Guides / Idle Games
Prestige, Rebirth and Ascension: When Should You Reset in an Idle Game?
ONI Games · Published
Prestige resets your progress for a permanent bonus. Why it makes you faster, what you keep, and when to reset, with the real rebirth formulas from three idle games we made.
Prestige is the moment an idle game asks you to give up most of your progress in exchange for a permanent bonus. You go back to the start, but stronger, so the next run goes faster and further than the last. Games call it prestige, rebirth, ascension, reincarnation or reboot, and it is the engine that keeps an idle game going for months.
When to reset, in one line: reset when progress has slowed to a crawl and the reset would pay noticeably more than your last one. In practice that is usually when you are back at, or past, the point where you last reset.
What is prestige in idle games?
Every idle game eventually slows down, because costs grow faster than income. Prestige is the designed way out. You trade your current run (your stage, your upgrades, your gold) for a prestige currency, and that currency gives a permanent bonus that makes everything faster.
The first run to your first prestige is the slowest part of most idle games. After it, you race through the early stages in minutes, pass your old record, and reach new content. That feeling of breaking through is why the mechanic works so well.
What you keep and what you lose
It depends on the game, but the pattern is similar everywhere:
| Usually reset | Usually kept |
|---|---|
| stage or level | the prestige currency and its bonus |
| basic upgrades and their levels | premium currency (gems, diamonds) |
| the normal currency (gold, cash) | characters, skins and collections |
| run-based skills | achievements and records |
Always read the confirmation screen before you tap. Some games, like Idle Summoner, let you keep your gold; most do not.
Real rebirth formulas from our games
Our three idle games each use a different kind of prestige. Here is exactly how they pay, from the code.
Idle Ronin: Rebirth Tokens
Rebirth unlocks at stage 50 in Idle Ronin. It pays Rebirth Tokens, and every token you hold adds 10% ATK to all your units. The reward is calculated like this:
- 5 tokens at stage 50, plus 1 for every 10 stages above it;
- plus 1 token for every 150 total levels across your units;
- from stage 202, plus 1 token for every 2 stages above 200;
- from stage 100, everything is multiplied by 1.1 for every 25 stages (1.1 at stage 100, about 1.33 at stage 150, 1.61 at stage 200 and 2.36 at stage 300).
The curve tells you something the game does not say out loud: the reward grows much faster than your stage. A rebirth at stage 200 pays about 32 tokens, at 250 about 97, and at 300 about 189. Pushing further before a rebirth is often worth it, as long as you are still moving.
Idle Summoner: player level
In Idle Summoner rebirth also unlocks at stage 50. Your player level jumps to the stage you reached, if that is higher, and every player level adds 1% damage to all your monsters. So the gain of a rebirth is simply your stage minus your current player level: at stage 120 with player level 80 you gain 40%. You also keep your gold, souls and gems, plus a reward.
Idle AI Factory: Factory Reboot
In Idle AI Factory the reset is called Factory Reboot and it pays AI Cores, which you spend on permanent research. It unlocks at level 40, and the cores grow with your level, the stars on your floors and the world you are in:
cores = (2 x (level - 30)^1.35 + 2 x stars) x world factor
The world factor is 1 in the first world, 1.5 in the second and 2 in the third. Without stars, a reboot at level 40 pays 45 cores, at level 60 about 197 and at level 100 about 619 in the first world.
When should you prestige?
There is no single right moment, but these rules work in almost every idle game:
- Do the first one as soon as it unlocks. Your first prestige is almost always worth it, because any permanent bonus beats none. That is why Idle Ronin flags the rebirth button the moment you reach stage 50.
- After that, wait until you are back where you last reset. A reset that pays less than your last one is usually a step backwards. Idle Ronin's rebirth button lights up again exactly when you reach the stage of your last rebirth, because from there a rebirth pays at least as much as the one before.
- Reset when progress stalls, not when it slows. If you still clear a stage every few minutes, keep going. If you have not moved for an hour, the reset will get you further, faster.
- Look for jumps in the formula. Many games have thresholds where the reward grows faster, like Idle Ronin after stage 200. Reaching one just before a reset can double the payout.
- Compare the gain with your total. A reset that adds 5% to a bonus of 500% is barely noticeable. Many players reset when it would double their prestige currency early in a game, and accept smaller gains later, when each run takes longer. The right number depends on the game.
How long should a run last?
In most idle games, runs get longer as you go: your first prestige may take an evening, later ones a day or a week, and some games add a second layer of prestige on top of the first. That is by design. Each layer resets the one below it and gives a bigger, slower bonus, so the game always has a next goal. Antimatter Dimensions, for example, is famous for stacking several layers of prestige on top of each other.
Common prestige mistakes
- Resetting too early and too often. Tiny resets feel productive but waste the time of the climb back.
- Spending right before a reset. Gold spent on upgrades that are about to be wiped is lost, unless the game keeps it.
- Forgetting timers. Some games let running boosts or offline time carry over a reset, some do not. Reset after a boost ends, not during.
- Ignoring the prestige shop. The currency is only half the value; what you buy with it matters. In Idle Ronin, tokens spent on Guardians no longer add ATK, so spend them on purpose.
FAQ
Is prestige the same as rebirth?
Yes. Prestige is the general word; rebirth, ascension, reincarnation, reboot and transcendence are names individual games use for the same idea.
Why do idle games make you reset?
Because costs grow faster than income, every run eventually slows down. A reset with a permanent bonus turns that slowdown into a new, faster start, and gives the game room for new layers of content.
Do you lose everything when you prestige?
No. You lose the run (stage, basic upgrades, normal currency) and keep the prestige currency, premium currency and collections. The game's confirmation screen lists exactly what resets.
Prestige is one of the pillars of the genre. For the others, read idle games explained and how offline earnings work.
Sources
- ONI Games game code, September 2026: Idle Ronin (PopupRebirth.cs, RebirthHint.cs), Idle Summoner (rebirth and player level) and Idle AI Factory (Balance.cs, RebootCores).
- Anthony Pecorella, The Math of Idle Games, Part III (prestige cycles), Kongregate, 2017.
