The single most common question in the Be The Final Boss community is whether to spend souls on minions or coins on the skill tree. The answer is not obvious because both currencies are earned from the same source — wave rewards — and they unlock mutually exclusive progress paths. Souls buy your immediate army and the front line that keeps your castle alive this wave. Coins buy permanent power that compounds into every future wave. Spend too aggressively on one and you starve the other, leading to a lost run around Wave 18 or 19. This guide breaks down the dual economy with concrete breakpoints so you can plan your spending instead of guessing.
Understanding the Dual Economy in Be The Final Boss
Be The Final Boss uses a dual-currency system that is intentionally split. Souls are earned from hero kills and wave clears; they summon and upgrade minions only. Coins are earned from wave rewards, events, and codes like the active betheboss code (worth 500 coins); they fund the skill tree and weapon upgrades. There is no conversion between the two — you cannot exchange souls for coins or vice versa.
The two currencies serve different time horizons. Souls are short-term power: every soul you hoard is a minion you could have deployed this wave. Coins are long-term power: every coin you invest in the skill tree permanently increases your damage, population, or economy, and the investment compounds into every future session. The strategic question is therefore not "souls or coins?" but "how much of each should I hold, and when?"
Currency Income Sources
| Currency | Primary Source | Secondary Source | Average Per Wave |
|---|---|---|---|
| Souls | Hero kills (1-3 per hero) | Wave clear bonus (10-15) | 25-40 per wave |
| Coins | Wave reward (50-150) | Code betheboss (500) | 80-120 per wave |
| Souls (Economy bonus) | Skill tree multipliers | Event bonuses | +30% with 3 Economy nodes |
| Coins (Economy bonus) | Skill tree multipliers | Golden Heat event | +25% with 3 Economy nodes |
The Wave-by-Wave Spending Pattern
The optimal souls vs coins pattern in Be The Final Boss shifts as your match progresses. In the first ten waves, spend almost everything you earn — both currencies are best invested immediately to build your baseline. From Wave 11 to Wave 24, slow your coin spending and stockpile souls for the Wave 25 Boss spike. From Wave 25 onward, return to aggressive spending but rebalance toward the skill tree because permanent progression now matters more than marginal minion upgrades.
This pattern is not intuitive. Most players either spend everything every wave (which starves the skill tree) or hoard both currencies (which starves the immediate defense). The competitive benchmark is to spend roughly 90% of souls within each wave's first 30 seconds and 50% of coins within each inter-wave window. The 10% soul reserve handles unexpected AOE heroes, and the 50% coin reserve funds Population and Boss Power skill tree nodes as they unlock.
Soul vs Coin Spending Targets Per Wave
Use this per-wave breakdown as your default Be The Final Boss spending benchmark:
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Wave 1-5 — spend 100% of souls on Brute and Archer summons, bank the betheboss 500 coins for Population nodes
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Wave 6-10 — spend 80% of souls on Archers and Fusiliers, spend 60% of coins on Population and Boss Power branches
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Wave 11-18 — spend 70% of souls on Bulwarks, spend 40% of coins on Castle Defense and Economy branches
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Wave 19-24 — bank 30-50 souls per wave, spend 30% of coins on Castle Defense and skill tree depth
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Wave 25 (Boss) — spend 100% of banked souls on burst-summon, pause skill tree purchases during the boss phase
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Wave 26-50 — spend 80% of souls on hybrid lineups, spend 60% of coins on Population to level 6
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Endless 51+ — spend 50% of souls on Doomfist upkeep, spend 70% of coins on Economy and Castle Defense
Wave 1-10 Spending Rules
In the opening waves, souls should be spent on minion summons as soon as you have enough for your next planned unit. Do not bank souls — your soul generation rate accelerates with Population skill tree nodes, so the longer you wait, the more souls you will have unspent. Coins should be spent on the first two Population nodes and one Boss Power node by Wave 8, with the remainder banked for the mid-game pivot.
The single biggest mistake in waves 1-10 is buying too many skill tree branches. Each coin spent on a shallow branch is a coin not spent on the depth you need. Stay focused on Population until you hit level 4, then shift one branch at a time.
Wave 11-24 Spending Pivot
Between Wave 11 and Wave 24, the economy balance flips. You have a stable minion army, your Population cap is comfortable, and the next big spending decision is the Wave 25 Boss preparation. Bank roughly 30-50 souls per wave during this window so that you can burst-summon the Wave 25 boss lineup (3 Bulwarks, 1 Warden, 2 Fusiliers, 1 Doomfist, 1 Bombardier) at the start of the boss phase.
Coins during this window should be spent on Castle Defense nodes (priority) and Economy nodes (secondary). The Castle Defense investment pays off immediately at Wave 25 because the boss hits for 18% of your castle HP per swing. The Economy investment compounds for the rest of the match by raising your wave reward payouts.
Wave 25 and Beyond
After surviving Wave 25, return to a balanced spending pattern but with a strong lean toward the skill tree. Your minion army is now stable, and the marginal value of an extra minion is lower than the marginal value of a skill tree tier. Aim to spend 60% of incoming coins on the skill tree (Population to level 6, Castle Defense to level 4) and 40% on weapon upgrades.
The Endless Mode economy is the most extreme version of this pattern. Wave reward payouts scale with the Economy branch, so high-level Endless Mode runs prioritize Economy nodes over Population or Boss Power once they hit the soft cap of eight minions. The compounding return on every coin is what enables Wave 100+ clears.
Skill Tree Spending Priorities
The skill tree in Be The Final Boss has four branches, and each branch serves a distinct purpose. Population raises your active minion cap. Boss Power raises your personal weapon damage. Castle Defense raises your castle HP. Economy raises your wave reward payouts. The optimal spending order depends on your match phase, but a typical 30-minute run looks like the table below.
| Wave | Recommended Spending |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | 2 Population nodes |
| 6-10 | 1 Boss Power node, 1 Economy node |
| 11-15 | 1 Castle Defense node, 1 Population node |
| 16-20 | 2 Castle Defense nodes, 1 Economy node |
| 21-25 | 1 Boss Power node, 1 Population node |
| 26-50 | Cycle Economy, Population, Castle Defense to cap |
When to Prioritize Each Branch
Population is the right priority whenever your minion count feels capped. The early-game breakpoint is reaching six active minions by Wave 8, which requires Population level 2 plus the betheboss code redeemed at session start. The mid-game breakpoint is eight active minions by Wave 18, which requires Population level 4.
Boss Power is the right priority whenever your weapon feels weak. The threshold is around Wave 8-10 when the first elite hero appears and your starter weapon cannot one-shot them. Invest in Boss Power sparingly — three points is the practical cap for any non-Endless build.
Castle Defense is the right priority around Wave 15-18, before the Wave 25 Boss spike. The boss hits hard enough that even one or two extra percentage points of castle HP can be the difference between a clear and a defeat.
Economy is the right priority whenever your wave reward payouts feel insufficient. The threshold is around Wave 20-25 when you have a stable minion army but cannot afford weapon tier 4 upgrades or skill tree tier 5 nodes. Three Economy points is the practical cap because the marginal return on the fourth point drops below 10%.
Souls vs Coins Decision Framework
When you have both currencies available and a spending choice to make, the right decision depends on three variables: your current minion army strength, your skill tree depth, and the next wave's expected difficulty. If your army is weak and the wave is hard, spend souls. If your army is stable and the wave is soft, bank souls and spend coins on the skill tree.
The framework below is the rule competitive BOSS players use in 6-player server matches:
| State | Recommended Action |
|---|---|
| Army under 6 minions, wave hard | Spend all souls on summons |
| Army stable, wave soft | Spend coins on skill tree, bank souls |
| Wave 25 imminent | Bank 30-50 souls per wave, spend coins on Castle Defense |
| Endless Mode 51+ | Spend coins on Economy first, Population second |
| Boss wave (25/50) | Spend all banked souls on burst-summon at wave start |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Three mistakes dominate the souls vs coins decision in beginner BOSS runs:
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Spending coins on Boss Power before maxing Population — your weapon DPS does not matter if you cannot field enough tanks to hold the lane
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Hoarding souls across multiple waves — souls are short-term power and should be deployed within the wave they are earned
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Ignoring Economy entirely because it feels passive — without Economy nodes, your wave rewards cannot keep pace with the escalating cost of late-game skill tree tiers
The fourth mistake, less common but equally costly, is spending coins on every new skill tree node as it unlocks instead of focusing on a single branch. The Be The Final Boss skill tree rewards depth; a level 4 Population node is far more impactful than level 1 across all four branches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I spend souls or coins first in Be The Final Boss?
Spend souls first because they are short-term power and have no value sitting in your bank. Souls should be deployed within each wave's first 30 seconds, with a 10% reserve for emergency summons. Coins can be banked across multiple waves because they fund permanent skill tree progression. The right ratio is roughly 90% souls spent immediately and 50% coins spent within each inter-wave window.
What is the best skill tree order for new BOSSes?
Start with two Population nodes by Wave 5, then claim one Boss Power node by Wave 8 and one Economy node by Wave 10. From Wave 11 to Wave 20, alternate Castle Defense and Population to keep your minion cap growing while preparing for the Wave 25 boss. Avoid spreading points across all four branches — depth in Population and Castle Defense is more impactful than shallow coverage of every node.
When should I start saving coins for skill tree upgrades?
Save coins from the first wave onward, but do not hoard them past Wave 18. The first big coin purchases are the two Population nodes (cost roughly 250 coins total) plus one Castle Defense node (around 200 coins), which should all be claimed before Wave 15. After Wave 20, save coins only for high-tier skill tree nodes (level 4+) and weapon tier 3+ upgrades; small purchases are no longer impactful.
Do events change the souls vs coins decision?
Yes. The Golden Heat event (introduced in UPD1) boosts coin payouts by 50%, which makes Economy skill tree nodes dramatically more valuable during the event window. The Shattered Storm event boosts fusion shard drops, which indirectly raises your minion power through upgrade materials. During Cursed Moon (the hardest event), focus coins entirely on Castle Defense because the boss-tier modifiers punish low-HP castles. Soul spending remains consistent across all events.
Is the betheboss code still worth redeeming in 2026?
Yes, the betheboss code remains active and still grants 500 coins. Redeem it as your first action in every session because the 500 coins unlock the first two Population nodes immediately and let you reach the six-minion cap by Wave 6 instead of Wave 10. The code is case-insensitive and entered through Settings → Codes. There is no cooldown, so redeem it at the start of every new session.