Whiteout Survival Experts

Published: 2026-11-10

Experts are residents of your city who join through the Tundra Trek, give you permanent bonuses with their Talent skills and teach extra skills in the Dawn Academy. The system opens at Furnace level 25 once your state reaches the Expert stage, and the list below has 11 experts with their skills, Expert Sigil costs and the server day each one arrives. Checked in November 2026.

Experts List

Experts arrive in waves as your state ages. Each one covers a different part of the game, and the table shows the focus, the server day the expert reaches your state and how many Expert Sigils it takes to reach relationship level 100. Agnes is the cheapest to complete, with 275 Sigils, and Gareth is the most expensive, with 2,730.

The first wave is Agnes, Cyrille and Holger, followed by Romulus, then Baldur, Fabian and Valeria, then Ronne and Kathy, and Gareth. Justus is the newest and the eleventh expert, and he reaches states between day 360 and day 440. A character in an older state can already have several of them waiting.

How to Unlock Experts

Three things have to line up before the first expert appears. Your Furnace must be at level 25, your state must have reached the Expert stage, and you have to meet an expert on the Tundra Trek. The stage opens between day 100 and day 114 of a server, so a new state may not have it yet. The Furnace guide has the upgrade path to level 25.

An expert becomes a resident after you reach 1,000 Affinity with them and finish their story encounters. Cyrille, the Bear Hunt expert, is the first expert you recruit. Affinity comes from Trek encounters and from gifts, and each gift item is worth a fixed amount:

Trek play uses Trek Supplies. You receive 40 a day: 20 arrive on their own at 00:00 UTC and two manual claims add 10 each. After 60 completed Treks you unlock the Frontier Trek, which aims at an expert you already know and guarantees encounters from that expert's story, so you do not have to wait for a lucky draw. For the Tundra weekly cycle that feeds the Trek, see the Tundra Trade Route guide.

The video is a first look at the Experts system after its release, with the Dawn Academy, expert cards and the skills each expert brings.

Expert Skills and Bonuses

Every expert has 5 skills. The first is a Talent, which switches on when the expert joins and grows automatically as the relationship level rises. The other four are Learned skills, which unlock at relationship milestones and are taught in the Dawn Academy with Books of Knowledge. Across the roster that makes 11 Talents and 44 Learned skills.

Open an expert below to see all five skills with the relationship level that unlocks each one, the maximum skill level, the Books of Knowledge needed to max it and the base learning time.

Agnes: Gathering chests, Intel missions, Stamina, build and research speed

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Earthbreaker	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Produces Seeker Chests containing Fire Crystals, Gems, and more while gathering: 1 chest per 120 gathering minutes (up to 10 a day) at Lv. 1, up to 5 chests per 120 minutes (up to 30 a day) at Lv. 11
Efficient Recon	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	5	7,500	7d 12h	Unlocks the Lighthouse Execute All feature and grants extra Intel missions per day. +2 missions at Lv. 1, up to +8 missions at Lv. 5
Optimization	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	5	6,000	5d 22h	Boosts Storehouse Chief Stamina gain
Project Management	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	5	3,000	2d 8h	Accelerates building development and research
Covert Knowledge	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	10	4,500	5d 8h	Grants additional Mystery Badges upon daily mission completion and free refreshes at the Mystery Shop

Cyrille: Bear Hunt damage and rewards

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Hunter's Heart	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Enhances Bear Hunt Damage Points (self only): +2% at Lv. 1, up to +30% at Lv. 11
Entrapment	Learned	Recruit (Stranger)	10	3,150	1d 21h	Increases Bear Hunt Rally Capacity. +30,000 per level, up to +300,000 at Lv. 10
Scavenging	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	5	6,000	4d 18h	Grants x100 Enhancement XP Component rewards every Bear Hunt. +1 per level, up to +5 at Lv. 5
Weapon Master	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	5	7,500	7d 12h	Boosts Essence Stone rewards obtained in Bear Hunt. +1 per level, up to +5 at Lv. 5
Ursa's Bane	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	10	4,500	5d 8h	Increases Bear Hunt Troops Deployment capacity. +3,000 per level, up to +30,000 at Lv. 10

Holger: Arena heroes, rewards and shop

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Blade Dancing	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Gives a 50% chance (100% at Lv. 11) of an audience reward of Arena Star Chests with randomized mythic shards, essence stones, and speedup items: 1 chest, 2 from Lv. 6 and 3 at Lv. 11
Arena Elite	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	10	27,000	43d 3h	Increases heroes' Attack and Health in Exploration Arena and Troops' Attack and Defense in Expedition Arena
Crowd Pleaser	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	10	13,500	16d	Boosts daily and weekly Arena Token earnings
Arena Star	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	10	13,500	16d	Expands Arena Shop with discounted items
Legacy	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	10	27,000	43d 3h	Grants heroes additional Attack and Health in Exploration Arena, and Troops Lethality and Health in Expedition Arena

Romulus: Army size, troop Attack, Defense and Rally Capacity

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Commander's Crest	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Expands heroes' expedition army size limits: +300 troops at Lv. 1, rising to +2,000 at Lv. 5 and +10,000 at Lv. 11
Call of War	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	10	13,500	16d	Enables free daily recruitment of additional high-level troops from any camp and grants extra Loyalty Tags from the Enlistment Office. +150 troops and +1 tag at Lv. 1, then +50 troops and +1 tag per level, up to +600 troops and +10 tags at Lv. 10
Last Line	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	20	100,000	200d	Boosts troops' Attack and Defense. +0.5% per level, up to +10% each at Lv. 20
Spirit of Aeetes	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	20	150,000	344d 17h	Enhances combat effectiveness of troops
One Heart	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	20	150,000	389d 16h	Increases rally capacity

Baldur: Alliance Mobilization, Alliance Championship, Crazy Joe and shop prices

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Master Negotiator	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Reduces Alliance Shop prices and increases Personal Activity Triumph Chest rewards
Blazing Sunrise	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	10	13,500	13d 9h	Increases Alliance Mobilization Points and adds bonus milestone tiers
Honored Conquest	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	10	13,500	13d 9h	Grants additional Alliance Championship Badges and bonus shop items
Bounty Hunter	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	10	13,500	13d 9h	Increases Crazy Joe point rewards and awards a bonus chest per 200,000 points
Dawn Hymn	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	10	22,500	26d 20h	Increases Alliance Showdown points (excluding Tundra Trade Route) and adds daily milestone tiers

Fabian: Foundry Battle and Tundra Arms League

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Craftsman of War	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Grants all troops in Foundry Battle and Tundra Arms League Attack and Defense boosts: +2% each at Lv. 1, up to +30% each at Lv. 11
Salvager	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	10	13,500	13d 9h	Increases Arsenal Token earnings from Foundry Battle
Crisis Rescue	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	10	22,500	27d 18h	Enables instant recovery of troops in each Foundry Battle and Tundra Arms League
Heightened Firepower	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	20	50,000	79d 14h	Grants Foundry Battle and Tundra Arms League troops Lethality and Health boosts
Battle Bulwark	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	20	70,500	126d 12h	Increases Rally Capacity in Foundry Battle and Tundra Arms League

Valeria: State of Power

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Conqueror's Spirit	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Grants all troops Attack and Defense boosts in State of Power Battle Phase
Well Prepared	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	10	22,500	22d 12h	Increases State of Power Preparation Phase point gains and adds bonus daily Personal Point tiers
Radiant Honor	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	10	22,500	31d 8h	Boosts Sunfire Tokens earned from Medal Rewards and adds items to the State of Power Shop
Battle Concerto	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	20	150,000	239d 15h	Enhances all troops' Lethality and Health during State of Power Battle Phase
Crushing Force	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	20	150,000	269d 17h	Increases Rally Capacity in State of Power Battle Phase

Ronne: Tundra Trade Route trucks

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Trade Dominion	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	When caravans are raided or attack other trucks, troops gain Attack and Defense boosts
Cartographic Memory	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	10	13,500	13d 9h	Accelerates caravan arrival times and grants free truck refreshes
Treasure Scent	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	10	13,500	18d 18h	Grants a chance of raiding extra cargo from trucks
Giving Back	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	10	27,000	43d 3h	Provides a chance of recovering cargo when raided and, from Lv. 6, escorts Elite Guardboxes that cannot be raided
Gold Class	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	10	54,000	97d	Guarantees a Legendary escort mission (kept even if refreshed; Legendary trucks can only be raided once) after every 12 completed missions at Lv. 1, falling to every 4 at Lv. 9

Kathy: Frostfire Mine

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Child of Frost	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Increases troops' Lethality and Health in Frostfire Mine battles: +2% each at Lv. 1, up to +30% each at Lv. 11
Icefire Hunter	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	10	13,500	13d 9h	Grants troops additional XP from defeating Mine Patrols for Frostfire Skill upgrades. +5% per level, up to +50% at Lv. 10
Valorous Cold	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	10	13,500	18d 18h	Increases troop deployment capacity and shortens hero recovery after defeat in Frostfire Mine. +5,000 capacity and +6% faster recovery per level
Winter Treasures	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	10	45,000	71d 20h	Grants additional Charm Designs on obtaining 200,000 Orichalcum in Frostfire Mine. +6 per level, up to +60 at Lv. 10
Efficient Mining	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	10	54,000	97d	Earns Orichalcum per minute once the Frostfire Mine battle phase begins and grants additional Charm Guides on obtaining 200,000 Orichalcum. +500/min and +10 guides per level

Gareth: Infirmary, troop Defense and Health

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Rallying Cry	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Increases Infirmary Capacity and Healing Speed: +50,000 / +3% at Lv. 1 up to +200,000 / +50% at Lv. 11
Gifts of Iron	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	10	-	-	For every 100 troops trained, Gareth is granted Ironwrought Chests: 1 per 100 at Lv. 1-4, 2 at Lv. 5-9, 3 at Lv. 10; daily cap grows 6 to 30
Porcupine	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	20	250,000	400d	Close formations and iron discipline increase Troops' Defense. +1% at Lv. 1 up to +50% at Lv. 20 (non-linear: 5% at Lv. 5, 15% at Lv. 10, 30% at Lv. 15)
Undefeated Will	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	20	250,000	450d	Gareth's encouragement and command unleash his soldiers' maximum potential, increasing Troops' Health. +1% at Lv. 1 up to +50% at Lv. 20 (same curve as Porcupine)
Fearsome Reputation	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	20	800,000	1759d 17h	Fear of the "Spiked Commander" reduces enemy troops' Lethality: 0.25% per level, up to 5% at Lv. 20

Justus: Dynasty Honor Chests, Labyrinth, Pet Adventure and Treks

Skill	Type	Unlocks at	Max level	Books to max	Base learning time	Effect
Former Glory	Talent	Recruit (Stranger)	11	Automatic	-	Earns Dynasty Honor Chests as Exploration rewards: 1 every 180 minutes (up to 3 a day) at Lv. 1, up to 3 every 60 minutes (up to 10 a day) at Lv. 11
Glorious Gains	Learned	Acquaintance 1 (Rel. Lv 10)	5	12,000	11d 22h	Increases Glowstones obtained from Labyrinth Raids: +4% per level, up to +20% at Lv. 5
Treasure Seeker	Learned	Acquaintance 2 (Rel. Lv 20)	5	15,000	20d 22h	Grants extra daily Pet Adventure attempts with a chance of double rewards: +1 attempt and 15% at Lv. 1, +5% per level, up to +2 attempts and 35% at Lv. 5
Master Diplomat	Learned	Acquaintance 3 (Rel. Lv 30)	5	15,000	23d 22h	Earns Dynasty Honor Chests from each beast rally: 1 per rally (up to 3 a day) at Lv. 1, rising to 5 per rally (up to 10 a day) at Lv. 5
Fortune Wayfarer	Learned	Casual 1 (Rel. Lv 40)	10	31,500	56d 12h	Earns Dynasty Honor Chests from Trek Encounters: 1 chest every 12 encounters (up to 3 a day) at Lv. 1, rising to 4 chests every 4 encounters (up to 20 a day) at Lv. 10

The skills fall into a few families. Agnes, Cyrille and Holger boost Bear Hunt, the Arena and your daily economy, Romulus and Gareth strengthen troops in every fight, and Baldur, Fabian, Valeria, Ronne and Kathy add to one event each. The most expensive Learned skill in the game is Fearsome Reputation, which takes 800,000 Books of Knowledge to max. The Bear Hunt guide shows where Cyrille's skills pay off, and the Foundry Battle and Frostfire Mine pages cover the events of Fabian and Kathy.

Expert Sigils and Upgrade Costs

An expert gains levels through Affinity, and every ten relationship levels the expert asks for Sigils to pass a milestone: Acquaintance, Casual, Close and finally Intimate at level 100. The table adds up the Sigils spent so far at each milestone. All eleven experts together take 9,060 Sigils to reach relationship level 100.

The stage names along the way are Acquaintance 1, Acquaintance 2, Acquaintance 3, Casual 1, Casual 2, Casual 3, Close 1, Close 2, Close 3, Intimate. Each expert has its own Sigil item, such as Cyrille Sigil or Holger Sigil, and there is also the Common Expert Sigil. Common Expert Sigils can be bought in the Alliance Championship Shop, which makes the Alliance Championship the steady source for players who do not spend money.

Dawn Academy and Books of Knowledge

The Dawn Academy is the building where your experts study. It does not appear because of a Furnace level: it becomes available after your first expert settles in the city. Inside it, each expert learns one Learned skill at a time, and you choose which one. Book of Knowledge raises the skill levels the experts teach, and Learning Speedups shorten the lesson timer.

A lesson needs two things, Books and time. At the first level of a Learned skill the base time is short, but the top levels of the large skills run for weeks: the longest single skill in the game, Fearsome Reputation, adds up to about 1,760 days of base learning time. A skill that is learning keeps its queue busy, so line up the next one before the current lesson ends.

An expert learns one skill at a time. The research guide covers the Research Center, which is a separate building with its own queue.

Which Expert to Level First

The usual advice for most free players is to take Agnes and Cyrille first, add Baldur as soon as he unlocks in your state, give Holger Sigils if you play the Arena every day, and look at Justus when he becomes available, because his rewards help develop the other experts. Spend the first useful levels of several experts before you commit to one long project, and keep the learning queue occupied with a skill that you planned.

• Agnes. Gathering chests, Intel missions, Stamina and faster building and research. Only 275 Sigils to complete.
• Cyrille. Bear Hunt damage, rally capacity and rewards. The same 275 Sigils as Agnes.
• Baldur. Alliance Mobilization, Alliance Championship, Crazy Joe and shop prices. 330 Sigils, and his extra Championship Badges help you buy Sigils for others.
• Holger. Arena heroes and Arena rewards. 440 Sigils.
• Justus. Dynasty Honor Chests with Compasses, Learning Speedups, Books of Knowledge and Common Expert Sigils. 440 Sigils.
• Romulus and Gareth. The biggest troop bonuses, and the biggest bills at 1,820 and 2,730 Sigils.

Fabian, Kathy, Ronne and Valeria help only in Foundry Battle, Frostfire Mine, the trade route and State of Power, so spend on them when you play those events every week. The alliance guide shows how your alliance fits into the Alliance Championship and Alliance Mobilization, which feed Baldur.

Frequently Asked Questions

Read Next

Raise the Furnace to level 25 with the Furnace guide, put the first pets to work with the pets guide, or join an active group through the alliance guide. The rest of the city is covered on the guides page.