Starvation Mechanics

All troops, including the hero, consume crop from the village’s granary. If your crop production is too low or the granary empties, troops begin to starve. Crop management is essential to avoid losing troops unintentionally.

Buildings also consume crop through population, but buildings themselves do not suffer from starvation. However, low crop prevents you from starting new construction.


When Starvation Begins

Starvation begins when:

  • The granary has no crop left, and

  • The village produces less crop than required to feed its troops and population.

Once starvation starts, troops die in a fixed order based on four groups.


Starvation Order: The Four Groups

Troops starve in this order:

  1. Reinforcements from other players

  2. Your own reinforcing troops (troops you have stationed in other villages)

  3. Troops in their home village

  4. Troops on the way, forwarded troops, and troops in traps

Troops dying in battle or from starvation add their recruitment crop cost back into the granary.
Example:

  • A Legionnaire adds 30 crop

  • A Trebuchet adds 90 crop

This crop can temporarily feed remaining troops but usually isn’t enough to stop starvation fully.


Starvation Order Within Each Group

Within each of the four groups, starvation follows additional rules:

1. Army with the Most Units Dies First

An “army” means one row of units in the Rally Point (for example, each reinforcement row or each outgoing attack).

2. If Two Armies Have the Same Number of Units

They alternate—one unit from each army starves in turns.

3. Inside One Army Row

  • The unit type with the highest number of units dies first

  • If tied, units starve from left to right (e.g., Phalanxes before Swordsmen)


Example (from the file)

Army A:

  • 6,000 Clubs

  • 3,000 Horses

  • 1,000 Catapults
    Total: 10,000 units

Army B:

  • 1,000 Clubs

  • 8,000 Horses
    Total: 9,000 units

  1. Army A starves first → 1,000 Clubs die

  2. Both armies now have 9,000 units → they alternate losing units

  3. Starvation continues based on the rules above

This process applies to all four starvation groups.


Oasis Starvation

Troops in an occupied oasis are treated as if they are in the village itself:

  • Reinforcements belonging to the same village starve in Group 3 (home village troops), not Group 1.


Starvation with Evasion Active (Capital Only)

If troop evasion is active and the hero is set to hide:

  • Troops leave the village

  • The hero stays behind and may be the only unit left

  • The hero can starve first if crop is insufficient

The hero’s 6 crop production is added to village production and does not protect the hero from starvation.

To avoid this:

  • Disable hero evasion so the hero leaves with the troops