To reach gear score 25 quickly, focus on upgrading the simple workbench first, as it's crucial for early progression and unlocking better equipment tiers. Watch for the distinctive glow of copper deposits while exploring, since you'll need tons of it, and keep an eye out for hostile camps with leather-dropping enemies that tend to gather near tree clusters. The tannery should be your next priority build, timing it right after getting the required v blood powers, and remember that leather armor pieces give substantial early hp bonuses alongside score increases.

When taking on v blood carriers, especially the ones holding crucial station upgrades, make sure to dodge their red attacks right as the animation starts and position yourself behind fallen structures during their special moves. Research desk progression is completely rng dependent but you'll notice scroll drops increase in military areas and graveyards, so farm those spots whenever you can between boss attempts. Good to know - jewelry slots contribute massively to your score average, so don't skip hunting down those special corrupt artifact enemies that have a distinct purple glow before attacking.

Really important to keep your gear slots relatively even since the system averages everything, and you'll notice certain v blood carriers become significantly easier to farm once you hit specific breakpoints in your defensive stats. When gathering resources, create efficient routes between copper nodes and leather-rich camps, as you'll need to repeat these runs quite a few times while working through the upgrade tiers.