SCROOMS Instrument Tier List

Instruments decide which frequencies you can reach, how forgiving the catch minigame feels, and how fast Chimes pile up. This tier list ranks SCROOMS catch tools by practical progression value, not vanity stats alone. Pair it with the full instrument catalog, the mutation multipliers, and the area gates so every purchase matches the zone you are farming.

After Crescendo Valley, Wind / Strings / Percussion / Keys minigames were reworked, the level cap sits at 250, and eight or more new instruments joined the boards. Rankings below still prioritize Resonance and passive value; re-check live cards before every large spend, especially ahead of Ivory Plains.

How this ranking works

Tiers weigh four things: Resonance ceiling versus your current targets, Luck and Tune Speed for rare pulls, Chime cost versus how long the tool stays relevant, and whether a quest gate or shop wall blocks the upgrade. An S-tier early instrument can fall to A later once higher Hz bands open. Always re-check the live card before spending; Early Access numbers move.

Resonance maps roughly to frequency caps: I around 100 Hz, climbing through mid tiers into the thousands, with X treated as uncapped for the highest bands. If a Scroom’s printed Hz sits above your equipped Resonance, no amount of Precision will finish the catch. Upgrade Resonance before chasing Luck cosmetics.

SCROOMS instruments showcase and upgrade path

Early game (Songkeeper’s Grove)

S — Violin of Pilgrimage (4,500 Chimes)

Best early Luck spike in the Grove shop. The Violin of Pilgrimage is the first tool that meaningfully shifts rare attraction while still covering Resonance II bands. Save for it once the tutorial Guitar step is done and you have a stable sell loop. Use it while clearing Grove rares and banking for Bluestone gear.

A — Adventurer’s Tambourine (750 Chimes)

Best value-per-Chime early buy. +15% Tune Speed shortens every encounter, which matters more than raw Luck when you are still learning the minigame and selling Commons for shop money. Buy the Tambourine if you cannot afford the Violin yet; it bridges Resonance II without emptying the wallet.

B — Tamer’s Guitar (100 Chimes)

Mandatory tutorial upgrade over the free Lute. Cheap Precision and light Luck help the first sells, then it is outclassed. Do not linger on Guitar once Tambourine or Violin is affordable.

C — Wooden Lute (free)

Leo’s starter. Resonance I and a tiny Precision bump. Fine for the first catches and learning tune-and-catch timing, then replace it immediately. Keeping the Lute past the opening hour is the most common early Chime mistake.

Quest tools in the Grove change the mid curve: Floral Flute from Elanor’s garden line and Forest Spirit’s Lyre from Fenna’s trials. The Lyre especially is worth prioritizing—Verdant mutation access and stronger mid Resonance make it a stealth A/S pick once unlocked. Full steps: Forest Spirit’s Lyre.

Mid game (Bluestone, Sorin’s Respite, Sanctum Magus)

S — Deepchord (16,000 Chimes + Pell quest)

Deepchord is the mid-game pivot. Finish Pell’s memory-machine chain in Bluestone Caverns, then buy it. Resonance climb plus Runic mutation access turns ordinary sells into stacked multipliers. Pair Deepchord sessions with cooking buffs that raise sell value or tone chance.

A — Sorin’s Last Verse and Magus’ Requiem (quest crowns)

Sorin’s Last Verse (~28,000 Chimes after the Respite chain) and Magus’ Requiem (Iblis quest) are the regional crowns that keep mid Resonance honest without jumping straight to Tall Trees prestige prices. Prioritize them when those zones open.

A — Blackwood Fiddle (~9,500 Chimes) and Prospector’s Lute

Bluestone shop staples. Prospector’s Lute shores up Resonance for cavern bands; Blackwood Fiddle trades for stronger Precision and Tune Speed when control is the bottleneck. Buy the one that fixes your current failure mode—missed markers versus unreachable Hz—then funnel surplus into Deepchord.

A — Soaring Tone (35,000 Chimes)

Sanctum Magus purchase for players pushing high Luck and later Resonance. Expensive, but it extends the life of your mid kit before Tall Trees and Undergarden endgame tools. Skip it only if you are already on a quest path that grants a stronger catch instrument soon.

B — Stillwater Flute and Floral Flute

Solid situational wind tools. Stillwater helps specific Sanctum or water-adjacent routes; Floral Flute remains a flexible Grove reward that still sees use on lower bands while you save for Deepchord. Neither replaces a Resonance-correct cavern instrument.

Late and endgame (level 250 meta)

S — Keytaria and Mothwing

Endgame catch instruments with exclusive mutation passives (Thorned on Keytaria, Mothdust / Moth Forage on Mothwing). Mothdust’s sell multiplier rivals the best global mutations, so Mothwing sessions are Chime printers when you can reliably clear its bands under the 250 cap. Full buy timing: Mothwing. Keytaria fills the other endgame niche—equip based on the Scroom pool and passive you need that day.

S — Ballad of Three Reigns (160,000 Chimes)

Prestige shop ceiling. Enormous investment; treat it as a completion and high-tier farm tool after your Resonance, cooking loop, and area access are already solid. Do not bankrupt mid-game progression to rush Ballad.

A — Heartwood Drum, Crooked Chime, Forest Spirit’s Lyre (late hold)

Heartwood Drum anchors percussion routes in Tall Trees and related climbs. Crooked Chime is earned rather than shop-bought—finish its quest line when you hit the gate; the Resonance bump unlocks bands shop instruments may not cover yet. Keep Forest Spirit’s Lyre equipped whenever you specifically want Verdant rolls.

Resonance first, cosmetics second

A high-Luck Violin cannot catch a cavern Scroom above its Hz cap. Climb Resonance tiers as areas demand: Grove stays low, Bluestone jumps hard, Undergarden and Crescendo Valley punish outdated tools. Read each instrument’s Resonance Roman numeral and compare it to the area guide frequency notes before you open the shop. Practice reworked family minigames so perfect catches fund Level Up Fast routes.

Mutation synergy on the tier list

Instrument passives matter as much as printed Luck. Deepchord’s Runic (×1.5), Forest Spirit’s Lyre Verdant (×2), and Mothwing Mothdust (×3) change which tool is “best” for money farms. Stack those with Melodic / Harmonic / Resonant variants from the mutations tier list and sell-value teas from cooking recipes.

Practical buy order

1. Wooden Lute → Tamer’s Guitar (tutorial).
2. Adventurer’s Tambourine, then Violin of Pilgrimage.
3. Grove quests for Floral Flute and Forest Spirit’s Lyre when available.
4. Bluestone: Prospector’s Lute or Blackwood Fiddle → Pell quest → Deepchord.
5. Sorin’s Last Verse and Magus’ Requiem as those regions open; Sanctum / Tall Trees shop tools (Soaring Tone, Heartwood Drum, Crooked Chime) as gates allow.
6. Undergarden and endgame: Stillwater routes as needed, then Keytaria / Mothwing, Ballad last.

Between purchases, farm Chimes in the densest legal pool your Resonance can clear. After the Undergarden update and the Crescendo Valley place refresh, community money routes shifted toward newer high-value pools—bring a Resonance-correct instrument and a Rich or Lucky dish before long sessions.

Related rankings and hubs

• Mutations tier list — sell multipliers and roll odds.
• Instrument catalog — acquisition narrative and prices.
• Magus’ Requiem / Sorin’s Last Verse / Mothwing — deep unlock guides.
• Areas guide — zone gates and Hz expectations.
• Tier List Hub — other ranked breakdowns.

Revisit this page after major patches; instrument prices and Resonance bands are the first numbers to drift.