A complete main-squad progression guide covering hero tiers, formation bonuses, star levels, skills, gear, Jet, Wingmen, Base Level, soldier tiers, and combat research.
Build One Powerful Main Squad First
The most important squad-building decision in Z Route: Redemption is where you concentrate your resources. For newer players and lighter spenders, spreading heroes, shards, gear, skill materials, research, and upgrade resources across three or four squads usually creates several average teams instead of one squad capable of winning difficult fights.
A stronger approach is to build one dominant main squad first. Your secondary squads can still gather resources and start rallies, but your best heroes, strongest gear, hero shards, research focus, and upgrade materials should stay concentrated on Team 1 until that squad is firmly established.
Eight systems work together to determine your squad strength: heroes, star levels, hero skills, gear, technology research, Jet, Wingmen, and Base Level. Ignoring any one of them creates a weakness that will eventually show up in battle reports.
Hero Tiers: What You Should Invest In
| Hero Tier | How to Use It | Investment Priority |
| Gold / Legendary | Endgame standard for your main squad. The long-term goal is five Legendary heroes. | Highest |
| Purple | Useful early and often effective against monsters, but temporary for a serious PvP-focused main squad. | Temporary |
| Blue | Do not invest meaningful resources here for a serious main squad. | Avoid |
A useful rule from the guide is that a 3-star Legendary hero will generally outperform a 5-star Purple hero. That is why Legendary development should take priority over finishing Purple heroes.
Formation Bonuses: Build Toward Five of the Same Type
Heroes belong to three types: Warrior, Tactical, and Assault. Stacking heroes of the same type gives the entire squad a bonus to HP, ATK, and DEF.
| Formation | Bonus |
| 3 of the same type | +5% HP / ATK / DEF |
| 3 of one type + 2 of another matching type | +10% HP / ATK / DEF |
| 4 of the same type | +15% HP / ATK / DEF |
| 5 of the same type | +20% HP / ATK / DEF |
Early on, use your strongest heroes while keeping the correct frontline and backline roles. As your roster improves, aim for three matching heroes first, then four, and eventually a full five-hero formation for the +20% bonus.
Hero Roles and Best Slot Positioning
Every squad uses two tanks in the front and three attackers in the back. Correct positioning matters because the five slots do not receive equal amounts of incoming damage.
| Slot | Damage Taken | Best Use |
| Front-Right | Most | Your best tank: highest stars and strongest defensive gear. |
| Front-Left | High | Second tank. |
| Back-Center | Least | Your best DPS attacker: this is the most protected backline slot. |
| Back-Left | Medium | Remaining attacker, ordered by strength. |
| Back-Right | Medium | Remaining attacker, ordered by strength. |
Put your most heavily invested tank in Front-Right and your strongest damage dealer in Back-Center. If the weaker tank occupies Front-Right, it can fall early and expose the rest of the formation much faster.
How to Build Your Teams
| Team | Purpose |
| Team 1 – Main Squad | Primary attack squad. Put your best heroes, gear, and upgrade resources here. |
| Team 2 | Resource collection and rally support. |
| Team 3 | Resource collection and rally support. |
In the early game, winning fights matters more than forcing a perfect type bonus. Use your strongest available heroes while maintaining two tanks and three attackers. As the roster expands, start sorting by hero type and work toward a dedicated Warrior, Assault, or Tactical main squad.
Star Up Your Main Heroes
Hero star levels are one of the biggest long-term power multipliers. Legendary hero shards should be treated as a core progression resource because each star increases hero strength and unlocks higher skill tiers.
| Star Level | Cost per Point | Shards for Star | Cumulative Shards |
| 1 Star | 5 shards | 25 shards | 25 shards |
| 2 Stars | 10 shards | 50 shards | 75 shards |
| 3 Stars | 20 shards | 100 shards | 175 shards |
| 4 Stars | 60 shards | 300 shards | 475 shards |
| 5 Stars | 100 shards | 500 shards | 975 shards |
Star targets: 3 stars is a realistic early milestone, 4 stars is the priority goal, and 5 stars is the long-term target for all five main heroes.
At 4 stars, the hero unlocks the Specialty skill, granting +20% ATK, DEF, and HP plus +10% Skill Cooldown Speed. This is why 4 stars is such an important breakpoint.
Where to Get Legendary Hero Shards
- Alliance Shop – prioritize Gold/Legendary shards when available.
- VIP Shop – check for Gold/Legendary shards.
- Trial Shop – check for Gold/Legendary shards.
- Honour Shop – refreshes monthly; always review it for Gold/Legendary shards.
- Truck pillaging – prioritize trucks carrying hero shards.
The guide also notes that paid daily hero packs and Hero Day offers can be efficient ways to target specific shards for players who choose to spend.
Hero Skills: Plan Before You Spend
Each hero has four skills. Skill investments cannot be recycled, so mistakes are permanent. Read each hero skill carefully before committing large amounts of skill resources.
| Skill Level | Unlocks At | What It Means |
| Level 10 | 3 Stars | Achievable for most players. |
| Level 20 | 4 Stars | Requires more resources; start making deliberate skill choices. |
| Level 30 | 5 Stars | Major investment. Only three of the four skills can reach Level 30. |
| 4th Skill – Specialty | 4 Stars | Fixed Specialty skill: +20% ATK, DEF, HP and +10% Skill Cooldown Speed. |
Gear: Put Every Valuable Upgrade on the Main Squad
The long-term goal is Legendary gear across all four slots on every main-squad hero. The important part is matching your best gear to the correct hero role.
| Gear | Role | Priority |
| Helmet | Tank | Defense gear. Useful, but lower priority than Vest at the same level. |
| Vest | Tank | Higher defense than Helmet at the same level. Prioritize on tanks. |
| Rifle | Attacker | Higher damage than Scope at the same level. Prioritize on attackers. |
| Scope | Attacker | Damage gear. Useful, but lower priority than Rifle at the same level. |
Secondary squads should stay on Level 0 gear. If you have already invested gear resources into Team 2 or Team 3, dismantle replaced pieces at the Gear Craft Centre and reuse those stones on the main squad.
Gear Tiers
| Tier | Use |
| Legendary | Main-squad goal. Invest in crafting and upgrading it. |
| Purple | Acceptable while working toward Legendary. Dismantle once replaced. |
| Blue | Dismantle; do not invest. |
| Green | Dismantle; do not invest. |
Gear Level Milestones
| Milestone | What Happens |
| Level 10 | Significant bonus buff |
| Level 20 | Significant bonus buff |
| Level 30 | Significant bonus buff |
| Level 40 | Significant bonus buff and unlocks gear star progression from 1 to 5 stars |
Get every main-squad gear piece to Level 10 before pushing individual pieces toward Level 20. Tanks should favor Vest and Helmet; attackers should favor Rifle and Scope. Let battle reports guide which standout item deserves extra levels beyond the general baseline.
Jet / Sky Fighter Progression
Your Jet contributes passive squad buffs and unlocks new aircraft or weapon upgrades at key levels. Fighter Parts and Combat Chips are the main upgrade materials, so it is useful to plan around the next milestone instead of stopping just short of it.
| Level | Unlock / Upgrade |
| Level 1 | RX-1 Sky Eye (3 stars) |
| Level 30 | Inferno Missile upgrade |
| Level 40 | RX-2 Viper (4 stars) – Fighter ATK +5,000 |
| Level 50 | Inferno Missile – can deal an extra 22% damage |
| Level 70 | Inferno Missile – jamming signal; increases damage taken by 26% for 3.2s |
| Level 90 | Inferno Missile – bonus damage increases to 45% |
| Level 100 | RX-3 Orion (5 stars) – All Hero ATK +5% |
| Level 110 | Inferno Missile – jamming signal; increases damage taken by 26% for 4.2s |
| Level 140 | RX-4 Destroyer – All Hero Skill DMG +2% |
| Level 190 | RX-5 Phantom – All heroes take 5% less DMG |
If you are close to a milestone, pushing through to the next unlock can be much more valuable than stopping a few levels short.
Jet Components
The Jet has six component slots. Components can be leveled and fused, and the guide recommends opening relevant boxes during Day 3 of the VS event so the same activity can contribute to event scoring. Components can also appear in the Alliance Shop and Trial Shop.
Wingmen: Match the Type to Your Main Squad
Wingmen come in Warrior, Tactical, and Assault types. Match Wingmen to the hero type used by your main squad. Each Wingman is automatically assigned to a set squad position and provides a different battle effect.
| Position | Role | Effect |
| Initiate | Shield | Starts battle with a fixed shield; after it expires, party damage taken is reduced. |
| Defense | DEF Boost | Provides a DEF bonus and gives the frontline additional DEF for the battle. |
| Attack | ATK Boost | When the Fighter bombs, heroes gain a temporary ATK boost and bombing targets increase. |
| Support | Damage + Counter | When the Fighter bombs, the backline gains damage and incoming enemy Battle Skill damage is reduced. |
Wingman tiers progress Green -> Blue -> Purple -> Gold. The long-term goal is four Gold Wingmen. Be careful when using Wingmen as upgrade fodder: duplicates are needed for evolution, and similar-looking units can be consumed accidentally.
Base Level: The Foundation Under Your Squad
Every Base Level increase raises the Hero Level Cap by 5 levels. Base progression also unlocks stronger troop tiers and gives access to Training Centres that improve hero stats.
Do Not Level Every Building Equally
Upgrade the buildings required for Base progression and the systems that directly support your main squad. If you have multiple Drill Grounds or similar buildings, you do not need to keep every copy at your current Base Level. Concentrating resources on prerequisites and priority buildings keeps progression faster and cheaper.
Soldier Training Camp and Troop Tiers
Keep at least one Soldier Training Camp progressing whenever possible because stronger soldier tiers provide a major increase to combat strength.
| Soldier Tier | Base Level | Notes |
| T1-T6 | Early Base Levels | Progress naturally |
| T7 | 20 | |
| T8 | 24 | |
| T9 | 27 | A strong target for most players |
| T10 | 30 | Requires significant investment |
Training Centres
There are separate Warrior, Tactical, and Assault Training Centres. Prioritize the Training Centre that matches your main squad instead of spreading building resources evenly across all three.
Tech Research for a Strong Main Squad
For squad building, the guide emphasizes four technology trees: Hero, Soldier, Squad 1, and Super Soldiers. The general rule is to work across the top of a tree before pushing too deeply because repeated upgrades become much more expensive farther down.
Hero Tree
Only invest heavily in the hero-type branch that matches your main squad: Warrior, Tactical, or Assault. Spend the minimum necessary in other type branches to unlock progression. The long-term goal is to reach the universal Hero ATK, DEF, HP, and Damage skills at the bottom of the tree.
Soldier Tree
Prioritize Soldier ATK, DEF, and HP. Soldier Load is useful for gathering but is not a direct combat priority.
Squad 1 Tree
Squad 1 improves Hero ATK, DEF, HP, Damage, march speed, and troop-loss reduction. It is comparatively inexpensive and offers strong value, making it a good place to keep progressing whenever your research queue would otherwise sit idle.
Super Soldiers Tree
Super Soldiers is a major combat tree that uses Research Data. It adds enhanced hero and soldier stats, Combat Defense, Soldier Morale, and other powerful upgrades. Because Research Data is limited, spending must be deliberate. The guide recommends pushing the Alliance Competition / VS-event research far enough to unlock maximum event rewards, then continuing to invest heavily in Super Soldiers.
Main Squad Progression Priority
| # | Priority | Why |
| 1 | Concentrate resources on Team 1 | A dominant main squad outperforms several underdeveloped teams. |
| 2 | Replace Purple with Legendary heroes | Legendary heroes are the long-term standard. |
| 3 | Build toward a 5-of-one-type formation | Full formation bonus reaches +20% HP / ATK / DEF. |
| 4 | Put best tank Front-Right and best DPS Back-Center | Protects your damage dealer and strengthens the frontline. |
| 5 | Push main heroes to 4 stars | Unlocks the Specialty skill and major stat bonuses. |
| 6 | Keep secondary-squad gear at Level 0 | Reclaims stones and materials for the main squad. |
| 7 | Get all main gear to Level 10, then 20 | Milestone bonuses create efficient power gains. |
| 8 | Push Jet milestones instead of stopping just short | Aircraft and missile unlocks provide large passive boosts. |
| 9 | Match Wingmen to your main squad type | Keeps Wingman bonuses aligned with your core formation. |
| 10 | Push Base and troop-tier milestones | Higher hero caps and soldier tiers raise total squad strength. |
| 11 | Focus Hero, Soldier, Squad 1, and Super Soldiers research | These trees directly support your main squad performance. |
Common Squad Building Mistakes to Avoid
Spreading Resources Across Too Many Squads
Building three or four partially developed squads slows the progress of the one team that actually needs to win your hardest fights.
Overinvesting in Purple or Blue Heroes
Purple can bridge the early game, but Legendary heroes should receive the long-term investment. Blue heroes should not consume serious resources.
Ignoring Formation Roles
A squad still needs two tanks in front and three attackers in back. Type bonuses do not compensate for a broken role setup.
Putting the Wrong Tank in Front-Right
The Front-Right slot receives the most damage. Put the strongest tank there.
Upgrading Secondary-Squad Gear
Levelled gear on Team 2 or Team 3 consumes stones that should strengthen your main squad.
Investing in the Wrong Hero Research Branch
Research spent on Warrior, Tactical, or Assault branches you do not use cannot be recovered.
Levelling Every Building Equally
Base progression is faster when you focus on prerequisite buildings, Soldier Training Camps, and the Training Centre that matches your squad type.
Final Squad Building Strategy
A powerful squad is not created by one system. It comes from stacking advantages across heroes, stars, skills, gear, Jet, Wingmen, Base progression, soldier tiers, and research while refusing to waste resources on secondary priorities too early.
- Build one main squad before trying to perfect multiple teams.
- Move toward five Legendary heroes of the same type for the full formation bonus.
- Use two tanks in front and three attackers in back.
- Put the strongest tank Front-Right and strongest DPS Back-Center.
- Treat 4 stars as the first major hero target because of the Specialty skill.
- Keep upgraded gear on the main squad only.
- Use gear milestones and battle reports to decide where extra stones go.
- Push Jet, Wingman, Base, and troop-tier milestones instead of spreading resources everywhere.
- Match Training Centre and Hero research to the type used by your main squad.
- Keep Tech Research moving and prioritize Hero, Soldier, Squad 1, and Super Soldiers for combat progression.
The goal is concentration. Every hero shard, gear stone, research upgrade, and building decision should make your primary squad harder to kill and more capable of winning the fights that matter.
