HQ Progression Guide: Levels 1-35

How HQ Progression Works

Your Headquarters (HQ) level gates everything in the game. Higher HQ means higher building levels, better troops, stronger heroes (hero level cap increases by +5 per HQ level), and access to more systems.

Before each HQ upgrade, you must meet specific building requirements. Always check what is needed for the next HQ level and work toward those prerequisites first.

The single biggest rule: never let your builder sit idle. Always have something upgrading.

HQ Upgrade Requirements Table

The Prerequisites, Power and Build Time columns below are verified in-game for every HQ level (1–35). "Troop Center" in-game is the Tank Center — build whichever combat centre matches your squad type. Food and Iron costs are equal at every level.

HQ	Prerequisites	Power	Base Build Time	Food = Iron (est.)	Coins (est.)
2	Drill Ground 1, 1st Squad 1	900	2s	34	—
3	Wall 2, Recon Plane 1	1,800	47s	1K	—
4	Barracks 3, Drill Ground 3	2,700	1m	2.5K	—
5	Wall 4, Barracks 4	3,600	11m	20K	—
6	Wall 5, Drill Ground 5	4,500	35m	91K	—
7	Wall 6, Tank Center 6	5,400	1h 33m	240K	—
8	Tech Center 7, Alliance Center 7	6,300	3h 7m	390K	—
9	Tech Center 8, Tank Center 8	7,200	4h 22m	620K	200K
10	Tech Center 9, Hospital 9	8,500	5h 40m	750K	240K
11	Tech Center 10, Wall 10	9,900	7h 22m	1.9M	600K
12	Tech Center 11, Barracks 11	12,100	9h 35m	3.2M	1M
13	Tech Center 12, Tank Center 12	15,000	12h 28m	3.5M	1.1M
14	Tech Center 13, Drill Ground 13	18,000	16h 13m	4.9M	1.6M
15	Tech Center 14, Wall 14	21,600	22h 42m	6.8M	2.2M
16	Tech Center 15, Alliance Center 15	25,800	1d 7h	12M	3.9M
17	Tech Center 16, Tank Center 16	31,400	1d 20h	16M	5.1M
18	Tech Center 17, Hospital 17	37,800	2d 14h	28M	8.9M
19	Tech Center 18, Wall 18	46,300	3d 15h	33M	11M
20	Tech Center 19, Barracks 19	55,500	5d 2h	60M	19M
21	Tech Center 20, Tank Center 20	67,900	6d 14h	84M	27M
22	Tech Center 21, Drill Ground 21	82,500	8d 14h	110M	35M
23	Tech Center 22, Wall 22	99,200	11d 4h	140M	44M
24	Tech Center 23, Alliance Center 23	118,000	15d 15h	170M	54M
25	Tech Center 24, Tank Center 24	138,800	21d 21h	290M	93M
26	Tech Center 25, Hospital 25	166,000	30d 16h	400M	130M
27	Tech Center 26, Wall 26	197,900	42d 22h	530M	170M
28	Tech Center 27, Barracks 27	234,600	60d 2h	740M	240M
29	Tech Center 28, Tank Center 28	278,000	78d 3h	1B	330M
30	Tech Center 29, Drill Ground 29	328,500	101d 14h	1.4B	460M
31	Tech Center 30, Barracks 30, Tank Center 30	388,300	111d 18h	1.53B	510M · +1.44M Oil
32	Tech Center 31, Barracks 31, Tank Center 31, Wall 31	452,000	122d 22h	1.7B	560M · +2.24M Oil
33	Tech Center 32, Barracks 32, Tank Center 32, Hospital 32, Drill Ground 32	517,900	135d 5h	1.9B	620M · +3.92M Oil
34	Tech Center 33, Barracks 33, Tank Center 33, Wall 33, Alliance Center 33	587,500	141d 23h	2B	650M · +7.05M Oil
35	Tech Center 34, Barracks 34, Tank Center 34, Hospital 34, Drill Ground 34	658,800	149d 2h	2.1B	680M · +14.1M Oil

Key takeaways:

• Tech Center is required at every level from HQ 8 onward — always one level behind your target HQ, so start it early. It's the biggest bottleneck in the game.
• Costs escalate sharply after HQ 20 — save your resource chests for this phase.
• Build times are brutal from HQ 25+ — base times run into weeks, then months (HQ 35 ≈ 149 days base). Construction-speed buffs, alliance help and speedups are essential.
• Coins appear at HQ 9; Oil at HQ 31. Make sure you have steady income by then.

HQ 1-10: Sprint Phase

Goal: Blast through this as fast as possible. Resources are plentiful and timers are short.

Priorities

1. Upgrade HQ non-stop — use speedups freely here, they are cheap at this stage
2. Follow the tutorial — it gives excellent rewards
3. Tech Center — keep it matching your HQ. It is the biggest bottleneck throughout the game
4. Barracks — keep within 1-2 levels of HQ
5. Join an alliance on day one

What NOT to Do

• Do not upgrade resource production buildings beyond what is required for HQ prerequisites
• Do not upgrade the Material Workshop
• Do not spend gems on anything — save for VIP
• Do not worry about squad composition yet — use whatever heroes you have

HQ 11-20: Foundation Phase

Goal: Build your first proper squad. Get into a rhythm of daily progression.

This is where the game slows down. Upgrades take hours instead of minutes. Get used to planning ahead.

Building Priority

1. HQ prerequisites — always work toward whatever buildings are needed for the next HQ upgrade
2. Tech Center — must match HQ level. This unlocks troop tiers and research
3. Hospital — keep capacity high. Troops that exceed hospital capacity after a battle die permanently
4. Barracks and Drill Grounds — keep within 1-2 levels of HQ
5. Walls — required at multiple HQ tiers

Research (Tech Center)

Your Tech Center unlocks research trees. Priority order:

1. Troop upgrades — higher troop tiers are dramatically stronger than lower ones
2. Combat stats for your primary squad type
3. Construction speed and research speed bonuses
4. March-related research later

Squad Building

By HQ 15 you should be building toward a mono-type squad. In pre-season, Tank is the dominant meta:

• Tank heroes are the easiest UR heroes to get early
• The recommended early squad is Murphy, Williams, Kimberly, Stetmann, Marshall
• Focus all hero investment on this squad
• See the Tank Squad Guide for full details

The Drone

After Stage 38 you unlock the Drone Center. Start upgrading it immediately — it provides global stat bonuses to your entire squad.

HQ 21-25: Growth Phase

Goal: Max out your primary squad. Start accumulating gold gear materials. Prepare for the push to HQ 30.

Building Priority

1. HQ prerequisites — always first
2. Tech Center — always matching HQ
3. Hospital — capacity should cover your full army
4. Military buildings matching your primary squad type

Resource Crunch

Around HQ 25 you will notice resources getting tight. Building costs jump significantly.

• Do not waste resources on unnecessary building upgrades — only upgrade what is needed for HQ or your squad
• Save resource chests — do not open them until you need to spend immediately
• Participate in every event — events are now your primary resource source

Gold Gear

Around HQ 22-25 you can start working toward gold (legendary) gear for your primary squad heroes.

• Do not craft randomly — follow the gear craft order in the Gear Guide
• Focus on your main DPS hero first (Kimberly for Tank squads)
• Buy Legendary Gear Blueprints from the Honor Shop — this is the single best use of Honor Points

Planning Ahead

Check the requirements for HQ 26-30. The biggest bottleneck is typically the Tech Center and specific building levels. Start those upgrades early so you are not blocked.

HQ 25-30: Late Pre-Season

Goal: Reach HQ 30. Build gold gear for your primary squad. Prepare for Season 1.

Building Priority

1. HQ to 30 — this is the finish line for pre-season
2. Tech Center maxed — unlocks T10 troops at level 30, which are a massive power jump
3. All prerequisite buildings — clear the path to HQ 30
4. Hospital — max capacity

T10 Troops

When your Tech Center hits level 30, you unlock Tier 10 troops. These are dramatically stronger than lower-tier troops and are one of the biggest power spikes in the game. Getting here should be a high priority.

Oil (After Season 2 — Not Yet)

Oil is not part of pre-season or Season 1. It arrives with the "Age of Oil" off-season after Season 2, which is when the HQ cap finally lifts past 30 (toward 35) and oil becomes the primary resource bottleneck. Through pre-season, Season 1 and Season 2 you run on Food / Iron / Coin — don't plan around oil until then.

Squad Status at HQ 30

By HQ 30 your primary squad should be:

• All 5 heroes well-levelled with skills invested
• Working toward full gold gear (see Gear Guide for craft order)
• T10 troops unlocked and training
• Drone at a decent level

You may be starting to think about a second squad (Aircraft) for the mid-game meta transition — but do not start investing until your primary squad is in a strong position.

General Tips for All Levels

• Never let your builder idle — this is the single biggest factor in progression speed
• Never let research idle — same principle
• Save gems for VIP — VIP 6 gives you a second builder queue, which effectively doubles your building speed
• Do not open resource chests early — resources in your base can be stolen. Items in your inventory cannot
• Plan for VS (Building Day) — save your bigger upgrades for the Arms Race building day for extra event points
• Use the "Next 2 HQ levels" rule — before starting a long upgrade, check the requirements for your next two HQ levels and start the slowest prerequisite first

Related Guides

• Getting Started — first steps for new players
• Squad Building Fundamentals — how squads work and troop type bonuses
• Tank Squad Guide — the dominant early-game squad
• Resource Management — gathering, protecting, and spending resources
• Gear Guide — gold gear craft order and upgrade path