How to Increase Power in Z Route: Redemption
Power is a total development score, and in Z Route: Redemption the largest share of it comes from hero levels, which the Base caps. To raise it, keep the Base moving, bring your main five heroes to the cap, then add stars, skills, gear, research and a fighter, and train soldiers when you need a quick boost. Power is not fighting strength, so spend on the squad you actually use.
What Power Measures
The power number adds up how developed your account is: heroes, buildings, research, gear and troops. It does not say who wins a fight. Two accounts with equal power can fight very differently, because faction counters, skills, squad makeup, morale, resistance and gear stats decide battles. A player who raises power with upgrades the squad never uses ends up strong on paper only.
You can see where your power comes from. One guide says that tapping the power number on your profile opens Commander Details, which splits it by category. The same guide describes a Power up! Rating tab that grades each category against a target for your Base level, so the category with the biggest gap is the one to fix first.
Where Power Comes From
One guide published the Commander Details of a Base 28 test account with 46.7 million power. The split below is one account, not a rule.
| Category | Power | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hero Level | 21,549,562 | 46.1% |
| Building | 4,106,724 | 8.8% |
| Decoration and Building Attributes | 3,822,582 | 8.2% |
| Hero Skill | 3,396,113 | 7.3% |
| Gear | 3,016,165 | 6.5% |
| Hero Star Level | 2,612,013 | 5.6% |
| Survivor | 2,366,675 | 5.1% |
| Fighter Level | 2,337,044 | 5% |
| Tech | 2,223,740 | 4.8% |
| Fighter Component | 1,039,000 | 2.2% |
| Wingman | 148,200 | 0.3% |
| Hall of Legends | 91,350 | 0.2% |
| Soldiers | 0 | 0% |
Hero levels alone are 46.1 percent, followed by buildings, decorations, skills, gear and stars, each between 5 and 9 percent. Survivors, the fighter and research sit near 5 percent each. The same guide says that on a larger account soldiers grew to 34 percent of power, so soldiers turn into a major source later in the game.
Fastest Ways to Raise Power
Not every upgrade pays the same. One guide ranks the ways to add power by how much and how fast each one adds. A second guide lists a similar set in a different order and does not rank them, so use the table as a guide to size and not as a strict order.
| Rank | Way to raise power | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Train soldiers | largest and fastest, but temporary: soldiers die when you are attacked |
| 2 | Level heroes to the Base cap | largest permanent source |
| 3 | Gear on the main squad | - |
| 4 | Stars on the main five | - |
| 5 | Hero skills (skill books) | - |
| 6 | Fighter level and components | - |
| 7 | Decorations and Training Centers | - |
| 8 | Tech, buildings and survivors | slow and steady; most building upgrades add only 5,000 to 50,000 power |
The pattern is simple. Soldiers are the largest and fastest source, but they are temporary. Hero levels are the largest permanent source. Everything else adds smaller, steady amounts, and buildings are the slowest, which is why you upgrade only the ones your Base needs.
Upgrade Order
The sources agree on the core of the order: decide the main squad, raise the Base, and put everything else on that squad. This sequence combines their priority lists.
- Decide the main squad and its main type (Warrior, Tactical or Assault)
- Keep Base moving so the hero level cap rises (5 more levels per Base level)
- Bring the main five to the cap
- Research that boosts that squad (Squad 1, Hero branch, Soldier ATK/DEF/HP)
- Stars on the main five, 4 stars first
- Skills, read each one before spending
- Gear on the main squad: Level 10 on everything before Level 20
- Fighter, decorations, matching Training Center
- Soldiers for events and fights (temporary)
Each step has a home page on this site. The squads page picks the main squad and its type, the base page lists what the Base needs, and the research page covers the trees. For gear see the gear page, and for soldiers the troops page.
This video shows how hero levels, stars, research and troops add up to combat power.
Hero Levels and Stars
Every Base level adds 5 to the hero level cap, which stops at 150 once the Base hits 30. Once your main five hit the cap, only another Base upgrade lets their levels grow again. Send Hero EXP almost entirely to those five. The heroes page explains the EXP curve and where the EXP comes from.
Stars come next. Aim for 3 stars early and make 4 stars the priority for every main hero, because 4 stars unlocks the fourth skill, which adds 20 percent ATK, DEF and HP and 10 percent skill cooldown speed. Five stars is the long-term goal for the main five. Spend hero-specific shards first and use universal shards only to close the gap. Skill upgrades usually cannot be undone, so read who a skill affects, how big it is and how long it lasts before you spend Skill EXP.
A squad of matching hero types adds a formation bonus of up to 20 percent, which the squads page breaks down. A stray hero of another type lowers that bonus, so check the squad before you promote one.
Gear Priority
Gear is a steady source of power on the main squad only. Defense pieces go on the tanks and damage pieces go on the attackers. Attackers take the Rifle before the Scope. Guides say to dismantle green and blue gear without enhancing it, and to treat purple gear as a temporary bridge to UR (gold) gear, which keeps growing past level 10.
One guide marks levels 10, 20, 30 and 40 as the big buff levels, says gear stars unlock at level 40 and advises bringing every main-squad piece to level 10 before pushing any to level 20. Keep gear on secondary squads at level 0 and reuse the recovered stones on the main squad. In one example, Monroe has 2,270,000 power with gear and 1,610,000 without it, so gear makes up about 29 percent of that hero.
Research Priority
Research adds power slowly, and its buffs work every day. Early on, one guide says to spread standard research across several trees to collect the cheap buffs near the top, up to roughly 40 to 50 percent, and to push deep into one tree later. This is the priority list from the same guide, which covers all 15 trees.
| Research tree | Priority |
|---|---|
| Develop | max early |
| Hero | high |
| Soldier | high |
| Squad 1 | high |
| Economy | medium |
| Full Development | medium |
| Prosperous Economy | medium |
| Squad 2, 3, 4 | low |
| Alliance Competition (Research Data) | critical, first |
| Super Soldiers (Research Data) | critical, second |
| Convoy (Research Data) | low, time it |
| Offense Strategy / Defense Strategy (Research Data) | low |
The guide adds that Research Data should go to the Alliance Competition tree until it reaches 80 percent, and then to Super Soldiers, whose last skill unlocks T10 soldiers. The Squad 1 tree is cheap and also applies in the Arena, so it is a safe pick when the queue would otherwise sit idle. Do not research only for the plus on the power number: choose the trees that strengthen your main squad.
Fighter and Decorations
The fighter jet gives the same flat bonus to every hero you own, not just one squad, and one guide calls it a strong upgrade per resource. Fighter Command opens at Base 15. Fighter levels cost combat chips, a key upgrade comes every 5 levels and needs fighter parts, and components fuse three of the same level into the next one. One guide lists these milestones, and the wingmen page covers the fighter in detail.
| Fighter level | What it unlocks |
|---|---|
| 30 | Inferno Missile upgrade |
| 40 | RX-2 Viper; Fighter ATK up 5,000 |
| 50 | Inferno Missile can deal 22% extra damage |
| 70 | Jamming: damage taken up 26% for 3.2 seconds |
| 90 | bonus damage rises to 45% |
| 100 | RX-3 Orion; All Hero ATK up 5% |
| 110 | Jamming duration rises to 4.2 seconds |
| 140 | RX-4 Destroyer; All Hero Skill DMG up 2% |
| 190 | RX-5 Phantom; all heroes take 5% less damage |
Decorations are not cosmetic. They add flat Hero ATK, DEF and HP, and a few add crit damage or economy bonuses. One test account shows 88,560 HP, 3,343 ATK and 525 DEF from decorations, and the guide says the bonus reached every hero it checked, across two factions. Level first the decorations that jump the most at the next level. The Training Center of your main faction adds Command, HP, ATK and DEF to that faction only, so upgrade the one that matches the squad. Wingmen add very little, only 0.3 percent on the test account. See the skins page for the decoration list.
Soldiers and Power
Soldiers are the fastest way to raise power, and the weakest foundation. One guide gives 1,350 power for each T9 soldier. That power is real until you are raided, and then it vanishes. Train soldiers for events and fights, and shield your base when you are offline. Build soldier power last, after the permanent sources are in place.
Power Mistakes
Guides list the same errors again and again.
- Chasing the power number with soldiers only (first raid wipes it)
- Spreading gear and shards across every squad
- Upgrading every building equally
- Ignoring the fighter
- Leveling research only for the power plus on paper
The beginner version of this advice is on the beginner guide, and the tips page collects the shorter habits.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I increase power fast in Z Route Redemption?
Train soldiers for the quickest jump, then level your main five heroes to the Base cap for the biggest lasting gain. Soldiers are temporary, because a raid kills them, while hero levels stay. After that add stars, skills, gear on the main squad, research for your squad and a fighter. Keep the Base moving so the hero level cap keeps rising.
What gives the most power in Z Route Redemption?
Hero levels give the most lasting power. On one Base 28 account they made 46.1 percent of 46.7 million power, far ahead of buildings at 8.8 percent. Soldiers can add more at a given moment, but they are lost when you are raided, so they are a short-term boost and not a foundation.
Why is my power high but I keep losing fights?
Power is a development score, not a measure of fighting strength. Two accounts with equal power can fight very differently, because faction counters, skills, squad makeup, morale, resistance and gear stats decide battles. Check that your power sits in the squad you actually fight with and not in bench heroes or research that does not touch your squad.
Does gear raise power?
Yes, gear is a steady source on the main squad. In one example, Monroe has 2,270,000 power with gear and 1,610,000 without it, so gear is about 29 percent of that hero. Put gear on the main squad only, bring every piece to level 10 first, and keep spare squads at level 0.
What does the Power up rating tab show?
One guide describes a Power up! Rating tab that grades each power category against a target for your Base level. Use it to find the weakest category and fix that first. Open the power number on your profile to reach Commander Details, which lists how much power comes from heroes, buildings, gear, research and the rest.
Do soldiers count toward power?
Yes, and they are the fastest way to add power, but they are temporary. One guide gives 1,350 power for each T9 soldier. When your base is raided, soldiers die and that power disappears. Train them for events and fights, and put a shield up when you are offline, as the base guide explains.