The general consensus is to avoid Updating packages, though opinions do differ.
Snapshot updates shouldn’t be applied ever (from my personal experience and grief).
Personally I don’t Update unless I know what that update does to my build. I will normally just wait until I build a new version whether it be stable or snapshot.
opkg doesn't ensure proper ABI (Application Binary Interfaces) checks when upgrading package versions, so if one package relies on another package and that interface between the packages has changed when you do an upgrade to a newer version, all bets are off.
No I didn't miss your point, but maybe I didn't expand enough in my first post; while it often works to even upgrade core packages (since especially for them the ABI:s are by necessity very stable), it's highly discouraged since that validation will only be valid for that specific snapshot (or even stable release point since package versions are backported).
Your experience is therefore only valid for that specific version (both package version and snapshot revision), which is why it's kinda a moot point to have a curated list of core packages that are OK to upgrade. Recommending that zlib can be upgraded may introduce problems in a version after 1.3.1 and do you then want to be responsible for bricking user's devices? Because I know that I don't.
Every one knows there is a risk using unofficial firmware let alone upgrading to beta packages.
No one is recommending anything, and no one is forcing anything, if you want to share your experience you are welcome, if not I think you are engaging in the wrong thread.
BTW, I bricked a router using ddwrt, I bought a new router without even complaining and here are you whining about sharing experiences.
If anyone wants to share experiences please you are welcome to tell me, I am happy to hear about new experiences.
I think the Orginal Poster misunderstands the inherent problem in running the upgrade command in OpenWrt.
Nonetheless I'll share my experience.
Most instances where I upgraded packages without an explicit and specific Security Notification and upgrade instructions from official OpenWrt channels - I soft bricked the device.
It was due to my not following advice like given above. Hope my experience helps.
Otherwise these days, I use the Firmware Selector to make an image - it will include up-to-date packages. I've never had an issue using this method.
I dont know about other packages. Firewall is completely interchangable 23.05.0 to today, just rules slightly change. Works nice on powerful devices also old way, for ancients improvements are noticeable.