Mobile Strike: Gathering Resources & Materials

Mastering Mobile Strike:

Gathering Resources and Materials! The best reason to get off the couch and leave your base!

Why, you ask?

Because you want to grow and need supplies. Thus, you will need to gather resources (for buildings, troops, and research) and materials (to help construct gear). This means you will need to farm tiles.

Gathering Resources From Tiles

You send out a detachment of troops to “occupy” resource tiles on the world map. Once your troops occupy the tile, they will start collecting the resource for that tile. They leave when the tile is empty, they reach their carrying limit, or they are attacked (and lose the battle).

The speed at which your troops gather resources is dependent on:

  • The level and type of resource tile. Higher levels have more resources, which can be gathered at a faster speed.
  • Bonuses from your research
  • Bonuses from the commander skill tree
  • Bonuses from commander equipment

You can also loot the remains of wrecked rebel vehicles. These will give you a particular type of resource and a chance to collect special materials from which you can construct gear. Regular resource tiles also will provide you with resources, although these tend to be relatively generic (for basic gear).

Useful Research and Gear:

As of this writing, there are a couple of research skills and items that are particularly useful:

  • Economics Research (Gathering) – applies to all deployments
  • Commander Boosts (Gathering I & II) – applied to deployments with a commander
  • The “Gather” Boost available from alliance store and gold store
  • Several pieces of equipment will give gathering boosts (browse items in manufacturing)

Tile Gathering Etiquette – Don’t be “That Guy”

Rules vary by state, but here are some common agreements and details about tile farming.

Key Detail: Tile Hitting. Once the troops have left your base, they are vulnerable to attack, even if your base is shielded. Attacking an enemy on a resource tile is known as a “tile hit” and is a frequent source of player drama. Your troops can be killed – hospitals don’t help here. Your commander can be captured. Most state rules restrict when and where tile hits can occur. Unless you’re in the middle of an all-out war or state kill event, check your state rules before attacking another player on a tile.

First March Rule: If two players are headed towards the same tile, the first person to start marching in that direction gets the tile. The second player should use a Deployment Recall (available for 5,000 loyalty script in an alliance store; dirt cheap) to turn their deployment around. Failure to do so will result in a collision and thus a battle. And more than likely, a very loud complaint about tile hitting…

Finish Off Tiles: This is frequently a state-level rule requiring alliance members to completely finish farming a tile before abandoning it. This is done in an effort to manage tile spawn. Partially empty tiles will remain there until cleaned up, limiting the amount of resources available to other players.

Forest Tiles: There is a large forest surrounding the “control point” for a state; this will usually have several Level 6 resource tiles.  The ruling alliance for a state usually restricts farming these tiles to their members. Farming these areas without permission will result in an attack from the ruling alliance.

Respect The Hive: Generally speaking, avoid farming tiles immediately adjacent to another base or located close to an alliance hive. There’s a good chance someone may get annoyed or offended.

State vs. State Farming Ban: At the top of the “don’t be that guy list”. Most states prohibit their members from farming tiles during state vs. state events, since that gives the enemy easy kills. They will usually attack players on tile first, to prevent the enemy from getting the kills (and often with a certain amount of “we mean it” points embedded in the message to your alliance). Get off tiles during state vs. state. Don’t be “that guy”.

New: Check out our guide doing maximum damage with a trap account!

The Right Farming Team

Since your troops are at risk outside the wire, be careful about who you send out there.

T1 Troops: Ideally, you should use T1 troops to farm for resources. They are cheaper to replace in the event you are tile hit, move very quickly, and carry almost as much as higher level troops. I usually use T1 armor (best speed, slightly lighter load); I’ve seen other folks like to use Infantry for this role.

Commanders on Tiles: You can send a commander along with a tile farming team; they can offer a bonus to the troops that will allow them to gather faster. This also put the commander at risk, both on the tile and while they is returning. You cannot shield while the commander is outside the base. Be aware of the risk and take that into account.

The Ambush: Of course, if you have a lightly armed raider who is cleaning up your T1’s, it can be fun to sneak a full stack of T3 / T4 troops onto a tile. With a commander wearing defensive gear. Surprise!

Alternative Sources of Resources & Materials

If you’re just looking for resources, be sure to check out our guide to hyperfarming. This can be an excellent source of large amounts of Mobile Strike resources.

If you just need a little extra resources, check out the “resources” section of your “items” tab. You will frequently get tokens that can be redeemed for a specific amount of resources (food, iron, stone, oil). These can help give you a bump at key moments.

Missions can also be a key source of resources and materials, particularly food. Check out the mission tab (bottom of the player screen). It offers up a series of missions (daily, alliance, VIP) which will give you resources and (sometimes) materials and mods for equipment. These refresh every six hours, so be sure to complete them regularly. There are a couple of nice features in the higher VIP levels that get missions completed faster. This includes “auto-complete” (press a button and get your loot, no waiting) and additional missions.

Another good option, if you need a burst of resources quickly, is to use the “mission refresh” chances. These are available from alliance gifts (see the alliance tab) and can also be bought in the alliance store. Cash in a bunch of these at once for a nice batch of resources for your next building spree.

For more guidance, check out our guides: