Numbers and levels. Troops and equipment are both counted by number and by level (their quality). When you hire more troops or add more equipment, the new ones blend into your existing average level. Level or Quality? The game shows this as a Level (4.56); older players know it as Quality (456%): the same number times 100. Use the Show button at the top of this page (or the green button in the game menu) to switch; the choice is shared with the game.
Troops
Damage and absorption are per unit, per level: a unit at level 2 does twice the listed figures. Mages add their strength to the other active units rather than fighting themselves.
Fighters
| Operation | Damage | Absorption |
|---|
| Military | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Bombard defence | 0.05 | 0.5 |
| Raid | 1.0 | 1.0 |
Rangers
| Operation | Damage | Absorption |
|---|
| Military | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| Raid | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| Loot defence | 0.0 | 0.25 |
| Assassination defence | 0.0 | 0.25 |
| Spy defence | 0.0 | 0.125 |
Clerics
| Operation | Damage | Absorption |
|---|
| Military | 0.15 | 2.0 |
| Bombard | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Raid | 0.0 | 0.1 |
Archers
| Operation | Damage | Absorption |
|---|
| Military | 2.0 | 0.15 |
| Bombard | 3.5 | 0.25 |
| Raid | 0.1 | 0.01 |
Thieves
| Operation | Damage | Absorption |
|---|
| Military | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| Raid | 1.0 | 0.3 |
| Loot | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Assassination defence | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Spy | 0.5 | 0.25 |
Assassins
| Operation | Damage | Absorption |
|---|
| Military | 2.0 | 0.05 |
| Raid | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Loot defence | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Assassination | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Spy | 1.0 | 0.25 |
Equipment
Who uses equipment? Weapons and armor equip your fighting troops: Fighters, Rangers, Clerics, Archers, Thieves and Assassins. Mages, Laborers and Scholars do not use them (the Weapon and Armor Coverage figures on the Detailed Warfare page compare your pieces to that group). Weapons add damage and armor adds absorption, scaled by the piece's level and by the race's weapon and armor usage (see each Race page; some races use little or none). War machines and deflectors are different: they are not carried by troops but manned by Laborers.
| Equipment | Military damage | Military absorption | Bombard damage | Bombard absorption | Raid damage | Raid absorption |
|---|
| Weapons | 1.0 | — | 1.0 | — | 1.0 | — |
| Armor | — | 1.0 | — | 1.0 | — | 1.0 |
| War machines | 4.4 | 0.0001 | 15 | 1.0 | — | — |
| Deflectors | 0.0001 | 4.4 | 0.0001 | 5.0 | — | — |
Laborers needed to man a war machine or deflector = (quality / 10 + 1) × the race's Laborers-per-WM figure (lower is better).
Native troop levels by race
Hire costs
Every troop, laborer and scholar costs 250 gold to hire, for every race, with one exception: Goblins hire all seven troop types (Fighters, Rangers, Clerics, Mages, Archers, Thieves and Assassins) for 175 gold. Goblin laborers and scholars still cost 250.