Survivors in Z Route: Redemption
Survivors are named characters who work in your base and are separate from heroes. You recruit them at the Highway Tavern, and each one has a job that adds a bonus to one building, such as more resources, faster research or a larger Drill Ground. The page lists all 17 jobs, the star costs, the use of Survivor Tokens and the sources of Survivor Recruit Tickets.
Survivor Jobs
Each job belongs to one building, and the bonus applies there. One database lists the 17 jobs below.
| Job | Building | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Farmer | Farm | Food Output |
| Miner | Metal Smelting Plant | Metal Output |
| Oil Worker | Oil Extraction Well | Oil Output |
| Food Manager | Barn | Food Protection (+capacity) |
| Metal Manager | Metal Warehouse | Metal Protection (+capacity) |
| Oil Depot Manager | Oil Tank | Oil Protection (+capacity) |
| Instructor | Soldier Training Camp | Soldier Training Limit |
| Advisor | Drill Ground | Drill Ground Capacity |
| Medic | Hospital | Healing Speed (+Hospital Capacity for the top quality) |
| Researcher | Alpha Research Division | Tech Research Speed (+Free Tech Research Speedup Time) |
| Builder | Engineering Department | Free Building Speedup Time |
| Bartender | Highway Tavern | Free Adv. Recruit Time / Free Survivor Recruitment CD |
| Mechanic | Gear Craft Center | Faster Hero Gear Crafting |
| Diplomat | Alliance Center | Help Limit, Help Time |
| Explorer | Armored Transport Truck | Total Loot Time (+Loot Output for the top quality) |
| Survivalist (Giles) | - | Additional Chests from Radar Missions Daily |
| Tactician (May) | - | Command, Hero ATK |
The last two jobs belong to named survivors. The Survivalist job is held by Giles, whose shards are sold in the VIP 1 to 7 Special packs, and the Tactician job is held by May, whose shards are sold in the VIP 8 to 11 Special packs. Giles raises the chest count of daily Radar missions by +5 at 0 stars and +30 at 5 stars, and May adds Command and Hero ATK. Survivor bonuses are also one source of Command, the number of soldiers a hero brings, so they matter for squads.
Qualities and Stars
The same database lists 383 survivors under 91 names and five qualities, with Legendary on top and Rare second. Only those two qualities have stars. The other qualities keep a fixed bonus. The table shows the first bonus of each job at 0 and 5 stars, and a second value after a slash where a job has two bonuses.
| Job | Top quality, 0 stars | Top quality, 5 stars | Second quality, 0 stars | Second quality, 5 stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advisor | +4.90% | +17.60% | +3.50% | +6.00% |
| Bartender | -6h 30m | -6h 30m / +2h 5m | -4h 10m | -4h 10m / +1h 27m |
| Builder | +32m | +32m / +31m | +21m | +39m |
| Diplomat | +3 | +3 / +31m | +2 | +2 / +10m |
| Explorer | +4h 10m | +4h 10m / +25.00% | +2h 5m | +2h 55m |
| Farmer | +49.00% | +100.00% | +35.00% | +55.00% |
| Food Manager | +12.00% | +12.00% / +1,875,000 | +3.00% | +8.00% |
| Instructor | +4.90% | +17.60% | +3.50% | +6.00% |
| Mechanic | +8.00% | +20.00% | +5.20% | +10.00% |
| Medic | +11.00% | +11.00% / +25 | +5.00% | +7.50% |
| Metal Manager | +12.00% | +12.00% / +1,875,000 | +3.00% | +8.00% |
| Miner | +49.00% | +100.00% | +35.00% | +55.00% |
| Oil Depot Manager | +12.00% | +12.00% / +625,000 | +3.00% | +8.00% |
| Oil Worker | +49.00% | +100.00% | +35.00% | +55.00% |
| Researcher | +24.00% | +24.00% / +31m | +15.00% | +15.00% / +10m |
A top-quality survivor also carries more power: 20,000 at 0 stars and 51,875 at 5 stars, against 10,200 and 25,825 for the second quality. Unlocking any survivor takes 10 shards.
This video follows a VS build day and shows a survivor being recruited and evolved.
Survivor Tokens
Survivor Tokens are the second currency for star upgrades. Every upgrade step needs a survivor's shards and Survivor Tokens together, and the game splits the climb into 25 steps, 5 per star. The table gives the cost of each star and the running total.
| Star | Shards | Survivor Tokens | Total shards | Total tokens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 310 | 25 | 310 |
| 2 | 50 | 1,400 | 75 | 1,710 |
| 3 | 100 | 4,280 | 175 | 5,990 |
| 4 | 150 | 8,415 | 325 | 14,405 |
| 5 | 250 | 11,000 | 575 | 25,405 |
Stars 4 and 5 hold about 76 percent of the token bill, so the first three stars are cheap. Large amounts of tokens come with the VIP Special packs, from 100 to 8,500 tokens each, and small amounts come with the Recruit Survivors packs. Buy tokens in the alliance shop only for a specific need. The VIP page lists the packs.
Recruiting Survivors
You recruit survivors at the Highway Tavern, the same building that recruits heroes, and the Motel shows the survivors you own. Clearing Block 8 unlocks the Tavern. Its free hero and free survivor recruits wait on a timer of 72 hours at the start, and each building level shaves off 1 hour. The Bartender job shortens the free recruit time further.
Recruit early. One guide ranks survivors as high priority along with heroes in week one, because their jobs cut build and research time. On Tuesday of the alliance competition, recruiting survivors also scores points; see the VS page.
Survivor Recruit Ticket
Survivor Recruit Tickets add recruits beyond the free cooldown. One guide lists these sources:
- The VIP shop sells a ticket for 200 diamonds at 50 percent off, with a limit of 55 per refresh.
- The Recruit Survivors pack at 4.99 USD holds 20 tickets, 10 tokens and 5 Top-Up EXP.
- The Deluxe Hero Intel Weekly Pass at 19.99 USD holds 10 tickets.
- The larger Recruit Survivors pack at 49.99 USD holds 4 UR Survivor Chests and 800 tokens.
- Alliance Ambush gives 2 tickets for starting a rally and 1 for joining one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do survivors do in Z Route Redemption?
Survivors are named characters separate from your heroes. You assign each one to a building, and the survivor's job adds a bonus there, such as more Food output, faster research or a bigger Drill Ground. One database lists 17 jobs. The bonus depends on the job and the quality, not on the survivor's name.
How do I use Survivor Tokens?
Survivor Tokens are the second currency for star upgrades. Every upgrade step needs a survivor's shards and Survivor Tokens together, and going from 0 to 5 stars takes 575 shards and 25,405 tokens. Large amounts of tokens come with the VIP Special packs, and small amounts come with the Recruit Survivors packs.
Where do I recruit survivors?
You recruit survivors at the Highway Tavern, the same building that recruits heroes. The Tavern becomes available once Block 8 of the campaign is cleared. The free hero and free survivor recruits share a cooldown that starts at 72 hours and drops by 1 hour per building level. Survivor Recruit Tickets add extra recruits.
Where do I get Survivor Recruit Tickets?
The VIP shop sells them for 200 diamonds each at 50 percent off, with a limit of 55 per refresh. Recruit Survivors packs and the Deluxe Hero Intel Weekly Pass include tickets, and Alliance Ambush gives 2 tickets for starting a rally and 1 for joining. The alliance shop ticket is poor value.
Which survivors are worth starring?
Only the top two qualities have stars. Inside one job and quality all survivors have identical numbers, so pick any. A second-quality Farmer at 5 stars gives +55.00% Food output, the same as a top-quality Farmer at 1 star, so the top quality reaches the same bonus with far fewer stars.