Scritchy Scratchy prestige questions are really efficiency questions. Players are usually not asking what prestige is in theory. They are trying to decide whether the current run still has meaningful upside or whether Jack Points and permanent progress will return more value than another long grind.
What prestige changes
Prestige changes the goal of the game from surviving one run to improving the next run. Once Jack Points and permanent upgrades enter the loop, the strongest play is no longer always the one that squeezes out a final local gain. It is the one that creates a faster and cleaner restart.
That distinction matters because many players overstay in a save. They keep optimizing a run that is already slowing down, even though the game has started offering better long-term value through reset.
How to recognize good prestige timing
Good prestige timing usually appears when the next meaningful upgrade is taking too long, your gadget setup is already doing most of what the current run can support, and the save feels more repetitive than transformative. That is the point where permanent progress often beats more local economy work.
The test is simple: if another stretch of play mostly keeps the run alive instead of opening a new level of output, the reset may already be the stronger choice.
What players get wrong about Jack Points
Jack Points are easy to misread as a late-game reward rather than an efficiency engine. In practice, they matter because they compress future runs. Better permanent power shortens the path back into the profitable part of the game and reduces the cost of repeating systems you already understand.
That is why prestige is not a failure state. It is a route decision that trades short-term continuity for stronger repeat-run momentum.
Best follow-up after a prestige
The first goal after resetting is not to recreate the old save exactly. It is to use your new permanent power to rebuild with less friction. Cleaner manual play, earlier economy stability, and a faster automation handoff are usually more valuable than trying to force every old decision in the same order.