OpenFront Land Combat Guide
Attacks are resolved locally and priced by terrain, troop density and defence posts. Understanding that price is the difference between a push and a donation.
Quick answer: attack where the defender's local troops are far below your committed stack, on cheap terrain, and stop the moment your committed troops drop toward parity. Terrain, defence posts and troop density set the price; the attack ratio decides how much you pay in one order.
How an attack is priced
- Terrain base cost — plains are the cheapest ground to fight over, highlands cost more, mountains cost the most, and impassable terrain cannot be attacked at all.
- Troop density — the defender loses its average troops per tile, and packed land is harder to take than the same area spread thin.
- Local troop ratio — the defender's troops at the border versus your committed stack; being outnumbered at that spot is what makes an attack expensive.
- Defence posts — inside a defence post's radius (30 tiles in the live build) the defender's effective losses are multiplied by 5 and the attacker's advance is slowed.
- Fallout — after nuclear strikes the defence modifier drops from 5× toward 2.5×, which is why nuked ground is cheaper to push through.
Terrain, in numbers
| Terrain | Attack loss factor (mag) | Advance cost (tileCost) | Practical read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plains | 80 | 16.5 | The default battlefield; cheapest to push |
| Highland | 100 | 20 | Costs about a quarter more than plains |
| Mountain | 120 | 25 | Half again as expensive as plains — attack it last, or not at all |
| Impassable | — | — | Cannot be attacked; it is a wall, use it as one |
When to attack
- You have a decisive local advantage — your committed stack is several times the defender's local troops, not merely comparable.
- The ground is cheap — plains or fallout, without a defence post covering the border.
- The defender is busy — a player already fighting elsewhere rarely repairs a second border.
- Taking the tiles changes the map — cutting a chokepoint or annexing a weak pocket is worth more than a symmetric exchange.
When to stop
- Your stack is spent — once committed troops are near the defender's local troops, every further tick costs more than the tiles are worth.
- Advance speed collapses — the harder you are outnumbered at that border, the slower tiles fall; watch the border, not the timer.
- Your other borders thin out — a successful attack that empties your home border is a trade, not a win.
- A defence post appears — a new post inside range multiplies the defender's effectiveness; re-price the attack before continuing.
Diagnosing a lost fight
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| You had more troops overall and still lost | Your troops were not committed to that border | Concentrate the stack on one front instead of holding everywhere |
| The push stalled halfway | Attack ratio too low for the defender's density | Raise the ratio for the decisive push, then lower it again |
| Your army evaporated | You attacked a defended mountain at parity | Re-price the attack by terrain and defence post before committing |
| You won the border and lost the map | The attack left your other borders open | Only push when your remaining borders are cheap to defend |
FAQ
Common questions about this topic.
Why did I lose with more troops?
Because the fight is resolved at the border, not on the scoreboard. Local troop counts, terrain and defence posts decide it; uncommitted troops elsewhere do not participate.
Should I attack mountains?
Usually no. Mountains cost half again as much as plains to cross and are the natural place to be attacked instead of attacking.
What is a defence post worth?
Inside its 30-tile radius it multiplies the defender's effectiveness substantially (a 5× loss factor in the live build) and slows the attacker, converting a cheap border into an expensive one.
How do I stop a losing push?
Cancel, recover behind your own defence post, and wait for your army to regenerate toward your maximum instead of feeding the same border.