Tidy Up History Ability Unlock Priority Tier List

Tidy Up History levels you up as you restore halls: clean dirt and clutter, place artifacts correctly, assemble dinosaur skeletons, and earn XP that unlocks new abilities. Casual Human markets those unlocks as the way to handle increasingly complex exhibits. This page ranks ability roles and slots—mobility, cleaning power, carry capacity, reach, highlight helpers, and late luxury upgrades—as recommended priority tiers, not as a fabricated roster of exact official names.

Use this list with the Tier List Hub, Best Room Order, and the museum checklist. Completing every ability unlock supports the Master Cleaner Steam achievement (all abilities). A full museum restore still depends on keys, knowledge books, and room clears covered elsewhere.

Ranking criteria

We score unlock priority for a first full-restore run on Steam (Windows, single-player, released 16 September 2026):

1. Trip time saved — how often the upgrade helps between pedestals, storage, and dirty floors.
2. Scaling into later wings — whether the slot stays useful from Cerapoda through Indigenous North America.
3. Synergy with keys and knowledge — helpers that make locked rooms and misidentified artifacts less painful.
4. Achievement alignment — progress toward Master Cleaner without starving Museum Owner / Keymaster / Knowledgeable goals.

If you play purely for vibes, ignore S-tier urgency and unlock whatever feels fun. The tiers below optimize efficiency, not enjoyment ranking.

S tier — unlock as soon as XP allows

Mobility / movement speed slots

Museum maps reward walking. Early dinosaur halls already scatter fossils and clutter across large floors; human-history wings add denser shelves and longer corridors. Any ability that raises move speed, reduces stamina friction while walking between tasks, or shortens traversal after a clean loop is S tier. Mobility multiplies every other unlock—you visit more dirt piles, more key searches, and more knowledge interactions per hour.

When to buy: First or second XP spend after the tutorial loop. Revisit higher ranks of the same slot whenever a wing feels like a commute.

Cleaning power / restore strength slots

Dirt, damage, and neglected surfaces are the core loop. Stronger cleaning power (or fewer interactions per dirty prop) converts XP into visible progress faster than cosmetic helpers. Prioritize these when a room’s “restore” phase takes longer than sorting artifacts.

When to buy: Immediately after basic mobility, or first if your starting wing is heavily soiled before you even sort fossils.

A tier — strong follow-ups

Carry capacity / multi-item slots

Organizing hundreds of artifacts means constant trips. Extra carry slots or multi-hold upgrades cut empty-handed walks. They shine once you understand pedestal layouts and start batching similar items—especially when assembling skeletons part by part or returning misplaced pieces across adjacent halls.

When to buy: After S-tier mobility and cleaning feel comfortable; earlier if you notice inventory ping-pong in Cerapoda or Theropods.

Reach / grab-range slots

Reach upgrades reduce awkward climbing, edge hunting, and micro-repositioning near tall displays. They are not always marketed as flashy, but they quietly remove friction in packed Egypt, China, or Medieval Europe halls where objects sit behind barriers or on elevated mounts.

When to buy: Mid-early game, especially before dense human-history clusters. Pair with carry capacity for a “fewer trips, fewer stretches” kit.

B tier — situational mid-game value

Highlight / scan / finder helpers

Abilities that outline misplaced items, related fossil pieces, or interactables save time when a room looks finished but a single shard or key remains. They are excellent for Keymaster and 100% room ticks, yet they matter less during the first chaotic sweep when dirt is everywhere and targets are obvious.

When to buy: When you start hunting leftovers for checklist completion, or when a wing’s last 10% stalls.

Knowledge / identification assists

Knowledge books teach correct placement. Any ability that speeds reading, flags mismatch risk, or reduces wrong-pedestal mistakes supports the Knowledgeable achievement and prevents undo work. Still, raw cleaning and mobility usually unlock more of the museum first.

When to buy: As you enter themed human-history wings with lookalike artifacts (coins, ceramics, ritual objects). Less urgent during pure fossil assembly if skeletons use clear silhouettes.

C tier — luxury and late polish

Comfort, cosmetics, and narrow specialists

QoL that only helps in rare room types, visual flair, or tiny convenience bumps belong here. They are still worth buying for Master Cleaner (all abilities), but they should not delay opening a keyed wing or finishing a skeleton that gates XP.

When to buy: After S/A slots feel good and you are sweeping remaining unlocks for the achievement list. Use spare XP between major room clears rather than mid-crisis.

Suggested unlock roadmap

1. Tutorial → first dinosaur hall: Mobility, then cleaning power.
2. First skeleton projects: Carry capacity so fossil parts move in batches.
3. Before heavy human-history density: Reach, then highlight helpers.
4. Knowledge-heavy civilizations: Identification assists as books appear.
5. Endgame sweep: Remaining C-tier slots for Master Cleaner while chasing Museum Owner.

This roadmap assumes you also follow a sensible room clear order. Abilities cannot replace a missing key—if a door is locked, spend a session hunting Keymaster progress instead of dumping XP into a C-tier luxury node.

XP farming tips that respect the tiers

• Finish dirty surfaces in your current wing before wandering; cleaning XP is consistent and feeds S-tier purchases.
• Correct placements after reading knowledge books—mistakes waste time more than they waste XP.
• Skeleton assembly is a strong XP + progress double dip in Cerapoda, Theropods, Ornithopods & Thyreophorans, and Non-Dinosaurian halls.
• After a big unlock, immediately test it in the messiest adjacent room so you feel the time save and avoid buyer’s remorse.

Achievement notes

Achievement focus	Ability advice
Master Cleaner	Eventually buy every slot; follow S→A→B→C so the museum opens faster along the way
Museum Owner	Mobility + cleaning + carry beat late luxury for full restore speed
Keymaster	Highlight/finder helpers rise in value during key hunts
Knowledgeable	Knowledge assists rise when books and tricky artifacts dominate

There are 25 Steam achievements total; these four are the ability-adjacent pillars players cite most when planning unlock order.

Common mistakes

• Hoarding XP for a vague “better” node while walking slowly through dirty halls.
• Maxing C-tier cosmetics before carry capacity, then complaining about trip fatigue.
• Ignoring keys because abilities feel more exciting—locked wings hide both XP and story variety.
• Assuming co-op sharing — the game is single-player; your XP plan is yours alone.

After you finish the tree

Once Master Cleaner pops, remaining goals are almost entirely spatial: rooms, keys, books, and exhibits. Switch mental modes from “build my kit” to “close the map” using the checklist and room order. Revisit this page after patches listed on the Updates Hub if Casual Human retunes XP costs.

For store info, intro sale timing, and community links, see the Links Hub. For PC readiness before long ability-grind sessions, confirm system requirements (notably 16 GB RAM minimum).