How Does Prestige Work in Idle Games?
Prestige is the mechanic that turns a one-and-done clicker into a game you keep reopening. In simple terms: prestige resets your current progress — your coins, your miners, your depth — all the way back to zero. In exchange, you earn a permanent currency that makes every future run faster and richer than the last. You go back to the start, but you start stronger.
In Idle Miner Depths that permanent currency is called Core Shards. When you prestige, you bank a batch of Core Shards based on how much you earned in the run you're resetting. Those shards boost your global output multiplier forever, and you can spend them in a permanent upgrade tree — stronger taps, a longer offline cap, cheaper miners, or even starting future runs with depth layers already unlocked.
The amount of Core Shards you earn doesn't scale in a straight line — it follows a curve. Roughly, you have to earn several times more than your previous run to double your shard payout. That curve is deliberate: it stops you from prestiging every two minutes and instead rewards pushing a run a little deeper before you reset. Patience pays, but only up to a point — once a run stalls badly, resetting is almost always the faster path forward.
Why does this loop feel so good? Because each reset visibly pays off. The wall that stopped your last run? Your next run blows straight past it, because your permanent multipliers are higher. Reset weaker on paper, return permanently stronger — that's the prestige promise, and it's why nearly every great idle game is built on it.
Quick tips
- Don't prestige the instant it unlocks — push until your progress clearly slows, then reset for a much bigger shard payout.
- Because shards scale on a curve, one longer run usually beats two short ones.
- Spend early Core Shards on whatever shortens your next run the most — often a global output boost or an offline-cap increase.
- Treat each prestige as a fresh sprint: reinvest fast early, climb faster than last time, reset again.
Frequently asked questions
What does prestige do in an idle game?
Prestige resets your current progress (coins, miners, depth) in exchange for a permanent currency — Core Shards in Idle Miner Depths — that boosts every future run. You start over, but stronger.
When should I prestige?
Prestige when your progress clearly slows and the next upgrade takes too long. Because shard rewards scale on a curve, pushing a run a bit deeper before resetting usually pays off more than resetting early.
Do I lose everything when I prestige?
You lose your current run — coins, miners and depth reset to zero. But you keep your Core Shards and every permanent upgrade you bought with them, which carry into all future runs.
Is prestige the same as rebirth or reset?
Yes — different idle games use different names (prestige, rebirth, reset, ascension) for the same idea: wipe the run, gain a permanent boost. Idle Miner Depths calls it prestige and the reward Core Shards.
Start your first run and prestige in Idle Miner Depths →