13 ranks · 4 realms · the ladder of power
From Unboundto Monarch.
Every member binds deeper into their fallen titan as they fight, dispatch, and grow. The bond has thirteen rungs and four realms. Most members never leave the Mortal. A few, in time, ascend.
Updated ·patch v1.3.0
The prestige loop · 4 stations
The cycle is the game.
You never finish the ladder. You climb to Low Gold or higher, refine the member into soulfire, and spend that soulfire on another character’s Soul Tree — permanent passives that belong to them alone. Each character has their own tree; nothing crosses to the rest of the roster.
01 · Bind
New member starts at Unbound with an empty Soul Tree. Soulfire from past refines is what fills it.
02 · Climb
Earn essence XP through 13 ranks. Refine unlocks at Low Gold.
03 · Refine
Convert the member into soulfire. Higher rank = more soulfire (60 per rank).
04 · Empower
Spend soulfire on a character's Soul Tree. The passives are permanent — and theirs alone.
How it works in one paragraph
A member earns essence XP from combat, dispatches, and bond events. When the bar fills, they advance one essence rank. Each rank grants +10 stat points to allocate freely, an +8% salary multiplier, and a new tier color in their portrait. Past Low Gold a member becomes eligible for refining — converting them into soulfire that funds the Soul Tree of another character. Each character has their own tree; soulfire and unlocked passives never cross to the rest of the roster.
The four realms
Realms group ranks by what they unlock. Crossing a realm threshold is the milestone players talk about — the rank within the realm is the grind.
Mortal Realm
Where every member begins. The first bond forms in iron and bronze; the titan's voice is a rumor on the edge of dream. Four ranks: Unbound, Iron, Bronze, Full Bronze.
Transcendent Realm
The titan begins to answer. Silver and gold ascendants gather a faction's interest — the temple, the merchants, the nobles. Three ranks: Silver, High Silver, Low Gold.
Immortal Realm
Recognition. High Gold and beyond can be refined; the soulfire they leave behind funds another character's permanent Soul Tree. Three ranks: High Gold, Diamond, Archlord.
Titan Realm
The bond is no longer one-way. Sage, Herald, Monarch — three names mortals are not supposed to say casually. A roster member who reaches Monarch is a different game entirely.
The full ladder
XP thresholds are the cost to advance from a given rank to the next. Cumulative XP is what you've spent total to reach the rank in the row.
| # | Rank | Realm | XP to next | XP to reach | Stat points | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Unbound | Mortal | 480 | 0 | +0 | +0% |
| 1 | Iron | Mortal | 720 | 480 | +10 | +8% |
| 2 | Bronze | Mortal | 2.4K | 1.2K | +20 | +16% |
| 3 | Full Bronze | Mortal | 7.2K | 3.6K | +30 | +24% |
| 4 | Silver | Transcendent | 24K | 10.8K | +40 | +32% |
| 5 | High Silver | Transcendent | 72K | 34.8K | +50 | +40% |
| 6 | Low Gold | Transcendent | 240K | 106.8K | +60 | +48% |
| 7 | High Gold | Immortal | 720K | 346.8K | +70 | +56% |
| 8 | Diamond | Immortal | 2.4M | 1.1M | +80 | +64% |
| 9 | Archlord | Immortal | 7.2M | 3.5M | +90 | +72% |
| 10 | Sage | Titan | 7.2M | 10.7M | +100 | +80% |
| 11 | Herald | Titan | 24M | 17.9M | +110 | +88% |
| 12 | Monarch | Titan | max | 41.9M | +120 | +96% |
Stat points
Each rank grants +10 stat points you can allocate across ATK / DEF / SPD / INT / VIT. A Monarch has +120 points available — roughly the same magnitude as the base stat roll itself. Since the v1.3.0 rework, damage and power both weight stats by archetype affinity — primary stat 1.5×, secondary 1.2×, others 0.8× — and crossing every 100 of any stat grants a universal passive (ATK → follow-up attack chance, DEF → damage-reduction floor, SPD → crit chance, INT → cooldown reduction, VIT → HP regen). Every existing member gets a one-time free respec from the Growth tab; subsequent resets cost 500 gold per member. Full reference: Stats — the v1.3.0 system in one page.
Salary multiplier
Higher-rank members cost more to retain. +8% per rank, so a Monarch draws +96% over an Unbound on the same role. The mid-game cliff is around High Gold — that's where weekly payroll starts shaping which buildings you can afford to staff.
Refining (unlocks at Low Gold)
A member at Low Gold or above can be refined — converted into soulfire you can spend on another character's permanent Soul Tree. Base yield is 60 soulfire per rank consumed, so a refined Diamond yields ~480; a refined Monarch yields ~720. Refining a higher-rank member is the single biggest soul-tree power spike outside of new content — for whichever character you spend it on.
Realm thresholds
Crossing into a new realm is the visible milestone — portraits change color, the patron blessing tier opens, and certain quest chains check realm rather than exact rank. Inside a realm, the individual ranks are mostly a salary + stat-points grind. Plan refines around realm boundaries when possible.
See also: Characters · Soul Tree · Patron Shrines
Source: scripts/data/enums.gd EssenceRank + scripts/data/progression.gd ESSENCE_RANK_XP_THRESHOLDS.