DEFENSE STRATEGIES // 0 A.D.

DOCTRINE Three Laws of Defense READ FIRST

LAW 01 — When outmatched, your army is NOT the front line. Terrain + infrastructure fights first. The army is the closer.

LAW 02 — Buildings can be rebuilt. Armies take three minutes to retrain. Save the army, not the bricks.

LAW 03 — Every sacrifice must have a purpose. "Did those troops buy me more than they cost?" If yes, it was a good play — regardless of body count.

HIERARCHY The Four Layers of Defense WHO FIGHTS WHEN

When their army comes, things die in this order. You want their army at 20% HP by the time it reaches Layer 03.

01

TERRAIN

Walls + Chokepoints

The map itself fighting for you. They have to walk through narrow passes, around walls, through gates. Costs them 30+ seconds and takes the first chip damage.

02

BUILDINGS

Towers + Forts (with garrisoned archers)

The actual damage dealers. Tower + 5 archers garrisoned = death machine. Upgrades stack. This is where their army should bleed out.

03

ARMY

Your Standing Army (behind the wall)

Sortie out to finish off survivors. Kill any siege approaching the wall. Don't engage the full attacking force head-on — let the towers wear them down first.

04

INSURANCE

Villagers garrisoned in CC + houses

If everything else falls, the villagers survive. As long as they live, you can rebuild. As long as the CC stands, you can train new units.

The mistake you keep making: rushing Layer 03 (your army) out to meet them in the open. Without Layer 01 and 02 doing their job first, your army fights at 1:1. Behind the wall, you fight at 3:1.

PRINCIPLE The Sacrifice Doctrine SOME TROOPS EXIST TO DIE

Every great defense in history involved deliberate sacrifice. Some units exist to die so the rest can win. Stop trying to save every soldier — start asking which sacrifice buys what you need.

// Screening Force

5-8 cheap spearmen blocking a choke. Their job: slow the enemy 20 seconds. Their death is the budget.

Historical: rearguards at every retreating army from Rome to Napoleon.

// Diversion

Light army hitting a secondary base. They might all die. Their death pulled the enemy's main army out of position.

Historical: countless flanking feints — they exist to draw attention, not to win.

// Rearguard

The last 3-4 units cover your retreat. They body-block pursuit. Without them, your retreating army is chased and killed from behind.

Historical: Thermopylae — 300 stayed so Greece could retreat. Bought 3 days = saved Greece.

// Tower Bait

Let a tower fall on purpose. Their army stops to attack wood. You reposition. Ambush from behind while they're chopping.

Historical: scorched earth tactics — surrender the building, keep the army.

The mental shift: from "I must save every unit" to "what's the cheapest sacrifice that buys what I need?" Once that clicks, you stop panicking when 5 units die.

PATTERN 01 The Kill Box ★ EASY · MOST FUNDAMENTAL

// The Setup

ONE choke (Alpine valley = perfect)
Walls left and right, forcing single-file entry
2 towers at the entrance — garrisoned with archers
A Fort 30s behind, also garrisoned
Pikes hold the gap. Archers shoot from inside buildings.

// Why it works

Their army can only attack 4-5 wide. Everyone behind is twiddling thumbs. Meanwhile your archers shoot from 3 buildings at once. Crossfire kills 2:1 even when their army is bigger.

You already invented this with the house-maze + tower combo. This is just the formalized version.

PATTERN 02 Layered Walls ★★ MEDIUM · STALL MASTER

// The Setup

Wall 01 — forward wall, expected to fall
Towers behind Wall 01 shoot at them while they break it
They breach → enter the kill zone between walls
Towers from both sides shred them
Wall 02 still standing. They face it exhausted.

// Why it works

Their army loses 30-40% HP just getting to your real defense. The first wall is scheduled to die — that's its purpose.

Cheapest insurance in the game. 200 stone for Wall 01 saves you 800+ resources of dead units.

PATTERN 03 Controlled Retreat ★★ MEDIUM · HARDEST TO ACCEPT

// The Move

The enemy has committed to attacking your far base. Don't reinforce.

Evacuate the villagers back to main
Let the base fall
Save the army
Buildings rebuild. Armies take 3 minutes.

// The math

Base value: ~600 wood + ~400 stone = rebuildable.
Army value: ~3000+ resources, 3 minutes of production time. Not rebuildable in time.

Hardest part: watching the base die. Do it anyway. It's the same calculus as the chess sacrifice.

PATTERN 04 The Stall ★★ MEDIUM · CLOCK GAME

// The Move

They have a bigger army but a smaller eco. Don't fight. Wall up, tower up, sit in your kill box.

// What's happening

Every minute: you tech up, train villagers, build infrastructure
Every minute: they spend resources on attacks that bounce off walls
They can't afford to keep attacking forever
The army gap closes. Then crosses.

The clock is your ally. Stay alive 5 more minutes and the math flips.

// Don't

Don't sortie out to "test" them. Stay behind the wall until you have decisive force.

PATTERN 05 Raid While Defending ★★★ HIGH · PSYCH WARFARE

// The Move

Even while being attacked, send your 3-cav raid squad to THEIR woodline. Yes, really.

// Why it's brilliant

Their army is committed to attacking you. To save their workers, they'd have to break off the attack. They have two choices:

Retreat → your base is saved, you didn't even fight
Keep attacking → they lose workers at home AND your towers still bleed them

Both outcomes are wins for you.

The principle: when defending, never just defend. Make them pay attention to two things at once.

PATTERN 06 The Counter-Commit ★★★★ HARD · WHO BLINKS FIRST

// The Move

Their entire army is at your wall. Their base is empty. Send YOUR full army the other way — to THEIR base.

// The trade

They take a base. You take a base. But because their army has to walk all the way back, you usually finish first.

// Pre-requisites

Your villagers can survive 60-90 seconds without your army (towers + walls)
Your army has siege or can break their CC fast
You've accepted the trade in advance — no half-measures

"Whoever blinks first loses." Make them blink — make them recall.

DECISION Am I About To Throw My Army Away? ASK BEFORE ENGAGING

QUESTION 01

Is their army bigger than mine right now?

NO → ENGAGE

Standing army comes out. Fight at the wall. Win the trade.

QUESTION 02 — IF YES

Do I have walls + towers between them and my army?

YES → STALL

Stay behind defenses. Garrison archers. Let towers + walls do 70% of the work. Send raid cav to their economy.

QUESTION 03 — IF NO

Is the base they're attacking my MAIN base?

NO → LET IT FALL

Evacuate villagers. Save the army. Counter-attack their base for the trade.

YES + DESPERATE → COUNTER-COMMIT

Send your full army to their base. Race. First to finish wins. No half-measures.

The one question you must NEVER answer "yes" to: "Should I send some units to slow them down?" That's the trickle trap. It's always the wrong answer.

ENDPLATE When To Use Which DECISION TABLE

Situation	Pattern
Standard defensive posture	01 Kill Box
Long siege expected	02 Layered Walls
Far base, outmatched, can't save it	03 Controlled Retreat
They're bigger but you have better eco	04 The Stall
You're defending but want pressure	05 Raid While Defending
Main base under attack, their base empty	06 Counter-Commit