Shop Titans is Kabam's free to play shop management RPG, on Steam since 5 May 2020, where you craft gear and sell it to the adventurers walking through your door. You run blueprints through workers, haggle at the counter, then send heroes into dungeons to bring back components for the next tier. There are 18 hero classes to recruit and blueprint lines that run from the tier 1 Squire Sword all the way to tier 16 pieces like the Unearthed Blade.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Howling Woods | Blueprint crafting and energy basics | Knight | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Troublin Lair | Item quality and fusion mastery | Knight | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Aurora Caves | Counter haggling + gear | Soldier or Knight | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Whispering Bog | Build optimization | Soldier | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Bleakspire Peak | Min-max | Soldier or Sorcerer | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Howling Woods)
The first quest area, split into three sub zones. Easy requires 0 Power, so your starting heroes can walk straight in, while Extreme demands 2,000 Power from the same party later on.
Level/Difficulty: 0 to 2,000 Power Key Rewards: Early crafting components, first quest completions, access to Troublin Lair
What to Do in Howling Woods
- Learn Blueprint crafting and energy. Every item comes from a blueprint with an energy cost, a resource cost and a craft timer, and all three climb by tier. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Knight as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Never leave a crafting slot empty. Shop Titans is a throughput game and idle slots are the one loss you cannot buy back later, because time is the only resource gold does not purchase.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Arming Sword or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Blueprint crafting and energy fundamentals
- Knight selected and functional
- Howling Woods main content cleared
- Ready for Troublin Lair
Phase 2: Early Game (Troublin Lair)
The first boss dungeon, fought against the Troublin Chief. Easy starts at 250 Power and Extreme at 3,000, which makes it the first genuine check on whether you have geared your party or just recruited it.
Level/Difficulty: 250 to 3,000 Power Key Rewards: Boss components, progression into Aurora Caves
What to Do in Troublin Lair
- Work on Item quality and fusion. Items craft at Normal quality and can be pushed up through Superior, Flawless, Epic and Legendary. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Arming Sword if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Rotate the resources you craft with so no single bin drains while others sit at capacity. Spreading crafts across iron, wood, leather and herbs keeps every bin producing value.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Aurora Caves.
- Consider whether Soldier might suit your playstyle better than Knight.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Item quality and fusion integrated into gameplay
- Arming Sword acquired
- Troublin Lair fully cleared
- Ready for Aurora Caves
Phase 3: Mid Game (Aurora Caves)
Three sub zones running from 250 Power on Easy to 3,500 on Extreme. It feeds directly into the Yeti King Throne boss fight, which spans 600 to 5,000 Power.
Level/Difficulty: 250 to 3,500 Power Key Rewards: Mid tier components, the Yeti King Throne unlock
What to Do in Aurora Caves
- Master Counter haggling. Customers arrive with an offer and you can accept, haggle or refuse. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Squire Sword. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Prioritise counter upgrades to level 6, then 11, then the 16 to 20 range. Those are the points where the counter's benefits step up rather than creep.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Hero questing in dungeons for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Counter haggling mastered
- Squire Sword acquired or in progress
- Aurora Caves fully cleared
- Ready for Whispering Bog
Phase 4: Late Game (Whispering Bog)
The third multi zone area, 500 Power on Easy up to 4,500 on Extreme, followed by the Cursed Witch Hut boss fight against Toadwitch at up to 7,500 Power.
Level/Difficulty: 500 to 4,500 Power Key Rewards: Components for tier 5 and higher blueprints
What to Do in Whispering Bog
- Finalize your build. You should be running Soldier or Knight with optimized gear.
- Squire Sword should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Quality does more than raise price. Higher quality gear breaks far less often, so a hero wearing five Legendary pieces and one Normal will keep losing the Normal one and nothing else.
- Guild city investment optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Bleakspire Peak.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Squire Sword upgraded to max
- Whispering Bog fully cleared
- Ready for Bleakspire Peak
Phase 5: Endgame (Bleakspire Peak)
A late dungeon unlocked with gold at player level 62, added alongside the tier 11 content update. Extreme difficulty here asks for Power in the tens of thousands.
Level/Difficulty: Player level 62, tier 11 content Key Rewards: Tier 11 components, the Bleak Chest
What to Do in Bleakspire Peak
- Bleakspire Peak tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Fusion is the real power curve. Five Superior items and two Lesser Moonstones make one Flawless, and the Superior, Flawless and Epic fusion steps all succeed while Legendary lands half the time.
- The endgame loop: run Bleakspire Peak, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Sorcerer for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Guild city investment mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Bleakspire Peak fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Leaving crafting slots idle overnight because you were saving resources for something better tomorrow.
- Selling Superior and Flawless items to walk in customers when the player market pays far more for fusion material.
- Gearing one favourite hero to Legendary and leaving the rest in Normal, which just moves all the breakage onto everyone else.
- Stacking a party with Fighters because they survive, then failing the Power checks on boss dungeons that need damage output.
- Spending on decoration ahead of counter upgrades. Racks and stalls matter, but the counter is what actually processes sales.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Never leave a crafting slot empty. Shop Titans is a throughput game and idle slots are the one loss you cannot buy back later, because time is the only resource gold does not purchase.
- Rotate the resources you craft with so no single bin drains while others sit at capacity. Spreading crafts across iron, wood, leather and herbs keeps every bin producing value.
- Prioritise counter upgrades to level 6, then 11, then the 16 to 20 range. Those are the points where the counter's benefits step up rather than creep.
- Quality does more than raise price. Higher quality gear breaks far less often, so a hero wearing five Legendary pieces and one Normal will keep losing the Normal one and nothing else.
- Fusion is the real power curve. Five Superior items and two Lesser Moonstones make one Flawless, and the Superior, Flawless and Epic fusion steps all succeed while Legendary lands half the time.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Shop Titans Guides
- Shop Titans Shop Titans Overview
- Shop Titans Best Builds
- Shop Titans Tier List
- Shop Titans Beginner's Guide
- Shop Titans Tips & Tricks
- Shop Titans Weapons Guide
- Shop Titans Combat Guide
- Shop Titans Boss Guide
- Shop Titans Maps & Locations
- Shop Titans Crafting Guide
- Shop Titans Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Shop Titans, check out these related guides:
- Stardew Valley Walkthrough: simulation game with similar mechanics
- Satisfactory Walkthrough: simulation game with similar mechanics
- The Sims 4 Walkthrough: simulation game with similar mechanics
