Part of the Getting Started Series:
- Beginner Guide: Establish the account's daily growth.
- Heroes Hub: Understand classes and upgrade systems.
Quick Answer
For an early F2P account, an accessible starting point is Chef for Infantry, Sarge for Hunters and Travis for Riders when farming eligible infected content. A developed Maddie & Frank can fill the Rider slot for other combat needs. Use the heroes you can actually rank and skill, not a theoretical fully maxed roster.
Nikola is a Gen 1 Legendary Infantry hero. Wolfe, Trish and Jeb are Gen 2. Purple Epic fragments do not become Legendary fragments and cannot be saved to upgrade Nikola or Ash directly.
Overview
Early progress depends on a small useful roster rather than a collection of barely developed portraits. You also need specialists for tasks outside the main combat march: gathering and stamina-efficient farming remain valuable after the starter combat squad changes.
The word “F2P” should describe an acquisition plan. If a hero is visible but its remaining fragments depend on purchases you will not make, it is not automatically a practical F2P replacement.
The Early Roster by Job
| Hero | Affinity and stage | Useful role | Spending limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chef | Epic Infantry starter | Accessible Infantry option; wood gathering specialty | Use Epic resources according to your early roster needs |
| Sarge | Epic Hunter starter | Early PvE with infected-related troop utility | Do not mistake him for an Infantry front line |
| Travis | Epic Rider starter | Eligible infected farming with stamina reduction | Keep him usable even when another Rider wins harder fights |
| Maddie & Frank | Gen 1 Legendary Riders | A combat option when fragments and rank support it | Avoid assuming a partly built Legendary always beats a developed Epic |
| Nikola | Gen 1 Legendary Infantry | Infected-related troop utility and an early Infantry alternative | Compare his actual development before redirecting general Legendary fragments |
| Eva | Epic Hunter starter | An alternative Hunter for the relevant combat role | She and Sarge compete for the Hunter slot |
A standard three-class troop formation uses an Infantry, Rider and Hunter hero. Sarge and Eva do not solve two different class slots. Consult the generation reference before planning the next replacement.
For the actual farming setup, use the Travis walkthrough. The Maddie & Frank guide separates early combat development from their Completion return. Before committing to a promotional unlock, check Lucky's VIP fragment restrictions or Becca's Development bonuses; an unlock is not a complete F2P upgrade route.
Keep Fragment Budgets Separate
| Resource | Practical rule |
|---|---|
| Hero-specific fragments | Use on that hero or the conversion route explicitly allowed by the game |
| General Epic fragments | Budget for eligible Epic heroes, not Legendary heroes |
| General Legendary fragments | Reserve for a Legendary upgrade that reaches a useful rank |
| Limited recruitment currency | Confirm the current event hero, exchange rate and expiry rule before spending |
A sensible sequence is to identify the next meaningful rank, subtract the hero-specific fragments already available and then decide how many general fragments are needed. Do not pour the entire stock into the first upgrade button simply because it is available.
The fragment priority guide covers the wider progression systems. Distinguish ordinary fragments from later Completion or Limitless materials.
Build for the Mode
Infected farming: Travis's stamina utility can make repeat farming cheaper where it applies. Preview the cost and check whether the march still wins reliably. Saving stamina on a failed attack is not efficient.
Harder PvE: if the stamina-oriented lineup cannot clear the target, compare your strongest developed three-class lineup. Use battle results to find whether survival or damage is the problem before changing the troop ratio.
Explorer: manually controlled skills and squad survival matter. Do not read an Explorer skill as though it were a troop bonus. The Explorer Trail guide addresses that mode separately.
Rally joining: follow the alliance caller's hero and troop instructions. Your best solo lineup is not automatically the requested support setup.
Influencer Trap: create its own damage preset. The Trap guide explains why a hunter-heavy boss formation can differ from a march designed to survive player combat.
Gathering Specialists Are Worth Keeping
Use Mike for food, Chef or Nanami for wood, Rusty for metal and Ghost for gas where their relevant bonuses are available. These are separate jobs from leading your strongest combat march.
Save gathering presets so you do not repeatedly send a resource specialist to the wrong tile. Before an alliance event, recall the heroes and troops needed for the combat formation.
Use the Hero Training Area to share levels with useful secondary heroes. Check the lowest instructor before spending manuals; a high borrowed level does not complete a trainee's rank or skills.
When to Replace a Starter
Replace a hero when the new option is available, affordable at a useful rank and better for the intended job. Generation number alone does not establish all three.
Gen 2 brings Wolfe, Trish and Jeb; Gen 3 brings Ash, Miho and Zoe. Which one is practical depends on the state and recruitment routes shown there. Do not follow a blanket “skip Gen 1, 4 and 9” rule or reserve every voucher for a distant generation without comparing the lost months of useful development.
A useful stopping rule is to pause discretionary general-fragment spending when the current hero already clears your normal activities and the next obtainable replacement has a defined cost. Continue collecting hero-specific fragments; pausing scarce general spending is not the same as abandoning the roster.
F2P and Low-Spender Tradeoffs
F2P: prioritize repeatable income, a complete working formation and specialist utility. A modest rank completed now can be more useful than several distant max-level plans.
Low spenders: a purchase is useful only if it closes a defined gap you intend to fund. Unlocking a hero with no budget for its usable rank can leave it on the bench.
Neither group needs a fixed universal 60/15/25 formation. Troop availability, target, march stats and rally instructions all matter. Use the formation guide to test a change rather than treating a ratio as a hero ranking.
Common Mistakes
- Saving purple fragments for a Legendary hero.
- Calling Nikola a Gen 2 replacement.
- Trying to use Sarge and Eva as two different class slots.
- Using one preset for gathering, infected, Trap and PvP.
- Spending before checking whether the next rank is attainable.
FAQ
Who are useful early F2P heroes? Chef, Sarge and Travis provide an accessible early three-class starting point. Maddie & Frank and Nikola become options according to actual fragment income and rank.
Can Epic fragments upgrade Nikola? No. Nikola is Legendary. Match the fragment rarity and the game's eligibility rules.
Should I replace Travis as soon as I get Maddie? Not for every job. Keep the stamina-saving farming option while comparing combat performance for harder targets.
Which heroes gather resources? Mike for food, Chef or Nanami for wood, Rusty for metal and Ghost for gas are the relevant starter specialists.
Key Takeaways
- Build one affordable combat formation and retain useful specialists.
- Keep Epic and Legendary fragment budgets separate.
- Check state generation and acquisition routes before replacing a hero.
- Use distinct presets for distinct activities.