This guide discusses large-scale cartoon violence and undead enemies.
Fast answer
The answer before the background
Start with builders, food and wood, then add stone and a first military building before the first serious attack. Reach Town Hall II as soon as your food and construction economy are stable, usually before or shortly after the second wave. From there, choose aggression when enemy spawners are exposed: use starting cavalry, archers or horse archers to remove them and claim safe ground. Choose defense when attacks arrive quickly: use walls, towers, crossbowmen and siege weapons. For ship objectives, build the docks early enough to complete their upgrade stages, but do not sacrifice the economy needed to board the required troops. For Temple of Joy, construct cheaper wing sections early when they provide useful units, then finish the monument after clearing space and securing resources.
Verified fundamentals
What counts as a class, skill and stat?
The game does not present a standard character-class system with a hero sheet and distributable attributes. Treat unit roles as your practical classes: frontline melee, ranged damage, cavalry, siege and magic support. Each role has a different job, and a strong army usually mixes them instead of spamming one unit.
Research is the closest equivalent to a skill tree. The Deep Update changed the tree substantially, grouping research by tiers, adding Sarranga and Rebel branches, and giving Tier I and Tier II troops more ways to remain useful. Because the tree is mission- and faction-sensitive, follow the research currently shown in your game rather than an old fixed list.
There is also no reliable universal stat priority that applies to every map. Use production speed, damage, range, durability, healing and anti-structure bonuses according to the threat in front of you. A damage upgrade is valuable only if the unit can survive long enough to fire; a wall upgrade is weak if enemy spawners remain active outside your perimeter.
- Frontline: swordsmen, spearmen, axemen and other durable melee units.
- Ranged: archers and crossbowmen for sustained damage from walls or towers.
- Cavalry: horsemen and horse archers for scouting, pulling enemies and destroying exposed spawners.
- Siege: catapults, ballistas and later artillery for massed waves, bosses or structures.
- Support: healers, spells and research that improve the army’s efficiency.
| Route | Best when | Priority | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggressive clear | Enemy camps are exposed and starting cavalry can move safely | Barracks, mobile troops, scouting and spawner destruction | Units die if they fight towers, generals or dense fortified groups |
| Defensive siege | Waves arrive before you can safely expand | Walls, towers, crossbowmen, catapults and repairs | The economy collapses if you turtle while enemy camps keep spawning |
| Objective rush | The mission requires ships or a monument by a deadline | Town Hall, resources and objective buildings | You may reach the objective with too few troops or too little protection |
Use this role framework as a decision tool, not as a claim that every unit has fixed universal rankings. Mission scripting, difficulty and the current research tree can change the best choice.
Opening route
A reliable early build order
Begin by placing houses and food production close enough to reduce walking time. Keep builders active, but do not create more housing than your food supply can support. Wood is normally the first bottleneck because it funds houses, economy buildings, walls and early military infrastructure.
Add the first stone production as soon as the map allows it, then establish a basic defensive line at a likely approach rather than surrounding the entire settlement. A short wall with a clear firing position is more useful than a wide unfinished perimeter. Start research whenever the required building and resources are available, but pause optional research if it delays Town Hall II or the first emergency army.
The recommended breakpoint is Town Hall II after the basic economy is functioning and before the settlement becomes trapped by population, production or research limits. Community guides commonly recommend reaching it before or soon after the second wave. After the upgrade, add the next builder capacity, expand wood production, improve food storage and begin iron or other mission-required materials.
Do not rush Town Hall III automatically. It can unlock powerful late-game options, but it also consumes resources that may be better spent on troops, walls, towers or the mission objective. Upgrade only when the map’s duration and unit requirements justify it.
- Keep at least one construction queue working whenever resources permit.
- Add food before population growth becomes a crisis.
- Build the first military production before the opening attack, unless the scenario gives enough starting troops for a clear.
- Use watchtowers or scouting to identify attack directions and nearby spawners.
- Replace damaged defenses only after checking whether the source of the pressure can be destroyed.
| Stage | Build focus | Army focus | Research focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | Houses, food, wood, first stone | Use starting troops carefully | Low-cost economy or mobility improvements |
| Before Town Hall II | Military building, short wall, storage | Archers, swordsmen or scenario cavalry | One useful technology at a time |
| After Town Hall II | Builders, wood, food, iron and stronger defenses | Spearmen, axemen, crossbowmen or cavalry | Unit damage, range, durability and siege support |
| Late game | Towers, layered walls, siege and objective buildings | Mixed army with dedicated counters | Anti-structure, attack information, healing or faction branches |
Scenario routes
How to build ships and the Temple of Joy
For ship missions, reserve a coastal construction area from the beginning. Ship Docks progress through several upgrade stages before becoming a completed warship, so the objective is a timed production chain rather than a single building placement. Do not block the shoreline with unrelated structures, and keep builders available near the docks when possible.
The Fleet of Resistance objective requires four ships carrying 60 crossbowmen, 25 spearmen and 15 foot knights according to the available walkthrough reference. That means the true build route is economy first, then Town Hall progression, troop production and dock upgrades in parallel. Keep enough food, iron, steel and gold for the boarding force; a finished ship is not useful if the army cannot fill it.
For the Temple of Joy mission, early aggression is usually safer than passive turtling. Clear enemy spawning structures, especially those close to future expansion areas, and use starting cavalry to scout rather than commit them into towers or generals. The temple’s wing sections are reported by players as cheaper and capable of providing stone soldiers, making them a useful early investment when the mission allows it.
Once the nearby spawners are removed, expand into the cleared area, establish resource production and build the remaining temple stages during a protected window. Leave enough siege and ranged damage for the final waves; spending every resource on the monument too early can create a deadline failure.
- Ships: secure the coast, place Ship Docks, upgrade through every stage, then board the required units.
- Ships: produce the requested troop types before the final loading window, not after the docks finish.
- Temple of Joy: clear spawners first, use cavalry for mobility, and prioritize affordable wing sections when they provide troops.
- Temple of Joy: avoid unnecessary fights against bosses, towers and generals until the economy and counter army are ready.
- Both objectives: use pause frequently to retask builders, cancel unsafe attacks and inspect incoming routes.
The dock stages, ship capacity and required boarding force are documented in community references. The recommended timing and order are strategic recommendations based on those requirements, not fixed developer rules.
Army planning
Stats that matter in real fights
Think in terms of effective battlefield stats rather than a single ranking. Damage and attack speed decide how quickly a unit removes targets. Range and line of sight determine whether it can fire from safety. Health, armor and healing determine whether a frontline holds. Movement speed and attack range matter greatly for cavalry because their value comes from choosing engagements.
Against ordinary mass waves, layered walls plus ranged troops and catapults are the stable answer. Against high-value targets, crossbowmen on towers, ballistas or carefully controlled cavalry can perform better, but they need a tank or terrain that prevents the target from reaching them. Against enemy structures, prioritize siege or research that improves damage to buildings.
Keep specialist counters separate. Do not use horse archers as stationary wall defenders when their mobility is the reason they are strong. Do not place all ranged troops in one tower if a single siege hit can disable your damage output. Spread towers, create fallback positions and keep a reserve force near the Town Hall.
- Mass infantry: hold gates, walls and choke points.
- Crossbowmen: focus durable targets and bosses from protected towers.
- Catapults: punish dense formations and large waves.
- Ballistas: use their range for priority targets and enemy siege where appropriate.
- Cavalry: scout, pull enemies, destroy camps and retreat before being surrounded.
- Healers and spells: preserve expensive units and stabilize fights that would otherwise become repair-heavy.
FAQ
Common questions
Should I rush Town Hall II every game?
Usually, but not blindly. Reach it after food, wood and a minimal defense are stable. If the next wave is imminent or your settlement is under direct attack, spend enough on troops and walls to survive first. The upgrade is a strong early target because it expands the economy, army and research options.
Is there a best unit class?
No single role is best on every map. Cavalry is excellent for scouting and clearing exposed camps, ranged units are efficient from towers, melee units protect firing lines, and siege handles massed waves. Build the combination that answers the map’s current threat.
How early should I build ships?
Start the dock chain early enough that all upgrade stages finish before the mission deadline, but do not neglect the food and material economy needed for boarding troops. On the ship objective, the required army is as important as the hulls themselves.
Why does the Temple of Joy feel impossible?
Leaving enemy spawners alive usually creates repeated pressure and repair costs. Use starting cavalry to remove nearby spawners, expand into cleared ground, and use the cheaper temple wing sections when they provide extra troops. Save a proper siege and ranged force for the later waves.
Do old research guides still work?
Only partially. Door 407 reworked the research tree in the Deep Update and added new faction and lower-tier research. Use older guides for general principles, but verify the current research prerequisites and effects in your live game.
Sources
What we checked
Official listings establish current availability and product facts. Community pages are used for mechanics and build history, then labeled separately.
- OfficialDoor 407 official Steam store page
- OfficialDoor 407 official announcement: The Deep Update
- CommunityCommunity building and research reference
- CommunityCommunity basic build-order guide
- ReferenceGameFAQs campaign and ship objective reference
- CommunitySteam community Temple of Joy strategy discussion