School is back in session and I am ready to build on helping you put together a boss rally trap so you can take on those heavy hitters. To refresh your memory, in the first part of this guide we covered everything from your appearance to your Hero Selection and the gear/gems used to bait and survive a rally. In Part 2 we will cover everything else that you will need to adjust to eat big rallies – your VIP, Banners, Monsters, Pantheon boosts, reinforcing dragons, and Troop Selection and Troop Count.
Another “Appearances Matter” Component – a.k.a. VIP
Although information regarding your VIP level is present on your Profile page, I wanted to cover it separately since I believe that the VIP you show can be a critical factor in determining whether you look like a viable target. The advice that I provide here is based on the current maximum VIP level in the game – presently VIP 180.
What are some factors that you should take into account when determining how high to raise your VIP? The very first factor, and most important in my opinion, is where the current state of the game is at. As most players know, MZ released a really cool function within your VIP levels that is related to hitting the Raid Boss. At VIP 145 you can unlock the Custom Hero Attack, which allows you to select the amount of energy you want to use when hitting a Raid Boss or Monster. This function, when used in conjunction with Hero Energy Carryover, allows you to conserve the energy that you have stored in your Heroes by selecting how much of it you want to use in one march against a monster. In the past, players either had to send multiple marches against a Raid Boss or Monster or use the Max Attack button to complete an event. The introduction of Custom Hero Attack granted more control over the expenditure of Hero Energy and promoted the conservation of that energy. As you can imagine, players big and small saw the need for this feature and wanted to obtain it as quickly as possible. This fact led to many players raising their VIP just to unlock the feature and was somewhat homogenizing for this feature.
Another factor that I think is important is the current max VIP level. Most big leads do everything they can to raise their VIP as high as possible so they can obtain the increased attack stats associated with those levels. For example, the Empire Assault Attack stats progress from 258,500% at VIP 170 to 305,540% at VIP 175 to 405,500% at the current max VIP of 180. That is a huge jump! Unfortunately, leads know that the Empire Defender stats also progress substantially as a player’s VIP climbs. For that reason, leads will avoid players showing higher levels of VIP.
Sooooooo, what works? I started to raise my VIP level up to Level 145 long after Custom Hero Attack was released as it was primarily leads who achieved that level first. In point of fact, I only recently reached Level 145. For me, I have found that a good rule of thumb is to stay anywhere from 20 to 30 levels away from the max VIP level. My VIP is currently sitting at VIP 150. There are other rally traps in my alliance with higher VIP, up to VIP 159, who are constantly rallied during events. Thus, I think you are safe to raise your VIP anywhere from VIP 150 to VIP 160 and will still appear attractive as a target to most leads.
Banner Selection
Banners are one of those features that permit significant customization and really lend themselves to letting one’s imagination run wild. For me, I have presets set up that will address almost any defensive configuration imaginable. You should do the same. Set your imagination free and put together the best combination of banners that you can for your account. I recognize that you want a solid answer as to what works best against big rallies, but a couple of caveats are in order.
Caveat No. 1: The banners you select, standing alone, are unlikely to be the difference between success and failure against a rally. Instead, banners are a critical building block in your overall account.
Caveat No. 2: The banners you select are visible to other players when they click on your Profile. Thus, be smart about what you display while being cognizant of the cool-down timers associated with certain banners.
Your banner selections will depend on what kind of account you are running. If you are running a balanced defensive build with all 3 T7 troops, your better selection would be either your strongest Empire Defender banners, Epic Decimation, Epic Annihilation, and Epic Eradication Banners, or a mix of Type stat banners consisting of the Royal Trident, Royal Monument, and Bronze Armor Banners. You would then fill in the Fourth and special banner slots with whatever debuff or special banner you believe appropriate for your account.
In my opinion, the strongest defensive account you can present uses only one troop type, a concept we will explore in more detail later. If you follow that advice, you will want to match your banners with the type of troop that you are running. If you train solely Infantry troops, your banners would consist of the Royal Trident, Elite Infantry, Luchadore Power, and Draconic Infantry Banners. If you prefer to run Ranged troops, you would select the Royal Monument, Elite Ranged, Maraca Misterio, and Draconic Ranged Banners. For a Cavalry troop setup, go with the Bronze Armor, Elite Cavalry, Sombrero Super, and Draconic Cavalry banners. As you can see, each of these configurations emphasizes type attack and defense stats that match the troops you are keeping in your account. Regardless of which setup you use, I suggest selecting the Winter Warrior Banner, with 28,000% Enemy Troop Attack Debuff, in your fifth banner slot.
Defensive Wall Monsters
The monsters you select to defend your stronghold are critical to withstanding the bigger rallies. Unfortunately, MZ has shifted to a somewhat stingier approach when it comes to upgrading your Monsters, given the cost associated with doing so, and most defense-oriented players are probably a little behind the curve when it comes to their monster levels. Fortunately, even at lower levels, the monsters are effective. As a bonus, unless your attacker obtains a report (you are killing the entire rally, right?) they have no idea what Monsters you have in your wall!
Given the limited number of defensive monsters, selecting the most appropriate ones to defend against a rally is fairly straightforward. Initially, you will want to focus on those monsters that provide Empire Defender stats. For me, what I have found works the best are the following Monsters: (1) Level 50 Bone Ice Dragon (Empire Defender Attack 100,000% / Empire Defender Defense 80,000% / Empire Defender Health 50,000%); (2) Level 50 Stone Golem (Empire Defender Attack 67,500% / Empire Defender Defense 85,500% / Enemy Troop Attack Debuff 30,000%); (3) Level 50 Turkey Drake (Empire Defender Attack 68,000% / Troop Defense Bonus 45,000% / Enemy Troop Attack Debuff 63,000%); and (4) Level 52 Golem (Empire Defender Attack 76,500% / Empire Defender Defense 85,900% / Empire Defender Health 49,000%). Hint: As you level up your Frost Giant monster, compare it against the Turkey Drake as the Frost Giant stats will overtake those of the Turkey Drake at higher levels.
For your final wall monster, your choice should match the primary defensive troop that you use. If, for example, you have gone with T7 Infantry troops as your primary troop type, you will want to select the Waterlord Forest Dragon. For Ranged troops, add the Were Polar Bear to your wall. If you are running a Cavalry build, your go-to monster will be the Reaper. The stats for each of these monsters are the same at Level 50, 110,000% Attack / 75,000% Defense / 62,500%, but are specific to each type of troop.
Pantheon
The Pantheon is an oft-overlooked feature within the game but provides strong defensive stats that could help you win rallies against top players. Players are understandably hesitant to use the Pantheon as failure to deactivate the boosts will cost Tribute and Defender Tributes any time you are hit. Truthfully, I activate my Pantheon any time a big lead sets on my account and will continue to do so regardless of whether I can remember to deactivate the boost. My reasoning? At higher levels the boosts available from the Pantheon are substantial.
In my opinion, there are 4 critical defensive boosts available in the Pantheon. As players may not be as familiar with the Pantheon as they are other features, I have attached a screenshot of the boosts, below:
Of these four boosts, which do I think are critical for defending against rallies? For me, I have 1 “go to” boost during events – Apollo’s Fire. I love Apollo’s Fire because of the Empire Defender Stats. At Level 20, Apollo’s Fire provides you with 52,000% Empire Defender Attack, 92,000% Empire Defender Defense, and 35,000% Empire Defender Health. Do I wish the stats were higher? Of course! But of the boosts available in the Pantheon, these are the best for my account.
If I am running 1 troop type, I also activate whatever type boost matches my account. Your options are either Helios’s Triad Burst (Infantry), Hyperion’s Might (Ranged), or Deimos’s Fervor (Cavalry). If your Pantheon is high enough to permit you to activate 2 Deity Boosts, my suggestion is to use one of your options to activate your type boosts for that added “oomph” you will need against larger rallies.
I need to point out two other Pantheon boosts that you have available and may want to consider using – Hermes’s Fortitude (245,000% Troop Defense Bonus) and Hades’ Darkness (117,000% Troop Health Bonus). Although these boosts are much more substantial than the other boosts I have mentioned, I tend to shy away from using them because of the Debuffs that I assume most big leads have. I do believe that the efficacy of the Troop Bonuses versus Type Bonuses versus Empire Defender stats needs further testing and hope to complete those tests in the near future.
Dragon Reinforcements
Dragon reinforcements are a topic that I covered in a past article. For purposes of this guide, I wanted to quickly reiterate what I consider best practices. First, any Dragon reinforcement, even Pinky the Dodo Dragon, is better than no Dragon reinforcement at all. Second, the size of the Health of the reinforcing dragons is important. Thus, you want your reinforcers to send you the strongest dragons that they have, preferably dragons that have been skilled for Dragon Growth and Health. Finally, if you want to get super crafty with your dragons remember this:
- If your goal is to minimize your losses then you should request reinforcements that strengthen your weaker troop. Here is your cheat sheet:
Infantry missile = Terra Dragon
Ranged missile = Inferno Dragon
Cavalry missile = Hydro Dragon
- If your goal is to kill more of the attack then you should request reinforcements that strengthen your stronger troop. Here is your cheat sheet:
Infantry missile = Hydro Dragon
Ranged missile = Terra Dragon
Cavalry missile = Inferno Dragon
Troop Composition and Troop Count
Now for the fun stuff! Everyone always says that there is no magic troop composition or troop count that will protect you from a rally. There is obviously some truth to this considering that accounts vary from person to person. All I can tell you is what works for me. A quick look at my stats will show you the status of my account and allows you a rough idea of what you need to reach for comparable results. Here are my stats:
With these stats, I run a 2 troop type setup and only use T7 troops (unless I want to burn on purpose). For my current setup, I have Infantry and Cavalry troops. I have consistently seen that a majority of my losses have been Cavalry troops regardless of who hits me and what they hit me with. I know why this is but I cannot really address it as it is a function of the current state of the dragons in the game – Terra dragons are significantly weaker than Inferno and Hydro Dragons at present.
Based on this, I will state that I am slowly moving back to a single troop type build because I strongly believe that it is more effective than running an even build across 2 or even 3 troop types. Which troops I use will depend on what I am seeing on the battlefield and which of my dragons I believe is stronger at any given time. If you have been following the stat variation amongst the Void Dragons, you have probably picked up on the fact that the Hydro Dragon, if skilled properly and at a sufficiently high level, provides a stronger attack dragon than the Inferno Dragon does. Those stats ultimately also correlate to a stronger Defensive account as well. Thus, if I am following a single type T7 build, I will have either Infantry or Ranged troops in my account.
Now, what is an effective troop count? From what I have seen, 150 Million T7 troops AND the stats that I have shared with you will keep you safe from at least 44 Million T7 troop missile rally as of last week. Here is a report that proves it:
Given the release of Hero II Level 350, with 309,000% Rally Attack (holy hell!), the Battlemark Rally Gem Set (ouch!), and the release of Master Garrison Level 160, 739,300% cumulative Empire Assault Attack (it burns!), I think that a savvy player will up that troop count to a minimum of 225 Million T7 troops in the very near future. Best practice would also have you increasing your Empire Defender stats as high as you can without breaking the bank!
Where do we go from here?
I hope that you have enjoyed this article and that it helps you build your account up! In the future, I hope to release another article where I have tested certain features in the game to determine which adjustments are more effective. If you have any tests that you would like to see, hit me up on Line.
Where to go for Additional Information
Team Real Tips has guides for pretty much all aspects of Game of War. Remember, our beloved game is constantly changing. Thus, the burden remains on YOU to educate yourself on those changes. Read the blogs released by MZ! Ask questions of RealTips writers in our Line rooms and on Discord! Remember, there really is no stupid question and we are happy to help you understand the stats that you are working with!
Join the Conversation on our community sites!
I am active in many of the Game of War Line rooms (Line Display Name: FinsUp / Line ID finsupgow) and I am always willing to answer player questions in the rooms or via Direct Message. If I do not know the answer to a question, I am always happy to find the answer or to test your theories to determine the best practices one can take in building their account. Don’t forget to sign up for our Email Subscription that will automatically notify you when we release new content! Finally, join us in our Line and Discord channels and follow us on Facebook!
