When to burn speedups (and when burning them is a waste)

🧭 Field notes · Last checked 2026-07-27

Never during ordinary play. Speedups spent during a scored event week count twice — once as progress, once as points. Outside that week they count once.

The single biggest free-to-play multiplier in this game is not what you spend, it is when. Construction and research you were going to do anyway becomes event points if you hold it until the right day.

The rule

Hold anything longer than 8 hours. Do the short stuff live. When a scored preparation phase opens, dump everything you have been holding into whichever category is being scored that day.

What to hold for

State of Power preparation phase — the highest-value window in the month. Construction, research, training and hero development are each scored on their own day.
Alliance Mobilization — you get 9 mission accepts per player to start with, and more only by buying them with gems. Treat it as choosing 9 missions, not grinding them. Your alliance also needs 15+ members or the event does not open at all, and you can swap out a mission you do not want instead of forcing it through.
Alliance Championship — needs Furnace Lv 10 and at least 10 registered alliance members. Both are stated in the official help centre and linked below.

What not to do

Do not speed a build just because the timer annoys you. The timer is free; the speedup is not.
Do not hold everything forever either — a Furnace level that unlocks the next tier of everything is worth finishing now, because the compounding starts immediately.

Use the speedup total at the bottom of this page before a prep phase opens. Chiefs consistently underestimate what they are holding.

One expensive trap in the Fire Crystal era

Once you are past Furnace 30, cancelling a Fire Crystal upgrade is not free. Century Games states that ordinary resources are fully refunded, but speedups already consumed are not refunded at all, and only 50% of the Fire Crystals come back. Below Furnace 30 you can start a build to see how it goes. Above it, do not start anything you might cancel.

Sources: 9 mission accepts · gem purchases · Mobilization 15-member rule · Individual participation · Replacing a mission · Alliance Championship entry · Alliance Championship alliance requirements · Cancelling a Fire Crystal upgrade

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