Whiteout Survival Troops Guide
Whiteout Survival has three troop types: Infantry hold the front line, Lancers fight behind them and Marksmen deal ranged damage from the back. Each type beats one other type, and each camp levels up to unlock stronger tiers, from tier 1 in a new camp to tier 10 at camp level 30. After that, Fire Crystal camp upgrades and War Academy research push your troops further. Checked in November 2026.
Three Troop Types
Every march mixes three troop types, and each one trains in its own camp. The camps open early: the Infantry Camp at Furnace level 7, the Marksman Camp at level 8 and the Lancer Camp at level 9. A hero leads troops of the same class, so your heroes and your troops grow together. The heroes hub lists every hero by class.
| Type | Battle role | Beats | Loses to | Camp opens at Furnace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infantry | Frontline tank with high Health and Defense. | Lancers | Marksmen | 7 |
| Lancers | Second line behind Infantry; balanced damage and defense. | Marksmen | Infantry | 9 |
| Marksmen | Backline ranged damage dealer, low Health and Defense. | Infantry | Lancers | 8 |
The counter is built into the troops themselves. From tier 1 each type has a skill that adds 10% attack damage against the type it beats: Master Brawler for Infantry, Charge for Lancers and Ranged Strike for Marksmen. A counter tips a fight but does not decide it alone: positioning, hero skills and stat bonuses also shape the result.
Troop Levels and Camp Unlocks
All three camps unlock tiers at the same levels, so the ladder below works for every type. Your Furnace caps the camps, which means the Furnace level is the real limit on the tier you can train. Power per troop grows fast with tier, which is why upgrading old troops pays off.
| Tier | Camp level | Power per troop | Training time per troop |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | 1 | 2 or 3 | 10s to 12s |
| T2 | 4 | 4 | 17s to 20s |
| T3 | 7 | 6 or 8 | 24s to 40s |
| T4 | 11 | 9 or 16 | 32s to 1m 20s |
| T5 | 13 | 13 or 24 | 44s to 2m |
| T6 | 16 | 20 or 36 | 1m to 3m |
| T7 | 19 | 28 or 52 | 1m 23s to 4m 20s |
| T8 | 22 | 38 or 72 | 1m 53s to 6m |
| T9 | 26 | 50 or 96 | 2m 11s to 8m |
| T10 | 30 | 66 or 128 | 2m 32s to 10m |
| T11 | War Academy | 80 or 168 | 3m to 13m |
Where a cell shows two numbers, guides list different values for that tier. Tier 11 does not come from a camp level. It is the Helios tier, opened through War Academy research. All troops share a battle speed of 11, so a higher tier never makes a march faster in combat.
Troop Stats by Type
The three types split the same stat budget in different ways. Infantry carry the most Defense and Health, Marksmen the most Attack and Lethality, and Lancers sit between them. Load, the amount of resources a troop carries while gathering, is the same for every type.
| Type and tier | Attack | Defense | Lethality | Health | Load |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infantry T1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 108 |
| Infantry T10 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 379 |
| Infantry T11 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 400 |
| Lancers T1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 108 |
| Lancers T10 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 379 |
| Lancers T11 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 400 |
| Marksmen T1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 108 |
| Marksmen T10 | 14 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 379 |
| Marksmen T11 | 16 | 12 | 17 | 12 | 400 |
Troop Skills
Each type gets a second skill at tier 7 and four Fire Crystal skill steps later. Bands of Steel raises Infantry defense against Lancers by 10%. Ambusher gives Lancers a 20% chance to slip past the front line and hit Marksmen. Volley gives Marksmen a 10% chance to strike twice.
| Type | FC3 | FC5 | FC8 | FC10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infantry | Crystal Shield (25% chance) | Crystal Shield (37.5% chance) | Body of Light (4% defense) | Body of Light (6% defense) |
| Lancers | Crystal Lance (10% chance) | Crystal Lance (15% chance) | Incandescent Field (10% chance) | Incandescent Field (15% chance) |
| Marksmen | Crystal Gunpowder (20% chance) | Crystal Gunpowder (30% chance) | Flame Charge (4% attack) | Flame Charge (6% attack) |
The per-type guides explain how each skill plays out in a fight: Infantry, Lancers and Marksmen.
The video opens the camp training screen, argues for promoting troops before training new ones and shows the bonuses that raise training speed and capacity.
Troop Training
All three camps train at the same time, and each one runs its own queue. Training capacity, the number of troops per batch, adds up bonuses from all three camps and from research, so upgrading any camp helps the others. Two Growth techs in the Research Center matter most: Camp Expansion raises capacity and Training Tools shortens training time.
Costs climb steeply with tier. A tier 1 Infantry troop costs 36 or 50 Meat and 27 or 50 Wood, while a tier 11 Infantry troop costs 6,970 or 7,000 Meat and 5,228 or 7,000 Wood, plus Coal and Iron.
Troop Promotion
Promotion upgrades existing troops to the highest tier your camp can train. It unlocks at camp level 13, the same level that opens tier 5. The resource cost equals the difference between the new tier and the old one, so a promotion costs nothing extra compared with training the higher tier from scratch.
Because the cost is only the difference, promoting is the cheaper way to raise the tier of an army you already have. Training new troops still makes sense when you need a larger army, not a stronger one.
Troops Power
Troop power is part of your total power, and it rises with tier much faster than with numbers. One tier 10 troop is worth 66 or 128 power, while a tier 1 troop is worth 2 or 3. Raising the tier of existing troops through promotion and camp levels therefore adds power much faster than training more tier 1 troops.
Training also scores points in events. Check the SvS guide before you spend training speedups, so the troops you train count toward a preparation day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest troop tier?
Ordinary camps stop at tier 10, which opens at camp level 30. Helios troops, tier 11, come from War Academy research, and newer guides add Exalted troops as tier 12, also from the War Academy. Fire Crystal camp levels then raise the stats of the troops you already have without changing their tier.
Is promoting troops cheaper than training new ones?
Promotion costs the difference between the resources of the new tier and the old one, so it costs no extra resources overall. It keeps your troop count, upgrades every selected unit to the highest tier you can train and frees you from training low tiers again. It opens when the camp reaches level 13.
Which troop type is the best?
None of them on its own. Infantry beat Lancers, Lancers beat Marksmen and Marksmen beat Infantry, and a march needs all three lines to work. Most players train the three types and change the split by event. The troop ratio guide lists the common splits for rallies, defense and events.
How long does it take to train one troop?
Without bonuses a tier 1 troop takes between 10s and 12s, and a tier 10 troop takes between 2m 32s and 10m. Training Tools research and other training speed bonuses cut these times, and Camp Expansion raises how many troops you can train in one batch.
Do Fire Crystal camp upgrades change my troops?
Yes. When a camp finishes a Fire Crystal level, every troop of that type upgrades on its own, with no promotion needed. A tier 10 troop rises from 66 power at FC0 to 121 at FC10, and the camp also unlocks new troop skills at FC3, FC5, FC8 and FC10.
Read Next
Set your march split with the troop ratio guide, boost your troops with Chief Gear, or plan the next camp upgrades in the buildings guide.