Season 1 - Basics
In this guide, I want to introduce you to the basics of Season 1. I will focus on the three fundamental changes of Season 1.
Introduction
As briefly mentioned in the introduction, the RA virus has broken out and will keep us occupied over the 8 weeks of Season 1. The virus is highly contagious, spreads rapidly, and unfortunately, we do not have a vaccine yet. This means we will need to intensively deal with transmission methods, symptoms, and effects, but especially with healing. This will not be a solo task; we must all stand together to try to stop the virus and build a good resistance against it. For this, we will need some new buildings to research the virus.
At the same time, we need to protect ourselves from the zombies attacking us and improve our combat abilities to reclaim our world.
Season-Specific Buildings
First, let’s take a look at the new buildings that Season 1 brings. It should be noted that these new buildings must be constructed outside our base. A new area is designated in front of our second and third squads for this purpose. All season-specific buildings can be upgraded to Level 30, regardless of the headquarters level. At the end of the season these buildings will be removed and the area will turn back into a meadow.
Protein Farm
With the help of protein farms, we produce immune proteins 
. These represent a new resource for the course of the season and will be examined in more detail in the next section "New Resources." At the beginning of the season, we will be able to build our first protein farm. Once this reaches Level 5, we will be able to build another protein farm, and another at Level 10. In total, we can build up to 4 protein farms to maximize the production of immune proteins.
To build and upgrade the protein farms, we need variation crystals 
. These represent the second new resource of the season and will also be explained in the upcoming section "New Resources." With each upgrade of a protein farm, the building level increases, but more importantly, the production rate of immune proteins increases.
Note: The construction of the protein farms is blocked by a starting event that must be completed first. This event begins in the first week of the season on Day 1; see the guide "Season 1 Week 1" for details.
Important: I would also like to emphasize that you should purchase the weekly season pass at the beginning of the season, as it gives you the opportunity to build a fifth protein farm. This will significantly increase your protein output.
Virus Research Center
The Virus Research Center is the most important building in the fight against the RA virus. With each upgrade, not only does the building level increase, but so does our virus resistance. To build and upgrade the Virus Research Center, immune proteins are required. You produce these with the protein farms, but there are also other sources that will be highlighted in the section "New Resources."
Note: The construction of the Virus Research Center is also blocked by a starting event that must be completed first. This event begins in the first week of the season on Day 1; see the guide "Season 1 Week 1" for details.
Military Buildings
In the third week of the season, it is time to start thinking about the further development of our heroes. Just in time for this, there will be three new season-specific buildings that will allow us to strengthen our heroes. The Tank Base, the Aircraft Base, and the Missile Attack Base are now available and will enhance the respective hero types in a similar manner to the already known centers from the previous gameplay. Each building level will increase the HP, ATK, and DEF of our heroes by 1%. Both immune proteins and variation crystals are required for the construction and upgrade of the three buildings.
Note: The construction of the military buildings is also blocked by a starting event that must first be completed. This event begins on Day 1 of the third week of the season - see the Guide "Season 1 Week 3"
Leveling Up the Season Buildings
The production of immune proteins by the farms is linear to the level of the farms. Since you will have four to five farms, it is advisable to keep them all at the same level. This way, you will increase production uniformly and can continuously upgrade the Virus Research Center with the produced proteins. If you do not want to keep the fifth farm after one or two weeks, you can let it fall behind a little in the upgrade process. Within the first two weeks of the season, you should aim to get both the farms and the research center to level 30.
Starting in week three, you will use both proteins and crystals to upgrade the military buildings. If you have not yet gotten the farms and research center to level 30 by then, I recommend doing that first before expanding the military buildings.
As the military buildings are focussing on specific hero types, I am suggesting to not level up all three of them simultaneously bur rather focus on the one building which supports your main squad.
New Resources
In the previous section, I talked about new resources, immune proteins and variation crystals . Let’s take a closer look at these. Both resources will be displayed at the top of your screen, below gold, iron, and food, so you can always keep an eye on your current balance. There is one more resource I would like to introduce here: Gen Fragments. Let’s go through the new resources in order.
Immune Proteins
Immune proteins are required for the construction and upgrades of the Virus Research Center and the three military bases. In addition to producing immune proteins in the protein farms, there are various ways to obtain them:
- Zombie kills (first kill per level)
- Reaching Season 1 goals for virus resistance
- Using the Hero's Return Recruitment Tickets
Furthermore, immune proteins are used to heal allied players—see below.
Variation Crystals
Variation crystals are required for the construction and upgrades of protein farms, as well as the three military bases. You can obtain them in the following ways:
- Zombie kills (first kill per level)
- Reaching Season 1 goals for virus resistance
- Completing seasonal quest missions (see weekly guides)
- Using the Hero's Return Recruitment Tickets
- Genetic recombination
- Doom Walker kills (First Blood only)
- Weekly Pass
- Season Battle Pass
Gen Fragments
Gen fragments are not a proper resource, but they do fall somewhat into this category. Gen fragments are more comparable to the known treasure map fragments. There are six different fragments that need to be combined to create rewards. Let's first look at where we can obtain these fragments:
We obtain Gen Fragments 1 
, 2 
, and 3 
for:
- Killing zombies on the world map
- Killing Doom Elite zombies
- Spreading the virus
- Radar missions
- Healing allies
We obtain Gen Fragments 4 
, 5 
, and 6 
for:
- Attacking and capturing cities
- Attacking enemy bases
- Radar missions
- Killing Doom Elite zombies
Important: We always need a complete set of gen fragments, which includes all six fragments. Just like with the treasure map fragments, we have the option to trade the individual gen variants among each other.
Gen Recombination
Gen recombination is an event that starts on Day 3 of the first week of the season and lasts for 47 days. This event will be described in more detail in a separate guide. Here, it should be mentioned that you must combine the individual gen fragments and will receive variation crystals and some other items as rewards.
Virus Infections
How can we become infected?
Infection is simple, and there are many ways to get infected:
- Attack from a zombie with a higher viral load than our resistance (we will receive a warning)
- Attack from an infected zombie (identified by the virus indication
- this is independent of virus resistance) - Attack from bosses (Frankenstein, etc.)
- Attack from an infected player
How do we recognize an infection?
The infection is indicated by a new symbol above the radar. A green virus symbol 
means we are not infected. A yellow virus symbol 
indicates an infection with a number below. This number ranges from 1 to 100 and represents our infection value.
After clicking on the virus symbol, you will see the screen on the right. This shows how many stacks of the virus we currently have and provides information about the corresponding symptoms or debuffs.
What effects does an infection have?
The effects are defined by the number of virus stacks as follows:
| Infection Value | Effect |
|---|---|
| > 1 | Every time interval, one unit is severely injured and admitted to the hospital. With an infection value of 1, this happens every 300 seconds. For each infection value, the time interval decreases by 1 second. With an infection value of 100, one unit is hospitalized every 201 seconds. |
| > 20 | Moral is reduced, which decreases damage in attacks. With an infection value of 20, damage is reduced by 4%. For each infection value, damage decreases further by 0.2%. With an infection value of 100, damage is reduced by 20%. |
| > 40 | Enemies suffer greater losses due to the virus. With an infection value of 40, the opponent's fatality rate increases by 4%. For each infection value, this increases by 0.1%. With an infection value of 100, the fatality rate is at 10%. |
| > 60 | When marching troops, the infection value increases. With an infection value of 60, it increases by 11%. For each infection value, this increases by 0.1%. With an infection value of 100, it will increase by 15%. However, this is capped at 100. Instead of increasing the value, the duration of the infection will extend. |
| > 80 | In attacks with defeat, there is still a chance to infect the opponent. With an infection value of 80, this chance is 8% and increases by 0.1% with the infection value, maxing out at 10% with an infection value of 100. |
We can see the individual debuffs we receive based on the infection value below our combat power on the screen.
How do we get healthy again?
Now that we know how we get infected and that we can only partially avoid infections through our virus resistance, we need to think about how to get rid of these infections. There are various options available.
The first option is automatic healing. Each of the debuffs mentioned above has a time span. If there is a new infection during the time span, the debuff is extended; if there is no new infection, we will be healed once all debuff timers have expired—not particularly practical, as we want to remain active.
The more important healing option comes from your allies. Share your coordinates in the alliance chat, just as you would for a burning base (e.g., during a zombie siege). This way, your allies can send you a rescue plane. Once it arrives, your infection value will be reduced by 1.
Your ally will spend immune proteins for this, but in return, they will receive Gen Fragments of type 1 , 2 , and 3 via mail. Since these are necessary for genetic recombination, this serves a mutual interest and benefit.
Is there anything else to consider?
Of course, as in all areas of the game, there are various goals that come with different rewards. The more active you are in infection and healing, the higher the rewards. There are different reward chests for achieving a certain number of gained, spreaded and healed infections.
I hope you were able to take away many important and fundamental insights about Season 1 from this very long guide. Have fun.
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