3Division put Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic into Early Access on 15 March 2019 and released version 1.0 with Hooded Horse on 20 June 2024. You run a planned economy on two currencies, rubles for Eastern trade and dollars for Western trade, across more than 30 commodities. Every citizen is simulated individually from school age onward, and loyalty and happiness decide whether they turn up for work at all.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Randomly generated map | Dual currency trade in rubles and dollars basics | Ruble self sufficiency | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Estonia | Realistic mode construction mastery | Ruble self sufficiency | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Poland | Individual citizen simulation + gear | Dollar export economy or Ruble self sufficiency | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Austria | Build optimization | Dollar export economy | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Yugoslavia | Min-max | Dollar export economy or Loan financed rapid start | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Randomly generated map)
Random map generation arrived with the Biomes DLC in September 2024. The generator produces terrain from your chosen parameters, which is the fastest way to get a fresh republic without hunting through the workshop.
Level/Difficulty: Any, terrain difficulty is up to you Key Rewards: Unlimited fresh starts, terrain tuned to your preferred slope and height
What to Do in Randomly generated map
- Learn Dual currency trade in rubles and dollars. You buy and sell through customs houses on either border, rubles with the Eastern bloc and dollars with the West, and prices differ between them. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Ruble self sufficiency as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Place the construction office before you place a single building in realistic mode. It schedules the trucks and buses that deliver materials and workers, so a site outside its range simply sits untouched no matter how much gravel you own.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Gravel processing plant or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Dual currency trade in rubles and dollars fundamentals
- Ruble self sufficiency selected and functional
- Randomly generated map main content cleared
- Ready for Estonia
Phase 2: Early Game (Estonia)
A World Maps DLC entry that starts you with pre existing cargo and passenger harbours. Tallinn already has a passenger train station with tracks connecting to Soviet customs houses, so your trade links exist from minute one.
Level/Difficulty: Beginner friendly Key Rewards: Existing harbours, ready rail connection to customs, coastal trade access
What to Do in Estonia
- Work on Realistic mode construction. With realistic mode enabled nothing appears instantly. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Gravel processing plant if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Import your construction materials for the first several hours rather than building the chain. A quarry, gravel plant and concrete plant tie up money and labour long before they pay back, and a customs house delivers immediately.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Poland.
- Consider whether Dollar export economy might suit your playstyle better than Ruble self sufficiency.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Realistic mode construction integrated into gameplay
- Gravel processing plant acquired
- Estonia fully cleared
- Ready for Poland
Phase 3: Mid Game (Poland)
Vast flatlands, connected rivers and an existing railway network make this the easiest World Maps entry to build across. Resources sit mostly south and west with oil deposits in the northwest.
Level/Difficulty: Beginner to intermediate Key Rewards: Flat building room, prebuilt rail, oil in the northwest
What to Do in Poland
- Master Individual citizen simulation. Citizens are tracked one by one through school, work and retirement, with their own loyalty, education level and access to goods. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Construction office. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Check the price difference between the ruble and dollar customs houses before every large sale. The two blocs pay differently for the same commodity, and routing exports to the better paying side is free money.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Production chains from ore to finished goods for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Individual citizen simulation mastered
- Construction office acquired or in progress
- Poland fully cleared
- Ready for Austria
Phase 4: Late Game (Austria)
Rugged mountain terrain with rich pockets of iron, coal and uranium, and steep cliffs that punish careless road planning. Resource wealth is high, but so is the cost of reaching it.
Level/Difficulty: Experienced planners Key Rewards: Iron, coal and uranium deposits, cable car and tunnel opportunities
What to Do in Austria
- Finalize your build. You should be running Dollar export economy or Ruble self sufficiency with optimized gear.
- Construction office should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Staff large buildings completely before adding another. A steel mill has 500 worker positions, and running it at a third capacity still costs full upkeep while producing a fraction of the steel.
- Cargo and passenger transport networks optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Yugoslavia.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Construction office upgraded to max
- Austria fully cleared
- Ready for Yugoslavia
Phase 5: Endgame (Yugoslavia)
Mostly mountainous with limited plains, softened by coastal harbours near Zadar and Split and a northern plain that gives you somewhere to actually build. It rewards players who plan sea freight early.
Level/Difficulty: Intermediate to advanced Key Rewards: Adriatic harbours, northern plains for housing, mountain resources
What to Do in Yugoslavia
- Yugoslavia tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Solve heating before your first winter, not during it. Heat is a supply chain like any other, and a housing block that goes cold empties out quickly, taking the workforce of whatever factory it fed with it.
- The endgame loop: run Yugoslavia, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Loan financed rapid start for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Cargo and passenger transport networks mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Yugoslavia fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Building factories with no transport to them. Workers do not walk across the map, so a factory without a bus route stands idle regardless of how many citizens live nearby.
- Starting a full production chain in the first hour. Quarry, gravel plant and concrete plant together cost more labour and money than a young republic has, and importing is cheaper until the economy stands up.
- Ignoring citizen services. Loyalty and happiness feed directly into how much work gets done, so shops, healthcare, education and entertainment are inputs, not luxuries.
- Forgetting heating and power capacity before expanding housing. A new block that cannot be heated or lit costs you the workers it was built to house.
- Selling raw resources when refined goods are available. Fuel and steel carry far better margins than crude oil and iron ore, and the extra step usually pays for the factory quickly.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Place the construction office before you place a single building in realistic mode. It schedules the trucks and buses that deliver materials and workers, so a site outside its range simply sits untouched no matter how much gravel you own.
- Import your construction materials for the first several hours rather than building the chain. A quarry, gravel plant and concrete plant tie up money and labour long before they pay back, and a customs house delivers immediately.
- Check the price difference between the ruble and dollar customs houses before every large sale. The two blocs pay differently for the same commodity, and routing exports to the better paying side is free money.
- Staff large buildings completely before adding another. A steel mill has 500 worker positions, and running it at a third capacity still costs full upkeep while producing a fraction of the steel.
- Solve heating before your first winter, not during it. Heat is a supply chain like any other, and a housing block that goes cold empties out quickly, taking the workforce of whatever factory it fed with it.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Guides
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Overview
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Best Builds
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Tier List
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Beginner's Guide
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Tips & Tricks
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Weapons Guide
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Combat Guide
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Boss Guide
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Maps & Locations
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Crafting Guide
- Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic Classes & Characters
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