The Biggest Research Update in Hero Wars Alliance

The Biggest Research Update is finally here, and on July 13 the Research Center in Hero Wars: Alliance receives one of its largest reworks since the feature was first introduced. This official announcement brings brand-new Research branches, fresh progression systems, and additional ways to strengthen both your Heroes and your Troops. Everything below comes directly from the developers, not speculation, so you know exactly what to expect the moment you log in.

The Research Center Reaches a Whole New Level

According to the developers, completely new Research branches are being introduced, letting players improve Heroes and Troops through a much more specialized progression system. Rather than following one general Research path, everything is now divided into three main categories.

The first is Combat Classes, focused on your offensive Hero classes — Mages, Marksmen, and Warriors. The second is Tactical Classes, designed for Healers, Tanks, Support Heroes, and Control Heroes, giving each role its own dedicated progression. And the third is Troops PRO, which introduces additional upgrades specifically for your Realm Troops.

Each class now receives its own collection of attribute upgrades, so you strengthen Heroes according to the role they play on the battlefield instead of using one universal path. Officially, these new branches can raise Hero attributes by as much as 25%, providing a significant boost across multiple classes and making every battle easier as your Research progresses. That flexibility also lets you decide where to invest based on the Heroes and team compositions you use most.

Combat Classes Attribute Breakdown

Let’s start with the Combat Classes and go through exactly which attributes each branch provides. Marksmen receive a set of upgrades built around offensive consistency, with a small bump to survivability. Warriors follow a very similar path with one key difference, while Mages mirror the same structure on the magical side.

Marksmen gain 2.5% Physical Attack for a direct damage increase, alongside 9% Critical Hit Chance so crit-reliant heroes trigger far more consistently. On top of that, they receive 3.5% Armor Penetration to punch through heavily armored frontlines, 2.5% Health to help fragile backliners survive assassins and splash damage, and 10% Crushing to push their offensive ceiling even higher.

Warriors receive the same package but with 3.5% Physical Attack instead of 2.5% — that extra 1% is the biggest distinction between the two, reinforcing their role as frontline damage dealers. They keep the 9% Critical Hit Chance, 3.5% Armor Penetration, 2.5% Health, and 10% Crushing. Mages then translate the same idea into magical stats: 2.5% Magic Attack, 9% Magical Critical Hit Chance, 3.5% Magic Penetration, 2.5% Health, and 10% Crushing.

Looking at all three branches side by side, the design philosophy is obvious: stronger offensive attributes, better penetration against defensive heroes, a little extra Health for survivability, and Crushing to reinforce damage output. The Warrior branch simply leans hardest into raw damage thanks to that additional Physical Attack.

Tactical Classes and the New Fortitude Stat

Now for the Tactical Classes, which shift the focus away from pure damage. Tanks are built almost entirely around durability — 5% Health, 5% Armor, 2.5% Magic Defense, and a massive 25% Toughness, the largest single percentage bonus in this whole rework. Everything in that path is meant to keep Tanks on the battlefield longer so they can protect the team.

Support Heroes get one of the most balanced branches in the update, strengthening both offense and survivability: 4.5% Health, 5% Physical Attack, 5% Magic Attack, 5% Armor, 2.5% Magic Defense, and 16% Toughness. Healers lean toward staying power while boosting the stat many healing abilities scale from — 2.5% Health, 5% Magic Attack, 2.5% Armor, 5% Magic Defense, and 16% Toughness.

Fortitude: A Brand-New Stat

Control Heroes bring the attribute that immediately caught our attention — 25% Fortitude. This is a completely new stat introduced with this update, and at the time of the announcement Nexters hasn’t explained how it works or how it influences battles. Rather than guessing, we’re going to do what we always do at Olympus Alliance: wait, test it ourselves once the update is live, and only then explain exactly what Fortitude does and whether it’s a game-changer or simply another defensive stat. For now, the only official detail is that Control Heroes receive up to 25% Fortitude through the new system.

Your Existing Research Is Safe

One important point from the announcement: even though the Research Center is gaining several brand-new branches, your existing progress isn’t going anywhere. Every Hero and Troop Research you’ve already completed stays unlocked after the update. The current Growth and Battle branches are simply being reorganized into these new dedicated categories, making the whole system easier to navigate while grouping similar upgrades together. The cost of all existing Research also remains exactly the same, so nobody is forced to start over.

Honor Marks: The New Research Resource

To unlock the full potential of the reworked system, you’ll keep spending the familiar resources you’ve always used — but alongside them, a brand-new currency is being introduced: Honor Marks. These become the currency required to unlock and progress through the new Research branches.

Honor Marks can be earned through Guild Versus Chests, Weekly League Rewards, and Seasonal League Rewards. As you collect them, you’ll unlock additional Research upgrades that make both your Heroes and Realm Troops stronger over time — an advantage not only in Hero battles, but also throughout Guild competition and across the Realm Map.

Research Chests

Nexters is also adding a reward system tied directly to your progression: Research Chests. Advancing your Research no longer just makes your account stronger — it rewards you with loot along the way. For every 10 Research upgrades you complete, you unlock one Research Chest opening to immediately claim rewards for your progress.

And these aren’t small rewards. Research Chests can contain Skin Stone Chests, Rune Stones, Artifact Boxes of multiple rarities, Titan Skin Stones, Summoning Spheres, Elemental Spheres, Tomes Caskets, and Trophy Soul Caskets. The further you progress, the more valuable both the Chests and their rewards become. Players who’ve already invested heavily won’t start from scratch either — you’ll be able to open multiple Research Chests immediately when the update goes live, based on the progress you’ve already made.

A Second Research Center

Once your Hero Hall reaches Level 13, you’ll unlock a special offer to purchase a second Research Center. The idea is simple: instead of working on a single Research project at a time, you’ll be able to run two projects simultaneously. That means less waiting, faster progression, and a much more efficient path through the new branches — a straightforward quality-of-life boost for anyone looking to speed things up.

The Redesigned City

You’ll notice the change the moment you log in — the city itself has been completely refreshed for a cleaner, more modern look. The developers made it brighter, cleaner, and more spacious by reducing the number of icons on the main screen. Less visual clutter, better navigation, and easier access to the places you visit every day.

Access to the Research Center is simpler too. Instead of opening it through Beyond, you’ll tap the Research Center building directly from the main city screen. As part of the redesign, the Research Center now replaces the Beyond building — but Beyond isn’t disappearing. Access to Beyond Chests moves to the Hall of Fortune, so the feature is relocated rather than removed. This new city interface arrives for every player on July 13, right alongside all the Research changes.

Final Thoughts on The Biggest Research Update

Taken together, The Biggest Research Update delivers one of the largest improvements to the Research Center in a very long time: dedicated Hero classes, brand-new Research branches, a new Honor Marks resource, extra rewards through Research Chests, the ability to run two Research projects at once, and a cleaner, more accessible city. A few details still need hands-on testing — especially that mysterious Fortitude attribute — but everything covered here comes straight from the official announcement. Once the update is live, we’ll test every new feature and mechanic so we can bring you complete guides based on real gameplay rather than guesswork.

More Hero Wars Alliance Guides

• Tristan Relics First Look
• Top 5 Warriors To Build
• Crow Synergy Guide
• The Ultimate Crow Guide