Economic Concepts[]
There are a few in-game economic concepts that are closely related to the game's Resources and Currencies, but which are not really resources or currencies themselves. These concepts (along with the game's Currencies and Tier 1 Resources) constitute the bread & butter of Battle Nations as you begin your quest for expansion. Players learn many techniques over time, to maximize resource gain.
XP[]
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Experience Points (or XP) represents the players' progress within the game. Players accumulate XP through producing and collecting Goods, collecting taxes, completing Missions, and earning 30 Victory Points from the Head-to-Head online battles. If enough XP is accumulated throughout a Level, you will level up, thereby unlocking new buildings and units for your army. Currently the maximum level is level 70 . Once level 70 is reached, the player has to level up once more to enter Prestige mode and can earn Stars with XP. |
Population[]
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Population represents workers, which are what constitutes your workforce. You can assign workers to buildings to keep them running. To increase your population you must build Houses. Your maximum population is determined by your level, although the Permits Office can be built to increase the maximum population, regardless of your level.
Note: Soldiers in your army are not included in the population count. |
Time[]
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Time is how long it takes for a construction job, goods, or unit production to complete. Generally speaking, the maximum amount of time required for a job is anytime under one and a half days, while the minimum seems to be three seconds (excluding Decorations).
Note: Nanopods may be used to speed up most build times. Each Nanopod is worth 1-hour of time. |
Currencies[]
Battle Nations uses several forms of in-game currency, which can be used to purchase various units, buildings, or in-game advantages.
Gold[]
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Gold is the most basic resource in the game, and arguably the most abundant one. It can be obtained through tax collection from the players' houses, Goods production, and battle rewards. Generally, Gold is considered one of the less limiting resources, since it can be obtained from everywhere and the Gold rewards are quite high, ranging in the thousands. However, because of this, Gold is also a resource that is used everywhere, from Land Expansions to Goods Production.
If you attempt to purchase something but do not have enough Gold, the game will offer to sell it at a rate of 2,000 Gold per Nanopod. However, since the 3.5.1 Patch, it is possible to buy Gold for a significantly lower cost in the build menu. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Nanopods[]
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Nanopods are used to buy premium items (units or structures) within the game, and cost real money to buy. One used to be able to get them through promotions websites such as Tapjoy.com, by converting Black Nanopods, and by leveling up, as well as winning some in PvP or other events, such as Boss Strikes and limited-time missions. As of now, the only way to achieve Nanopods are through in-app purchases and leveling up. | ||||||||||||
They can be used to hurry production/construction/healing time at a rate of one Nanopod per hour, rounded up. In single-player battles, a single Nanopod can be used to heal  100 to a single unit, though this "takes" the player's turn and thus wastes an attack.
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| Nanopods can also be used to purchase other resources, at the following rates: | |||||||||||||
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Z2 Points (Legacy)[]
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Z2 Points were a legacy currency obtained through completing in-game Achievements from the original version of the game from 2011 - 2016. Once earned, they were used to buy special items including the Humvee, Hacienda, and the Durian Orchard. Outside of Battle Nations, they could also be spent in Trade Nations for decorations or buildings.
Z2Live points were also earnable in other games made by the developer, Z2Live. They used to be earned in Trade Nations, where it was possible to earn a sizable amount of points with minimal effort. With Z2 becoming defunct and Madrona reviving Battle Nations, Z2 Points have been replaced with Madrona Points. |
Madrona Points[]
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Madrona Points are currently unobtainable, but will likely be obtained through completing in-game Achievements. Once earned, they can be used to buy special items such as the Humvee, Hacienda, and the Durian Orchard. It is unknown if they will have a use outside of Battle Nations. |
VP[]
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Victory Points (or VP for short) were obtained by participating in 'random PvP' matches. As of 7/3/2025, Victory Points are no longer obtainable. It is unknown if they will be obtained in the future. Previously, each battle rewards 1 VP to the loser and 4 VP to the winner. In sufficient quantities, these were used to gain random prizes, including Gold, XP, Bars, Gears, and in rare cases even Nanopods.
A 24 Hour countdown timer started as soon as a player tried to find a match. After the counter expired, the player's VP total was reset to 0. There were 4 Tiers of VP Rewards, requiring at least 10, 20, 30, and 40 VP (respectively). There appeared to be no benefit to obtaining more than 40 VP at a time. There was a small chance of getting a reward when a player won a PvP battle after obtaining 40 VP within one day. The chances displayed were the probability of getting a specific reward, subsequent to the chance of actually getting a reward. These include: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Gold and XP rewards excluded! |
PvP Energy[]
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PvP Energy were a resource added in the 4.5 Patch. As of 7/3/2025, they are no longer obtainable. It is unkown whether or not they will return in the future. To participate in Anytime PvP battles and Arena Challenges, players needed PvP Energy. This was generated by the Arena at a rate of  1 per hour. A server-side update released after the 4.6 Patch, revealed the addition of earnable PvP Energy. Invading encounters during specific events and/or missions could be defeated for a 40% chance of dropping PvP Energy. The icons of these encounters were marked with a PvP Energy symbol in the bottom right corner. Since the 4.7 Patch, players could also acquire PvP Energy as a reward for winning battles in the Arena. As of Patch 4.7, the soft cap for PvP Energy was placed at 3, while the hard cap is at 9. On December 3, 2015, the PvP cap increased to 60, with a recharge rate of one per minute.
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Tier 1 Resources[]
Tier 1 resources are natural resources that are collected, harvested, or mined from nature. With the exception of Coal and Oil, you will utilize all these resources almost immediately as you start the game, and will continue to need them throughout the entire game.
The Tier 1 resource bar
Stone[]
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Stone is used to construct and upgrade buildings, and can later be transformed into Concrete. It is also used in training Sandbags and Frontier Chuckers. It is harvested from Stone Outcrops through the use of a Stone Quarry or the premium Adv. Stone Quarry. This is the first resource you will harvest. |
Wood[]
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Wood is used to construct and upgrade buildings, and can later be transformed into Lumber. It is harvested from Dense Forests through the use of a Logging Camp or the premium Adv. Logging Camp. |
Iron[]
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Iron is used to construct and upgrade buildings, and to train, heal, repair, and upgrade units. Iron is also used in combination with Coal to make Steel through the use of a Steel Mill. It is harvested from Iron Deposits through the use of an Iron Mine or the premium Adv. Iron Mine. |
Coal[]
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Coal is used in combination with Iron to make Steel through the use of a Steel Mill. It is harvested from Coal Deposits through the use of a Coal Mine or the premium Adv. Coal Mine. |
Oil[]
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Oil is used to build and repair certain Vehicles. Oil is also used in combination with Chemical Vials to make Plasma through the use of the Plasma Refinery. It is harvested from Oil Fields through the use of an Oil Pump or the premium Adv. Oil Pump. |
Tier 2 Resources[]
Tier 2 resources are required in the more advanced stages of the game, to build and produce buildings and units that are more sophisticated and powerful.
Each of the Tier 2 resources must be manufactured using specialized manufacturing 'plants' or 'mills'. The manufacturing process works similar to how normal Shops produce goods, except that these manufacturing plants consume natural (Tier 1) Resources (and time), instead of Gold. Refer to the page of each manufacturing building for details.
Tip: To maximize Tier 2 production, place your buildings where visitors (Friends) will see them immediately when they open your world. This makes its easy for them to help you.
The Tier 2 resource bar
Concrete[]
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Concrete is used to build more advanced buildings. Stone is transformed into Concrete through the use of a Concrete Plant or the premium Adv. Concrete Plant. |
Lumber[]
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Lumber is used to build more advanced buildings. It is also used to train and upgrade specific units. Wood is transformed into Lumber through the use of a Lumber Mill or the premium Adv. Lumber Mill. |
Steel[]
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Steel is used to build more advanced buildings. It is also extensively used to train, heal, repair, and upgrade units. Iron and Coal are transformed into Steel through the use of a Steel Mill or the premium Adv. Steel Mill. |
Tier 3 Resources[]
Tier 3 resources are required for the production of special buildings and units. They can be obtained through the completion of certain Missions, by occupying/raiding/assisting certain buildings and as a reward in PvP or Boss Strikes. They also have a chance of dropping when defeating specific enemies on your land and on the world map.
The Tier 3 resource bar
Gears[]
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Gears are used to train certain advanced Vehicles, as well as healing and upgrading them.
Gears can be converted into Widgets through the use of a Refinement Facility. Players have a base storage capacity of 100 Gears. Gears can be earned by occupying factories, defeating Sovereign Navy encounters (8% for 1-2), and assisting the Vehicle Factory in Recoil Ridge (10%). |
Bars[]
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Bars are used to train certain Soldiers and Ships, as well as healing and upgrading them. They are also used to build a SpecOps Center. The icon for Bars is the same as the US military insignia for the rank of Captain.
The easiest ways to obtain Another alternative for obtaining Bars is defeating Silver Wolf and Sovereign Navy encounters (15% for 1-2). All repeatable Bosses drop a considerable amount of Bars when defeated as well. Lastly players can exchange one Bars can be converted into Laurels through the use of a Refinement Facility. Players have a base storage capacity of 100 Bars. |
Skulls[]
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Skulls are used to build Raider Training Camps and Sandworm Ranches, as well as to train and heal Allied Raider units. Skulls are earned through missions involving Raiders, as well by defeating random Raider and Reef Bandit encounters (in your own camp or in your friends').
Raider and Reef Bandit encounters have a Skull drop rate of 10%. During the Raider Invasion events, drop rate of Skulls was multiplied by 5. The drop rate of Skulls was also increased during the Raiders vs. Bottle Rockets event. At higher levels, there will be occasional invasions from the raider lieutenants; these battles generally yield 3 Skulls each. Raider encounters featuring Sarin, Tronk or Crazy Blades yield a higher amount of Skulls than regular Raider encounters. Skulls can be converted into Powder through the use of a Refinement Facility. Players have a base storage capacity of 100 Skulls. |
Teeth[]
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Teeth are used to train, heal and upgrade Animals, Fish and Bigfoots. Teeth can be obtained as a reward from certain missions or battles with animals (Boar, Raptors, Mammoths, Sandworms, Spiderwasps, Groupers...), including random encounters invading your or your friends' outposts. Reef Bandits, Mammoths, Boars, and Raptors have a 10% drop rate. An easy way to earn Teeth would be defeating higher level animals (Groupers, Elder Sandworm, Raptor Lord etc.) as these battles often yield 2-3 Teeth.
Teeth can be converted into Necklaces through the use of a Refinement Facility. Players have a base storage capacity of 100 Teeth. |
Chemical Vials[]
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Chemical Vials are a rare resource introduced in the 2.0 Patch. Players begin with a storage capacity of 10 for Chemical Vials, but can construct Chemical Storage Facilities to increase capacity.
Chemical Vials can be won as a rare battle reward from Rebel army encounters (e.g. in the Heartland World Map) that include chem-based units. Players can also gain Chemical Vials by raiding or occupying other players' Chemical Weapons Lab and Chemical Storage Facilities or by collecting them from the Chemical Reservoir. Players can use Chemical Vials to train Chem Troopers, Bio Grenadiers, and Light Chemical Tanks. Players can also use them to heal all of the above, including the Chemical Vials are also used in combination with Oil to make Plasma through the use of the Plasma Refinery. |
Tier 4 Resources[]
These resources were introduced with the 2.2 Patch, and are used to upgrade units to rank 6 and above, and train a few advanced units. All Tier 4 resources are made by processing Tier 3 resources at the Refinement Facility, which can be found in your Shops Menu (rather than Resources). All Tier 4 resources take 18 hours to produce.
Some special enemies, like the Ancient Construct and the Ancient Sentinel, can drop some tier 4 resources.
The Tier 4 resource bar
Widgets[]
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Widgets are made by refining 5 Gears. They are mostly used to upgrade Vehicles to Rank 6 and above as well as training/repairing some higher level Vehicles and premium units.
Players have a base storage capacity of 100 Widgets. |
Laurels[]
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Laurels are made by refining 5 Bars. They are mostly used to upgrade Soldiers to Rank 6 and above, as well as training/healing higher level Soldiers and premium units.
Players have a base storage capacity of 100 Laurels. |
Necklaces[]
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Necklaces are made by refining 5 Teeth. They are mostly used to upgrade Animals, the Melee Sentinel Fragment and Ranged Sentinel Fragment to Rank 6.
Necklaces are also a rare healing resource for some premium units like the Mammoth Tank. Players have a base storage capacity of 100 Necklaces. |
Powder[]
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Powders are made by refining 5 Skulls. They are mostly used to upgrade certain Allied Raiders to Rank 6.
Powders are also a rare healing resource for some premium units like the Blood Ninja. Players have a base storage capacity of 100 Powders. |
Plasma[]
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Plasma is a resource introduced in the 4.0 Patch. It is used to train, upgrade and heal Plasma-based units (with the exception of the Plasma Field Technician). Chemical Vials in combination with Oil can be converted into Plasma through the use of a Plasma Refinery or the premium Advanced Plasma Refinery.
Players have a base storage capacity of 100 Plasma. |
Tier 5 Resources[]
These resources were introduced in the 1.4 Patch, and are used to train/build special units and buildings.
The Tier 5 resource bar
Prestige[]
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Prestige becomes available once a player reaches the current level cap (MAX level). After reaching the cap, the player must fill their XP bar once more in order to enter Prestige mode. Upon activation, Prestige mode is indicated by the XP bar turning blue.
While in Prestige mode, the player can earn Prestige Stars can be used to train powerful units at the Prestigious Academy and Prestige Decorations. Prestige Decorations change with every major update so they are only available for a limited time. In addition, the player can trade their Stars at the Hall of Bounty for When the level cap is raised again, the player's XP bar will revert to orange and they will need to reach the cap again to enter Prestige mode. |
Merits[]
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Merits are earned randomly when you assist a friend or NPC at their outpost. You can assist a friend/NPC five times every 22 hours. Merits can also be earned by defeating Angry Civilians. They are needed for training certain units, like the Junior Officer, and the Arsonist and later in the game, Silver Wolves at the Mercenary Vault and Frontier units at the Frontier Recruitment HQ. Most importantly, they can be used to buy a 25% SP Boosts. |
Black Nanopods[]
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Black Nanopods are a type of resource introduced in the 2.3 Patch. They can only be earned by defeating Infected encounters (on the world map and at the players outpost) and through Boss Strike. Higher level infected can sometimes drop 2 Black Nanopods.
By constructing a Black Nanopod Facility, you can convert five Black Nanopods into one "pure" Nanopod. Alternatively, players can infect their Soldiers using five Black Nanopods at the Infection Test Facility. Infected Soldiers will turn into one of many Mutated specimens. |
Wilderness Features[]
Around the outpost area are a few natural features which either must be built around or can be exploited. The resource deposits are only the most blatant form. Wilderness features, on the other hand, can be exploited through Player versus Player combat; raiding and occupying them will generate a small amount of resources appropriate to the type of feature.
Trees[]
Trees are found in large groupings, and can be sold off to clear area and generate wood (10 wood resources for each tree sold). As of the 2.9.1 Patch, all trees can be rearranged for decorative purposes as well. You can only move trees in the squares you've cleared.
There is also a secret buried in the Northern Forest, but it will take some specific planning to reach it.
Rocks[]
Rocks can be found either clustered together around mountains or sitting individually in small hills. Rocks cannot be moved and block all construction. Be very aware of purchasing districts with rocks in them, and have a plan for what you will do to work around them.
Mountains[]
Mountains are large, taking up most of a district and cannot be removed. However, they are one of the few targets of raids or occupations which will generate small amounts of Iron.
Water[]
Water cannot be moved, removed, or built upon. It produces nothing when raided or occupied.