Alliances
Join a large alliance as soon as possible. Your alliance's members can shorten your building times and help attack other players. When you are attacked by another player, they can also send you troops to help your defense.
Daily quests
Daily quests require you to wait for a timer to end. You can check how long a daily quest will take before starting it. Always have a daily quest running in the background, even if you are not actively playing. The longer the quest, the better the rewards.
Mystery gifts
Upgrade your command center to level 3 to unlock a mystery gift. It will reward you with premium items, resources, or other bonuses. You will have to wait until it can be opened again. The more times that you collect its reward, the longer its cooldown.
Upgrades
Research various upgrades at the Science Center. There are three upgrade categories (Economics, Troops, and Fortifications). Economics covers base resource tasks, such as reducing construction times, increasing resource output, etc. Troops increase the power of your troops during combat. Fortifications improve the defensive aspect of your base, including structures. Always have a research in progress as each one will require some time to complete.
Alliance quests...