🛡️ Choose troops for the job
Shieldbearers help hold the front line. Bombardiers and Shooters give you different damage options, depending on their tier and which bonuses your heroes, research and equipment provide. Choose a ratio for the activity and the role you will play. A boss damage setup can leave too little frontline protection in PvP.
📊 Ratios to start testing
| Situation | Shieldbearers | Bombardiers | Shooters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trial Cage · lead without Ada | 0% | 10% | 90% |
| Trial Cage · lead with Ada | 1% | 9% | 90% |
| Trial Cage · join with mixed troops | 0% | 10% | 90% |
| Trial Cage · join with Shooters only | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| Gorilla · damage test | 0% | 15% | 85% |
| PvP · mixed test | 20% | 30% | 50% |
| Defense · frontline test | 40% | 30% | 30% |
The Trial Cage rows follow the dedicated Trial Cage guide for Seasons 1–7. If Ada leads, check the actual Shieldbearer count. The event reference recommends around 1,000 Shieldbearers, so 1% only equals 1,000 in a march of 100,000. Follow your alliance's instructions for the target.
The Gorilla, PvP and defense rows are community starting points from the original guide. Against Gorilla, compare the mixed setup with a Shooter-only march when your roster permits. In PvP and defense, check frontline losses before moving more capacity into damage troops.
🔍 Read the report before changing the ratio
| What you see | What to try |
|---|---|
| Your front line collapses before the main attack | Test more frontline troops or an applicable survival bonus. |
| The formation survives but deals little boss damage | Check which troops receive the damage bonuses and try shifting capacity toward them. |
| A ratio works for another player but underperforms for you | Compare troop tiers, hero skills, equipment and research before copying the setup. |
Save a baseline report. Change the ratio while keeping the total march size, heroes, equipment and active bonuses comparable. Repeat on the same or a similar target. Compare boss damage for a damage test, and losses and recovery costs for PvP or defense. Check that the chosen ratio can be filled with the troops you actually have.
✅ Save the setup by activity
Keep separate presets for the roles you use. Name each one by activity and role so you can find it quickly. Retest after a meaningful change to your troop tiers, heroes or bonuses.