Combat

Attack and defense

Attack power is the sum of the attack values of every unit in the attacking army.

Defense power is built from two values on each defending unit: defense against infantry and defense against cavalry. The attacker's army decides how much each one counts: whatever share of the attack power comes from cavalry, that share of the defense uses the value against cavalry, and the rest uses the value against infantry.

The table shows a unit's defense value when the attacker's power comes entirely from infantry or entirely from cavalry; in a mixed raid, the value falls in between.

What strengthens defense

When a raid reaches your holding, these add to your defense power:

Bastion, Armory and Armor forge multiply with each other, then add to the rest. In altar battles, the altar's fortification and the Watchtower count instead of the holding's bonuses (Altars). Interceptions and sorties get no defense bonus.

What strengthens attack

Morale

When a player with a higher score attacks you, their army's morale drops: the strong can't hit the weak at full strength. Morale depends on the ratio of the two scores and falls no lower than 70%. When the lower-scored player attacks the stronger one, morale is full.

Morale applies only between two players; it plays no part when you attack an unheld altar. The battle report shows the morale.

Who wins

After every multiplier, the attacker wins if attack power exceeds defense power. A tie goes to the defender.

Losses

• The loser loses its entire army on the field.
• The winner takes losses too, depending on the ratio of the two powers: if you're far stronger than your rival, you lose few; in an even clash, you lose heavily.

Losses are spread across unit types by their numbers: rams, governors and settlers can die in battle too.

Plunder and Assault

Your army decides what kind of raid it is:

• Assault: when you bring governors or trebuchets. A full clash: governors lower loyalty, trebuchets tear down buildings.
• Plunder: every other raid. Both sides take lighter losses; the goal is loot. Loyalty doesn't drop and no building falls.

Softening losses

• The Palisade cuts your losses by 15% when your holding is attacked, win or lose.
• The Drill Yard and House Ataya bring part of your losses back as wounded (Wounded).

Battle report

After a battle, both sides get a report. How much you learn depends on whether your army made it back:

• The defender sees the attacking army in full: its troops, their own losses and wounded, morale, the Wall and the loot taken.
• The attacker gets a full report if anyone from the army returns alive: enemy losses by type, the outcome of the siege, morale and loot. The report doesn't show the garrison that stayed behind.
• If your army was wiped out but broke something, a witness report comes in: only the rough type of the enemies it struck down, and that the Wall or the buildings were hit.
• If your army vanished without a trace, the report only says "No word from your army."

The report also gives a rough measure of the gap between the two armies: even, one and a half times, twice or more (Reports).