KaW for Dummies ~ A Comprehensive New Player Guide

Beginning Well ( Page 2)

Every new player should do six things.

 

1) Get in a clan ~ this step is more important. A clan is a group of 100 players or less working together for mutual benefit and support. You can find clans in many ways. You can click on players in world chat and ask them for good starting clans. You can search for clans yourself by scrolling through top clans and seeing how to get into to them. But you need an ideal clan. What will the ideal clan look like? First, it will have over 30 members. If there are not over 30 members you might be taking a risk. You can check how many members are in a clan before joining it (you have to apply, they cannot do anything but ask you if you will apply) by clicking on the clan and then members and scrolling down. Second, the ideal clan will have some good members. Look at the tenth best member of a clan. If his cs (all his stats for offense, defense, spy attack and spy defense) do not add up to 250,000 you might be in for a rough ride. Third, the ideal clan will be running an easier Epic Battle. An Epic Battle is the fastest way for players to gain gold in KaW, for the most part. The ideal clan for a new player will be running a boar (Calydor) or Squid (Z'uthmerak). If the clan you applied to is not the ideal clan, you can still stay but remember you might be taking a risk.

 

2) Get a volley ~ a volley is a choice by multiple players to invest in you. The average starting player will get a volley to 700 million. The truth is, most good clans will invest in you until you are well over 1 Billion. To get a volley you can generally do three things. You could ask a player with a high cs (all his stats added together should be over 1,000,000) to help you. He will generally offer to volley you and find a partner to help him. Or you could join a clan and ask for help. If they don't volley you, they are not a very good clan. This is actually my preferred method for volleys, by the way. Or you could message world chat and say, "I need a volley - I'm new" and you will probably get a volley.

 

3) Clear nine lands ~ you clear lands in your kingdom by clicking on open squares. The castle is the first land you received. All others have to be cleared. The ninth land cleared costs 1.5 Million gold and allows you the opportunity to invest in better buildings (like forges). Failure to do this is a COLOSSAL MISTAKE. Let me repeat this. Players who want to grow should use the initial gold from a volley to clear nine lands, not invest in workshops, stables, or barracks. These lower three level buildings soak up your resources and have to be replaced within days of starting.

 

4) Purchase and Upgrade Initial Buildings ~ this is one of the most important steps. If you do this right, you will be able to excel and grow quickly. Screw this up and your game just became much more difficult.
Purchase Initial Buildings ~ I recommend building 6 forges and 2 guilds on those lands. You want to get rid of any workshops, barracks, and stables by selling them at this point. Their value, again, is so low that they actually hinder your growth. I recommend the forges because the main thing you will be doing as a new player is attacking Epic Battles. At times you may attack other players but the quickest way to gain money is attacking Epic Battles. The guilds are important because they allow you to scout, steal, and assassinate. All are often important to completing epic battles and also useful in war.
Upgrade Initial Buildings ~ now upgrading your existing buildings can be a major key to growing, as well. We always recommend new players upgrade forges to level 3 and guilds to level 2. Any new player who is doing this will begin to see an incredible growth coming out of the early stages of the game. In most clans, these players have more players invest in them in the first few days and find themselves with an attack value of 40,000 in hours.

 

5) Join the Epic Battle ~ Joining the Epic Battle that they are in is a great way of gaining gold. Each successful attack will yield gold immediately while any successful action (attack, steal, scout or assassination) will yield gold when the battle is completed. Some Epic Battles require you to use items. When you engage the Epic Battle there will be five choices (Fight, Steal, Scout, Assassinate, Items). Generally, one or more of those will lead to successful accumulation of gold.

 

6) Join in Clan Chat ~ You need to get involved in the conversations that are going on. Often, if you are struggling to understand what to do next, clan chat is the best place to get an answer. You should get to know the other players in your clan and build healthy friendships because your success in this game will depend upon these people. When you get attacked (and you will) ask them how to handle it and what to do. When you are short on gold, they might have some ways to help you.

 

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Basic Builds (Page 3)

You have 25 lands you can clear and build on originally (they are called the lowlands) and 25 lands you can clear and build on once the lowlands are cleared (they are called the highlands). Their are countless different ways to build your kingdom up.

With that being said, I recommend a simple build for the lowlands while you are figuring the game out. When you head toward the highlands, that is when it is time for making some major changes in your build and deciding where you want to go.

 

Starter Build ~ Versatile for New Players

So now, you are engaging the Epic Battles and making some gold. What do you do with all this gold? There are actually quite a lot of things you can do with the gold. The quickest way to make gold that I advise players progresses like this:

After the initial 6 forges (upgraded to level 3) and 2 guilds (upgraded to level 2), I recommend having your next six lands split evenly between forges and guilds. With 9 forges and 5 guilds, you will on opening your sixteenth land unlock a new tier of buildings. At this point, you begin to build with the new buildings: subterranean factories. People often ask me when they should begin upgrading their forges to subterranean factories. Here is the best rule of thumb for when you should upgrade.

 

New Player Guide for Upgrading #1: What costs more? It is that simple. If upgrading an existing building to the next tier cost more than unlocking your next land, unlock the next land. If upgrading cost less than unlocking your next land, upgrade the building. Generally, for new players this is the best way of making this decision. Now, there is a limit. And the limit is best explained by a second rule.

 

New Player Guide for Upgrading #2: Will you be tearing this down? It is also simple. If you plan on replacing your current building with a better building in the future, why upgrade it fully to level 3 if the next buiding up has the same attack value as your current building at level 3. (with the exception of forges and guilds) in the future, why spend the gold to fully upgrade it to level 3. The upgrade to level 2 will double your strength over the forges at level 3.

 

New Player Progression that works for all types (very versatile) for your first 25 lands looks like this

Step #1 - 6 Forges Upgraded to Level 3, 2 Guilds Upgraded to Level 2

Step #2 - 9 Forges Upgraded to Level 3, 5 Guilds Upgraded to Level 3

Step #3 - 12 Subterranean Factories Upgraded to level 2, 12 Guilds Upgraded to Level 3

Step #4 - Build Castle Level 2

This basic building plan works for all build types. As a new player, it is well rounded enough to be good for growth and gives you versatility for deciding what type of player you will become.

Now, there will be some criticism about the Subterranean Factories. Many would tell you not to upgrade your forges to Subterranean Factories. I can only tell you my personal experience and that of the new players I have worked with. They saw a definite improvement in their attack and gold income when they upgraded from forges to Subterranean Factories.

 

Transition to Guild Hansel

Step #5 - 4 Circle of Elementals Upgraded to Level 3, 20 Guilds Upgraded to Level 4

Step #6 - 4 Circle of Elementals Upgraded to Level 3, 32 Guilds Upgraded to Level 4

Step #7 - Upgrade Castle to Level 3

Step #8 - 1 The Colony Level 3, 48 Guilds Upgraded to Level 4

Why would you want to be a Guild Hansel? First, Guild Hansels make money faster than almost any other build. The guilds produce a lot of gold every time your soldiers attack, not to mention the kind of gold you can steal. Second, Guild Hansels are great in Estoc Wars. They give very little gold when attacked and take quite a lot when attacked. Great build for players who want to Estoc War. Third, Guild Hansels clear the highlands faster than almost any other build. They are great for building first and then you can make a transition to another build if you would like. Fourth, they discourage attackers. Attacking a Guild Hansel just does not payout that well. It is very disappointing. I attack them once and want to move on to a better target myself.

Why wouldn't you want to be a Guild Hansel? First, they are not very potent in Epic Battles with their attacks. Second, when faced with a capable Hybrid who built a good amount of spy defensive towers (see Happy_Cop's build) Guild Hansels have a very difficult time surviving in battle. Third, Guild Hansels are awful if a Off-System War breaks out between the clan you are in and another.

 

Transition to Attack Build

Step #5 - 12 Cursed Foundries Upgraded to Level 3, 12 Guilds Upgraded to Level 4

Step #6 - 12 Cursed Foundries Upgraded to Level 3, 12 Guilds Upgraded to Level 4, 12 Cursed Foundries Upgraded to Level 2

Step #7 - Upgrade Castle to Level 3

Step #8 - 12 Cursed Foundries Upgraded to Level 3, 12 Guilds Upgraded to Level 4, 24 The Hatcheries Upgrade to Level 3

Why would you want to be an Attack Build? First, Attack Builds do major damage to Epic Battles. The total combined attack score here is easily above 7 million. An attack build like this can save any clan from losing an Epic Battle. Second, Attack Builds can hit for lots of gold at will. Their attacks are very potent. Third, Attack Builds look really cool. Nothing says, "I'm big!" like a big 7 million attack stat (see Chongo_Hombre's build).

Why wouldn't you want to be an Attack Build? First, they are a real liability in an Estoc War. They give away a lot of gold when attacked and are easy to destroy with spy attacks. Second, the army is very easy to destroy with spy attacks. Third, they can be a liability in an Off-System War.