M3A Labs / Vortex Shift / Guide

Run Upgrades (Perks)

Every time you clear a level you choose one of three random upgrades. They last until the end of the run and most of them stack, so each run slowly turns into a build. The picks you make on levels two and three usually set the direction: a tank, a magnet, a combo machine or a walking bomb.

Upgrade	Copies	Effect
REINFORCED HULL	up to 5	+1 max hull, and repairs you to full.
PROSPECTOR	up to 5	Gems are worth +30% score (stacks).
TRACTOR BEAM	up to 3	Wider collection radius (stacks).
COMBO STABILIZER	up to 3	Combo lasts 2 seconds longer before resetting (stacks).
DAMPENERS	up to 3	Orbit speed −8% - everything gets easier to dodge (stacks).
AEGIS PROTOCOL	up to 3	Start every level with a free shield charge (one per copy owned - stacks).
OVERCLOCK	up to 2	Chrono and Magnet power-ups last 50% longer (stacks).
EFFICIENT CORE	up to 3	Level gem quotas reduced by 15% (stacks).
MOMENTUM	up to 4	Passive survival score +50% (stacks).
PHASE CLOAK	up to 4	Immune to mines for 0.25 s after a ring switch (+0.15 s per stack, recharges 3 s between uses).
LUCKY CHARM	up to 3	Special power-ups appear 20% more often (stacks).
PULSE ECHO	up to 2	Losing hull detonates every mine on your orbit (+100 score each, stacks).
ABILITY COOLANT	up to 3	Your ship ability cools down 10% faster (stacks up to 3).
GEM DETONATOR	once	Collecting a gem detonates the mines right next to it (heavy mines resist).
SHIELD REPRISAL	once	Whenever a shield charge breaks, a free Pulse detonates every mine on your orbit.
GRAZE CLOAK	up to 2	Every graze grants 0.3 s of mine immunity per stack.
FLOW STATE	once	While your combo rank is S or higher, orbit speed −15%.
STATIC CHARGE	up to 2	Grazes charge a battery: every 6 grazes become a shield charge (every 4 with 2 copies). EMP mines drain it.
CRITICAL MASS	up to 2	Every 10 gems you collect fire a free Pulse on your orbit (every 7 with 2 copies).
GRAZE FUSE	up to 2	Grazed mines blow up 0.8 s later, taking nearby mines with them. With 2 copies the blast is wider and breaks heavy mines too.
SALVAGE RIG	up to 2	Mines you destroy have a 25% chance to leave a gem behind (45% with 2 copies). Up to 2 gems per blast, 4 with 2 copies.
PRISM SPLITTER	up to 2	Prisms appear more often, and each one you collect throws gem shards onto the neighboring orbits (stacks).

A few builds I like

The Vault: REINFORCED HULL, AEGIS PROTOCOL and DAMPENERS. It's slow, sturdy and relaxed, and it's the easiest way to learn the late bosses without dying to them over and over.
The Magnet: TRACTOR BEAM up to the maximum, then LUCKY CHARM and OVERCLOCK. A maxed TRACTOR BEAM lets you grab gems from much wider angles on your own orbit, and the Magnet power-up (which OVERCLOCK makes last longer) pulls them in from the next ring too.
The Combo: COMBO STABILIZER, FLOW STATE, GRAZE CLOAK and PROSPECTOR. Everything here feeds the chain, and from rank S upwards the field slows down for you.
The Bomb: PULSE ECHO, GEM DETONATOR and SHIELD REPRISAL. Hits and gems turn into explosions. It's messy and loud, and it's very good against seeker mines. CRITICAL MASS and GRAZE FUSE fit right in, and once you have them SALVAGE RIG turns the wreckage back into gems.
The Daredevil: STATIC CHARGE, GRAZE FUSE and COMBO STABILIZER. You skim every mine you can: the near misses build shields, blow up the mines behind you and keep the combo alive. It never makes you immune, so one mistake still costs a shield.

Two perks deserve a special mention. REINFORCED HULL repairs you to full when you already have the maximum, so picking it is never a waste. PHASE CLOAK stacks up to four times but needs three seconds to recharge between uses, so it rewards switching on purpose rather than spamming (see engine overheat).

Run Upgrades (Perks)

A few builds I like

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