Combat & Marches

Quick answers

How does combat work in Iron Realms?: Marches and rallies carry troops to a target; battles resolve from a server-issued seed so results cannot be manipulated client-side. Troop types counter each other in a triangle, terrain slows attackers and aids defenders, and losses are distributed across the stacks sent.
Is Iron Realms free to play?: Yes. Iron Realms is free to play in any browser with no download. Play offline with no account, or sign in to join the live realm. Nothing is for sale during the Alpha; when purchases open they will buy speed and cosmetics, never a higher ceiling.
Does spending money make you stronger in Iron Realms?: No. Nothing purchasable raises your power ceiling. A charter audit runs on every build and fails it if any offer would sell power. During the Alpha nothing is for sale at all — better than that, the store gives its goods away: everything in it is free to take, once a day per item, while the realm is being built. When payments do open, spending will compress time only: it clears timers, it never raises the summit.
How long does it take to max a keep in Iron Realms?: Keeps cap at level 45 and troops at tier 13 — the same summit for everyone, and it is a campaign: about seven months of steady play at half an hour a day, counting keep 45 and the nineteen plots that gate it. The Fair Play ledger inside the game reads that figure straight out of the shipped constants, so it is never a month behind the build.

War in Iron Realms is deliberate. Armies march in real time across the map, terrain matters, and a beaten lord is never beaten for good. Here is how it all fits together.

Troops & counters

Four troop types form a rock-paper-scissors triangle, plus siege:

Infantry — the shield wall; strong against cavalry.
Cavalry — the hammer; strong against ranged.
Ranged — the volley; strong against infantry.
Siege — batters walls and garrisons; weak in the open field.

Bringing the right mix for your target — and your commander's skills — decides most battles before a blow lands.

Raids & timed marches

Raid — a same-kingdom strike on a rival keep, resolved fairly: the outcome is decided by a server-minted secret, so nobody can rig a win. It is not, however, silent. The defender gets a banner, a horn and the arrival time, with minutes to reinforce or shield, and their ramparts fell part of your host before the walls are even reached. Pick 25%, 50% or 100% of your army when you send it.
March — send an army across the map on a real timer: attack, scout, or reinforce. You watch it travel and can recall it from the Marches panel. Your Keep sets how many hosts you can have out at once: two, plus one more for every five Keep levels — council bonuses can add to that. Gathering parties draw from the same pool, so a field march and a forage errand compete for the same slots rather than each getting their own.
Rally — gather allies into one great host against a tough target. Your Training Yard sets how large a rally you can lead.

Seats of Power

Seats are the crown jewels of the map. Holding one grants realm-wide buffs and Throne Points, and prestigious seats are guarded by more stars — harder to take and hold. A banner that holds several seats in one region raises a shield wall: +5% to the defender for every allied holding beyond the first, to a ceiling of +30%, and the seat card prints the number to attacker and holder alike. Sieging a seat rewards planning: encircle it, feint, time your sortie, and keep your host's morale up. The pre-battle screen shows terrain and a forecast so you march informed.

Terrain

The land fights beside the defender. Rough ground and forests slow marches, and a garrison in the right terrain gains a real defensive edge. Read the tile before you commit — the map tells you what each biome does.

Shields & the comeback rule

A new lord enjoys the New Lord's Peace — a free protective shield while your house is young. Raise it from the Keep panel; nobody can raid your keep while it holds. It covers your walls and nothing else: a Seat of Power is public, contested ground, and no shield sits over one — a seat you hold is defended by its walls, its garrison and your bannermates' reinforcements, never by your bubble. Raising a blade against another player is what drops your shield, after the game asks you first.

Losing is not a dead end. If your walls are broken and your defence is wiped entirely, a safety valve relocates you and raises a shield — applied, not offered, so it protects a lord who was asleep rather than farmed — the game is designed so a bad night reads as a comeback, not a punishment. Seasons help too: winter hands the defender an edge (see Seasons & Weather).