Duskfade Upgrades

Gears are not a rarity ladder

Third-party “gear wiki” pages that talk like an ARPG loot pool do not match this game. An Upgrade Gear is a spendable cog for the three trees. It is not a named sword with affixes. If a site lists rarity tiers for gears, ignore it.

Spending happens in town

Coverage and playtests put the trees in Tick Town, not on a field menu mid-biome. Find the gear, finish the room, go home. Exact bench / NPC label stays TBA until this wiki captures the prompt.

Once you are at that bench, the useful question is which of the three trees you are actually looking at.

Minutero is still one sword

Attributes, specials, and transformation-style moves sit on this tree. They change how the clock-hand blade swings. They do not add a second weapon. Rainbow Ingots change the paint. Full swing grammar: combat.

Zirian is the movement and gadget half

Movement, combat, and gadgets share this tree in coverage. That is why a Dash / Grapple / survivability node beats a pretty Minutero special in the first region. Gadget names and Temporal Energy live on abilities.

Cuckoo is support, not a second player

The Cuckoo tree is assist skills. It is not a pet level, not a hatch, and not a second control scheme. Talk and reunion beats sit on characters. Buy support after you can actually stand on the next ledge.

Knowing the three columns is not the same as knowing the first purchase. That order is the next section.

Do not write a gold-cost tier list

This wiki will not invent node prices, rank costs, or a “24 gears to max” quota. Coverage that quotes a live count is a snapshot, not a published table. When a captured menu exists, this page will add numbers. Until then, spend by stuck-point.

Health is a pickup, not a node

If you are dying, grab Clock Heart Pieces on the path before you rage-buy a tree you cannot name. Three pieces make a pip. Max health is its own achievement. Types: collectibles.

The other Tick Town spend is a shop with a name, not a fourth tree.

Shopaholic is not “max the trees”

Buying every Traveler object does not mean every Minutero / Zirian / Cuckoo node is done. Treat the shop as its own checklist. Trophy grouping: achievements. One-playthrough timing: platinum.

Do not raid the cart on sitting one

A full cart before Grapple trades tomorrow’s mobility for today’s trinket. Come back after a chain. Hub geography: locations.

Gears are the confirmed tree fuel. Other shiny currencies in coverage are the messy part.

Take gears; pin the argument

If a pickup is an Upgrade Gear, take it. If the HUD says coin, ruby, or shard, note it and do not assume a conversion rate. Inventing a 50-coin node is worse than leaving the cell blank.

Looks still are not power

Rainbow Ingots and Palette outfits will make Zirian prettier. They will not shorten a 25% platform exam. First-hours order: beginner guide.

Knowing what to buy only helps if you actually go home to buy it.

Backtrack after the spend

A new Dash, Grapple, or gadget node is a door. Walk Tick Town alleys and the previous biome after you buy. Ability doors: abilities. Region order: walkthrough.

Boss prep is mobility, not cosmetics

Chain fights mix sword quarters with a platform test every 25% HP. Buy the tool that clears the shifted arena. Fight grammar: bosses.

If a tree name is still missing from your HUD, the FAQ is the short version of this page.