Dynasties
Defensive line
The Defensive line raises the defense power of every city you own. It is chosen at match setup and stands for the whole match (Getting started).
Its effect
- City defense +3
A city's base defense is 3; with the Defensive line it is 6. The contribution is summed into the same item as the Walls contribution, so a walled city takes both — the dynasty does not replace Walls, it stacks on top of them.
The contribution applies to every city you own, not just the ones you founded: a city you conquered carries the same bonus, and so does a Neutral village you take — the moment a village is yours it is an ordinary city.
The effect is defense power only: the city's HP (15 + 2 × population), its turn-start repair (2) and its vision (2) are unchanged (Cities and population).
Defense power is not the same thing as HP
In the combat formula, defense power sits only in the denominator of the damage dealt to the defender (Combat):
Attack power = attack × (HP ÷ max HP) × shore multiplier × morale multiplier
Defense power = defense × (HP ÷ max HP) × terrain multiplier × foothill multiplier × type multiplier × fortify multiplier × morale multiplier
Type multiplier = the pairing's multiplier when the defender has the edge over the attacking type (Spearman against Raider ×2, Spearman against Sipahi ×2, Raider against Archer ×2, Janissary against Archer ×2, Archer against Spearman ×2, Sipahi against Pioneer ×2, Sipahi against Siege ×2, Sipahi against Archer ×2); 1 for every other pairing. The edge only applies on defense.
Fortify multiplier = 1.5 for a dug-in unit, 1 otherwise.
Morale multiplier = 0.75 for a unit at morale 2 or below (shaken), 0.5 for a unit at morale 0 (routed), 1 otherwise. It reads the morale before the fight.
Foothill multiplier = 1.25 for a unit defending on a tile next to a mountain, 1 otherwise. Shore multiplier = 0.85 on the attacker's power against a unit on a tile next to water, 1 otherwise. Both read the tile the defender stands on, not the direction of the attack, and neither applies to a city.
Damage to the target = attack power × 4 × attack power ÷ (attack power + defense power)
Counter damage = defense power × 2 × defense power ÷ (attack power + defense power) × counter share — only if the defender survives. In an adjacent attack a unit always strikes back in full (share 1) and a city never does. In a ranged attack a unit strikes back in full if the attacker is within its own reach and it can fight; a city strikes back with a share of 0.5.
Results round to the nearest whole number, halves up. There are no hidden variables: the preview is the real calculation.
So incoming damage grows with the square of attack power and shrinks as defense power rises. The squared term on the counter-damage side applies to a city only against a ranged attack, scaled by its share; a city does not strike back at an adjacent melee attack. A city's defense power's main job is lowering incoming damage, and that is exactly what this line does — the counter it returns to a ranged besieger grows from the same defense power. Adding HP does not do the same job; it only lengthens how many turns the siege takes.
What it does not change
- Terrain and type multipliers do not apply to cities; the one multiplier on the city side is revolt (Victory conditions). The Defensive line does not touch it: a revolting city still defends at ×0.5 under this dynasty.
- A friendly unit in the region is not a garrison. You still defend with units; the dynasty buys the turns those units need to arrive.
- A city under siege does not repair. The dynasty does not change that rule, it changes the city's threshold for falling.
The combat preview shows it
The preview is the real calculation: the dynasty contribution included, the defense power you see on screen is the very number the engine works with. It is also the number the rival sees when it weighs an attack on your city — the AI decides with your dynasty accounted for.
The numbers on this page are read from the game’s balance tables.