Tech Center Research — Season 1 (The Crimson Plague) Priority Order
Season 1 in One Sentence
Season 1 — The Crimson Plague — is where the end-game systems arrive: T10 troops (via Unit X), Exclusive Weapons, and The Age of Oil research tree with its oil economy. Virus Resistance is the seasonal stat. Your Tech Center goal for the season is simple: finish Unit X, train T10, then rush the Age of Oil for the biggest multipliers in the game so far — before converting into raw squad power.
This guide assumes you've worked the Pre-Season plan — a heavy Development/Economy base and a near-complete Special Forces climb. If Unit X isn't done yet, that's still your number-one priority below. Node names and in-tree order are confirmed from the game data; cross-tree priority is our recommended strategy.
Season 1 Priority Order
1. Finish Special Forces → Unit X (priority #1)
If the pre-season didn't get you there, close it out now: HP Boost III · Attack Boost III · Defense Boost III, the final Advanced Protection, then Unit X. Unlocking T10 troop training is the power spike the entire season is built around — nothing else competes until it's done.
2. The Age of Oil — the biggest multiplier of the season
This is the tree that defines Season 1 progression. Work it in order, and rush to Fast Builder V + the 3rd Tech Center first:
- Unlock Oil Well — opens the oil economy
- Food Output V · Iron Output V · Coin Output V
- Oil Output I
- Fast Builder V · Research Enhancement V ← top-tier construction & research speed
- 3rd Tech Center ← a third research queue — a huge throughput jump
- Focused Training V · Rapid Field Dressing V
- Oil Output II
- Infirmary Expansion V · Emergency Capacity I
- More Oil Wells
- Training Cost I · Healing Cost II — cheaper troops and heals
- Parts Workshop ← a source of Drone Parts (the drone bottleneck)
- Oil Output III
- Base Expansion
Why: no other tree in Season 1 returns this much — elite build/research speed, a third lab that accelerates everything afterwards, oil income, cheaper training and healing, and a Drone Parts source that feeds your drone (gated by parts every 5th level to L150, then every level). Reaching Fast Builder V and the 3rd Tech Center early effectively speeds up the rest of your season.
3. Keep Development + Economy finishing (background)
Whatever you didn't complete pre-season keeps ticking on a spare queue — it's cheap and still compounding. The new 3rd Tech Center makes this painless.
4. Convert to squad power — Hero line + Type Mastery
With the economy multiplier banked, turn badges into combat:
- Extend your squad's Hero line into its end nodes: Firepower Boost → Weapons Upgrade / Armor Enhancement → Endurance Upgrade
- Commit to your single Type Mastery tree — Tank Mastery, Missile Mastery or Aircraft Mastery — matching your main squad. Each adds synergy stats, direct damage, march size and Ultimate Defense for that troop type. Never split across types — switching is expensive.
Why: this is where your T10 army actually gets stronger for Desert Storm, Capital Conquest and SvS.
5. Cheap defensive value — Siege to Seize + first Defense Fortifications node
Take Siege to Seize and the first node of Defense Fortifications (it adds a hospital / recovery capacity). High value per badge; the rest of Fortifications is low-priority end-game.
6. Units — event filler
Keep the Units tree as filler between badge-heavy event cycles.
What to Skip in Season 1
| Skip / defer | Reason |
|---|---|
| Intercity Truck | Minor payoff for the badge cost |
| Tactical Weapon | Comes into its own once your Mastery is high; defer |
| The other two Hero / Mastery troop lines | One squad type only |
| Pure Gathering economy | Output + capacity beat gathering |
The Season 1 Arc
T10 first → Age of Oil for the multipliers (Fast Builder V + 3rd Tech Center + Parts Workshop) → squad power (Hero line + your one Mastery) → cheap defensive picks. Everything else is filler.
➡️ Previous: Tech Center Research — Pre-Season · Plan costs with the Research Calculator, Unit X (T10) Calculator and the Drone Skill Chips Calculator.