How Battles Work in Zardekon: Attack and Defense
Battles in Zardekon are not decided by dice rolls but by a transparent formula. Players who understand the formula know in advance which attacks will pay off. In this guide we explain the battle calculation step by step.
Attack power
The attack values of every unit you send are added up. Abilities increase this value: for example, the Viking Axeman gets +10% against defending infantry, the Gokturk Horse Archer +15% in every situation, and the Egyptian Pharaoh's Guard adds +5% to the attack of the whole army.
Defense power
D = (defense of units in the village + support troops + villagers) × (1 + wall bonus)
- Villagers: even with no units in the village, there is Town Hall level × 10 defense.
- Wall bonus: at level 20, Gokturk 40%, Viking and Egypt 50%, Rome 60%, Han 72%.
- Support troops: units sent by your clanmates are added to your defense.
- The Roman Praetorian increases the wall bonus by 20%; on the attacking side, the Viking Berserker and the Roman Onager reduce the wall bonus.
Who wins, and who loses what?
If attack power is greater than defense, the attacker wins and all of the defender's units fall. The attacker loses a share of (D ÷ A)1.5. Otherwise, all of the attacker's units fall and the defender loses a share of (A ÷ D)1.5.
| Attack / Defense | Winner | Attacker losses | Defender losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 / 250 | Attacker | 12% | 100% |
| 1,000 / 500 | Attacker | 35% | 100% |
| 1,000 / 800 | Attacker | 72% | 100% |
| 800 / 1,000 | Defender | 100% | 72% |
| 500 / 1,000 | Defender | 100% | 35% |
The lesson from the table is clear: attack with overwhelming force or not at all. With twice the power you lose only 35%; at nearly equal strength, you lose most of your army even if you win. The Disciplined Retreat ability of the Roman Equites reduces this loss by 20%.
Loot and siege
When you win, you take resources up to the carry capacity of your surviving units, split evenly across the four resources. If at least 5 of your siege units survive, you reduce one of the target's buildings (Viking, Gokturk, Han) or its wall (Rome, Egypt) by one level.
Brains over blind scouting
If all of your units fall in an attack, the defense details are hidden in the battle report. So do not throw a large army at an unknown target; first assess the target's Town Hall level, wall and clan, then attack. If you attack a target that has a clan, their clan is warned instantly in the chat and can send support.
Range and travel
With Town Hall 3 you have a range of 3 tiles, 5 at level 5, 8 at level 8 and 12 tiles at level 10; at level 15 the entire map is in range. An army marches at the speed of its slowest unit: siege units cover only 2 tiles per hour, while Gokturk cavalry covers 6.9 tiles per hour.
