Village layout and expansion: pads, gates and the 3×3
Updated September 25, 2026. Figures come from the live game.
The short answer
Your village starts as the 3×3 around the keep: four corner pads and four gatehouses where the roads leave. Three expansions add four pads each (up to 16) and raise the building level cap from 2 to 3 to 5.
The starting island
Pads sit on an 8-unit grid around the keep. The four corners of the 3×3 are building pads; the four middle cells are gatehouses, where the roads leave the keep and where your posted guards stand. Roads run out north, east, south and west, and nothing is ever built on them.
Four roads, four gatehouses, four corner pads.
What each expansion costs
| Expansion | Scrap | Timber | Biomass | Time | Adds | Building level cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | — | — | — | — | 4 pads | 2 |
| Level 1 | 400 | 300 | — | 1 hour | 4 pads | 2 |
| Level 2 | 2,600 | 2,000 | 800 | 8 hours | 4 pads | 3 |
| Level 3 | 7,000 | 5,000 | 2,500 | 20 hours | 4 pads | 5 |
Expansion uses the single construction slot, is earned with a Ruin Survey two levels harder than your skill, and adds 15 strength per level.
Fortifying the keep
Fortify (450 scrap, 300 timber, 2 hours) adds 400 storage per material, 120 hp to the keep gate, 30 hp to each road gate, 100 protected stock and 20 strength.
Residences and support buildings
- Residence: +12 zombie room per level, as many as you like. Each copy you already own makes the next cost 3 times more.
- Brain Vat (one per village): one more grace day before your IQ fades per level, and +10 % materials from practice mini-games per level.
- Stitchery (one per village): 5 % of the defenders who fall come back per level, up to 50 %, as long as there is room under your horde cap.
- Drill Yard (one per village): +20 % battle XP per level.
Their costs, timers and level tables are on the wiki, and IQ has its own page.
Replacing a building
Open a finished building and choose Replace to put a different kind on the same pad. Half of the old building's base cost comes back (limited by your storage) and the new one starts at level 1 at its normal price and build time. The keep and barricades can't be replaced, and neither can a building that is upgrading, wrecked or still being built, or anything during a live fight.
Questions players ask
How many buildings can a Voxhorde village hold?
Sixteen pads after all three expansions: four on the starting island and four more per expansion. Barricades sit on the fence and don't count.
Why can't I upgrade past level 2?
The island caps building levels: 2 until your second expansion, 3 after it, and 5 after the third.
How long does expansion take?
One hour for the first, eight hours for the second and twenty hours for the third, before your mini-game grade cuts the time.
Can I swap a building for another in Voxhorde?
Yes. Replace turns any finished pad building (not the keep or a barricade) into another kind. You get half of the old building's base cost back and the new one starts at level 1.