Stratagems Advice
Table of Contents
STRATAGEMS!!
Overview
There is only 1 portfolio option in Z4.
Z5 and beyond there’s 2, with each new portfolio making the older ones obsolete.
Provisioner’s/Guardian’s Folios are for less aggressive playstyles/during non-fighting periods.
Strategist’s/Battlemaster’s Folios are for hyper aggressive playstyles and rally/garrisons.
Z4 Stratagems
MANDATORY 2
Red options
Z4 focus is PvE and gaining crystals. Green 2 are a MUST, red and purple choices are not as important
Purple options
Strategy Points
Z5 Stratagems Field
Surprise strike (red) - Whenever one of your troops deals damage with a single-target active skill, the target takes additional damage (Damage factor = number of friendly troops surrounding the target x 100, up to 700). Each of your troops can trigger this effect 1 time every 20 seconds (exiting combat will not reset the cooldown time).
Rousing drums (red) - Whenever one of your troops receives a buff from another troop, it takes 10% less damage for the next 5 seconds. Each of your troops can trigger this effect once every 10 seconds.
One heart, One mind (green) - Your field troops deal 3% extra damage. When garrisoning or rally attacking a stronghold, every one of your troops taking part will provide a 1% damage bonus to the captain. This effect can stack up to 5 times and does not apply to field troops.
Annihilation (purple) - Whenever one of your troops deals skill damage to 3 or more target troops at the same time it gains 10% attack for 10 seconds.
Invictus - any (purple) - Whenever one of your troops defeats a troop from a different camp, its active skill deals 10% extra damage for the next 20 seconds (you will not lose this effect after exiting combat).
Triage (green) instead of Annihilation - Reduces the number of severely wounded units for your field troops by 8%. These units will instead be slightly wounded.
Makeshift splints (green) - Reduces the resource cost of healing units by 10%
Surprise strike (red) - Whenever one of your troops deals damage with a single-target active skill, the target takes additional damage (Damage factor = number of friendly troops surrounding the target x 100, up to 700). Each of your troops can trigger this effect 1 time every 20 seconds (exiting combat will not reset the cooldown time).
Invictus - any (purple) - Whenever one of your troops defeats a troop from a different camp, its active skill deals 10% extra damage for the next 20 seconds (you will not lose this effect after exiting combat).
One heart, One mind (green) - Your field troops deal 3% extra damage. When garrisoning or rally attacking a stronghold, every one of your troops taking part will provide a 1% damage bonus to the captain. This effect can stack up to 5 times and does not apply to field troops.
5+ META AOE commanders or mid-high spenders
F2P players or those with less than 4 META AOE commanders
Z5 Stratagems Rally
Surprise strike (red) - Whenever one of your troops deals damage with a single-target active skill, the target takes additional damage (Damage factor = number of friendly troops surrounding the target x 100, up to 700). Each of your troops can trigger this effect 1 time every 20 seconds (exiting combat will not reset the cooldown time).
One heart, One mind (green) - Your field troops deal 3% extra damage. When garrisoning or rally attacking a stronghold, every one of your troops taking part will provide a 1% damage bonus to the captain. This effect can stack up to 5 times and does not apply to field troops.
City Bane (red) - when one of you rallied troops is attacking a stronghold it will randomly gain one of the following effects every 5 seconds:
Combat experience (purple) - When one of your rallied or garrisoned troops is in combat, the damage it deals is increased by 1% every 30 seconds (up to 10%).
Standing alone (purple) - Your troops gain 10% attack if they aren’t benefiting from buffs from other troops.
Proven Valor (purple) - Reduces the cooldowns of the surprise strike and fierce assault stratagems to 10 seconds (If we’re swarming flags as Stand alone will cancel out).
Logistics Whiz (green) - You and your allies can dispatch 2 troops to rally attacks launched by you (If we’re using a lot of FF’s).
Decisive battle (Red) - Whenever one of your rallied or garrisoned troops is in combat with an enemy troop, both your troop and the enemy troop will deal 1% more damage to each other after every 20 seconds of combat (up to 100%). This effect will reset if your troop switches targets.
Bonus options for 5th strategy (case by case)
Z5 Stratagems Garrison
Decisive battle (Red) - Whenever one of your rallied or garrisoned troops is in combat with an enemy troop, both your troop and the enemy troop will deal 1% more damage to each other after every 20 seconds of combat (up to 100%). This effect will reset if your troop switches targets.
Surprise strike (red) - Whenever one of your troops deals damage with a single-target active skill, the target takes additional damage (Damage factor = number of friendly troops surrounding the target x 100, up to 700). Each of your troops can trigger this effect 1 time every 20 seconds (exiting combat will not reset the cooldown time).
One heart, One mind (green) - Your field troops deal 3% extra damage. When garrisoning or rally attacking a stronghold, every one of your troops taking part will provide a 1% damage bonus to the captain. This effect can stack up to 5 times and does not apply to field troops.
Combat experience (purple) - When one of your rallied or garrisoned troops is in combat, the damage it deals is increased by 1% every 30 seconds (up to 10%).
Standing alone (purple) - Your troops gain 10% attack if they aren’t benefiting from buffs from other troops.
Battle-Tested (purple) - Upgrades the decisive battle Stratagem: the damage bonus now increases every 5 seconds instead of every 20 (instead of standing alone as you said you’ll be swarming the swarmable rallies. So standing alone will cut out and this is boosting decisive battle crazily decreasing the time by 15 seconds).
Bonus Option for increased damage to rally when you know you can beat the rally
Stratagems for Farms/FFs
One on One (Red) - Red skill does not matter much, but at least this will reduce buffs that enemies have if they touch your farm troops.
Breakneck (Purple) - 10% constant march speed. This will help your farm with no tech move around a little faster.
One heart, One mind (green) - When garrisoning or rally attacking a stronghold, every one of your troops taking part will provide a 1% damage bonus to the captain. This effect can stack up to 5 times! A MUST USE FOR FARMS!
Triage (Green) - Your troops WILL be hit at some point on the field going home or marching to an objective. This will make it hurt less by 8%
Zone 5 Zone 7
Kind-Hearted (Green) - Great for farms with tiny hospitals. Will reduce chances of taking deads from full hospitals.
Makeshift Splints (Green) - Reduces rss healing cost by 10%. Cheaper healing on farms. Why not?
NOTE: Pick 1 of these skills to pair with the other 4 on the left for Zone 5 based on your farm’s needs.
When Zone 7 opens, you can add the other one in.
Z7+ Stratagems Field
HIGH DPS, mid spender build with a lot of speedups in bag to keep healing and 5+ high skill damage commanders
High resilience, F2P/Low spender build for those with limited speedups or resource capabilities. 3+ high skill damage commanders still needed.
Optional swap outs for troop specialized players or those who have the commanders to make these work.
Z7+ Stratagems Rally
PURE DAMAGE rally, No One Heart One Mind due to field players/farms joining will have the minimum 5 already with their strategy.
If not using mixed commanders for rally (ex: Nev/Zhuge) then replace “Martial Talent“ with “Rousing Drums“
Z7+ Stratagems Garrison
PURE DAMAGE garrison, No One Heart One Mind due to field players/farms joining will have the minimum 5 already with their strategy.
If using mixed commanders for rally (ex: Jan/Zhuge) then replace”Surprise Strike” with “Martial Talent“.
Stratagems for when fights are done
Red options
Purple options
Only use Makeshift Splints if you have healing left.
After all fights are gone, recovering and building up is your main focus. It looks similar as the Z4 one as it almost has the same purpose
Not recommendable Stratagems
Why?
Close ranks: For this skill to pop, you need to battle against an enemy with 300% more units remaining than yourself. You shouldn’t be in this situation, and if you are, you should pull back ASAP.
Not One Step Back: This skill only pops when your march is below 60%, and then you should start thinking about refreshing your march making this skill only usable for a very short period of time.
Bloody Bravery: For this skill to pop, you need to be below 20% of troops, and then you should be in your city again. Which makes this skill useless.
Accolades: This skill gives you rewards for killing enemies. There are support stratagems that gives you more value, making this one not worth it.
Not recommendable Stratagems 2
Dog Eat Dog: This skill can be useful in some rally/garrison scenarios, but not for the normal KvK players, which is why it should be avoided.
Logistic Whiz: For this skill to be effective, a rally lead needs to equip it removing a slot for a better skill which is why it should be avoided.
Kind-Hearted: Your hospital capacity should be big enough, so this one is only effective for when you’re taking a rally, or for farms as they dont have a lvl 25 hospital.
Beatdown: This skill only helps 2 other skill in leadership, and one of them is bad. So there are better picks for this slot.
One on One: Sure, it is nice that the enemy does not have any buff anymore, but you don’t have them either which makes this one a meh skill.
Martial Talent and Inspired Strategies
Notes
Martial Talent allows for secondary commander to switch their troop type skills to another troop type. Limitation is it is only for 1 march and 1 type.
Inspired makes that one march stronger through increased damage on FIELD BATTLES only.
Who should use? CASE by CASE situations
Players who play 3+ marches of a single troop type, but have expertised commanders of a different type.
Garrisons - No
Rallies- With this equipped, it makes new Meta rally combinations possible:
Tariq/Henry/Nevsky. These 3 can pair well with each other for strong rallies