Skill tree

Opens at 15 of the 17 legacies. Paid in crowns, kept after every checkmate; spending does not reduce the crown bonus. Each node requires the node above it and a number of checkmates. At the end of each branch, an endlessly upgradable mastery.

Clock

Tier	Node	Effect	Checkmates	Price (crowns)
1	Winding Key	The clock plays from the start of every run: +1 click/s	12	10.0 M (1.0e7)
2	Tick-Tock	+2 clock clicks/s	15	30.0 M (3.0e7)
3	Pendulum	Clock clicks ×2	18	100 M (1.0e8)
4	Arbiter’s Eye	The clock captures rival pieces (after 2.5 s)	21	300 M (3.0e8)
5	Flag Fall	+5 clock clicks/s	24	1.00 B (1.0e9)
6	Synchronization	Clock clicks ×3	27	3.00 B (3.0e9)
7	Atomic Clock	Clock rate ×2	30	10.0 B (1.0e10)
∞	Mastery of Time	Clock clicks +10% per level	30	100 B (1.0e11), then ×10 per level

Army

Tier	Node	Effect	Checkmates	Price (crowns)
1	Drill	Production +5%	12	10.0 M (1.0e7)
2	Recruiting Sergeant	Producers 5% cheaper	15	30.0 M (3.0e7)
3	Supply Lines	Tempo earned offline ×2	18	100 M (1.0e8)
4	Forced March	Production +10%	21	300 M (3.0e8)
5	War Chest	Every run starts with 10 chess clubs, grandmasters, engines and neural networks	24	1.00 B (1.0e9)
6	War Economy	Producers another 5% cheaper	27	3.00 B (3.0e9)
7	Legion	Production +15%	30	10.0 B (1.0e10)
∞	Mastery of the Army	Production +3% per level	30	100 B (1.0e11), then ×10 per level

Tactics

Tier	Node	Effect	Checkmates	Price (crowns)
1	Scout	Rival pieces 15% more frequent	12	10.0 M (1.0e7)
2	Library	Puzzles pay 20% more	15	30.0 M (3.0e7)
3	Patience	An offered puzzle waits 90 s instead of 45	18	100 M (1.0e8)
4	Ambush	Rival piece bonuses last 25% longer	21	300 M (3.0e8)
5	Coach	Puzzles 25% more frequent	24	1.00 B (1.0e9)
6	Royal Fork	“Fork!” pays ×1.5	27	3.00 B (3.0e9)
7	Grandmaster’s Vision	Rivals 15% more frequent, puzzles pay 15% more	30	10.0 B (1.0e10)
∞	Tactical Mastery	Puzzles and “Fork!” +5% per level	30	100 B (1.0e11), then ×10 per level

Crown

Tier	Node	Effect	Checkmates	Price (crowns)
1	Heir	Crowns earned +5%	12	10.0 M (1.0e7)
2	Royal Court	Achievement fervor +10%	15	30.0 M (3.0e7)
3	Coronation	Crowns earned +5%	18	100 M (1.0e8)
4	Scepter	Bonus of each crown +5%	21	300 M (3.0e8)
5	Dynasty	Crowns earned +10%	24	1.00 B (1.0e9)
6	Throne	Bonus of each crown +5%	27	3.00 B (3.0e9)
7	Caïssa’s Blessing	Crowns earned +10%	30	10.0 B (1.0e10)
∞	Royal Mastery	Crowns earned +3% per level	30	100 B (1.0e11), then ×10 per level