Gate of the Dead · player guide
The Mayor and energy
You're the Mayor, and the Mayor gets tired. Most things you do cost energy, which comes back on its own over time or straight away when you eat. Energy is what paces the game: it stops anyone racing through every chapter in one sitting, and it rewards dropping in a few times a day.
What costs energy
| Action | Energy |
|---|---|
| Start a build or upgrade | 5 |
| A gate night | 10 |
| A crisis night | 15 |
| A Road stage | 8 |
| Send a squad on a map mission | 4 |
| Train troops (each batch of up to five) | 3 |
| Send a boat out from the Dock | 2 |
| A lost night or Road stage | a quarter of the usual |
| Collecting, recruiting leaders, the Daily Siege, Bad Night, The Long Road, Holdout | free |
Getting energy back
- Time: one energy every six minutes, so ten an hour, whenever the bar is below full.
- Meals: eat from the Mayor panel. A tin of beans gives 8 energy for 10 food, a bottle of water gives 5 for 10 water (four of each a day). Once the Canteen is built, hot stew gives 30 energy for 40 food and 20 water, up to three a day.
- Chapter goals and chests: up to chapter 7, every goal you claim gives 10 energy back, and opening the chest fills the bar.
- An ad, if you want one: watching an optional ad gives 20 energy.
Meals (and the ad) can take you past full, up to double your normal maximum. Time only refills up to the normal maximum, though, so eating when the bar is already full is a way to bank energy for a long session.
Mayor levels
Every energy you spend earns the Mayor a point of experience, and goals and chapter chests add more. Each Mayor level adds 5 to your maximum energy, starting from 70. Each level needs a little more than the last, so the Mayor levels quickly in the first chapters and more slowly later.
Spending energy well
- Don't let the bar sit full. Energy stops coming back at the maximum, so spend some before you leave.
- Eat before the day resets. Meal limits are per day; unused meals don't carry over.
- Map missions are cheap for what they bring. Four energy for a squad that comes back with a pile of materials.
- Out of energy? Play the Daily Siege, Bad Night, The Long Road or Holdout, collect, recruit leaders, upgrade the wall crew at the Watch House. None of those cost energy.
- Don't fight long-odds Road stages. A loss still costs energy and troops.