State of Survival HQ Requirements: 16–30 and Plasma Progression

Part of the Base Building Series:

• HQ Upgrade Requirements 16 to 30: Prerequisites, costs, build times and unlocks (You Are Here).
• Base Building Guide Hub: How the settlement fits together and what to build first.
• HQ 1 to 15 Fastest Growth: The early roadmap that gets you here.
• Resource Management Guide: Funding costs that run into the hundreds of millions.
• Troops Guide Hub: The tier unlocks these HQ levels gate.

Quick Answer

Scope: the tables below are historical HQ 16–30 and P1–P15 reference data, not the current global cap or a verified cost table through level 50. Version 1.26.500 announced the building cap rising from 48 to 50; availability still depends on state progression. Use the Plasma progression guide for the separate Institute and troop-research route.

The established HQ 16–30 reference follows two main prerequisites: Hero Precinct at one level below your target, plus one troop building at one level below your target, rotating in a fixed order.

The rotation is Garage → Range → Barracks, in this reference:

• Garage at HQ 16, 19, 22, 25, 28
• Range at HQ 17, 20, 23, 26, 29
• Barracks at HQ 18, 21, 24, 27, 30

So if you want HQ 24, you need Hero Precinct 23 and Barracks 23. That's the whole rule. You can work out any level in your head from it.

Gas costs start at HQ 16. Before that you never spend it on the HQ itself, which is why so many accounts hit 16 and immediately discover their gas production is nowhere near where it needs to be.

Total of the listed HQ 16–30 rows: roughly 1.25 billion food, 1.25 billion wood, 342.08 million metal and 95.34 million gas. This excludes HQ 1–15 and all prerequisite buildings.

Overview

The back half of HQ progression is a different game to the front half. HQ 1 to 15 is measured in hours and a few million resources. HQ 16 to 30 is measured in weeks and hundreds of millions, and the last upgrade alone takes over 39 days of raw build time before speed-ups.

What you'll find is that the binding constraint changes as you climb. Early on it's builders and time. From around HQ 20 it's resources, and specifically gas, which most accounts under-produce because nothing before 16 demanded it. From HQ 26 it's both at once, plus prosperity.

Here's the thing worth internalising before you start: at these levels the HQ upgrade is almost never the thing you should be rushing. It's the thing that gates what you actually want, which is the next troop tier. Plan backwards from the tier, not forwards from the HQ.

The Prerequisite Pattern

For what each prerequisite building actually does, see the buildings reference.

Two buildings, both at one level below your HQ target.

That means Hero Precinct is the building you can never neglect. It appears in every requirement through this range, and an account that lets it fall behind stalls at every level rather than every third one.

[!TIP] Keep Hero Precinct at your current HQ level at all times. It is the only building that gates every upgrade, and it's the most commonly forgotten one because it doesn't produce anything you can see.

Some historical tables disagree on individual requirements and base costs. Use the values below for planning, then confirm the actual upgrade panel before committing resources. Do not dismiss a differing in-game requirement as a typo merely because it breaks a pattern.

HQ 16 to 30: Prerequisites and Prosperity

Build times are base figures before construction speed research, Chief talents and speed-ups. Economy talents and the construction branch of the lab both cut into these meaningfully, which is exactly why they're worth taking early.

If your Prosperity is below the requirement, compare the current value and maximum before buying decorations. The Prosperity guide includes worked examples for both a cap shortfall and a recovery shortfall.

HQ 16 to 30: Resource Costs

These are historical reference costs. The exact panel depends on the current version and any applicable cost-reduction effects. Construction-speed bonuses change time; they do not automatically reduce resource costs.

Look at the gas column and then at your gas production. That's the conversation most accounts need to have with themselves around HQ 20. Food and wood you can gather your way out of; gas is slower, and the resource guide covers where it actually comes from.

[!WARNING] Costs roughly double every two to three levels through this range. HQ 30 alone costs more food than HQ 16 through 24 combined. Budgeting for "the next one" stops working around HQ 25; budget for the tier you're actually chasing.

March Capacity and Battle Power by Level

HQ contributes march capacity, while heroes, research and other bonuses also affect your final march. Inspect the actual march screen after an upgrade; a building table is not the complete account total.

A building table may report the Power gained by one upgrade rather than the cumulative building total. Repeated per-upgrade values do not mean that the next level adds no Power. Use the upgrade preview's stated gain and keep it separate from total account Power.

For the practical capacity plan, use march capacity and slots alongside the troop-building unlock you are pursuing.

What Each Level Unlocks

This is the table to plan around. Nobody upgrades HQ for the sake of the number; they upgrade it to reach one of these six rows.

HQ 22 and HQ 25 are the two quiet milestones. Gear and badges together are a large fraction of endgame chief power, and both unlock in this range without any fanfare. If you're at HQ 21 wondering what's worth pushing for, it's gear at 22, and it's a bigger deal than the troop tier that comes with it.

HQ 30 changes the game rather than extending it. Plasma levels open progression above the ordinary building cap. P.A.D.S. has its own later requirements; it is not automatically completed by reaching HQ 30. It's the point where your settlement stops being finished and starts again.

Historical Plasma HQ Costs (P1 to P15)

Plasma levels gate more than troop tiers. The Special Forces Engine opens its Energy Conversion Unit slots here: two at P9, three at P10, four at P11.

The historical table covers P1 to P15 only. Its rows represent the combined stages of each listed Plasma level, not one sub-level and not the full settlement cost. Later caps exceed this range. Do not extrapolate P16–P20 costs from these rows.

Plasma upgrades cost the same four resources as before, plus Plasma Cores throughout and Polymerized Plasma from P6 onward.

The listed P1–P15 rows total about 5.78 billion food, over four times the food in the HQ 16–30 table. These totals describe HQ upgrades only; prerequisite buildings and research add separate costs.

Plasma Cores come from Infected Intel tasks, the Purification Center, state events like Plasma Leakage and Underground Shadow Exploration, and bundles. They're the pacing item, not the resources.

[!NOTE] For Alliance Throwdown, inspect the task's precise currency rule. Conversion and spending Polymerized Plasma are different actions; do a small eligible action and confirm progress before committing the full stock.

Newer Caps and Strategic Archive

Version 1.24.200 announced HQ Plasma 18. The later 1.26.500 announcement uses building levels 48–50 and introduces Strategic Archive at HQ 45 in eligible latest-season states. These announcements confirm additional progression; they do not provide a complete new cost table.

Keep three goals separate: upgrading HQ, unlocking advanced troops through the Institute of Plasma, and developing the Archive. Reaching one does not automatically complete the others.

Planning the Climb

The approach that holds up through this range:

1. Decide which unlock you're chasing. Tier 8 at 22, badges at 25, Tier 9 at 26, plasma at 30. Include intermediate prerequisites and capacity improvements in the plan.
2. Bring Hero Precinct up first, always. It gates every level, so it's never wasted work.
3. Bring the rotating building up next, and check which one it is before you start. Garage, Range, Barracks, in that order.
4. Fix gas production before HQ 20, not after. The costs go vertical from there.
5. Match the completion to an eligible scoring window. Check whether the SvS preparation phase or another event scores building Power, speed-up use, or both. Keep builders working and save optional acceleration for the relevant stage.

A reachable milestone can add value to an upgrade you already planned. Delaying prerequisite progress or buying extra speed-ups for an unreachable rank can cost more than the additional reward.

F2P vs Spender

F2P accounts should treat the back half of HQ progression as a background process, not a project. Keep the prerequisites moving, keep builders busy, and let the HQ arrive when it arrives. The levels that matter are 22, 25, 26 and 30, and intermediate levels support the route to them. Time your completions into scoring events and you claw back a real fraction of the cost.

Spending accounts get the most from speed-ups here because build times run into weeks and the resource costs, while large, are farmable. Buying time rather than resources is the better conversion at this stage. Compare the actual bundle cost with the time saved and any reachable event reward before buying acceleration.

Common Mistakes

Letting Hero Precinct fall behind. It gates through the listed range. Fix: keep it at your current HQ level permanently.

Ignoring gas until HQ 20. Nothing before 16 spends it, so nobody produces it. Fix: build gas production from HQ 16.

Upgrading the wrong troop building. The rotation is Garage, Range, Barracks. Fix: check the pattern before you commit builder time.

Treating a historical table as the live rule. Confirm prerequisites, costs and state availability in the actual upgrade panel.

Finishing a multi-week build outside a scoring event. Fix: hold the last speed-ups and complete it inside an SvS preparation phase or SotF stage.

Chasing HQ level rather than the unlock. Intermediate levels provide capacity and prerequisite progress. Fix: plan to 22, 25, 26 and 30.

Once prerequisites and resources are ready, use the Chief Talents start sequence for Rapid Development. Activating it after construction has already started does not apply its start-time reduction to that existing timer.

FAQ

What are the HQ upgrade requirements in State of Survival? The historical 16–30 table uses Hero Precinct and a rotating troop building one level below the target. Confirm the current panel for your exact level and version.

What building do I need for HQ 28? The reference lists Hero Precinct 27 and Garage 27. Use your actual upgrade panel to resolve any discrepancy with a historical table.

What does HQ 30 unlock? HQ 30 enables the Tier 10 troop-building route and later Plasma progression when the state opens it. P.A.D.S. and advanced troop research have additional requirements.

How much does HQ 30 cost? 290 million food, 290 million wood, 81.1 million metal and 23.2 million gas, on a base build time of about 39 days and 12 hours. Only applicable resource-cost reductions change those figures; speed bonuses affect the timer.

When do Chief Gear and Chief Badges unlock? Chief Gear at HQ 22, Chief Badges at HQ 25. Together they're a large share of endgame chief power, so both levels are worth planning around.

What is Plasma HQ? Plasma is progression above ordinary HQ 30. This table covers historical P1–P15 costs; it is not the latest cap. Later upgrades and the Institute of Plasma have separate requirements.

How much do the listed historical P1–P15 upgrades cost? Roughly 5.78 billion food, 5.82 billion wood, 1.36 billion metal, 361.45 million gas, 18,184 Plasma Cores and 3,009 Polymerized Plasma across the fifteen listed historical levels. This excludes later levels, prerequisite buildings and troop research.

Which HQ levels are actually worth rushing? 16, 19, 22, 25, 26 and 30, because those carry troop tier unlocks or the Chief Gear and Badge systems. Intermediate levels also advance prerequisites and capacity; they are steps on the route, not optional upgrades.

Why is my HQ upgrade cheaper than these numbers? These are historical base reference values. A version change or an applicable resource-cost reduction can change the amount. Construction-speed research and talents affect time, so do not count them as resource discounts unless their description explicitly says so.

Key Takeaways

• The historical pattern through HQ 16–30: Hero Precinct at HQ minus 1, plus one troop building at HQ minus 1, rotating Garage → Range → Barracks.
• Garage gates 16, 19, 22, 25, 28. Range gates 17, 20, 23, 26, 29. Barracks gates 18, 21, 24, 27, 30.
• Gas costs start at HQ 16. Fix gas production before HQ 20 or the climb stalls.
• The levels with a reason attached: T6 at 16, T7 at 19, T8 and Chief Gear at 22, Chief Badges at 25, T9 at 26, T10 and Plasma at 30.
• Read per-upgrade Power gains separately from cumulative Power; a repeated value does not mean a zero gain.
• Listed HQ 16–30 total: ~1.25B food, ~1.25B wood, ~342.08M metal, ~95.34M gas, excluding prerequisite buildings.
• Historical P1–P15 rows total ~5.78B food and 18,184 Plasma Cores; this does not include later levels or the rest of the settlement.
• Confirm the live prerequisite panel before spending; a historical pattern does not override the current game.