Black Site Upgrade Priority: What to Level First

Every Black Site station can be upgraded, and none of them can be maxed early. The resource curve punishes spreading upgrades evenly — you end up with nine half-level stations and no income spike anywhere. The fix is a ranking rule, not a tier list.

The priority ratio

For each candidate upgrade, compute one number:

priority score = (income gained per day) ÷ (upgrade cost)

The income gained is the difference between the station’s output at its current level and its output at the next level, converted to a per-day figure. The cost is whatever the station consumes to level — currency, materials, or both. Work in per-day terms so stations with different cycle lengths compare fairly.

Run the numbers for every station, sort descending, and upgrade the top of the list. Recalculate after each level, because cost curves steepen and the ranking reshuffles.

A worked shape, using placeholders: if a currency station adds a small per-cycle amount for a moderate cost while a materials station doubles its per-cycle output for the same cost, the materials station scores higher this round — and the currency station wins the next round once its own curve flattens. Upgrade the station whose output you actually consume. Comparing raw numbers across stations misleads, because a bigger number on a station you visit weekly is worth less than a smaller one on the station you claim every session.

Two phases, not one strategy

Early phase — breadth, then cheap levels. Unlock the stations that feed your daily loop first (the unlock order page ranks them), then take the cheapest upgrades across all of them. Low-level upgrades are almost always the best value per cost, and breadth keeps every bucket trickling while you decide where to specialize.

Late phase — specialization. Once cheap levels are gone, costs compound and the ratio forces choices. Push the one or two stations whose output your playstyle actually consumes. If you raid constantly, materials and items stations pay for themselves; if you flip on the market, currency stations compound.

The two classic mistakes

Upgrading output you do not consume. A materials station at max level produces nothing useful if your upgrades are already funded and you do not craft. Banked output that never gets spent is not income — it is storage pressure.

Chasing a station with a hungry input. A station that consumes rare materials per cycle can score terribly once you price the input. Compute the net, not the gross: output value minus input cost, divided by upgrade cost.

Recalculate on patch days

Seasons retune output and costs, and a ranking computed last season is worthless this season. After each major update, re-run the ratio on your three highest-cost remaining upgrades before committing resources. The daily income page shows how the upgraded stations convert into a repeatable collection loop.