Break of a bridge by Vikings

In 2016, a new group of attacking units, Vikings, first appeared in the game. Their main distinctive feature was that under certain circumstances they could break protection bridges of enemies. Vikings managed to make a dramatic difference in outcome of many battles.

Why only Vikings can break bridges?

Any battle ends if the following conditions have been fulfilled (the figures are relevant for a standard castle):

at least one of the fighting parties has less than 100 units (transport units do not count);
all units of one of the battling parties are completely destroyed.

Lords & Knights. Break of a bridge by Vikings

If one or more of the conditions are not met, the battle continues in the next round.

As a rule, at the beginning of the next round, the defending party reserves more than 100 soldiers. Therefore, to finish the battle, the attacking unit has to preserve in a combat not more than 99 units. Before Vikings, no attacking army could destroy an outnumbering army that consisted of defending units. For example, 99 Lancers (which used to be the strongest attacking units until Vikings appeared) can destroy not more than 80 defending units even if the latter are presented only by crossbowmen (units against which they are most effective). Thus, if the defending party reserved in defense more than 100 soldiers, it guaranteed that there would be next round and, consequently, continuation of battle.

How has the situation changed with occurrence of Vikings? Vikings showed extremely high attacking performance, so high that 99 Vikings can destroy more than 100 enemy defending units.

Employment of Vikings to break enemy bridges

Each Viking (Berserker, Nordic Archer or Axe Rider) is efficient strictly against particular type of defending units. Thus, for example, Berserkers are more effective against enemy cavalry, Nordic Archers are highly efficient against infantry, and Axe Riders are best against artillery. In general, to break the bridge successfully, two conditions shall be met:

the defending party in each round uses the number of soldiers that is close to minimum threshold (e.g. 110 units);
the defending party brings to each round mainly the same type of units.

Let’s consider a specific example of using the technique of breaking enemy protection bridge.

On our website you can find a calculator of battles, it is free to use. With the help of it, you can always assess the possibility of breaking the bridge by your Vikings.

Suppose, there is a battle for a fully improved fortress. By the beginning of next round, the defending unit brings 490 crossbowmen and 20 Scorpion Riders. In addition to usual attacking units among its ranks, the attacking army has a considerable number of Vikings. To have chance to finish the battle in the next round and gain the fortress, the attacking party shall preserve in an attack not more than 499 units. Since the defending party places great focus on crossbowmen, to successfully break the bridge, the attacking party shall preserve 499 Axe Riders and withdraw all the rest units back home. You should use the Vikings from the strongest castle: you are more likely to accomplish the break with Vikings that came from town.

Let’s use our battle calculator from the website to assess the possibility of breaking the bridge.

Lords and Knights: Break of a Bridge with Axe Riders (Fortress)

According to calculation results, we can see that if the defending party brings soldiers from the fortress, chances are very high for the attacking party to win in the next round. We will see how the situation will change if the defending party brings soldiers from a fully improved town.

Break of a bridge with Axe Riders (City)

In this case, even if there is a minimum required number of soldiers remained on the defensive, the attacking party cannot break the bridge. You can play around with various situations using our calculator.

Tips on the use of Vikings for attacking party

For a successful attack by Vikings, it is important to remember the following:

Always construct Vikings in the strongest castles (town is the best option).
Always send in attack all the Vikings you have. You never know the defense that you will be faced with, and you are not aware of number of soldiers that you will lose in the first rounds of battle. If, for example, you have sent in an attack 600 Berserkers it is likely that when you will decide to breakthrough, there will be much less than 500 of them, and then you will have zero chances of success.
Make a decision to breakthrough with Vikings only when the chance to seizure the castle in a common way becomes improbable, and it is unpredictable which type of units is to be brought by the defensive party. You have only one attempt to breakthrough, there will be no second chance. If the bridge is constructed from different types of units and their proportions considerably change from round to round, it is pointless to try to break such bridge.

Protection from Vikings

Planning your defense, keep in mind that the enemy may attempt to fracture the battle position with the help of Vikings. If your defense is constructed properly, it cannot be ruined even by Vikings attacking from the town. Here are some important tips:

Use on the defensive all types of units at a time (spearman, crossbowmen and Scorpion Riders). For each round, bring soldiers in various unpredictable proportions. For example, if during the current round you stand on the defensive with 60 crossbowmen and 50 spearman, bring 30 spearman and 25 crossbowmen for the next round. Vikings will never be able to break such bridge. AltaBot uses the very technique of a defensive combat.
Do not use the minimal number of soldiers in the round. Always try to have 10% reserve. For example, if you act on the defensive in a fortress, try to maintain about 550 soldiers in every round.

Good luck in your battles!