Attacking and defending primer

Now there are very many kinds of troops in the game, and attacking and defending is an important element. You can play as you always have if you want – just continuing to grow; there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with that! If you want to do battle this information will hopefully get you started in understanding battle strategy and troop deployment.

Since Dragons of Atlantis is a computer program, attacks are constructed mathematically. Many players have attempted to figure out the concepts of the battle algorithms. Presented here is an attempt to distill information from several web sites and a little of my own understanding. Please remember two things about this: First, it is an educated guess, which means it’s still a GUESS; and second, Kabam can – and does – make modifications to the program, so things CAN and do change.

IF there were only one type of troop, all battles would be simply a matter of who brings the most to the party – a battle of attrition. Just like in the real world, when you want to win you try to make a better weapon; same here.

Troop Types

All battling troops can be considered either Melee, Speed, or Ranged. Think of them as a triangle or circle: generally Speed beats Range, Range beats Melee, Melee beats Speed; “generally”, because just like the real world, if one that SHOULD be beaten is significantly bigger it will sustain the lesser damage so the other one will die (example: a Conscript is Melee, but a battle Dragon a Speed – will wipe him out every time!)

Melee

Melee troops are hand to hand fighters. These include most of the basic fluff units (cons, porters hals and minos.)
Granite Ogres are considered the best melee troops on both defense and offence, they have 15k life. However, they get targeted first, which is an advantage when you have valuable ranged troops such as Lava Jaws on the wall.
Giants and Frost Giants are often used if ogres are unavailable. Frost giants are the better unit, and they take away from lava jaw attacks! This makes the lj+fg combo useful against lava jaw attacks. Giants are the most basic "good" melee unit available. Frost Giants are cheap and take few population, making them one of the easier elites to train.
Petrified Titan are the most powerful melee unit available. They do not have as much life as ogres, but more defense. However, they are incredibly expensive and have huge training times. Therefore they are not as useful as other elites when training is concerned.

Speed

SSD are the first speed troop used in the beginning. They are easily replaceable and kill lava jaws amazingly well. This gives them an advantage when walling; speed troops die easily on walls and SSD are the most replacable. BDs however do far more damage, this can be considered an advantage.
Battle Dragons are the better cousins of SSD. They are slow, making them less efficient at farming but their attack makes them deal much more damage in PvP battles. They are more costly than SSD; as costly as bans so use them wisely.
Pack Dragons are considered transport troops, but are very similar to SSD. They can also be used in PvP, although they can only be trained in events and won. However, they are a common prize and large players do not have many problems replacing them.
Dark Slayers are known for their anti-wraith powers, and they deal extra damage to soul reapers. Very good in PvP, they are somewhat slow. One disadvantage is that they are immune to soul revival. They move at the same speed as the serpent, making them one of the better troops to go with it.
Venge Wyrms have very high attacks. During events where limited troops can be trained they are cheap compared to other troops available. However, they have almost no life (less than a mino!) and troops target them before Storm Drakes.
Storm Drakes are very powerful semi-speed troops. While not as fast as bans or SSD, they kill more than most speed troops. Wyrms make a good shield for them, as they are targeted first. Used properly, drakes deal an immense amount of damage, more than bans.
Banshees are the best farming troops available! They carry a lot, and are the fastest. Although they do not deal as much damage as drakes or slayers, they are probably the easiest elite to train. Used properly, they can wipe out armies of ranged troops.
Dimensional Ruiners are the most powerful unit in the game! They are semi-speed troops, but have high life, giving them much more power than any other fast unit in the game. Their immense attack coupled with their life enables them to fight heavy melee troops one to one. This is one of the most valuable limited troops, the king of offensive PvP.

Ranged

LBM are the beginner's standby and are good for farming low level camps. Outside of that, they are not good beyond the initial stage. In PvP they are fairly weak, their ranged will not kill the heavier ogres. By themselves LBM are fluff, but are very good for low level wilds and camps. They are easy to train, but SSD and AT are better options for a quick power boost to high power players.
Fire Mirrors are very slow, but one of the longest living ranged troops! They are very good on defense. While they take a long time to train, they require no elite items, which is a big bonus to many players. If one has speeds, these are a good choice against a wall, because Lava Jaws are useful for high level anthropus camps.
Lightning Cannons are precious defenders! Almost identical to fire mirrors on offense, cannons used defensively get a 100% stat boost! The disadvantages are that they are hard to train, immune to soul revival and can only be trained at special events or one. They last very long compared to other ranged troops, and are valuable.
Lava Jaws are the best ranged troops that can be trained! Along with Arctic Leviathans, ljs are one of only two troops which can take a lvl 11 camp! When training they take a lot of population, and a considerable amount of time, but they are worth it. More damage is dealt by them in PvP than any other non-epic troop type. They are also the solution to taking high level camps. It is important to shield them, because like most ranged troops they have little life.
Venom Dwellers do have a melee attack, but are mostly ranged fighters. They do extra damage against ogres and are invaluable when taking down a large wall of that troop. They are best for PvP, but are very usable on camps. These are best on defense, but do have good offensive properties.
Arctic Leviathans are the most powerful ranged troop yet, unfortunately they are limited! Because of that it is wise to think twice before using them in PvP battles. Similar to Lava Jaws, Leviathans can take down Anthropus camps in even lesser numbers. Unfortunately they are immune to soul revival.

Other/Hybrids

There are some troops which do not fit into the melee-speed-ranged categories. Venom Dwellers and Dimensional Ruiners are close to being here, but fit in their respective categories well enough.

Fangtooth are the first elites. For starters, they are much better at wilds and camps then other beginner troops, if used with 1 LBM. They have both ranged and melee capabilities, and although not a very strong elite, are good in large numbers when placed on a wall.
Sand Striders are speed, but they also have a ranged attack! This makes troop parings rather tricky, but they are far better than bans on wilds and camps. Using them in PvP can be devastating to an opponent, so long as they are used properly.
Steelshard Harriers vary from player to player because they have attribute buildings - speed, melee, range, ranged, life and defense all can be upgraded. It is tricky to wall them, because you do not know what stats they are good at. Harriers default to melee.
Thunder Golems have a little of everything, but are poor at offense. On defense, their stats get a huge boost, making them fast, powerful melee fighters, super ranged fighters and very hardy troops with a lot of life! These are arguably the best troop at defending a city.

Statistics

Every troop type has a set of statistics or attributes; these are shown on the training (wiki also has this info). These are “starting” points; certain researches will improve these numbers.

Troop Stats

ATTACK: This value is the damage a troop type inflicts when attacking. It has no effect when that troop is defending.
DEFENSE: This value is used troops defending the city. It is used only in Defense calculations, so as no effect in attacking.
LIFE (Health): This is how much damage a unit can take before being killed (removed from the program’s calculation). If a troop takes damage greater or equal to its Health it dies.
SPEED: This represents two things: How quickly this troop can get to the battlefield (Note: Armies march at the slowest speed of any troop in the deployment), and; Then how fast it closes the distance between them and enemy troops during combat (how far it moves each round of combat).
RANGE: (Do not confuse this with RANGED) This is the distance at which this unit can begin to attack. Higher Range is better. A Range of 0 means they attack as Melee.
LOAD: The amount of resource a troop can carry. This needs to be high enough to take all available resources back to your city; if you do not send enough load carrying some resources will be left.
RESISTANCE: This is only for Defending troops and is based on the level of the Defender's Wall. Every level of your Wall increases the resistance 1.05%. Resistance reduces the damage taken by Defending troops. Where normally the Attacking army's total Attack = Damage done to Defending Troops, when attacking troops in a Player City it becomes Attack – Wall Resistance = Damage. (These Stats are effected by the Random Number Generator during battles. Actual Damage is a variable number up to the stat value.)
RANGED: This is the attack power of a troop at a distance.

Research

b. How research numbers affect statistics (increase amounts are per research level)

i. Rapid Deployment: marching speed by 10% (not 5% like the SC says)

ii. Weapons Calibration: weapons reach by 5%

iii. Metallurgy: Troop Attack and Defense by 5%

iv. Health: Life (Health) by 5% (10% at L11+)

v. Dragonry: SSD & BD Combat speed by 5% (not March speed)

vi. Aerial Combat: all Great Dragons attack ability (reduces healing time)

IV. The Battlefield

a. Let’s look at how a battlefield is built in the DoA program: First, Battlefield length is set by the attacker. If you read web pages on this some will tell you the length is 500 units; that is only for explanation it is actually some random amount between 350 and 500 units (I suppose this is to simulate varying terrain, weather, etc). Next, if there are ATTACKING Ranged troops, the battlefield will increase by the Range value of troop type with the longest range. (Don’t confuse this number with “RANGED”).

b. Who moves

i. The ATTACKING army ALWAYS moves first.

ii. The HIGHEST Speed troop group always moves and attacks first, then the next highest.

c. If something is able to be attacked troops MUST attack it. This means they are attacking what this the first (biggest) threat, not necessarily the most important or the “best” threat.

d. How troops move

i. All troop types begin at the same “starting line”, but each type moves forward based on its Speed value. As ranged attacks from the beginning position, Melee moves forward while high speed troops move even farther ahead. Remember this; if your speed or melee gets ahead of ranged (arrows are no longer giving cover attack) they are on their own in hand-to-hand battle.

ii. Troops of the same type perform all actions as a group. If 1500 damage points are dealt to a group of Battles Dragons, each with 1500 health, each BD would lose a single health point rather than one BD dying.

iii. How an attack round works: Troops will see if they have a target in range; if so, they attack; if not, they move forward the amount of their SPEED, then check to see if they can attack; if so they attack, if there still are no targets their round ends.

I. Damage in attacks

a. Attacking

i. Since the fastest troop type moves first, you know it will potentially encounter an enemy first. Remember Range troops can still potentially strike before speed does even though speed makes the first move forward; if the faster troop’s speed value is lower than the range value of another troop the higher range troop is covering that faster troop’s move forward (like artillery covering infantry advance). If you understand that concept then it’s simply a matter of looking at speed and range numbers of the mixed troops to see if something is getting too far ahead of the rest of the army, and in turn if that is OK; if the range troops have taken out the biggest part of the defenders, or the melee/health of the faster troops is high enough, then advancing is fine.

ii. A technique some players use is something called “Speed Bumps” or “Rainbow” attacks; an attacker will send one speed troop, one range troop and/or one melee, one right behind the other; then the main army comes. The result is it extends the battlefield and engages the defenders troops too soon (for the defender), so the main army is able to decimate the defender. This is an advanced method – one I have not yet used, but is extremely effective when done properly; timing is critical for it to work!

b. Defending

i. IF there is time to tell exactly what is being sent, and IF the defender has the proper troops to defend, defending is an excellent way to wipe out armies (but REMEMBER that is a two-edged sword – if you are the attacker it is possible you can an be on the bad end!)

ii. If you are defending, be VERY CAREFUL! Some players will send a “teaser” attack to get you to wall, then once they see you walled they will send a “real” attack that they speed so you don’t have time to un-defend! Great technique if you are on the attacking end, not so on the defense!

iii. Remember that as part of an alliance w are able to reinforce each other! That means if you don’t have the troops to defend others might; and it CNA be multiple other members. If you reinforce someone, there is no hiding at their city, only defending. If someone is reinforcing you, your troops are NOT also reinforcing unless you put troops up – just as if the other player’s troops were not there. Remember to be VERY CAREUL just as mentioned above! Also remember timing is important – if the reinforcements don’t get there (or recalled) in time ....

iv. The positive side of defending is if a player constantly attacks it is a good way to stop him for a while – at least while he retrains troops!

II. Things to watch for and think about

a. Speed attacks including Chrono Dragon attacks can be performed every 24 hours. If you are the attacker, think about whether that is truly the target you want to speed attack. ALSO remember the opponent may have his Chrono; also you or he may have speedups! So always keep that in mind, whether you are the attacker or the defender.

b. Wraith attacks

i. The Wraith can be used to attack a city; you will have to wait until you have talismans again to send it out the next time. Figure about a week to collect them! So be very JUDICOUS in sending it! I do not usually send mine unless I want to hit a BIG player who is walled! If they are not walled, obviously a regular army will bring back the spoils. Also, since now there are very many anti wraith boosts and troops, not to mention powerful players, be careful that you do not "waste" your talismans and blue energy.

ii. Defending Against the Wraith

If you are a smaller player, it is wise not to defend against wraith attacks.

Holy Armor can be invaluable when you do defend, as are Dark Slayers. Without boosts, it is still hard to defend against the wraith without a few hundred thousand Slayers, GOs and LJs. Without boosts, it is also likely that you will suffer large losses.

Enough boosts can make a few spies defeat a considerable number of SSD, so it is wise to keep boosts in mind at all times during combat.

To defeat a wraith, it is advisable to have a large number of Dark Slayers to hold the wraith off, a large amount of LJs to deal damage, and a large amount of GOs to protect the LJs.

Enou

C. using Soul Reapers

i. If you include Soul Reapers in your armies they are able to collect a percentage of the troops killed. The Guardian Revival will let you collect your ENEMY’S troops when you are defending. Soul Reapers only "steal" souls when defending.

1. Revival uses Blue energy, but NO resources!

2. The Mausoleums are the “holding tank” for souls; the Portals are the reviving locations (you can think of them kind of like the garrisons); the Reaping Stones (in the field) collects/produces the blue energy.

3. I would recommend lots of mausoleums to hold souls; it might take a little longer with less portals, but souls will at least be stored with more mausoleums.

ii. A very nice side effect of collecting enemy souls is that you can get elites you might not otherwise be able to train yourself yet!

VII. More information and resources

a. http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/warcouncil/wikis/great-dragon-info

b. http://blackrabbit2999.blogspot.com/2011/05/facebook-dragons-of-atlantis-battle.html

c. http://dragonsofatlantis.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_Mechanics

d. http://my.opera.com/errolcurry410/blog/2012/03/19/easy-dragons-of-atlantis-cheats-free-troops-game-over

e. http://blackrabbit2999.blogspot.com/2011/01/facebook-dragons-of-atlantis-troop.html

Since there is a continuous circle, where do we begin to figure out a battle?

It is possible it is not a Speed troop; if only Range and Melee troops were sent, it will still be the Highest speed of those.

First, if it were the real world, an army comes to attack a city. If each army has just sword and club-wielding troops (Melee) it’s a matter of who has more/bigger troops and clubs. Easy enough. Fastest troops get to the enemy first and begin hitting.

Now let’s add the advent of bows and arrows (Range): The army with those can attack farther away than a sword or club is going to be of any use. Thus, Range should beat Melee. However if you have an archer against say a Giant, the Giant can take a lot of arrows as he advances (Health), so when he finally gets to the archer, the archer is going home in a body bag. So we develop the catapult (Lava Jaws).... and on we go in the medieval arms race.

Since Speed moves first they can get a chance to get in striking range. They can beat Range troops simply because they get to move then make the first hit. Presuming there are enough of them and/or they are stronger, Range dies; if you can close the range, get in striking distance and make the first blow, the arrows are pointless – for that one round (remember the other army gets its turn!)

If you were to send a single Battle Dragon against a Great Dragon the BD would of course die; but if you sent another attack, and another and look at the Great Dragon’s damage each time you would see it may change from one attack to another. This is because the program uses a Random Number Generator as an attempt to make a battle more realistic (I'm guessing the program simulates that not all arrows will hit, a sword grazes rather than penetrates, etc). That randomness is extremely important to keep in mind!

	Page last updated: 2024-04-19 08:02 (UTC)

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