- bills must be paid reddit discussions often focus on earning before each deadline.
- Smash nearby piggies to hit multiple targets and improve stamina efficiency.
- Prioritize loot and attack speed before expensive utility upgrades.
- Save for bills when the deadline is close instead of spending every dollar.
- Watch special piggies because jackpots, glowing targets, and liquidations can change a run.
bills must be paid reddit Strategy Overview
Bills Must Be Paid is a fast arcade-style roguelite about smashing piggy banks with a hammer while managing an escalating bill schedule. The central challenge is balancing immediate upgrades against the cash needed before the next payment deadline. Each run rewards accurate swings, efficient movement, and disciplined spending.
Video Highlights:
- Breaking piggy banks produces coins, jackpots, gems, and occasional special effects.
- Hammer damage determines whether smaller piggies can be defeated in one hit.
- Bills can remove a major portion of earnings when they become overdue.
- Upgrade choices include damage, attack speed, stamina, luck, loot, and spawning effects.
Treat every bill as a run objective. Upgrade only after estimating whether your current cash flow can cover the next deadline.
The most reliable opening pattern is simple: destroy accessible piggies, collect the money, and use early upgrades to improve the amount earned per swing. Small piggies are useful for building momentum, while tougher wooden and clown piggies can provide much larger payouts once your damage is high enough.
| Run Element | What It Does | Practical Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Hammer damage | Reduces hits needed to break piggies | High when it reaches a one-hit breakpoint |
| Attack speed | Creates more swings during each cycle | High for consistent income |
| Stamina | Allows longer smashing sessions | Medium to high |
| Luck | Improves chances for better loot | Medium |
| Loot multiplier | Raises income from many sources | High after basic damage is stable |
| Special effects | Adds lightning, liquidation, or shock waves | Situational |
Step-by-Step Opening Route
The first few cycles determine whether the run becomes comfortable or turns into a debt spiral. Use the following route to establish income before committing to expensive upgrades.
Clear the Easy Targets
Start with small piggy banks that require few hits. Position yourself so two or more targets overlap inside the hammer radius. Multiple-hit swings improve stamina value and help generate cash quickly.
Buy a Practical First Upgrade
Choose attack speed, hammer damage, stamina, or a broad loot bonus based on price. Damage is especially valuable when it changes a small piggy from several hits to one hit.
Check the Bill Before Spending
Read the amount due and the remaining days. If the deadline is close, stop buying marginal upgrades and reserve enough money for payment.
Use Dense Groups Efficiently
Move toward clusters instead of chasing isolated piggies. A wider hit radius, extra spawns, or better attack speed can turn one swing into several sources of income.
Reinvest After Payment
Once the bill is paid, spend surplus cash on the next growth point. Favor upgrades that improve future earnings rather than short-lived convenience.
A run usually improves fastest when damage reaches useful breakpoints, then loot and attack speed multiply the value of every later swing.
The payment loop should guide your entire route. A bill is not merely a fee at the end of a stage; it determines how much risk you can accept while shopping. Keep a reserve when the deadline is within a few days.
| Situation | Recommended Action | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Several days remain | Buy one strong economy upgrade | There is time for it to repay its cost |
| One or two days remain | Save most earnings | Missing payment can reduce future income |
| Bill is overdue | Focus on dense groups and jackpots | Recovery requires faster cash generation |
| Payment is secured | Spend the surplus | Unused cash has less value than permanent growth |
| Tough piggies appear | Improve damage or target weaker pigs | Avoid wasting stamina on poor breakpoints |
Best Upgrade Priorities and Build Choices
Upgrade quality depends on the current run rather than a fixed tier list. The strongest choices are those that improve a clear bottleneck: too few swings, insufficient stamina, weak payouts, or poor target density.
Income Build
- Loot from all sources
- Luck and double-loot effects
- Extra piggy spawns
- Best for long payment windows
Hammer Build
- Damage and attack speed
- Wider hit radius
- Critical chance
- Best for fast clearing
Control Build
- Lightning effects
- Liquidation marks
- Shock waves
- Useful when targets are crowded
Do not purchase every attractive effect immediately. A flashy upgrade can leave you unable to pay the next bill or reach an important damage breakpoint.
Damage and attack speed form the safest foundation because they improve both clearing speed and stamina efficiency. Loot multipliers become more valuable after the run produces enough targets to benefit from them. Luck is also stronger when many piggies are spawning, since more rolls create more opportunities for jackpots or improved drops.
Utility effects should be judged by what they actually solve. Lightning can damage nearby targets and liquidation can remove a random piggy, but neither should replace basic damage when tougher enemies require many hits. Shock waves may help spread damage across a crowd, yet focused hammer strikes can be more efficient against a single high-health target.
| Upgrade Type | Best Use | Main Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Damage | Reaching one-hit or lower-hit breakpoints | Weak value if the next breakpoint is far away |
| Attack speed | Increasing swings and damage uptime | Can drain stamina faster without sustain |
| Stamina | Longer active smashing periods | Less immediate value if income is already high |
| Loot bonus | Scaling jackpots and ordinary drops | Expensive before enough targets spawn |
| Luck | Improving high-value outcome chances | Results can vary from run to run |
| Extra spawns | Creating more targets and loot rolls | More targets may increase stamina pressure |
| Critical chance | Burst damage on difficult piggies | Less useful against very low-health targets |
| Lightning or shock wave | Spreading damage in groups | May be inefficient against priority targets |
Bill Timing, Recovery, and Target Selection
Bill management is the defining skill in Bills Must Be Paid. The run can tolerate a small mistake, but repeated overdue payments reduce the resources available for every later cycle. Plan around deadlines instead of reacting after the warning appears.
Before Each Payment:
- Confirm the amount due and days remaining
- Reserve enough cash before buying upgrades
- Clear grouped small piggies for efficient income
- Target glowing, jackpot, or high-value piggies when practical
- Pay early when the remaining cash buffer is comfortable
Prioritize targets that are close together, then switch to special piggies when their expected payout justifies the extra time and stamina.
Small piggies are not worthless after larger enemies appear. They can restore stamina through certain effects, provide quick cash, and help maintain a dense group for multi-target swings. However, do not spend an entire cycle chasing low-value targets if a marked, glowing, or jackpot piggy is nearby.
High-health wooden and clown piggies require a different approach. Attack them when your damage is strong enough, when they are grouped with weaker targets, or when a special effect can contribute extra damage. Otherwise, clear smaller piggies first and wait for a better opportunity.
| Target | Strength | Recommended Response |
|---|---|---|
| Small piggy | Fast to break, modest payout | Use for early cash and stamina efficiency |
| Wooden piggy | High health, larger reward | Attack after damage improves or when grouped |
| Clown piggy | Very high health, potentially valuable | Save stamina and use burst or special effects |
| Glowing piggy | Special target with jackpot potential | Prioritize when reachable without missing payment |
| Jackpot piggy | Large variable payout | Take advantage quickly if the path is safe |
| Marked piggy | Can be liquidated by an effect | Let the effect work while clearing nearby targets |
If a bill becomes overdue, recovery requires patience. Stop buying nonessential upgrades, seek dense groups, and use every reliable income multiplier. A single jackpot can restore the run, but the safer plan is to increase the number of productive swings rather than depend on one lucky result.
Advanced Tips and FAQ
Once the basic loop is comfortable, refine the run around breakpoints and opportunity cost. A damage upgrade that removes several hits from common targets can outperform a more exciting effect. Likewise, extra piggies can be stronger than flat damage when your build already benefits from multi-target swings and loot bonuses.
Keep the hammer moving through clusters, but avoid uncontrolled spending between cycles. The best players treat cash as both an upgrade resource and a payment reserve. That dual purpose is why a modest upgrade purchased at the right time can outperform a stronger upgrade purchased before a deadline.
The strongest build is the one that keeps earning after payment. Favor repeatable income, efficient target grouping, and upgrades that address your current bottleneck.
| Goal | Strong Choices | Supporting Play |
|---|---|---|
| Clear small piggies faster | Damage, attack speed | Group targets before swinging |
| Earn more per cycle | Loot, luck, extra spawns | Save enough cash for the next bill |
| Handle tough piggies | Damage, critical chance | Use focused attacks instead of scattered hits |
| Maintain stamina | Stamina, lower drain, restore effects | Strike multiple targets whenever possible |
| Recover from debt | Loot bonuses, jackpots, liquidation | Stop shopping until payment is safe |
Q: What is the main strategy for bills must be paid reddit players?
Build a payment reserve, improve hammer damage and attack speed, and attack grouped piggies to earn more from each swing. Spend surplus cash only after the next bill is reasonably secure.
Q: Should I choose damage or loot upgrades first?
Choose damage first when it reaches a useful hit breakpoint. If your common targets are already easy to break, loot and attack speed can improve long-term earnings more efficiently.
Q: How should I handle an overdue bill?
Stop buying marginal upgrades, clear dense groups, and prioritize jackpots or special piggies when they are practical targets. Recovering income is more important than expanding the build.
Q: Are lightning and shock wave upgrades always worth buying?
No. They are most useful against crowded groups or when your build already has strong direct damage. Against high-health targets, focused hammer damage may provide better value.