Combat Guide

This guide gathers the combat advice of the wiki in one place: how to build an army, when to attack, how to run a rally and how to come home with your troops. The rules and the numbers behind it are on Combat, Units and the pages they link to.

Building the army

Tier decides more than count. A march of the highest tier you can train beats a bigger march of older troops, so keep training and promoting instead of hoarding low tiers — and never send low-tier troops against high-tier ones.
Use the counter triangle. Infantry beats Lancer, Lancer beats Marksman, Marksman beats Infantry: sending the right type multiplies what the same troops do.
Keep the three camps level with one another. Falling behind on one camp bottlenecks troop quality and leaves you without a balanced force.

Weight the march towards infantry when the event asks for one army. The composition players settle on in the Alliance Championship is 50% Infantry, 20% Lancer and 30% Marksman.
Garrison with Infantry. Their Health is what survives an incoming attack, which is why they hold the city while the other two types travel.
Follow each type with its research. Infantry want Shield Upgrade and Defensive Formation, Lancers want Lancer Armor and Lancer Upgrade — see Battle Research.
Match the hero to the troops. Smith leads Infantry, Charlie leads Lancer marches, and a Marksman specialist leads Marksman; failing that, the best combat hero belongs on the march that fights.

Gear

Keep the six Chief Gear pieces at the same quality tier so the three-piece and six-piece set bonuses stay active, and aim for a full Rare (Blue) set before pushing any single piece higher.
Upgrade the pieces of your most-used troop type first when a set is already even.
For Hero Gear, finish Purple before starting new Blue pieces, and put combat gear on combat heroes, development gear on development heroes.
Collect gear materials at every event. Crafting materials are event-gated, so a month of small pickups beats waiting for a big one.

Before you attack

Scout first, always. A scout report shows the garrison and the resources; attacking blind can lose the whole march.
Then judge whether the attack is worth it — troop count, tier and hero on the other side against what you would gain.
Bring the counter type once the report tells you what is waiting.

Rallies

The leader matters. A rally is capped by the leader's Command Center, so the strongest player hosts.
Watch the timer. Troops joined to a rally are locked until it launches — don't join one if you need them elsewhere.
Keep a garrison at home when your own city may be hit at the same time.
Rally the objectives. In State vs State, a rally on the state's key buildings is usually the highest-scoring thing an alliance can do.

Marches

Upgrade the Command Center. Bigger marches mean more gathering income and more room to react; more march queues come from Research and VIP.
Set the march up for its job. A composition built to attack is the wrong one to send gathering, and the reverse.

Watch the march timer. Troops are unavailable for the whole round trip, so count them out of the city before you send them, not after.

After the battle

Upgrade the Infirmary before you need it. Wounded troops beyond its capacity are lost for good, so its size is what a lost battle costs you.

Shields

Don't break a shield by accident. Attacking cancels a Peace Shield: plan the attack before you plan the shield.
Stack shields. A longer shield activated just before a shorter one runs out keeps the protection unbroken.
Shield on a full warehouse. A big gathering run makes the city worth attacking.
Follow the alliance protocol during State vs State, where alliances usually agree on when to shield and when to fight.

Moving the city

Save teleports. Teleport items are rare, and the free Beginner's Teleport is one-time — plan the move before spending it.
Scout the destination before landing there, and check the rules during State vs State, where some zones are restricted.
Land near your alliance. Neighbours reinforce, rally and shield alongside you; distance costs march time you cannot buy back.

State vs State

Keep troops out of reach. Between actions, troops are safest in the city or on a defended gathering spot.
Talk in alliance chat. Coordinated attacks, defence of Territory and timing all live there.