TL;DR: A City Wall is the level-3 city upgrade that massively boosts the defense of any unit with the Fortify skill standing inside that city. You’ll see a double-shield icon on the unit’s HP when the wall is active. It doesn’t make cities uncapturable; it just makes the defender much harder to kill.
How it works (latest version)
- Unchanged in the 2025 Balance Pass (Sept 1, 2025). No wall-specific tweaks were listed in the official patch notes.
- Unlock/Cost: When a city reaches level 3, you choose City Wall or +5 Stars. The wall choice is free, but you give up the 5-star payout.
- Who gets the bonus: Only units that have Fortify (e.g., Defender, Archer, Warrior, Rider, Knight) gain city/wall defense. Units without Fortify (e.g., Giant, most special/super units) get no city/wall defense.
- Swordsman note: In current builds, Swordsman no longer has Fortify, so it does not benefit from walls. (This change shipped in recent updates and is reflected on the unit’s page.)
- How strong is it? Official text says “much stronger” than normal city defense. Community testing pegs it around ~4× the standard city defense (normal city ≈ 1.5×), though damage math is nonlinear—treat that as an estimate, not an official number.
- What it doesn’t do: Walls don’t block Cloak infiltration; cloaks can still slip in if their rules allow.
When to choose Wall vs. +5 Stars
- Pick City Wall when a city is under immediate threat, sits on a chokepoint/frontier, or must hold while you regroup. (Even the official tips frame walls as situational.)
- Otherwise, +5 Stars is usually stronger for tempo and economy, especially early. (Common strategy guidance.)
Mini-FAQ
Does a wall help all my units in that city?
Only those with Fortify. Giants and other non-Fortify units get nothing from cities/walls.
How do I know it’s working?
The defending unit shows a double-shield ring around its HP bar, and the city tile displays a wall graphic.
Does it stop captures?
No. It only boosts the defender’s survivability. If attackers remove the unit, they can capture the city as usual.
Best units to park in a walled city?
Defender (tanky, high retaliation) and other Fortify units you’re actively healing/rotating. Swordsman won’t benefit in the current version.
