Z Day: Hearts of Heroes – Beginner’s Guide

Z Day: Hearts of Heroes is a mobile strategy game that incorporates elements of military tactics, base-building, and survival in a World War III-stricken Earth. Your first objective as a new commander is to recover an enemy-occupied base by constructing a modern military facility, training soldiers, and establishing powerful political coalitions for better resource acquisition.

If you are entirely new to the game or are hoping to polish your early stage strategy, this beginner guide is built to jump-start your Z Day: Hearts of Heroes journey.

1. Understand the Game’s Core Mechanics

Before diving deep into building or battling, it’s important to understand the key elements of Z Day:

• Base Building: Your main hub for upgrades, resource production, and troop management.
• Troop Training & Combat: Train troops in different categories and send them on battles, either PvE or PvP.
• Heroes: Commanders who bring powerful bonuses and lead your armies into battle.
• Alliances: Clans or guilds where you can cooperate with other players for benefits and protection.
• Events: Time-limited game modes that offer massive rewards if participated in wisely.

2. Prioritize Base Development

Your base is the foundation of everything. Focus on these elements early on:

Headquarters

This is the heart of your base. Upgrading it unlocks new buildings and higher levels for existing ones. Always aim to level up your HQ, but make sure supporting buildings are upgraded first (as many are prerequisites).

Farms, Oil Rigs, and Iron Mines

Resources are crucial for construction, troop training, and research. Make sure these production buildings are always working and upgraded regularly.

Warehouse

This protects a portion of your resources from being looted. Upgrade it often to safeguard your hard-earned resources from enemy raids.

Military Buildings

Barracks (Infantry), Garage (Tanks), and Shooting Range (Ranged Units) are where you train troops. Keep them upgraded to unlock higher-tier units.

3. Train a Balanced Army

Troops in Z Day fall under different types: Infantry, Ranged, Tanks, and Air Units. Each has strengths and weaknesses. As a beginner:

• Start by training a balanced army rather than focusing on one type.
• Learn troop matchups (e.g., Tanks are great for defense, but Ranged Units deal heavy damage from a distance).
• Don’t overtrain low-tier troops. As you unlock higher tiers, replace older ones with more powerful units.

Also, remember that troops consume resources, so maintain your economy alongside your military.

4. Make Research a Habit

In the Research Lab, you’ll find multiple tech trees including Development, Economy, Combat, and Defense.

Early Game Focus:

• Development Tree: Reduces building and troop training time.
• Economy Tree: Increases resource production and gathering speed.

Later on, shift your focus to Combat Research, which improves troop stats and efficiency.

Set a timer or reminder, always keep some research ongoing.

5. Join an Active Alliance

Alliances are critical in Z Day. A good alliance offers:

• Protection: Enemies are less likely to attack you when you’re in a strong alliance.
• Alliance Tech: Members contribute to alliance-wide upgrades that benefit everyone.
• Gifts & Rewards: Every time a member makes a purchase or completes objectives, alliance members receive rewards.
• Teleportation Support: Being in an alliance lets you teleport closer to allies, making it easier to coordinate attacks or defense.

Don’t be afraid to switch alliances if your current one isn’t active or supportive.

6. Use and Manage Your Heroes Wisely

Heroes are special characters with unique skills and stat bonuses. They can lead your armies or be assigned to buildings for passive boosts.

Beginner Tips for Heroes:

• Focus on upgrading free and early-access heroes first.
• Assign heroes to buildings where their skill bonuses have the most effect (e.g., a hero that boosts resource production should be assigned to a farm or mine).
• Heroes have equipment that boosts their stats, don’t ignore the equipment system.

Over time, you’ll unlock stronger heroes through events or fragments. Choose your investment targets wisely.

7. Participate in Daily Events and Missions

There are several recurring activities in Z Day:

• Daily Missions: Complete tasks like collecting resources, training troops, and attacking zombies for easy rewards.
• Timed Events: Participate in global and alliance events to earn Hero fragments, speedups, and rare resources.
• Zombies & PvE: Map zombies offer hero XP and useful loot. Attack them regularly, especially when your stamina is full.

Always aim to complete your daily and weekly missions to keep progressing at a good pace without spending money.

8. Manage Your Resources Efficiently

As a new player, resource shortages will often slow you down. To mitigate this:

• Use Gathering Troops to collect from the world map frequently.
• Avoid waste — use resource items (e.g., food packs) only when needed, especially when upgrading.
• Don’t leave large quantities of resources sitting idle, invest in upgrades or troop training to reduce the chance of losing them in a raid.

Also, watch for resource rebate events to get extra value from spending.

9. Protect Yourself from Attacks

New players are given a Peace Shield for the first few days, make the most of it to develop without interference. After that:

• Use Shields if you’re stockpiling resources or going inactive.
• Teleport near allies for safer surroundings.
• Reinforce defenses by building traps and upgrading your Wall and Defense Center.

Finally, don’t provoke strong players unless you’re ready, the game’s PvP system can be brutal to new or unprepared bases.

10. Spend Wisely (or Play F2P Efficiently)

Z Day includes in-app purchases, but you can still enjoy and progress in the game without spending:

For Free-to-Play (F2P) Players:

• Focus on daily activity and alliance participation.
• Save speedups and premium currency (gold) for important upgrades and events.
• Take part in event chains that offer Hero shards and advanced gear.

For Spenders:

• Start with value packs offering VIP points, Hero fragments, or building boosts.
• Invest in monthly cards or limited-time offers with guaranteed long-term benefits.

Final Tips and Tricks

• Scout Before Attacking: Use the scout function to know what you’re walking into.
• Use VIP Points: These unlock bonuses like faster building time, troop boosts, and gathering speed.
• Keep Builder Busy: Always have your main builder working. If possible, unlock a second builder for faster progress.
• Join Community Forums: Sites like Reddit and Discord have active Z Day players sharing tips and alliance invitations.

Conclusion

Z Day: Hearts of Heroes is a game that rewards strategy, patience, and smart progression. As a beginner, focus on building a solid foundation, joining a strong alliance, and making smart upgrades without rushing. Whether you’re looking to dominate in PvP or just enjoy base-building and events, there’s plenty of depth and excitement waiting for you.