Full Game Guide: Upgrades & Automation

A factory full of defeated creatures can still lose money if bodies never reach the Grinder or finished cans never reach the seller. That is the central lesson of this Can 'Em All full game guide: every purchase should shorten the path from creature to cash. A useful Can 'Em All full game guide does not give you one universal buying order; it teaches you to identify the step that failed during the last shift.

Start With Upgrades That Pay for Themselves

The opening factory is deliberately inefficient. A single creature produces very few cans, each can has a low selling value, and nearly every part of production requires manual work. The first rule in this Can 'Em All full game guide is to improve the value of a completed delivery before spending heavily on combat convenience.

Begin with increased cans per creature, then add Premium Cans. The first Premium Cans upgrade costs $12 and raises can value from 0% to +200%, so even a small production line becomes more profitable. More arrivals should wait until you can kill and process the current batch during the workday.

Should You Buy the Baseball Bat Immediately?

Punching is adequate for small groups of weak creatures during the opening shifts. The Baseball Bat becomes valuable when defeating creatures is taking so long that you cannot collect bodies or operate the production line. Buying it before a can-value upgrade can postpone the income increase that would fund several later purchases.

If your Grinder is already the limiting step, stronger melee attacks will mostly create more bodies waiting for processing. The Knife is another early combat improvement, but firearms bring their own ammunition concerns. Buy combat upgrades when enemies actually slow production, not simply because they appear in the upgrade tree.

Move Bodies and Cans Without Wasting the Shift

Carrying every body and every can by hand consumes a large portion of the early workday. A small pile of finished cans can require several trips, leaving less time to kill the next group of creatures. Before buying expensive automation, use the free handling options already available.

There is a Basket in the corner of the factory that can carry multiple cans at once. Consolidate finished cans with it instead of making a separate trip for each item. The Basket does not increase production or value; it simply reduces the time needed to move what you have already made.

The Industrial Vacuum costs $40 and is the major early handling unlock. It lets you collect bodies, cans, and other objects, then launch them toward the next part of the production line instead of carrying each item into position.

Which Vacuum Upgrade Should Come First?

Do not purchase every Vacuum improvement automatically. Watch whether you spend more time collecting objects, moving into range, or unloading a full device.

Storage helps when you gather several bodies together. Firing range becomes more valuable when you can launch bodies directly toward a processing machine without walking back to its intake. Improve the part that is actually slowing you down rather than spreading money across every stat.

Find the Bottleneck Before You Buy Another Machine

The most useful habit in any Can 'Em All full game guide is asking one question at the end of each shift: what stopped the next can from being sold? Early on, each additional kill produces more money. Later, another kill may accomplish almost nothing because the Grinders are already full and bodies are accumulating around them.

Walk around the factory after the final delivery. Check the bodies near the machines, the cans left along the conveyor system, and the creatures still alive when the timer stops. That quick inspection is more useful than guessing which upgrade sounds strongest.

When Should You Buy Another Grinder?

A Grinder processes creatures one at a time. As your kill rate improves, bodies can arrive much faster than one machine can handle. Reduced processing time is usually the first upgrade to consider when a Grinder runs continuously.

• If one Grinder finishes early, improve creature arrivals or can value instead of buying another machine.
• If one Grinder runs continuously while bodies remain, reduce processing time or unlock another Grinder.
• If several Grinders stay busy and bodies still accumulate, add processing capacity before another combat upgrade.
• If Grinders finish but cans remain unsold, focus on transport instead.

Increasing cans per creature and reducing Grinder time are complementary upgrades, but order matters. More cans per body increases the amount that must be moved and sold. Faster processing helps when bodies are already waiting. Buying the wrong one can leave money trapped in unfinished production.

Automate With Conveyors, Roombas, and Turrets

Automation is where this Can 'Em All full game guide shifts from small purchases to factory design. Conveyor upgrades are bought in sections, and the first section does not necessarily create a complete route from processing to selling. A partial belt may move cans closer to their destination while still requiring a manual pickup.

The important milestone is a connected line that carries processed cans without you holding each one. Work through the available sections as your budget permits, then watch the next batch. If cans stop at a gap or collect at the end of a belt, delivery is not fully automated yet.

Conveyor Speed matters after output rises. If newly produced cans wait to enter an otherwise connected route, faster belts can help. Buying speed while the machines rarely produce cans provides little immediate value.

When Are Corpse Roombas Worth It?

A Corpse Roomba moves bodies around the factory and can reduce the time spent using the Vacuum. It becomes more attractive when creature arrivals and weapon damage scatter bodies faster than you can collect them, especially when several machines need a steady supply.

Prioritize a Roomba when bodies are spread across the floor, you regularly stop shooting to recover corpses, or your Grinders have capacity to process more material. It cannot solve a processing bottleneck by itself. Moving more bodies into an overloaded Grinder does not increase that machine's throughput.

Which Weapons and Turrets Deserve Investment?

The combat section of this Can 'Em All full game guide follows the same principle: buy weapons that solve a current problem. The weapon tree includes the Baseball Bat, Knife, Pistol, SMG, AK-style rifle, Shotgun, Chainsaw, RPG, and Flamethrower, but they do not all serve the same purpose.

Ammunition upgrades can matter more than unlocking another gun. Improvements to starting ammunition and the chance to recover a bullet after a kill keep firearms working through a full shift.

Automatic Turrets are especially useful when large groups arrive, when you need time for the Vacuum, or when ammunition is becoming a concern. Prioritize turret damage and ammunition when creatures regularly survive until the end of the day. Once they clear batches reliably, return your budget to the production step that is delaying sales.

Multiply Can Value and Late-Game Income

For the income side of this Can 'Em All full game guide, remember that value upgrades multiply the output of a working production chain. Premium Cans and more cans per creature reinforce each other: raising production from three cans to four adds another saleable item that also benefits from your price bonus.

Hole in One rewards shooting cans directly into the seller, but each shot takes time away from collecting bodies and feeding machines. Its 10% chance does not guarantee a payout on every can. Connected conveyors become more practical once several Grinders produce continuously.

Smoked Meat creates another revenue option late in progression. Smoked creatures produce cans worth twice the normal amount, and the Flamethrower is relevant because it combines fire-based combat with that bonus. Higher-priced cans still need processing and delivery; bodies left on the floor do not generate money.

Shiny creature chance, Shiny can chance, Shiny value, can duplication, and money duplication are separate upgrades. Do not treat them as interchangeable. Probability bonuses are most useful after basic can production is strong enough to create plenty of finished product.

Workday, Slot Machine, and Endgame Priorities

A longer workday can be valuable when machines are still operating or cans are about to be delivered at the timer. One early progression raised the available shift time from 60 seconds to 1 minute 45 seconds. The benefit depends on having productive work available during those extra seconds.

If arrivals seem to stop, check for surviving creatures before assuming spawn upgrades have failed. Some setups do not receive a fresh batch while previous creatures remain on the floor. Before buying permanent Cold Storage, finish deliveries whenever possible because creatures and cans are normally cleared overnight.

The Slot Machine in your living quarters is optional. It can produce useful wins, but a failed bet removes money that could fund a guaranteed upgrade. Secure your next important production purchase before gambling. Dependable factory output is the more controllable route through the upgrade tree.

As this Can 'Em All full game guide reaches the endgame, costs rise sharply. One late-stage creature unlock was priced at $50 million. Before committing that much, run a full shift and inspect the line: bodies beside occupied Grinders or cans stranded before the seller mean the existing factory should improve first. After expanding the ordinary tree, you can sell the factory for permanent upgrades or work toward Freedom. The 12 Steam achievements include several that require specific interactions with factory equipment rather than ordinary production.

FAQ

What should I upgrade first in this Can 'Em All full game guide?

Increase cans per creature, then buy Premium Cans. Those two purchases improve the value of each completed delivery. Add more creature arrivals only after you can process the current batch, and improve combat when enemies are slowing production.

Is the Industrial Vacuum worth $40?

Yes, once carrying bodies and cans is consuming too much of the shift. It lets you collect and launch objects toward the Grinder or seller. Upgrade storage, range, or firing speed only after identifying which part of Vacuum use is slow.

Should I use the Slot Machine?

Treat it as optional. Wins can help, but losses can delay a guaranteed Grinder, conveyor, or weapon upgrade. Buy your next essential production improvement before risking money.

How do I know my factory is automated?

Processed cans should travel through connected conveyor sections without being carried. If cans stop at gaps, pile up at the end of a belt, or require manual pickup, finish the route before buying more conveyor speed or creature arrivals.