Purpose of Scouts
In Travian: Legends, information determines outcomes. Scouts are used to gather intelligence about enemy villages, including troops, defenses, resources, and activity patterns. This information allows you to make informed decisions for both offense and defense. Regardless of your chosen tribe, effective use of scouts is a core gameplay skill.
This article explains how scouts work, how they differ between tribes, and how to use them efficiently—both individually and within an alliance.
Scout Units by Tribe
Each tribe has access to a dedicated scouting unit. While all scouts can perform both offensive and defensive scouting, their statistics and use cases differ.
Available Scout Units
Teutons: Scout
Requirements: Academy level 1, Main Building level 5Gauls: Pathfinder
Requirements: Academy level 5, Stable level 1Romans: Equites Legati
Requirements: Academy level 5, Stable level 1Huns: Spotter
Requirements: Academy level 5, Stable level 1Egyptians: Sopdu Explorer
Requirements: Academy level 5, Stable level 1Spartans: Sentinel
Requirements: Academy level 1, Smithy level 1Vikings: Heimdall’s Eye
Requirements: Academy level 1, Smithy level 1
All scouts are trained through the Academy, with additional building requirements depending on whether the unit is infantry or cavalry.
Key Differences Between Scout Types
Although all scouts fulfill the same core role, their efficiency varies depending on speed, defense strength, and crop consumption.
Infantry Scouts (Teutons, Vikings, Spartans)
Crop consumption: 1 crop per hour
Primary use: Defensive anti-scouting
Special note: Spartan Sentinels are the most expensive infantry scouts but provide significantly higher defensive strength than other infantry scouts
These units are well suited for stationary defense and protecting villages from enemy reconnaissance.
Cavalry Scouts
Huns – Spotters
Fastest scouts in the game
Ideal when speed is critical and information must arrive as early as possible
Romans – Equites Legati
With a level 10 Horse Drinking Trough, crop consumption is reduced to 1 crop per hour
Combines speed with low upkeep
Especially effective for alliance-wide scouting operations
Alliance Scout Tactics
In organized alliances, scouts are used for more advanced and coordinated strategies. These techniques rely on repeated and well-timed scouting operations.
Estimating Enemy Army Size
By scouting resource consumption in an enemy village, alliances can estimate the size of an opposing hammer. This information is essential for planning defensive responses and allocating troops effectively.
Detecting Army Launch Times
Repeated scouting at specific intervals can reveal when an enemy launches their army. This allows defenders to time reinforcements and countermeasures precisely.
Identifying Hammers
Single-scout missions to main villages or oases can sometimes expose the presence and approximate size of enemy hammers. This method provides valuable intelligence with minimal resource investment.
For a deeper explanation of these methods, the article The Power of Scouts by LolaM provides a detailed overview and is widely used by organized alliances.
Practical Tips and Advanced Notes
The following points address less obvious mechanics that can significantly impact scout usage:
Although scouts display 0 attack in unit tables, upgraded scouts do have offensive strength due to the smithy upgrade formula:
Infantry scouts: approximately 6.4 attack at full upgrade
Cavalry scouts: approximately 12.7 attack at full upgrade
This can be relevant in edge cases, such as sending a senator with only Equites Legati available. For example, sending 50 level 20 Equites Legati with one senator can allow the senator to survive even against a fully upgraded wall.
Walls increase the effectiveness of anti-scout defense. Villages with higher wall levels are harder to scout successfully.
Daily quests such as Raid/Attack Natar village or Raid/Attack unoccupied oasis can be completed using scouts. This is especially useful for defensive or non-aggressive playstyles.
The Horse Drinking Trough and Eagle Eyes artifact only apply in the village where they are active. If scouts are sent as reinforcements to another village without these effects, their crop consumption or spy bonuses will not apply.
If you do not want your hero to be visible when scouts return to their home village, enable the setting “Hero will hide during an attack on their home village.”