Part of the Events Series:
- Infected Fiends and PvE Rallies: Stamina costs, levels and Kill Rewards (You Are Here).
- Infected Horde Guide: The scheduled wave-defence event, which is a different thing.
- Explorer Trail Guide: The other stamina-gated PvE track.
- Events Index: Where all of this sits on the calendar.
- PvP and Rally Guide: Rally mechanics generally.
Quick Answer
Infected Fiends are the stronger infected that spawn out on the world map. They come in six levels and they are killed by rallies, not solo marches.
The numbers that decide your routine:
| Thing | Value |
|---|---|
| Chief Stamina per Fiend rally | 25 |
| Fiend levels | 1 to 6 |
| Kill Rewards start at | Level 4 |
| Kill Rewards per day | 3, resetting at 00:00 UTC |
Three mechanics people miss:
- Kill Rewards go to every rally member, not just the leader. Joining is genuinely worth your time.
- The cap is three Kill Rewards a day. Beyond that you are still killing Fiends, just not collecting the best part.
- Final Hope reinforcements join automatically in the last moments if nobody from your alliance does, so a rally with no joiners is not necessarily a dead rally.
The practical routine: rally level 4 or higher three times a day, take the Kill Rewards, and stop worrying about it. Everything below level 4 is stamina spent for the lesser rewards.
Overview
The world map's PvE is easy to under-use because nothing in the game tells you the rules. Fiends sit out there looking like obstacles, the rally button costs a resource you have not thought about, and the daily cap is invisible until you have already passed it.
What you'll find is that this is one of the better free material sources in the game once you know the shape. Fiend rallies pay Hero Gear Parts among other things, and they cost nothing but stamina and a march.
Here's the framing that makes it efficient. This is a capped daily, not a grind. Three Kill Rewards is the ceiling, and once you understand that, the optimisation collapses into a single question: are the three Fiends you rallied today at least level 4?
The Six Levels
Fiends spawn at levels 1 through 6, with rewards scaling accordingly.
The line that matters is level 4. From level 4 upward, defeating a Fiend produces Kill Rewards, which are distributed to all rally members after the kill. Below level 4 you still get the standard rewards, but the Kill Reward layer is absent.
That makes the level filter your entire strategy. A level 2 Fiend costs the same 25 Chief Stamina as a level 5 one and pays meaningfully less.
[!IMPORTANT] Do not spend stamina on Fiends below level 4 while higher ones are available. Same cost, no Kill Rewards. If your alliance is only clearing low-level Fiends out of habit, that is worth raising in chat.
Chief Stamina
Each Fiend rally costs 25 Chief Stamina.
Stamina is the shared budget across your PvE, and it is what stops this being infinite. Explorer Trail runs on its own Squad Stamina, but Chief Stamina is what Fiend rallies draw from, and it regenerates slowly.
Two habits follow:
Spend it on level 4+ Fiends first. With three Kill Rewards available a day, that is 75 stamina well spent before anything else has a claim on it.
Don't hoard stamina indefinitely. Like every other regenerating resource in this game, it caps. Stamina sitting at full is stamina you are no longer accruing, which is the same waste as an idle builder in the daily loop.
Kill Rewards and the Daily Cap
The part worth being precise about, because the cap catches everyone once.
Kill Rewards can be obtained three times per day, and the count resets at 00:00 UTC.
Two things fall out of that.
Everyone in the rally gets them. This is unusual and it is why Fiend rallies are worth joining even when your account is small. Your troops contribute, the Fiend dies, and you receive the same Kill Reward the leader does. For a developing account this is one of the cleanest ways to earn materials well above your own combat weight.
Three is the ceiling, so plan around your alliance's rhythm. If your alliance calls Fiend rallies at a predictable time, being present for three of them is the whole daily objective. If it does not, lead your own.
[!TIP] Note the 00:00 UTC reset against your own timezone. Players who log on late in their evening sometimes have two resets available in one session and never realise, because the counter rolled over while they were playing.
Final Hope Reinforcements
The mechanic that makes leading a Fiend rally low-risk even in a quiet alliance.
If a rally attracts no joiners from your alliance, Final Hope reinforcements join in the last few moments before it launches. You are not left sending a half-empty rally into a Fiend that will beat it.
That is worth knowing because the usual rally advice is that developing accounts should join rather than lead. For Fiends specifically, leading is safer than it is in PvP, and if nobody else is calling them, leading is how you collect your three.
Where Fiends Sit Among the PvE
The world map's PvE is broader than Fiends alone:
| Content | Shape |
|---|---|
| Wandering infected | Ordinary map zombies. Simple resources, low commitment |
| Infected Fiends | Six levels, rally-based, Kill Rewards from level 4 |
| Plague Zones | Active strike-team PvE with daily and weekly rewards |
| Explorer Trail | Staged tower defence on Squad Stamina |
| Influencer Trap | Alliance PvE damage event |
| Infected Horde | Scheduled wave defence, alliance-coordinated |
Worth separating two things that get confused constantly: Infected Fiends are always-available world map targets, while Infected Horde is a scheduled event. Different content, different rewards, different guides.
F2P vs Spender
F2P accounts should treat Fiend rallies as a core daily. Three Kill Rewards costs 75 Chief Stamina and returns materials that would otherwise be a biocap purchase. Because rewards go to every joiner, this is one of the few systems where a small account collects at the same rate as a large one, so it is disproportionately valuable early.
Spending accounts gain little direct advantage here, since the cap is three per day regardless of budget. What money buys is the ability to lead higher-level Fiends comfortably, which helps the alliance more than it helps you.
Common Mistakes
Rallying Fiends below level 4. Same 25 stamina, no Kill Rewards. Fix: filter by level.
Not joining other people's Fiend rallies. Rewards go to all members. Fix: join every one you can.
Missing the three-per-day cap. Extra kills lose the best layer. Fix: know your count.
Ignoring the 00:00 UTC reset. Fix: check it against your own timezone.
Letting Chief Stamina sit at cap. It stops regenerating. Fix: spend it on level 4+ Fiends.
Confusing Fiends with Infected Horde. Different content entirely. Fix: Fiends are on the map; Horde is scheduled.
Rally Auto-Join
Version 1.25.600 introduced Rally Auto-Join. Where available, inspect the rally types, troops, heroes and participation settings before enabling it. The announcement does not establish universal offline behavior or eligibility for every event; verify the actual settings on your account. Check the first resulting report and leave enough marches and stamina for your planned activities.
Reserve the Right Stamina
Use the Chief and Squad Stamina guide to budget rally joins separately from Explorer activity. The Travis walkthrough covers his displayed saving and the Hunting the Hunter log targets, which should not be confused with ordinary Fiends.
FAQ
What are Infected Fiends in State of Survival? Stronger infected that spawn on the world map, in six levels. They are killed with rallies rather than solo marches.
How much stamina does a Fiend rally cost? 25 Chief Stamina per rally.
What are Kill Rewards? Extra rewards given to all rally members after defeating a Fiend of level 4 or higher. They can be obtained three times per day.
When do Kill Rewards reset? At 00:00 UTC daily. Check that against your own timezone, since the rollover can fall mid-session.
Do I need joiners to rally a Fiend? Not necessarily. If nobody from your alliance joins, Final Hope reinforcements arrive in the last moments before the rally launches.
Which Fiend level should I target? Level 4 or above, always. Lower levels cost the same stamina and pay no Kill Rewards.
Is it worth joining Fiend rallies with a small account? Yes, and disproportionately. Kill Rewards go to every member regardless of contribution size, so a developing account collects at the same rate as a large one.
Are Infected Fiends the same as Infected Horde? No. Fiends are always-available world map targets. Infected Horde is a scheduled wave-defence event.
Key Takeaways
- Fiends spawn at levels 1 to 6 on the world map and are killed by rallies.
- 25 Chief Stamina per rally.
- Kill Rewards start at level 4 and go to every rally member.
- Three Kill Rewards per day, resetting 00:00 UTC.
- Never rally below level 4 while higher ones exist. Same cost, worse payout.
- Final Hope reinforcements cover a rally nobody joins, so leading is low-risk here.
- Join every Fiend rally you can. Small accounts collect at the same rate as large ones.
- Fiends are world map content; Infected Horde is a scheduled event.