Upgrade Priority Guide: Spending Scrap and Data Wisely

Every run of Neon Burrow, win or lose, sends resources back to the Upgrades screen. Spend them well and later districts become noticeably easier. Spend them poorly and you may find yourself with a fast robot that dies to the first heat vent. This guide covers every upgrade track, the full cost of each tier and three build orders tailored to different play styles.

Where resources come from

There are two currencies: scrap and data. You earn them in four ways:

• Scrap pickups in the maze give three scrap each, plus 25 points.
• Data pickups give one data each, plus 50 points.
• Clearing a district pays a scrap reward of 10 plus 5 for each district beyond the first, on top of whatever scrap you collected during the run. Collecting every seed in the district adds two bonus data.
• The Core Vault's secret room pays five scrap and one data on discovery.

Crucially, you keep the scrap and data you collected even if the run fails. A failed attempt that grabbed four scrap pickups still banks twelve scrap. Failure is never a total loss.

In general scrap is plentiful and data is scarce. Most upgrade decisions come down to how you spend your data.

The six upgrade tracks

Costs are listed as scrap / data for each tier.

Speed Boost (3 tiers)

Increases Pip's base movement speed by 10 percent per tier. Costs: 15/0, 30/2, 50/4.

Speed affects everything: seed collection, escapes and extraction. Because the first tier costs no data at all, it is one of the best early purchases. Faster base speed also multiplies with Phase Shift and Overcharge.

Shield (3 tiers)

Adds one maximum hit point per tier, taking Pip from two to five. Costs: 20/0, 35/2, 60/5.

Shield is the most forgiving upgrade. A third hit point turns a two-mistake run into a three-mistake run, and every remaining hit point at the portal is worth 250 bonus points, so Shield even contributes to score. The first tier is data-free.

Ability Duration (3 tiers)

Increases the duration of every ability by 25 percent per tier. Costs: 15/1, 30/2, 50/4.

This is the strongest upgrade for players who lean on abilities. At max tier Phase Shift and Overcharge last three and a half seconds, Time Spark over five and Decoy Bot seven.

Energy Capacity (2 tiers)

Lowers the share of seeds needed to arm the Pulse Core from 60 percent to 50 percent, then to 40 percent. Costs: 25/1, 45/3.

Energy Capacity is underrated. Needing fewer seeds means shorter gathering phases, fewer encounters with Mimics and more freedom to choose a safe route. It does not stop you collecting every seed for the bonus data, it just makes it optional.

Cooldown Reduction (3 tiers)

Reduces every ability cooldown by 15 percent per tier. Costs: 20/1, 35/3, 55/5.

At max tier your cooldowns are 55 percent of their base values: Overcharge returns in 3.3 seconds and Decoy Bot in a little over eight. This is the most expensive track in data but transforms how often you can act.

Dash Distance (2 tiers)

Increases Phase Shift's speed multiplier from 1.3 to 1.6, then 1.9. Costs: 20/1, 40/3.

This is a specialist upgrade. It makes Phase Shift cover much more ground and reduces the chance of ending a phase inside a wall. Valuable later, but rarely the first thing to buy.

Build order 1: the steady pilot

For players who want the smoothest path through all five districts.

1. Shield tier 1 (20 scrap)
2. Speed Boost tier 1 (15 scrap)
3. Energy Capacity tier 1 (25 scrap, 1 data)
4. Ability Duration tier 1 (15 scrap, 1 data)
5. Shield tier 2 (35 scrap, 2 data)
6. Cooldown Reduction tier 1 (20 scrap, 1 data)
7. Energy Capacity tier 2 (45 scrap, 3 data)

This order prioritises survival first, then a lighter seed requirement. By the time you reach the Core Vault you have four hit points and only need half the seeds.

Build order 2: the speedrunner

For players chasing fast clears and big time bonuses.

1. Speed Boost tier 1
2. Energy Capacity tier 1
3. Speed Boost tier 2
4. Dash Distance tier 1
5. Energy Capacity tier 2
6. Cooldown Reduction tier 1
7. Speed Boost tier 3

Every second left on the clock at the portal is worth 20 points. Faster movement and a lower seed requirement shorten both phases of the run, and Dash Distance turns Phase Shift into a high-speed shortcut.

Build order 3: the high-score hunter

For players who want to top the global leaderboard.

1. Shield tier 1
2. Cooldown Reduction tier 1
3. Ability Duration tier 1
4. Shield tier 2
5. Cooldown Reduction tier 2
6. Ability Duration tier 2
7. Shield tier 3

High scores come from destroying enemies with Overcharge (200 each), maintaining long seed combos and finishing with lots of hit points (250 each). Cooldown Reduction lets you Overcharge more often, Ability Duration extends each window, and Shield both protects your run and pays out at the end.

Farming tips

If you are short of data, these habits help:

• Collect every seed in Power Junction. It is the easiest district in which to earn the two-data all-seeds bonus.
• Grab every data pickup, even on failing runs. You keep them.
• Find the Core Vault secret room. One data plus five scrap per discovery, and you keep them even if the run ends.

Summary

Start with the data-free tiers of Shield and Speed Boost, add Energy Capacity early to make every district shorter, then specialise based on how you like to play. Whatever path you choose, every run feeds the next, and the upgrade screen is where Neon Burrow quietly rewards persistence.