Two shops, two currencies
Cash never buys a class. Gems are not the key that raises your weapon tier in the middle of a wave. V spends Cash to climb one weapon tier. C spends Cash to climb one health tier. The hub spends Gems on a named class, a named gun, or an upgrade of a kit you already own.
Class skill upgrades spend more Gems at each step than the step before. Offensive upgrades are described as changing damage and area. Placement upgrades are described as changing health and the Cash cost of things such as barricades and turrets. The Gem price of each individual upgrade step is not published. Use the in-game number.
One guide calls the class prices Diamonds and gives the same figures other guides call Gems: Medic 15,000, Engineer 30,000, Juggernaut 75,000, Bomber 120,000. This page uses Gems because that is the name on the codes and on the weapon list.
What 13,000 Gems can and cannot buy
Add the three code rewards and the gift box and you get 13,000 Gems, only if every claim succeeds and none was used before.
| Purchase | Published Gem price | Listed result | Versus the 13,000 Gem pile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medic | 15,000 | First paid class | Short by 2,000 |
| El Scorpio | 15,000 | 160 DPS Tier 2 gun | Short by 2,000 |
| Engineer | 30,000 | Turrets and repair | Short by 17,000 |
| Deagle | 45,000 | 116.7 DPS Tier 1 gun | Far short |
| Juggernaut | 75,000 | Tank skills | Far short |
| Bomber | 120,000 | Explosive skills | Far short |
| Bayonet | 2,500 | 83.3 DPS | Affordable, and below free Pow Pow |
| Shorty | 5,000 | 80 DPS | Affordable, and below free Pow Pow |
| Revolver | 12,500 | 75 DPS | Affordable, and below free Pow Pow |
Pow Pow is free from the tutorial and lists 87.5 DPS. Buying Bayonet, Shorty, or Revolver spends Gems to lower the published Tier 1 DPS. Skip those three if damage is the reason you are shopping.
The useful early choice is to hold the pile and earn 2,000 more Gems, then buy either Medic or El Scorpio. Medic changes G, X, and Q for the whole team. El Scorpio raises Tier 2 gun DPS from the free Shotgun's 100 to 160. Pick the one that matches the last wipe. Do not split the pile across several cheaper guns that list worse DPS than a free gun.
Later prices, in order
After Medic, the next published class prices are Engineer 30,000, Juggernaut 75,000, then Bomber 120,000. Outlaw is not in that Gem ladder. One source limits it to the premium Gunslinger bundle. Another says it unlocks only after every earlier class is owned. Both reports are on the Outlaw page. Neither one gives a Gem price.
Weapon Gem prices and DPS for all 20 guns are on the weapon pages and compared in weapon tiers and Cash. The Gems still needed calculator subtracts your balance from a price you type. The 15,000 and 13,000 defaults are examples from the table above, not a live balance.
How a run pays Gems
Guides say a finished run pays Gems from the monkeys and waves you cleared, and that each player is rewarded from their own contribution. No Gem-per-wave table is published. Hardcore is described only as a tougher enemy setup than the standard mode, and as a mode where playing with others matters more. It does not have a published Gem multiplier.