Auto battler
A genre where the player chooses troops, upgrades and placement while the units fight without direct control. Warhosts is close to it: you decide whom to buy and when to upgrade the castle, and the battle runs on its own.
Wave
A group of placed units that marches onto the battlefield. Waves leave every 30 seconds; everything you managed to buy and place before it leaves goes into battle.
Line of defense
A defensive structure of a side. There are three: the palisade, the wall and the citadel. Lines shoot at nearby enemies and are destroyed by the enemy army.
Palisade
The outer line, first in the enemy's way. Durability 720, growing with the castle level.
Wall
The middle line. Durability 1080. When it falls, militia come to help.
Citadel
The main line. Durability 1560. Its destruction means the enemy wins. When the palisade and wall have fallen, the citadel slowly heals (until minute 14).
Castle (castle level)
The main upgrade of the player, five levels. Each level unlocks units of the next tier, enlarges the wave and the placement field, strengthens the lines and the hero spell.
Tier
The level of a unit from 1 to 5. A unit is available when your castle level is at least its tier.
Role
The purpose of a unit in battle: brawler, ranged, tank, support, rider, mage, siege, air. Counters depend on roles.
Counter-pick
Choosing units that are especially effective against the enemy army, for example spearmen against riders.
Workshop
A building bought for gold (up to four), each gives +3 gold per second. Prices: 200, 350, 550, 800.
Mine
A point in the middle of the field. Whoever holds it with an army gets +4 gold per second. If both armies are nearby, the mine is contested and gives no income.
Militia
8 militia that appear on a side when one of its lines is destroyed. They help hold the next line.
Hero spell
A faction's spell that the player casts at a chosen point of the field: Siege volley, Call of the pack or Bone storm. It has a cooldown.
Racial trait
A permanent bonus of a faction: Formation for the Kingdom, Pack for the Wilds, Dust for the Pale Court.
Formation
The Kingdom racial trait: an ally with at least two more allies nearby takes less damage (5% to 17% depending on the castle level).
Pack
The Wilds racial trait: every kill strengthens the whole wave's attack (up to 10 times). With no kills for 15 seconds the bonus fades.
Dust
The Pale Court racial trait: every 5th death near your army raises a free skeleton for 30 seconds.
Decay
From minute 15 the front line of each side loses 5% durability every 10 seconds (down to 12%) and the lines stop shooting. A safeguard against endless battles.
Elo rating
A system that rates a player by battle results: a win over a strong opponent gives more points than over a weak one.
Lockstep
A way of network play: the server and both players simulate the same battle from the same commands, so everyone sees the same picture and the result cannot be forged.