Ruins & Outposts Guide

What Are Ruins & Outposts?

Scattered across the Kingdom Map are eight types of special structures — called Outposts or Ruins depending on the context. When your alliance occupies one, every member benefits from a passive alliance-wide bonus for as long as you hold it. These bonuses stack with your research, equipment, and hero stats — they're multiplicative power that costs you nothing except the willingness to fight for and hold the location.

Outposts come in tiers (Levels 1–4). Higher-level outposts give stronger bonuses but are also more contested — and Level 4 outposts introduce permanent troop loss risk if your hospital is full when you take casualties. Know what you're walking into before you attack.

Bonuses from the same outpost type and level do not stack. Holding three Level 1 Builder's Guilds gives you the same construction bonus as holding one. Coordinate with your alliance to cover different types rather than doubling up on the same one.

How Capture Works

Territory Requirement

You cannot attack an outpost unless your alliance has territory — banners or your Alliance HQ — bordering it. Expand toward the outpost first. This means early-game alliances should focus on contiguous territory growth rather than spreading thinly across the map.

Occupation Timer

Capturing an outpost requires holding it for 15–30 minutes depending on level. If it remains uncaptured after 24 hours, control reverts to the previous holder. Time your attack so your alliance can sustain the defense during the occupation window — don't attack something you can't hold.

Troop Losses

Levels 1–3: Casualties go to your hospital — no permanent troop loss.
Level 4: If your hospital is full when you take casualties, troops die permanently. Check your hospital capacity and fill it before engaging Level 4 outposts.

First Capture Rewards

The first time your alliance captures a specific outpost, all alliance members receive a reward. These are worth coordinating for — a planned push on a new outpost type benefits your whole roster, not just the players who march.

The 8 Outpost Types

Each outpost type provides a different alliance-wide bonus. The level of the outpost determines the bonus magnitude.

Outpost Strategy by Type

Builder's Guild & Scholar's Tower — Permanent Compounders

These are your most valuable long-term holdings. Construction speed and research speed determine how fast everyone in your alliance grows — and growth is the game. An 8% construction bonus compounds across every upgrade every member queues. In the early and mid-game, secure these before anything else if they're accessible.

Level 3 versions offer the best bang-for-risk at 8% bonuses without Level 4 permanent loss exposure.

Arsenal & Armory — The Combat Pair

In active PvP periods — KvK, Alliance Championship, Castle Battle — these become your highest-priority holds. An 8% attack bonus and 20% defense bonus across your entire alliance's marches is a massive multiplier in large-scale fights. Alliances that control both at Level 4 during KvK have a meaningful combat edge over those that don't.

The trade-off: Level 4 carries permanent loss risk. Your R4/R5 leadership should make the call on whether your alliance is ready to hold a Level 4 outpost before committing to the attack.

Frontier Lodge — Mobility Wins Fights

+15% march speed sounds like a QoL bonus, but in Castle Battle and KvK it's a tactical weapon. Faster marches mean you rotate to defend objectives before the enemy reaches them, reinforce allies before rallies land, and disengage from fights you can't win. Alliances holding the Frontier Lodge consistently out-maneuver those that don't.

Drill Camp, Harvest Altar & Forager Grove — Quality of Life

These are worth holding when they're uncontested and your alliance has the territory coverage. The training speed, resource production, and gathering bonuses all accelerate member growth — but they're lower priority than combat outposts and the Builder's Guild / Scholar's Tower pair. If you have to choose between defending the Arsenal and defending the Harvest Altar, defend the Arsenal.

Priority by Game Stage

Early Alliance (small territory)

• Focus on Builder's Guild and Scholar's Tower — they compound the fastest
• Hold Level 1–2 outposts only — no permanent loss risk
• Grow territory toward the next outpost before attacking it

Mid Game (established territory)

• Add the Frontier Lodge — march speed pays off in every event
• Target Level 2–3 Arsenal and Armory before KvK seasons
• Harvest Altar and Forager Grove if uncontested — free bonuses worth having

Late Game / KvK Active

• Level 4 Arsenal and Armory become the priority — coordinate R4/R5 to hold them
• Don't neglect Scholar's Tower even at end game — research never stops
• Be willing to trade lower-value outposts to protect combat-critical ones

Castle Battle: The Ruins Zone

The Castle Battle event features a specific area near the King's Castle called the Ruins Zone. Unlike the standard kingdom map outposts, the Ruins Zone is a tactical chokepoint rather than a passive bonus structure.

The Ruins impose a heavy march speed penalty on any army moving through them. This punishes slow rotations and poorly timed pushes — armies caught repositioning in the Ruins under attack are at a severe disadvantage. The side that can move through the Ruins faster (from a Frontier Lodge bonus or march speed research) controls the pace of the whole battle.

Position your garrison outside the Ruins perimeter before the engagement starts. Avoid retreating through them under fire. If you have the Frontier Lodge, use the march speed advantage to contest the zone early and force the enemy to push through it instead.

The Rules Worth Memorizing

• Same type + same level don't stack — spread across types, not depths
• Border requirement — you cannot attack what you can't reach with territory
• Level 4 = permanent loss risk — hospital must not be full before you engage
• Hold timer is 15–30 min — have defense ready before you attack, not after
• 24-hour revert — if you can't hold it for a full day, you lose it back
• First capture rewards everyone — announce new outpost pushes in alliance chat
• Vulnerable outposts give no bonus — the bonus pauses while it's being contested

Related Guides

Outpost strategy doesn't exist in isolation — it connects directly to how your alliance functions on the map and in events.

• Alliance Guide — territory expansion, banner placement, rally mechanics
• Events Guide — Castle Battle, KvK, and Alliance Championship strategy
• Troops & Formations — which formation to send when you attack an outpost
• Research Guide — march speed and combat research that pairs with outpost bonuses