Colonies and how they work
A colony is a shared mothership that a group of players runs together. It unlocks at level 8 and it is the part of Time Heroes designed to outlast your levelling: the level ladder ends, the group does not. Members donate materials and gems, the colony grows, and the whole roster benefits.
Nothing about a colony moves currency between individual players. Donations go to the colony itself, not to another player's wallet, and player to player trading and gifting are closed at launch.
Getting in
Colonies set their own door policy, and there are three settings. An open colony admits you immediately if you meet its requirements. An application colony lets you ask, with an optional message of up to 300 characters, and a leader accepts or rejects. A closed colony is not taking anyone.
One rule protects committed players specifically: a Paradox reset never costs you a pending application, even though it wipes the level and net worth a colony might have asked for.
Rejections and blocks
Doors that can say no need a cooldown, and the cooldowns are short and visible with a countdown.
- A rejected application blocks you from applying to that colony again for 72 hours.
- A kick blocks re-application for 7 days.
- A leader can waive either block by accepting you directly.
- A full colony still accepts applications. The queue becomes a waitlist and it is the accept button that goes inactive.
The four ranks
Authority in a colony is a ladder of four rungs, plus a VIP badge that carries no power at all.
| Rank | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Leader | Vault, ships, reactor, rank assignment, and the only rank that can disband the colony |
| Manager | Vault, ships and reactor, and can kick, mute and ban members |
| Moderator | Order in the room: can kick and mute, but cannot ban or touch the vault |
| Citizen | Donates, contributes and grows the colony |
| VIP | A badge only, with no authority attached |
Donations are the loop
Donating is how a citizen contributes. You can donate gems and you can donate materials, both of which feed the colony's reactor and its shared progression, and there is a per-player daily donation cap so no single account can carry or distort a colony overnight.
Donating also pays you back in experience, and discovering a colony is worth 250 experience on its own, the same as completing a daily task. For a player around level 8 that is a meaningful chunk of a level for something you were going to do anyway.
Why colonies exist at all
Time Heroes is built on the idea that levels are scaffolding and the group is the building. A colony gives your mining somewhere to go once your own numbers stop being interesting, turns a solo idle loop into a shared one, and gives a returning player a reason that is not a number. Sprints and shared goals run on top of the donation loop so that a quiet week from one member is covered by an active week from another.
When do colonies unlock in Time Heroes?
Colonies unlock at player level 8 in Time Heroes, which is early enough that most players join one during their first session or two.
Can I trade or gift items to other players in Time Heroes?
No. Player to player trading, the marketplace and gifting are all closed in Time Heroes at launch. Colony donations go to the colony itself rather than to another player.
What are the colony ranks in Time Heroes?
A Time Heroes colony has four ranks: Leader, Manager, Moderator and Citizen. There is also a VIP badge, which is cosmetic and carries no authority.