Troop setups-optimization guide

Tired of having to use the Help channel to ask for troop setups to kill a camp? Tired of using guides? Well, you can optimize your own setups!

First, you will need a simulator:
Simulator A
Simulator B

I like the latter better because it can simulate up to 99999 times, although 5000 is good enough for personal use.

As you can see by watching combat replay from battle reports, all units with the same initiative are attacking in the same phase, for clarity the attacks of your units are displayed first (but its still the same phase).

a) First Strike (cavalry, dogs, wolves, shadowsneakers, most of the amazon type of units) - attack in the first phase, since they can damage units before those can strike back - their damage is usually decreased.

b) Normal Strike - normal initiative (most units)

c) Last Strike - cannons, most of the viking type of units, most of the bosses

If a unit has 0 HP, it is dead and gone. If it has more than 0 HP, it is still alive and behaves as if it were at full HP, except for its HP. If a unit has "attacks the weakest", it attacks the weakest unit (lowest starting HP) in your enemy's army. A unit may only kill one opposing unit, unless it has Splash Damage, in which case leftover damage transfers to the next unit.

Targeting order:
The enemy (and you) have a targeting order. You can see this order by using one of the simulators, or by clicking the camp you want to attack and looking at the order of the units.

How to optimise:

Alright, the good stuff here. The first thing you should know is that, in the worst case, you want to have a Soldier or Elite Soldier take a hit and survive, this will save a couple Recruits.

A lot of camps can be killed in one wave with Recruits and Soldiers. However, you will save Recruits if you kill them in two or more waves. If the camp does not have a "boss" unit (identified by high HP and damage, as well as Splash Damage), you should only use units other than Recruits if you know you are not going to lose any of them.

If a camp has "cavalry" units, and they are in front of everything else, the first wave should be some Recruits to kill the Cavalry, and the second wave should be some Recruits, one Soldier, some Cavalry, and some Longbowmen. The Cavalry should be enough to kill all of the enemy's ranged units, if at all possible. You should try to stack Cavalry as much as possible, but don't put too many. You should try to achieve a balance between Cavalry and Longbowmen.

If a camp has a boss that is behind all other units, you may simply play like you would if it wasn't there, but make sure to keep it in mind.

If the boss is in front of all other units, and it is weak enough to kill in one wave, you may simply pretend that it isn't there and play, but make sure to keep it in mind. Also keep in mind that it will regenerate if you do not kill it. You can also include a wave to kill the boss and play normally from there.

If the camp is very strong, you will need waves of Cavalry. The Cavalry should at least eliminate the enemy's Cavalry, and perhaps more units, depending on the strength of the bosses. In some cases, using Recruits to shield Cavalry is nice, so the battle can last longer and the Cavalry can thus do more damage. If the boss has "attack the weakest", however, the Recruits are no use.

When simulating, always lower the number of Recruits until you get a chance for a Soldier loss. Take the lowest number of Recruits without Soldier loss that you have.

Now, enough of me talking. Time for the reader to try some of these camps:

A: 60 Guard Dogs, 50 Roughnecks, 50 Rangers
B: 1 Wild Mary, 100 Scavengers, 50 Rangers, 2 Skunks
C: 40 Cultists, 40 Shadowsneakers, 40 Dark Priests, 1 Dark High Priest
D: 100 Caltrops, 100 Petty Officers 2nd Class
E: 70 Nomads, 100 Lance Riders, 30 Cataphracts, 1 Uproarious Bull