The Core Shelter Progression Loop

Step 1: Prioritize Headquarters (HQ)
Your Headquarters should drive your shelter progression.
HQ upgrades unlock buildings and determine the maximum level available for both heroes and buildings, making your Headquarters the primary progression bottleneck.
Your Basic Progression Loop
Check next HQ requirement → Upgrade prerequisites → Upgrade HQ → Repeat
Don't try to keep every building at the same level as your Headquarters.
Instead, determine what your next HQ upgrade actually requires and focus your construction resources there first.
For detailed HQ progression, refer to our:
HQ Upgrade & Progression Guide — Levels 1–35
Step 2: Track HQ Prerequisites
Starting at HQ8, the Laboratory becomes part of the core HQ upgrade path.
The basic pattern is:
Laboratory + Required Building → Next HQ
The second required building rotates between:
City Walls
Alliance Center
Assaulter Camp
Shooter Camp
Rider Camp
Important
Keep the building required for your next HQ level ready.
The other buildings do not need to stay equal to your HQ level unless they're needed for another reason.
Laboratory
The Laboratory unlocks at HQ7 and is used to research technologies.
Because it becomes a recurring HQ prerequisite, keeping your Laboratory on the progression path helps prevent it from becoming a roadblock later.
Page 1 Rule
Don't upgrade everything. Upgrade what gets you to the next HQ.