When does Chief Gear unlock in State of Survival?

At HQ 22. Chief Badges follow at HQ 25, which makes those two levels the quiet milestones in the back half of HQ progression.

What is the chief gear set order?

Rookie, Riot, Blast, Frontline, Sturdy, Resistant, Tactical, Tactical G1, Assault, Assault G1, Intrepid, Intrepid G1, Daredevil, Daredevil G1, Strategic, Strategic G1, Strategic G2, Vanguard, Vanguard G1, Vanguard G2, Unyielding and its G-steps, then Dominator.

How much does a chief gear set cost?

It escalates sharply. Intrepid needs 9,375 advanced alloy, 95 adhesive, 25 gear tools and 60 gear designs. Vanguard G2 needs 30,241 alloy, 302 adhesive, 81 tools and 52 designs.

What's more important, chief gear or chief badges?

Both, and you have to fund both. Gear gives larger single percentage jumps, badges add roughly 332% health and lethality per troop type when maxed and are far more commonly neglected.

Where do I get Tactical Gear Designs?

Specific events, ranking rewards and packs only. They don't drop from farming, which is why they're the main thing stalling most accounts' gear progress.

What are the chief badge ranks?

Mercenary Grades 1 and 2, Officer Grades 1 and 2, Commander Grades 1 to 3, then General Ranks 1 to 4. There are 18 craftable badges and 33 equippable entries in total.

Where do I get Mercenary Influence?

Capital Clash, and the Reservoir Raid store at 500 silver coins each. Badge progress is directly tied to turning up for those two events.

Which chief badges should I upgrade first?

Infantry, to strengthen your defensive core, then follow your troop specialisation. Badges are troop-type specific, so one on a type you don't field does nothing.

Should I upgrade badges during events?

Always. A badge upgrade scores from 625 points at Mercenary Grade 1 up to 108,000 at General Rank 4 in Survival of the Fittest. Doing one outside a window is the most expensive mistake in the system.

How do I get talent points?

By raising your Chief Level. Each level grants a number of points to spend across the War and Economy trees.

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State of Survival Chief Guide: Gear, Talents and Badges

Last Updated: August 1, 2026

Published: August 1, 202612 min read