PROGRESSION

Workshop and crafting

The Workshop turns Signal Shards and materials into the things that make a commander better.

Skill cards

A crafted card can be equipped on any commander of the matching element. Cards level to 4, and levelling is done by combining duplicates: 2 copies of a card make the next level.

Not every skill can be crafted. Some belong to one commander and exist only on them. The skills page says which is which.

Signal Conduits

A conduit permanently raises a commander's leadership, which is the real limit on squad size. The grant shrinks as that commander's leadership climbs, so the first conduits on a commander are worth considerably more than the last ones, and spreading them across commanders beats stacking them on one.

Crafting many at once

Skill cards and conduits are instant crafts. Tap the button to make one, or hold it and it keeps going, faster the longer you hold, until you let go or run out of materials. Installing conduits on a commander works the same way, and stops on its own once the commander reaches the leadership cap.

Tech Cores

Cores are the gate on tier three troops. They come out of extraction rather than production, which is why an army of T3 is a statement about how much time you have spent in the Wastes.

Catalysts

Catalyst Synthesis turns lower grades into higher ones. It is the sink for the residue you accumulate from events, and the source of the grades that make a long timer disappear. See items and catalysts.