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Building & Research Guide

This detailed guide breaks down the most efficient building and research paths as you progress. Making smart, strategic decisions early on will save you significant time and resources in the long run.

General Principles

  • The Castle is King: Your Castle's level is the foundation of your entire kingdom. It gates all other buildings, troop tiers, and research branches. Always prioritize upgrading your Castle when the prerequisites are met.
  • Events are Your Best Friend: Never upgrade a major building or research a high-cost node outside of an event. Aligning your finishes with "Construction Day" or "Research Day" events will net you double rewards and massive speed-up benefits.
  • Don't Be a Threat: In the early game, many players suggest a "growth-first" strategy. By focusing on resource production and efficiency rather than raw power, you can develop a strong foundation without making yourself a target for high-level players.
  • Focus on Your Faction: Once you've committed to a main faction, ensure your research and building priorities align with it. Many late-game bonuses are faction-specific.

Building Priorities

Knowing which buildings to upgrade and when is one of the most critical aspects of efficient growth. A smart building strategy ensures you are always maximizing your power, resource generation, and research speed.

Tier 1: The Core Progression Path

These buildings are the backbone of your city's development. Your primary focus should always be on upgrading these, as they unlock new tiers of troops, research, and overall power.

  • Castle: This is the most important building in the game. The level of your Castle dictates the maximum level of all other buildings. Never let it fall behind.
  • Research Cottage: Your second highest priority. Research provides permanent, powerful bonuses. Keeping this building upgraded ensures you can access the latest and most impactful research nodes.
  • Barracks: This determines the level of your soldiers. Higher-tier soldiers are exponentially more powerful, so upgrading your Barracks is essential for military strength.
  • Hospital: A high-level hospital is crucial for recovering troops after battles, especially during KvK. Neglecting this will result in massive troop losses.
  • Training Grounds: Increases your maximum soldier capacity. More soldiers mean a stronger army.
  • Guild Hall: Required for castle upgrades and essential for participating in guild activities.

Tier 2: High-Impact Power Boosts

Once your core buildings are on track, focus on these structures to significantly boost your hero and army power.

  • Medal Hall: This is a high-priority building that provides a percentage-based HP boost to all your soldiers. This is a massive advantage in any fight.
  • Rally Hall: Upgrading this building is essential for unlocking additional rally slots and increasing your march size.
  • Faction Statues (Horde, League, Nature): These are incredibly important. Each level increases the march size for heroes of that faction, directly boosting your power and morale. Focus on the statue for your main faction first.
  • Brilliance Institute: A key building for increasing your troop level and overall attack march size.
  • Pet Paradise: At level 40, this building grants an extra free pet search each day, accelerating your pet progression.

Tier 3: Resource & Situational Buildings

These buildings are important for your economy and specific situations but should be upgraded after the core and high-impact structures.

  • Resource Buildings (Farms, Mines, etc.): It's recommended to get these to at least level 20 to maximize the number of villagers you can assign for production boosts.
  • Warehouse: Protects your resources from being plundered. Keep it at a reasonable level, especially if you are frequently attacked.
  • Tavern & Blacksmith: Upgrading these provides passive buffs to your heroes and forged weapons.

Research Priorities

Research is arguably the most important path to long-term power. Focus on these key areas in order of priority to maximize your gains.

Early Game Research: The Foundation

  • Growth / Economy: This is where you begin. Prioritize Research Speed, Construction Speed, and Training Speed. These are compounding benefits that make every other part of the game faster.
  • Queue Boost: This research is a massive power boost. Focus on unlocking March Size and the Recall Feature for better PvP and resource gathering.
  • Production Boosts: Investing in these to get them to 100% can provide a nice passive income of resources.

Mid-Game Research: The Game Changers

  • Arms Race Prep: This is a must-have research tree. Prioritize the nodes that give your soldiers a +1 level buff, which provides a massive power spike.
  • Arms Race Commendation: This research is crucial for increasing your rewards from the Guild Arms Race event, which grants Glory Medals needed for your Lord's Hall.
  • Soldier / Combat: Once your economy and efficiency research is in good shape, start investing in core Attack/Defense/HP nodes.

Late-Game Research: Faction Focus

  • Faction-Specific Trees: After maxing out the universal research, you unlock advanced trees for League, Nature, and Horde. Prioritize your main faction here to get the biggest returns and create a truly powerful, synergistic team.
  • Ruby Management: As research costs skyrocket, focus on research nodes that require fewer rubies. Save your rubies for the most impactful building upgrades.