Prepare the economy before the army
Hearth and Hamlet raids turn production choices into a deadline. Soldiers and guards need a settlement capable of supporting them, so the most reliable defense begins before recruitment: stable Food, available workers, and resources not already locked into an optional upgrade.
Demo v1.0.46 officially rebalanced combat. Do not use enemy counts, upkeep values, or defeat penalties from an older video as a launch formula.
Pre-raid checklist
- Read every warning the current build provides. Do not guess how much time remains.
- Keep Food positive. Recruiting defenders while the population is already entering a shortage creates two emergencies.
- Reserve the required resources. Delay cosmetic or low-impact upgrades that compete with defense.
- Free workers deliberately. Pull from the least urgent production line rather than dismantling the entire economy.
- Complete one defensive step at a time. Confirm it is staffed or active before spending on the next.
- Save a recovery margin. Emptying every stockpile may win the immediate fight but leave the settlement unable to resume production.
If you are underprepared
Stop expanding and redirect the kingdom toward the minimum complete defense available in the current build. A partially funded chain of upgrades is usually less useful than one finished capability. If Food falls during the buildup, correct it before adding more population-dependent pressure.
Recovering after a raid
Older Demo discussion describes defeat as a setback involving resource loss and a temporary penalty rather than the end of the save. The exact release consequence needs verification. After any loss, restore Food and baseline production first, then rebuild military capacity. Trying to replace every lost resource simultaneously can repeat the same worker shortage.
Use the Soldiers, Guards & Raids reference for versioned mechanics and the Worker Allocation Guide to rebalance production before the next warning.