---
key: mechanic/progression-rewards--t240
type: mechanic
id: progression-rewards--t240
lang: en
title: Unlocking abilities and expanding available actions
summary: >-
  Unlocking an ability expands legal actions and allows previously inaccessible
  challenges to be reconsidered.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/progression-rewards--t240/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/progression-rewards--t240.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/progression-rewards--t240.md
aliases:
  - Unlocking new possibilities
tags:
  - 'Progression, rewards and retention'
  - Mechanics and variants
sourceIds:
  - source-3817d420df0baa92
  - source-7f09c8a736762f4f
sources:
  - id: source-3817d420df0baa92
    title: 'Robert Nystrom: State'
    url: >-
      https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown
    verifiedAt: null
  - id: source-7f09c8a736762f4f
    title: Slay the Spire
    url: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations:
  - type: uses
    direction: outgoing
    label: Sources in the selection
    key: resource/state-pattern
    title: 'State: Game Programming Patterns'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern'
    jsonUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json'
    markdownUrl: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md'
placements:
  - catalogId: progression-rewards
    id: t240
    title: 'Progression, rewards and retention'
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/progression-rewards/#t240'
    categoryIds:
      - mechanics
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Unlocking new possibilities
    description: >-
      Unlocking an ability expands legal actions and allows previously
      inaccessible challenges to be reconsidered.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/slay-the-spire-unlocks.webp
      width: 1440
      height: 810
      game: Slay the Spire
      sourceUrl: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
      originalUrl: 'https://www.megacrit.com/images/ss20.jpg'
      credit: Mega Crit
      rights: © Mega Crit. All rights reserved.
      caption: Permanent card unlocks for future runs
      alt: Permanent card unlocks for future runs
      markers:
        - x: 50
          'y': 45
          label: New elements expand future action options
    tips:
      - Revisit challenges that reveal the value of a newly unlocked action.
    examples:
      - title: Slay the Spire
        url: 'https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on
  2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design
  examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests.
  Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not
  every proposed variant.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/progression-rewards
---
# Unlocking abilities and expanding available actions

id: progression-rewards--t240
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/progression-rewards--t240
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/progression-rewards--t240/

Unlocking an ability expands legal actions and allows previously inaccessible challenges to be reconsidered.

## At a glance

![Permanent card unlocks for future runs](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/slay-the-spire-unlocks.webp)

[Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) · © Mega Crit. All rights reserved.

1. New elements expand future action options

- Revisit challenges that reveal the value of a newly unlocked action.

- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/)

## How it works

Unlocking an ability expands legal actions and allows previously inaccessible challenges to be reconsidered.

## Variants

### Mechanic variants

<a id="t240-variants"></a>

- A new verb enables another type of interaction. <a id="t240-v1"></a>
- An upgrade removes an existing action constraint. <a id="t240-v2"></a>
- Knowledge reveals an already available capability. <a id="t240-v3"></a>
- Shared access transfers an unlock to other characters. <a id="t240-v4"></a>

## Design example

Carrying electrical charge opens a door and also enables rerouting a power network.

Prototype check: Test whether an unlock enables at least two different applications understandable from the ability's rule.

## Context and limits

Progression changes player options and goals; rewards should explain new decisions and preserve useful stopping points. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map.

## Connected materials

- Sources in the selection: [State: Game Programming Patterns](https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern) (key: resource/state-pattern)

## Sources and provenance

Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.

- [Robert Nystrom: State](https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown) (id: source-3817d420df0baa92)
- [Slay the Spire](https://www.megacrit.com/press-kits/slay-the-spire/) (id: source-7f09c8a736762f4f)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors