Dredd's Quick Guide to DoA Troops

(Taken From The Dragons Of Atlantis Forum)

First let me say my way is NOT the only way. We all must find our own strategy.

My Humble Opinion is it is a benefit to have a diverse army and more is always better. This is just a real quick run down on the troops and whats important to build. If you want more detailed info ask Omega, Master, Young Bass or Perverse. They seem to like number crunching more then I.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The foundation of any army is the melee troops.
Conscripts and Halberds are worthless. Start building minotaurs as soon as you can and keep building them often as they are expected to die. Keep a few thousand Minos until you are able to start making Giants. Giants should ultimately be the melee backbone of your army with minos as back up fodder.

The fangs of your army are the ranged attackers.
This means Longbowmen. Longbowmen, longbowmen, longbowmen. Make these by the thousands. Cant have enough of them. You may look at their attack rating and think they arent doing much. But you have to multiply that damage by their range. They are damaging the opponent every step of the way from 1200-1800ft out. And on defense they are just sick. I always train bowmen first and worry about building other troops next.

The core of a DoA army is, of course, DRAGONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course you want dragons, who doesnt? Build Swift Strikes soon as you can and work up to building Battle Dragons. Having BDs doesnt mean you wont need SSDs, but make Battle Dragons a priority over Swifts. I find Swifts die a lot, but without them youll find the Swifts were taking the casualties instead of BDs so they were doing their job. You cant have enough of either of these troop types.

The pockets of your army are transportation.
Dont forget to build Porters and Transports. What use is sacking a city if you cant take home any loot? Build Porters FIRST before making any other troop type. Build a few hundred Armored Transports as soon as you are able also. Phase out porters as you make more Transports, ATs are much better then porters.

Lastly is Fire Mirrors.
I personally havent really used them. I feel they arent worth the effort since you can feed 27 bowmen for the price of one mirror and I feel the bowmen are more effective. Looking at Attack and Defense alone, you can have 1 Fire Mirror which gives you 20 atk / 30 def or you can have 27 bowmen giving you 135 atk / 810 def (5 atk / 30 def each). The best choice is obvious.

Happy Gaming all.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Dragons of Atlantis Troops --

Transportation:

Porters:
Type: Load - / - Food: 1
Atk: 1 - / - Def: 10 - / - Life: 45
Spd: 100 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 200
Porters are the most basic unit and should be the first thing you ever build. They carry loot back home from the cities you attack. Porters are extremely slow and tend to die often. I recommend you start building ATs and phase out porters as soon as you can.

Armored Transports:
Type: Load - / - Food: 10
Atk: 5 - / - Def: 200 - / - Life: 750
Spd: 150 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 5000
ATs are the epitome of Transportation technology. Start making this unit just as soon as you get the chance. Get used to making ATs because youll need to continue making them always. You cant have enough ATs. Any attack that isnt accompanied by ATs is a waste, since why sack a city if you cant bring any plunder back?
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

Melee Troops:

Conscripts:
Type: Training - / - Food: 3
Atk: 10 - / - Def: 10 - / - Life: 75
Spd: 200 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 20
Conscripts are the most basic fighting unit and will be of use only in the earliest stages of the game. Statistically they are the weakest troop type, even in mass numbers. The Cons only redeeming feature is how quickly and cheaply you can train them. If you intentionally want to throw troops to the wolves then Cons are great way to waste everyone’s time. I dont even recommend using these for ping attacks (single unit atks designed to expose enemy troop numbers) since youll likely already be making Minos and they move faster. After the initial 50 you need for the newbie quest, I suggest you not make Conscripts at all.

Halberdsmen:
Type: Defense - / - Food: 6
Atk: 40 - / - Def: 40 - / - Life: 150
Spd: 300 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 40
Halberdsmen are just beefed up Conscripts. They eat twice as much but have twice the atk, def, life, and load. When compared to Minos on an even scale, Hals just barely come out ahead in defense and speed and can carry a bigger load. However, the fact that they are so lacking in atk and life makes them the inferior unit. I recommend you only make the Hals needed for the newbie quest then move on to Minos.

Minotaurs:
Type: Attack - / - Food: 7
Atk: 70 - / - Def: 45 - / - Life: 225
Spd: 275 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 30
Your first line of defense are these ugly little buggers. The Minos' primary role is to protect your LBMs from enemy melee units. You will be well served to keep 10-15k of these with your bowmen for all battles. Minos are the the best standard melee unit by a large margin. Statistically, Minos even beat out Giants in many respects. Minos, in numbers, have an attack equal to that of Giants and have higher cumulative def, spd, and load. Where they pale, compared to their only other usable melee counterpart, is in their Life value. Minos will die considerably more then Giants. So while they are a viable alternative to Giant melee troops, you will have to be willing to replace them much more. You will eventually have to replace these with Giants to strengthen your attack army, but Minos will serve you well through much of the game.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

Ranged Attack Troops:

Longbowmen:
Type: Defense - / - Food: 9
Atk: 5 - / - Def: 30 - / - Life: 75
Spd: 250 - / - Rng: 1200 - / - Load: 25
Second only to BDs in Defense, their long range attack is devastating to melee troops. LBMs cant be underestimated and you will find them valuable until the highest levels of game play. Bowmen beat out Fire Mirrors in most every respect. I recommend you use these as your sole range attack option until you can field an attack army well over 100k and replacing them with FMs for the higher atk value is your only option left to increase your army's strength. Feel free to make as many LBMs as you can. They are a fantastic all around unit.

Fire Mirrors:
Type: Range - / - Food: 250
Atk: 20 - / - Def: 30 - / - Life: 1500
Spd: 50 - / - Rng: 1500 - / - Load: 75
FMs have slightly better Range then their Bowmen counterparts. Other than that, FMs have no real use until your army is well over the 100k troop limit capped by your Muster Point. FMs do have higher Atk and Life per unit, but their major drawback is the insane training requirements and food consumption. Compared to Bowmen, either by Food cost or Training Reqs, FMs fall way short of even beginning to measure up. I know some disagree with me, but I recommend you dont make this unit at all until the 100k cap mentioned above.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

Elite Troops:

Swift Strike Dragons:
Type: Speed - / - Food: 18
Atk: 150 - / - Def: 60 - / - Life: 300
Spd: 1000 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 100
These quick little buggers are the fastest unit in the game and are especially talented at killing LBMs in mass quantities. The problem is, speed is their only advantage. Their high speed brings them within range of enemy defenders long before your other troops can close in. This leaves Swifts to fight alone in the first couple rounds of combat and, with their low Life, they tend to die quickly. There are some strategic advantages to using Swifts in certain cases, but for the standard army I recommend you dont bother making them unless you are ok with replacing all of them after every battle.

Battle Dragons:
Type: Life - / - Food: 35
Atk: 300 - / - Def: 300 - / - Life: 1500
Spd: 750 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 80
THE BEST TROOP TYPE IN THE GAME! BDs excel in every aspect save Range. In comparison: BDs have only slightly less Attack than Minos and Giants; they are hands down the most dominant in Defense; they have the highest Life values, in numbers, of any comparable unit; their Speed is second only to Swifts; and even their Load value is only beaten by ATs and SSDs. Overall, BDs are the most superior unit you can make. This doesnt preclude using other units, as BDs can be wiped if they dont have the proper support. So while I recommend using other units (Minos, LBMs and Giants), I feel BDs should be the CORE of every army.

Giants:
Type: Attack - / - Food: 100
Atk: 1000 - / - Def: 400 - / - Life: 4000
Spd: 120 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 45
These lumbering meat shields are the masters of Attack. Tough and Hardy, a Giant's Life stat is the highest per unit in the game and can only be beaten comparatively by BDs. Giants arent for beginner armies, their high training requirements, expensive training cost, and long training time make using Minos a better option for low and mid level players. But Giants do have a role to play for advanced players, when you are able to afford to make them en mass and have cut training times down to a minimum. Giants should ultimately replace Minos as the melee foundation of your army.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Look to my post below to find the troops listed again by type and in comparison of base food cost per hour. I have also included an explanation of Troop Stats for your reference.

Happy Gaming All.

Here are the troops listed again by type and in comparison of base food cost per hour.

14 Conscripts:
Type: Training - / - Food: 42
Atk: 140 - / - Def: 140 - / - Life: 1050
Spd: 200 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 280

7 Halberdsmen:
Type: Defense - / - Food: 42
Atk: 280 - / - Def: 280 - / - Life: 1050
Spd: 300 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 280

6 Minotaurs:
Type: Attack - / - Food: 42
Atk: 420 - / - Def: 270 - / - Life: 1350
Spd: 275 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 180
In the comparison above you can clearly see why I suggest training Minos instead of Cons and Hals. Dont bother making Cons and Hals past he initial newbie quests. Halberds make Cons obsolete, and Hals do have a slightly higher Defense and Speed and much higher Load capacity than Minos. However, ATs will be carrying your loot and Minos have excellent Life values and an Attack matched only by Giants. In the end, Minos die less and do more damage than any other standard melee unit. For the upkeep, Minos are far better so you need not bother to make Conscripts or Halberdsmen.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

250 Longbowmen:
Type: Defense - / - Food: 2250
Atk: 1250 - / - Def: 7500 - / - Life: 18750
Spd: 250 - / - Rng: 1200 - / - Load: 6250

9 Fire Mirrors:
Type: Range - / - Food: 2250
Atk: 180 - / - Def: 270 - / - Life: 13500
Spd: 50 - / - Rng: 1500 - / - Load: 18750
As you can see in the comparison, LBMs vastly overpower FMs for the food cost. Given the ridiculous training reqs, cost, and time needed to make Mirrors, I recommend you not make any FMs until very late in the game. Bowmen, though, you should make as soon as you are able and continue to train more often. 20k LBMs is a good start to a solid army build, 100k or more on Defense is a virtual death trap for attackers. Not much can stand up to massive numbers of Bowmen. Swifts are good at getting in close, quick, and killing off some archers in the early stages of battle and Giants have the Life needed to close in on LBMs and kill them efficiently. But any army standing before 100k Bowmen is going to take heavy casualties, regardless of SSD/Giant tactics.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

350 Swift Strike Dragons:
Type: Speed - / - Food: 6300
Atk: 52500 - / - Def: 21000 - / - Life: 105000
Spd: 1000 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 35000

180 Battle Dragons:
Type: Life - / - Food: 6300
Atk: 54000 - / - Def: 54000 - / - Life: 270000
Spd: 750 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 14400

63 Giants:
Type: Attack - / - Food: 6300
Atk: 63000 - / - Def: 25200 - / - Life: 252000
Spd: 120 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 2835
Comparing the Elite Troop Types shows SSDs to have a great Load capacity, BDs to have the highest Def and Life ratings, and Giants to have the highest Attack rating. BDs really come out on top in this comparison being their Atk is second only to Giants, their Def and Life are unmatched, their Speed is second only to SSDs, and Load should be taken care of by your ATs anyways. Giants come out on top as the foremost attack units. SSDs have the best speed in the game, although that more often then not gets them killed sooner then any other unit.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

45 Minotaurs:
Type: Attack - / - Food: 315
Atk: 3150 - / - Def: 2025 - / - Life: 10125
Spd: 275 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 1350

35 Longbowmen:
Type: Defense - / - Food: 315
Atk: 175 - / - Def: 1050 - / - Life: 2625
Spd: 250 - / - Rng: 1200 - / - Load: 875

9 Battle Dragons:
Type: Life - / - Food: 315
Atk: 2700 - / - Def: 2700 - / - Life: 13500
Spd: 750 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 720
Here I have a comparison of the three top troop types I recommend for use. Those being the best of each class in the above comparisons. Its kind of hard to compare melee, range, and aerial since they each have their role to play on the battle field. Minos are best at protecting Bowmen from enemy melee units, acting as a living shield in a way, and they add nicely to attack values. Bowmen are the foremost experts at killing enemy melee units and excel at supporting BDs in their attacks. Once again, BDs are shown to be the overall best troop type available. Here you see Minos are still the best attackers, Bowmen and BDs are about equal in Def given the LBMs attack at Range, and BDs have incredibly higher Life and Speed.
__________________________________________________ _________________________________

100 Minotaurs:
Type: Attack - / - Food: 700
Atk: 7000 - / - Def: 4500 - / - Life: 22500
Spd: 275 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 3000

7 Giants: Type: Attack - / - Food: 700
Atk: 7000 - / - Def: 2800 - / - Life: 28000
Spd: 120 - / - Rng: 0 - / - Load: 315
Lastly, I have compared the two best Melee Attack troops. As you can see, per food cost they are tied with both having the highest attack value of any other units. Minos are much better for Defense than Giants meaning they can kill more of the enemy troops when attacked. However, Giants come out on top by having the highest Life value per troop in the game which makes them very hard to kill, especially in numbers. So while you can accomplish roughly the same with either troop type, Minos will die in much greater numbers than Giants. This lowers your atk/def rating on each consecutive round of combat much faster. So despite the numbers being close in the above comparison, in actual battle the Giants prevail every time. I recommend maintaining at least 10k Minos until you reach the 100k MP cap, then phase out Minos as your melee force in favor of Giants. Using Giants before reaching the cap isnt a bad idea either.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Dragons of Atlantis Troop Statistics Explained –

Attack:
This value is used for all troops on an Attack march to calculate the amount of damage this unit can do to Defending troops. Attack plays no part in a Defending troop's calculations.

Defense:
This value is used for all Defending troops to calculate the amount of damage this unit can do to an Attacking army. Defense plays no part in an Attacking troop's calculations.

Life:
Most commonly, in other games, referred to as Hit Points, this statistic describes how much damage a unit can take before being removed from battle. If a unit takes damage, cumulative or otherwise, equal to or greater than their total Life, that unit is dead and will not participate in further combat rounds.

Speed:
This describes not only how quickly this troop type can march but also how fast they close the distance between them and enemy troops during combat. All armies march at the slowest speed of any unit in the army, which is usually ATs or Giants. Combat begins at the farthest Range any troop can successfully attack another. At the beginning of each combat round, troops have the ability to move forward to confront enemy troops. All units will move their Speed until they are in range to attack an enemy.

Range:
This is the distance at which this unit can attack. Higher Range is better. Most units have a Range of 0, meaning they attack at melee (arms length) range. Longbowmen and Fire Mirrors have a larger Range (1200-1500), meaning they can attack from a distance without closing in on enemy troops.

Load:
This describes how much loot or plunder a unit can carry. Without a high enough Load capacity, you may not be able to take home all the gold and resources available, even when you have won the battle. Armored Transports are the best unit in terms of Load. They can carry 5k resources per 1 AT.

Resistance:
This is a bonus applied only to Defending troops and is based on the level of the Defender's Wall. I have run my calculations assuming this has a mitigation effect and not seen anything to prove that wrong, thus Resistance reduces the damage taken by Defending troops. Where normally the Attacking army's total Attack = Damage done to Defending Troops, when attacking troops in a Player City it becomes Attack – Wall Resistance = Damage.