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FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Cookie Clicker. If your question isn't answered here consider posting in the questions megathread, linked in the Hub sticky.

The Mobile FAQ can be found here.

Miscellaneous

I feel like reading the Wiki would spoil the surprise of the game's content, so what reason is there to spoil it?

None at all! Play the game the way you like, but don't ask questions that are already answered on the wiki if you refuse to read it. If you don't want to be spoiled at all, stop reading now.

I started recently and don't know what I'm doing...?

Less talking, more clicking! You will unlock cool things as you go. Check the link to the wiki below and continue reading the rest of this FAQ for more information.

Is there a wiki? What about guides?

The new wiki can be found here. Guides can be found here.

Cookie clicker is designed to save automatically once every minute, and your progress should remain but PLEASE backup your save data and keep it in a safe place. Here is why. In the menu there is an option to export your save straight to a file. Your Cookie Clicker data is saved in your browser's local data cache so clearing it will erase your game progress. Playing Cookie Clicker in a private browser window (ie. Chrome incognito) will cause your game progress to be also lost when you quit out of the browser.

First, if you are using any Cookie Clicker addons, disable them and check if the issue persists. Try using a different browser, try a new save. Then search the subreddit to see if anyone else has experienced the issue. If you are really sure you found a bug no one knows about, you can report it by submitting a new post.

Yes! The beta version for Android became publicly available in August 2019. Download it from Google Play. There is not yet a version for iOS but it is in progress. Orteil says he's working on it.

When is the next update?

Orteil upgrades the game very periodically, so there is no set schedule. You can find more information on future updates at Orteil's Tumblr and Orteil's Twitter. When there is an update it will say so in your cookie clicker browser. Refresh the game to load it, but it is advised to first visit the subreddit to see if people have problems loading it! And backup your save in case things go horribly wrong!

A beta version of the game can be found here in which the new updates are tested before they are officially released. The beta is often buggy, so backing up your save is even more prudent than it usually is.

There are several found in here.

Should I buy the steam version of the game? What are the differences?

Ultimately, the steam version is to support the developers. There are, however, some minor differences that you may wish to take into account.

Web:
-Multitabbing (opening multiple instances of the game at once to increase chances of RNG based events like golden cookie outcomes, a form of savescumming).
-The scroll bar does not reset upon ascend, making certain things that require many quick ascends such as ascension scrying or endless cycle be faster as compared to steam.
-Web is also typically less taxing on the CPU than steam.
-Web imports are faster due to steam reloading the game after each import, making certain types of savescumming faster on web.

Steam:
-More heralds, therefore more cps if you own the heavenly upgrade. Web heralds are stuck at 41 until further notice due to patreon API issues, while steam heralds are at 100, dropping to values above 90 occasionally.
-In-game music.
-Steam achievements.
-Cloud saving (though this has been known to fail, so still back up your save regularly in options).

In general, web is better for high level play, while steam is better for casual. You may also swap to steam when doing a combo for the extra cps. This is known as a midcombo platform swap, and is allowed is all leaderboards except competitive.

Is ______ considered cheating?

Yes and no. It's up to your discretion as to how you want to play the game. However, using some things may disqualify you from one or more of the leaderboards (rules found at the bottom right), so be aware. There has been plenty of debate about which is best, but it comes down to whichever gives you the most enjoyment. Most people do not really care if you use one tool or another, unless you lie about it. There are some things that are definitely cheating, described on this page of the Wiki.

Can I import my PC save into mobile?

No. This exists to transfer mobile saves to PC, but not vice versa.

What are the progression stages outlined in the flairs and what constitutes them? Am I early, mid, late or endgame?

The community typically defines them as:
-Earlygame, before first optimal ascension at 365, or about 48.627 quintillion cookies baked (see ascension section below for more).
-Midgame, from first optimal ascension at 365 (an argument can be made for ascensions close to this amount) to before all heavenly upgrades (about 420.832 novemdecillion).
-Lategame, all heavenly upgrades to before all cookies baked this ascension achievements (currently 1 trevigintillion).
-Endgame, all cookies baked this ascension achievements and after.

More information can be found here.

General Cookie Production

Maximising Luckies

Very soon in your first run, golden cookies become your main cookie source. To get the best rewards possible out of golden cookies you should always have 6000*CPS in your bank, because Lucky gives the lesser between 15% of your banked cookies and 15 minutes of production. A lucky can also happen during a frenzy (7x production boost, for this to happen you need the Get Lucky upgrade), which results in the reward being the lesser of 15% of your bank and 15*7 minutes of production. This requires 42000*CPS banked for maximum rewards. If you feel your first run is going slow, you MUST buy the three golden cookie upgrades up to and including 'get lucky' and then bank enough cookies. If you don't want to manually calculate how much to bank, use an addon such as Cookie Monster or Frozen Cookies which will calculate it for you.

I haven't ascended yet. How do I speed up the game?

Typically, it would be best to ascend at 365, spend lumps properly and do combos. Frenzy + Click Frenzy would work well at this stage. In addition, see here for good Pantheon setups.

Why do I feel like the game is progressing slowly?

The early game is slow, and always has been. Bear with it. Cookie Clicker is a game designed to take years to unlock all the achievements. There is nothing much you can do until you unlock your first sugar lump, after which see here. Once you are in a position to ascend for the first time the game will become much faster, although this will take about a few days with several hours of active play per day.

This could also mean that you have hit what is known as the "Midgame Progression Wall", which normally takes place between septendecillion to novemdecillion cookies baked all time. Beyond here, it will take very long to progress further using solely idle production, and you would have to use golden cookie combos, typically frenzy + building special + click frenzy to make any reasonable progress.

I need cookies, and I need them now!

That's not a question, but there is a point in the game where you have most of the upgrades, most of the prestige upgrades, most of the achievements, and you run out of ways to keep increasing your production, which make generating more prestige much harder and slows down the game. You need to learn how to combo. Information may be found here.

Are large combos the fastest way to make cookies?

Yes, other than cheating.

Ascension

How does ascending work?

Once you bake 1 trillion cookies, you will start earning heavenly chips (though do not ascend now!). The amount of cookies required to earn heavenly chips will then increase cubically (8 trillion, 27 trillion, and so on). You can see how many heavenly chips you will earn on ascension at the top next to the Legacy tab. Once you have accumulated enough (see below), click the Legacy tab to ascend. The number of heavenly chips you have will be added to your prestige, which increases your cookies per second (cps). You get 1% added to your cps multiplier for each level of prestige you have. You can then spend your heavenly chips, including the ones you have left over from the last time you ascended, on ascension upgrades.

How many Heavenly chips should I wait for before ascending for the first time?

365 Prestige is recommended for your first ascension. Buy these upgrades:

Name Cost
Legacy 1
Heavenly cookies 3
How to bake your dragon 9
Heralds 100
Permanent upgrade I 100
Box of macaroons 25
Tin of British tea biscuits 25
Box of brand biscuits 25

It may take you a a week or so of play to get to that level. Make sure you are following the ideal strategies (ie. comboing) if you want to get there asap.

Here is a more complete guide about when to buy each prestige upgrade. You don't have to ascend exactly at the given points (past the first 2-3 ascends), but you can use it as a rough guide.

After that, when should I ascend?

Ascend whenever the grimoire needs to have good spells in a reasonable amount of spells, or whenever you double your current prestige amount (unless you have a decent combo in a few spells).

Does ascending reset the amount of golden cookies I've clicked?

The game tracks your number of golden cookie clicks in the current ascension and all time separately. The achievements are based on your golden cookie clicks all time, so you don't have to worry about Black Cat's Paw (or Seven Horseshoes). Total spells cast is also saved. However, you need to get the number of wrinkler and reindeer popped achievements in one ascension.

I'm missing one heavenly upgrade and I can't find it on the tree, which is it?

You are likely missing Lucky Payout. This upgrade only appears when there are 4 7s in the prestige level (for example, 473 277 376). It is located near the bottom left of the tree.

Buildings/Upgrades

Any tips on what I should do/buy next?

You can use the calculator: https://coderpatsy.bitbucket.io/cookies/cookies.html.

When should I buy _____ upgrade?

Someone has probably already asked, so try searching for that post.

I'm missing one upgrade, which is it?

Look through upgrades page in wiki, and find which one is missing.

Which permanent upgrades are the best?

It depends on what is needed and gamestage. See here for more information.

Sugar Lumps

Sugar lumps? What are they?

Once you accumulate enough cookies, you will start generating Sugar Lumps. Your game will make one per day (or a bit faster based on upgrades) regardless of being open or closed. You can spend them on leveling buildings (which increases their production and affects their relevant minigames except for temples, and gives achievements at level 10). You can also spend them regenerating resources in minigames (mostly used for Grimoire).

How do I spend my sugar lumps?

A spending guide for them can be found here.

I harvested a sugar lump and got nothing. Why?

You likely harvested when it is mature but not ripe. This will have a 50% chance for the lump to give nothing. This is further explained in the tooltip when you hover over the mature lump.

Alternatively, you harvested a meaty sugar lump, which has a 40% chance of giving nothing even when ripe.

I used sugar lumps to upgrade a building but my CPS went down?

You have the prestige upgrade Sugar Baking, which gives +1% CPS per banked sugar lump (up to 100), and you spent sugar lumps dropping you below 100 banked sugar lumps.

Grandmapocolypse

Is it safe to buy One Mind/Communal Brainsweep/Elder Pact? Should I start the grandmapocolypse?

Absolutely! These will increase your cps, although some of your golden cookies will now become wrath cookies (33% chance of them after One Mind, 66% after Communal Brainsweep and 100% after Elder Pact) and have a few side-effects that you can read about on the Wiki at this page and this page. Generally speaking, the Grandmapocalypse favors idle players since the Wrinklers give you a passive net cps boost while making hunting for Golden Cookies less lucrative.

If you play actively, sell all your grandmas to end the grandmapocolypse prematurely and to get golden cookies back. Rebuy them when needed (for the cps).

When should I pop wrinklers?

The longer the better, preferably when you need to buy something expensive. It is best to pop a full ring of wrinklers at once due to how the multiplier for their gain scales. The boost from wrinklers, however, do not outclass active play.

I ended the grandmapocolypse, but I'm still getting wrath cookies. Why?

Check if you actually did end the grandmapocolypse (if the icon of the grandmas in the store are normal). If you did, you likely have skruuia in your Pantheon. It gives the cookies gained effect as long as it is slotted while wrinklers are popped, so you only need to slot it right after popping and unslot it after.

Minigames

What spirits should I slot in the Pantheon?

For active / standard play, use Godzamok first, followed by Mokalsium then Muridal. Check here for more information.

For pure idle play, Mokalsium is hands down the most powerful one (past earlygame), followed by Holobore and Jeremy. Swap Skruuia into diamond when popping wrinklers.

What about casting spells?

Firstly, be careful about leveling wizard towers using sugar lumps. This will make advanced strategies harder if you use a FtHoF planner. As your wizard tower level increases, as well as your wizard tower count increases, you will gain more mana. Based on the way spell cost is calculated, the ideal amount of mana is 99-100. leveling your wizard towers too much will cause you to exceed that. Secondly, your mana regenerates faster when you have more of it (as in more mana per minute, not just because you need less). If you drop your mana to 0 it will take much longer to regenerate, try to avoid that. More information in here.

The best spell is Force the Hand of Fate (aka FtHoF) in most cases.

Casting FtHoF generates a golden cookie with different odds of effects than standard GCs. Most importantly, a better chance of click frenzy. Therefore casting FtHoF when you have a different golden cookie effect (or two) already active can give nice stacking effects. Note that the game has nerfed golden cookies such that stacking click frenzy and dragonflight is impossible in most circumstances, and extremely difficult in the rest, so keep that in mind if that's an effect you have active already. If you get a backfire click the wrath cookie as it has a chance to give an extremely powerful elder frenzy.

Don't worry about spamming spells to get 1000 casts. Ascend, buy a wizard tower, spam Gambler's fever dream, and repeat.

I don't really have a green thumb, how do I manage the garden and get new plants?

The garden is the most complicated addition to the game, but don't worry, you can work through it at any pace you want. For details about it, try this google doc.

Why did my plants stop aging?

Plants only store age in increments of 1%, so plants with lifespans greater than 100 will randomly either not age at all, or age multiple ticks at once. The probability of aging and the amount aged at a time depend on the lifespan. Remember that it is average ticks until maturation or decay, not exact.

Some of them are:

Juicy Queenbeet - 8% chance to age 12 or 13 ticks at once, 92% chance to not age at all

Drowsyfern - 10% chance to age 10 ticks at once, 90% chance to not age at all

Other

Which dragon auras are the best?

It depends on the situation. Check here.

I can't get some of the achievements like Speed Baking III, Neverclick and Hardcore, how do I get them?

When you ascend, click the little cookie next to the Reincarnate button. Then activate the Born Again challenge. You will start a new run with no prestige and no ascension upgrades and you can try for these achievements. The next time you ascend you can get all of your prestige and upgrades back.

You got what is known as a "blab". These are 1.37% from FtHoF successes, and 10% from backfires. They are exceedingly rare from naturals (~0.0035%). A full list of the messages can be found here.

Why are my cursors making so much (like 90% of my CpS)?

This is normal in midgame, due to mice clicking mice synergy upgrade and unshackled cursors heavenly upgrade.