In State of Survival, unlocking the base FHS First Light aircraft carrier is worth doing if you regularly join competitive alliance rallies, but pushing high-tier upgrades is not necessary. Rally joiners provide passive support auras and reinforcements, while the rally leader's carrier dictates active skills and baseline march multipliers.
If your alliance already has dedicated rally leaders, secure the base frame for its passive squad buffs and direct your premium resources into core stats like Chief Gear, Chief Charms, and Hero tiers instead.
Carrier Mechanics: Rally Leader vs. Rally Joiner
Rally leaders and rally joiners interact with aircraft carrier systems differently during alliance combat. Understanding this division prevents unnecessary spending on stats your march cannot trigger.
| Carrier Feature | Rally Leader Role | Rally Joiner Role |
|---|---|---|
| Active Skills | Dictates full skill activation and targeting | Dormant; does not trigger active carrier skills |
| Passive Talents | Applies primary leader stat multipliers | Contributes stacking team auras and mitigation |
| Troop Capacity | Sets the total reinforcement capacity cap | Fills the march up to personal capacity limits |
| Aura Impact | Sets offensive pacing and core attributes | Bolsters frontline infantry survivability |
Older carriers, such as the standard Falcon, primarily supply personal march stats with minimal squad utility. FHS First Light introduces team-wide damage mitigation and lethality bonuses. When multiple joiners bring First Light into the same rally, these passive mitigation effects accumulate, allowing front-row infantry to survive longer against incoming enemy attacks.
Investment Strategy for Low Spenders and F2P
Acquiring and leveling aircraft carriers requires precision parts, dedicated components, and energy modules. Because non-leaders do not activate primary combat skills, high-tier upgrades offer steep diminishing returns for support marches.
- Secure the Base Unlock: Obtain the initial First Light frame through introductory events to unlock the baseline passive aura without purchasing premium packs.
- Stop at Early Aura Milestones: Upgrade components only until you reach the basic team-wide damage reduction nodes, then stop leveling.
- Preserve Core Materials: Divert biocaps, universal fragments, and badge materials toward Chief Gear, Chief Charms, and generation-specific heroes before spending them on late-stage carrier ranks.
- Assess Alliance Needs: If your alliance has high-spending rally leaders handling offensive duties, individual joiner carrier level matters far less than bringing high-tier troops on time.
March Loadouts and Talent Selection
To get the full benefit of FHS First Light when reinforcing a rally, adjust your squad formation and carrier talent tree to match the rally leader's setup.
Align Troop Ratios
Always match the troop distribution requested by the rally caller. If the leader runs an infantry-heavy defense or a rider-focused formation, align your reinforcing troops to match. First Light's passive damage reduction applies directly to the active frontline, and sending off-ratio filler troops weakens the aura's effectiveness.
Select Defensive and Rally Talents
Reset or configure your carrier talent tree specifically for rally support rather than solo utility:
- Select health and defense nodes over solo march speed or resource-gathering perks.
- Invest talent points into rally damage mitigation to reduce casualties when attacking garrisons.
- Prioritize troop survivability talents to keep your reinforcements active through multi-wave assaults.
Where FHS First Light Matters Most
Fielding First Light as a joiner is unnecessary for daily PvE content, such as standard infected fiends, where base troop power easily clears the target.
Reserve your First Light marches for competitive PvP events where frontline survival determines the outcome:
- State vs. State (SvS) Castle Battles: Cumulative damage mitigation helps garrisoned infantry absorb repeated enemy rallies.
- Capital Clash: Stacking team survivability reduces troop losses during sustained capture phases.
- Reservoir Raid: Coordinated First Light reinforcements give contested water treatment and facility rallies an edge against closely matched opponents.
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Player Comments
115 players commented on this guide.
I wish I had read this before upgrading the wrong thing.
I tried this today and it worked better than my old setup.
Nice guide. I am checking the other State of Survival articles next.
Good guide for State of Survival players. The base building part was useful.