DUNGEONS
Throughout the game there are dungeons, noticeable by a lit entrance on the side of mountain, hill, or forest. If the dungeon is available to raid it will appear open with a blue (mountain), red (hill), yellow (forest) glow coming out of the entrance. If the dungeon is abandoned (fully plundered), it will look as if the door has been sealed off. It is worth noting that pirate ships do not have a glow but when they are abandoned the image changes to a semi-destroyed pirate ship.
FINDING
To locate a nearby dungeon, scroll around the regional map searching for a lit dungeon entrance. When one is found, note the coordinates so you can easily return later.
RAIDING
Select the dungeon and you will get an option to “Send an army.” Select your desired amount of troops and send them off. How long it takes your army get there and return depends on how far away the dungeon is from your city, and the speed of the slowest unit in the army. Note that it takes your army an extra hour to prepare for the raid and an extra hour to unload upon return. This only applies to dungeon raids, not boss raids or other kinds of movement.
DUNGEON LIFECYCLE
When dungeons first form, they are 0% complete. As they are looted (or maybe as time passes) the completion level rises until they are 100% complete and they fade into the background. The lifetime of a dungeon is typically days up to around two weeks.
Each type of dungeon (forest, hill, mountain, sea) has four levels of monsters that inhabit the dungeon. A 0% complete dungeon contains only first level monsters. So a 0% complete forest dungeon only contains spiders. As the dungeon ages, the number of first level monsters will tend to slowly increase, and then start to decrease. When the number of first level monsters starts to decrease, the second level monsters will make an appearance. (Maybe around 25% complete.) The number of second level monsters will grow and then shrink more rapidly than the first level monsters. When the number of second level monsters peaks, the first level monsters will stop showing up and 3rd level monsters will start showing up. (This may happen around 50% complete.) As before, when the number of 3rd level monsters peaks, the second level monsters will be replaced with 4th level monsters. (This may happen around 75% complete.) The number of 4th level monsters tends to increase only a little bit before the dungeon is complete.
The length of time it takes a dungeon to progress from 0% to 10% complete seems to be a lot longer than the time from 90% to 100% complete.
When you arrive at the dungeon a base number and level of monsters is chosen based on the level of the dungeon and the percent completeness of the dungeon. The number of monsters you will face is then adjusted randomly by around plus-or-minus 20%. The number of monsters that you face determines two things: how many of the attacking troops will die, and how much loot will be available for the raiding army to haul away.
LOOT PER FOE
The maximal amount of loot you can gain from an encounter is calculated according to the amounts of monsters guarding the dungeon, not according to the amount of killed monsters. I’ve done some statistics on different levels dungeons and it seems amount of loot per foe is always the same for every monster type. Below is the table of loot per foe for each dungeon type and monster level.
| Dungeon Type | Forest | Hill | Mountain | Sea |
| Monster level 1 | 25 (spider) | 25 (skeleton) | 30 (orc) | 75 (pirate dhow) |
| Monster level 2 | 33 (thief) | 33 (ghoul) | 40 (troglodyte) | 250 (pirate sloop) |
| Monster level 3 | 70 (centaur) | 135(gargoyle) | 120 (ettin) | 650 (pirate frigate) |
| Monster level 4 | 290 (troll) | 340 (daemon) | 250 (minotaur) | 1400 (pirate war galleon) |
See also Unit Types
The total amount of loot (not including gold) is calculated the following way:
[Amount of monsters 1] * [loot per monster type] + [Amount of monsters 2] * [loot per monster type]
[Amount of monsters 1] * [loot per monster type] + [Amount of monsters 2] * [loot per monster type]
DAMAGE PER FOE
The amount of damage a monster does depends on the type of attacker. The defense strength of the monster multiplied by the number of monsters divided by 10 is the amount of total damage a type of monster will do. Sum damage across monster types to get the total damage that will be done.
The amount of damage that the attacker can absorb is calculated by summing attack strength times number of units across the attacking unit types. Dividing the total damage the monsters can do by the total damage the attacking army can absorb gives the percentage of troops that will be lost. That percentage is applied to each unit type regardless of the attack strength of that unit type.
See Unit Types to understand how much damage each monster will do.
LOOT SUMMARY
What kind of loot and how much you get from a dungeon raid depends on several things:
- The level of the dungeon determines the maximum amount of loot the dungeon can start off with. You can get at most 150 max resources (lumber, stone, iron and food total) from a 0% complete level 1 dungeon. The level 2 cap for a 0% complete dungeon is at least 800 resources.
- Loot increases along with the percent completeness of the dungeon. An 80% complete dungeon can produce up to twice as many resources as a 0% complete dungeon. A 100% complete dungeon can produce up to three times as many resources as a 0% complete dungeon. A level 1 forest dungeon has 450 maximum loot at 100% complete.
- The actual amount you can get per run depends on how many foes you face. How many foes you kill, however, does_not_influence the loot.
- Different foes drop different amounts of loot. Spiders drop 25 each, orcs drop 30 each, thieves drop 33.
- How much you can even carry depends on your soldiers. To figure this out you can set up the following calculation:
Your units can carry maximum: (Number of units sent)*(Loot capacity per unit sent). E.g. 10 Berserkers(capacity 10) can carry maximum 100 resources total.
Your units can carry maximum: (Number of units sent)*(Loot capacity per unit sent). E.g. 10 Berserkers(capacity 10) can carry maximum 100 resources total.
- In addition to resources, you will gain (X*loot) gold, where X is a set factor decided by the dungeon level. Gold does not weigh anything in this game.
- Dungeon raiding can produce more resources than a resource city can produce. 50K berserkers raiding a dungeon 2.5 hours away can produce nearly 100K resources (plus additional gold) every hour.
*Note that it is possible to randomly get a artifact from a raid.
How loot is divided between resource types depends on dungeon type:
| Dungeon type | wood | stone | iron | food |
| Forest | 40% | 16% | 24% | 20% |
| Hill | 20% | 36% | 24% | 20% |
| Mountain | 16.7% | 10% | 56.7% | 16.7% |
| Sea | 30% | 15% | 30% | 25% |
As the dungeon level increases so does the number of foes and the amount of available loot. The following table gives the approximate maximum number of foes and loot that will be found in a 0% complete dungeon. There actual amount of loot may vary quite a bit from one raid to the next. The maximum loot in a 100% complete dungeon can be up to three times higher than the values given here.
| Dungeon level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Max foes | 10 | 40 | 117 | 444 | 1,183 | 2,181 | 4,687 | 8,351 | 14,162+ | 17,655+ |
| Max loot per foe | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 40 | 25? | 25? | 31.75 | 25 | 25? |
| Max loot | 320 | >977 | >2,000 | >15,488 | >30,000 | >56,850 | >117,175 | >198,205 | >356,970 | >441,375 |
| Gold/loot | 200% | 120% | 80% | 50% | 35% | 30% | 28% | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| Berserkers suggested | 15 | >98 | >458 | >1,549 | >3,000 | >5.5k-6.5k | >12k-14k | >25,000 | >35,697 | >60k |
note: update/patch was performed in July2010 to increase gold amounts in higher level dungeons. Table is updated but some examples below may have old gold/loot % figures.
‘Berserkers suggested’ is the number of berserkers that would be needed to make sure you carry all the loot back home. Please note that dead units cannot carry loot back (obviously) so it’s good to send more than needed to make sure you actually carry all loot back.
Max loot per foe is determined by what kind of unit you face. They can drop anywhere from 25 to 1400 each, but most of the time they will drop 25-30 each.
See Unit types in dungeon
Max loot per foe is determined by what kind of unit you face. They can drop anywhere from 25 to 1400 each, but most of the time they will drop 25-30 each.
See Unit types in dungeon
If you are sending troops other than berserkers, use the below ratio for a rough estimate of how many to send. This conversion is based on attack power, the parentheses are based on how many you need to carry the same amount of loot (roughly).
10 berserkers = 15(10) rangers
10 berserkers = 6(7) knights
10 berserkers = 7(20) mages
10 berserkers = 50(5) guardians
10 berserkers = 10(5) paladins
10 berserkers = 12(7) crossbow
10 berserkers = 6(7) knights
10 berserkers = 7(20) mages
10 berserkers = 50(5) guardians
10 berserkers = 10(5) paladins
10 berserkers = 12(7) crossbow
Table for equivalent “attack power” ratios for other troop types:
| Dungeon level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Rangers suggested | 22.5 | 147 | 687 | 2323.5 | 4500 | 8250-9750 | 18000-21000 | 29731.5 | 53545.5 | 90000 |
| Knights suggested | 9 | 58.8 | 274.8 | 929.4 | 1800 | 3300-3900 | 7200-8400 | 11892.6 | 21418.2 | 36000 |
| Mages suggested | 10.5 | 68.6 | 320.6 | 1084.3 | 2100 | 3850-4550 | 8400-9800 | 13874.7 | 24987.9 | 42000 |
| Guardians suggested | 75 | 490 | 2290 | 7745 | 15000 | 27500-32500 | 60000-70000 | 99105 | 178485 | 300000 |
| Paladins suggested | 15 | 98 | 458 | 1549 | 3000 | 5500-6500 | 12000-14000 | 19821 | 35697 | 60000 |
| Crossbow suggested | 18 | 117.6 | 549.6 | 1858.8 | 3600 | 6600-7800 | 14400-16800 | 23785.2 | 42836.4 | 72000 |
ILLILILLILI’S TABLES
I use a fire-and-forget strategy. Each day I use the defense minister to sort my cities in decreasing order of TS sitting around in the city. For a city, I look for nearby high level dungeons with a low percentage complete value, and send out raiding parties to be forgotten about until the dungeon is abandoned. The following tables give the number of each kind of troop I send to a 0% complete dungeon of each type and level. The numbers used in the table are designed to allow me to turn a slight profit during the short period of time when the dungeon has the most gold. Over the life of the dungeon, I expect to be reasonably efficient without losing resources overall.
| hill | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| zerks | 60K | 45 | 25 | 15 | 8 |
| zerk+guardian | 25K | 16 | 10 | 6 | 3 |
| ranger+guard | 37K | 27 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| -ranger | 60K | 45 | 25 | 15 | 8 |
| -templar | 85 | 61 | 35 | 21 | 11 |
| knight | 42 | 30 | 17 | 10 | 5 |
| -paladin | 34 | 25 | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| -crossbowman | 65 | 47 | 26 | 16 | 8 |
| +mage | 101 | 73 | 41 | 25 | 13 |
| forest | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| zerks | 60K | 45 | 25 | 15 | 8 |
| zerk+guardian | 25K | 16 | 10 | 6 | 3 |
| ranger+guard | 35K | 25 | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| ranger | 60K | 45 | 25 | 15 | 8 |
| -templar | 80 | 60 | 32 | 19 | 10 |
| +knight | 34 | 25 | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| paladin | 30 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| crossbowman | 42 | 30 | 17 | 10 | 5 |
| mage | 120 | 90 | 50 | 30 | 15 |
| mountain | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| +zerks | 51K | 37 | 21 | 13 | 7 |
| +zerk+guardian | 18K | 13 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| ranger+guard | 19K | 14 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| ranger | 60K | 45 | 25 | 15 | 8 |
| templar | 60 | 45 | 25 | 15 | 8 |
| +knight | 35 | 25 | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| -paladin | 34 | 25 | 14 | 9 | 5 |
| -crossbowman | 66 | 48 | 27 | 17 | 9 |
| mage | 120 | 90 | 50 | 30 | 15 |
- Numbers are thousands of troops to send, not TS.
- For zerk+guardian, send the specified number of zerks and the specified number of guardians. zerk+guardian can provide a nice return on investment, but mixed defense/offense castles are a bad idea in any kind of war zone.
- For ranger+guard, send the specified number of rangers and the specified number
of guardians.
of guardians.
- Lines marked with a minus sign will tend to be unprofitable in a nearly complete dungeon of the specified type. e.g. I never send paladins to hills or mountains.
- Lines marked with a plus sign are likely to be both profitable overall, and profitable for the most expensive resource needed to build the troop.
- Lines without a plus or minus are profitable overall, but will tend to drain one type of resource. E.g. You can make an overall resource profit sending zerks to a forest or hill, but it will tend to drain your iron.
- I increase the number of troops by about the percentage complete level of the dungeon. E.g. for an 11% complete dungeon, I increase the initial troops by 10%.
- If I’m low on resources to re-build troops that die in the dungeon raid, I reserve a few percent of troops to remain at home and not go raiding.
- I use the initial number of troops to get an initial idea of the number of raids I can send to the dungeon. If I have extra troops lying around, I’ll increase the number of troops. I will sometimes decrease the number of troops ever so slightly if it lets me get one more raiding party.
- Additional research may lead to better numbers.
- Heavily researched troops may be able to use lower numbers.
| sea | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| wg | 200 | 100 | 50 | 25 | 13 |
| sloops | 400 | 200 | 100 | 50 | 25 |
- Numbers are numbers of units to send.
- These numbers are more approximate and less heavily researched than the land-based dungeons.
DUNGEON TYPES
There exist four types of dungeons: Hill, Mountain, Forest and Sea. The monsters in these dungeons all have a vulnerability to a certain attack type, that is dependent on this dungeon type. This means that for each type, you will want a different army setup. For hills, the monsters are vulnerable to magic. For mountains, the monsters are vulnerable to foot soldiers. For forests, the monsters are vulnerable to cavalry. You will have fewer troop losses if you send the right kind of troops.
This also applies to Epic Creatures. These roam on the same land types as the dungeons spawn at, and follow the same vulnerability rules.
| Type | Active Dungeon | Inactive Dungeon | Boss | Map Icon | Weakness |
Forest |  |  | Dragon |  | Cavalry |
Hill |  |  | Moloch |  | Magic |
Mountain |  |  | Hydra |  | Infantry |
Sea |  |  | Octopus |  | Artillery |
DUNGEON ATTACK STRATEGIES
There are two basic kinds of strategies used to plunder dungeons: “fire and forget” and “micro-manage”. In the fire-and-forget strategy, you well send out a large attacking army and let it plunder until the dungeon is empty (or you need to recall the army for attacks on other players). In the micro-manage strategy, you will send out an army large enough to loot the dungeon for a few days, then recall the armies and send out slightly larger armies.
The fire-and-forget strategy requires relatively little of your management time; the micro-manage strategy acquires more resources. [This represents an opportunity for LoU to improve the war minister both to make it easier to send out multiple attacks on a single dungeon, and to automatically adjust the strength of the army over time.]
When deciding how large of an army to send out, you want to send out enough troops to haul away the expected amount of available loot, plus the number of troops that are expected to die in the attack. For berserkers, if you send enough troops to haul all the loot, you will typically lose around 1% of your army. Death rates will be much higher for mages and guardians who have a lower attack power.
When planning an attack, you will first estimate how much loot may be available. Provide an army sufficiently large to carry that much loot. Then increase the size of the army by 1% to 5% to account for deaths. If the amount of loot available is much higher than you expected, your army death rates will increase, and thus your profit will decrease, or maybe even become negative.
Remember that when sending a mixed army, say berserkers and guardians together, the sums of the attack damages are combined to decide the percentage of the army that should die. For example, if you send equal numbers of berserkers and guardians, the resulting army has an average attack strength much higher than a pure guardian army, and a loot carrying capacity much higher than a pure berserker army.
Paladins are fast (they are cavalry) and can carry a lot of loot. Thus they make good dungeon raiders. You tend to lose a higher percentage of troops, but this is made up for by the increased number of raids.
An army of pure guardians will suffer too many deaths to be worthwhile.
When planning an attack, look to see if any reports are available from previous raids by you or your alliance on the dungeon. The report can give you a good idea as to how much loot the dungeon is currently dropping and how many troops you should send to pick up that loot.
When learning how dungeons work, find a dungeon with a high percentage completeness that you or your alliance has been attacking for days, and look at every tenth or twentieth report.
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