Most players should ascend for the first time in Cookie Clicker when the Legacy number reaches 365 Heavenly Chips. This gives you enough chips to buy the most important early Heavenly Upgrades without resetting too early.
If you want the safer, more beginner-friendly route, wait for 440 Heavenly Chips instead. The 440 route lets you grab a few extra upgrades immediately, including the Starter Kit and another cookie box, which makes your second run smoother.
You technically can ascend earlier, but ascending at 1, 50, or 100 prestige usually slows you down more than it helps.
REVAMPED AND UPDATED
Feel free to skip to whatever part of the Ascension guide you want with the table of contents! I’ll review many mechanics and tips for Ascending in Cookie Clicker!
Oh, and this will work for both the browser version of Cookie Clicker and the Steam version! So, don’t worry if you want an Ascension guide for a specific version!
Curious about the best Krumblor Aura? Or the Grandmapocalypse? Check out both of those in-depth guides on them!
Most players should ascend for the first time at 365 Heavenly Chips. If you want the safer classic route, wait until 440. Do not ascend immediately at 1, 50, or 100 unless you intentionally want a slower, casual route.
Table of Contents
What is Ascension in Cookie Clicker?
Ascension is similar to a new game plus in other games. You reset your progress in the current run, but you get bonuses for completing certain milestones. Cookies created (from clicking or otherwise) are the milestones in this case.
When you decide to ascend, you get a couple of things. Heavenly chips and a CPS boost based on how many prestige levels you have.
How Many Cookies for Each Ascension?
To unlock the first ascension or prestige level in Cookie Clicker, you have to bake 1 trillion cookies. This isn’t an easy feat. Depending on how active you are, this could take days or weeks, and that’s just for your first prestige level.
You’re probably going to get impatient and want to Ascend quickly. I recommend you read the next part of the Ascension guide first.
When Should I Ascend in Cookie Clicker?
The general rule of thumb for Ascending in Cookie Clicker, especially the first time, is at least 200 prestige levels. Different tribes of Cookie Clicker players say different numbers, with some even saying you should wait until you are into the several thousand, but if you’d like to Ascend early, 200 is one of the best times to do so.
A more recent guide also says to ascend at 365 ascension levels. The image above will show you the important upgrades to grab with your Heavenly Chips.
That being said, a very famous cookie clicker guide says to Ascend first at 400 levels. This gives you enough Heavenly Chips to get a bunch of extremely useful upgrades that will come in handy for future Ascensions.
On top of that, Reddit users often tell new players to wait to ascend as long as possible. You don’t want to waste all that time getting back to where you were with a super small 2% CPS boost.
I personally ascended pre-200 and, within a day, was smashing through Ascension levels, so I don’t think it is that important to stick to waiting until 1000. Others agree, as well.
Still, you need to have some Heavenly Chips to snag some amazing Ascension upgrades. The next section of the Cookie Clicker Ascension guide will go over that.
| First Ascension Target | Best For | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| 1–50 Heavenly Chips | Curiosity only | Not recommended. Too little benefit for the reset. |
| 90–200 Heavenly Chips | Very impatient players | Playable, but not optimal. |
| 365 Heavenly Chips | Most players | Best balance of speed and important upgrades. |
| 440 Heavenly Chips | Beginners who want a smoother second run | Safest classic recommendation. |
| 1,000+ Heavenly Chips | Very patient/min-max players | Fine, but usually overkill for a first Ascension. |
Heavenly Upgrades Guide
Heavenly Upgrades are what the upgrades that you purchase with Heavenly Chips are called. These upgrades help you in your subsequent runs tremendously, from providing buffs to your CPS to increasing golden cookies, to even giving you a Cookie Dragon that doubles your cookie production!
When ascending in Cookie Clicker, here are the upgrades I recommend you get during your first Ascension. I will include the number of Heavenly Chips required for each one.
- Legacy (1 Chip) – Unlocks the Heavenly Chips System. Your Prestige level also gives you a permanent +1% CPS per level.
- Heavenly Cookies (3 Chips) – Cookie production multiplier +10% permanently.
- How to Bake Your Dragon (9 Chips) – Allows you to purchase a crumbly egg once you have earned 1 million cookies.
- Heavenly Luck (77 Chips) – Golden cookies appear 5% more often.
- Total (90)
Those upgrades are what I would consider the most important Heavenly Upgrades in Cookie Clicker. Sure, some of the other upgrades are nice, like having the tin of cookies or having cursors to begin with, but neither is that efficient. With these, you will be able to have your Dragon, increase your Golden Cookie chance, and have a base 10% extra CPS.
Golden Cookies are some of the most important resources in Cookie Clicker, and are basically what every speedrun of the game requires. In other words, it is much more efficient to get Golden Cookies than to idle, which is why I get the upgrade.
If you are more patient and are willing to wait until you get several hundred, here is another set of Heavenly Upgrades:
- Legacy (1)
- Heavenly Cookies (3)
- How to Bake Your Dragon (9)
- Box of Brand Biscuits (25)
- Tin of British Tea Biscuits (25)
- Tin of Butter Cookies (25)
- Box of Macarons (25)
- Starter Kit (50)
- Heavenly Luck (77)
- Permanent upgrade slot 1 (100)
- Heralds (100)
- Total (440)
As you can see, you will need 440 total HC (Heavenly Chips) to acquire these upgrades. But, for being so patient, you will be awarded lots of extra CPS and you’ll be able to skip the early game more or less.
Permanent Upgrade Slot Strategy
One of the most important Heavenly Upgrades is the Permanent Upgrade Slot. This allows you to select one upgrade that will be unlocked at the beginning of your next run, for free! It doesn’t matter how expensive the upgrade is, as long as you’ve had it in the past, you can put it in the Permanent Upgrade Slot.
Most people ask, “What should I use my Permanent Upgrade Slot on in Cookie Clicker?”.
Without a doubt, the Golden Cookie upgrades. Golden Cookies are the main way you will be creating cookies as the game goes on, and missing out on even one can slow down your run by DAYS. Because of this, you should be prioritizing the Golden Cookie upgrades for your Permanent Upgrade Slot.
Later, when you start setting up your temples and farms, you can increase bonuses with Golden Cookies that can have you quickly gaining thousands of Heavenly Chips.
Should I Ascend Immediately in Cookie Clicker?
No. If this is your first Ascension, you should not be Ascending as soon as you can. You’ll slow down your progress instead of speeding it up, which is the whole purpose of Ascending in the first place. Instead, get to a decent prestige level (at least 50) and then ascend. You’ll at least be able to purchase some upgrades and have a decent CPS increase for your next run.
Again, some people say the best time to ascend is 400, but I feel like you can get away with ascending earlier.
What Happens When You Ascend in Cookie Clicker
When you Ascend, you will be taken to a screen that looks like a bunch of constellations and a whole lot of selection choices on which to spend your hard-earned Heavenly Chips. After you select them, you start the game back over again, with no buildings or upgrades from your previous run (unless of course, you have a Heavenly Upgrade).
Should I Sell My Buildings Before Ascending Cookie Clicker
No. Selling your buildings does not affect the Ascension level. It is only based on the number of Cookies you have made from clicking or from your buildings producing them.
So don’t worry about selling anything; you will just be wasting time.
Does the Stock Market Work With Ascension?
No, sadly. Buying and selling “stocks” in the Stock Market mini-game does not affect the Ascension level.
That doesn’t mean it is useless, however. Using gains from the stock market to buy more buildings will definitely help you in the long run!
Does Popping Wrinklers Work With Ascension?
YES! Popping Wrinkers is the one thing that does work with Ascension. All of the cookies they create when they are popped are added to your prestige level! So make sure to pop them before Ascending!
Also, check out our Grandmapocalypse guide if you’re curious about what Wrinklers are or how to utilize them properly.
Do I Keep Sugar Lumps When Ascending?
Yes. All of your sugar lumps and buildings upgraded with sugar lumps will still be there when you Ascend. You don’t lose any.
Lucky Digit Ascension
To get three Heavenly Upgrades you have to Ascend when your prestige level ends in 7, 77, and finally 777.
It is recommended that you try and get each one as quickly as possible because Golden Cookies are one of the strongest methods of earning cookies in Cookie Clicker.
What to Do Before Ascending
- Pop all Wrinklers.
- Spend or plan your sugar lumps, but do not worry about losing them.
- Do not sell buildings just for ascension.
- Check your exact prestige number if going for Lucky Digit/Lucky Number/Lucky Payout.
- Choose your Permanent Upgrade Slot before starting the next run.
- Export or back up your save if you are nervous.
End
And that’s it for my Ascension Guide for Cookie Clicker! If you’d like to see the full tree, check out this image.
I hope this helps you determine when you should Ascend in Cookie Clicker and makes the game a bit more interesting! Your next stop is our Krumblor guide!
Good luck idling friends.
[…] of the first things you do after Ascending in Cookie Clicker is to train your dragon, aka, Krumblor. By sacrificing buildings, you can equip a […]