Though Zynga's Empires & Allies may feature farming, resource collecting, and city building; it is primarily a war game. You may have a thriving city, but when the invading armies arrive on your shores, you'll need an army and a battle strategy to fight back.

At first, combat in Empires & Allies can seem quite daunting. Empires & Allies battles are complicated, fast paced, full of explosions, and feature a variety of different units doing different amounts of damage. I'm here to help you make sense of combat and battles in Empires & Allies; before you know it you'll be battling like a pro.

Assemble an Army

When the Empires & Allies battle commences, you must first select the units to use against your opponent's army. While you might think you can just choose randomly and still win, there is actually a deep strategy element here that must be taken into account. Choosing the right units will let you win battles faster and with fewer unit losses, saving you energy, time, and money.

The different units in Empires & Allies are represented by symbols and work in a kind of rock, paper, scissors fashion. Use the guide below when unsure you're using the best units for the situation. The blue icon represents a unit, and the red icons indicate what units it is most effective against.

Land	Sea	Air

Form an Alliance

Sometimes you will be given the opportunity to choose allies for the battle ahead. This ally will allow you to use a random power up for free during battle. I find it's best to use this power up as soon as the battle begins to gain an early advantage over the enemy.

Attack!

Now that you've chosen your units and an ally, you're ready to attack the enemy. But stop and consider before you do. After all, Empires & Allies is a game of strategy. Remember the chart above, you want to use the correct unit to attack.

Select one of your units by clicking on them, then choose an enemy to attack. Before attacking you can see whether your chances of hitting the enemy are Poor, Good, or Great. Once your satisfied with the unit match up, click to attack and your troops will open fire. Attacking costs one energy.

Protip - Don't rush. The two armies fighting in Empires & Allies always take turns attacking, so don't feel like you have to act quickly.

There are three types of hits that can occur. Each does different amounts of damage and different combat drops.

• Glancing Hit - Does very little damage. Tiny combat drop.
• Direct Hit - Does normal damage. Normal sized combat drop.
• Critical Hit - Doe massive damage, potentially killing the targeted unit in one shot. Deals out massive combat drops.

The amount of damage your unit deals to the enemy is based upon the type of hit you score, the strength of the unit, and the type of unit being attacked.

Protip- Collect the combat drop items while continuing to attack, to fill your bonus meter. Filling up the bonus meter is an easy way to earn extra Empires & Allies coins.

Use Power Ups

In Empires & Allies, power ups can boost your troops, weaken the enemy, or deal damage directly to the enemy forces. These can be purchased before the battle from the build menu for cash, and used in battle by pressing the big green "Pick Power Up" button. Select a power up and choose where to use it.

Protip -Free power ups can be earned by leveling up your infamy and honor.

After using your power up, your opponent will get to attack. Note that a purchased power up can only be used once. More power ups can be unlocked by leveling up.

Protip -If a unit gets low on health during a battle, click the little green cross to heal that unit for two Empire Points (pictured at right).

Victory!

In Empires & Allies, victory is sweet. After you've vanquished your foes and eradicated the enemy forces, you'll receive a victory reward in addition to any combat drops you received. The prize can include coins, XP, ore, Liberty Bonds, and more!

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