I am seeing a ton of anger and confusion on these zones so I just wanted to help clear thing up.

Premium zones are a purchased function for that awards double points for double the fuel cost. In other words it’s a payed option for endurance events to make them more like mayhem events.

This has zero impact on on anyone. It doesn’t help scoring at all so it is not “pay to win”

I still think it is a lame addition and seems silly. But I am just tired of all the people saying things it is not.

It changes nothing about the game, it is just another silly option for those who want to spend on it. Similar to how they have garbage bundles often it’s just an option to ignore.

Before we begin: Any Squads, Bots, C.O.M.B.A.T.s, or Cores mentioned in this article are for illustrative and informative purposes. These combinations work in-game, but are meant to highlight concepts rather than dictate meta team compositions.

This Guide serves as a companion guide to our previous guides:

• Squad Building Tips
• Gameplay: Understanding Strategies
• Base Building & Tips (Parts 1–6)

While overall DPS and squad class balance dictate how your team moves through a base, Elemental Damage Types dictate how efficiently targets melt, freeze, or collapse under pressure.

In TFEW, elemental damage provides critical utility alongside raw damage. Below is a breakdown of how non-elemental vs. elemental mechanics function, their exact stacking rules, and how to execute cross-elemental synergies.

NON-ELEMENTAL DAMAGE TYPES

• Beam: Disables target defenses upon impact.
• Glass Gas: Sub-damage type of normal damage. Makes enemies (both buildings and Bots) more brittle and susceptible to increased damage.
• Normal: Baseline direct damage.
• Smash: Melee direct damage dealt primarily by Warrior class bots. HQs no longer have resistance against Smash damage, and Walls take 4x damage from Smash attacks.

ELEMENTAL DAMAGE & CROSS-ELEMENT SYNERGIES

Elemental damage applies ongoing damage or status effects while actively boosting complementary elements:

1. Acid (DoT + Healing Block)

• Mechanics: Deals damage over time. Targets affected by Acid cannot receive any form of healing.
• Synergy: Targets under Acid effects receive 20% more Fire damage.
• Application: Ideal against defensive setups relying on Medics or healing cores, softening targets up for massive Fire DoT.

2. Fire (DoT + Acid Booster)

• Mechanics: Sets targets ablaze and deals damage over time.
• Synergy: Increases incoming Acid damage by 20% on affected targets.
• The "Corrosive Burn" Strategy: Alternating Fire and Acid creates a reciprocal damage loop where both elements deal 20% increased damage back and forth while completely denying enemy healing.

3. Cryo (DoT + Slow + Electric Booster)

• Mechanics: Encases targets in "Cryo fire," dealing damage over time while slowing both movement speed and attack speed.
• Synergy: Increases incoming Electric damage by 20%.
• Application: Neutralizes fast-firing defenses (Beam Lasers, Auto-Cannons) and slows Outpost bots to a crawl.

4. Electricity (Disable + DoT + Cryo Booster)

• Mechanics: Shocks enemies while dealing damage over time. Applies a complete Disable—rendering the target entirely unable to move, attack, or use abilities.
• Synergy: Increases incoming Cryo damage by 20%.
• The "Freeze & Fry" Strategy: Stacking Electricity and Cryo locks down high-threat sectors completely with disables while boosting Cryo DoT output by 20%.

CRITICAL MECHANIC: "UNDER EFFECT" SEQUENCING

When reading Bot abilities or Power Core descriptions, pay close attention to the phrasing "Under [Element] Effect" (e.g., "Deals extra damage to targets under Acid Effect").

This phrasing is the game’s explicit instruction on ability sequencing order:

• Condition First, Trigger Second: The status effect (Acid, Cryo, Fire, Electric) MUST be applied to the target before the secondary ability lands to claim the damage bonus or synergy multiplier.
• Missequencing Wastes Damage: Applying the heavy attack first and following up with the status primer negates the bonus entirely for that initial hit.
• Squad Setup Tip: Always order your battle strategy so your "primer" bots (fast-casting or ranged status appliers) act ahead of your heavy-hitter "finisher" bots.

DAMAGE STACKING DATA TABLE

To build optimal squads around status effects and buffs, keep the game's strict stacking limits in mind:

Key Takeaway: Because DoT, Glass Gas, and Shields are UNLIMITED, you can infinitely stack multiple different DoT sources (Fire, Acid, Cryo, Electric) on a single high-health structure or HQ without hitting a cap. However, direct DPS Damage Buffs and Ability Damage Stacks cap out at 1 Stack.

TACTICAL APPLICATION & SQUAD BUILDING

• For "Walking" & Heavy Push Teams: Pair Cryo and Electric bots to keep enemy defenses locked down while your team advances. The +20% Cryo bonus and attack slows minimize damage taken during long fights.
• For High-Burst & Air Attacks: Lead with Acid to cut off target healing and trigger the +20% Fire multiplier, then drop Fire-based airstrikes to burn down the cluster instantly.
• Maximizing Wall Invasions: Use Smash-class Warriors for 4x damage against walls alongside Glass Gas to soften up defenses for unlimited DoT stacking behind enemy lines.