If you’re talking about a battle with no visits, very important. If you’re talking about a battle where both teams have maxed effort (visits and promises), a bit less important, but can still be significant (especially if it’s a late signee, and there are many cycles to accumulate). Depends on what the other guy does, of course. If he’s maxing, you can get run down pretty fast if you’re only spending ~20. The value also depends on how good a preference match you are. If you have reason to believe you have a significant preference advantage, you might be safer dropping down and utilizing elsewhere.