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// THE RESERVES

Liquidity

Liquidity is the reserve budget you commit to a run. It is the depth the system can draw on when pressure arrives. A controller decides how hard to push. Liquidity decides whether there is anything behind the push.

The instinct is that more is always safer. It is not. Spending well beats spending big.

The Three Outcomes​

The liquidity spectrum
Too littleEfficientToo much
Too littlethin support, gaps widen, harder recovery
Efficientenough depth, spent smoothly, strong score
Too muchsteady, but capital wasted and score drops

Too little​

Thin reserves leave the run exposed. Gaps open wider, volatility feels sharper, and recovery after a shock is harder because there is nothing to lean on.

Too much​

Overcommitting can make a run look calm while quietly wasting capital. The system may stay steady, but spending far beyond what the run needed costs you on the liquidity side of your score. Discipline is part of the skill.

Efficient​

The target is practical adequacy: enough depth to absorb stress, used smoothly rather than dumped in a panic, without a pile of unused budget sitting idle. That is what the scoring rewards.

How It Connects to Scoring​

Liquidity Strategy is one of the four scoring pillars. It looks at whether your reserves were adequate for the run, whether capital was used efficiently, whether you avoided exhausting your budget at the wrong moment, and whether usage was smooth rather than jagged. See Scoring for the full pillar.

Liquidity in Ranked Battles​

In a ranked battle your liquidity budget is hidden until settlement, exactly like your controller. Your opponent does not know whether you came in lean, balanced, or heavy until the battle is over. That uncertainty is part of the matchup. You are committing to a reserve plan without knowing theirs.

Liquidity Feeds the Jackpot​

Reserves you commit are not just a number on a slider. Liquidity spend contributes to the season jackpot, in both ranked and solo runs. That is one reason discipline matters: every unit you commit is a real part of the season economy. See Economy.

Match reserves to the read, not the fear

Bringing maximum liquidity to every run feels safe and scores poorly. Read the difficulty, plan the depth you actually expect to need, and keep a little discipline in reserve.