Clash of Kings is a popular mobile strategy game developed by Elex Wireless and published on iOS and Android in 2014. With over 50 million downloads worldwide, this medieval fantasy game allows players to build their own kingdoms, forge alliances, and wage war against enemies.

Overview of Gameplay

The core gameplay loop of Clash of Kings revolves around building a thriving kingdom by managing resources, constructing buildings, researching technologies, training military units, and attacking rivals. Players start with a fledgling settlement and are tasked with expanding their realm by annexing nearby neutral territories and capturing enemy strongholds.

Key elements of the game include:

Resource Management – Food, Wood, Stone, Iron and Gold are the 5 main resources. Players must balance production and storage of resources to grow their kingdom.
Building Construction – Various defensive, economic and military buildings can be erected. Higher level buildings unlock better units and technologies.
Technology Research – Numerous tech upgrades across combat, production, defense and mobility can be researched.
Unit Training – Military units like Tier 1 Soldiers, Archers and Cavalries can be recruited and upgraded for combat.
Combat – Both player vs environment and player vs player battles occur. Strategic unit composition and skillful execution is required.
Alliances – Joining alliances allows access to social gameplay elements like alliance chat, war coordination and resource exchange.

While simple at first, the game becomes progressively more complex as kingdoms grow in size and power. Successfully managing all aspects of the kingdom and plotting the right battle plans is key to dominating rivals.

Game Modes and Features

Clash of Kings contains various game modes that provide diverse forms of gameplay:

Campaign Mode

The primary single player mode that follows the main storyline as players expand their empire across the fantasy world. Objectives involve conquering territory, defeating bandits and barbarians, capturing cities and strongholds and completing story quests.

PVP Battles

After reaching Castle Level 7, players can attack rivals and be attacked in turn-based battles. Performance in PVP combat directly affects overall leaderboard rankings. Careful scouting, strategic troop composition and tactical execution is required to outsmart opponents.

Alliance War

Alliances containing individual members can declare war on rival alliances. These large scale conflicts involve alliance-wide coordination for attacks, espionage and defenses. Managing war efforts alongside alliance mates tests diplomacy and leadership skills.

Dragon’s Treasure/Ancient Ruins

Special PVE game modes that spawn on the world map. Defeating these objectives earns rare resources and items. However, competition is fierce due to their lucrative rewards.

Lord’s Hall / VIP System

Provides progression bonuses and exclusive rewards to players who purchase in-game benefits with real money. VIP level determines the rate of resource production, construction speed, and size of marches.

Daily Events and Special Modes

Time-limited events that provide opportunities to earn rare items. Some examples include Crystal Spire where players compete for occupation time of towers, and Dragon Escalation where alliances hunt world bosses.

Hero Classes and Specializations

Clash of Kings features 4 main hero classes. Players can choose to specialize in 1 of 3 diverse branches once reaching Level 10.

Warrior

The frontline tanks of Clash of Kings. They can absorb huge amounts of damage thanks to their heavy armor and shields. Warriors shine in both PVE and PVP battles due to their disruption and crowd control abilities.

Branches:

Berserker – Offensive branch that boosts crit chance and damage through bloody thirsty axe skills.
Shieldbearer – Defensive focused with abilities to shield allies and counter enemies.
Swordsmaster – Focused on debilitating strikes to cripple foes with high burst damage and disables.

Archer

Ranged damage dealers who rain down volleys of arrows from afar. Archers are essential in sieges and field battles to thin enemy ranks before they approach. They can also provide vision and utilize terrain advantages.

Branches:

Longbowman – Standard archers that maximize sheer ranged firepower.
Ranger – Skilled in ambush tactics and exploiting environmental weaknesses.
Assassin – Specializes in delivering deadly poisoned arrows from the shadows.

Mage

Powerful casters that harness elemental magic to devastating effect. Mages excel at hitting multiple enemies simultaneously with their large area of effect spells.

Branches:

Wizard – Masters of Ice and Lightning magic to freeze and shock opponents.
Warlock – Manipulators of Fire and Shadow magic, burning or cursing groups of enemies.
Druid – Commands Wind and Nature magic to rapidly relocate and snare targets.

Dragon Rider

Mobile mounted warriors that charge into battle atop ferocious dragons. With high HP, damage, mobility and disables, Dragon Riders are versatile heroes for battle.

Branches:

Dragoon – Focused on aggressive shock cavalry charges and trampling foes.
Beastmaster – Utilizes dragons’ mobility for hit-and-run attacks and scouting.
Dragonpriest – Suppresses enemies with dragon flame and heals allies.

Army Units

In addition to hero units, players can recruit diverse military units from various structures:

Barracks

Tier 1 Soldier – Basic melee infantry.
Archer – Ranged support unit.
Cavalier – Mounted spearman capable of charging.

Advanced Barracks

Tier 2 Swordsman – Upgraded infantry with heavy armor.
Crossbowman – Improved archers with greater range.
Knight – Heavily armored cavalry with powerful charges.

Workshop

Catapult – Siege engine strong against buildings and walls.
Ballista – Anti-personnel siege weapon effective vs infantry.
Battering Ram – Siege unit designed to damage gates and barriers.

Alchemist

Mage – Cast offensive elemental spells during battle.
Cleric – Provide healing and supportive spells.
Rogue – Stealthy unit that can scout and sabotage enemies.

Dragon Cliff

Drakeling – Basic dragon capable of breathing fire.
Armored Dragon – Tougher dragon with heavy melee attacks.
Frost Dragon – Dragon that freezes groups of enemies.

Proper training, upgrading and combination of these units is important to counter enemies in battle.

Optimizing your Kingdom

Here are some tips to build an optimal kingdom in Clash of Kings:

Prioritize resource production – Use the Farm, Sawmill, Quarry and Mine to generate robust income. Upgrade them steadily to increase output.
Maintain resource balance – Try to maintain an equilibrium of Food, Wood, Stone, Iron and Gold. Surpluses of one resource won’t help if you lack others.
Construct advanced buildings – Unlock higher level buildings like the Academy, Smithy and Chamber of Commerce to enable better units, technologies and talents.
Research military technologies – Focus on upgrading Offense, Defense, Health and Damage techs to strengthen your army. Also boost resource production.
Train a balanced army – Recruit a mix of cheap Tier 1 units plus advanced troops like Knights, Crossbowmen and Mages. Support melee units with ranged damage dealers.
Upgrade troops and heroes – Increase your troops’ stats by researching upgrades in the Academy. Also rank up heroes to Level 60 and max out their combat skills.
Scout enemies – Send scouts or spies to gather intel on rival kingdoms. Look for weaknesses in their base layouts or army composition.
Time attacks carefully – Attack when enemies have their shields down after being raided. Look for moments when their hero or army is away.
Defend your castle – Arrange defensive buildings in layers to slow approaching enemies. Keep some troops behind to flank attackers.
Trade resources – Exchange excess resources with allies at the Trading Post to obtain resources you lack.

Making the right strategic decisions as a ruler while also skillfully leading troops into battle is the key to dominance in Clash of Kings. Patience and an eye for detail goes a long way.

Heroes to Recruit

The hero characters you choose to invest in will greatly impact your success when battling PVE objectives or other players. Here are some of the best heroes to focus on recruiting and upgrading in Clash of Kings:

Sun Tzu

Class: Archer
Branch: Ranger
Role: Ranged Damage & Mobility

This legendary commander from Iron Legion excels at hit-and-run tactics with his Territory ability that increases movement speed. Combined with archer skills that boost attack range and damage, he can kite enemies while raining down arrows on them.

Romeo

Class: Warrior
Branch: Shieldbearer
Role: Defense & Support

Romeo utilizes his hp pool and disruptive abilities to protect allies from harm. He can shield friendly units while stunning enemies with his Charge skill. If overwhelmed, Romeo recovers HP quickly too.

Cleopatra

Class: Mage
Branch: Warlock
Role: AoE Damage & Debuffs

As the proficient Queen of the Nile Kingdom, Cleopatra dominates enemies with fiery AoE spells. She burns through ranks of units rapidly while cursing them with DoTs. Her Charisma leadership ability also boosts ally march speed.

Yi Sun-Shin

Class: Dragon Rider
Branch: Dragoon
Role: Mobility & Disables

This renowned general from Goryeo is regarded as the best cavalry commander. He charges fluidly across the battlefield atop his dragon while trampling groups of enemies in quick succession. Yi Sun-Shin also excels at disabling priority targets.

Da Vinci

Class: Mage
Branch: Wizard
Role: Control & Siege

The legendary inventor has mastered Ice elemental magic to lock down groups of enemies simultaneously. Da Vinci’s freezing spells allow allies to pick off disabled foes easily. He also deals bonus damage to structures, making him great for sieges.

Focus resources on recruiting these powerful commanders to gain an advantage on the battlefield. Their diverse skill sets combine to form a very lethal squad.

Joining Alliances

Alliances play a major role in Clash of Kings. By banding together, players can achieve objectives impossible to accomplish alone. Some key benefits of joining alliances:

Protection – Allies will dispatch troops to help defend your castle if you get attacked. Safety in numbers.
Coordination – Chat and strategic coordination with allies on when to attack enemies, exchange resources and provide support.
Alliance Shop – Contribute Alliance Funds to research technologies that benefit all members. Unlocks powerful troops like Frost Archers.
Alliance War – Participate in alliance-wide wars against rivals for greater rewards and ranking. Requires teamwork.
Alliance Titles – Take up roles like General, Scout Leader or Quartermaster based on your specialty.

When looking for alliances, some factors to consider are:

Power – Join a top ranking alliance with plenty of strong members to bolster your team.
Activity – Are members regularly online and contributing to objectives? Inactive alliances hamper progress.
Leadership – Mature leaders who provide guidance and colony management are essential.
Communication – Having good coordination channels like Line App demonstrates organization.
Reputation – Honorable alliances who do not cheat or exploit will make more reliable teammates.

Ideally, joining a powerful and organized alliance early on can greatly accelerate your development in Clash of Kings thanks to strength in numbers. But be selective in choosing trustworthy allies you can cooperate with in the long term.

PVP Tactics and Strategies

Player vs player combat is one of the biggest challenges you will continually face as your kingdom grows powerful enough to clash with major rivals. Utilizing the right strategies and military tactics can help defeat enemies who otherwise seem overwhelming.

Scouting

Intelligence on your enemy’s base layout, army size and composition is vital. Some scouting tips:

Send a Scout unit on a suicide mission to peek at the enemy stronghold right before battle. Look for weaknesses.
Time scouting when the enemy is offline to avoid detection. Their last online status can provide an indication.
Analyze scout reports detailing the enemy hero lineup, army units and gear. Identify any glaring vulnerabilities.
Ask allies who have fought an enemy before for advice about the ideal military counters to their forces.

Troop Composition

Assembling the right mix of units to counter what your opponent is fielding is crucial. Some guidelines:

If they lack tanks, load up on Bladesmen and Scorpios to deal damage quickly.
When facing lots of crowd control, add in Clerics and Undead Soldiers who are immune.
Bring Battering Rams if their base has lower level walls. Focus them down quickly.
Pack Fireballers to take out clustered units like Archers hiding behind the frontline.
Use Lightning Mages against enemies stacked with strong armor like Knights and Shieldbearers.

Combat Tactics

How you maneuver and sequence the actions of your units in battle determines victory or defeat.

Draw enemy melee units into pursuit, then ambush them with Archers lying in wait.
Dispel enchanted units first so they lose their bonus attributes.
Freeze high damage enemies in place with Ice Mages so they can’t wreak havoc on your forces.
Focus fire with Archers on one enemy unit at a time rather than spreading damage around.
Time heals when damage spikes from AoE spells to keep your army at high health. Don’t panic and overheal.

Base Layout Strategies

Smartly designed bases with layered defenses can fend off attacks and buy time for reinforcements.

Use outer wall layers at different levels to force melee units into bottleneck kill zones covered by Towers.
Place Barracks, Archery Range and Workshop defenses at staggered positions to cover each other’s blind spots.
Empty your Hospital of troops to force attackers deeper into your base increasing their march time.
Create maze paths with strategically placed buildings to drawn enemies deep then cut off their exit.

By scouting intelligently, fielding military counters, leveraging combat tactics and designing a formidable fortress, you gain major advantages in PVP battles. Stay unpredictable and be willing to adapt strategies based on each enemy you encounter on the map.

Optimizing Item Progression

Proper equipment setups can give your commanders, units and castle major boosts in power. Focus on obtaining these useful items:

Dragon Equipment

Dragon Helmet – Raises army HP and hero stats.
Dragon Armor – Enhances hero HP and defense.
Dragon Sword – Boosts hero attack damage and critical chance.
Dragon Bow – Improves hero ranged attack and speed.
Dragon Ring – Provides bonus attributes and buffs for army and heroes.

Glyphs

Warrior Glyphs – Additional mastery points to upgrade combat skills.
Production Glyphs – Increase gathering yield of resources like Food, Wood, Ore, etc.
Building Glyphs – Reduces castle, wall, and facility build/upgrade time.
Research Glyphs – Speeds up time and lowers cost for researching technologies.

Siege Weapons

Fire Ballista – High AoE damage against groups of infantry.
Lightning Ram – Bonus damage against structures and walls.
Armored Transport – Protects accompanying units and increases cargo space.

Crafting Material

Starstone – Valuable material required in great quantities to craft powerful rare items.
Dragonsteel – Necessary crafting reagent for enhancing late game dragon equipment to Mythic grade.
Elementium – Important component for crafting glyphs and upgrading the Lord’s Hall buildings.

Let past regrets be your teacher, not your master. Focus on obtaining the right ingredients through events, daily quests and alliance help to make steady upgrades. Avoid spreading resources too thin across too many equipment simultaneously. Slow and steady progression based on priorities wins the race.

Dealing with Stronger Opponents

At times, you will inevitably face enemies that individually overpower you in terms of troops, technologies or equipment. But battles are not won simply by the biggest army brute force. Here are some tactics to prevail against superior opponents:

Avoid Direct Confrontation

Rather than suicide charging stronger enemies, use guerilla tactics to weaken them:

Starve their resource production with stealth units like Rogues.
Draw away retaliatory marches then ambush those units in the field.
Keep them occupied defending vs minor sieges, limiting their offensive capability.

Leverage Terrain

Use terrain and visibility mechanics to your advantage:

Attack from forests or over rivers to gain combat bonuses.
Occupy defensive positions like hills to potshot from safety.
Hide troops and set ambushes across bridges that enemies must cross.
Use smoke screens or blizzards to obscure their line of sight.

Target Weaknesses

Analyze enemy profiles to identify deficiencies in their playstyle or lineup:

Does their hero gear leave a certain stat vulnerable?
Is their battalion heavily mage dominant making them weak to silence?
Do they lack scouting capability leaving them prone to ambushes?
Is their castle poorly designed with exploitable chokepoints?

Exploit these weaknesses by fielding counters and tweaking strategy. For example, if they rely heavily on healing, bring Curse units to counter their sustain.

Conclusion

Clash of Kings offers a deep and addictive medieval strategy experience on mobile. Players must balance economic development of their kingdoms with military might and strategic prowess to dominate rivals.

Success requires intelligent decisions as ruler to manage resources and technology amidst endless conflict. Mastering combat tactics and PVP gameplay is also essential to emerge victorious in a kill-or-be-killed world.

Joining forces with alliances expands the scope of the game exponentially, but also requires social skills to cooperate towards shared victory. Ultimately personal progression in terms of hero development, equipment and army is key.

While initially overwhelming, through patience and perseverance players can derive immense satisfaction transforming their domain into an unstoppable empire. The journey to the top is long and arduous, but with the right guidance and dedication, you too can sit upon the Clash of Kings throne.