Which upgrade track to buy first
Buy first whichever track answers what ended your last attempt. The game's description of Space Heroes does not name or rank its four upgrade tracks, so no fixed order can be backed up; what it does give you is a way to choose, built on where coins come from and when the next boss arrives.
Buy first whichever track answers what ended your last attempt. The game's own description does not rank the four upgrade tracks of Space Heroes, or even name them, so any fixed order printed here would be a guess. This guide sticks to what the description states and shows how to turn those few facts into a decision when you have coins to spend. Where it knows nothing, it says so, because a confident tier list built on nothing could cost you the coins you have just earned.
What the game tells you about upgrades
The whole progression fits in one line of the description: coins dropped in combat fund four upgrade tracks and unlock new ships. Everything you buy comes out of that single balance, so each purchase is also a choice about what you are not buying yet. The rest of the facts below describe the road those coins have to carry you along.
| Upgrade tracks | Four |
|---|---|
| Paid for with | Coins dropped in combat |
| Those coins also unlock | New ships |
| Length of the game | 40 levels across 8 worlds |
| Boss fights | Every fifth level, eight in all, two phases each |
| Track names, prices and effects | Not given in the description |
What the description leaves out
A buying guide would normally start with the details below. None of them appear in the description, so you will have to read them off your own screen before you commit a large balance:
- What each of the four tracks is called and what it changes about your ship.
- What a step on a track costs, and whether the price climbs as you go.
- How many steps a track has before it is full.
- Whether an upgrade stays with you when you move to a new ship.
- Whether coins, once spent, can ever be taken back.
The fourth and fifth points matter most on your first purchase. If upgrades turned out to belong to one ship, buying them just before a ship change would be a waste; if spending turned out to be final, a careless first buy would stay with you. You do not need to assume either. Find out, then spend.
How to choose your first track
The routine takes a minute and works the same at level 3 or level 33:
- Name where your last attempt ended: in regular combat, in a boss's first phase, or after its weapon switch.
- Read all four tracks before you spend anything, so the first one you see does not win by default.
- Count the levels to the next boss. Bosses close every fifth level, so the answer is never more than four levels away, plus the boss level itself.
- Check what the next ship would cost, since it draws on the same coins.
Then use the place you got stuck to decide what to look for. The table describes what to look for, not what the tracks do: the description does not say, so treat each middle column as a question to put to the four tracks. If none of them fits, take the closest match.
| Where your last attempt ended | What to look for in the four tracks | Why it comes first |
|---|---|---|
| Regular combat, between bosses | Anything that helps you get through ordinary levels | Coins drop in combat, so this is also where your income comes from |
| A boss's first phase | Anything that helps you bring its health down, or last longer while you try | The second phase only begins at half health, and you have not reached it yet |
| After a boss's weapon switch | Anything that gives you more room to learn a new attack | The boss still has half its health left and a weapon you have only just met |
| Nowhere: you are clearing levels comfortably | Nothing urgent; compare the tracks against the next ship | Coins also unlock ships, so there is no need to spend just because you can |
One track or all four?
The description does not say whether it pays to fill one track or spread your coins, and the answer depends on prices it does not list. Your screen can settle it. If a track gets noticeably more expensive with each step, the first step of another track may be the better deal. If prices stay level, staying with the track that solves your current problem is simpler and easier to judge. A practical rule covers both cases: keep paying into the problem you have until it stops being the problem, then look at all four again.
Each boss is a natural moment for that second look. There are eight bosses and eight weapons, and none of the weapons is shared, so the attack that ended your run on one boss will not return on the next. A track you chose because of one boss's second phase may not be the most useful purchase before a different one. Treat the first buy as an answer to today's obstacle, not as a commitment for all 40 levels.
A track or a new ship?
Tracks and ships compete for the same coins, and the description does not rank the ships any more than it ranks the tracks. It does not say how one ship differs from another, either. So compare what is on offer: what the next ship would give you, what the next step on a track would give you, and how far each one is from your balance. If you are stuck on a particular level, the option you can afford before your next attempt has an obvious advantage over the one you would need several more levels to pay for.
One more line from the description is worth knowing: the last two worlds turn the player's own ship against them. It does not explain how that relates to your upgrades, so it is no reason to change your buying plan now. It is simply what waits at the far end of the game.
Quick answers
- Which upgrade track is the best? The description does not rank them, so this guide does not either.
- Where do coins come from? They drop in combat.
- What else can I spend them on? New ships.
- Do bosses drop more coins? The description does not say.
- Can another player help me through a boss? No. There is no multiplayer, so your own upgrades are the only ones in the fight.
- What language will the track names be in? English, since the game is in English only.
Where to play
Space Heroes is a vertical arcade shooter built in Unity, listed on the App Store as Space Heroes: Galactic War. It is free, with in-app purchases, on Google Play, where version 1.0.56 is live, and on the App Store, where version 1.0.66 is live. Screenshots and both store links are on the game's page: /games/space-heroes/