At A Glance
- Exact things retained vs reset on rebirth (what you lose, what stays)
- How the “NUMBER” multiplier works & affects rebirths
- When you should do short vs longer rebirths for optimal progress
What is Rebirth & Why It Matters
In NGU Idle, Rebirth is a soft reset of your current run. You start over with many mechanics reset, but gain permanent benefits such as the “NUMBER” multiplier, better access to features, and cumulative experience (EXP) that unlocks permanent upgrades. Rebirthing is fundamental to progression, letting you reach further bosses faster in future runs.
What You Lose vs What You Keep
Understanding exactly which progress resets is key to planning your rebirths. Below is a verified breakdown:
What You Lose on Rebirth:
- Your current run’s generated/allocated resources (gold, energy/magic spent, etc.).
- Access to features until their unlock criteria are met again (Adventure, Augmentations, Time Machine, Blood Magic are disabled until you defeat their respective bosses).
- Basic Training levels (they reset, though you gradually reduce their cost via repeated rebirths).
- Boss progress — you go back to Boss 1.
- Augmentation levels.
- Time Machine levels.
What You Retain (Permanent / Carried Over):
- The NUMBER multiplier, which increases with each rebirth and gives you better multipliers on future runs.
- Permanent upgrades bought with EXP (spent in the EXP tab) ‒ things like base stat increases, energy/magic cap increases, possibly other permanent bonuses.
- Banked levels for certain features (Advanced Training, Beards of Power, Broken Time Machine) if you’ve unlocked the relevant Perks or Quirks (“Banks”) before rebirth. These let you keep a percentage of levels even as you reset.
- Skill of Basic Training cap reductions — as you rebirth repeatedly, the cost to fully fill basic training is reduced; when you see the hover-text green on the cap reduction, that means your next rebirth will give you a meaningful improvement.
How the “NUMBER” Multiplier Works
- Each rebirth increases your NUMBER value. The higher your NUMBER, the more powerful your run becomes: more EXP gained per boss, bigger multipliers on various progression mechanics.
- Changing difficulty (e.g. from Normal to Evil) or entering certain Challenges can reset your NUMBER (or set parts of it back to 1) in addition to other banked effects.
When to Rebirth: Short vs Long Runs
Deciding when to rebirth is crucial. Do too early, and you waste potential. Wait too long, and your increments slow.
Short runs (≈ 30 minutes to 1 hour):
- Useful early in the game, when basic training costs are high and you can significantly reduce them by rebirthing often.
- Helps build up NUMBER efficiently early, gain EXP quickly, and unlock features sooner.
Longer runs (several hours, up to 24 hours):
- More effective once you’ve unlocked good gear, powerful generators like Time Machine, and can push into later bosses or Titans.
- Also useful when you’re progressing in difficulties (Normal → Evil), or aiming for unlocking content that requires high boss kills or Adventure zone gear.
Strategy Tips & Common Mistakes
- Always watch the Basic Training cap reduction hover-texts. Green indicates you’ll get progress in lowering training costs in the next rebirth — that’s often your cue to rebirth.
- Don’t stick with very long runs when your incremental gains are almost flat. It might feel good to push, but shorter rebirths could amplify your permanent bonuses faster.
- Avoid falling behind on unlocking critical features (Augmentations, Adventure, Time Machine). Sometimes delaying a rebirth until you beat specific bosses unlocks these and makes following runs much more efficient.
- Use your Perk / Quirk Banks wisely: invest in banking levels so that your future runs retain more.
Final Thoughts
Rebirthing in NGU Idle isn’t just a reset—it’s the engine of your progression. Knowing what resets vs what carries over, how the NUMBER multiplier works, and when to rebirth (short vs long) gives you control over your growth curve. With smart rebirth timing and investment in banked features, you’ll climb bosses and unlock content much faster.