With Umbral Monument arriving and more players pushing their teams further, a lot of them start to wonder if it is actually worth upgrading operator skills from level 9 to 12. On paper, level 12 is the true last cap you need to reach. In practice, it is where things get very expensive.
For most players, level 9 already feels like the practical endpoint. At that point, your operator is fully functional, rotations are smooth, and damage is more than enough for the current content. Nothing in the game right now strictly requires level 12 skills.
The jump from 9 to 12 exists, but it is clearly positioned as a heavy investment tier rather than a standard progression step. And that is where the hesitation starts.
The Real Cost of Going From 9 to 12
Upgrading from 9 to 12 is not just “a bit more farming.” It is expensive in a way that makes you stop and think. Some of the materials needed can not really be farmed either.
A single skill from level 11 to 12 requires rare materials like:
- 3 Marks of Perseverance (the Crowns you can obtain through some content)
- 50 Protohedron
- 36 specific materials
- 12 character-specific plants
- 65 000 Credits
And that is for one skill. If you are thinking about fully maxing an operator with four skills, you are multiplying that cost several times over. Crowns alone are currently among the rarest materials in the game, since you cannot really target any content to farm them.
For many players, that same investment could instead build an entirely new operator.
Is the Damage Increase Worth It?
The overall damage gain is estimated from 9 to 12 at around 15-20%, with the biggest spike often happening at level 12 specifically. That sounds significant on paper.
But in practice, it depends heavily on the character and the skill.
- Some DPS Operators scale extremely well on one specific skill
- Some supports cap their most important buff at level 9 or 10
- Some combo skills only reduce cooldown by one second when maxed
- Others gain meaningful scaling on ultimates or energy regeneration
In other words, it is not a universal rule. It mostly depends on your operators and their most important skills.
When It Does Make Sense
The most common recommendation is simply that you should max your main DPS first, and only their main damage skill.
If 80% of a character’s damage comes from their Skill or Ultimate, that is where your materials should go. Basic attacks and low-impact abilities can usually stay at 9 without hurting performance much.
For supports, it is even more selective. If their buff scaling stops early, there is little reason to over-invest unless you just love the character. And honestly, that is another factor people bring up: sometimes you max an operator simply because they are your favorite. That is valid too. If you have one specific team, and you know you will play it for a very long time, you might as well upgrade them all. This allows you to really have a solid team for upcoming content.
What About Upcoming Endgame?
With Umbral Monument launching soon, some players are holding resources just in case difficulty really increases.
However, based on early info and CBT impressions, most rewards seem tied to clearing content in the normal mode. The harder challenges may require more optimization, but it is unlikely that level 12 across all your characters becomes mandatory overnight. At least for now.
Right now, the consensus is:
- Level 9 is enough for most content
- Level 12 is a luxury investment
- Prioritize your main DPS before anything else
Unless future content dramatically increases difficulty, maxing every operator to 12 is probably overkill. But if you are chasing perfect optimization, that extra investment might eventually pay off.
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