HearthHold combat guide: scout, plan and defend

Separate what you know from what you assume

Successful scouting can reveal a town’s resources, troops and Wall. Enough surviving scouts can also reveal building levels. Scouts can be lost, so gathering information is itself a commitment. A target's visible size or appearance is not a full combat report. Use the information available in the game, including scouting where available, and consider whether it is still current. Conditions can change between reading a report and arriving.

Share useful information with allies in a form they can act on: target, observed details and timing. An old observation should not be presented as a live guarantee. If the missing information could change your decision, resolve it before committing more resources.

Choose the action for the objective

Read the march type before confirming. Scouting, raiding, attacking, reinforcing and trading serve different purposes. Against a player town, both raid and attack can loot, but only attack enters siege and conquest processing. A force prepared for one job should not be sent under another action simply because the destination is the same.

Inspect the current rules for the target, including any protection or eligibility conditions. The interface and the game's response determine whether an action is available. Do not use a generic guide as a reason to ignore a restriction shown in the live game.

For a first operation, write down the objective in one sentence. If you cannot explain what a successful result would be, the plan probably needs more work.

Match the force to the job

Review unit roles and current research rather than judging a force only by its total troop count. Look at the hero's role, equipment and availability as part of the setup. Check the journey time before assuming a force can arrive when it is needed.

For coordinated operations, agree on timing with your alliance. Two individually sensible marches can fail to support each other if nobody checks when they arrive. Read the alliance guide for a clear way to communicate that plan.

A larger force also carries a larger economic commitment. Consider what the action costs, what remains available afterward and what your town can support.

Plan the town you leave behind

Before sending troops away, inspect what remains to defend your town and whether you need allied support. Development, defensive infrastructure and troop readiness should be considered together.

After combat, read the report before replacing losses or changing your army. Check the live Infirmary information and any available recovery actions. Do not assume every lost troop is recoverable, or that a battle report tells the same story as the number you expected to see.

Finally, decide what the result teaches. Did you lack information, misunderstand a unit role, choose the wrong action or mistime support? Fixing the actual cause is more valuable than repeating the same plan with a bigger number. Keep the economy behind the army healthy enough to support your next decision.