Ultimate Beginner Guide Part 6

The first week in Etheria: Restart is a whirlwind of mechanics, progression goals, and figuring out just how far you can push your team without spending a dime. But guess what? It’s entirely doable. In fact, this guide breaks down the final episode of a powerful free-to-play (F2P) new player series—highlighting how smart planning and focused effort can get you to the end of the beta content and into the mid-game grind with ease.

Let’s dive into the wrap-up of this F2P journey, the lessons learned, and the steps you should follow to dominate your first week in Etheria: Restart.

Let’s be real—gacha games often come with a stigma: “It’s pay-to-win,” or “You’ll hit a wall if you don’t swipe.” But we did something rare and important. Using the raw, unboosted version of the game during a beta, they set out to prove that Etheria: Restart can be conquered as a true F2P player. No dev handouts. No gimmicks. Just smart play.

And not only did they get through it—they crushed it. Here’s how you can too.

By Day 7, we reached a major milestone—two fully 6-starred characters: Lian and another carry. This is usually your choice right at the beginning of the game, for us it was Tiamat. These are the pillars of your early-to-mid game progress. Prioritize your main DPS first (in this case, Lian), because her damage scaling increases significantly once you unlock her third skill and build into Strike Prep Steel.

Once your DPS is ready, move on to your secondary carry or support. Tiamat follows closely as our next 6-star. Characters like Dorothy also make strong backup units, and you’ll naturally build out four-stars like Gray, Sania, and Oboro one by one.

Pro Tip: Don’t split your resources trying to build everyone. Focus on one character at a time to avoid a roster of half-built units.

By account level 40, it’s time to move away from basic gear. Purple (or “ultimate”) gear is the new baseline. This gear brings high-impact substats giving your units a serious power spike. Focus on farming Nightmare stages for these items and recycle lower-tier gold gear for valuable Cycle Tech currency.

And speaking of that…

Need silver? Cycle Tech is your best friend. Every time you recycle gear and hit a break point, you can earn 50k silver. Even better, this method doesn’t dry up—just keep farming, selling off what you don’t need, and upgrading what you do.

Smart Tip: Lock interesting substats (like Crit Rate + HP Bonus or Speed + Defense) and recycle the rest. Only keep gold gear if it’s actually worth the stats.

Shells are your passive power boosts, and just like gear, you’ll want to phase out weaker versions. Focus on:

• Equipping gold shells on your core characters
• Targeting full ascension for bonus stats
• Preparing for red shells as you progress deeper into the shell dungeons

There’s no level limit for shell use, so even 4-star units can hold top-tier gear and shells to help with upcoming content like Ethernet Rally.

The game generously rewards players for simply playing efficiently. A few critical reminders:

• Arena: Fight and win against lower-ranked teams for easy fodder and win-based achievements.
• Prowess & GP Outpost: Get to Stage 25 and 12, respectively, for long-term stat boosts.
• Module Farming: Upgrade 12 Ultimate Modules to Level 9 or 12 to hit progression tasks and power spikes.
• Daily Missions: Follow the built-in Day 1–7 objectives for clear benchmarks and steady rewards.

These tasks are not just busywork—they reflect the intended pacing of progression. Follow them, and you’ll stay ahead of the curve.

At account level 40, a whole new world opens: Ethernet Rally. This mode introduces team-restrictive battles requiring different elemental and faction units, pushing players to start thinking diversity over depth.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Start building up 4-star units with ultimate gear to meet element/faction requirements.
• Avoid using gold gear. Sell it off and reinvest in better equipment.
• Raise key units like Sania, Chiaki the Echo, and Valerian to four-star and outfit them with solid gear—even if they’re not your main team.

Ethernet Rally is a long-term challenge. You won’t clear it all in one go, and that’s okay. It’s here to push you beyond the standard loop and prep your roster for advanced game modes.

By the end of Day 7, you’ll have:

• Multiple 6-star characters
• Access to top-tier gear and shells
• Full completion of the story content
• A strong foundation to tackle Ethernet Rally and future updates

This series wasn’t just a walkthrough. It was a proof of concept that Etheria: Restart is F2P-friendly with the right strategy. You don’t need to spend to succeed—you just need to focus, plan smart, and keep grinding.