At a Glance
- Play smart, reset often: Use the refined 7/5/5 approach with short runs to build mothership strength quickly.
- Upgrade strategically: Prioritize mining efficiency, high-level managers, and impactful rooms like Engineering and Lounge.
- Avoid early missteps: Skip premature crafting, planet over-expansion, and neglecting resets or events.
Early Game Progression
The Refined 7/5/5 Strategy
A key beginner tactic is to limit early progression to the early planets, often referred to as the 7/5/5 method. This avoids diluting your resource stars (permanent bonuses) and keeps your economy focused. Here’s how it works:
Essentially, the method is about the number of ores, alloys, and craftable items that you unlock to focus your production on increasing galaxy value quickly to quickly earn credits. You should unlock the first seven ores so that you have access to gold, the first five allows up to aluminium, and the first five items so that you can create glass. Of course, this isn’t a strategy you should employ when entering tournaments as they require building up the largest possible galaxy value.
- Unlock only 5 to 7 planets initially—this concentrates resource star boosts on your best early ores.
- Sell your galaxy around $10 million value—this keeps your runs short and your credit generation steady.
- Restart frequently, reinvesting credits into mothership rooms to accelerate the next galaxy.
Short vs. Long Runs
- Short runs are ideal for early-game. Selling galaxies often builds up your permanent infrastructure more effectively than chasing a massive single galaxy.
- Long runs become effective later, once mining, managers, and mothership upgrades are robust enough to support longer progression leaps.
Balancing Planet Upgrades
Upgrade your early planets wisely:
- Invest in mining rate first, since it’s the biggest bottleneck.
- Balance ship speed and cargo, keeping them roughly in line with your mining level.
- Spread your upgrades across multiple planets rather than maxing one—this earns better returns and fuels multi-planet growth.
Permanent Upgrades & Long-Term Growth
Sell Your Galaxy for Credits
Every galaxy sale nets credits, which unlock permanent mothership rooms—boosting speed, crafting, income, and more.
Mothership Room Priorities
Focus on these high-impact rooms:
- Engineering – boosts mining rate.
- Forge/Workshop – improves smelting and crafting speeds.
- Lounge – increases credits earned per galaxy.
- Robotics/Classroom – accelerates manager performance and research.
Managers
Managers are pivotal. Use dark matter to recruit 4 star or 5 star managers from the Brilliant Academy and assign them to planets. They provide massive multipliers, especially when their secondary stats (like crafting or shipping speed) are optimized.
Resource Stars
Earned through challenges and tournaments, resource stars permanently enhance certain ores, alloys, or items. With the 7/5/5 strategy, these stars are focused on early, cheaper ores—boosting early-game returns significantly. This can dramatically increase the value of debris fields
What to Avoid
- Crafting too early: Stick to mining and auto-selling raw ore early; crafting becomes viable once smelting and crafting speeds improve.
- Avoid prolonged galaxy play: Resist staying in one galaxy too long or building too many colonies—selling frequently speeds up overall progress.
- Neglecting events: Challenges and tournaments are essential, as they grant resource stars and other long-lasting bonuses.
- Unlocking planets too fast: Focus on upgrading your first few planets thoroughly before expanding your reach.
Final Thoughts
As a new player in Idle Planet Miner, your optimal early strategy is to play in short sessions using the 7/5/5 method, focusing upgrades on mining, managers, and key mothership rooms. Reset frequently to build credits faster, avoid spreading yourself thin with too many planets or crafting demands, and seize events to maximize permanent boosts. This disciplined start leads to compounding power and a stronger galaxy engine.
Pro Tip: Consistently ask yourself: Am I better off resetting now and reinvesting credits, or is waiting longer truly giving me more value? Early resets almost always win out for long-term gains.