Build Summary

This is the Warlord (War Leader) profession build for Season 1, optimised for combat power: rally damage, base-attack damage, hive-defence damage, daily free troops and the full Crimson Plague virus toolkit.

The Warlord tree does not accelerate construction or research — that's the Engineer's job. Pick Warlord if your alliance fights, if you contribute to rallies, and if you want to deliver more damage per troop you bring. If you're still pushing HQ 30 and chasing T10, run the Engineer Season 1 build instead.

PropertyDetail

Season capProfession Lv 50 in S1 (50 skill points total)

Tree structure11 in-game tiers: Lv 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50

Permanent skillsLeft + middle columns — carry into every future season

Seasonal skillsRight column. All max level 1. Same skills appear for Engineer. Refunded automatically at the end of S1

Seasonal coverage10 seasonal slots — every tier except Lv 45 has one

Final allocation40 permanent + 10 seasonal = 50 points (all 10 seasonals taken)

Read This Before Switching

Warlord is the mid-to-late-season switch for most accounts. Switching mid-S1 requires a Profession Change Certificate — they are scarce and best spent during a planned alliance war push, not impulsively. Read the Profession System Guide for the switch mechanic, and confirm with your R5 / R4 that your alliance is genuinely fighting (not just talking about it) before swapping.

Tier-by-Tier Breakdown

Lv 1

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftImmediate Return (max 5)Invest 5. Passive — when you teleport, off-map squads auto-recall, up to 5 times per day at max. Anti-grief insurance. Stops you bleeding armies to interception during evac.

MiddleUnit Mobilization (max 5)Invest 5. Active, 24h cooldown. Grants 50 highest-tier troops per level (up to Drill Ground capacity) on tap. Daily free troops snowball your army size every single day.

SeasonalBattlefield Knowledge (max 1)Invest 1. +7,500 profession EXP per World Map monster kill, daily cap 75,000. Take the moment Lv 1 unlocks — every other seasonal pickup arrives faster from here.

Lv 5

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftDrill Ground Prep (max 5)Invest 5. Passive, +2% per level barracks capacity (+10% at max). More troops trained per cycle — permanent value across every future season.

MiddleHospital Prep (max 5)Invest 0 (this season). Passive, +2%/level hospital capacity. Strong long term, but the 50-pt budget is committed to higher-multiplier damage skills. Re-spec into it via Reset Book in Season 2.

SeasonalLucky Predator (max 1)Invest 1. Chance to drop extra Serum Fragment Chests from World Map monster kills, max 5/day. Free progression currency.

Lv 10

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftCraze (max 5)Invest 5. Passive, +1% to +5% combat damage during the War Fever state — active during major events like SvS, Marshal's Guard, Zombie Siege boss waves and Capital Conquest. Free damage every wartime window.

MiddleUrgent Cure (max 5)Invest 0. Active, 72h cooldown, heals ~1,000 hospital units at max. Long cooldown plus modest yield — Hospital Prep itself would be the higher-value pick, and neither fits the 50-pt budget.

SeasonalField Veteran (max 1)Invest 1. Raises Battlefield Knowledge's daily EXP cap from 75,000 to 150,000. Doubles your daily ceiling — non-negotiable pickup.

Lv 15

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftWinning Pursuit (max 5)Invest 0. Passive, +1% to +5% enemy casualty rate against burning targets. Conditional on the burning debuff — low uptime in S1 events. Skip.

MiddleIntensive Training (max 5)Invest 5. Passive, +5% per level unit training speed (+25% at max). Compounds across every barracks cycle. Makes VS Day 5 Mobilisation noticeably bigger every week. Permanent.

SeasonalElite Hunter (max 1)Invest 1. Doubles Battlefield Knowledge's per-kill EXP from 7,500 to 15,000. Combined with Field Veteran, you hit the 150k daily cap in half the kills.

Lv 20

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftMarch in Badlands (max 2)Invest 0. Passive, +25% / +50% march speed in Contaminated Land during Capital Conquest. Capital Conquest only — skip if your alliance isn't competing there.

MiddleWarfare Supplies (max 5)Invest 0. Passive, raises daily loot resource cap during wartime activities. Worth a partial investment for hardcore PvP alliances; not S-tier for an S1 build.

SeasonalHealing Expert (max 1)Invest 1. When curing an infected ally, remove 5 virus stacks at once and gain +10 profession EXP per stack removed. Free EXP from routine alliance hygiene.

Lv 25

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftInspire (max 3)Invest 0. Passive, +2% / +4% / +6% morale at max. Marginal effect for 3 points. Skip on a tight 50-pt budget.

MiddleSpeedup Reinforce (max 5)Invest 0. Passive, +10% per level march speed when reinforcing. Useful only if your alliance leans hard on hive-defence reinforcement.

SeasonalInfection Spread (max 1)Invest 1. +300 profession EXP per virus stack you receive or transmit, weekly cap 300,000. A passive EXP drip from PvP activity you already do.

Lv 30

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftTeam Strike (max 5)Invest 5. Passive, +1% to +5% damage for all squads in a rally you join or initiate (non-stackable across multiple Team Strike users). The single highest-impact Warlord skill — max it the moment Lv 30 unlocks.

MiddleDisguise (max 1)Invest 0. Active, conceals commander info and battle reports for 30 minutes. Niche stealth tool; skip on a tight budget.

SeasonalViral Offense (max 1, Active)Invest 1. Unlocks the "Release Virus" action — applies 2 virus stacks to a strategic target (max 30 stacks/target), ~72h cooldown. The first real virus weapon in the season; pairs with Virus Boost + Poison Trial below.

Lv 35

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftTactical Reinforce (max 5)Invest 0 (this season). Passive, +1% to +5% casualty rate on attacking units when you reinforce a defending ally. Strong, but the 50-pt budget is allocated to Team Strike + Fortify Defense + Siege Boost which are higher-uptime multipliers. Re-spec into it in Season 2 if you stay Warlord.

MiddleReinforce Strengthen (max 5)Invest 0 (this season). Passive, +1% to +5% Atk / Def / HP for your defensive heroes during reinforcement. Pairs with Tactical Reinforce. Same Season 2 logic.

SeasonalVirus Boost (max 1)Invest 1. Raises the % of accumulated virus stacks transferred to enemies on troop defeat from 25% to 50%. Doubles your virus output passively.

Lv 40

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftDecay Ray (max 1)Invest 0. Passive, downgrades seriously injured enemy units by one tier (max 1,000 units affected per day). Niche, situational.

MiddleCharge Banner (max 1, Active)Invest 0. Banner that gives allies within range +2% attack for 30 minutes, 72h cooldown. Strong for coordinated alliance attacks — but the 50-pt budget doesn't reach this without dropping a 5-pt damage multiplier.

SeasonalPoison Trial (max 1)Invest 1. Raises the maximum virus stack limit on strategic targets from 30 to 50. Caps your Viral Offense ceiling 67% higher.

Lv 45 (no seasonal — permanent only)

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftFortify Defense (max 5)Invest 5. Passive, +2% to +10% damage for all defending squads in your base. Massive value during garrison defence, Marshal's Guard counter-rallies and faction-war hive sieges. Permanent.

MiddlePrisoner (max 5)Invest 0. Passive, 1% to 5% chance to capture an enemy hero after battle victory at max. The capture is fun but the rate is too low to plan around.

Seasonalno seasonal at this tierLv 45 is the only seasonal-less tier in S1.

Lv 50

ColumnSkillPlan

LeftSiege Boost (max 5)Invest 5. Passive, +2% to +10% damage when attacking enemy bases at max. The other highest-impact Warlord skill — critical for City Destruction, Capital Conquest and any base-attack event. Permanent.

MiddlePrism Tower (max 5)Invest 0. Active, builds a protective structure on alliance territory that deals additional damage. Useful for alliance leaders coordinating defensive setups; lower priority for solo combat.

SeasonalVirus Control (max 1, Active)Invest 1. Defeating a Doom Walker (Wanderer of the Damned) has a chance to drop a Summoning Item that lets you target a specific enemy player. The final virus weapon and a high-leverage PvP tool for a Warlord — take it.

Spend Totals

Permanent skills — 40 points (carry into Season 2)

SkillPoints

Immediate Return5

Unit Mobilization5

Drill Ground Prep5

Craze5

Intensive Training5

Team Strike5

Fortify Defense5

Siege Boost5

Hospital Prep + the Lv 35 Reinforce Duo Are Season 2 Priorities

Hospital Prep (Lv 5, max 5) and the Tactical Reinforce + Reinforce Strengthen pair (Lv 35) are all strong permanent skills that did not fit the 50-pt S1 budget. They become primary Season 2 targets — refund seasonal points via a Profession Skill Reset Book at S2 start and fund them as your levels climb.

Seasonal skills — 10 points (refunded at S1 end)

All 10 seasonal slots taken. Every skill is max 1.

TierSkill

Lv 1Battlefield Knowledge

Lv 5Lucky Predator

Lv 10Field Veteran

Lv 15Elite Hunter

Lv 20Healing Expert

Lv 25Infection Spread

Lv 30Viral Offense

Lv 35Virus Boost

Lv 40Poison Trial

Lv 50Virus Control

Recommended Spend Order

Unit Mobilization (5 pts) — Daily free troops the moment you unlock it. Max immediately.
Immediate Return (5 pts) — Anti-grief safety. Save your armies from interception during evac.
Battlefield Knowledge (1 pt) — Unlocks the seasonal EXP source. Snowballs every later point.
Drill Ground Prep + Lucky Predator (6 pts) — Permanent army-size capacity plus serum chests.
Craze + Field Veteran (6 pts) — +5% damage during every War Fever event, plus doubled daily EXP cap.
Intensive Training + Elite Hunter (6 pts) — +25% training speed plus doubled per-kill EXP.
Healing Expert + Infection Spread (2 pts) — Two more EXP drips, zero playstyle change required.
Team Strike (5 pts) — The rally-damage god skill. Max the moment Lv 30 unlocks.
Viral Offense + Virus Boost + Poison Trial (3 pts) — Build out the virus weaponisation chain.
Fortify Defense (5 pts, Lv 45) — +10% damage on every defending squad in your base.
Siege Boost (5 pts, Lv 50) — +10% damage on every base attack.
Virus Control (1 pt, Lv 50) — Doom Walker summon. Completes the virus toolkit.

Total: 40 permanent + 10 seasonal = 50 points — the S1 cap exactly.

Strategic Caveats

Team Strike, Fortify Defense and Siege Boost are the three flat damage multipliers you cannot leave at less than max. Each is +10% damage across an entire mode of combat (rallies, hive defence, base attacks). They stack with every gear bonus, every hero awakening and every alliance research bonus. Anything else can be deprioritised before these.
All ten seasonals are worth taking — the budget specifically accommodates them all. Don't skip a 1-point seasonal to free up points for a permanent — the 50-pt plan already maxes the three combat multipliers. The seasonal points refund automatically at season end regardless, so unspent points are wasted.
Skip Hospital Prep and the Lv 35 reinforce duo this season — they're strong but the budget doesn't reach them after the eight max-5 permanents. Plan to pick them up in Season 2 via a Reset Book.
Skip the Lv 40 Charge Banner. It's a great team-coordination active but locks you out of one of the Lv 45 / Lv 50 damage multipliers if you take it. Trade those 5 points elsewhere.
Pair with Engineer alliance buddies. If your alliance has Engineers running Cooperative Construction / Research, you still benefit from their +20% buffs as a Warlord — those skills target you regardless of your profession.

Why This Build for Combat

Warlord's value comes from three places:

Damage multipliers stack across every mode of combat — Team Strike applies to every squad in your rally, Craze applies to every member during War Fever events, Fortify Defense applies to every defending squad, Siege Boost applies to every base attack. Together they form a four-axis multiplier on every fight you're in.
Capacity and tempo skills (Drill Ground Prep, Intensive Training) are permanent army-size scalers — every troop you train is +10% more troops permanently and +25% faster to produce.
The Crimson Plague virus toolkit (Viral Offense → Virus Boost → Poison Trial → Virus Control) is the S1-specific PvP weapon set. Skip a season-specific seasonal and you skip an entire combat dimension that nobody can compensate for.

What Warlord does NOT do:

It does not accelerate HQ or Tech Centre upgrades — that's Engineer's job. If your priority is reaching T10 troops faster, run the Engineer S1 build instead.
It does not cheapen resource costs — you'll spend the same food / iron / coin per upgrade as a baseline account.

Related Guides

Profession System Guide — Engineer vs Warlord comparison, when to switch and how Profession Change Certificates work
Engineer Profession Tree (Season 1) — the alternative build for the same season
PVP Squad Setup Guide — when Warlord's combat bonuses actually matter
Alliance Squad Coordination (Season 1) — rallies, joiners and the kind of coordination Team Strike rewards
Marshal's Guard Guide (Season 1) — one of the season's primary War Fever events
Alliance Strategy Guide — alliance-level coordination around the Warlord switch

Warlord Profession Tree — Full Lv 1 to Lv 50 Build (Season 1)

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