Stop The Tsunami Machine Tier List

Machines decide how much of the beach you can reshape before someone hits START ROUND. In Stop The Tsunami! every coin you earn from surviving a wave feeds this ladder: toy spade, shovels, bulldozer, skid steer, excavators, dump truck. Digging sand, carving trenches, clearing a stage so the shoreline pulls back, and hauling late fill all depend on which tool is in your hands. This page ranks the full progression by clear speed, coin efficiency, and co-op value鈥攏ot by how cool the model looks in the lobby.

Use this list with the Materials Tier List and the spend walkthrough in Upgrade Machines. A top machine digging soft sand still loses Hard rounds if packing and fill quality are ignored.

S tier 鈥?Excavator and Dump Truck

Excavator sits at the top for late beach clear work. When stages widen and you need volume removed or reshaped quickly, the excavator turns long dig sessions into short prep windows. That matters because wider beaches bring bigger waves; every minute you save before START ROUND is another minute you can spend packing or placing higher materials. In shared co-op, park a dedicated driver on the excavator while others shape the crest and fill gaps.

Dump Truck shares S tier for haul. Late game is not only dig鈥攊t is moving gravel, boulders, clay, and concrete into position. The dump truck exists to keep those materials flowing instead of stranding them far from the wall line. Solo players often bounce between excavator digs and dump truck runs; crews should split those jobs so neither dig nor haul starves.

Why both are S: they unlock the late economy. Without them, you can still place sand walls, but you will not keep up when the sea pulls back and monster waves demand heavier fill. Coin cost is high, so unlock them after mid-tier machines have stabilized your income鈥攏ot as a vanity first purchase on Easy.

A tier 鈥?Bulldozer and Skid Steer

Bulldozer is the mid-game power spike. It massively outpaces shovel work for pushing sand into wall lines and roughing trenches. If your rounds feel tight on Medium because dig never finishes, the bulldozer is usually the correct coin sink. It also teaches the muscle memory you will need when excavator controls arrive: think in wide passes, not single scoops.

Skid Steer sits beside the bulldozer as a flexible A-tier machine. It is excellent for cleanup, repositioning piles, and supporting packing crews who need sand moved a short distance without committing the whole excavator. In co-op, a skid steer driver can patch mid-wave access paths while the excavator stays on the main cut.

Upgrade into A tier once shovel clears feel slow and you are consistently surviving Easy or low Medium with leftover coins. Do not skip packing practice just because the bulldozer moves dirt鈥攍oose piles still fail on impact.

B tier 鈥?Shovels

Shovels are the honest mid ladder. They retire the toy spade for real dig rate and remain useful whenever heavy machines are busy or unavailable in a crowded server. Coin efficiency is strong: shovel upgrades often deliver more survival income per spend than rushing straight to late vehicles with a weak wallet. Treat shovels as your workhorse for early Medium, trench fine detail, and packing support next to larger machines.

Shovels fall to B overall because they cannot match late clear or haul needs on a full beach. Keep them in rotation for precision work even after you own A- and S-tier gear.

C tier 鈥?Toy Spade

Toy Spade is mandatory early and intentionally outclassed later. It teaches the dig-build-pack loop, funds your first walls, and earns the coins that buy everything above it. We rank it C for endgame power, not because it is a trap. New players should use it until shovel money appears; veterans should never linger on it once Medium waves punish slow digs.

If you are still on the toy spade after several successful Easy clears, check Daily Spin and Beach Club Rewind options, then dump coins into shovels immediately. Staying on the spade while friends drive shared machines is the fastest way to feel useless in co-op.

When to upgrade and coin efficiency

Upgrade when the bottleneck is obvious. Dig unfinished at START ROUND 鈫?climb dig machines. Materials sitting unused far from the wall 鈫?climb haul (dump truck). Soft failures after a full dig 鈫?stop buying machines and fix packing or materials instead. Shared wallets mean one player鈥檚 impulse buy taxes the whole crew; talk before purchasing S-tier gear.

Rough order for most groups: toy spade 鈫?shovels 鈫?bulldozer or skid steer 鈫?excavator and dump truck as beach width and Hard mode demand. Cross-check roles in Co-op Guide so drivers, diggers, and mid-wave patchers are not fighting over the same seat.

Co-op driver roles

Stop The Tsunami! shares one coin wallet and every machine. Assign drivers deliberately:

• Excavator driver focuses late clear and deep cuts.
• Dump truck driver ferries gravel, boulders, clay, and concrete.
• Bulldozer or skid steer covers mid-game pushes and emergency reshapes.
• Shovel users pack walls, carve trench detail, and patch during the wave.

Good etiquette is part of the tier value. An S-tier excavator parked unused while four players argue in chat is worse than a B-tier shovel that actually packs the crest. Call targets, leave machines where the next teammate can reach them, and only press START ROUND when the line is packed.

Related pages

• Materials Tier List
• Upgrade Machines
• Co-op Guide
• Tier List Hub

Re-rank after patches from creator jzf25. Dig rates and unlock prices can shift; the S鈥揅 structure above reflects clear speed and late beach needs as the game is currently played.