Cookie Clicker, the deceptively simple yet endlessly engaging incremental game, boasts a collection of achievements, some straightforward and others shrouded in mystery. Among the most coveted and challenging is the “Neverclick” shadow achievement. This guide provides a detailed walkthrough to help you unlock this prestigious badge of honor, offering strategies, tips, and essential preparations to ensure your success.
What is the Neverclick Achievement?
The Neverclick achievement is a shadow achievement in Cookie Clicker, meaning it doesn’t contribute to your Heavenly Chips bonus but is highly sought after by completionists. To earn it, you must reach 1 million cookies baked without clicking the Big Cookie even once.
Why is Neverclick So Challenging?
The challenge lies in the core mechanic of Cookie Clicker: clicking the Big Cookie. It’s your primary source of cookies in the early game. Avoiding this integral action requires a completely different approach and strategic planning.
Preparation is Key: Laying the Groundwork for Success
Before attempting Neverclick, you need to be well-prepared. This involves accruing Heavenly Chips, unlocking certain upgrades, and understanding the game’s mechanics. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
1. Accumulate Heavenly Chips: The Foundation of Your Strategy
Heavenly Chips are crucial. They provide permanent buffs that significantly boost your cookie production. The more Heavenly Chips you have, the easier Neverclick will be. Aim for at least several hundred, but ideally thousands, before attempting this achievement. Here’s how to maximize your Heavenly Chip gain:
- Play Multiple Ascensions: Regularly ascend to reset your game and earn Heavenly Chips. Each ascension grants chips based on your lifetime cookies baked.
- Unlock Key Heavenly Upgrades: Prioritize upgrades like “Legacy” which increases the effect of Heavenly Chips, “Permanent upgrade slots” which let you keep key upgrades through ascensions, and other upgrades that improve early-game production.
- Garden and Pantheon: Use these minigames in previous runs to boost your cookie production, allowing you to bake more cookies and earn more Heavenly Chips.
2. Prioritize Essential Permanent Upgrades
Permanent upgrade slots, purchased with Heavenly Chips, allow you to keep certain upgrades through ascensions. These are critical for a Neverclick run. Here are the recommended upgrades to prioritize:
- Kitten Managers: Kitten Managers (requires buying at least one Kitten upgrade in a previous run) dramatically increase your CPS (Cookies Per Second) bonus based on the number of buildings you own. Put this in your first slot.
- Synergy I, II, III, etc.: Synergy upgrades significantly boost building production based on other buildings. The higher the number, the better. These are incredibly valuable for scaling your CPS.
- Most expensive building: Put the most expensive building you can afford in another slot. This provides a good base CPS that will be multiplied by all your other upgrades.
3. Understanding Buffs and Their Impact
Several buffs can significantly impact your Neverclick attempt. It’s essential to know what they are and how to use them effectively:
- Golden Cookies: Golden Cookies are your best friend. They provide significant temporary buffs, including Click Frenzy (which you won’t be using!), Frenzy, and Lucky.
- Wrinklers: Wrinklers appear around the Big Cookie after you’ve reached a certain level of prestige. They slowly eat away at your CPS, but when popped, they release all the cookies they’ve consumed, multiplied. While you won’t be clicking, understanding how wrinklers work is important for later game strategies.
- Sugar Lumps: Sugar Lumps are required to level up your buildings and unlock minigames. You’ll need to level up Temples to maximize your pantheon bonuses, and Wizard Towers to maximize the effectiveness of spells.
The Neverclick Walkthrough: A Step-by-Step Guide
Now that you’re prepared, here’s the detailed walkthrough to guide you through the Neverclick achievement:
Step 1: Ascend and Set Up Your Game
- Ascend: Reset your game, utilizing your accumulated Heavenly Chips.
- Allocate Heavenly Chips: Spend your Heavenly Chips on Legacy, Permanent upgrade slots, and other relevant upgrades.
- Select Permanent Upgrades: Choose your permanent upgrades strategically. Kitten Managers, Synergy Upgrades, and the most expensive building you can afford are recommended.
Step 2: Initial Building Purchases (Without Clicking!)
This is the most critical phase. You need to generate enough cookies to buy your first buildings, entirely without clicking. Here’s how:
- Wait Patiently: With your Heavenly Chip bonuses and permanent upgrades, you’ll start generating cookies passively. This will be extremely slow initially.
- Prioritize Buildings: Focus on buildings that provide the highest CPS per cost early on. Grandmas are a good starting point.
- Golden Cookies and Their Pivotal Role: The appearance of golden cookies marks a turning point. These temporary boosts are crucial for accelerating your progress.
- Golden Cookie Strategy:
- Frenzy: This is your bread and butter. A frenzy multiplies your CPS by x777 for a short period. Use these strategically to accumulate cookies.
- Lucky: Lucky grants you a lump sum of cookies. The amount is based on your CPS and bank. The larger your bank, the bigger the Lucky bonus.
- Avoid Click Frenzy! Click Frenzy is a massive boost to cookie clicks. Since you can’t click, this golden cookie is useless (or worse, takes the spot of another, more useful golden cookie).
Step 3: Building Your Cookie Empire
Once you have a few buildings, your cookie production will gradually increase. Continue to focus on purchasing buildings that provide the most CPS per cost.
- Balance Building Types: Don’t focus solely on one type of building. Diversify your buildings to unlock synergy upgrades, which further boost your CPS.
- Synergy Upgrades: As mentioned earlier, synergy upgrades provide significant boosts to building production. Prioritize unlocking these as you progress.
- Garden: Once you’ve unlocked the Garden minigame (requires a Farm leveled to 1), plant useful plants to further boost your cookie production.
- Pantheon: Once you’ve unlocked the Pantheon minigame (requires a Temple leveled to 1), slot gods to further boost your cookie production.
Step 4: The Pantheon and Strategic God Placement
The Pantheon is a powerful tool for boosting your CPS. Carefully choose and slot your gods to maximize their benefits for a Neverclick run:
- Godzamok: This god provides a buff based on the number of buildings you have. Slotting this in the Diamond slot (highest boost) is highly recommended.
- Muridal: Muridal reduces the negative effects of wrinklers. While you aren’t clicking, wrinklers still slowly eat into your CPS, so reducing their impact is helpful.
- Selebrak: This god boosts the effect of golden cookies.
Step 5: Managing Golden Cookies and Buffs
Golden Cookies remain your primary source of bursts of cookie production. Here’s how to manage them effectively:
- Prioritize Frenzy and Lucky: As before, prioritize Frenzy and Lucky. They are the most effective buffs for a Neverclick run.
- Avoid Click Frenzy: Click Frenzy is useless to you and wastes golden cookie spawn opportunities.
- Cookie Chains: If you get a cookie chain golden cookie (a series of rapidly increasing cookie rewards), make sure you have enough cookies in your bank to maximize its potential.
Step 6: The Home Stretch: Reaching 1 Million Cookies
As your cookie production increases, you’ll gradually approach the 1 million cookie milestone. Continue to purchase buildings, unlock upgrades, and manage your golden cookies. Here are some final tips:
- Patience is Key: Neverclick requires patience. It will take time to reach 1 million cookies without clicking.
- Monitor Your Progress: Keep an eye on your cookie production and make adjustments to your strategy as needed.
- Don’t Give Up: It can be frustrating, but don’t give up! With careful planning and perseverance, you’ll eventually unlock the Neverclick achievement.
Advanced Strategies for Neverclick
Once you’ve successfully completed Neverclick a few times, you can explore advanced strategies to optimize your runs. These strategies require a deeper understanding of the game mechanics and may not be suitable for beginners.
1. Golden Cookie Prediction Tools
Golden cookie prediction tools can help you anticipate the appearance of golden cookies and plan your actions accordingly. These tools typically rely on the game’s code to predict the timing and type of golden cookies.
2. Utilizing the Grimoire (Wizard Towers)
The Grimoire, unlocked by leveling Wizard Towers to level 1, allows you to cast spells. Some spells can be beneficial for a Neverclick run, such as:
- Force the Hand of Fate: This spell summons a random golden cookie. However, it can also summon a Clot (reduces CPS) or a Ruin (deducts cookies). Use it with caution!
3. The Stock Market (Banks)
The Stock Market, unlocked by leveling Banks to level 1, allows you to invest in stocks. While it’s not directly related to Neverclick, it can provide an additional source of income.
Troubleshooting Common Neverclick Issues
Here are some common issues that players encounter when attempting Neverclick and how to troubleshoot them:
- Accidental Clicks: It’s easy to accidentally click the Big Cookie. Be extremely careful and avoid placing your mouse near the Big Cookie.
- Slow Progress: If your cookie production is too slow, focus on purchasing more buildings and unlocking synergy upgrades. Make sure you’ve allocated your Heavenly Chips effectively.
- Bad Golden Cookie Luck: Sometimes, you’ll get unlucky and get a series of bad golden cookies (Clots, Ruins, etc.). Don’t get discouraged! Just keep playing and eventually you’ll get the buffs you need.
Conclusion: Mastering the Art of Passive Cookie Accumulation
The Neverclick achievement is a testament to patience, strategic planning, and a deep understanding of Cookie Clicker’s mechanics. By following this comprehensive guide, you’ll be well-equipped to conquer this challenge and add another prestigious shadow achievement to your collection. Remember to prepare adequately, manage your resources effectively, and most importantly, never click that Big Cookie!
Bonus Tip: Save Your Game!
Regularly save your game! This will prevent you from losing progress if you accidentally click the Big Cookie or encounter any other issues. You can save your game by going to Options > Save to File.
Good luck, and happy (passive) cookie clicking!