Saros drops you onto the hostile moon of Carcosa with limited resources and a lot of creatures trying to end your run early. Once you unlock Primary in the main area, you gain access to the Armor Matrix, where you spend Lucenite and Halcyon to permanently strengthen Arjun between runs. The tree is mostly linear, but branching paths mean every choice matters. Spend wrong and you'll feel it.
The five upgrade categories worth targeting first are Proficiency Enhancements, Drive nodes, Restoration and Aether upgrades, Artifact Slots, and Attribute Enhancements. Each one feeds into the others in ways that compound quickly. Here's how to think about each one.
What are the best skills to get first in Saros?
The answer comes down to upgrades that create positive feedback loops. The best early picks are the ones that make every future run more efficient, not just the current one.
Proficiency Enhancements
Proficiency Enhancements appear at multiple points throughout the Armor Matrix, and you should grab them every time. These upgrades raise your starting Proficiency level at the beginning of each run, which directly increases the power of your standard weapons and any Power Weapons you find.
Normally, Proficiency climbs as you collect Lucenite mid-run, which takes time and puts you in danger. Starting higher means you hit effective power thresholds faster and deal with early-game enemies more cleanly. Each Proficiency upgrade stacks with the others, so the benefit accelerates: stronger starts lead to faster enemy clears, which generates more Lucenite, which raises Proficiency further during the run. The loop is self-reinforcing.
Saros Armor Matrix Guide: Best Skills to Unlock First
Drive Upgrades
Whenever the Armor Matrix gives you a choice between Drive, Command, or Resilience nodes, pick Drive first. Drive increases how much Lucenite you receive from enemy drops and general exploration, which means every run generates more upgrade currency than it would otherwise.
This connects directly to the Proficiency loop above. More Lucenite means your Proficiency meter climbs faster mid-run, and it also means you leave each run with more resources to spend on permanent Armor Matrix upgrades. Command and Resilience have their place later, but Drive pays dividends from the very first run you invest in it.
Restoration and Aether Upgrades
Aether Upgrades are locked behind defeating Bastion, the second boss in Saros, so you won't access them immediately. Once they open up, they become some of the most valuable nodes in the entire tree.
The first tier of Aether Upgrades increases the drop rate of Aether from defeated enemies. Aether is your healing resource, and having more of it available mid-run is a direct survivability boost. Pair those with Restoration Upgrades, which make each Aether use restore more health, and you've significantly extended how long you can survive without a perfect run.
These upgrades become especially relevant if you're activating Carcosan Modifiers, the in-game difficulty toggles that increase challenge before a run. More Aether drops plus better healing efficiency gives you a real buffer against the extra pressure those modifiers add.
Saros Armor Matrix Guide: Best Skills to Unlock First
Don't skip Aether Upgrades just because they're locked early. As soon as Bastion goes down, make these your next purchase priority.
Artifact Slots
You start Saros with 10 Artifact Slots, and the Armor Matrix lets you expand that pool using Halcyon, the purple-tier upgrade currency. There are 10 additional slots available to unlock in total.
Artifacts modify your build each run, offering buffs that shift your playstyle and stack in useful ways. More slots mean more options, more flexibility, and a higher chance of finding a healing Artifact when you need one. The unlock process is time-consuming, but mapping out the Armor Matrix in advance to plan the most efficient path to these slots is worth the effort.
Saros Armor Matrix Guide: Best Skills to Unlock First
Attribute Enhancements
Attribute Enhancements grant one point to each of your three stats simultaneously: Resilience, Command, and Drive. That broad coverage makes them appealing, but they're expensive compared to the targeted upgrades above.
According to IGN's guide, the right approach is to grab the first three Attribute Enhancement slots on each side of the Armor Matrix tree, then stop before costs reach 1,200 Lucenite. The value-per-Lucenite drops sharply past the 1,000 mark outside of end-game contexts. If you're eyeing a nearby permanent upgrade like Greater Integrity, Key Storage, or Increased Power, it may be worth pushing through, but don't spend on Attribute Enhancements just to fill out the tree.
Attribute Enhancements are a solid mid-game investment but a poor early one. Lock down Drive, Proficiency, and Aether first.
How do Lucenite and Halcyon work together?
The two currencies serve different functions. Lucenite is the primary resource earned from enemy drops and exploration during runs. It funds most Armor Matrix upgrades and also governs your in-run Proficiency growth. Halcyon is rarer and reserved for the higher-tier purple upgrades, including Artifact Slot expansions.
The table below summarizes the five priority upgrades and what they cost:
Why does the order matter so much?
Saros is a roguelite built around run-to-run progression. Every upgrade you make to the Armor Matrix carries forward permanently, which means early choices shape the trajectory of every run that follows. Investing in Drive and Proficiency first creates a compounding advantage: you earn more, you start stronger, and you can afford the next tier of upgrades faster.
Skipping to Attribute Enhancements or spending Halcyon before you've expanded your Artifact Slots is the most common mistake new players make. The numbers look appealing, but the underlying systems reward efficiency over raw stat padding.
For more strategies on surviving Carcosa, browse more guides covering Housemarque's latest roguelite.