🟦 Facts
- On the current Season 2 rollout, the Age of Oil begins on Day 57 as Celebration starts.
- the game shows The Age of Oil tech becomes viewable when Tech Center reaches Level 30.
- The 40% Special Forces figure belongs to the maintained HQ31 progression route; it is not the same as the Tech Center 30 requirement to view the Age of Oil tree.
- The Age of Oil tree introduces Oil production and permanent research milestones including Unlock Oil Well, Oil Output I/II/III, 3rd Tech Center, More Oil Wells, Parts Workshop, and Base Expansion.
- Completing the Base Expansion / HQ Expansion unlock shown by your live research tree opens Headquarters progression beyond Level 30.
- For HQ31–35, only one troop Center is required at the listed level: Tank, Aircraft, or Missile. You do not need all three.
- The post-Season 2 Headquarters cap is Level 35, raising the hero level cap to 175 at HQ35.
📅 Before Day 57 · readiness checklist
The goal is to arrive at Day 57 with the normal-game prerequisites already handled so your first new bottleneck is Oil, not an old building or research requirement.
1 · Tech Center 30This is the in-game level that makes The Age of Oil research viewable.
2 · Special Forces 40%+Current maintained progression references place the HQ31 route behind at least 40% Special Forces. If you are below it, this is a high-value pre-Day-57 research target.
3 · Barracks 30HQ31 requires Barracks 30, and Barracks continues to stay one level behind every later HQ target.
4 · One troop Center 30Choose Tank, Aircraft, or Missile based on the squad you actually intend to build. Do not level all three just for the HQ requirement.
5 · Build a reserveSave Food, Iron, Coins, construction speedups, and research speedups. HQ31–35 also requires repeated prerequisite-building and research work, not only the HQ button itself.
🎯 Your Day 57 opening order
- Open the Age of Oil tree first and confirm the live prerequisite arrows for your rollout.
- Unlock Oil production as early as possible. Hourly Oil production compounds every day you start it sooner.
- Prioritize Oil-production milestones. Unlock Oil Well and the Oil Output / More Oil Wells upgrades are long-term economy upgrades, so they generally deserve priority over low-impact optional spending.
- Advance the Base Expansion / HQ Expansion path so HQ31 becomes available when your normal building prerequisites are ready.
- Plan one HQ ahead before spending a large Oil reserve. The next Wall, Hospital, Drill Ground, or Alliance Center requirement can otherwise stop you immediately after an HQ finishes.
🧪 Mined Age of Oil research milestones
These tech names are major milestones, not a claim that every node is directly adjacent in this exact order; follow the arrows in your live Tech Center for the precise dependency path.
MilestoneWhy it mattersPlanning use
Unlock Oil WellStarts permanent Oil productionHighest early priority
Oil Output I / II / IIIImproves Oil incomeCompounding economy
More Oil WellsExpands Oil production capacityReduces the long-term Oil bottleneck
3rd Tech CenterAdds permanent research capacityUseful during the long HQ31–35 research runway
Parts WorkshopPermanent Age of Oil facility milestoneFollow the live tree when it enters your required path
Base ExpansionOpens the advanced HQ progression pathRequired milestone for moving beyond HQ30
🏗️ HQ31–35 planning runway
Chosen troop Center = one of Tank, Aircraft, or Missile. Keep Tech Center, Barracks, and that chosen Center moving together; each stays one level behind the HQ you are targeting.
TargetMust be readyExtra gate to plan for
HQ 31Tech Center 30 · chosen troop Center 30 · Barracks 30Base/HQ Expansion unlock
HQ 32Tech Center 31 · chosen troop Center 31 · Barracks 31Wall 31
HQ 33Tech Center 32 · chosen troop Center 32 · Barracks 32Hospital 32 · Drill Ground 32
HQ 34Tech Center 33 · chosen troop Center 33 · Barracks 33Wall 33 · Alliance Center 33
HQ 35Tech Center 34 · chosen troop Center 34 · Barracks 34Hospital 34 · Drill Ground 34
📊 What HQ31–35 should look like
This is a planning preview of expected base upgrade values before account construction bonuses. Use your live HQ upgrade screen for exact current costs.
HQFood / IronCoinsOilBase timeHero cap
311.60B each510M1.44M111d 18h155
321.70B each560M2.30M122d 22h160
331.90B each620M3.92M135d 5h165
342.00B each650M7.05M141d 23h170
352.10B each680M14.10M149d 2h175
Expected HQ-button total, HQ31 → HQ35: about 9.30B Food + 9.30B Iron + 3.02B Coins + 28.81M Oil. This does not include the prerequisite buildings or Age of Oil research needed between HQ levels.
🛢️ Where your Oil will come from
Main renewable source
Oil Wells are the main renewable source. Unlock them early, raise their production, and prioritize Oil Output / More Oil Wells because passive production is the dependable long-term supply.
Additional Oil
Oil can also appear from Age of Oil reward goals, clearing newly unlocked base areas, Dripper Radar / Oil-related Secret Tasks, and some Celebration rewards such as Bingo, depending on rollout. These are supplements; Oil Wells remain the core economy.
Correction to the common infographic wording: Oil is not limited to a fixed hourly well rate. The well is your main sustained source, but Celebration provides additional Oil opportunities.
💰 Resource plan · what to save now
Before Day 57
- Food / Iron / Coins: keep a healthy reserve instead of emptying normal resources right before Celebration.
- Construction speedups: advanced HQ prerequisites create a long building chain.
- Research speedups: Age of Oil adds a new permanent research tree and HQ progression keeps Tech Center moving.
- Builders / queues: avoid starting low-value long builds that will still occupy your builders when Day 57 opens if you are trying to push immediately.
After Day 57
- Protect Oil income first. Production upgrades improve every later day of progression.
- Do not spend to zero. Check the next HQ prerequisite before committing Oil to an optional upgrade.
- Use the live cost screen. Use the HQ31–35 preview as a planning reference, then confirm the exact live amount before spending or opening resource chests.
- Stack progress with events. When Celebration rewards construction or research, time required permanent upgrades to overlap those missions where practical.
🧭 If you are not HQ30 yet
Below Base 27Keep normal HQ progression moving. Do not stall your account trying to imitate an HQ31 push you cannot access yet.
Base 27–29You can still participate in later Celebration systems. the game lists Base 27+ for the Dripper Radar task and Capture the Oil Depot Secret Task.
Tech Center 30 reachedThe Age of Oil tree becomes viewable. From there, build Oil income and work toward the HQ31 route at your own pace.
🗓️ What comes after the opening
Day 57 / Celebration Week 1Age of Oil begins. Establish Oil production and start the permanent research/HQ path.
Celebration Week 2Dripper and Secret Oil activity become relevant on current maintained rollouts; the game lists Base 27+ for the Dripper Radar and Oil Depot Secret Task requirements.
Celebration Week 3Current progression opens Level 31–35 world-map Zombies alongside healing and construction activity.
Celebration Week 4Stronger Level 31–35 Doom Elites plus training and technology activity become major themes.
Celebration Week 5Keep the permanent Oil/HQ progression moving while the longer-running Celebration events finish.
🟩 BlackBar Gaming recommends
- If you are already HQ30, the best preparation is not random spending: finish the exact HQ31 normal prerequisites, push the maintained Special Forces requirement, and preserve enough normal resources/speedups to act immediately on Day 57.
- Once Age of Oil opens, production-first thinking matters. Oil that you begin producing earlier helps every later HQ, research, and advanced-building step.
- Check two HQ levels ahead. The repeating core buildings are predictable, while Wall and Hospital/Drill Ground/Alliance Center alternate as surprise gates if you only look at the current HQ.
🟥 Warning
- Day 57 is retained for the current target rollout because the live Season 2 calendar shows Age of Oil beginning then. The live Season 2 calendar is the screen to follow for the start day on your server.
- the game shows Tech Center 30 to view The Age of Oil tech. Use the live research tree as the screen to follow for the HQ31 Special Forces requirement if your rollout differs.
- The HQ31–35 table is an expected base-value preview rather than a guaranteed cost table. Confirm the live HQ screen before major spending.
in-game Age of Oil checkpoints
- the game says The Age of Oil tech becomes viewable when Tech Center reaches Level 30.
- The Dripper Radar task requires Base Level 27 or higher.
- The Capture the Oil Depot Secret Task requires Base Level 27 or higher.
- the game progression explicitly unlocks Level 31–35 Zombies and later stronger Doom Elites during the off-season progression.
- Age of Oil tech names include Unlock Oil Well, Oil Output I/II/III, 3rd Tech Center, More Oil Wells, Parts Workshop, and Base Expansion.