Evony Ground Troop Layer Guide: How to Avoid Fatal PvP March Mistakes

To fix failing ground formations in Evony, separate your infantry into two distinct setups: thin turn-delay buffers that stall enemy attacks, and concentrated top-tier strike groups that deal damage. Stacking bloated mid-tier ground units inside a defending keep or offensive march gives enemy ranged attacks easy target practice, resulting in massive point losses during Server vs. Server (SvS) and Battlefield events.

The Two Distinct Ground Layer Roles

Ground troops in Evony cannot serve as both disposable shields and primary damage dealers within the same tier. Successful setups assign each tier to one of two functional roles:

• Turn-Delay Buffers: Uniform, minimal troop counts (typically 100 to 1,000 units per tier for attacks, and 1,000 to 5,000 for defense) placed across Tier 1 (T1) through Tier 12 (T12). These sacrificial units exist solely to exploit combat turn mechanics, forcing incoming enemy divisions to waste entire attack cycles eliminating negligible numbers.
• Combat-Weight Strike Groups: Concentrated blocks of your highest unlocked tiers—specifically T13, T14, or T15—benefiting from your general’s primary percentage buffs, gear, and specialties to inflict damage once they reach melee range.

Why Bloated Mid-Tier Ground Stacks Fail

In Evony battle mechanics, ranged troops have an attack range of 500, whereas ground troops have a base range of 50. Because ranged troops prioritize ground units over all other troop types, archers begin firing at advancing infantry on round one.

Defenders often accumulate 50,000 to 200,000 troops per tier across T9 through T13, assuming higher troop counts make a keep more durable. In practice, mid-tier ground units lack the base attributes, high percentage buffs, and damage reduction of T14 and T15 units, yet carry significant power value. When an attacking ranged rally hits an unspecialized mid-tier ground wall, the archers wipe those tiers in rapid succession. This gives the attacker high casualty scores in Battle of Constantinople (BOC) and Battle of Gaugamela (BOG). Once your ground layers are eliminated, ranged units immediately retarget your mounted troops, causing your cavalry garrison to collapse.

Rules for Offensive Ground Marches

When attacking an enemy keep or battlefield structure, your ground march must survive long-range fire until your infantry closes the distance to melee range:

1. Allocate Top-Tier Power: Place 80% to 90% of your total march capacity into your top one or two unlocked tiers (T13, T14, or T15). This concentrates your general's offensive buffs on the units that deal decisive damage.
2. Add Sub-Layers Across Every Tier: Fill every remaining tier from T1 upward with 100 to 1,000 units across ground, ranged, mounted, and siege categories. Each sub-layer forces an opposing defensive tier to dedicate an attack round to clearing it, buying the turns needed for your main strike force to advance.
3. Exclude Heavy Mid-Tiers: Never build thick middle tiers into an offensive march. They consume march capacity without offering the survival stats of high-tier infantry.

Defensive Adjustments for Keep Protection

To secure your keep against ranged rallies, audit your wall defense and trim unbuffed ground tiers:

• Cap T2 Through T12 Ground: Restrict your non-specialized T2 through T12 ground layers to between 1,000 and 5,000 units per tier. This preserves the turn-delay mechanism without giving rally leaders easy points.
• Remove Excess Mid-Tier Units: If event rewards or tavern wheel spins have built up tens of thousands of unspecialized mid-tier infantry, dismiss them or trade them off during battlefield events unless you have built dedicated ground defense gear and subordinate city debuffs.
• Maintain Minimum Viable Screens: Avoid single-unit layers, as stray trap triggers or peripheral siege fire can wipe them out before they absorb a full attack cycle from enemy archers.