Starting a safe land attack
Left-click a land border to attack, or hover the target and press G for a dedicated ground attack. Over water, left-click sends a transport and B starts a boat attack, so confirm the route and terrain before issuing the order.
The attack ratio is the percentage of your current troops sent by the click. Press T to lower it or Y to raise it; Shift plus the mouse wheel also adjusts it. Having more attackers than defenders reduces losses, but the benefit flattens past about 2:1 and does not justify sending 100%.
Before committing, compare the force assigned to the attack with the defender’s troops per owned tile, target terrain, nearby Defense Post coverage, both territories’ scale, and any attack already returning across the same border. Reinforce only while those conditions justify the cost; otherwise stop, reroute, or counterattack.
Commitment, terrain, and abort signals
- How much of my army should I commit?
- There is no universally correct percentage. Keep a reserve for a second front, betrayal, or reverse push, and judge the troops remaining in the active attack rather than only your national total. Defender losses per lost tile depend on defender troops divided by owned tiles, so equal total armies can perform differently across differently sized territories.
- How much does terrain change an attack?
- The terrain constants are Plains at mag 80 and speed 16.5, Highland at 100 and 20, and Mountain at 120 and 25. Higher mag increases attacker losses, while higher speed slows territorial advance in the formula, making Mountain costlier than Plains before buildings are considered.
- What does a defending Defense Post change?
- A defender-owned Defense Post covers target tiles within 30 tiles, multiplying mag by 5 and speed by 3. The check stops after one qualifying post, so overlapping posts do not stack that combat multiplier.
- How should border shape affect my route?
- A wide border can spread your force across many possible tiles and expose multiple counterattacks. A narrow neck concentrates combat; if that neck is protected by a well-placed Defense Post, stop and consider another route.
- When should I stop the push?
- Stop when the attack enters expensive terrain without a matching objective, reaches the intended line, exposes a second border, or loses the force advantage that originally justified it.