Endgame Progression: Pixels, Modules & Long-Term Strategy

Introduction

Hunter Level 40 changes everything. The early game gives you a comfortable buffer of resources and lets you experiment freely — but once you cross that threshold, upgrade costs explode and every Beetle Coin you spend starts to matter. From this point on, endgame progression is about making deliberate choices: which characters to invest in, when to farm, and where not to waste your time.

This guide covers the full picture: maintaining your Beetle Coin reserves, making the most of your Character Pixels, and optimizing gear through the Rabbit Hole and Rewind systems.

Beetle Coin Acquisition at Level 40

The table below summarizes every meaningful Beetle Coin source and how to prioritize them. For a full breakdown of each method, see the dedicated Beetle Coins: Earning and Spending Guide.

Type	Source	Notes
Daily	Daily Missions	20,000 Beetle Coins — never skip
Daily	Intact Crate	Requires Spider Wood and the Golden Capital property (2 million Fons) to fully maximize
Daily	Fountain Wish	Flat 1,500 Beetle Coins daily
Daily	Character Pixels	Incidental gains from stamina-spending activities
Exchange	Hunter Exchange	Trade Fons for Beetle Coins — best outlet for surplus Fons
Exchange	Lost Exchange	Monthly limited stock; uses Lost Exchange currency (not pull dice)
Exchange	Mode Shop	Earned via High-Risk Commissions or Beyond the Rails
Exchange	Mall Packs	Paid bundles with Beetle Coins and Fons
Active	Thug Farming	50,000–80,000 coins/hour via the Thugs → Cookies → Police Station loop; the only uncapped method

The key takeaway: daily habits and the Hunter Exchange will cover most needs. Thug farming is your emergency valve, not your daily driver.

Strategic Pixel Management

Your Character Pixels are your most valuable resource. Each one represents a stamina point that can go toward leveling a top-tier unit or get wasted on a low-priority task. The core philosophy is minimum investment: power up the fewest characters necessary to clear endgame content, and never dilute your resources across a wide roster.

Pre-Level 40 Checklist

If you're still approaching Level 40, use this window to set yourself up:

Pick your core 2–3 DPS characters — identify your main damage dealers and their Arcs before you hit the cap.
Pre-farm ascension materials — collect everything needed to push these units to Level 60 the moment you reach Level 40.
Hold your free Pixel refills — don't spend them on Level 30 content. Save them for the Level 40 push.

The 2 Million Beetle Coin Benchmark

A well-prepared account arrives at Level 40 with at least 2 million Beetle Coins in reserve. That's enough to immediately max two characters and their Arcs to Level 60. Without that buffer, you'll spend weeks farming basic currency instead of high-level gear — a significant stall that's entirely avoidable.

This reserve is also the minimum requirement for a comfortable three-star clear in Beyond the Rails, which expects a lean team of four Level 60 characters with optimized builds.

Gear Optimization: Rabbit Hole & Modules

Once your core roster is at Level 60, the focus shifts to gear. This is where the RNG element of NTE's progression kicks in — and where undisciplined spending can quietly drain your resources without meaningful payoff.

The Rabbit Hole

The Rabbit Hole is your primary source of Gold Cartridges for console builds. Each run costs Character Pixels and returns Gold Cartridges you can use or sell for Rabbit Hole coins.

When selecting your run type:

Random Pick is the cheaper option (×60 coins) for general farming
Customize by Module (×600 coins) lets you target specific module shapes — worth using once you know exactly what substat layout you need

Prioritize cartridges with Crit Rate or Elemental Damage Bonus as the primary stat.

Module Filtering in the Rewind Menu

Rabbit Hole coins are spent in the Rewind menu to randomly roll modules. This is where strict filtering matters. The cost of leveling a bad module is permanent — when you eventually replace it, the Beetle Coins and materials you spent are gone.

Only upgrade a Gold Module to +20 if it has at least two of the following substats:

Crit Rate
Crit DMG
ATK%
Damage Bonus

Everything else should be scrapped without hesitation. There's no value in leveling a module that won't make the cut.

The Level 45 Efficiency Jump

This is the single best optimization window in the endgame: at Hunter Level 45, each Rabbit Hole run drops four Gold Cartridges instead of two — double the output for the same Pixel cost.

If you're in the final stretch before Level 45, sit on your Pixel refills and let them accumulate. Spend them in a burst once you hit 45 and you'll immediately double your gear farming efficiency.

Long-Term Sustainability

Endgame is a marathon. The biggest trap players fall into is pouring time into low-return activities out of a sense of completionism or pressure to catch up.

Activities to avoid or deprioritize:

Rushing Fishing Level 10 — the Beetle Coin return from the fishing shop requires hundreds of hours of grinding and a monthly purchase cap. Only pursue this if you enjoy fishing for its own sake.
Open-world mob farming — only worthwhile if you're gathering other materials incidentally. Farming mobs purely for Beetle Coins is not time-efficient.

The three rules worth keeping in mind:

Patience pays off — staying resource-positive today means you can instantly pull and max tomorrow's best characters when they drop.
Four units, fully built — four Level 60 characters with solid Gold modules is the threshold for three-starring Beyond the Rails. Don't chase a wider roster before you hit this floor.
Manage your time — skipping low-yield grinds isn't laziness, it's the right call. An account you stay engaged with is worth more than one you burned out on.