The Labyrinth is a weekly Whiteout Survival progression feature made up of several Exploration zones that test different parts of your account. Instead of relying on one universal formation, each zone uses specific stat sources such as Heroes, Research, Chief Gear, Chief Charms, Pets, or a combination of eligible combat stats.
Two zones are especially important for players searching for help: Research Center and Gear Forge. Both open on Friday and Saturday, but they use completely different progression systems. Research Center is based on Research Center and War Academy Tech, while Gear Forge depends on Chief Gear.
This Whiteout Survival Labyrinth guide covers the complete weekly zone schedule, Research Center, Gear Forge, Land of Heroes, Cave of Monsters, Charm Mine, Gaia Heart, troop rules, challenge attempts, Raid, rewards, Glowstones, Labyrinth Cores, and the best strategies for pushing farther each week.
What Is The Labyrinth in Whiteout Survival?
The Labyrinth is a multi-zone stage challenge accessed through the Command Center.
Your main goals are to:
- Clear new Exploration stages.
- Claim First Win Rewards.
- Unlock Raid for repeatable rewards.
- Collect Glowstones.
- Earn Labyrinth Cores.
- Reach cumulative milestone rewards.
- Progress through harder stages as your account develops.
The key mechanic is that each Exploration uses different stats. Improving your heroes does not necessarily help Gear Forge, and upgrading Chief Gear does not directly improve Research Center.
How to Unlock The Labyrinth
The Labyrinth becomes available on Monday of the fourth week after the server opens, provided your account meets the building requirements.
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| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Server Progress | Monday of the fourth server week |
| Furnace | Level 19 |
| Command Center | Level 1 |
| Entry Location | Command Center |
Some individual zones have additional requirements. Therefore, seeing The Labyrinth does not necessarily mean every Exploration is already available.
Whiteout Survival Labyrinth Zone Schedule
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| Labyrinth Zone | Days | Additional Requirement | Main Stat Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land of Heroes | Monday-Tuesday | Available with Labyrinth | Heroes, Hero Gear, Exclusive Hero Gear |
| Cave of Monsters | Wednesday-Thursday | Pets unlocked, around Server Day 54 | Pets and Pet Skills |
| Charm Mine | Wednesday-Thursday | Furnace 25 and Chief Charms | Chief Charms |
| Research Center | Friday-Saturday | Available with Labyrinth | Research Center Tech and War Academy Tech |
| Gear Forge | Friday-Saturday | Furnace 22 and Chief Gear | Chief Gear |
| Gaia Heart | Sunday | Available with Labyrinth | Multiple eligible account combat stats |
This weekly rotation means you should prepare different progression systems before different Labyrinth days.
Whiteout Survival Research Center Labyrinth Guide
Research Center is one of the Friday-Saturday Labyrinth Explorations. It is available once the main Labyrinth feature is unlocked.
Unlike Land of Heroes or Gear Forge, Research Center does not primarily care about Hero Gear or Chief Gear. Its listed stat sources are:
This makes Research Center one of the clearest Labyrinth zones to prepare for. If you are stuck, the most relevant improvements come from strengthening your research progression rather than upgrading an unrelated combat system.
How to Get Stronger in Research Center Labyrinth
Before Friday and Saturday, review whether you have useful research upgrades available.
Useful areas can include research that improves:
- Troop Attack
- Troop Defense
- Troop Health
- Troop Lethality
- Deployment Capacity where applicable
- Advanced combat bonuses from War Academy Tech
The exact benefit depends on your current research tree and state progression.
Do You Need High-Level Troops for Research Center?
For most normal Labyrinth Explorations, the system provides Level 10 troops through the Labyrinth Explorers.
This means your account’s applicable stats are generally more important than simply having the highest normal Wilderness troop tier.
If your deployment capacity is too low, the Labyrinth system can also provide additional troops to help meet the minimum required formation size.
Whiteout Survival Gear Forge Labyrinth Guide
Gear Forge also opens on Friday and Saturday, but it uses Chief Gear rather than Research.
Gear Forge requires:
- Furnace Level 22
- Chief Gear unlocked
The important distinction is that Gear Forge uses Chief Gear stats.
Do not confuse Chief Gear with Hero Gear. They are separate progression systems.
How to Get Stronger in Gear Forge Labyrinth
If Gear Forge is stopping your progress, prioritize your Chief Gear development.
Chief Gear includes six equipment slots that improve Infantry, Lancer, and Marksman combat stats. Progression uses materials such as Hardened Alloy, Polishing Solution, Design Plans, and later advanced materials.
For the full upgrade system and priorities, see the Whiteout Survival Chief Gear guide.
Does Hero Gear Help Gear Forge?
Gear Forge’s listed stat source is Chief Gear.
Therefore, do not assume upgrading a Mythic Hero Gear piece will directly solve a Gear Forge stage. Improve the progression system the Exploration is actually designed to test.
Best Gear Forge Upgrade Strategy
A practical approach is to:
- Identify your weakest Chief Gear pieces.
- Check which troop-class stats those slots improve.
- Upgrade pieces where the material cost gives meaningful stat progress.
- Retry Gear Forge after a real Chief Gear increase.
- Avoid repeatedly spending challenge attempts with no account change.
Land of Heroes
Land of Heroes opens on Monday and Tuesday.
Its main stat sources are:
- Heroes
- Hero Gear
- Exclusive Hero Gear
This is the Labyrinth zone where improvements to hero stars, Hero Gear, Widgets, and related hero combat development matter most.
If you are close to clearing a difficult stage, upgrading the actual heroes used by your strongest formation may be more efficient than spreading resources across your entire roster.
Cave of Monsters
Cave of Monsters opens on Wednesday and Thursday once the Pet system is available, generally around the same progression point where Pets unlock.
Its main stat sources are:
- Pets
- Pet Skills
Players who neglect Pet development may notice that Cave of Monsters falls behind even when their heroes and Chief Gear are strong.
Charm Mine
Charm Mine also opens on Wednesday and Thursday.
It requires Furnace Level 25 and Chief Charms.
The main stat source is straightforward:
If Charm Mine is your weakest Exploration, upgrading unrelated systems such as Hero Gear is unlikely to provide the same direct benefit as improving your Charms.
Gaia Heart
Gaia Heart opens on Sunday and is the broadest Labyrinth challenge.
It uses many eligible account combat stats instead of being tied to only one progression system.
However, several bonuses that work elsewhere are excluded.
Which Bonuses Do Not Work in Gaia Heart?
Do not rely on external bonuses such as:
- Castle battle positions or related position buffs
- Alliance Tech bonuses
- Alliance Territory bonuses
- Facility bonuses
- Gem-based temporary buffs where excluded by Labyrinth rules
- Other external bonus items that the Labyrinth rules disable
For building-derived stats, the important exception is Deployment Capacity from the Command Center.
Squad Configuration in The Labyrinth
Troop rules inside The Labyrinth differ from normal Wilderness combat.
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| Situation | Troop Rule |
|---|---|
| Most Labyrinth Zones | Labyrinth Explorers provide Level 10 troops |
| Gaia Heart | Uses your own troops |
| Low Deployment Capacity | Explorer troops may supplement the formation to meet requirements |
| Gaia Heart Casualties | Does not cause normal troop casualties |
As a result, the best way to improve is usually to strengthen the stat source assigned to that zone, not simply chase a higher troop tier.
Labyrinth Challenge Attempts
Each active Labyrinth zone gives you 5 challenge attempts per day.
Attempts refresh at 00:00 UTC.
Because attempts are limited, do not spend all five repeatedly attacking the same stage if nothing about your formation or relevant stats has changed.
First Win Rewards vs Raid Rewards
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| Reward Type | How It Works |
|---|---|
| First Win Reward | Claimed the first time you clear a stage |
| Raid Reward | Collected from stages you previously cleared after Raid is unlocked |
First Win Rewards are one-time stage rewards. Therefore, pushing farther remains valuable whenever your account gains enough power to clear another stage.
How to Unlock Raid in The Labyrinth
Raid unlocks after clearing Stages 1-10 of an Exploration.
When that zone opens again, Raid lets you collect rewards from previously cleared progress before continuing toward harder stages.
When Does Labyrinth Progress Reset?
The underground world is covered by mist on Monday, resetting the weekly Exploration stage cycle.
Previously cleared stages can then provide Raid rewards when the corresponding Exploration opens again.
The weekly stage reset does not mean every part of Labyrinth progression is erased.
For example:
- First Win Rewards remain one-time rewards.
- Milestone rewards remain one-time rewards.
- Labyrinth Core progression is cumulative.
- The Labyrinth Leaderboard uses its own refresh rules.
Whiteout Survival Labyrinth Rewards
The Labyrinth contains several overlapping reward systems:
- First Win Rewards
- Raid Rewards
- Labyrinth Treasure
- Splendid Labyrinth Treasure
- Glowstone
- Labyrinth Cores
- Hero’s Sanctum
- Luminari Citadel
- Labyrinth Shop rewards
Labyrinth Treasure and Splendid Labyrinth Treasure
The normal Labyrinth Treasure and Splendid Labyrinth Treasure use different quantities and drop rates.
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| Reward | Labyrinth Treasure | Splendid Labyrinth Treasure |
|---|---|---|
| Luminari Citadel | 1 at 1% | 1 at 3% |
| Mythic General Hero Shard | 1 at 0.3% | 10 at 0.3% |
| Enhancement XP Component | 50 total at 10% | 100 at 20% |
| Gems | 10 at 20% | 50 at 20% |
| 5m General Speedup | 68.7% | 56.7% |
The Splendid version is substantially stronger when it lands one of the premium rewards.
Labyrinth Cores
Labyrinth Cores are awarded for clearing Exploration stages.
They are cumulative progress toward one-time milestones rather than currency that you manually spend.
Important milestones include:
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| Labyrinth Cores | Reward |
|---|---|
| 10 | 500 Enhancement XP Components |
| 30 | 1 Hero’s Sanctum |
| 60 | 5 Mythic General Hero Shards |
| 150 | 10 Lucky Hero Gear Chests |
| 300 | 1 Custom Mythic Hero Gear Chest |
| 1,800 | 100 Lucky Hero Gear Chests |
The 300-Core milestone is particularly useful because a Custom Mythic Hero Gear Chest provides a guaranteed Mythic Hero Gear choice rather than relying completely on a random chest.
Glowstone and the Labyrinth Shop
Glowstone is the currency used in the Labyrinth Shop.
This is different from Labyrinth Cores:
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| Resource | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Glowstone | Spent in the Labyrinth Shop |
| Labyrinth Core | Cumulative milestone progression |
The Labyrinth Shop refreshes weekly, and some available items depend on server progression.
For detailed spending priorities and current progression recommendations, see the Whiteout Survival Glowstone guide.
Luminari Citadel and Hero’s Sanctum
The Labyrinth also connects to permanent Daybreak Island decoration progression.
Luminari Citadel can appear in Labyrinth Treasure reward pools, while Hero’s Sanctum comes from Labyrinth Core milestones.
Hero’s Sanctum provides a permanent Troops Defense bonus, making it more than a cosmetic reward.
Which Labyrinth Zone Should You Improve First?
Your priority should be whichever progression system is currently limiting the most useful parts of your account.
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| If You Are Stuck In | Improve |
|---|---|
| Land of Heroes | Heroes, Hero Gear, Exclusive Gear |
| Cave of Monsters | Pets and Pet Skills |
| Charm Mine | Chief Charms |
| Research Center | Research Center and War Academy Tech |
| Gear Forge | Chief Gear |
| Gaia Heart | Overall eligible combat progression |
Players returning to the game may find that several systems are far behind their state’s current progression. If you are comparing the development gap between accounts, a wos account for sale can also provide examples of how established accounts differ in Heroes, Chief Gear, Charms, Pets, Research, troop progression, and other systems used across the Labyrinth.
Best Tips for The Labyrinth
1. Use Your Daily Attempts
Five attempts per zone is not a large number. Missing an entire active day reduces your chances to push new stages and collect Raid value.
2. Upgrade the Correct System
This is the most important Labyrinth rule.
Research helps Research Center. Chief Gear helps Gear Forge. Pets help Cave of Monsters. Charms help Charm Mine.
3. Push First and Raid Afterward
Use early attempts to test whether you can reach a new stage. Once you hit your current wall, Raid provides reliable value from earlier progress.
4. Plan Upgrades Around the Weekly Schedule
If an important Chief Gear upgrade is almost complete on Thursday, finishing it before Friday can immediately improve Gear Forge.
Likewise, research completed before Friday may help Research Center.
5. Do Not Waste Temporary Buffs
Several external combat bonuses do not work in The Labyrinth. Check the Labyrinth rules before using expensive buffs specifically for a stage.
6. Aim to Unlock Raid in Every Zone
Stages 1-10 are an important early target because clearing them unlocks the Raid feature for future sessions.
7. Revisit Old Walls After Major Upgrades
A stage that was impossible last week may become manageable after a Hero Gear, Chief Gear, Charm, Pet, or Research upgrade.
8. Spend Glowstone Deliberately
Shop purchases require real choices. Prioritize rare or difficult progression materials before common resources you can farm elsewhere.
Common Labyrinth Mistakes
Upgrading Hero Gear for Gear Forge
Gear Forge uses Chief Gear. Hero Gear is associated with Land of Heroes instead.
Ignoring Research Center Tech
Research Center uses Research Center and War Academy Tech, making research progression the relevant way to improve there.
Ignoring the Friday-Saturday Window
Both Research Center and Gear Forge are only available during their weekly schedule, so missing those days delays your next opportunity.
Forgetting the Monday Reset
Weekly Exploration stage progress resets when the underground mist returns.
Confusing Labyrinth Cores With Glowstone
Glowstone is spendable shop currency. Labyrinth Cores are cumulative milestone progress.
Not Unlocking Raid
Clear Stages 1-10 in each available Exploration so you can collect Raid rewards in later sessions.
Assuming Every External Buff Works
Several temporary, state, alliance, position, and facility bonuses are disabled by Labyrinth rules.
Using All Attempts Without Changing Anything
If a stage defeats you repeatedly, improve the relevant stat source or adjust the formation before spending the rest of your daily attempts.
FAQ
How do you unlock The Labyrinth in Whiteout Survival?
The Labyrinth unlocks on Monday of the fourth server week when you have reached Furnace Level 19 and Command Center Level 1.
When is Research Center open in Whiteout Survival Labyrinth?
Research Center opens on Friday and Saturday. It uses Research Center Tech and War Academy Tech as its main stat sources.
When is Gear Forge open in Whiteout Survival Labyrinth?
Gear Forge opens on Friday and Saturday. It requires Furnace Level 22 and Chief Gear, and its main stat source is Chief Gear.
How many Labyrinth attempts do you get per day?
You receive 5 challenge attempts per active zone each day. Attempts refresh at 00:00 UTC.
How do you unlock Raid?
Clear Stages 1-10 of an Exploration. Raid becomes available for that zone during later Exploration sessions.
Does Labyrinth reset every week?
The Exploration stage cycle resets when the underground mist returns on Monday. First Win and milestone rewards remain one-time rewards, while Labyrinth Core progression is cumulative.
What is the difference between Glowstone and Labyrinth Core?
Glowstone is currency spent in the Labyrinth Shop. Labyrinth Cores are earned from clearing stages and unlock cumulative milestone rewards.
Do normal buffs work in Gaia Heart?
Not all of them. Several external bonuses, including alliance, facility, position, state, and bonus-item effects, are excluded. Among building stats, Command Center Deployment Capacity is the important effective stat.
Conclusion
The Whiteout Survival Labyrinth rewards players who understand which progression system each zone actually tests. You cannot solve every stage by upgrading the same heroes or simply increasing your displayed account Power.
For the current GSC-relevant zones, remember the key distinction: Research Center uses Research Center and War Academy Tech, while Gear Forge uses Chief Gear. Both open on Friday and Saturday, so prepare the correct upgrades before their weekly window.
Across the rest of the week, Heroes and Hero Gear drive Land of Heroes, Pets drive Cave of Monsters, Chief Charms drive Charm Mine, and Gaia Heart tests a broader mix of eligible account combat progression.
Use your five daily attempts carefully, unlock Raid by clearing Stages 1-10, revisit difficult stages after meaningful upgrades, and keep Glowstone spending separate from cumulative Labyrinth Core progression.
For more Labyrinth resources, event guides, and progression strategies, explore our Whiteout Survival guides.
Whiteout Survival may change Labyrinth schedules, zone requirements, applicable stats, Raid rules, reward tables, and shop contents through future updates. Check the current in-game Labyrinth screen before making major upgrade or spending decisions specifically for one Exploration.
