infos utiles a savoir

The exact range of battles is variable based on the highest Range
of any attacking troop type. Recent tests have shown that the Attacker sets the Range of the Battle Field. The Base, minimum, Battle Field size is 500,
this is only seen when the attacking force is comprised of only Melee
troops. Adding ranged troops on an attack increases the Battle Field in
direct proportion to their Range. Ranged troops include Longbowmen, Fire
Mirrors, Great Dragon, and Water Dragon.

Update: When Ranged troops are included in the
attacking force, Battle Field Distance equals the maximum Range of the
troops + base range (500). So fully upgraded Bowmen have 1800 Range,
using them to attack sets the Battle Field Distance to 2300 (1800+500).
If you add Fire Mirrors to that (Range: 2250) then the Field is extended
even further to 2750 (2250+500).

Here are some Graphical Charts showing troop movement behaviors for several different scenarios. The range and number of rounds are not exact.
Research and other battle field modifiers - such as Wall Resistance and
Dragon Hearts - are not included. This is done intentionally to make it
easier for me to display these results without mudding up the numbers
more then neccessary.

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WHY DO MY DRAGONS DIE WHEN I SEND THEM WITH BOWMEN BUT NOT WHEN I SEND THE SAME TROOPS ALONE?

LBMs and BDs vs Anthros -
L = Longbowmen, B = Battle Dragons, E = NPC Melee, R = NPC Ranged

BDs alone:
1) B ----- RE // Melee Attack troop only means Range starts very short.
2) -----BRE // BDs close in the first round, BDs take Damage from all Enemies but can potentially hit all Enemies.
3) -----BRE // BDs engage Enemies, BDs taking Damage from all Enemies.
4) -----BR // BDs finish off the Enemy Melee, BDs still taking damage from Ranged.
5) -----BR // BDs finish off Enemy Ranged. Victory.

LBMS alone:
1) L ----- ----- ----- ----- RE // Battle starts, no one in range so all move up.
2) --L--- ----- ----- ---E-R- // Melee enter LBM range, Melee begin taking damage.
3) --L--- ----- ----- -E--R-- // Melee continue to advance, Melee still taking Damage.
4) --L--- ----- ----E- --R--- // Melee continue to advance, Melee still taking Damage.
5) --L--- ----- --E--- -R---- // Hurlers enter LBM range, all Enemies taking Damage.
6) --L--- ----- E----- R----- // Enemies continue to advance, Enemies taking Damage.
7) --L--- ---E-- ----R- ----- // Enemies continue to advance, Enemies taking Damage.
--L--- -E---- ---R-- ----- // LBMs kill off last of the Enemy Melee, LBM finally in Hurler Range. Both take Damage.
9) --L--- ----- ---R-- ----- // LBMs kill weakened Hurlers.

Mixed Longbowmen and BDs -
1) BL ----- ----- ----- ----- RE // Everyone is out of Range, all move forward.
2) --L--- --B--- ----- ---E-R- // BDs in range of Hurlers, BDs take damage
3) ----L- ----- ----B- -E---R- // BDs in range of Hurlers, Enemy in Range of LBMs, All melee take Damage
4) ----L- ----- ----- BE----R- // All melee in range of Everyone, All melee take Damage
5) ----L- ----- ----- BE----R- // All melee in range of Everyone, All melee take Damage
6) ----L- ----- ----- BE----R- // All melee in range of Everyone, All melee take Damage, BDs still taking damage from Hurlers.
7) ----- -L---- ----- ----BR- // With melee dead, Bowmen and BDs move up to finally attack Hurlers directly and kill them off.

Therefore, BDs are only exposed to prolonged attacks from enemy units
when combined with Range. This is why you lose BDs when mixing them with
ranged troops. For PvE, always segregate your troops for best results.

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WHY DO MORE OF MY DRAGONS DIE WHEN I SEND MY GREAT DRAGON THEN WHEN THEY ARE ALONE?

Great Dragon with BDs vs Mixed Enemies -

D = Great Dragon, B = Battle Dragons, E = NPC Melee, R = NPC Ranged

1) BD ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- RE // GD Range starts the Battle at the longest Range possible.
2) ----- --BD--- ----- ----- ----- ---E-R- // All move forward.
3) ----- ----- -----DB ----- ----- -E--R-- // Enemy Melee are now in Great Dragon range. Enemy Melee take some Damage.
4) ----- ----- -----D ----- --B--E- --R--- // BDs now in Hurler Range, BDs and Enemy Melee are taking Damage.
5) ----- ----- -----D ----- ----BE- --R--- // All enemy attacks are now focused on the BDs. BD and Enemy Melee taking Damage.
6) ----- ----- -----D ----- ----BE- --R--- // All enemy attacks are now focused on the BDs. BD and Enemy Melee taking Damage.
7) ----- ----- -----D ----- ----BE- --R--- // All enemy attacks are now focused on the BDs. BD and Enemy Melee taking Damage.
----- ----- -----D ----- ----- --BR--- // With Enemy Melee dead, your Dragons can now take out the Hurlers.

Based on test battles involving the GD with other dragons, Id have to
say the GD normally stops to attack when troops are in its range just
like any other ranged unit. This is why you lose BDs when sending the GD
with them. If the GD used melee unit movement behavior then it would
stay out in front of the BDs and they would never take damage because
the GD would be the higher priority target. The GD is a damage magnet,
any enemy that CAN attack the GD, will. However, using the Great Dragon
along with BDs shows the same results as adding ranged units to dragons
does so the GD must follow ranged behavior.

WHY DO I KEEP LOSING DRAGONS EVEN WHEN I WIN BATTLES OVERWHELMINGLY?

Mixed Player Army vs Mixed Army -
M = Minos, L = Longbowmen, B = Battle Dragons, G = Giants, E = Enemy Melee, R = Enemy Ranged

1) MBGL ----- ----- ----- ----- REE // Battle Starts.
2) -G-ML--- --B--- ----- --E-E-R- // Units move to close distance.
3) --G--ML- ----- -----BE -E---R- // BDs engage long before others. BDs take damage from enemies.
4) ---G-L- -M---- -----BEE ----R- // BDs now engaged against the ENTIRE enemy army. Longbows have stopped and are firing on Enemy Melee.
5) ----L-G ---M-- -----BEE ----R- // BDs still engaged, taking damage.
6) ----L- -G----M -----BEE ----R- // BDs still engaged, taking damage.
7) ----L- --G--- --M---BEE ----R- // BDs still engaged, taking damage.
----L- ---G-- ----M-BEE ----R- // BDs still engaged, taking damage.
9) ----L- -----G -----MBEE ----R- // Minos finally arrive. Minos add damage to enemy but arent a high enough priority target to draw fire from BDs.
10) ----L- ----- -G----MBE ----R- // BDs and Minos still engaged, BDs taking damage.
11) ----L- ----- --G---MBE ----R- // BDs and Minos still engaged, BDs taking damage.
12) ----L- ----- ---G--MBE ----R- // BDs and Minos still engaged, BDs taking damage.
13) ----L- ----- -----GMBE ----R- // Giants finally join the fight, just in time to kill remaining melee.
14) ----- -L---- ----- -G-M--BR- // BDs move ahead again to engage the Enemy Ranged units.
15) ----- ---L-- ----- --G--MB- // Minos arrive to add damage and finish off Ranged.

In this example you can see how the BDs spend much of the battle doing
the work themselves while waiting for the supporting Giants and Minos to
catch up. Your BDs are NOT dieing because they are a weak or flawed unit, they are dieing because they are superheroes being left to fight impossible odds alone.

What you are seeing with mixed battles losing BDs is the dragons are up
front taking damage from the ENTIRE enemy army while your other units
are creeping across the battle field that has been extended due to your
bowmen. The Giants especially take a long time to get to the front. So
your BDs are doing all the work, your bowmen help with some dps but
really just spread your army out even more, and the Minos arent powerful
enough to draw enemy targeting away from the high threat dragons. In
the end, your Minos and Giants help mop up the troops the BDs have been
fighting the whole time.

Summarily:
BDs are hands down MY FAVORITE unit. I cant say enough good things about
them. Those nasty little dragons are my bread and butter. Never stop
building BDs. They are statistically the BEST unit in the game: they are
2nd in Atk only to Giants and massive numbers of Minos; they have the
best cumulative defense by a large margin and you can only find a better
single troop defense from Giants; their Life is again the cumulative
highest of any troop type and is only beaten singly by Giants; their
speed is only matched by other dragons; and their Load is only beaten by
Swifts and ATs. So aside from Range, they come out 1st or 2nd in most
every aspect. Overall, they are the statistically best unit.

For most cases, when it comes to mixing Dragons in with regular troops I
would simply say DONT. You really have to plan your army to use BDs
effectively in a mixed group. I wont give out advanced tactics since I
concentrate on helping newbies and letting experienced players sort
things out themselves so youll have to do some testing with different
numbers to get it just right. I suggest using small armies of 100 or
1000 total troops rather then using trial and error on your whole army.
But a good start to combining BDs into a mixed army for PvP is to have
35-50% BDs or more so they can handle taking the brunt of the damage
throughout the battle. A good 10-20% Minos to bridge the gap between the
Dragons and Giants help also. The LBMs can help provide ranged damage,
but they will also leave the BDs exposed longer.

Use mostly BDs in a mixed army and take on targets the BDs could
potentially kill alone so they are capable of withstanding prolonged
attacks, otherwise segregate your army. Mixing in dragons essentially
relegates your other troops to being Dragon support but it can work.
Giants dont help Dragons much when Ranged troops are in play. There are a
lot of ways to use mixed armies but adding dragons to regular troops,
especially ranged troops, can be disastrous if you arent careful.

WHY DO I KEEP LOSING GIANTS EVEN WHEN I WIN BATTLES OVERWHELMINGLY?

LongBows and Giants -
L = Longbowmen, G = Giants, E = Enemy Melee, S = Enemy Speed, R = Enemy Ranged

1) GL ----- ----- ----- ----- REES // Battle Begins, bowmen set the range.
2) -G-L--- ----- ---S-- --E-E-R- // Units move to close distance.
3) --GL--- -S---- ----E- -E--R-- // Speed moves way in front, enemy forces are spread out crossing the distance.
4) --L-GS-- ----- -E---E- --R--- // Speed reaches the marching Giants first and must face your Bowmen and Giants alone.
5) --L-GS-- ---E-- --E--- -R---- // Speed is killed off while Enemy Melee continue to spread out.
6) --L--G- E----- E----- R----- // Movement continues, Enemy Melee spreads farther.
7) --L---GE ---E-- ----R- ----- // Giants engage the first wave of Enemy Melee, Enemy Ranged can now reach the Giants.
--L---GE -E---- ----R- ----- // Bowmen and Giants take down the 1st Melee wave.
9) --L---GE ----- ----R- ----- // The second wave reaches the Giants just in time to see their comrades finished off.
10) --L--- -G---- ----R- ----- // With all Enemy Melee divided and conquered, the Giants and Bowmen now advance on the Enemy Ranged to finish the job.
...~...
15) ----L- ----- ----GR- ----- // Several turns later, if the Bowmen didnt kill them first, the Giants reach the Ranged and quickly wipe them out.

In this scenario, the Giants slow speed actually helps them by allowing
the enemy to spread out across the battle field as the differences in
unit speed become more apparent. The Giants and their Bowmen support can
engage and kill each enemy troop type 1 wave at a time instead of
having to fight the whole force at once. This is what makes Giants with
Ranged such a deadly combination.

Against Anthros, however, youll find you can lose Giants. That is ALSO
because of their speed. The hurlers will, over time, wear down and kill
some of the giants before the lumbering brutes can cross the field to
finish them off. Dont use Bowmen on camps, dont use Giants on camps,
expect some losses if you use that combo against ranged units with heavy
melee protection.

Note: Pay attention to the first few rounds where
the LBMs are exposed with their Giants behind them. Upgraded Player
Speed units can cross even an extended Battle Field and attack the
bowmen before Giants can move into position to protect them. You must be
careful using this combo and be aware of what you are up against. To
prevent losses to your Bowmen, you can mix in 10k Minos or so that will
get in front of the Bowmen and hold back enemies until the Giants can
move up. Alternately, you can use FMs with Giants instead of Bowmen to
eliminate the problem and insure advancing enemies need to cross farther
distances.

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HOW DID MY DRAGONS KILL RANGED TROOPS BUT NOT THE MELEE TROOPS?

Swifts vs Ranged -
S = Swift Strike Dragons, E = Enemy Melee, R = Enemy Ranged

Note: Remember, Im not including Research bonuses to speed for Swifts but Dragonry AND Rapid Deployment BOTH effect the Speed of ALL Troops.

1) S ----- RE // Battle Begins, Melee Swifts set base distance 500.
2) -----SRE // Attacking Swifts close the distance in the first turn, BEFORE the melee can move out in front to protect the ranged units.
3) -----SE //
Swifts easily kill their PRIMARY TARGET, the Ranged troops. (Swifts will
always attack Ranged units first unless there are enemy Swifts in
range)
4) -----E // The weakened but satiated Swifts are normally owned by Melee troops and dont survive to celebrate their success.

The above shows that speed can overcome battle field extension to leave
ranged troops exposed before their melee protectors can get into
position to block the fast moving dragons.

You may notice all my charts have shown the Ranged troops starting each
battle IN FRONT of their melee counterparts. It is my theory that all
troops begin at the same distance until their first move. This explains
those many reports in which we have seen Swifts kill ranged troops
without first having to go through the melee troops. Note that this
scenario is still a THEORY, as I havent yet proved it concretely.

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Tip: If you can read between the lines youll find most everything you
need to build a balanced and versatile army is now in this thread. PvP
Attack, PvP defense, PvE attack, Melee movement, Ranged behaviour, and
Battle Field effects are now covered.

Good Luck and Happy Gaming.