Safeguarding Your Castle: The Ultimate Defensive PVP Guide

The ability to defend and keep yourself safe is essential to any war game you play. Before you venture outside your bubble you want to feel some degree of safety or at least as if when you drop shield you will not be completely crushed. In Iron Throne, defense is slightly different from other games and slightly more complicated. When entering into a conversation about defense you will often hear some pretty big words tossed around that can have your head spinning.

This guide serves one purpose and that is understanding defense and how to set your castle up for success. We will discuss stats, troops, heroes, gear, and so much more that goes into setting yourself up for success. We will also consider some essential things you will want to take into account when facing off against your attacker. However, we are going to kick things off with my Top Three Tips when it comes to defense.

Safeguarding Your Castle

All of us put a lot of time and resources into our accounts. So we want to protect what we have built. So how do we do this?

Top 3 Tips

1. Always Shield – You can have the most troops in the game but sometimes that does not matter. A shield is your protection when you are offline or just unsure of your safety. When you are ready to drop your shield make sure you will be able to be online and reactive.
2. Educate Yourself – Know and understand what the stats are for, what they mean, what they do, and what you need. We do our best to keep articles here as up to date as possible however, the next tip covers what to do when you need more guidance.
3. Ask Questions – People get worried that if they ask questions they appear stupid. Here’s the thing, you look dumber if you do not ask! If something confuses you, it’s better to ask before you lose all your troops and waste a lot of money! Join the Elite on the Line App for access to tons of information and a wealth of experience.

Understanding Combat as a Defender

With the current state of the game Type Defense has come into play once again. When we discuss gear and troop set up we will talk a lot about gear and troops that will set you up for Type Defense. This has a few implications that we must deal with including the fact that it can sometimes be a struggle when your opponent finds out what Type Defense you are running.

Another important thing to understand is that with new Dragon Research attackers have become even stronger and we have seen accounts that were capping soloes begin to burn to soloes again.

Combat in Iron Throne is unique. Those of us that came from other castle builder games that shall not be named encountered a steep learning curve when it came to defending in Iron Throne and that has made it a new challenge that can be fun to figure out. Understanding how Combat works is essential because it will help you understand how to build your troops.

On a basic level when your Castle gets hit your attacker’s troops are first going to hit your bottom tier of troops, this acts as your defense/HP base. This is where you are essentially defending. It is your Top tier of troops that acts as attack and kills your attacker’s march. This means that more than your bottom layer troops are going to factor into your troop composition which we will discuss later.

Hero

When we look at our Heroes it is important that we have three heroes set aside for Defense. Not having your Guard Captain and Guard Deputies assigned is sure to lead to defeat. This means that if you are the type of player who likes to cancel the appointment of your Guard to use them for Monster Hunting you will want to be sure to put them back correctly before you drop your shield.

When it comes to Heroes a current favorite for Guard Captain is the Flame Lord. This Hero has some great stats that are exclusive to defending. When you are deciding what Heroes to appoint to Guard Captain and Deputies you will want to look for your Heroes that are leveled and upgraded and have stats that are similar to the Flame Lord. While you may not have Heroes that exactly match this he offers some great guidelines to keep an eye out for when choosing Defense Heroes.

Titans

Titans have arrived in Iron Throne and these Titans play a big role in defense. There are two Titans that defenders currently need to be aware of.

1. Savior Titan
2. Gatekeeper Titan

The Savior Titan is the Titan that is going to be installed in the world to give your teamies a boost. However, in order to be able to send this Titan into the world, there is research you will need to complete. This research is under the research for Talus’s Titan and is a doozy when it comes to resources.

The Gatekeeper Titan is going to be your Titan that you appoint to defend your castle. This guy is going to assist your Guard Heroes in your city. Do not forget to skill your Titan Traits before you go to battle.

We still need to do some testing when it comes to Titans and battle. However, right now there are two trees for Titan Traits. The first tree is the Titan tree. This is going to strengthen your Titan.

The second tree is your Troop Tree. This tree is going to strengthen your troops when used in conjunction with your Titan. You will also want to equip Moonstones for your Titan. If you do not have immortal Moonstones then equip the best you have until you have Immortal.

Finally, when we are looking at our Titans you will want to work on research to strengthen them. There are currently three research trees for our Titans that will be covered more fully in another article.

This is just a quick overview for Titans in Iron Throne. Be sure to check out our more comprehensive guides as they are released.

Gear

Many gear sets seem to have the same stats, so at times it can become confusing about what set to use for what function. While there are three sets with Infantry stats, some have better stats than others.

Defensive Gear continues to change and evolve. As we mentioned above Type Defense has come back into play and a large reason for that is because of level 60 gear. The current favorite gear for defenders is a mixed steel set with Level 60 Gear Weapons. When I am building my defense I use the same Gear set up on my Deputies as I use on my Guard Captain.

An essential part of your setup will depend on what type of troop you are using. Below you will see an example setup for an Archer base. They use max Willful weapons, Crimson Steel, and one Radiant accessory. While this defender’s gear is max enhanced and engraved it is possible to run a good defense setup even if you have not yet maxed your gear.

Pets

You can see above the Pets that our defender has chosen to use. These two are our top recommended pets for defense:

1. The Lava Turtle- This pet gives debuffs, Face-off, Troop Attack, Troop Defense, Troop HP. This pet is a great pet for our defenders planning on taking soloes
2. The Deathworm- I recommend this pet for anyone that wants to take rallies. This pet has defender specific debuffs for rallies as well as some other stats exclusive to Castle Defense. If you are more interested in taking soloes than rallies then just Turtle up.

Runes

When it comes to runes you have a few options. We know that Hero Stats are important when it comes to face-off but because of the level of many attacker’s radiant gear we also know that it is very difficult to win Face-off as a defender. Because of this we recommend choosing your Runes from the following options:

1. Type Runes- Type Runes are a great choice when you are running a single type account. If this is the route you choose to go be sure to choose runes that match your Type defense and enhance them as high as possible.
2. The other route you can go is Mighty Runes of Defense/HP and enhancing these runes. If you tend to change your defense up frequently this may be the better route in order to save you from constantly needing items to remove runes.

Boosts

When we are discussing boosts there are various factors to consider. You of course have your consumable boosts that increase your stats for a specified amount of time. However, you also have other types of boosts:

1. Magic- While Magic is viable to use for defense I prefer to not use it if at all possible due to the fact that because of time limits and cool down periods I do not want to rely on it. However, if you need an extra edge it is available.
2. Building Enhancements- Building Enhancements allow you to get even more stats. However, remember you can only enhance your buildings as high as they are leveled.
3. Obelisks Blessings- These are boosts that are constantly with you as you level them up and a great place to get more stats.

Lord Skills

You will want to be sure to skill your Lord and have the right skill setting on for defense when sitting unshielded. There are two tabs for Lord Skills: Economy and Battle. You will find your defensive skills under Battle. The higher the level of your Lord, the more points you have to spend. In skilling for defense, you will want to focus on the following things:

• Defense
• HP
• Debuffs
• Attack

Troop Composition

Troop Composition is a very important factor when it comes to defense. Our current recommendation for troop composition is going type defense. When you do select what type of troop you want to focus on there are a few other factors that come into play.

Bottom Tier of Troops aka Meat

Bottom Tier of Troops aka Meat (I hate this terminology but it is what it is) This is going to act as your Defense/HP and will take the brunt of the hit. The higher the number you have the better. Many players are running upwards of 1 billion in meat and sometimes double or triple that.

Many players use T4 for meat however, a growing population of players believe that your Meat should be level 5 or higher. If you are looking to upgrade your troops to a higher tier the cost can be expensive so keep this in mind.

Pre-Meat

Pre-Meat (just so you know this terminology is even worse in my book)- If someone knows what type of Meat you are running it is going to make it easier for them to burn you. IF you have enough “Meat” it is possible to defend against soloes without “Pre-Meat” in fact many times if you get soloed and have too many of this type of troop it will cause you to burn.

These troops really come into play with rallies. You will see players recommend having anywhere from two to three million of premeat to having closer to seven to ten million. Ultimately it is going to come down to what you are most comfortable with. My amount of “pre-meat” tends to fluctuate. This tier of troops should counter your weakness. For example, if you are an Infantry Build and your attacker is sending Archers you will want your premeat to be Cavalry troops. This softens the blow on your Meat when it is being targeted. Your Pre-Meat is typically going to be one tier lower than your Meat.

Keep in mind that many attackers have wised up to this trick and will send a solo before their rally. I try to keep my Pre-Meat ready to be healed or revived and get them up just before the rally hits. This works if your attacker is not sending the two marches too close together.

Top Tier Troops- The Fighters

We mentioned above that it is your Top Tier of troops that fulfill the attack function within your city. Many players use Strategic T7 as their top tier. When you are training this tier you will want to train the troop type that counters your weakness. Just like your pre-meat layer if you are an Infantry setup then you will want to train your top tier as Cavalry because it is these troops that will kill off an incoming Archer March. I was able to take two hits one with the incorrect Top tier trained and another with the correct Top tier trained and there was a substantial difference in the results.

Research

Research is a great place to get extra stats. There are various researches that will give good bonuses when you are defending. Some of the researches you really want to focus on are:

1. Troop Training
2. Hero Training
3. Battle
4. City

Buildings

In Rise of Firstborn, every building provides a different function and different boost in order to be able to help with defense of your Castle. For more information on how each building functions, check out Iron Throne: The Journey Begins. However, this article will cover a few buildings that will be key to your defense.

Watchtower

The higher the level of your Watchtower, the more detailed information you receive on incoming attacks. This will help you to prepare and know whether or not you have the capability to take a hit from the incoming enemy.

Breakdown

Building Level	Watchtower Effect
1	March Detection
2	Display the Opponent Marching Troops toward you
3-4	Display the Opponent's Castle Coordinates
5-6	Display the Opponent's Name
7-8	Display when the Opponent will arrive
9-10	Display a rough estimate of the Opponent's troops (type, name, tiers)
11-12	Display a rough estimate of the Opponent's troops (headcount)
13-14	Display the Opponent's Lord level
15-16	Display an accurate headcount of the Opponent's troops
17-18	Display the Opponent Captain's level

Temple

This building will allow you to revive dead troops within 7 days of them being killed. This is not free, so be sure to choose wisely the troops you wish to revive.

Warehouse

Worried about the incoming attack? You can evacuate your troops using the Warehouse. As with other buildings, the level improves your ability to use this feature.

Breakdown

Building Level	Max Capacity
1	10,000
2	11,000
3	12,000
4	13,500
5	14,500
6	16,000
7	17,500
8	20,000
9	21,500
10	24,000
11	27,000
12	30,000
13	33,500
14	38,000
15	42,000
16	48,000
17	55,000
18	60,000
19	69,000
20	78,000
21	88,000
22	100,000
23	110,000
24	125,000
25	150,000
26	160,000
27	170,000
28	180,000
29	190,000
30	200,000

Wall

Your Wall houses your traps. Traps play a role in defense of your Castle, so it is important not only to build them but to make sure that you improve your Wall durability by leveling up your Wall. A stronger Wall helps with safeguarding your Castle.

Breakdown

Building Level	Max Capacity
1	8,000
2	8,100
3	8,200
4	8,300
5	8,400
6	8,500
7	8,600
8	8,700
9	8,800
10	8,900
11	9,000
12	9,200
13	9,400
14	9,600
15	9,800
16	10,000
17	10,250
18	10,500
19	10,750
20	11,000
21	11,300
22	11,600
23	11,900
24	12,500
25-30	14,000

Embassy

This building allows your alliance members to strengthen you through reinforcements. The higher the level of your Embassy, the more reinforcements you can receive. In addition, a higher level Embassy gives additional perks.

Breakdown

Building Level	Perk
25-29	Defense of Reinforcement Received through Embassy +10%
30	Defense of Reinforcement Received through Embassy +30%

Altar

Executing enemy Heroes will give you boosts for your stats through your Altar. These buffs will last for 24 hours. Leveling up the Altar increases Troop Attack, Defense, HP, March Speed, and Hero Experience.

Hospital

When your troops are injured, they go to the hospital. The higher the level of your hospital the more troops it will hold. In addition, different boosts are provided for your hospital.

Breakdown

Hospital Level	Injured Troop Capacity
1	10,000
2	11,000
3	12,000
4	13,000
5	14,000
6	15,000
7	16,000
8	17,000
9	18,000
10	19,000

Breakdown

Building Level	Hospital Perk
25-29	Increases the HP of all Troops by 2% for each Hospital. (Stackable)
30	Increases the HP of all Troops by 5% for each Hospital. (Stackable)

Barracks

Your Barracks increases the defense of your troops. The more Barracks you have at certain levels, the higher the defense boost.

Breakdown

Building Level	Barrack Perk
25-29	Increases Defense of all Troops by 2% for each building. (Stackable)
30	Increases Defense of all Troops by 5% for each building. (Stackable)

VIP

While VIP does not increase battle stats until VIP 11, it does increase your injured troop capacity before that. So if you are counting on your hospitals to support your injured troops, VIP can help to boost this ability. Once you have obtained VIP 11 and higher you will begin to receive other stat boosts from VIP including things such as attack and defense.

When all comes to a close, your best source of protection is a Peace Shield. Here, we have covered the best of the best for defense. However, be sure to talk to your alliance mates and friends and test, test, test before walking away unshielded.

What’s Next?

Do not miss out on reading some of our older articles and newer articles. We have tons of content to help you along your way as you set up the perfect defense or attack. The Links below will provide you information on the newest Level 60 Gears that are essential to defense.

Level 60 Gear

Check out the gear that is changing how defense works in the world of Iron Throne!

Aspire to obtain Aspirant Gear

Willfully Craft Willful Gear

Be Ferocious

Stay Tuned

Stay Tuned for more great information from our Elite Team as Iron Throne continues to evolve.

In addition, be sure to join our community on the Line App for more on the go tips!

Line: Just add thatcinder and request an invite to the Elite Room