ShredDead best build and upgrade order
There is no official best build or independent full-game comparison. This page records a sequence visible in public videos; demo-only numbers and single-source costs are labeled as such, and it is not a tested optimal route.
I paused Idle cub at the first upgrade screen and CaptainCigar after the first boss. The cited recordings show players spending early DNA on the player weapon and units. That describes those runs; it does not establish a generally optimal order.
Order that the footage supports
- Machine-gun damage. Idle cub: 10 to 14 on the first upgrade (7 Aug 2026, one video).
- Rookies. Cheap pistols. Three videos show them as the starter unit.
- Zombie value. Raising DNA per kill compounds every later minute. Seen in Idle cub and described again by CaptainCigar.
- A demo recording states 400 DNA for a Rifleman; another video shows the unit but does not corroborate the cost. Do not use this as a current full-game price.
- Crit, range, and area once leaks are rare. The skill-tree screenshot shows those branches as icons, not as readable names.
- A new DNA color after boss wave one, then the units that spend it. Two October videos.
v1.0.1 moved some of these early numbers. Item base damage went up across the board, the Flamethrower was buffed, and the final wave got harder on difficulties 2 and 3. The order still starts with gun damage, but a damage item may now be worth buying earlier than the pre-patch videos show.
What the skill tree screenshot shows
A Steam screenshot shows a hexagonal skill grid, locked nodes, and printed costs. This is a single screenshot observation; node labels and their mapping to those prices are not legible enough to build a verified cost table.
Orders the videos do not support
- Maxing the shredder. It does not pay DNA.
- Buying every soldier type on day one. Shotgun and crossbow appear in one modded client video only.
- A numeric DPS ranking. No public sheet has unit DPS.