Does the planner know my exact DPS?
No. It uses the wave and the price printed on the cards. DMG, HP, and SPD stay on the card images. Nothing here multiplies them by Friend Boost.
Build a Dino Defense Buy Planner
The planner does not invent a damage formula. It matches your wave to the unlock printed on the card, then your cash to the price pill.
Where is the run right now?
What the cards say to do
You are still before Titanhorn. Buy green cards you can afford: Compsognathus is $6 at wave 1, Pegomastax is $8 at wave 6, Microraptor is $11 at wave 7, Dilophosaurus is $26 at wave 9. Do not open Elite Traps yet.
How the planner matches a wave and a cash figure
Every rule has an optional goal and a list of conditions. The planner reads the rules from top to bottom and returns the first one whose goal matches and whose conditions are all true. A condition compares one slider with a fixed number, using under or at least. There is no hidden damage model behind the result.
The wave slider is compared with the wave printed on a card, not with a damage estimate. The cash slider is compared with the green price pill or the shop row price. If no rule matches, the planner falls back to the default advice about opening the index and buying the highest DMG you can afford.
| Cash threshold | What it is | Page |
|---|---|---|
| $92 | Ankylosaurus and Allosaurus price pill | Dino Index cards |
| $3,450 | Rare shop row on the restock | Dino Shop |
| $17,500 | Bone Mender row | Dino Shop, x1 Stock |
| $20,000 | Pterodactyl Perch row | Dino Shop, Out of Stock on the frame |
| $180,000 | Tar Pit row | Elite Traps |
| $240,000 | Spine Roller row | Elite Traps |
| $300,000 | Salvage Crane row | Elite Traps |
Worked example: wave 7, $40, more damage per dollar
Set the goal to More damage per dollar, the wave slider to 7 and cash to 40. The first damage rule tests wave under 37, which is true, so the planner returns the Ankylosaurus advice: the card is at wave 37, and Pachycephalosaurus at wave 13 is the same kind of purchase until then.
Neither card is available at wave 7. The green cards that are: Compsognathus at $6, Triceratops Calf at $22, Pegomastax at $8 and Microraptor at $11. Pegomastax has the best damage per dollar of that set at 0.88, which is why the wave-7 answer is a cheap green card rather than a saved $92.
The second damage rule also tests cash under 92. It would return the affordability warning, but the planner never reaches it because the wave rule came first. That order is deliberate: the wave gate is checked before the price gate.
Worked example: wave 120, $200,000, spend on the shop
Set the goal to Spend on the shop, the wave slider to 120 and cash to 200,000. The first shop rule tests cash under 17,500, which is false. The second tests cash under 180,000, also false. The third shop rule matches and returns the Elite Traps order: Tar Pit at $180,000 first, Spine Roller at $240,000 second, Salvage Crane at $300,000 last.
The advice names the order, not a guarantee that the rows are in stock. After Tar Pit the cash left is $20,000, which is $220,000 short of Spine Roller. The planner is showing the next affordable row on that restock, not a shopping list you can complete in one visit.
FAQ
Calculator FAQ
Why does shop advice mention a timer?
The Dino Shop and Elite Traps headers both say New items in, plus a countdown. A price in the planner is from one restock on 27 September 2026.