3oqh

    u/WantonFlirt: “For long loops one with shards/RP and for shorter loops one focused on MP.” — comment n4n3y6j

    u/WantonFlirt: “This will eventually shift to one for mp/shard and one for RP because the concept of short and long loops becomes irrelevant and the RP costs get really far apart.” — comment n4n3y6j

    u/WantonFlirt: “Right now I actually just have one load out because with > 1000 installs on most ships it makes very little difference having anything split off.” — comment n4n3y6j

  8. Loadouts assistance (opens Reddit) — Community advice on one short plus one long loadout, the third slot, and the 150+ installs point for one loadout.

    u/picabo123: “I think most commonly the recommendation is to have 1 short and 1 long load out.” — comment okuzmpo

    u/picabo123: “Every second spent in this load out is basically a time waste though. Only do these when you're gonna buy a research or something.” — comment okuzmpo

    u/picabo123: “Definitely don't purchase the third load out slot OP.” — comment okuzmpo

    u/ExpertOdin: “Once you have 150+ installs for each ship it's better/easier to just do an omni loadout that hits everything. Before that you can min-max with split loadouts, one short one long. But it's not needed if you don't want to.” — comment okvzr3v

    u/ExpertOdin: “150+ installs for Zeus usually happens shortly after unlocking Exo4” — comment okvzr3v

    u/tktkboom84: “Are you mixing up MP (Mod Points) and Research Points (RP)?” — comment okxza6j

    u/tktkboom84: “I assume you would want MP and cells for short runs to pile up mod points in the Zag and shards and RP or research points should be in the long run as they grow with time.” — comment okxza6j

  9. How to properly utilize the 3 loadout for the ships? (opens Reddit) — Community replies favouring a single loadout later in the game.

    u/ExpertOdin: “At your point a single all encompassing loadout is all you need. The third loadout is a diamond trap and second is only helpful when you have fewer installs. But by now you should have hundreds to thousands of installs for each ship.” — comment peae4vi

    u/ExpertOdin: “Max mats > max MP > shards:RP:AP:AllGens at your preferred ratio. Something like 16:8:4:4” — comment peae4vi

    u/Farns2754: “Split loadouts are actively harmful at that point.” — comment pekp6l0

    u/No_Essay_9664: “After I hit TR3 I don't think i ever touched my cell/mp loadout again.” — comment peac7a6

  10. I'm completely stuck suddenly. (opens Reddit) — Community advice for a player stalled around e800 MP before Ouroboros, including loadout suggestions.

    u/Silent_Mail_67: “I reached e810 MP and things were getting slower. But after updating, I can't get past e796 MP in any run.” — original post 1wicwit

    u/ApolloMac: “It suggests one loadout for MP/Shards, and one for Research. You shouldn't need 3 loadouts.” — comment pacck5f

    u/ApolloMac: “It slows down but shouldn't stop or go backwards.” — comment pacck5f

    u/ExpertOdin: “Or invest more install points into the AP boosts on Zeus ship and focus most of your AP on MP boosting gear” — comment pa9z0b6

    u/ExpertOdin: “This lets you get e5-20 MP every day and you can keep progressing” — comment pa9z0b6

    u/Red_Iine: “There's a significant slowdown around then, which is solved by very long shard runs and Zeus AP/materials for the most part.” — comment pa9iljn

    u/avocator: “You do not have enough ship points to do an omni build.” — comment paa6301

  11. When should I press the green button? (opens Reddit) — Community answers on pressing the green button right away.

    u/QuirkyStage2119: “There's no benefit in waiting.” — comment p9ligh0

    u/Musabo: “If the button is there, it means you are losing progression.” — comment p9llru8

    u/exiled_preest: “Green means go. So asap.” — comment p9lq2n4

    u/RazorSlazor: “There is no optimizing these. Any bonus you get is applied retroactive.” — comment p9lnq65

  12. Any way to LR and bypass the bricking warning? (opens Reddit) — Community discussion on the multi-LR slider before a Traversal, intentional bricking, and long TRs.

    u/K-Dawggg: “I was wondering if there was a way to LR with my multiple LR slider all the way up to max, because it'll be my last loop reset until I traverse, so I don't need to worry about bricking at all” — original post 1vtdhyk

    u/upovte: “No” — comment p4sc3eo

    u/ExpertOdin: “If you open the slider then click on the orange loop reset button you can view the slider on that screen. Then you can move it left/right until the warning dissapears and get the maximum bulk reset possible. There's a warning for going over but there's also a hard limit that stops you going too high as well” — comment p4skyai

    u/Farns2754: “It still lets you brick. It lets you go pas req by 1% of your max loops” — comment p4u4cbm

    u/Green_Sprout: “the consensus over on discord is that you should be able to get 150+ but maybe not much more into the bricked state.” — comment p4skvdm

    u/Green_Sprout: “If you wait, the warning fades and you can go ahead with the LR” — comment p4saa41

    u/K-Dawggg: “Tried that, every time the warning fades out comes back when I try to press...” — comment p4sb90s

    u/Green_Sprout: “I usually brick myself at the end of a TR as well” — comment p4shdi8

    u/secondincomm: “At the level OP is its not permanent bricking, because you can just traverse” — comment p4szmix

    u/Methos_02: “Bricking in this game is actually a normal mechanic and done intentionally to progress faster.” — comment p4t5uek

    u/Methos_02: “almost all of those only set you back a couple of hours, at most a day.” — comment p4t5uek

    u/Methos_02: “the longest tr recommended, at least up until exo1, is a single 1400h and even that is a niche strategy, usually you do 400-900 hours in a long tr” — comment p4t5uek

    u/Methos_02: “Best case scenario you get no more than 10× more mp, which is barely enough for double digit loop mods. Which eventually will change nothing about your oeb count anyway. And after inno2 it becomes especially useless” — comment p4t742m

  13. Is anyone else getting this message? (opens Reddit) — Community explanations of the bricking-danger warning, the multi-LR slider, and how to avoid a mid-run brick.

    u/whiplashcc2011: “It say I need to reduce the slider, and there is a bricking danger.” — original post 1js8sns

    u/Green_Sprout: “Basically your next loop reset would require more loops than you currently have so the next would not be completable without it being an extra long run to make up the deficit.” — comment mlkl8eu

    u/ion_driver: “They added this warning when they changed the bulk buy. It used to be maxed of 10 loops.” — comment mlkvaup

    u/ion_driver: “it will not let you loop reset if your requirement would be to high” — comment mlkvaup

    u/Opening-Criticism974: “Bricking = if you reset like that, you're going to have to wait months before you can reset again” — comment mlkke66

    u/isjustwrong: “Yes, if you do fewer resets, it will require fewer loops on the next reset.” — comment mlkmlg9

    u/Opening-Criticism974: “Or you space your resets out a lot more, or you buy upgrades to push loop reset further, or you do a traversal” — comment mlkpfat

    u/isjustwrong: “I tend to max it out early on in the traversal to get near cap, then reset for 1-5x later to bot brick the run.” — comment mlkn0di

    u/Cumbucket789: “I generally stop using the slider once I get 1-2 hundred loops away from bricking.” — comment mlls9cr

    u/Cumbucket789: “Only value I get out of the slider is upping my loop reset count at the beginning of a tr or getting the last few mod points for a big upgrade” — comment mlls9cr

  14. What does this button do? (opens Reddit) — Community answers on the M0 bulk-buy toggle and keeping orb gain low in late-game shorts.

    u/FartyBathwater: “It stops m0 from being bought on bulk buy” — comment p7p0eim

    u/mog44net: “When selected/lit up, it will ALSO buy Milestone 0 (M0).” — comment p7p0brm

    u/expedition60_captain: “It was MAYBE a strategy a year ago. Mostly ridiculed.” — comment p7p2u2k

    u/Yuukiko_: “why wouldnt you want to buy all the M0 you can pre traversal though?” — comment p7p152q

    u/mog44net: “There are parts of the game where you want to hold off until the next few traversals” — comment p7p0brm

    u/NeedNameGenerator: “The meta is (or was, not sure after update) purposefully gimping your OO gain so you can maximise the amount of traversal you can do without exploding your traversal OO requirement.” — comment p7q6nes

    u/thisrockismyboone: “The less orbs you get the less your TR requirment increases, so you want to avoid gaining any more orbs than necessary.” — comment p7pe5t6

    u/thisrockismyboone: “Note this is not ALWAYS going to be the goal of a short but there are certain late game features I wont get into that are relevant.” — comment p7pe5t6

    u/Yuukiko_: “first time I'm hearing that orbs increase TR req and not just the TRs t hemselves” — comment p7pf8pz

  15. Can we change the offline timer slightly? (opens Reddit) — Community thread on the offline-rewards screen and lost time while it stays open.

    u/Head-Objective-7480: “The internal timer that triggers the offline menu to appear is anything over 1 minute of the app running in the background or fully closed” — original post 1w640dw

    u/Head-Objective-7480: “Suggestion 2 is to just add a setting to disable the pop up” — original post 1w640dw

    u/MissMormie: “This screen will still be there and it hasn't counted the last three hours.” — comment p7k36mp

    u/Meta-Four: “If i realize I've left it open on this screen I just immediately close the app instead. Upon reopening it will calculate again.” — comment p7kbtgi

    u/Silverscale_: “Always exit to Android first.” — comment p7lip58

    u/Octo_Snek: “I was looking into an adjusted version of Suggestion 2 for the Overhaul.” — comment p7kiipf

    u/Veloram: “We've been blessed by the Snek!” — comment p7kleqy

  16. Ouro Orbs / Traversals are way too punishing for non-meta players (opens Reddit) — A player’s complaint about orb pacing off the usual Traversal plan (no replies stored).

    u/ryanv09: “I have to spend 1000 hours to gain 400B orbs... meanwhile, the next significant orb upgrade costs 1T orbs.” — original post 1uzcq4m

    u/ryanv09: “This means I'm looking at an absolute minimum of three entire months of little to no progress in exchange for one single upgrade.” — original post 1uzcq4m

  17. Patch 0.7.3.62 (opens Reddit) — Patch notes relayed from the developer’s Discord, and a note that the catch-up timer fix is not retroactive.

    u/ExpertOdin: “From Snek - discord” — original post 1w8tom2

    u/ExpertOdin: “Fixed Ouroboros' Catch Up Timer miscalculating.” — original post 1w8tom2

    u/ExpertOdin: “Fixed Missions calculating offline time incorrectly.” — original post 1w8tom2

    u/ExpertOdin: “Added a slight cost scaling to endless loop mods at the endgame. (Sx/Sp Ouroboros Orbs)” — original post 1w8tom2

    u/ExpertOdin: “Snek has said the fix isn't retroactive so any 'bonus' catchup you have will stay but it won't accumulate the same going forwards.” — comment p85atl0

Evidence via Evidence Job consumer pointer under research/pipeline/jobs/cifi/. Classes used: Community Knowledge, Recommendation, Version-sensitive.