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What to buy first: a coin plan

The Shop has three tabs, Run, Fight and Build, and far more to buy than your first few hundred coins will cover. This is the order that makes the biggest difference soonest, with every price.

Where coins come from

• Runs and fights: coins along the course, and for knockdowns in Fight.
• Missions: 40, 90 or 180 coins each, depending on how hard the mission is. See ranks and missions.
• Rank-ups: 100 coins times the new rank's number, from 100 for Genin to 900 for Legend.
• The daily gift: open the game once a day for 30 coins, growing to 200 on day seven.
• Badges: each pays coins, and some give an item for your ninja.

One item in the Shop is also half price each day, so it is worth a look before you buy.

Run: the first 500 coins

For the running game, the cheapest upgrades are also the most useful early on:

1. Longer ink (60, then 120, 220, 360 and 550): every line gets longer, from 3 m up to 4.5 m. Longer lines make every block and bridge easier.
2. Lasting ink (80, then 160, 300 and 480): lines stay solid longer before they fade.
3. Coin magnet (120, then 260 and 450): pulls coins to him, so every later run pays more.
4. Deeper focus (150, then 300 and 500): more time to draw while your pen is down.

After those, More ink drops (250, then 700) gives you an extra line ready at the start, which matters a lot on busy stretches.

Run: the inks

Each new ink changes what a line can do. Rubber (300) bounces him high over long hazards. Steel (450) is short but tough, shatters rocks and sends arrows back faster. Ice (500) lets him skate faster and launch further. Fire (600) burns arrows, and burns archers off their planks for good. If you keep dying to archers, fire first; if rocks are the problem, steel. The inks guide explains each.

Run: tricks and skills

A trick sits on a button during a run and comes back after a cooldown: Shield now (500), Slow time (600), Clear sky (600, sweeps away every arrow, rock and bomb on screen) and Ink refill (700). You carry one at a time. Shield now is the best first one: it turns one certain death per half minute into nothing.

Skills are bought once and work in every run. Ink saver (800) gives a drop back whenever a line blocks an arrow. Lucky charm (900) starts every run with a shield. Second chance (900) halves the price of keeping going after a fall. Arrow bounty (600) and Boss bounty (800) pay extra coins, so buy them early if you plan to save up for the expensive things.

Fight: the first 1,000 coins

1. Toughness (200): 20 more health. Every level after it costs more (450, 800, 1,200, 1,700) and is still worth it.
2. Elbow (150): breaks a shield fighter's guard in one blow, and a duel opponent's too.
3. Cross (100): a straight punch that can't be blocked or dodged.
4. Power (250): 10% more damage per level, five levels.
5. Sharp eye (400): a wider moment to counter.

Then the moves that open up combos: High kick (400) to launch from the head, Juggle (700) to keep hitting someone in the air, and the Dragon kick (1,500), which finishes every six-hit combo.

Fight: ultimates and skills

You start with the Tornado kick. The others: Ground slam (1,200), Spinning blade (1,500), Shuriken Rain (1,400, from the Chunin rank), Whirlwind (1,600, Senior Chunin) and Shadow Clone (2,000, Shadow Guard). For crowds, Ground slam and Shuriken Rain are the strongest; for one on one in a Duel, Shadow Clone. The four fighter skills cost 400 to 1,400: Steady feet (400) is the cheap one and stops hits from knocking you over.

Build: last, and only what you love

The Build tab is for looks: headbands, hats, outfits, pens and effects. Nothing there changes how the game plays, so spend there once your Run and Fight basics are covered. Dyeing an item costs 150 coins, and going back to its original colour is free.