How do I read terrain on the map?#
Rule of thumb: the small icon by a province's name, and the faint pattern across it, are its terrain. Blue lines along borders are rivers.
- No icon, no pattern: plains. No bonus for anyone.
- Trees, dots: forest.
- Mountains, zigzags: mountain.
- Buildings, grid: urban.
- Thick blue line: a river along that border.
The icon sits above the name, or beside or below it where there's no room. When a province is too small to show its name, its icon hides too, but the pattern stays: zoom in to see the icon.
The Legend under the Rules panel lists them all. To check one province, click it (tap it on a phone): the box shows its terrain and defense bonus, and every border it has.
Where should I attack?#
Rule of thumb: into plains, across borders with no river.
Terrain only ever helps the defender. A river crossing divides the attacker's strength by ÷1.25 (it loses about 20%). Picking the right border to attack across is often worth more than another unit.
Where should I hold?#
Rule of thumb: hold mountains, cities and river lines with infantry.
| Terrain | Defender |
|---|---|
| Plains | no bonus |
| Forest | +25% |
| Mountain | +50% |
| Urban | +50% |
| Behind a river | attacker crossing ÷1.25 |
That's where a small garrison stops a much bigger army. Infantry has the best defense for its cost, so it's the unit to leave there.
Why is armor bad in forest, mountains and cities?#
Rule of thumb: use armor on plains. Elsewhere, send infantry and support.
Armor attacks at ×0.75 into forest, ×0.5 into mountains and ×0.5 into urban provinces, on top of the defender's bonus. Here are 3 armor attacking 3 infantry:
| Where | Strength | Armor wins |
|---|---|---|
| Plains | 10.5 against 6 | 75% |
| Across a river | 8.4 against 6 | 66% |
| Into mountains | 5.25 against 9 | 25% |
Forest also eats armor's whole move (2 moves to enter), and mountains end any move.
How do I break a mountain or river line?#
Rule of thumb: bring artillery and air. Their bonus is added after terrain, so mountains and rivers don't shrink it.
The same 3 armor attacking into the mountains, with 2 artillery firing in from next door (+4), go from 25% to 51%. See Artillery and Air.
Do cities defend better?#
Rule of thumb: a city you've held a while is dug in. A city that just changed hands isn't.
A city's defenders get up to +25% for being dug in (+50% in a capital), on top of the terrain bonus. Starting cities are fully dug in. A captured city starts with nothing and builds up over 5 turns. Counterattack a fresh enemy capture straight away, and expect the same from them.
The city marker is a shield, and it shows it. A hollow shield has no owner. An owned shield fills white from the bottom up as the city digs in: nearly empty is just taken, full is fully dug in. Capitals are larger, with a ★.
Does terrain count in a border clash?#
No. When two armies swap places they fight on the border, with attack values and no terrain, river or dug-in bonus. See Moving at the same time.