If you’re looking to consistently reach wave 30—and even push beyond into the early Ascension levels—this economy-focused build guide is your best friend. It’s not just about building towers and hoping for the best. This is a setup built around smart resource management, meta economy perks, and some well-timed sacrifices.
I’ve tested this approach countless times and it regularly gets me to at least Wave 30 on Normal, and well into Ascension 1. This Nordhold Best Build shines if you have most economy perks unlocked and core buildings like the University available. If you’re still unlocking those, don’t stress about hitting wave 30 yet—just focus on progression.
Nordhold Economy Build Guide (Wave 0 to Wave 30+)
This guide lays out the economy-first build order that has worked for me repeatedly, even up to Ascension 1. It’s not the only way to play, but if you have the right meta perks and buildings unlocked, especially the University, this method will give you a serious edge.
The first step is choosing the right starting bonus. If you’re lucky enough to be offered +40 wood, grab it without hesitation. That early wood gives you a strong foundation to kickstart your economy. Alternatively, if you’re offered a chest, take it and hope for wood or, even better, an economic relic. The Blood Gold Relic is a dream start—one of the strongest early-game relics in the current meta.
It also has a chance of showing up if you select the relic upgrade as a starting bonus, but remember: you’ll only get that option if you made it to at least Wave 10 in your last run. If you’re constantly restarting your game looking for better starts, you’re probably missing that opportunity. Still, if you see Blood Gold, take it. It’s the best start you can get before Ascension 6.
This build assumes you begin with around 40 or more wood—either directly or from a chest. You can sometimes get more or less than 40, but if you’re starting with under 36 wood, this particular guide might fall a bit short.
When the match starts, immediately invest in doubling your eco budget at the castle. Then, construct a shipyard and build your first trading ship to begin generating passive income. Follow this by building the Guild Hall and claiming your initial 20 gold. You should hire one worker right away and then sell all excess wheat. Also, sell your stone down to about 50—unless you’re planning to build a Shadow Tower early, in which case you’ll want to lower it to 30 to free up enough gold.
Next, you’ll want to construct a lumberjack and apply the Endless Woods passive, along with two Oak Crusher upgrades. Assign four workers to gather wood and avoid building any towers at this point. By the end of Wave 0, your setup should be purely economy-focused, and you’ll be sitting on a decent chunk of resources.
During Wave 1, you simply add another trading ship to your shipyard. Still no towers—just keep the economy snowball rolling.
At Wave 2, revisit the Guild Hall to claim an additional 15 gold, and complete the third tier of eco budget upgrades at the castle. Add another trading ship, then build the Tavern. This is also the point where you construct your first tower—unless you started with either the Druid Wand or the Blood Gold Relic. In those cases, hold off on building until the actual defense phase of Wave 3. If you’re leaning toward a Shadow Tower but don’t quite have enough gold, you can sell off a little more stone to bridge the gap. Just be cautious with Raven Towers early on—they tend to overkill weak enemies and fire too slowly to be cost-effective this early.
If you did take Druid Wand as your relic, your strategy in Wave 3 should involve intentionally taking a couple of hits to drop below 10 health and activate its effect. With Blood Gold, your goal should be to take as many hits as possible without dying—it’s all about maximizing early value. Then, during the defense phase, finally build your first tower. Add another trading ship at the shipyard to keep the income flowing.
Heading into Wave 4, unlock the Stave Construction upgrade at the castle. If you have Blood Gold Relic, now’s the time to build the Druid House. Also, construct the Quarry and equip it with the Granite Grip and Rocketsteady passives. You’ll want to assign two workers each to wood and stone gathering.
In Wave 5, build your second tower and finally start on the University. Begin research right away, focusing on either the Economy or War trees. In my experience, both outperform the Luck tree at this stage. Finish off the wave by building the Mill to round out your resource production.
Wave 6 is when your economy starts to hit its stride. Build the Mine and unlock Source of Wealth along with Vein Tracing. If you have access to your Hero Tower, activate Arcane Accumulation and assign three workers to gold and one to wood. This will give you the income you need to scale up quickly.
At Wave 7, go on the Lighthouse mission to grab the blue banner. Then, build the Market and unlock Ancient Bargains and Trader’s Gift. Boost your Hero Tower with Power Growth and Elder Wisdom. Don’t forget to enhance the Mill with the Wonder Seed passive. If you haven’t built your third tower yet, now’s a good time to get that up and running.
Wave 8 is your market spree. Buy whatever upgrades or passives you need, claim your gold from the Guild Hall, and purchase the next tier of gold and wheat resource production perks. Build a house if you have the resources, hire another worker if possible, and make sure your third tower is complete if it wasn’t finished in Wave 7.
As Wave 9 approaches, build the Statue and assign a tower to it. Apply two Blessings of Wealth to squeeze more value from your tower kills. You’ll also want to assign your workers carefully to ensure you can afford the Workshop by the next wave.
Wave 10 is your first big test—a boss wave. Focus on beating the boss, then immediately build the Workshop and unlock Superior Architecture twice. If possible, purchase reduced-cost upgrades for stone, wood, or gold, depending on what you need most. Round it off by building your fourth tower.
In Wave 11, build another house to raise your worker cap to eight and hire another worker or two. If your economy allows, start construction on the Brewery. If not, focus on efficient worker assignments to prepare for Wave 12. Don’t forget to unlock tier 2 passives for any remaining resources you haven’t upgraded yet.
From this point onward, builds start to diverge heavily depending on your relics, banners, hero tower choice, and even your Oracle picks. Because of that, it’s difficult to provide a step-by-step build guide past Wave 11.
However, if you’ve followed everything up to this point, you’ll be in a solid position to ride momentum up to Wave 30 and beyond.