Unit Training — badge costs

Tech progress is time-based (not badge count). This means research progress is measured in research time, while badges are the cost you pay for each step. The first and second halves of the branch can differ greatly in badge cost. ■ Total cost • Total needed: 1,488,100 badges • 50% (Breakthrough) needs ~515,200 badges • Remaining 50% needs ~100K badges Read the numbers carefully: getting halfway already costs roughly a third of the total. So make sure your weekly badge income is enough to keep going, and avoid abandoning the branch midway. ■ The reward at the end After completion you unlock T10 troops and become extremely strong. With 2 research institutes in Season 2, expect at least ~$5,000 investment. That investment figure shows this is a long-term goal, mainly for heavy spenders. Free-to-play and light spenders should still progress through this branch, but set small milestone goals instead of expecting to finish quickly. ■ Saving tip Tip: Badges burn heavily Wednesday morning — queue speed-ups on Tuesday to start research Wednesday morning. Step by step: 1. Tuesday: use speed-ups so your current research ends on Wednesday morning. 2. Wednesday morning: start the most badge-hungry steps of the branch. 3. Other days: use the institute for other branches or cheaper steps. ■ Budgeting Use the Calculators & Planning section on this site to note how many badges you earn each week. Divide the remaining cost by that number to see how many weeks are left until the branch is done.