Idle Dice: When to Ascend, and Which Cards to Take

Most people playing Idle Dice for the first time get to a level-100 die, see the Ascend button, read "brings it back to level 1" and refuse. That is the single biggest mistake in the game. This guide explains what ascension actually does and how to use the card draws it unlocks.

What a level is worth

Each main die is a six-sided die with a level and a multiplier. The roll is multiplied by the die's multiplier, and the multiplier grows by a fixed amount with every level: 1 per level on the first die, 2 on the second, 4 on the third, 8 on the fourth, 16 on the fifth. The price of the next level climbs 8% per level, so the cost of going from 100 to 130 is roughly ten times the cost of going from 1 to 30, for the same thirty levels — and each of those levels adds the same +1 it always did.

What ascension does

Ascending a level-100 die sets it back to level 1 and multiplies every point it scores from then on by 100 (more once you own the 'Multiplier per Ascension' upgrades). The catch is that levels on an ascended die cost far more than they did — the price base is multiplied with each ascension — so the die does not climb back to 100 in a minute. What changes is the value of each level: before ascension a level on the first die added 1 to its multiplier, after it adds 100, and after a second ascension 10,000. Per point spent, the ascended die grows faster, and every ascension fills part of the card bar at the bottom of the screen. Ascend every time a die reaches 100. Just do it right after buying what you were saving for, not right before, because the first few levels back will cost more than you expect.

The multiplier dice under the main row work the same way on a shorter scale: they go from a two-sided die up to a hundred-sided one as you level them, and they can be ascended at level 9.

Cards

The card bar unlocks with your first ascension and every ascension adds progress to it. When it fills you pick one of three random cards, and the card's bonus is permanent for the run. Roughly in order of value:

• Autoroll interval x50% — halves the time between rolls, which doubles everything. Take it whenever it appears.
• All dice x3 multiplier — a flat boost to every column, better than any single-die card.
• Card progression x3 / x5 — more draws per ascension; strong early, when draws are rare.
• Dice multiplier per ascension +4% — small now, large after twenty ascensions.
• 1st dice multiplier x10 and the other single-die cards — good, but only one column.
• Fast Forward 10 minutes / 1 hour — a one-time payout. Take it only if the other two are single-die cards you already hold.

The king cards are the exception: each one is modest alone, but collecting all four kings gives a 10,000x multiplier on every die. If you see a king and already hold two, take it.

Prestige, gilding and the deck

Prestige is the button on the bottom bar. It wipes your upgrades and cards (achievements stay) and gives a permanent percentage multiplier on all dice, sized by the total score of the run — the popup shows the exact figure before you confirm. Do it when income has flattened, not the first time you see the button.

The Deck tab is the layer above that. Gilding upgrades a card into its golden version, and golden cards raise your luck multiplier; gildings are a currency you receive per convert, so the first run has none. Convert turns the whole 52-card deck into a golden card and your prestige multiplier into luck, which is what makes the following runs faster. Settings has switches to auto-gild and to convert automatically at 52 cards once you are deep enough that the loop runs on its own.