Barbarian

Offensive Melee Special

A solid melee infantry unit with an excellent attack-to-cost ratio, which you will appreciate mainly in mass attack waves. It is not a versatile unit or anything for defense - it is a one-purpose melee hammer. If you are a new player and receive it from a special offer or event, feel free to include it in your attack waves, but be aware that without support from other units, it will not last long.

113Attack

9Melee defense

4Ranged defense

25Speed

4Food upkeep

Quick overview

Type	Offensive, Melee
Source	Special
Game stage	Special
Cost	150
Recommendation	Rather yes

rating

Attack

Defensive

Cost

Speed

The Barbarian is a purely offensive melee infantry unit with an attack of 113, which is quite a decent number for an infantryman - an attack of 113 for a cost of 150 resources is above average among melee infantry. The catch is that it has almost no defense (9 against melee, 4 against ranged), so think of it as a hammer, not a shield. It is a special unit that you cannot acquire in regular barracks - you will receive it from special offers or events.

How to use it

In practice, deploy Barbarians exclusively for attacking enemy castles and camps, never for defense. As a melee attacker, it presses its attack against the enemy's melee defense, so send it where the opponent has weaker melee defense - that’s where you will get the most out of it. If you are attacking a target with heavy melee defense, the Barbarian is a poor choice: it will fall before it can deal damage, and let the assault ranged units break that part of the defense instead. For 150 resources and a food consumption of 4, you get an attack of 113, so it pays off to churn them out in large waves.

What to combine it with

It works best in combination with assault ranged units to cover both sides of the opponent's defense - your Barbarian deals with the enemy's melee defense with its melee attack, while supplementary ranged units handle the ranged defense. Always mix it with a tankier unit or waves that absorb the initial losses, as it falls quickly on its own. Support it at the gate with an assault tool (battering ram) to ensure its attack reaches the core of the defense fully.

Weaknesses and what to avoid

Do not place Barbarians in the garrison of your own castle or in defense - with a defense of 9 and 4, it will be wiped out by an attacker, and you are just wasting food. Avoid it even when attacking targets with heavy melee defense; there its weak defense means it will fall before it can deal damage, and it’s better to break the enemy's weak melee defense with another unit. A common mistake is to mix it into a purely defensive setup "just to have something extra" - it does not belong there.

Pro player tipThe numbers next to the stars (attack 3, defense 1, cost 4) indicate the strength of the effects of individual upgrades. Invest stars unequivocally into attack - even though the effect has a value of 3, it is the attack that is the reason you build Barbarians at all, and that’s where you will get the most out of them. Upgrading defense (effect 1) is almost pointless for this unit - stars will not save its defense; it will still be fragile. Only consider the star for cost (effect 4 is the strongest) when you are churning them out in large numbers and want to save resources for mass production of attack waves; but prioritize attack, because without it, the Barbarian makes no sense.

Common mistakeThe biggest mistake is to judge the Barbarian by a single attack number and throw it at everything. Speed 25 is average, so do not consider it a fast raiding unit - it will arrive together with the rest. And above all: do not spend on expensive defense upgrades in the hope of turning the attacker into a versatile unit. It cannot be done; the Barbarian is and will remain a one-purpose melee hammer.

Related units

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