The short answer
Build for the next bottleneck, not for decoration alone.
Everything hauled home helps rebuild the persistent Outpost. Official materials identify interactive furniture, stat upgrades, rescued survivors, and stranger survival tools as parts of that progression.
The stronger the Outpost becomes, the deeper the crew can afford to go. Tactical carpentry and interactive furniture are explicit game features.
A decision framework
Ask what ended the previous run.
Survival pressure
If vessels broke too quickly, look for confirmed improvements that change crew durability or recovery.
Conversion pressure
If the crew found value but could not bring it home, prioritize systems that improve return consistency.
Depth pressure
If a new Layer introduced an unfamiliar threat, invest only after naming the specific constraint.
Information pressure
If the failure is still unclear, run a smaller test before spending as though the answer were known.
This framework does not name a universal upgrade order. It turns the last run's evidence into a testable next choice.
Upgrade log
Record enough to learn across patches.
Evidence boundary
The first version is deliberately not a fake upgrade database.
Exact Outpost costs, furniture bonuses, survivor unlock conditions, and a best upgrade order have not been verified in the source set used for this build. The page establishes a reliable structure for adding them as evidence arrives.
Primary source: official GRAIN ROT Steam page ↗