Tears of Metal Settlement Upgrades

Settlement Upgrade Overview

Settlement upgrades transform your village from a menu hub into a strategic engine. Each building upgrade unlocks mechanics rather than simple number increases. Training Grounds add drill tiers that passively buff soldiers and sometimes heroes. Scout Tent upgrades reveal additional map information on the roguelike left-to-right paths—extra nodes, Hazard types, or elite rewards—before you commit. Shops expand inventory tiers and price curves. Barracks increase recruit slots and baseline soldier quality. Companion halls open ally slots and ability trees.

Upgrade costs scale with tier and Act progression. Early currency feels scarce because players spread spending across every visible button. Concentrate on one or two buildings until they reach breakpoints that change runs—Scout Tent tier that shows Hazard icons, Training Grounds tier that adds battalion command options, shop tier that stocks rare Charms. The village priority checklist captures community consensus orders; adjust for your skill profile if you rarely lose soldiers, invest less in barracks and more in economy.

Settlement choices interact with Threat planning. Scout Tent intel reduces perceived randomness: you pick elites because rewards are visible, not because icons looked scary. Training Grounds reduce average fight length, indirectly slowing Threat growth. Neither building removes Hazards entirely—that is in-run routing skill—but both shrink the mistake window. Pair settlement planning with Act 2 walkthrough Threat chapters for a full picture.

Training Grounds

Training Grounds are the backbone of battalion-centric strategies. Drill tiers unlock passive stat gains for soldiers—health, armor, damage, resistance—and higher tiers may grant active commands usable during map fights. Because soldiers die permanently, Training Grounds also determine how fast replacements reach acceptable baselines after casualties. Under-invested Training Grounds mean new recruits arrive soft while Act 3 elites expect veterans.

Drills often require time or currency between campaigns. Start drills immediately after returning from an Act clear so they finish before your next push. Prioritize drills that reduce battalion damage taken over drills that increase hero-only stats unless you play glass-cannon builds documented in Charms guide. Hero-only power spikes matter less when a single elite cleave deletes two soldiers and breaks Emblem aura thresholds.

Training Grounds synergize with soldiers guide recruitment pacing. Recruit after major drill completions, not before, so new troops benefit from updated baselines. In co-op, confirm whether drill bonuses apply party-wide or host-only; host investment still helps guests when soldiers are shared. Return to village hub for how Training Grounds fit alongside companion and shop upgrades.

Scout Tent and Economic Buildings

Scout Tent upgrades improve map intel on roguelike routes. Low tiers might reveal the next fork; high tiers expose Hazard types, shop contents, or elite reward previews several nodes ahead. Intel converts Threat management from reactive to proactive—you skip hidden Hazard branches elites disguised behind combat chains. Scout Tent value peaks in Act 2 and Act 3 where fork density is highest; Act 1 still benefits but forgiving routes mask weak scouting.

Shop and smithing upgrades alter stock tiers and upgrade costs. Shop expansions unlock defensive trinkets that stabilize boss attempts—cleanse charms, shield trinkets, Threat reducers. Smithing ties into equipment guide weapon tiers. Economic buildings should follow Scout Tent and Training Grounds unless you consistently enter bosses with gold unused; unused gold signals shop under-investment, not economic success.

Barracks upgrades increase recruit caps and may unlock soldier specializations—archers, shield walls, interrupt units—that reshape battalion commands on the map. Specializations are powerful but require living soldiers to train; do not unlock advanced barracks tiers if casualties constantly reset your roster. For spending philosophy between Acts, read village upgrades guide and align with Act 3 preparation milestones.