Clear the Avalanche Dig Rescue Shovel & Gear Tier Lists
Ranked upgrade priorities for dig power, ice clearing, and backpack efficiency.
Tier lists in Clear the Avalanche: Dig & Rescue are about upgrade order, not collectible characters. The wrong early spend stalls house rescues; the right shovel tier turns coin rain into a cleared street. Use this hub to jump into ranked pages and to understand how we score tools.
Tier list pages
- Shovels Tier List — dig power rankings for soft snow and progression breakpoints.
- Gear Upgrades Tier List — backpack, mobility, and ice-focused gear priorities.
Cross-check spends with How to Dig Efficiently and early loadouts on the Players Hub. Redeem codes before big purchases so gems and coin rain fund the S-tier picks.
Ranking criteria
We rank upgrades by:
- Coins per minute impact after the buy
- Help on ice shells around buried houses
- Backpack/sell friction reduction
- Storm safety (mobility toward fire barrels)
- Cost efficiency for new accounts
Cosmetics never outrank dig power on this wiki. If a patch changes costs, we update the child pages and note it on Updates.
How to use these lists in-session
- Open the shovel list and buy the highest rank you can afford that increases dig power.
- If sell trips dominate your time, open the gear list and raise capacity.
- When houses sit behind ice, prefer ice-capable tools over another soft-snow side-grade.
- Reassess after every rescued house — new areas can change the bottleneck.
S through C meaning
- S — buy as soon as affordable; defines the current meta pace
- A — excellent when S is out of reach or for specific ice/mobility needs
- B — situational; fine fillers between major breakpoints
- C — low priority; usually cosmetics or weak side-grades
Team spending in co-op
Share the same tier philosophy even if wallets differ. One friend on an S-tier shovel plus another on A-tier capacity clears faster than four random buys. Read the Co-op Guide for role-based spending.
Related systems
Storm planning still matters more than a single rank letter — keep Snowstorm Survival in mind. House routes from How to Rescue Houses tell you when ice gear suddenly becomes S-tier. Scripts cannot fix a bad upgrade order; see Scripts only after your buy priority is clean.
Official play links and community resources are on the Links Hub. Start with Getting Started if you have not sold your first backpack yet — tier lists assume you already understand the dig-sell loop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers for diggers and rescuers.
What is the best upgrade in Clear the Avalanche Dig Rescue?
Early on, shovel dig power ranks highest. Open the Shovels Tier List for the current S-tier picks.
Do you rank cosmetics?
Cosmetics stay low priority until dig power, capacity, and ice tools are online.
How often is the tier list updated?
After patches that change costs or tool behavior. Check Updates plus the child tier pages.
Should co-op teams follow the same list?
Yes for priorities, with room for one player to specialize in capacity while another pushes dig power.