Capture requirement
Current rule:
- the target City must directly connect to a Military Stronghold currently controlled by the alliance.
A City cannot be treated as an isolated target on the map.
City unlock schedule
Example City unlock calendar:
| Season Day |
Unlock |
| 3 |
Level 1 City |
| 7 |
Lv2 City |
| 10 |
Lv3 City |
| 14 |
Lv4 City |
| 17 |
Lv5 City |
| 21 |
Lv6 City |
| 28 |
Apocalypse City / Capitol |
Treat these dates as planning examples and check the live City Clash timer before committing troops.
Declaration limit
Once the relevant declaration system is available:
- Check how many City declarations your alliance has left for the day.
Before crossing warzones, check the current City List for eligibility and capture limits.
- Track the Stronghold capture limit and City declaration limit separately.
Active sieges and capture windows
Current map guidance:
- Check how many City sieges your alliance can run at the same time.
- Use the target City’s countdown to plan the capture window.
This is important for R4/R5 sequencing on declaration days.
City ownership limits
Current map guidance:
- Check how many Cities your alliance can hold in its home warzone.
- Check the separate holding limit for Cities in other warzones.
- Confirm the total number of Cities your alliance can hold before declaring.
Use the active City List to check your cross-warzone holding capacity.
Leave room under the active holding limit for the City your alliance plans to take next.
City protection — verify the live countdown
Protection timing can vary. Use any example dates only for planning, and follow the live City protection countdown.
- City protection ends at 12:00 server time.
- Normally, it ends at 12:00 on the next calendar day after six full days have elapsed since battle end.
- After Warzone Declaration is active, the endpoint moves to 12:00 on the next Wednesday/Saturday declaration day that occurs after the six-day period.
- Confirm when your City declaration window closes before you move troops.
- The contest stage closes at 24:00 that day.
Player-facing simplification
Cities are protected for roughly a week. Use the live City countdown for the exact attackable time.
R4/R5 wording
City protection is declaration-calendar aligned, not simply “capture timestamp + 168 hours.”
Schedule the next attack using the time shown on the target City’s protection countdown.
Why City routing matters
Cities do several jobs at once:
- advance the alliance deeper into the map;
- increase Stronghold capacity;
- create Influence / settlement value;
- enable better future routes;
- become required stepping stones toward Lv6 / Capitol positioning.
Therefore the correct target is not always “the strongest City we can currently beat.”
The correct target is:
the City that gives the best next route while remaining defensible and compatible with protection timing.
City common mistakes
- Declaring without a live Stronghold connection.
- Choosing a City only for immediate rewards.
- Ignoring protection expiry when planning the next declaration day.
- Holding a City that blocks a more valuable route because the alliance did not plan the Stronghold cap.
- Assuming two declarations means two simultaneous sieges.
- Planning an attack from an estimated protection duration instead of the City countdown.
