We all know the goal of this game is to capture castles. But it's not all of us who know HOW to capture a castle. Here is where you will find what to do before, during and after the capture of a castle.
Before I begin, there is a distinction that is important to understand. There will be a difference between taking a castle on our own and taking a castle for an operation (called op for time saving, because we are all lazy 😜)
Attacking on your own means you are alone. It is an individual battle. You can do whatever you want in order to cap your target castle
Attacking with the alliance in a coordinated operation restricts you because you must follow rules and instructions in order to succeed with our massive strikes
Before attacking a castle, the first thing to do is to plan the execution.
To do so, you need to know what is facing you. There are 2 ways of knowing what you have to face.
1.1 - Spying a castle 👀
----------
Out of the two methods, spying is my favorite because if your first spy attempt succeeds, your target will not even know you spied his castle. Spying also has the GREAT advantage of showing the wall level. I usually send my copper in batches of 101. When a player spawn, the birth castle contains 100 copper. Most players don't know how to get copper so 101 would be enough. If my spy gets caught, I evaluate how much copper I think I need to have a successful report on the second time. Getting caught multiple time can wake doubts in your enemy mind. Point your interest to the farm level because a low level farm won't allow your target to have a strong army at home. Point your interest to the fortification level because the fort favors the defenders with a defense bonus. A lvl 20 wall will double a defender's troops efficiency. Say you have a lvl 20 wall with 200 spears is like having 400 spears. Also look at the troops present in the castle. Spears, Xbows and AH are the units that will deal you the most damage. Swords are decent in defense and archers and lancers are especially bad at defending. The troop types present as reserve in the castle will determine the level of challenge you will be facing.
1.2 - Sending a 101
----------
The 101 method is a nice way to get your information on the first attempt. It is called 101 because you send 101 troops. As soon as you have more than 100 troops, the battle will last two rounds. When you have less than 100 troops, if the opponent is stronger, the battle will end showing a report with lost troops. You want your battle to last two rounds to get a report with the troops present defending. I usually send 107 or even 111 troops. There are defensive tricks to cancel a 101 attack with 101 troops. A 101 is not the best way to gather real information because of the defender sees your attack incoming, he can hide troops so you don't really know what is in front of you.
1.3 - When should I spy a castle?
----------
If you are taking part in a op, you must respect the instructions given by the commanders. Often, we don't want the enemy to know we have interest in his castle before your attack arrive.
If you are on your own, you still want to give the least notice possible before your attack.
My recommendation for every attack on a medium strong player: send your spy or 101 only a few hours or minutes before you attack.
1.4 analyse your enemy location
----------
Is your enemy in an alliance? If so, look at the diplomacy. If his alliance is not red, refer to a leader to get approval before attacking. If red, go on his alliance profile page and click on the name of the alliance. It will lead you to the map and you will see in light purple all the castles of this alliance. If there are many close by, you need to consider that he can receive support rapidly. I recommend referring to a leader or war commander to get advices if you are not sure.
2.1 - Evaluate the troops and silver needed
----------
Losing an offensive battle is very costly. Silver and troops are precious. You always want to go overkill to win your battle rapidly. You want to cut off by half your enemy's troops at each round to end it soon. The longer the battle lasts, the more damage the wall will deal you. I generally go all in with offensive troops. The strongest advice is to protect your lancers with many archers and swords because lancers are very strong and very expensive to rebuild. Plan your attack in advance with how many troops and silver you will send for each of your castles.
2.2 - Coordinate your castles
----------
Send from as much castles as possible to reduce casualties per castle. Rebuilding the same amount of troops on more castles will be faster so you can be effective back again faster.
2.3 - Land your attack at a specific time.
----------
In an operation like on a personal attack, you will want all your castles to land together to have a better strike force. You will also want to land at a specific day or hour. I recommend using the sync attack feature this makes sure all your attacks land together
3.1 Follow the battle.
----------
For the first rounds, you must be online. You need to evaluate what defense is in place. If there is an overwhelming force, PULL YOUR TROOPS. You will lose your silver. But if you keep attacking, the defenders will decimate your army and you will lose all your troops plus your silver. You better admit the defeat and rebuild in a day or two than keep fighting. Silver is easy to replace but troops are expensive. Always try to win battles with the fewest casualties. If you never have to rebuild your whole army, you can attack more often and cap more castles.
3.2 Communication with your opponent.
---------
Words between you and your opponent can be nice. Saying good fight, nice battle is just good. Remember when you talk to other alliances, you represent your allaince. Please always stay respectful and polite. If an opponent does not act with respect and honor, refer to a leader so the case can be solved.