Chip Lab Guide (Season 4)
Chip Lab in Season 4
By Season 4, your primary squad should have a complete legendary chip set (4 chips) at 2-star or higher. Your secondary squad likely has its own Interference chip. The Chip Lab itself is a mature system at this point — Season 4 does not change how chips work. What changes is how chips interact with Tactics Cards and T11 troops, and how darkness affects your material farming routine.
For full Chip Lab mechanics, see the Pre-Season 1 Chip Lab Guide.
The Season 4 target is pushing your primary squad's chip set toward 4-5 star ascension while maintaining a functional secondary squad chip set at 2-star. Chip bonuses compound with Tactics Cards and T11 troop stats — every chip star level is worth more now than it was in previous seasons because the base stats being multiplied are higher.
What Is Different in Season 4
Chip and Tactics Card Interaction
Tactics Cards provide additive stat bonuses that stack with your chip set bonuses:
- Chip ATK bonuses stack with Tactics Card ATK bonuses — the combined effect feeds into hero skills and Exclusive Weapons
- The Interference chip's squad-specific bonus interacts with class-specific Tactics Cards for compounded type bonuses
- Higher chip ascension = more base stats for Tactics Cards to amplify — this makes ascension investment more valuable than ever
- Combat Boost level provides percentage increases that multiply both chip and Tactics Card bonuses
T11 Troops and Chip Bonuses
T11 troops benefit from chip bonuses the same way T10 troops did, but the higher base stats mean chips contribute more raw power:
- Assault Raiders with high ATK chips and ATK Tactics Cards create multiplicative damage scaling
- Armored Troopers with defensive chips and DEF Tactics Cards create extremely durable compositions
- The gap between players with maxed chips and those without widens further in Season 4 — chip investment matters more, not less
Material Farming Under Darkness
The -30% resource generation penalty affects your chip material sources:
- Versus Mode yield is unaffected — this is instanced content, not impacted by world map darkness
- Campaign Store and Alliance Shop are unaffected — these are menu-based purchases
- World map gathering is reduced — if you gather materials from resource nodes, the darkness penalty applies
- Stay in Lighthouse range for all farming — the Light Buff removes the penalty
- Blood Night windows disrupt farming schedules — plan material farming between the 3 daily windows
Ascension Priority (Season 4)
With a mature chip set, ascension priority focuses on pushing stars higher:
Keep chip star levels relatively even. Four 3-star chips outperform one 5-star and three 2-stars. The combined benefit of balanced upgrades exceeds concentrated investment in one chip. Push your Interference chip one star ahead, then bring the others up to match.
Combat Boost Targets
By Season 4, your Combat Boost level should be approaching elite milestones:
Combat Boost Feeding Strategy
- Feed replaced chips (green, blue, purple) into Combat Boost — do not hoard them
- Duplicate legendary chips you are not using for ascension can go into Combat Boost
- The percentage bonuses from Combat Boost apply to all chip set bonuses, including Tactics Card stacking
- Higher Combat Boost level is free power — never let duplicate chips sit unused
Material Farming in Season 4
Daily Farming Checklist
Darkness Impact on Farming
- Most chip material sources are unaffected by darkness — Versus Mode, stores, and events are instanced
- World map gathering is penalised — stay in Lighthouse range if farming resource nodes
- Blood Night windows (02:30, 10:30, 18:30) disrupt schedules but do not directly affect chip material sources
- Plan your daily chip farming routine around Blood Night — do instanced content during the windows if needed
Resource Allocation (Season 4)
Aim for 40% toward chip ascension, 30% toward Combat Boost, 20% toward secondary squad chip maintenance, and 10% reserve. The balance shifts from previous seasons because ascension at 4-5 star costs significantly more duplicates per level. Plan your material spending carefully — each star level requires double the duplicates of the previous level.
Common Season 4 Chip Lab Mistakes
- Neglecting chip ascension because of Tactics Cards — chips and cards are additive systems. Both matter. Ignoring one because the other is new costs you compounded power
- Not feeding duplicate chips into Combat Boost — every unused chip is wasted potential stats
- Farming world map materials in dark zones — the -30% penalty applies. Stay in the light
- Forgetting to check Lucky Cats for chip materials — free rewards add up over a season
- Over-concentrating ascension on one chip — balanced star levels outperform concentrated investment
- Not planning for Season 5 Interference chip — if your secondary squad type changes in Season 5, you will need a new type-specific chip
Related Guides
- Pre-Season 1 Chip Lab Guide — core Chip Lab mechanics and farming sources
- Tactics Cards Guide — how Tactics Cards stack with chip bonuses
- T11 Troops Guide — T11 stat interaction with chips
- Season 4 Gear Guide — gear progression alongside chip progression
- Lighthouse & Electricity Guide — staying in the light for resource generation