Quick summary
- Soldiers gain permanent skills between campaigns.
- Expanding the settlement opens shops and permanent upgrades.
- Village upgrades, equipment and companions are part of Early Access progression.
- Special objectives unlock artifacts, Heroes, cosmetics, upgrades and Combos.
- Version 0.11 guarantees Region Currency in every act and increases rewards in Acts 2 and 3.
What persists and what resets
| Layer | Verified examples | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Current campaign | Emblem synergies, artifacts, shops, fountains and campaign rewards | Build from what the run offers now |
| Village / between campaigns | Permanent soldier skills, settlement expansion, shops and permanent upgrades | Improve the next attempt's recurring weakness |
| Objective unlocks | Artifacts, playable Heroes, cosmetics, upgrades and Combos | Read special objectives instead of treating every run as only a boss rush |
A safe upgrade decision order
- 1
Name the last run's failure
Record whether the campaign ended because the Hero died, soldiers collapsed, a Captain's Block stalled progress, healing ran out or an objective was missed. - 2
Check permanent soldier growth
Paper Cult explicitly says soldiers can be trained with permanent skills. If the army repeatedly fails, inspect that layer before forcing a Hero-only solution. - 3
Review settlement and shop access
Settlement expansion opens shops and permanent upgrades. Prefer an unlock that addresses a repeated bottleneck over a price list copied from another patch. - 4
Read special objectives
Objective rewards can include playable Heroes, artifacts, cosmetics, upgrades and Combos, so the best next unlock may come from a campaign task rather than a direct purchase. - 5
Keep campaign currency separate
Version 0.11 changed Region Currency rewards and many in-run prices. Verify where a currency is spent before treating it as permanent Village material.
What current launch footage shows
A July 2026 launch-day recording shows a War Preparations screen with Infantry, Spearmen and Archers, Commander capacity, Army Stats, an Ally Emblem area and a Companion slot. This is useful evidence that the released UI groups army preparation around unit types, commanders, Emblems and companions.
The capture is a public observation, not an official numeric specification. Its visible counts and costs describe one player's state and should not become a universal Village table.
Region Currency in version 0.11
The current official patch makes Region Currency more predictable:
- at least one Region Currency reward is guaranteed in every act;
- Acts 2 and 3 award more Region Currency than before;
- several campaign shop, fountain, treasure-chest and Charm costs changed in the same update.
This supports progressing deeper into a run, but it does not prove one exact Village purchase order. Costs, unlocked stock and the player's existing army state still matter.
What should I upgrade first in the Tears of Metal Village?
Start with the recurring failure from the previous campaign: Hero survival, soldier survival, access to a needed shop or another visible bottleneck. No official universal building order is published.
Do soldiers keep upgrades between runs?
Paper Cult says soldiers gain permanent skills, making soldier growth part of the between-campaign progression layer.
What do special objectives unlock?
The official store lists artifacts, playable characters, cosmetics, upgrades and new Combos.
Is Region Currency guaranteed?
Since version 0.11, at least one Region Currency reward is guaranteed in every act, with increased rewards in Acts 2 and 3.
Sources
- Tears of Metal official Steam store page
- Paper Cult's Early Access launch announcement
- Paper Cult's version 0.11.57863 announcement
- Launch-day War Preparations recording used as a labeled public observation