State of Survival: Infected Horde Guide to Maximize Chief Gear

To maximize Chief Gear upgrade materials from the Infected Horde event in State of Survival, you must prevent your settlement from suffering two defeats across 20 waves while dispatching your extra march queues to reinforce alliance members. Defending your own base yields points only from incoming waves targeted at you, but reinforcing allies earns additional defensive points whenever their bases defeat an attack.

How the 20-Wave System and Settlement Elimination Work

The event sends 20 waves of infected from wilderness hives directly toward player settlements and the Alliance HQ. Waves escalate in difficulty, with Waves 7, 14, and 17 presenting sharp difficulty spikes. Waves 10 and 20 bypass player bases entirely to assault the Alliance HQ.

Managing settlement damage is required to stay eligible for rewards:

First Defeat: If an infected wave breaches your barricade, your settlement catches fire, and you receive zero defense points for that specific wave.
Second Defeat: Losing a second defense eliminates your settlement from the event. Incoming infected stop marching to your base for all remaining waves, capping your personal point ceiling.
Alliance HQ Defense: When Waves 10 and 20 launch, you must send reinforcements directly to the Alliance HQ to repel the strike and secure collective alliance points.

Surviving through Wave 20 requires maintaining enough home defense to prevent that decisive second loss while distributing spare troops outward.

March Allocation for Maximum Points

Earning top-tier milestone rewards requires using all available march slots. Leaving troops idle inside your settlement caps your point gain.

March Slot	Assignment	Objective
Home Garrison	Strongest defensive heroes and core troops	Defend against all personal settlement waves
Reinforcement 1	Offline or lower-level ally settlement	Earn defense points while preventing ally elimination
Reinforcement 2	Active ally with high Embassy capacity	Share defensive points against tougher waves
Reinforcement 3+	Secondary ally or flex march	Support struggling allies; recall for HQ waves
HQ March	Alliance HQ (Waves 10 and 20 only)	Repel high-threat boss waves targeting alliance structure

Follow these guidelines when deploying marches:

Check Embassy Capacity: Verify your target’s Embassy level before sending troops so your march is not turned away or diluted.
Prioritize Vulnerable Teammates: Send reinforcement queues to offline or lower-level members who cannot withstand Waves 7, 14, or 17 alone. This keeps their bases active and collects points from their attackers.
Protect Your Barricade: Never empty your home base completely unless a stronger ally has already garrisoned your settlement. If your base burns twice, your personal wave points end immediately.
Shift to Alliance HQ on Waves 10 and 20: Recall non-essential reinforcement marches before Waves 10 and 20 hit, then redirect your strongest units to reinforce the Alliance HQ.

Recommended Troop Distribution

For reinforcement marches, use a balanced troop ratio weighted toward front-row survivability:

Infantry (40–50%): Serves as the primary damage shield. If your frontline falls, rear Hunter and Rider units take direct damage and collapse quickly.
Hunters (30–35%): Provide consistent ranged damage from behind the barricade to eliminate high-health infected targets.
Riders (15–20%): Offer fast perimeter damage and assist in clearing standard wave minions.

For your home garrison, station heroes that provide settlement defense bonuses, Infantry health boosts, and area-of-effect damage on your wall before the event starts.

Mistakes That Lower Event Rewards

Leaving Troops Idle: Keeping march queues at home past your required defense threshold forfeits reinforcement points across all 20 waves.
Overcrowding Single Allies: Stacking multiple strong players into one settlement wastes reinforcements. Spread marches across different alliance members to maximize total wave coverage.
Missing Headquarters Alerts: Failing to garrison the Alliance HQ during Waves 10 and 20 costs your entire alliance pooled ranking points and risks structural damage.
Ignoring Pre-Event Buffs: Forgetting to activate settlement combat buffs or battle talents before Wave 1 leaves your settlement vulnerable during the Wave 17 to Wave 20 difficulty spike.