State of Survival Aircraft and Carriers: The War Vehicle Systems

Part of the Troops & Combat Series:

• Aircraft, Carriers and War Vehicles: The vehicle layer above your troops (You Are Here).
• Troops Guide Hub: Types, tiers, and unit skills and combat roles.
• PvP and Rally Guide: Where Carriers actually pay off.
• Behemoth Guide: The other machine progression track.
• Events Index: Where most vehicle materials come from.

Quick Answer

A layer of machines sits above your troops, and it is genuinely late-game content.

The one number that reframes this whole system: the Carrier needs your Gen 1 Airplane at level 140. That is not a weekend project. Everything below is written on the assumption you are asking whether to start, not how to finish.

Should you care yet? If your HQ is under 25 or your core heroes are unfinished, no. This is the layer you reach after the fundamentals are done, and it competes for the same materials as everything else.

Overview

Aircraft are the clearest example of this game adding a whole progression track on top of an existing one rather than replacing anything.

Your troops still decide fights. Your heroes still multiply them. The vehicle layer stacks extra damage on top, and its distinguishing feature is that the payoff is social: the Carrier's real value is what it does for a rally, not what it does for you.

What you'll find is that this creates a familiar split. For a developing account, vehicles are a slow personal investment with modest returns. For an alliance's designated rally leaders, they are a genuine force multiplier that every joiner benefits from. Which of those you are should decide how much you put in.

Aircraft

Aircraft accompany your troops on the march and deal damage to the enemy from above. Mechanically they behave as an added damage source rather than as units you position, which fits the rest of the game's combat model, where outcomes resolve from stats rather than from moment-to-moment control.

They generate their own progression track, with generations much as heroes do. Gen 1 Airplane is the one that matters structurally, because maxing it at level 140 is what unlocks the Carrier.

That is a long climb, and it is the reason most accounts never see the Carrier. Treat it as a multi-month background project rather than something to rush.

The Carrier

The payoff, and the part worth understanding before you invest.

The Carrier unlocks once your Gen 1 Airplane is maxed at level 140, and it is used in rallies or when garrisoning your settlement.

Two rules define it:

You deploy the Carrier in place of Aircraft, not alongside them. When you initiate a rally, it takes the Aircraft slot rather than adding to it.

If the rally initiator deploys their Carrier, every allied Aircraft in that rally deals extra damage. This is the whole reason the system exists. The Carrier is a leader's item, and its value scales with how many people join.

The four-to-seven rule

A Carrier starts with 4 active Aircraft and can reach up to 7, and the active set is prioritised by power. Your strongest aircraft fill the slots automatically.

That has a practical consequence worth planning around: broad shallow aircraft investment is wasted. Only your top four to seven ever fly. Concentrating on a handful mirrors the concentrate-your-fragments rule that governs heroes, for the same reason.

[!IMPORTANT] The Carrier is a rally-lead item. If your alliance has designated rally leaders and you are not one of them, the Carrier is a poor personal target. Contribute Aircraft to their rallies instead, since the initiator's Carrier buffs yours.

War Vehicles

The broader crafting track underneath.

War Vehicles are crafted using vehicle parts, and parts are bought with biocaps or acquired through dedicated bundles: the Vehicle Rapid Growth Bundle, the Vehicle Value Card, and Vehicle Part Booster Packs.

That sourcing tells you most of what you need. This is a monetised track, considerably more so than research or gathering. There is a free trickle, and the pace difference between paying and not paying is larger here than almost anywhere else in the game.

For a free account, the honest read: participate at whatever rate the free materials allow, and do not divert biocaps here. The packs guide ranking holds; a Custom Crate aimed at your actual bottleneck beats vehicle parts for almost every developing account.

The Hovercraft

Worth separating out, because it is not part of the aircraft line at all.

The Hovercraft arrived with the Tides of Fortune world event, alongside the Logistics Bay, and it is deployable inside that event's two modes, Tidal Escape and Abyssal Skirmish. Upgrading it uses Cabin Supply Crates and Cabin Blueprints, which those same modes pay out.

That closed loop is the standard shape of world event content, as the events index covers: a new machine, a new currency, and two modes that feed each other.

[!NOTE] World event content is state-age gated. If your state has not run Tides of Fortune, the Hovercraft and its modes will not exist for you, and that is expected rather than a bug.

Should You Invest?

A straight answer by account stage.

Before HQ 25, or with unfinished core heroes: no. Every material spent here is a material not spent on the things that decide your fights. Troop tiers, research and hero completion all return more.

Established account, not a rally leader: invest lightly. Keep a small number of Aircraft strong enough to contribute meaningfully to other people's rallies, and let the Carrier go.

Established account, designated rally leader: this is one of your highest-value tracks, because the Carrier's buff applies to every joiner. An alliance is right to concentrate its vehicle materials on the people who actually lead.

Spending account: the vehicle track converts money into combat power more directly than most, through the dedicated bundles. Whether that is a good use of money against Custom Crates depends on whether you lead rallies.

F2P vs Spender

F2P accounts should treat this as background progress and nothing more. Take the free materials, keep a few Aircraft concentrated rather than spreading thin, and accept that the Carrier at Airplane 140 is probably not your project. Nothing here beats finishing heroes, and the biocaps this track wants are better spent on march slots and hero completion.

Spending accounts get a much steeper curve here than in most systems, since vehicle parts have dedicated bundles behind them. The strategic question is not whether you can afford it but whether you lead rallies. A Carrier on an account that never initiates is an expensive personal buff; a Carrier on your alliance's main rally lead is an alliance-wide one.

Common Mistakes

Starting the vehicle track before the fundamentals. Fix: troops, research and heroes first.

Spreading Aircraft investment thin. Only your top four to seven fly. Fix: concentrate.

Chasing the Carrier without leading rallies. Its value is the rally buff. Fix: contribute Aircraft to your leaders instead.

Diverting biocaps to vehicle parts. Poor priority for a developing account. Fix: Custom Crates aimed at your real bottleneck.

Expecting the Hovercraft outside its world event. State-age gated. Fix: check whether your state has run Tides of Fortune.

Assuming the Carrier stacks with Aircraft. It replaces them in the slot. Fix: plan for one or the other.

Related Progression

• Strategic Archive Data Modules and matching Keys.

FAQ

What do Aircraft do in State of Survival? They accompany your troops on the march and deal damage to the enemy from above, as an added damage source rather than units you control directly.

How do I unlock the Aircraft Carrier? Max your Gen 1 Airplane to level 140. The Carrier is then usable in rallies and when garrisoning your settlement.

How many Aircraft does a Carrier hold? It starts with 4 active Aircraft and can reach 7, filled automatically by power. Only your strongest ever fly, so concentrated investment beats spreading it.

Does the Carrier help my alliance? Yes, and that is the point. If the rally initiator deploys their Carrier, every allied Aircraft in that rally deals extra damage.

How do I get war vehicle parts? With biocaps, or through the dedicated bundles: the Vehicle Rapid Growth Bundle, the Vehicle Value Card, and Vehicle Part Booster Packs.

What is the Hovercraft? A separate machine introduced with the Tides of Fortune world event, deployable in Tidal Escape and Abyssal Skirmish, and upgraded with Cabin Supply Crates and Cabin Blueprints.

Is the vehicle system worth it for free-to-play? As background progress only. Take the free materials, concentrate on a few Aircraft, and put biocaps into march slots and hero completion instead.

Should I get a Carrier if I don't lead rallies? No. Its defining benefit is the buff it gives joiners in a rally you initiate. Contribute Aircraft to your alliance's leaders instead.

Key Takeaways

• Aircraft fly with your marches and add damage; they are not units you control.
• The Carrier needs Gen 1 Airplane maxed at level 140. A multi-month project.
• The Carrier replaces Aircraft in the slot, and buffs every allied Aircraft when the rally initiator deploys it.
• 4 active Aircraft rising to 7, chosen by power. Concentrate rather than spread.
• War Vehicles run on vehicle parts, from biocaps or dedicated bundles. The most monetised track in the game.
• The Hovercraft is separate, from the Tides of Fortune world event and its two modes.
• Skip all of it before HQ 25 or while core heroes are unfinished.
• The Carrier is a rally-lead item. If you don't lead, contribute Aircraft instead.