State of Survival: How to Unlock T11 Riders via Plasma Polymerization

To unlock Tier 11 (T11) Riders in State of Survival, you must complete the Rider branch of the Plasma Polymerization research tree inside your Military Institute. This advanced military feature becomes accessible once your state matures into its late-game timeline, typically around Day 600 to Day 631.

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Unlocking Plasma Polymerization

Plasma Polymerization operates as an independent academic research tree within the Military Institute, separate from standard Plasma building upgrades for your Headquarters and troop buildings.

Before this system unlocks, troop development caps at Tier 10 with Star levels. Once your state reaches the required age milestone, the Military Institute introduces dedicated Polymerization research tracks for Infantry, Riders, and Hunters. Advancing these tracks requires normal resources (food, wood, metal, and gas), dedicated research speedups, and large quantities of Plasma Cores.

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Rider Research Progression Path

You cannot skip intermediate nodes to reach T11 units immediately. The Rider branch requires finishing stat upgrades sequentially before the capstone unlock node becomes available:

Foundational Defense and Attack: Upgrades standard base defensive and offensive stats.
Lethality and Health Modifiers: Increases combat survivability and damage output.
Advanced Mobility and Piercing: Enhances march speed and defense penetration.
T11 Rider Unlock Milestone: Unlocks direct T11 Rider training and T10 promotion in the Garage.

Later nodes require multiple weeks of base research time. To avoid stalls, apply your Development Talent preset, activate settlement research speed buffs, and request alliance officer titles before starting deep branch nodes.

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T10 Star Riders vs. T11 Polymerized Riders

Completing the final Rider node transforms your Garage capabilities. You can either train T11 Riders directly using resources and Plasma Cores, or promote existing T10 Riders. Promoting existing units requires fewer resources and less time than training new batches from scratch.

Attribute	T10 Star Rider	T11 Polymerized Rider	Practical Impact
Base Attack	Standard Star baseline	Significantly higher	Penetrates fortified defense lines more reliably
Backline Flanking	Moderate effectiveness	Enhanced lethality	Inflicts heavy damage against enemy Hunters
March Speed	Standard cavalry speed	Accelerated	Reaches targets and neutral buildings faster
Production Cost	Standard resources	Resources + Plasma Cores	Requires continuous core budgeting per batch

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Managing Plasma Cores and Speedups

Plasma Cores are the primary progression bottleneck for Polymerization. To sustain research without halting other settlement upgrades, follow these resource guidelines:

Save Research Speedups for Events: Reserve generic and research speedups for State vs. State (SvS) prep stages or Institute research events to earn return milestone rewards.
Budget Plasma Cores Exclusively for Research: Prioritize purchasing Plasma Cores through daily Biocap deals, event crates, and SvS rewards before your state reaches Day 600.
Promote Rather Than Train Fresh: Build your cavalry numbers at Tier 10 during earlier game phases, then promote them to T11 after completing the final node to save both Plasma Cores and queue time.