State of Survival PVP Settlement Attack Guide: Rules and Troop Loss

Attacking an enemy settlement in State of Survival carries a severe structural penalty: attackers suffer permanent troop deaths, whereas defending settlements route incoming casualties into the Hospital as wounded units. To avoid wiping out trained troops, scout every target beforehand, allocate enough Infantry to absorb incoming damage, and switch to alliance rallies when facing reinforced settlements.

Casualty Rules: Dead vs. Wounded Troops

The combat engine handles offensive and defensive losses under fundamentally different rules:

Defending casualties convert into wounded troops and occupy Hospital beds up to your maximum capacity. Wounded units only spill over into the Enlistment Office or become permanent deaths once your Hospital reaches 100% capacity.
Attacking casualties suffer direct, permanent troop deaths. While select research talents or specific game modes may recover a portion of losses as wounded, offensive marches inherently destroy units permanently.

Before launching an attack, calculate whether the target's unprotected resources or potential kill points justify the permanent loss of high-tier troops.

Mandatory Scouting Checks

Never launch an offensive march without an updated scout report. Active defenders can reinforce settlements instantly or hide massive armies behind low base-power ratings.

Review the following indicators before committing your march:

Reinforcements: Stationed allied troops drastically increase defensive combat power. Avoid solo attacks if reinforcements are present.
Garrison Hero Tiers: High-tier defensive brawlers reduce your damage output and prolong battle turns.
Troop Tier Breakdown: Comparing enemy unit tiers against your own determines whether your march holds a stat advantage.
Unprotected Resources: Verify that the settlement holds resources above its warehouse protection limit to ensure the attack is worth the fuel and march time.
Anti-Reconnaissance: If a target uses an anti-scout item, treat the base as an active trap. Have an alliance member send a single-tier dummy troop to test the garrison, or skip the settlement entirely.

Frontline Infantry Ratios

Combat resolves through target priority lanes where front-row units absorb damage before backline damage dealers take hits.

Infantry units serve as your frontline shield, protecting your high-damage Riders and Hunters:

Maintain a 30% to 40% Infantry ratio in offensive marches to absorb settlement defense skills and turret fire.
Avoid equal three-way splits (33% each of Infantry, Riders, and Hunters), as this provides inadequate shielding against concentrated fire.
Assign a march leader with defensive Infantry bonuses or damage mitigation skills.
Check battle reports for rear-line losses. If your reports show high casualties among Hunters and Riders alongside your Infantry, your frontline collapsed mid-fight. Increase your Infantry count in subsequent marches to stabilize the line.

Solo Attacks vs. Alliance Rallies

Choose your attack method based on target strength, reinforcement presence, and response time.

Attack Method	Key Advantage	Primary Limitation	Ideal Target
Solo Attack	Fast travel speed; lands before defenders react or shield	Strictly capped by your individual March Capacity	Inactive settlements and unreinforced resource hoarders
Alliance Rally	Combines capacities and applies the rally leader's combat buffs	5-minute minimum timer alerts the enemy	Fortified settlements, active hives, and reinforced bases

Solo attacks allow you to strike before a player can activate a Peace Flare, but solo capacity cannot overcome a heavily reinforced base. When attacking active alliance hives or fortified targets, start a rally. Rallies pool troop capacities under the leader's stats and distribute incoming casualties across all participants, reducing individual troop loss.

Avoiding Defensive Traps

Watch for bait tactics near hostile alliance territory. Enemy alliances often leave low-power, unshielded settlements exposed to invite solo attacks, only to pack the base with max-tier allied reinforcements seconds before impact.

If an unshielded target sits near an enemy cluster, send a scout immediately before your march arrives to confirm the garrison has not changed. Conversely, if enemy scout lines target your own base and you cannot defend against an incoming rally, activate a Peace Flare immediately to protect your troops from hospital overflow.