Part of the Daily Optimization Series:

Beginner Strategy Hub: Core principles (Start Here).

Flame and Fangs Guide: Maximizing your Crystallite Core income.

Explorer's Cabin Guide: Maximizing your AFK/Idle rewards.

The Lighthouse is the hub for your city's Intel Missions. It provides a steady stream of combat, rescue, and exploration tasks that yield essential resources, hero shards, and—crucially—Fire Crystals in the late game.

Quick Answer

Unlock: Furnace Level 7.
Refresh Schedule: 3 times daily (00:00, 08:00, 16:00 server time).
Searchlight: Upgrading the Searchlight (Levels 1–20) improves mission quality and frequency.
Top Priority: During the Flame and Fangs event, every mission grants Crystallite Cores.
Key Mechanic: Only Exploration Skills matter for Intel; it uses Chief Stamina, not troop marches.

How Intel Missions Work

Intel Missions are auto-resolved tasks found in the Lighthouse menu. Most missions result in an instant reward, though some require a brief "march" time that consumes stamina.

The Refresh Cycle

The board generates 8 standard missions every 8 hours.

00:00 Server Time
08:00 Server Time
16:00 Server Time

[!TIP] Don't let them expire. Missions typically vanish 12–16 hours after they appear. If you miss a refresh, you miss out on the Searchlight upgrade progress associated with those missions.

Upgrading the Searchlight

The Searchlight is the "level" of your Lighthouse. You advance it by completing a cumulative number of missions.

Searchlight Tier	Benefit
Low (1–7)	Grey/Green missions; basic resources and speed-ups.
Mid (8–14)	Blue/Purple missions; better hero shards and gear fragments.
High (15–20)	Legendary missions; high-tier shards and consistent Fire Crystal drops.

Mission Types & Selection

Beast Hunting: Targeted combat for Meat and Wood.
Rescue Survivors: Theme-based missions for Coal and Iron.
A Hero's Journey: Best for Hero EXP and specific hero shards.
Bounty Intel: High-power missions (Expert/Master/Grand Master).
- Strategy: If your power is >70% of the recommendation, attempt it. If <50%, skip to save stamina.

Flame and Fangs Optimization

This recurring 2-day event (Monday–Tuesday of SvS Prep) turns the Lighthouse into your primary source of Crystallite Cores.

Standard Missions: 1 Core.
Firebeast Missions: 10 Cores.
Bounty Missions: 0 Cores. (Skip Bounty during Flame and Fangs to save stamina).

The Stacking Method

To maximize your score:

Sunday 08:00: Complete missions but do not claim them.
Monday 00:00: Claim the completed missions immediately to get a "head start" on Cores.

Post-Fire-Crystal Rewards

Once your Furnace reaches Level 30, the Lighthouse becomes one of the few reliable daily sources for:

Fire Crystals
Fire Crystal Shards
Gems

Known Ambiguities

Exact stamina costs per mission type are not officially documented.
Hidden queue: Some players report a "overflow" queue of missions, but this remains unverified.
Crystallite Core drop rates from Firebeasts can vary slightly by server age.

TL;DR

The Lighthouse is a marathon building. Unlock it at Furnace 7, clear your 3 daily refreshes, and save your stamina items for the Flame and Fangs window to secure Fire Crystals and high-tier speed-ups.

Whiteout Survival Lighthouse Guide [2026] — Intel Missions Explained