Progressing

How do I progress?
There are about 9-10 ways to progress in this game:


 * 1) Tower Level (Gold, lasts for an entire prestige)
 * 2) Monster Attribute Level (Tower XP)
 * 3) Multi-Card DPS (Essence) 3.5 Spells (Essence, short-term boost)
 * 4) Research (Essence)
 * 5) Artifacts (Wave)
 * 6) Relics (Prestige Points)
 * 7) Tech Tree (Scrolls)
 * 8) Tournament (Tournament Points)
 * 9) Premium Upgrades (Gems/Money) It's unlikely that you've explored all of these options in case you ever get stuck. If you have indeed done everything reasonable within your current possibilities, chances are, you're likely better off prestiging and gaining general game progress.

I'm stuck in wave ???, what should I do?
Below you'll find a flowchart that should give you general advice on what to do with your run, if your intent is to reach a milestone (list in the question below).

Step 1: Have you had your current run for less than 2 days? If that's true, go to the next step, otherwise you should probably prestige.

Step 2: Are you within 50 waves of a milestone (list below, personal highest wave does not count as a milestone)? If that's true, move to the next step, otherwise you should also prestige.

Step 3: Here's a list of options you should have available to you: Check the list of ways you can progress above and hopefully upgrade something you had missed, wait for the next daily reward and upgrade your monsters, change your spell loadout to full damage (ex. Rain of Fire, Strength Aura, Frenzy and Deadly Strikes).

Tip: If you tap on a Helicopter with a 2x Damage Boost for 2 Minutes in it, wait until your current wave ends in -5, or a bit less, before collecting the reward/watching the ad, to make sure you save the boost for the hardest part.

What milestones should I be aiming for?
Below is a list of milestones it's recommended you reach, as they will likely make your future runs from that moment on fairly easier.

Wave 20: New spell Strength Aura

Wave 40: First new monster pack, new spells Death Awaits and Mastership

Wave 50: Prestige unlock

Wave 80: New pack, Cargo Ship unlock, new spell Frenzy Aura

Wave 100: New Artifacts, new spell Prosper

Wave 120: New pack, new spell Deadly Strikes

Wave 150: New spell Freeze

Wave 200: New spell Essence Storm

Wave 250: New pack, new Artifacts, new spell Heavy Weapons, unlock Boss Rush

Wave 400: Tech Ship unlock

Wave 500: New pack, new spell EMP

Wave 750: New artifacts (Artifact re-roll recommended here)

Wave 800: New pack

Wave 1000: New spell Time Warp

Wave 1250: New farm map available for gems

Wave 1500: New pack

Wave 2500: New push map available for gems

And last but not least, every new tournament bracket is also considered a milestone, even if you barely reach it and likely place in the last tier of the next tournament, as the rewards are almost certainly better than what you'd get in your current bracket anyway.