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 in the Special Forces tree), Exclusive Weapons, and the RA Virus / Virus Resistance system. Your HQ caps at level 30 for the whole season. Your Tech Center job: finish Unit X for T10, keep your two research labs compounding, then convert your economy into raw squad power.

There is no oil in Season 1

Oil, Oil Wells and "The Age of Oil" do NOT exist in Season 1. They arrive in the Age of Oil phase after Season 2 (which lifts HQ past 30 to HQ 35, adds the 3rd research lab and the Parts Workshop) — see the Season 2 guide. In Season 1 you run on Food / Iron / Coin plus the seasonal virus resources, and HQ stays at 30. Core node names below are confirmed from our research data; cross-tree priority is our recommended strategy.

Season 1 Priority Order

1. Finish Special Forces → Unit X (priority #1)

T10 needs Tech Center 30 and HQ 30 — the final T10 nodes won't unlock at Tech Center 29. Close out the tree: HP Boost III · Attack Boost III · Defense Boost III, the final Advanced Protection, then Unit X → unlocks T10 troop training. This is the power spike the whole season is built around — nothing else competes until it's done.

2. Keep Development + Economy compounding

In Season 1 you have only two research queues (the third lab comes with the Age of Oil after Season 2), so throughput is precious. Finish Development — Fast Builder I–IV, Research Enhancement I–IV, Extra Barracks, Efficient Healing — and any Economy output you skipped. Why: these fund and speed everything, including the resources and training time you need to actually field T10.

3. Convert to squad power — your ONE troop type

With Unit X done, turn badges into combat for your strongest squad:

Type Mastery (Tank / Missile / Aircraft Mastery): Synergy HP/Attack/Defense I → Synergy Damage I → March Size I → direct HP/Attack/Defense I → Damage I → Ultimate Defense I, then the tier II rows.
Start Tactical Weapon: the Support: Hero HP/Attack/Defense line, the Enhancement: Drone HP/Attack/Defense line, and Limit Break: Skill Star I.
Hero tree: push your squad's line to its end nodes — Firepower Boost → Weapons Upgrade / Armor Enhancement → Endurance Upgrade.

Never split across troop types — commit to one.

4. Seasonal: Virus Resistance + your first Exclusive Weapon

Season 1's seasonal must is Virus Resistance — build and upgrade the Virus Research Institute so your troops aren't infected when attacking RA-virus zombies. It's seasonal building progress rather than a core Tech Center tree, but it's a Season 1 priority. Season 1 also launches Exclusive Weapons via the battle pass — focus one core hero's weapon rather than spreading shards.

5. Cheap value — Siege to Seize + first Defense Fortifications node

Take Siege to Seize (Power Boost I → Final Stand / Fierce Assault / Vigilant Formation) and the first Defense Fortifications node (Extra Hospitals — more recovery capacity). High value per badge.

6. Units — event filler

Keep the Units tree as filler between badge-heavy event cycles.

What to Skip in Season 1

Skip / defer	Reason
The Age of Oil / Oil Wells	Not available yet — unlocks after Season 2 (HQ 31–35)
Intercity Truck	Minor payoff
Off-type Mastery / Hero lines	One squad type only

The Season 1 Arc

Unit X for T10 first → keep Development/Economy compounding (only 2 labs) → convert to squad power (Mastery + Tactical Weapon + Hero) → Virus Resistance + one Exclusive Weapon → cheap defensive picks. HQ stays at 30 all season; the oil economy and HQ 31–35 come after Season 2.

➡️ Previous: Pre-Season · Next: Season 2 — Polar World + The Age of Oil · Plan costs with the Research Calculator and Unit X (T10) Calculator.