Sometimes an army that won every fight comes home half its size. That is attrition: dots that stand in the wrong place lose health over time. It is the rule that stops an army from marching anywhere forever, and it is easy to avoid once you can see it.
Supply: land that connects to a city
A city supplies the land around it, out to a distance that depends on its type. Land within reach of one of your cities, and connected to it through your own land, is supplied. Land that is yours but out of reach, or cut off by a rival's land, is not, and the game draws it faded so you can see it at a glance. Every side's cut-off land is faded, not only yours.
Attrition: where dots wear down
So there are three kinds of ground for your dots:
| Where your dots stand | What happens |
|---|---|
| Your own supplied land | Nothing: they are safe |
| Neutral land | Nothing: it is safe |
| Enemy land | They wear down |
| Your own land, faded (cut off) | They wear down |
The game also tells you when it starts: the first time your side takes attrition after a quiet spell, you hear it.
Why it matters
- Long marches cost dots. Walking through enemy land to reach a far city wears your group down on the way. Arrive smaller than you left.
- Deep raids starve. A group sitting deep in rival land, far from your cities, loses health every few seconds while it waits.
- Cutting a supply line hurts a rival twice. If you wall off or take the city that supplies an area, every rival dot standing there starts to wear down.
Keeping an army supplied
- Expand in steps. Take a city, let its land connect, then move on from there. Each city pushes your supply further.
- Fight near home. A battle on your own land costs the attacker health and costs you nothing. Draw fights onto your ground when you can.
- Watch the fade. If land under your army turns faded, your line has been cut. Either retake the link or fall back (double right-click one of your cities).
- Medics help, a little. A Medic heals dots beside it, which can outpace slow wear for a while. See when support units are worth it.
Supply and walling in
Supply and enclosure work together. Walling in a rival's land does not just take it; any of his dots left standing outside his supply start to wear down. And a pocket of your own far from your cities will be faded until a city's reach connects it. See flipping land by enclosure.
Supply and terrain
Some ground is slow to cross, which means more time spent wearing down on a long march through enemy land. A route along a road is quicker; one through a swamp is slower. See the terrain guide.
Where to go next
- If you keep losing armies on the way: seven beginner mistakes.
- Taking more land: flipping land by enclosure.