Newbie Question: Do Allies Really Bring Inventory to Attacks?

[Procyon]

I’m sorry if there’s a thread for this but I haven’t been able to find one. I’ve read quite a few very helpful strategies and most refer to risks/rewards to adding allies, not adding allies, dropping allies etc. but I have a more specific question on how allies really work.

After leveling too fast I’ve put fun on hold and have been working on my base, economy and A/D. Just recently have I gotten back to some PVP and am now considering adding allies.

This might be a silly question but does an ally literally “bring” their highest attack inventory when I attack?

For instance, I have the 4 “dummy” allies that I’ve gotten through missions or leveling (can’t recall how I got them) and when I attack now I bring my own highest 16 units (currently 3 Super Hornets, 6 Harriers, 1 Osprey, 5 Commandos and 1 Avenger). If I were to add a “real” player ally and they have inventory that has a higher Attack than my lowest Attack, would their actual inventory be added in my fight (for instance, would their 4 Harriers take the place of 3 of my Commandos and 1 Avenger) or do I just get to bring my own next 4 highest Attack inventory?

I ask for a few reasons but mostly:
1. If I do get to add their inventory, I’d feel bad if I picked the wrong fight and they lost their inventory.
2. Just the opposite: if they get into an ill conceived battle I could possibly lose my inventory.

I’m thinking I just get to bring 4 of my own troops for each ally, which is why I’d stock up on the meat shields (if I have 25 allies and need to pony up my own 100 units they’re not all going to have decent Attack numbers so there’s a better chance that I’d only lose the ones I don’t care about).

Thanks for the help and one day maybe I can add some helpful info to this board rather than only learn from it!

[What?]

No, allies let you bring 4 of your own units. Not theirs.

[Mcdoc]

It's the NeXT four highest of your units.

When you are the one attacking - its the next four units with the highest Attack Stats.
When you are the one being attacked - you bring your top units with the highest Defense Stats.

So it's good to stock up on units like the Yelliw Sea Scout & the Global Hawk Drone who you will probably never take into battle but will be there to defend you when others attack you. If you want to know some other good units to buy for defense, just look at what units show up on your rivals list of units when you attack someone - then you know those top units are worth looking into for your own defense.

[Procyon]

Thanks for the help What and Mcdoc. I wouldn't think that allies actually brought their inventory. It would be way too confusing. But noticing posts that I get and ones that I see on my rival's sites include things like "Lets be allies! With your strong sea units and my strong infantry we can rule the world!" so I wasn't sure.

And yes, ever since the embarrassment of the chocolate subs floating up to my base and raiding me, Defense has been the #1 priority.

Thanks again!

[Maverick50727]

Yes like they say more of your units. Max Units brought to battle = Level * 5 (# of allies allowed per level) * 4 (units per ally). Example Level 10 10*5*4=200 Units. This is assuming of course you are using all your ally count possilbe Level 10 (10*5=50max allies that can be utilized) This means anything over 50 at level 10 is a waste, if you are below you are taking a big hit on your stats. Example at the same Level 10, if you only had 20 allies instad of your allowed 50, then 20*4=80. So you can only bring in your 80 strongest regardless in your had a 1,000. Bumping up your allies fom 20 to 50 at the level 10 would allow you to use 120 more of your units and as a result all your Alliance Attack/Defense Stats go up. It used to be really easy to determine what units you used depending on whether you were attacking or defending and exactly calculate your A/D stats to match. It is harder these days when you have all the base defenses, nation bonuses, boost building bonuses, etc. to factor in.

[Procyon]

Yes like they say more of your units. Max Units brought to battle = Level * 5 (# of allies allowed per level) * 4 (units per ally). Example Level 10 10*5*4=200 Units. This is assuming of course you are using all your ally count possilbe Level 10 (10*5=50max allies that can be utilized) This means anything over 50 at level 10 is a waste, if you are below you are taking a big hit on your stats. Example at the same Level 10, if you only had 20 allies instad of your allowed 50, then 20*4=80. So you can only bring in your 80 strongest regardless in your had a 1,000. Bumping up your allies fom 20 to 50 at the level 10 would allow you to use 120 more of your units and as a result all your Alliance Attack/Defense Stats go up. It used to be really easy to determine what units you used depending on whether you were attacking or defending and exactly calculate your A/D stats to match. It is harder these days when you have all the base defenses, nation bonuses, boost building bonuses, etc. to factor in.

Thanks Maverick. Very helpful. I didn’t realize there was a cap/level.

With my crawling to Level 23 the last 3 weeks, it’s (23 x 5)4 = 460 units. What I need to do is make certain that a good portion of those 460 have attack worthy stats and not for instance 30 strong units and 430 low end attackers. At this level, I think as I grow the Attack (and Defense for that matter) there will be a continuing sweet spot of alliances to settle in with my rivals. Now I see why going to 115 allies just because I can may put me up against others who can probably back up that number much better than I can. I began noticing this when looking at the stats of a few rivals with many more alliances than me. Some are triple the alliances but barely on par with my Attack and Defense.

To your point about doing the math, with what I've learned in this thread I now take a closer look at the rival's inventory and do a quick analysis in addition to looking at their overall A/D, but you're right, t’s a bit more of a challenge when you factor in all of the bonuses, boosts, etc.

Plus I have to believe there are still wild cards factored into the code. Something might look great statistically, but there’s always a chance it can blow up. It’s the antithesis of the guy who is playing Black Jack and hits on 18. Statistics say it’s a bad play, but he just might get lucky.

And I end up hating that guy if he screws it up for the table.

Thanks again

[Maverick50727]

Yes any unit can be lost in battle if it is taken in as part your allowed units regardless and the casualty rate (high, low, medium, etc) is not entirely accurate it seems. Look at TrampStamp's spreadsheet which lists all units with a consumer percent. Search on that it the forum and you will find it interesting.

In lower levels it appears to be best to have your allies 5X your level so you are using your max allowed units. This is in general and some find they may want to drop it lower to change the grouping of rivals you are paired against. Results vary, you should see Rivals with the same Level as you and the respective ally counts should be in theory closer to yours. How rivals are paired changes through levels it appears as at some point people 30-40 levels above you can attack you, but you can't even see them. It seems if they don't have enough rivals to play with they get options of much lower players, bad. I've tried testing it a few times (search the forum) and my results varied by what other reported based on their levels. If I was at the same level as them with same unit make up, maybe yes, but didn't produce the results i wanted at the time. I may revisit this later again.

You don't have to factor in everything but it helps. Most just attack people with 1/3 defense of their attack to be safe. But knowing exactly what people have does help. Unfortunately by the time you figure out their X strongest units, review their base for boost buildings, etc, when you go back to attack them they drop off your rivals list and no matter how many times your refresh you can't seem to find that perfect target again.

FYI, for some more information, read my posts and others on these threads. It might help you too:
http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?20298-How-is-attack-score-calculated
http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?20456-Help-guys!!
http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?18909-What-level-rivals-are-allowed-to-attack-you-typically
http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?17899-explain-probability-of-low-medium-high-casualty-rate.
http://www.funzio.com/forum/showthread.php?19134-Question-for-developers/page2 (see my rivals/ally count test)

[Procyon]

Great, great info, Maverick. Appreciate you taking the time to list the links and the reminder on TrampStamp's spreadsheet. I had forgotten about all of the great data in there.

Thanks again for the coaching