You're staring at the New Eridu City Fund screen, torn between the free Basic Plan and the $9.99 Growth Plan — a wrong move could mean missing a guaranteed Ellen Joe rerun. Polychrome is the lifeblood of any Proxy, and the battle pass promises 780 Polychromes plus Encrypted Tapes, but is the grind really worth the Inter-Knot level time sink?

Battle Pass Tiers: Basic, Growth, and Premium — What Each Plan Unlocks

Glancing at the three tiers reveals a sharp power spike at the paid level. The free Basic Plan gives 5 Master Tapes and a smattering of Drive Disc upgrade mats — enough to tease but never to satisfy a serious build.

Paying $9.99 for the Growth Plan transforms the track. On top of all free rewards, it adds 780 Polychromes, 4 Encrypted Tapes, a Great Builder’s Certificate (W‑Engine selector), 177 Senior Investigator Logs, 118 W‑Engine Energy Modules, and an exclusive Namecard unlocked at City Fund Level 35. The material injection alone saves dozens of stamina refreshes.

The Premium Plan ($19.99) duplicates the Growth Plan’s rewards and grants an immediate +10 Levels, 200 extra Polychromes, and a seasonal Bangboo cosmetic. It is strictly a collector’s or time‑sprint tool — the $10 surcharge buys almost no raw pull value beyond the 200 Polychromes.

Cost-Effectiveness: How the Growth Plan Stacks Up Against Direct Polychrome Purchases

Converting the Growth Plan’s paid‑only rewards into pull equivalents paints a stark picture. The 780 Polychromes plus 4 Encrypted Tapes (valued at 640 Polychromes) total 1,420 Polychrome‑equivalent. At $9.99, that’s roughly 142 Polychromes per dollar — nearly double the 60–80 Polychromes per dollar standard direct top‑ups deliver without first‑time bonuses.

Burning through your daily stamina to farm XP logs and upgrade mats becomes vastly faster with the Growth Plan’s bulk resources. industry macro data shows battle pass owners demonstrate 3× higher 6‑month retention, proving the pass fuels a Content Scale Cycle — your account’s growth accelerates across seasons, not just from one lump of currency. Even completing only 50% of the City Fund yields enough Polychrome efficiency that two half‑finished seasons can bank a full soft‑pity rotation (roughly 75–80 pulls).

Where to Top Up: Maximizing Value with Third‑Party Platforms Like Lootbar

To squeeze every last Polychrome, veteran proxies avoid full‑price in‑app purchases. A Zenless top up through external platforms like Lootbar — with official HoYoverse partnership and instant delivery — routinely nets 10–20% bonus currency, bringing the real cost of the Growth Plan close to $8. External spending in mobile gaming surged 40% year‑over‑year to $5.2 billion, making reward‑optimized channels the norm. Routing transactions this way makes even the Premium Plan defensible if the seasonal Bangboo cosmetic aligns with your collection.