What's a good guide for ascending in Cookie Clicker?
Summary
Q.What's a good guide for ascending in Cookie Clicker?
A.Ascend when you can turn a reset into a meaningful long-term boost: start with a few hundred Heavenly Chips for your first ascent, then escalate as you gain more chips and bigger upgrades.
More info
In Cookie Clicker, ascension resets your current run but awards Heavenly Chips and a Prestige bonus that persist into your next run. The balance is to trade a temporary reset for faster future progress via permanent upgrades, so most players start only after they’ve earned enough chips to make the next run notably stronger. A widely-cited starting benchmark is about 200–500 Heavenly Chips for your first ascent, which gives a solid CPS boost without over-penalizing early progress. For a formal explanation of how ascension works, see the Ascension page on the Cookie Clicker Wiki Ascension mechanics and guidance from community guides like Pocket Gamer’s Heavenly Chips guide Heavenly Chips guide.
When to ascend breaks down into practical thresholds you’ll see in guides: - 200–500 Heavenly Chips for your first ascent (mid-early game). - 1,000–5,000 chips for a mid-game ascent to unlock stronger Heavenly Upgrades. - 50,000+ chips for late-game ascensions to access top-tier buffs. These ranges are commonly recommended to maximize next-run CPS while keeping progression smooth, and you can read more in Pocket Gamer’s Ascension guide Ascension guide and related pages.
After ascending, focus on the core Heavenly Upgrades that deliver the biggest boosts early on: Heavenly Cookies (+10% CPS forever), Permanent Upgrade Slot 1 (keep one upgrade between ascensions), [Golden Switch], and [Twin Gates of Transcendence], then plan for Permanent Upgrade Slot 2 once you have ~5,000 chips. These priorities come from established guides and the Wiki’s breakdown of heavenly upgrades.



