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Season 1 Overview: The Crimson Plague

Season Overview · 2026-03-24

Welcome to the Crimson Plague

Season 1 begins once your server completes the pre-season countdown. If you followed the pre-season guides and reached HQ 30 with a geared mono-Tank squad, you are in a strong position. If you did not, you will spend the first half of Season 1 catching up instead of competing.

Season 1 is not about rushing to the next HQ level — HQ 30 remains the cap for the whole season. Instead, the focus shifts to horizontal progression: stronger squads, Exclusive Weapons, star-promoted gear, a second squad type, and deeper Special Forces / Virus Resistance research.

The Big Picture

Season 1 is about deepening your account, not racing to the next HQ level. Exclusive Weapons, T10 troops, star promotion, and Special Forces research all provide massive power increases without touching your HQ. The players who invest in these systems pull ahead permanently.

What Is New in Season 1

Exclusive Weapons

The single biggest power system introduced in Season 1. Every hero can now equip an Exclusive Weapon that fundamentally changes their combat output.

  • Costs 50 hero shards to unlock
  • Progress through Levels 10, 20, and 30
  • Each level provides significant stat boosts and new effects
  • Priority weapons in Season 1: DVA's Energy Master (Aircraft), Kimberly's Rocket Shadow (Tank) and Tesla's Inductive Current (Missile) — those are the three released this season. Murphy's Mitigation Master arrives in Season 2, so bank his shards rather than planning around it now
Exclusive Weapon Rule

Get all 5 squad members to Level 20 before pushing any to Level 30. The power distribution across your full squad matters more than one maxed weapon on your carry.

T10 Troops

T10 troops represent the largest single power spike between consecutive troop tiers. Unlocking them requires Tech Center Level 30, Special Forces research, and Valor Badges. Prioritise this immediately.

HQ Stays at 30 — There Is No Oil in Season 1

Oil comes later — not this season

There is no oil, no Oil Wells and no "Age of Oil" in Season 1. Your HQ is capped at level 30 for the whole season, and you keep running on Food, Iron and Coin plus the seasonal RA Virus / Virus Resistance resources. Oil and the Age of Oil tech tree only arrive in the off-season after Season 2 — that is what finally lifts the HQ cap from 30 to 35. See the Tech Center: Season 2 guide.

Because HQ progression is frozen at 30, your research instead pours into Special Forces (Unit X → T10) and Virus Resistance, which provide permanent account-wide combat stat boosts. Prioritise combat stats first — the economic nodes can wait.

Mason's UR Promotion

Mason upgrades from SSR to UR in Season 1. If you collected his shards during pre-season, this is an immediate power spike for your Tank squad. He becomes a legitimate A-tier secondary DPS hero alongside Kimberly.

Star Promotion

Gear progression shifts from crafting gold gear to star-promoting existing pieces. Every star is bigger than the one before it:

Star LevelImpact
2-StarA solid early gain. Target this for your carry's Gun and main tank's Radar first
4-StarA bigger jump again — the gains keep growing, so a 4-star piece opens visible power gaps
5-StarTransforms Legendary (gold) gear into Mythic (red) gear. Most players will not reach this until Season 2

The Meta Shift: Aircraft Rises

This is the defining strategic change of Season 1. The Tank-dominant pre-season meta gives way to Aircraft dominance in PvP.

Why Aircraft Takes Over

  • DVA's Energy Master Exclusive Weapon makes her the strongest DPS hero in the game
  • Aircraft squads have natural type advantage against the Tank squads everyone built in pre-season
  • The Murphy Exception (using Murphy in Aircraft squads) gives Aircraft access to the best tank hero in the game

The Combat Triangle Matters Now

MatchupResult
Aircraft vs TanksAircraft wins — the dominant matchup in Season 1
Tanks vs MissilesTanks win — your Tank squad remains essential as a counter-pick
Missiles vs AircraftMissiles win — Missile squads become alliance-essential

All three squad types are now necessary for coordinated alliance warfare. Alliances that only have Tank players will struggle against opponents who have diversified.

The Murphy Exception

Murphy — a Tank hero — becomes viable in Aircraft squads thanks to his Exclusive Weapon (Mitigation Master), which releases in Season 2. At Level 20+, the superior tankiness Murphy provides outweighs the 5% mono-type bonus you lose by breaking the Aircraft-only composition.

  • Requires Murphy's Exclusive Weapon at Level 20 or higher — and that weapon releases in Season 2, so this is a Season 2 formation
  • Trading 20% mono-type bonus down to 15% for far better front-line survivability
  • Becomes the standard Aircraft formation by mid-Season 1

Key Season 1 Events

EventChange from Pre-SeasonKey Tip
Alliance Duel VSBetter rewards, Exclusive Weapons count on Day 4Type-match Day 6 fights — Aircraft vs Tanks, Missiles vs Aircraft
Marshal's GuardPush 2-3 levels higher than pre-seasonMurphy becomes the ideal rally leader from Season 2, when his weapon lands
Zombie SiegeHigher difficulty, squad diversity mattersMurphy becomes the best garrison hero in the game once Mitigation Master lands in Season 2
Alliance TrainBetter rewards, stronger guardsUse Exclusive Weapon heroes in all 3 guard teams
Sky BattlefrontExclusive Weapons transform rally damageDVA or Kimberly as rally lead DPS depending on squad type

Season 1 Priority Checklist

  1. Unlock and train T10 troops — the single biggest power spike available
  2. Invest in Exclusive Weapons — get your carry's weapon to Level 20, then spread across all 5 heroes
  3. Push Special Forces & Virus Resistance research — Unit X for T10, then permanent combat-stat nodes
  4. Promote Mason to UR (Tank players) — free power if you collected shards in pre-season
  5. Begin star promotion — carry's Gun and main tank's Radar to 2-star first
  6. Build your second squad — Aircraft if you are a Tank player, or whichever type your alliance needs
  7. Keep both research labs busy — Development and Economy nodes to fund T10 training (the 3rd lab and oil only come after Season 2)
  8. Participate in every event — rewards are far better than pre-season
  9. Coordinate squad diversity — your alliance needs all three types for competitive play
  10. Plan for Season 2 — understand the Temperature system before it arrives

Common Season 1 Mistakes

  1. Not building a second squad — the Aircraft meta means mono-Tank alliances get countered. You need squad diversity
  2. Rushing the second squad before finishing the first — one maxed squad and one developing squad beats two half-built squads every time
  3. Skipping Exclusive Weapons — these are the biggest power multiplier in the game. Delaying them delays everything
  4. Neglecting Special Forces / Virus Resistance research — these permanent combat-stat boosts compound over the entire season. Starting late means falling behind
  5. Not promoting Mason to UR — if you are a Tank player and you have his shards, promote immediately
  6. Pushing one Exclusive Weapon to 30 before others reach 20 — squad-wide Level 20 outperforms one hero at Level 30 with four at Level 10
  7. Ignoring the combat triangle — Aircraft beats Tanks, Tanks beat Missiles, Missiles beat Aircraft. Learn the matchups or lose winnable fights
  8. Hoarding resources without a plan — Season 1 has clear investment targets. Spend on the priority list above
  9. Not coordinating alliance squad types — an alliance of 50 Tank players will lose to one with 20 Aircraft, 15 Tanks, and 15 Missiles

Preparing for Season 2

Season 2 introduces the Temperature & Furnace system, a completely different progression mechanic. What you need to know before it arrives:

What Carries Forward

  • All buildings, heroes, resources, gear, and progress
  • Alliance membership and server politics
  • Squad compositions and Exclusive Weapon levels

What Changes

  • Temperature becomes the gating mechanic — fall below -20°C and you are locked out of rallies and teleports
  • Furnace replaces Exclusive Weapons as the primary building to upgrade
  • Rare Soil is the ranking resource — cumulative total, not territory held
  • Coal becomes a critical daily resource to manage
  • No inter-server wars — all competition is within your server

How to Prepare

  • Reach Season 1 goals on the priority checklist above
  • Have T10 troops trained and your primary squad fully geared
  • Ensure your alliance has strong coordination — Season 2 punishes disorganised alliances even harder
  • Save speedups for early Season 2 furnace upgrades

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