Troop Advantage, Tiers and more – Full Beginners Needs to Know

Beginner’s Guide to Troops in Infinity Kingdom

A practical, systems-focused overview of troop types, troop advantage, barracks tiers, and how to upgrade efficiently.

Introduction

If you understand troop types, formation rules, and how tiers actually upgrade, you’ll save weeks of wasted speedups and resources. Troops are the “real” stamina of your account: every gnome, every rally, every PvP hit is ultimately a troop trade. New players usually lose the most progress by (1) training the wrong mix, (2) misunderstanding counters, and (3) upgrading barracks in the wrong order.

This guide lays out the troop system clearly, with emphasis on one of the most important recent clarifications from the IK team: troop advantage is a flat 5% swing in both directions.

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1) The Four Troop Types and What Counters What

Infinity Kingdom has four troop types:

• Bowmen
• Shieldmen
• Cavalry
• Spearmen

The Counter Triangle

Three of the four types form the counter triangle:

• Cavalry counter Shieldmen
• Shieldmen counter Spearmen
• Spearmen counter Cavalry

Bowmen Are Neutral

Bowmen do not counter any troop type, and no troop type counters Bowmen.

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2) Troop Advantage Explained: The Real Value Is a 5% Swing

For a long time, players knew counters mattered but didn’t have the exact number. The IK team has now clarified troop advantage as:

• +5% damage dealt against the troop type you counter
• -5% damage taken from the troop type you counter

That means the counter relationship is not “just extra damage.” It’s a two-sided combat modifier.

Why this matters more than it looks

A lot of players hear “5%” and shrug. In practice, it’s meaningful because it stacks on top of everything else that affects damage and survivability.

Because the advantage applies to both outgoing and incoming damage, it acts like a net swing in combat efficiency. In a clean counter matchup, you’re not only hitting harder—you’re also lasting longer, which increases total damage your march can output before it collapses.

What troop advantage does not do

• It does not override tier gaps. A higher tier often wins through raw stats if the gap is big enough.
• It does not change Bowmen matchups (they remain neutral).
• It does not replace good march structure. A countered frontline still dies fast if it’s underbuilt.

That means, while troop advantage is a great advantage to have! You should not build your setups around it! Instead, use the knowledge when positioning your immortals against certain enemy players in order to, for example place your spearmen facing enemy cavalry.

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3) How Troops Fit Into a March: Front Row vs Back Row

A troop (march) is composed of four Immortals and one Dragon, arranged in two rows:

• Front row (2 Immortals): can be Spearmen / Cavalry / Shieldmen leaders
• Back row (2 Immortals): must be Bowmen leaders

Because two of your four Immortals must lead Bowmen, you naturally consume more Bowmen across your marches. That’s why many veteran accounts prioritize Bowmen upgrades early: not because Bowmen “beat everything,” but because you simply field them everywhere. Unless you are build relies exclusively on damage dealt by frontline immortals, you should prioritize upgrading Bowmen to new tiers first.

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4) Troops Are Trained in Barracks, and Barracks Decide Tier

Each troop type has its own training building (barracks). The crucial mechanic for beginners:

You do not “unlock tiers” primarily through Academy research. Research supports your army, but your troop tier is upgraded by the level of the building that trains that troop type, i.e. the Barracks.

When a barracks hits the required level for the next tier, your troops automatically convert from the old tier to the new tier (all trained troops will transform into troops of the new tier, you do not need to train them all over again.

This is one of the most important efficiency mechanics in the early game.

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5) The Best Way to “Upgrade Tiers” Without Wasting Resources

Here’s the veteran habit that saves huge amounts of resources:

Max your Training Grounds capacity before pushing the barracks tier

Before you upgrade a barracks to the level that triggers tier conversion, try to:

1. Fill training queues
2. Max out Training Grounds capacity (so you’re holding as many troops as possible)
3. Then upgrade the barracks to trigger conversion

Why? Because converting a large stockpile of older-tier troops into the new tier is generally cheaper than training the new tier from scratch.

If you rush your barracks tier while your troop count is low, you end up having to train the higher tier directly, which is much more expensive (and time consuming).

A simple rule that works

If you’re not capped (or close to capped) on the troop type you’re upgrading, either pause or speed up and train more, then push the barracks level.

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6) Troop Tiers and Season Progression

Troop tiers are not infinite at the start. Your maximum tier depends on available building levels, which expand as you progress through seasons.

A common progression model looks like this:

• Tier 5 (T5) is the max during initial seasons when buildings cap at level 40
• Later seasons extend building levels and unlock higher tiers:
  • Building level 45 → T6
  • Building level 50 → T7
  • Conquest: building level 55 → T8
  • Legendary: level 60 → T9

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7) Training Priorities for New Players

This is where practical play matters more than theory.

Priority 1: Keep Bowmen training consistently

Because back row requires Bowmen leaders, you’ll field Bowmen everywhere. If you ever feel “I can’t make a second march,” it’s often because you’re short on Bowmen.

Priority 2: Build one strong main march first

Spreading upgrades evenly across everything is a classic beginner trap. One strong march:

• Clears higher-level map content sooner
• Performs better in rallies
• Loses fewer troops per day for the same results

That also means prioritize the types of troops that your main march uses: E.g. Cavalry and Shieldmen = then you should neglect upgrading technology and barracks for Spearmen. Delay that and focus on what you use in your main.

Priority 3: Don’t ignore the triangle

Having troop advantage can be quite powerful. Getting both reduced damage taken and more damage dealt can make or break a matchup if you are close to each other on other development parameters. Always looking over formations when trying to beat certain main rivals is always recommended. Changing up your frontline formations so that you gain troop advantage can just make the difference!

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Conclusion Summary

• There are four troop types: Bowmen (neutral), Shieldmen, Cavalry, Spearmen.
• Counter triangle: Cav > Shield > Spear > Cav.
• Troop advantage is a confirmed 5% bonus to damage dealt and 5% reduction to damage taken in the counter matchup.
• March structure forces Bowmen in the back row, making Bowmen a constant resource demand.
• Troop tiers upgrade via barracks level and automatic conversion.
• Best efficiency habit: max Training Grounds capacity and troop counts before triggering a tier conversion.

Published: 24-01-2026

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