9 Kings is a game of forward thinking, future planning, and base management with a surprisingly limited amount of RNG added into the mix to keep things interesting. The game features a handful of different kings, but has enough builds to keep any roguelike player happy for days.
Gold isn’t a very important resource in the game, but it can be quite powerful in the right hands. Typically, gold is used to reroll card options and buy cards from the shop, though certain cards take advantage of the presence of gold, such as the Mercenary troop and the Dispenser tower.
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How Does Money Work in 9 Kings
Money is a fickle thing, and it’s best spent as soon as possible. 9 King doesn’t give the player any breathing room, and hanging on to money isn’t a wise move when even small advantages can make a big difference.
At the end of each year, i.e., after finishing a battle, players will gain +9 gold by default. Even if an enemy breaches your defenses and the player loses a life, the +9 gold will be given to the player. At different points in the game, players can spend the money they have on shops, or they can spend it at the end of each year to reroll the card options they get.
The first reroll, for card options and for shops, costs 10 gold. Each subsequent reroll will cost 10 extra gold, and the price of the goods in the shop will also increase by 10 gold each time.
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How to Get Money Fast in 9 Kings
There are a variety of cards that award the player gold under certain conditions. These can be towers, troops, or buff cards.
| Card Name | Card Type | Card Origin | Effect | Strategy to Gain Gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vault | Tower | King of Greed | Receive +3 gold at the end of every year | Place down as many vaults as the player can afford. Leveling up vaults will net a higher yield of gold. |
| Midas Touch | Buff | King of Greed | When this troop kills, there’s a 2% chance to receive 1 gold | Apply Midas Touch to a troop card that has a high number of troops, and deals decent damage. This way, players can maximize the chance of getting gold from a kill. Additionally, players should stack the card on the same unit as much as possible to increase the chance. |
| Mortgage | Buff | King of Greed | Destroy target plot to receive 30 gold for each level it had | Instead of using the well to dispose of unwanted cards, players should place them on plots and use Mortgage to extract 30 gold from them. |
| Palace | Tower | King of Greed | Casts a ray that instant-kills the target. Golden enemies drop gold | It is the starting tower for the King of Greed and gives the player a few extra gold every now and again. Leveling it up doesn’t increase the incidence of gold enemies. |
| Scapegoat | Troop | Multicolored Card | Passive backline unit. If killed in battle, generates 3 gold per level | Best paired with cards like the Farm or Procreate that increase the number of troops. |
Other than cards, players can also get a few different royal decrees that increase the amount of gold they gain in different ways. Royal decrees can only be declared a few times each run, with the opportunity coming about once a handful of years have passed in the game. These decrees can be game-changing and are quite powerful.
| Royal Decree | King of Origin | Effect | Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loan | King of Nothing | Receive 99 Gold | It gives the player a flat amount of gold without any strings attached. It isn’t as powerful as some of the other royal decrees but can be quite useful. |
| Burglary | King of Greed | All Active troops gain 2 stacks of Midas Touch | Players should take this royal decree if they have a large number of troops that are performing well in battle. |
| Insurance | King of Greed | Receive 1 gold for every 9 allied unit deaths | Insurance is an extremely efficient way of gaining gold. It works incredibly well with troops that die quickly such as the Bomber, Imp, and the Pagoda. It synergizes with Demon’s Altar which summons one demon per level that grows 0.5% stronger for every slain ally. |
Best Cards for A High Gold Run
When players have a lot of gold, it can be quite daunting to spend it all. But, gold doesn’t always need to be spent. There are some cards in the game that gain power based on the amount of gold you have at your disposal.
| Card Name | Card Type | Card Origin | Effect | Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dispenser | Tower | King of Greed | Single-target tower. Gains +1% attack speed for each 1 gold you receive | This is best put to use early. The more time it has, the more powerful it becomes. Players should put down a few vaults to increase the rate at which Dispensers improve. They work extremely well with the Insurance royal decree. |
| Over-Invest | Buff | King of Greed | Spend 30 gold to increase every stat of a troop or tower by 15% | Best used on troops and towers that already have high stats, e.g. A late game Dispenser. |
| Mercenary | Troop | King of Greed | Strong but fickle warriors for hire. You always have 1 unit for each 15 gold you own | They aren’t very useful since you’ll want to spend the money you’re obtaining, but they’re a decent option if there are no other melee fights around. |
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