Which is the best unit to make?
It depends on your purposes. If you are planning to be defensive, make archers and ballistae to garrison. If you are planning to attack just abandoned empires, make light swordsmen, some siege engines, archers and supply wagons. If you would like to fight real players with real army, invest the most in cavalry and spearmen and never send army on a mission before simulating the battle.
What do I need to recruit heavy/elite units?
Point with the mouse at the question mark next to the respective unit and you will see all requirements in a tooltip. Or check out the requirements in the Technology tree below the village.
Which is the best unit to attack Fortresses with?
Siege engines and all types of swordsmen.
Battering rams have more attack and hit points than catapults and trebuchets. How come they are the light unit?
Battering rams are the only siege engine deployed, in offensive Fortress siege, on the first line along with swordsmen and spearmen. This means they suffer way more damages inflicted by garrisoned archers and tower ballistae and, consequently, end up not so effective.
I simulated the battle several times and yet I lost. Why? Better fix this simulator as soon as possible.
The battle simulator is an exact replica of the battle calculator. So, if a simulation and a battle differ, their data is definitely not the same. The opponent has different military researches’ levels, colony bonuses and morale from those you put into simulation and/or has Premium you didn’t anticipate. Another explanation is you won the simulation at less than 50 final morale – when morale drops below 50 there is always a chance that your army flees at some point and you lose the battle.
Why did I lose this battle?
There are many scenarios for you to lose a battle:

- not a precise simulation - see previous question;
- cavalry and archers sent to a Fortress siege;
- low morale and fleeing army;
- attack out of range, starting at low morale and fighting at less than 100% army strength;
- insufficient army to smash the walls before fleeing;
My battle’s gold equivalent of lost military units is bigger than the one of the battle of the day. Why didn’t I get the medal?
There are two battles of the day – one for victory in attack and another for victory in defence. Either your battle is in defence and the one you compare it to is in attack or vice-versa.
How can I raise my military rank?
By winning military points.
How can I win military points?
Military points are earned just in battles with other active players. A killed army worth 5000 gold equivalent is equal to 1 military point. Destroyed Fortress levels give certain amount of military points too, as well as pillaged population, but just in a war and accounted just to war score.
I made a huge battle, I had losses and yet no honor. Why?
Honor is earned in battles with active players but always if fulfilled the requirement of having lost at least 10% of your own army and if the attack is in the allowed range x2.
My honor is negative. How can I fix it?
Honor is earned in battles with active players but always if fulfilled the requirement of having lost at least 10% of your own army and if the attack is in the allowed range x2. For every 100 000 gold equivalent of killed army, the winner earns 1 Honor point.
I did pillage only twice today and yet system tells me I’m not allowed to pillage more. Aren’t we supposed to have four pillages a day?
Yes, but recalled pillages count too. So if you fulfilled two pillages and initiated but recalled another two, that’s four and you won’t be able to pillage more for the day.
Which is the best formation? Which one to choose?
Since the formation controls the distribution of the units through the battle zones and each unit type’s attack and hit points are modified by the battle zone it is deployed on, the right choice of formation is determined by, both, your army composition and your opponent’s army composition and formation. Basically, the most efficient formation would be the one that deploys most of your units in the battles zones that boost, or at least don’t apply any penalty, their attack and hit points, and/or the one that deploys most of your units in the battle zones that will allow them to fight directly against the enemy units they have bonuses, or at least no penalties, to.

How can I share a battle with a friend?
When at least 168 hours have passed from the time of the battle, a link appears at the bottom of the report.
The system says that I share the same IP address with player X and I cannot attack him. Can you fix this?
When the system finds a match between two players, attacks between both of them are forbidden automatically and cannot be allowed.
I didn't see attacker's army composition even 1 second before the battle. Why?
Because your Counter-espionage level is too low in comparison with attacker's Espionage level. If attacker’s Espionage and defender’s Counter-espionage levels are equal, the defender sees the attacking army’s composition 30 minutes before the impact. With each level of difference 10 minutes are added or subtracted. So, if your Counter-espionage level is 3 levels lower than attacker's Espionage level, you will never see his army composition.
How do I defend myself from enemy attacks?
A 100% defense is hardly possible, but follow these steps:

- do not leave large amounts of resources, so that your empire couldn’t seem tempting to the enemies;
- keep archers and ballistae in the Fortress;
- try to maintain high levels of Fortresses, mostly in the capital;
- do not leave your army on the field, unless you are absolutely sure there is no player in the realm with larger army that can defeat you (which is too relative and subjective to be predicted and it’s not worth the risk);
- keep many spies on the field and raise Counter-espionage levels whenever you can afford it, so that they couldn’t spy on you;
- keep raising Fortification, so that your Fortress is stronger, and Military Architecture, so that it gathers more archers in garrison;
- Box your capital or the province you are used to leave your resources in, by annexing all provinces it shares a border with;
- if some player goes hard on you with constant attacks, capitulate;
How do I get a "Battle of the day" medal?
Medals are conferred on the winners in the two bloodiest battles between active players, one in defense and one in attack, of the realm for the day. The bloodiest battles are those with the highest value of lost military units in gold equivalent.
I didn’t lose any honor in my battles, why my honor is negative?
Apart from pillages, honor can be lost when you attack players out of the allowed net worth points range x2 (players more than twice bigger or smaller than you). Honor penalty for attacking out of range is subtracted at the time your army is sent and not at the time the battle happens, so it is not present in the battle report.
I was attacked in a boxed province by a player who started the battle at 150 morale. How is that possible?
There are many factors which can influence the morale in a positive way – Drill research, bonus from positive Honor, special bonus for being leader, first officer or commanding officer, morale bonus in attack from a Great Person, bonus from colony/trade post оn a special resource. So, basically, it is very likely.
I defeated him, but I didn’t get any resource, despite the espionage report showed the opposite. Why is that?
There are a few plausible explanations:

- You sent your army to a field battle instead to a fortress siege.
- The defender spent the resources by building, researching or recruiting army.
- The defender transported the resources.
- The defender sent the resources to a distant holding.
- The defender's Fortress protected his resources.
- You used the Last report button instead of the Spy or Infiltrate buttons. Last report button does not give updated information, but the condition of the province at the time it was last spied on.
Which is the best unit to pillage with?
Light cavalry
Which is the best elite unit and why?
Paladin. It is the most expensive unit with the highest health, attack and defence. It is versatile and can be used for both attacking and defence