SKULL UP looks simple at first, but after a few hours it becomes obvious how layered the game really is. There are dozens of systems, and if you try to understand everything at once, you’ll slow your progress badly. The goal early on is not to be perfect. It’s to build momentum and avoid wasting resources you can’t easily get back.
SKULL UP Beginner Guide Wiki – Gear, Ring, Fishing
Cemetery and Resource Production
Your home screen is the backbone of your account. Skeletons you assign here directly control how fast you progress.
Early on, wood is king. Almost everything requires wood, and new players consistently underestimate how much they’ll need. You should heavily invest skeletons into lumber production at the start. You can always rebalance later, but falling behind on wood early creates a long-term bottleneck.
After wood, your priorities should be skulls, spirits, and gold. These are required everywhere, and they quietly limit upgrades more than players expect. Gems matter too, but you’ll mostly get those from events and progression rather than passive generation.
AFK Rewards
The biggest wall in SKULL UP isn’t difficulty, it’s experience gain. You’ll hit moments where everything is locked behind level requirements, and the only way forward is waiting.
AFK rewards are your main source of experience. Anything that boosts AFK income is valuable. Monthly cards help, but even with them, progress slows later. This is normal. Don’t panic and dump gems just to push levels faster unless you’re sure it’s worth it.
Skeletons (Heroes)
Early on, just use your highest rarity skeletons, especially Triple S units. Don’t overthink team composition at the start. Raw rarity and levels matter more than perfect synergy.
Lower rarity skeletons exist mostly as fodder. Double S, Single S, A, and B units are not meant to carry you long-term. Their main purpose is to be turned into five-star fodder to upgrade Triple S units through the Star Altar.
The game will try very hard to convince you that certain early units, like Screech, are strong. In practice, they fall off quickly. If you get copies of weaker Triple S units, it’s often better to transfer them in the Skelly Crypt into stronger Nether units instead of forcing them to work.
Gems
One of the most important beginner rules is this: always try to keep around 30,000 gems.
Events like Trey’s banner are extremely powerful, and having enough gems guarantees you can secure these key skeletons. Spending gems impulsively on random pulls or refreshes early will hurt you later.
Server progression matters too. On most servers:
- Day 3 introduces Trey
- Day 8 introduces Bucky
- Day 13 introduces Hexy
- Day 18 introduces Bruiser
These units shape early and mid-game teams. Missing them because you spent gems too early is one of the most common beginner mistakes.
Star Upgrading, Awakening
Getting skeletons to higher star levels becomes exponentially harder. To reach six stars, you’ll need other heroes at high levels, and unlocking Awakening requires multiple duplicate copies.
Awakening is absolutely worth it for main heroes, but don’t spread resources too thin. Pick a core group of six and focus on them. Everything else exists to support those six.
Gear, Rings, and Necklaces
Don’t try to gear everyone. Only your top six heroes matter.
Gear upgrades come naturally through fusing. Fuse everything daily and then re-equip better items when possible. Rings work the same way, and different rings of the same rarity can have very different stats, so always check before equipping.
Necklaces are extremely important and easy to underestimate. Whenever you see them in shops, especially for gems, they’re usually worth buying. Star upgrades on necklaces provide long-term power, and getting an Epic to Legendary or Mythic requires exact duplicates, so planning ahead helps a lot.
Rebirth vs Regress
You will make mistakes. Everyone does.
Rebirth is cheap and only refunds levels and gear. Regress is more expensive but refunds everything, including duplicate copies used for star upgrades. Use regress sparingly, but don’t be afraid to use it if you invested heavily into the wrong unit.
Game Modes
Arena and Hall of Disasters are daily priorities. Even if you lose sometimes, ranking rewards add up fast. Always look for weaker opponents and use free refreshes.
World Boss is quick and free rewards. Always hit it.
Magic Tower is one of the best passive resource generators. Auto-challenge is your friend. If you get stuck, try swapping heroes or formations instead of brute-forcing.
Undead Legends is important because completing stages unlocks chances to earn five-star hero copies. Always check the Undead Echo after clearing a stage.
Sunny Island and Player Interaction
Sunny Island works like a board game. Other players can interact with your board, and portals can send you into theirs.
Be careful when entering other players’ boards. If they’re online, you may be forced to split rewards or pay gems to escape. Target offline players whenever possible.
Mercenaries, Fishing, and Side Systems
Mercenaries are only worth it if they’re high rarity. Don’t overspend refreshing with gems.
Fishing is surprisingly strong long-term. It provides permanent buffs, and upgrading your fishing pole early pays off later. Always replace weaker fish with better ones.
Shops, Summons, and Long-Term Planning
Normal summons are mostly trash. Advanced summons and Triple S summons are where value is.
Faction summons should be saved for Nether and Chief units, since those are the hardest to upgrade. Don’t waste them on easily obtainable skeletons.
Whenever you see red notification markers, click them. Many passive upgrades are hidden behind small menus and easy to miss.
SKULL UP rewards patience more than aggression. Save gems, focus on a small core team, don’t chase every shiny system at once, and accept that progress slows naturally.
If you build smart early, the game becomes much smoother later. If you rush and overspend, you’ll spend weeks fixing mistakes.
