Each King’s Gaze Pattern in The King is Watching

Gazing.

Image via tinyBuild

Each King in The King is Watching has a unique gaze pattern that you can upgrade throughout a run using different resources. The wider the gaze, the more tiles can be active for simultaneous production.

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Some patterns can be tricky to manage, especially the wider ones, making the King’s gaze an important choice before a run. So, here are the gaze patterns for each king in The King is Watching, including the upgrade path.

The King is Watching Gaze Patterns

KingKing PortraitGaze Pattern
King Baldwin
King Leonid
King Brezhnius
King Leo the Wise
King Saladin
King Spellus
King Alucard

Depending on the shape of the Gaze, you can change its orientation by right-clicking it. Sort of like how you can rearrange Tetris pieces while retaining the core shape.

How to Upgrade Gaze in The King is Watching

During your run, you can upgrade the King’s Gaze, allowing you to broaden its reach, meaning you can activate more tiles. This results in higher production, research, and more. To upgrade the Gaze, simply click on the plus icon next to the eye with the crown icon:

In the case of King Baldwin, I can upgrade the Gaze three times, but each upgrade will cost more resources, especially Gold. King Saladin has the longest upgrade path, followed by King Leo the Wise and King Spellus. Every other King’s gaze can be upgraded three times.

King Saladin’s final Gaze upgrade lets you activate most of the tiles in your kingdom, which can be extremely helpful near the final boss, but getting there takes a while as well.

Tips for faster Gaze Upgrade

Here are a few tips to get that first Gaze upgrade at least to improve your production:

  • Build a market and trade wheat for gold. You’ll receive plenty of fields at the start, so make sure you’re producing a lot of wheat, but stop trading as soon as you hit an upgrade. Wheat is also required for trading troops, and they can’t eat gold.
  • As your run progresses, start producing Flour and Metal bars to earn more Gold through the market for higher Gaze upgrades instead of relying solely on Wheat. Each unit of Flour or a Metal bar trades for three Gold.
ResourceProduced AtGold Per Unit
WheatSmall Wheat Field, Wheat Field1
FlourMill3
Iron OreIron Mine1
MetalForge3
  • Always try to capitalize on enchanted tiles when it comes to placing production tiles and focusing your gaze.
  • Don’t upgrade the gaze at the cost of your army. Say you need a decent stockpile of wheat to ensure that you can train soldiers. If you keep trading in the market, you will eventually run out, and there isn’t a guarantee that a wheat field will spawn soon. So always keep your resources in check and don’t run out of anything important, even if that means waiting a few more minutes before you can focus on the gaze upgrade again.

Mastering each King’s gaze is key to optimizing your runs, so take the time to experiment and find what works best for your strategy.

Ali Hashmi

Ali Hashmi is a games journalist, reviewer, and guides writer with over eight years of experience covering the gaming industry across news, reviews, features, walkthroughs, and technical guides. He currently writes for Prima Games and GTA 6 Bible, and has previously contributed to Dot Esports, WhatIfGaming, GameTyrant, and The OuterHaven. With a background in Computer Science and years spent covering PC gaming, Ali has developed a strong focus on performance analysis, optimization, troubleshooting, and in-depth game coverage alongside traditional reviews and features. A longtime fan of action games, Ali spends most of his time obsessing over stylish combat systems, difficult boss fights, immersive sims, and retro shooters that feel like they were pulled straight out of the late ‘90s. When he isn’t replaying Dark Souls for the hundredth time or climbing Ascension levels in Slay the Spire, he’s usually hunting for the next indie game to recommend to everyone around him. His coverage regularly includes AAA releases, indie games, Soulslikes, survival titles, live service games, and technical PC focused guides.