Upgraded to Max 20x for Claude Code and I still hit my weekly cap in 2 or 3 days. Not a programmer. I’m building a fairly big RTS/simulation game (claude started it in TypeScript, three.js, then I found out about Godot but worried it’s too much to switch over now)… but I think the problem is my workflow, not the project. I also feel like I am constantly monitoring it now because it goes against instructions or does something obviously idiotics…If I don’t watch, it will spend 2 hours building something that isn’t what I wanted, or has some glaring flaw, or involves a huge shortcut. Startup cost per session, before I type anything: System tools: ~28k tokens MCP tools (connectors): ~23k System prompt: ~12k Skills: ~10k CLAUDE.md and memory files: ~10k That’s ~85k baseline, then ~40k more reading the project’s handoff and status files. So ~125k before any work happens Workflow: One main session I talk to directly Bigger jobs go to Opus subagents with a written brief. Each one also pays its own startup cost A fresh Sonnet subagent reviews every build Rough subagent costs from one evening: builders 170k to 320k tokens each, reviewers 120k to 200k, one that listed every variable in the code 310k Every build runs automated checks (headless sim runs, speed tests). Mostly CPU, but agents read and act on the results I playtest, dictate notes, and those become the next fix list. Lots of short back and forth turns Until recently I ran an overseer session plus 3 or 4 working sessions in parallel. That’s what really burned through it, so I cut back to one Questions: Is trimming MCP tools and skills worth it, or is that baseline noise? Is builder + reviewer per change just inherently expensive? Do long sessions with many short turns cost more than fewer big asks? Should I have more/less sub agents, more/less sessions? The trade off seems to be more agents = more start up costs, and less agents = more context rot. How are people running projects this size without hitting the wall every week? Thanks for any and all advice! submitted by /u/FondantIcy866
Originally posted by u/FondantIcy866 on r/ClaudeCode
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