Evony: How to Level Monarch and Generals with Subordinate Cities

To level your Monarch and Generals quickly in Evony without spending stamina, attack subordinate cities using a single-tier siege engine march. Because siege machines outrange defending garrisons, having sufficiently high siege attack buffs allows your army to wipe out the defending units in a single turn. This generates millions of combat experience points (EXP) per hit while preventing troop casualties and hospital bills.

How Subordinate City Leveling Works

Standard EXP farming relies on slaying world bosses and event monsters, which consumes stamina and depends on available rallies. In contrast, attacking a subordinate city costs zero stamina.

Combat experience in Evony scales with the tier and quantity of defeated defending units. Subordinate city garrisons automatically regenerate after being defeated. By repeatedly attacking an unlinked or neutral subordinate city whose garrison has respawned, you can continually earn EXP. The key requirement is sufficient siege attack buffs: your siege engines must eliminate all defenders before enemy ranged or mounted units enter their attack range.

Recommended Sub-City Targets by Keep Level

Match your target subordinate city quality to your Keep level and available siege engine tiers to prevent troop losses.

Before launching an attack loop, check your target:

• Securing an NPC City: If attacking a neutral map sub-city, ensure your alliance controls the surrounding hive so rival players do not capture it when its defenses hit zero.
• Using an Owned Sub-City: You can temporarily abandon an owned sub-city to make it neutral for training runs, then reclaim it once finished.
• Scout First: Always scout the sub-city prior to your first march to verify garrison troop tiers and composition.

March Setup and Buff Requirements

Failing to kill defenders in round one results in wounded troops that fill your hospital. Use these configurations to maintain a zero-casualty loop:

• Use Pure Single-Tier Marches: Send only your highest single tier of siege engines. Do not mix tiers or include ground, mounted, or ranged troops. Layering troop types alters combat turn sequencing and brings defenders into attack range.
• Prioritize Siege Research: Maximize Siege Engine Attack, Defense, HP, and lethality nodes in the Military Academy research tree.
• Equip Monarch Gear and Talents: Select siege attack talents on your Monarch talent tree and equip the highest tier of Siege Machine Decorum gear.
• Turn Off Sub-City Participation: Open your city interface and disable automatic subordinate city participation so your mayor generals do not march with your leveling army.

If a battle report shows even a single wounded siege machine, stop immediately. Wounded units mean your siege attack buffs cannot clear the defenders in turn one. Drop down to a lower-tier subordinate city (such as Blue or Green) until your research and gear increase.

Step-by-Step Leveling Loop

Once your march and target are prepared, run the leveling loop in this sequence:

1. Assign Your Generals: Place the General you want to train as the Main General. If your Keep supports it, assign a secondary officer to the Assistant General slot to earn shared experience.
2. Equip EXP Boost Equipment: Equip equipment that features General or Monarch EXP buffs, such as pieces from the Dragon or Ares gear sets.
3. Activate Inventory Boosts: Use consumable General EXP and Monarch EXP boost items from your inventory to maximize gains per run.
4. Launch the Attack: Deploy your pure siege march to the target subordinate city.
5. Wait for Garrison Respawn: Check the sub-city after the attack lands. Allow the garrison timer to replenish defending troops before marching again; hitting an empty subordinate city awards zero experience.
6. Repeat the Cycle: Relaunch your siege march once the defenders regenerate. Relocating your main city adjacent to the target minimizes march travel time.

A General's level cannot exceed your current Monarch level. Maintain your Monarch EXP progression through these runs, Shrine offerings, and daily activities to avoid capping your generals' growth.