This guide separates verified game systems from community-tested recommendations. The developer does not publish a complete economy table or guaranteed coins-per-stage list, so quoted run totals should be treated as examples rather than fixed rewards.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
The fastest reliable route depends on your progression. Early on, replay the easiest stage you can finish quickly, collect every coin, crown, chest, and experience gem, and use permanent enhancements to improve money gain. Graveyard I is a practical early option because it is forgiving and can be completed quickly. Later, use Midas with Coin Purse, Onyx Coin, and Emerald Ring: convert enemies into coins, collect them to trigger bonuses and experience, then choose money whenever all available weapons and trinkets are capped. There is no verified diamond or premium-gem farming system; references to crystals usually mean experience gems collected during a run.
Currency basics
What counts as currency?
Coins are the permanent money resource carried back from missions. They are spent on between-run enhancements, and the official store description confirms that the game uses repeated missions, rewards, unlocks, and upgrades as its progression loop. A failed run can still be useful, but a completed stage is the safest way to bank progress.
Experience gems are different. They are pickups used to raise your level during the current mission. Once weapons and trinkets are fully upgraded, later level-up choices can become money rewards, which is why experience collection matters in a dedicated farm. It is an indirect part of the coin loop rather than a second permanent currency.
The official material checked for this guide does not verify diamonds, premium gems, or a separate crystal currency. If a search result calls experience gems “crystals,” read that as a description of the pickup rather than evidence of a permanent resource named crystals.
- Coins: permanent upgrade money.
- Experience gems: temporary mission pickups that grant levels.
- Crowns, goblets, chests, and piggy banks: valuable run pickups or rewards, not separate currencies.
- Onyx Coin: a trinket, not money. Its effect improves the experience gained from coin pickups.
| Resource | How to obtain it | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Coins | Stage rewards, coin pickups, containers, crowns, and late level-up rewards | Permanent enhancements and progression purchases |
| Experience gems | Defeated enemies and experience pickups | Level up during the current run |
| Crowns and goblets | Breaking objects and defeating enemies, with luck affecting their appearance | Large money pickups during a run |
| Materials | Weapons, trinkets, chests, and unlock rewards | Build power and complete progression challenges |
No reliable, current exploit is established by the official sources checked. Treat claims about a money glitch as unverified, especially if they depend on an old patch or a platform-specific bug.
Early progression
Best early gold farm
Before Midas or advanced trinkets are available, farm consistency rather than theoretical payout. Choose the shortest stage you can clear without dying, and repeat it while also completing unlock challenges. A community-tested early route is Graveyard I, with Forest I as another practical option. These stages are useful because they are easier to clear, letting you spend less time recovering from failed attempts.
During each run, stay near defeated enemies long enough to collect experience, break destructible objects when safe, and take a direct route to chests and other visible rewards. Do not abandon a successful run to chase a distant pickup if the enemies have become dangerous. A completed lower-stage run is usually better than an ambitious failure.
Put early permanent enhancements into damage and survivability first if they are preventing clears. Once you can finish comfortably, shift some investment toward money gain. Because enhancements can be refunded according to the current game description and player references, you can temporarily specialize for farming and then redistribute the coins for difficult challenges.
- Replay the fastest stage you can clear reliably.
- Collect experience instead of leaving large piles behind.
- Break containers when the route is safe.
- Open chests and take crowns or goblets whenever doing so does not risk the run.
- Improve damage until the stage becomes routine, then invest more heavily in money gain.
| Player state | Recommended route | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Very early game | The easiest completed stage | Survival, damage, and basic unlocks |
| Early farming | Graveyard I or Forest I if both are comfortable | Fast clears and consistent pickups |
| Midgame | The highest stage you can clear without slowing down | Balance stage reward, clear speed, and safety |
| Endgame | A high-level or Endless route with a money build | Maximize coin creation and late level-up rewards |
Difficulty only helps if it does not reduce your clear rate. Compare coins per minute, not the largest payout from a single successful run.
Advanced loop
Midas coin farming route
The strongest documented community route uses Midas because his kit creates additional coin pickups. Pair him with Coin Purse for more money and a damage benefit, Onyx Coin for experience from coins, and Emerald Ring to reduce the cooldown of his active skill. This setup creates a loop: use the skill, collect the generated coins, gain experience, level up faster, and eventually select money when the loadout is capped.
At the start of the run, prioritize enough damage to avoid falling behind. Use Midas’s skill whenever it is available rather than saving it for a boss, provided the resulting coins are safe to collect. Move through the map to gather coins, experience, chests, and major pickups. Piggy banks and other broad collection effects are especially valuable because they can gather many nearby pickups at once.
After every weapon and trinket reaches its level cap, choose the money reward from level-ups whenever possible. This is the key conversion point: Onyx Coin accelerates levels, and capped equipment turns surplus levels into additional coins. The developer changed Onyx Coin so its percentage improvement stops beyond level 30 and becomes a fixed experience amount, so do not assume endless scaling.
- Use Midas when available and build around his coin-generating skill.
- Equip Coin Purse for money gain and its pickup-based combat benefit.
- Equip Onyx Coin to turn coin collection into faster leveling.
- Use Emerald Ring to make Midas’s skill available more often.
- Max weapons and trinkets, then select money from surplus level-ups.
- Keep enough damage and defense to finish the run safely.
| Build piece | Function in the loop | If unavailable |
|---|---|---|
| Midas | Creates extra coin pickups through his skill | Use a reliable character and farm stage rewards normally |
| Coin Purse | Improves money gain and rewards collecting coins | Use money-enhancing permanent upgrades |
| Onyx Coin | Adds experience from coin pickups | Use normal experience collection and pickup-range tools |
| Emerald Ring | Reduces skill cooldown | Use luck, pickup range, or another safe damage trinket |
A community guide reports roughly 40,000 to 49,000 coins in a 20-minute endgame run with a specialized build. That is not an official guarantee and should not be used to compare platforms or patches without testing your own results.
Repeatable materials loop
How to farm progression materials
Army of Ruin does not present a conventional crafting-material economy in the official information checked. The repeatable materials loop is instead equipment and unlock progression: earn experience, level weapons and trinkets, open chests, complete stage challenges, unlock more options, and spend coins on permanent enhancements.
For a general progression run, take the weapons and trinkets needed for a challenge, collect enough experience to improve them, and open chests when they provide evolution or equipment rewards. Special bosses can also reward chests, but their distant locations can cost time and experience collection. Chase them when the unlock or chest reward matters; skip them during a focused money run unless you can reach them safely.
Use one run for multiple goals when possible. A stage that unlocks a character, weapon, or trinket may be more valuable than a pure coin run because the new option can improve every later farm. Once the unlock backlog is small, switch to the Midas loop.
- Use normal runs to unlock characters, weapons, and trinkets.
- Complete challenges while farming if their conditions fit your build.
- Open chests for equipment and evolution progress.
- Treat special-boss chests as optional unless their unlock is your priority.
- Do not sacrifice a completed run for a low-value distant pickup.
| Goal | Loop | When to prioritize it |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent upgrades | Complete stages and bank coins | Whenever a stat is blocking progress |
| Equipment unlocks | Complete challenges and open chests | Before attempting a dedicated money build |
| Experience | Defeat enemies and collect gems | Every run, especially with Onyx Coin |
| Coins after capping | Level up after weapons and trinkets are full | Dedicated late-game farming |
The existence of stages, equipment, challenges, chests, and permanent upgrades is supported by official game information. The exact route and build recommendations are practical conclusions from the documented mechanics and community testing.
FAQ
Common questions
How do you get coins in Army of Ruin?
Finish stages, collect coin pickups, break containers, take crowns or goblets, open relevant rewards, and choose money from level-ups after your weapons and trinkets are capped. Successful fast clears are the most reliable general method.
How do you get diamonds or gems?
The official information checked does not verify diamonds or a separate permanent gem currency. Experience gems are collected from defeated enemies and used for levels during a run. Search results using “gems” or “crystals” may be referring to those experience pickups.
What is the best early gold farm?
Replay Graveyard I or another early stage you can clear quickly and safely. Forest I is also suitable if it gives you a comparable clear time. Improve damage first, then shift permanent enhancements toward money gain once the route is consistent.
Is Midas required for money farming?
No. Midas is the strongest documented specialist because his skill creates extra coin pickups, but any character can farm coins through stage rewards and normal pickups. Use Midas only after you can survive the chosen route and have the supporting trinkets.
Does Onyx Coin keep scaling forever?
No. The developer changed it so its percentage improvement stops beyond level 30 and becomes a fixed experience amount. It remains useful for reaching the equipment cap earlier, but it should not be treated as unlimited scaling in Endless stages.
Is there an Army of Ruin money glitch?
No current, reliable glitch is verified by the sources used here. Use normal farming loops instead, and be cautious with exploit claims that do not identify the game version, platform, or patch.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.