Alright, let’s talk about the ship upgrades in Menace the way you’d actually understand them while playing — not like a raw list, but like someone sitting next to you explaining why things matter and what order actually works.
Because here’s the truth:
In early access, you cannot afford mistakes with ship slots.
You won’t unlock enough components to fill everything, so every upgrade choice has real consequences.
That’s why picking the right order early makes your entire campaign smoother.
MENACE Best Ship Upgrades & Economy Tips
Before even talking about upgrades, there are two big things you should understand.
The first is reputation.
Most of the useful ship upgrades depend on faction reputation, but realistically you only need to focus on one major faction — the Zane-Beecher Corporation. That’s the backbone of your progression because they unlock most of the practical and powerful ship upgrades.
The second thing is slot scarcity.
You won’t be able to install everything during early access. Even after completing all missions, you’ll still have limited space, meaning you must prioritize economy and survival over fancy tools.
The Best Upgrade Order
Let’s go step by step in the order that gives the strongest campaign foundation.
1. Wayback Outreach Office (WOO)
This is your starting priority without debate.
When combined with your medical bay, it ensures a constant flow of replacement soldiers. Early in the game, casualties happen frequently, and without WOO, losing troops can cripple your campaign.
With it installed, mistakes become recoverable instead of devastating.
Later on, upgrading it into X-WOO becomes even better because it provides free recruits after every mission, effectively solving manpower issues entirely.
2. AI Logistics
This upgrade reduces the supply cost of deploying vehicles and pilots.
And it’s not a small reduction — it’s massive.
It effectively allows you to bring heavy vehicles much earlier than expected, which changes your squad composition entirely. Instead of choosing between infantry and armor, you can realistically field both.
This also makes it easier to run dual-vehicle setups, like using one vehicle for scouting and another for firepower.
3. Salvage Teams
At first glance, Salvage Teams seem minor because they only generate small rewards per destroyed vehicle.
But over an entire campaign, the value becomes enormous.
Every destroyed enemy vehicle generates salvage resources, and since many missions include multiple enemy vehicles, this adds up to thousands of extra supplies by mid-game.
There’s also a clever trick: abandoned enemy vehicles still count. Even after a mission ends, destroying leftover enemy vehicles continues generating salvage.
This makes Salvage Teams one of the strongest passive economic upgrades.
4. Supply Drop
This upgrade gives you the ability to call supply drops during missions.
What makes it powerful is its versatility.
It can instantly refill ammunition for heavy weapons, mortars, and vehicles deep behind enemy lines. It allows aggressive positioning because you no longer need to retreat just to resupply.
In early and mid-game, this flexibility can completely save difficult missions.
5. The Fixer
Once your basic survival and supply systems are stable, the next priority becomes the Fixer.
This upgrade improves black market pricing and allows you to buy resources more efficiently.
It also indirectly replaces the medical bay later because you can purchase recruitment packages from the black market.
By the late game, this becomes your most important economic tool because experimentation with weapons and gear becomes very expensive.
Mid-Game Ship Tools That Become Extremely Powerful
Once the core economy is stable, you can focus on battlefield utility.
Auto Laser Turret
This upgrade is incredibly versatile.
It acts as a scouting tool, a distraction, and a combat support device all in one.
You can deploy it to reveal unknown areas, force enemies to split their attention, or even destroy isolated units.
Many players consider running two auto laser turrets at once because they can control battlefield positioning so effectively.
Supply Drops vs Turrets
There’s a strategic debate here.
Supply Drops provide long-term sustain, while turrets offer immediate battlefield control.
Most players start with supply drops and later transition toward turrets once they gain stronger equipment.
Intelligence Upgrades
Upgrades like Info Hubs provide better enemy detection and scouting data.
However, their impact is limited compared to economic upgrades.
They consume valuable ship slots while offering benefits that don’t significantly change mission outcomes.
In most cases, investing in economy or combat utility is far more impactful than increasing intelligence stats.
Late-Game Economy Reality
As you reach later stages of the game, expenses increase dramatically.
Advanced weapons, armor upgrades, vehicle modules, and experimental equipment cost enormous amounts of supplies.
This is why early economic upgrades remain relevant even in the endgame.
They ensure you can afford testing new builds, equipping entire squads with advanced gear, and adapting to changing mission demands.