Character Build Priority: Who to Level First With Limited Resources

Quick answer: Progression order for F2P and low-spender players — (1) max your Main DPS first (level, skills, and Arc all maxed); (2) fill in supports and healing/survival; (3) only consider a second team once your first four-person team is complete. Depth first, breadth second: the combat power of one fully-built team is far higher than two half-baked ones.

Progression resources in NTE are limited, and spreading them evenly across every character usually leaves your whole roster half-baked. This article covers the order in which you should invest in characters — first a rule of thumb you can follow, then a priority table for Stamina and materials, and finally separate advice for two account states: “fresh F2P” and “already have a Main DPS.”

Core Principle: Depth First, Breadth Second

The most common beginner mistake is “I want to level every character I see.” The right approach is to get one four-person team battle-ready first, then think about a second team. The reason is simple — most content in NTE only needs one team, and the combat power of one fully-built team is far higher than two half-baked ones.

Break this principle into an actionable four-step loop and you won’t go wrong:

1. Pick one Main DPS (use your existing one, or Aurelia at first if you don’t have one, then the free Chiz once you get her).
2. Feed that Main DPS until they can reliably clear the current main story — max ascension, get skills to a usable level, and max Arc level and ascension.
3. Fill in supports and healing/survival on the same team, so your Main DPS’s damage actually lands and the team stays alive.
4. Once your first four-person team has taken shape, then start building a Sub-DPS / second team.

Move to the next step once each one is “battle-ready,” rather than pushing any single step to a perfect 120 points before acting. Resources should always pour into whichever slot is currently bottlenecking you the most.

Decision Framework: With Limited Resources, Who Do You Actually Level First?

When you get several characters at once but can only afford to build one or two, use the criteria below from top to bottom — whichever condition is met first gets built first:

In one line: look at the gap first, then whether they’re the Main DPS, then cost and element. Rarity (S/A) is just a reference, not the deciding factor — an A-rank that fills a team gap is worth far more than an S-rank that overlaps with your current Main DPS.

Three of the Most Common Build Misconceptions (Bust Them Before Investing)

• Misconception 1: “S-ranks must be leveled first, A-ranks can wait.” Wrong. The T1-rated ATK-buff support Haniel is A-rank, yet she’s a permanent fixture on many teams long-term. What decides whether to build someone is their role, not their rarity.
• Misconception 2: “More characters means a stronger account, so spread it around.” Wrong. Spreading resources evenly = a whole roster that’s half-baked. Focus 100% on your current carry, build one fully before moving to the next, and you’ll actually have the power to clear hard content.
• Misconception 3: “I should farm all five skill-material runs every day.” Wrong. Skill materials are actually the category you’re least short on (the game hands out a lot). Grinding them early just crowds out the ascension materials and EXP that will actually wall you. See Build Materials for a full breakdown of which material maps to which system.

First Priority: Your Main DPS

The Main DPS is the core of your team’s damage, so give them resources first — level, skills, and Arc should all be fully maxed. The strength of your Main DPS almost single-handedly determines your clear speed and efficiency.

If you don’t have a Main DPS you’re particularly attached to yet, use Aurelia (a day-3 login reward) early on, then switch to Chiz once you get her at City Tycoon level 18. Chiz makes a good free Main DPS, but she is rated T1 now and is not a top-tier carry; once you pull a limited Main DPS, move your resources over.

Second Priority: The Supports and Healers That Hold the Team Together

Once your Main DPS is locked in, invest next in the characters that keep the team “running” — supports that provide buffs, plus a healer or survival slot for sustain. These characters don’t need damage gear and usually cost less to build than the Main DPS, so they’re great value.

Third Priority: Sub-DPS and Bench

Only at the end do you strengthen a Sub-DPS, or build a second roster for specific elemental needs. This step usually waits until your first team has taken shape and you start challenging harder content. For when to open a second team and why you’d field a low-cost A-rank first, see the Mid-Game Progression Route.

How to Allocate Stamina and Materials Across These Characters

“Who to level first” decides the order, but what actually gets spent is your daily Stamina (character pixels) and materials. Mapped onto Stamina allocation, the same build order looks like this:

Mapped onto the farming priority for Stamina dungeons, this site’s existing mnemonic is:

EXP → Ascension → Skills → Arc → Gear

Key reminders:

• Beginner phase (Hunter below level 25): pour almost all Stamina into EXP materials, push your Main DPS’s level up first, and don’t get distracted.
• Concentrate Beetle Coins on your carry, don’t spread them evenly — building a single character from scratch eats a large chunk of Beetle Coins, and spreading it around is the fastest way to go broke.
• Gear (set affixes) comes last: before Hunter level 30 opens the Rabbit Hole “Rift” difficulty, both drop rate and quality are poor, so grinding Gear early is pure wasted Stamina.
• Anomaly Pilgrimage (weekly dungeon) is a fixed cost of 3 runs per week, so reserve Stamina for it before allocating to daily dungeons.

For which system to farm each “category” of material from and the most efficient routes, see Build Materials; for mid-game Stamina planning after the early grind, see the Mid-Game Progression Route.

Advice for Different Account States

The general direction of the build order is the same, but where you’re currently stuck changes what your first step should be. Find your match:

State A: F2P, No S-Rank Main DPS Yet

This is where most beginners start. Recommendation:

1. Use Aurelia (a day-3 login reward) as your Main DPS early on, then switch to the free Chiz once City Tycoon level 18 hands her to you. Chiz makes a good free Main DPS, but she is rated T1 now and the main tier lists no longer treat her as a top-tier carry. Once you pull a limited Main DPS, move your resources over. Level 18 usually arrives around the third week.
2. Make use of the standard banner S-rank selector. After 50 standard pulls you can pick one S-rank for free (Sakiri, Daffodill, Jiuyuan, Hathor, Fadia or Baicang). The first 50 pulls are discounted at 8 Fabricated Dice per 10 pulls, so pull while you have dice, but do not spend Annulith on standard-banner dice. With no damage dealer yet, Jiuyuan is the easiest to pick up early; for the long term, take Sakiri or Daffodill.
3. Pair them with key A-ranks to fill roles, like the T1 ATK-buff support Haniel. One free Main DPS + a few useful A-ranks is enough to push through the main story.
4. Save all your Annulith for the limited Main DPS you actually want later — don’t burn pity on a transitional character.

State B: You Already Have an S-Rank Main DPS You Like

1. Pour 100% of your resources into maxing this Main DPS (level ascension, skills, Arc), and push your single-core combat power to the top first.
2. Then use Stamina to fill in supports/healers on the same team, so their damage actually lands.
3. Before your first four-person team has taken shape, don’t build an overlapping second S-rank Main DPS just to “look good in the gallery” — that leaves both of them half-baked.

State C: First Team Is Built, Now Hitting Element Resistances

1. This is when it’s time to open a second damage source — and you don’t need to obsess over pulling another limited S. First use a low-cost A-rank to build “an elemental-reaction team of a different element.”
2. At the same time, push your first team’s Main DPS’s Arc and Gear toward endgame (the right 4-piece set + correct main affixes).
3. For a complete second team taking shape, Arc/Gear endgame, and the weekly/abyss cadence, continue with the Mid-Game Progression Route.

Stats and unlock levels change with each version, so treat the level thresholds and ratings in this article as subject to in-game values.

Example: How to Order a Typical Beginner Roster

Abstract rules hard to apply? Let’s run through a common opening for an F2P player. Suppose you have: one free Chiz, one T1 ATK-buff support Haniel, one limited S Main DPS you pulled, plus two or three miscellaneous A-ranks. Ordered by the decision framework:

1. Limited S Main DPS → first priority. The team’s biggest gap is the “on-field core,” and this is your highest-ceiling damage dealer → pour 100% of resources into them first, leveling ascension, skills, and Arc all the way until they can reliably clear the main story.
2. Haniel → build right after. She fills the “support/buff” gap, amplifying your Main DPS’s damage with a team-wide ATK bonus; A-ranks are cheap to build and high value.
3. Chiz → shelve her as backup for now. She and the limited S Main DPS are both “damage” slots and overlap, so don’t rush to dual-build them before your first four-person team takes shape. But if you didn’t pull a limited S, flip this: Chiz gets promoted to first-priority Main DPS (she is T1 rather than top tier, but she is free and good enough).
4. Remaining misc A-ranks → only build the one or two that “fill a support/buff gap.” Freeze the rest for now and don’t scatter your Beetle Coins.

The core idea: stuffing two S-ranks into the same slot (damage) doesn’t make you stronger; filling the slot you’re missing (healing/support) does.

How “Far” Counts as Enough? Stopping Points for Each Priority

Another common beginner anxiety is “not knowing when to stop and move to the next character.” Here’s a set of stop checkpoints you can compare against (once reached, pause and shift resources to the next priority):

You don’t need to push every character to a perfect 100 before acting — move to the next character once each one is “battle-ready,” as a balanced team progresses faster than grinding a single character to death. For the standards beyond that (Arc endgame, Gear 4-piece sets, second team taking shape), continue with the Mid-Game Progression Route.

Tools to Use Alongside This Guide

• To understand a character’s overall strength, see the Character Tier List.
• If you’re unsure whether your team roles are complete, check with the Team Builder.
• For the basics of team composition, see Team Building Basics.

FAQ

Build advice is compiled from player experience — adjust flexibly based on your own roster and the content you play.