Resource Gathering

TL;DR

• 5 simultaneous marches (4 from Command Tactics I/II/III + 1 from VIP 6) is the gathering benchmark
• Park your Town Center inside alliance territory — the +50–100% gathering bonus applies based on your TC’s location, not the tile’s
• Focus Economy tree on gathering nodes, not output nodes — skip production research unless it’s a prerequisite gate to the next gathering tier
• Gordon is the top gathering hero; all blue (Rare) heroes auto-assign correctly per resource type
• Farm accounts (a second account built purely for gathering) are a proven F2P meta — a TC 18 farm with 4 marches generates 2–5M resources/day
• Tile sweet spot: Level 6–8 — best balance of yield, speed, and availability

March setup

Work toward 5 simultaneous gathering marches:

• Command Tactics I (Growth Tree, Academy Lv 2): +1 march queue
• Command Tactics II (Growth Tree, Academy Lv 13): +1 march queue
• Command Tactics III (Growth Tree, Academy Lv 18): +1 march queue — the final research-based march slot
• VIP 6 (~90,000 cumulative VIP XP, reachable mid-game at 350–500 free/day): +1 march queue

Each march slot also serves Intel Missions, rally joining, and solo attacks — Command Tactics research pays dividends across every activity.

Economy tree research priority

The Economy tree contains two categories: output nodes (passive building production, scales poorly) and gathering nodes (map tile collection speed, scales well). Only gather nodes are worth researching except as unavoidable prerequisites.

Each resource type (Bread/Wood/Stone/Iron) has its own 6-tier gathering research chain. Early tiers (+27% per tier series) are fast and cheap; late tiers (+53.5% per tier series, requiring Academy Lv 27–30) take days to weeks. Combined stacking from research + heroes + territory can reach 300–400% total gathering speed.

Priority order within Economy tree:

1. Gather nodes for Bread and Wood first — consumed in the largest quantities
2. Stone gathering second — scales up at TC20+
3. Iron gathering third
4. Skip output nodes unless they gate a gathering tier unlock

The Economy tree maxes in approximately 166 days, compared to 883 days for the Growth tree — it’s achievable F2P with consistent play.

Gathering heroes

Send a gathering hero in each march. The hero must be in the march to activate the bonus.

Top heroes:

• Gordon — +25% Gathering Speed + +25% March Capacity (2nd skill); universally rated #1 gathering hero

All blue (Rare) heroes carry gathering speed bonuses for specific resource types. When you send a gathering march, the game automatically assigns the correct blue hero for that resource type — you don’t need to manually pick the right one per march.

For blue (Rare) heroes, level their 2nd expedition skill first (gathering speed) — their 1st skill is typically a production bonus that provides no gathering benefit. Skip the 1st skill unless it’s a prerequisite.

Alliance territory

A city sitting inside alliance territory gathers at +50–100% passive speed for all members. The bonus is keyed to the sending city’s location, not the gathering tile’s — once your Town Center is parked inside the hive, every march benefits, even on tiles outside territory. This stacks with all other bonuses.

Farm accounts

A second account built solely for gathering is a well-established F2P meta. Short version of the setup:

• Town Center 18 (Academy 18 unlocks Command Tactics III for 4 march slots; TC 13 is a viable cheaper stop with 3 marches)
• T5 troops trained to volume — high gathering capacity per soldier, cheap to AFK-train at troop-building level 13
• Academy focused on Command Tactics + Economy tree gathering nodes
• Storehouse at level 1 — minimum protection, so your main can plunder freely
• Transfer to main via the plunder method — your main attacks the farm and loots whatever sits above the level 1 Storehouse cap. There is no trading post or gift-resources mechanic in Kingshot.

A TC 18 farm with 4 marches generates roughly 2–5M total resources per day when optimized. With two farms: 4–10M/day supplementing your main.

Full treatment in the dedicated category: What a farm account is, Farm build order, Daily farm routine, Moving resources from farm to main.

TL;DR

• Same mechanics as F2P — gathering is still the dominant income source
• Spend gap is primarily time to VIP 6, faster research, and faster hero development — not access to different mechanics
• Gordon remains the #1 gathering hero regardless of spend
• Resource packs from shop supplement but don’t replace gathering; at TC25–29 resource costs, packs alone can’t keep up
• Alliance territory stacking (+50–100%) is equally valuable — keep your TC parked inside the hive

Gathering heroes

Same priorities as F2P. Gordon’s +25% speed and +25% march capacity are multiplicatively strong when combined with Economy tree research. With faster hero skill development via spending, you can hit Gordon’s max skill levels earlier.

Purchased gathering boosts

A 24-hour +50% Gathering Speed boost item is reportedly available from the shop. Timing these during gathering events compounds the bonus stack: territory (50–100%) + research (up to ~200% cumulative) + hero (25%) + shop boost (50%) = significant single-session output.

Resource packs vs. gathering

At TC25–29 construction costs (80M–240M Bread/Wood per TC upgrade), resource packs from standard bundles cover partial costs. Gathering remains necessary for sustained throughput between upgrades. Use packs for emergency resource gaps or event purchases; maintain gathering infrastructure regardless.