Waterfall Troop Training

The most efficient method for troop recovery, power growth, and VS Day event scoring

Key terms — word bank
Waterfall
Training cheap low-tier troops all week, then promoting them up through each barracks tier on VS Day to earn points at every step.
Rung
A stable 4-barracks configuration with staggered levels. There are 5 rungs as you advance from HQ 17 to HQ 30.
Milepost
A barracks level that unlocks a new troop tier. Only these levels matter: 6, 10, 14, 17, 20, 24, 27, 30.
Base tier
The lowest troop tier you train all week — the starting point of your cascade. On Rung 4 (barracks 17-20-24-27), the base tier is T6.
Cascade
Promoting your stockpiled base-tier troops up through each barracks on VS Day, earning event points at every promotion stop.
Rung racing
The rule: always upgrade your lowest barracks toward the next milepost above your highest. Keeps your waterfall ladder intact as you grow.
Next upgrade goal
The milepost level your lowest barracks is working toward. If your highest is L24, your lowest should be chasing L27 — one step above the top.
VS Day
Alliance Duel Day 5 — "Total Mobilization." The weekly event day where you execute the waterfall cascade for maximum points.

What is waterfall training?

Core concept

Train low, promote high, earn points at every step

Instead of training troops directly at your highest tier (expensive, slow, one-time points), you train cheap low-tier troops in ALL barracks during the week, then cascade them up through progressively higher-level barracks on event day. Each promotion earns event points separately — giving you 4–5x the points compared to direct high-tier training.

Key requirement

Stagger your barracks levels

Keep your 4 barracks at different levels to create a "promotion ladder." Each barracks level unlocks a troop tier. A barracks can promote troops from any lower tier up to its max tier, so different levels = different promotion stops in the cascade. Do NOT upgrade all barracks equally — this breaks the waterfall.

How the cascade works (example: Rung 4)

Barracks at levels 17-20-24-27. Train T6 all week, then promote through each stop on VS Day:

T6
Barracks L17
Train all week
T7
Barracks L20
T8
Barracks L24
T9
Barracks L27
Points per troop
4× earned

Compare: training 1 troop directly to T9 = ~220 points. Using the waterfall (T6→T7→T8→T9), the same troop earns points at each promotion step, totaling ~880+ points. That's 4x the score from the same single soldier.

The time advantage

Upgrading takes 2–4 hours. Training from scratch takes 12–24 hours.

Both actions earn the same event points per unit. On VS Day you have roughly 8 hours to score. Training one fresh batch from scratch might take all day — promoting your stockpile through 4 tiers can happen in that same window, earning 4 batches' worth of points before the event closes.


Weekly routine & VS Day execution

All week (Mon–Thu)

Train your waterfall's base tier in ALL 4 barracks

If you're on Rung 4 (barracks 17-20-24-27), train T6 troops in all 4 barracks simultaneously. This is fast and cheap. Let troops accumulate — you need 20,000–30,000 stockpiled for a big VS Day push.

Friday (VS Day 5 — Total Mobilization)

Execute the waterfall cascade

Step 1: Promote troops in your HIGHEST barracks first (L27 promotes T6→T9). Use training speedups.
Step 2: Move down — next barracks (L24) promotes T6→T8.
Step 3: Continue down the ladder (L20 promotes T6→T7, L17 keeps training T6).
Step 4: As each barracks finishes, it frees up troops to flow up the chain again.
Each promotion step earns separate event points. With 25,000 troops cascading through 4 tiers, you're looking at massive point totals.


The 5 rungs — your progression roadmap

Each "rung" is a stable barracks configuration that maintains a 4-tier waterfall. As your HQ progresses, you advance through rungs.

RungBarracks setupTrain tierWaterfallHQ range
16 – 10 – 14 – 17T3T3→T4→T5→T6HQ 17–18
210 – 14 – 17 – 20T4T4→T5→T6→T7HQ 20
314 – 17 – 20 – 24T5T5→T6→T7→T8HQ 24
417 – 20 – 24 – 27T6T6→T7→T8→T9HQ 27
520 – 24 – 27 – 30T7T7→T8→T9→T10HQ 30

Milepost reference — barracks levels that matter

Only target these levels when upgrading barracks. Each one unlocks a new troop tier.

L6
→ T3
L10
→ T4
L14
→ T5
L17
→ T6
L20
→ T7
L24
→ T8
L27
→ T9
L30
→ T10

The rung racing method — one simple rule

The rule

Always upgrade your LOWEST barracks to the next milepost beyond your current HIGHEST

That's it. No complex planning. Identify your lowest barracks → find the next milepost above your highest barracks → upgrade toward that target. When complete, repeat with the new lowest. The system self-corrects from any starting position.

Interactive: What should I do next?

Your next move

All week — train in all barracks
VS Day (Total Mobilization) — cascade

Why this self-corrects

Even if your barracks are at weird levels (like 11-16-19-21 from random early-game upgrades), just follow the rule. Your lowest barracks is always far below your HQ, meaning early levels upgrade fast (1–2 days each). Over 2–4 months of chasing, your barracks naturally converge toward ideal rung spacing. You can't permanently screw this up.


"Training Ground Full" kills your waterfall

Drill Grounds determine max troop capacity. If they're full, ALL barracks training stops. You need at least 70,000–150,000 capacity depending on your rung. Upgrade Drill Grounds proactively — don't let this sneak up on you during VS week.

Don't max all barracks to the same level

If you've already leveled all barracks to L30, you can't create the cascade anymore. You'll use direct T10 training instead (still viable, just less point-efficient). If your barracks are uneven, that's actually GOOD — just follow the rung racing rule to optimize from wherever you are.


Builder priority

Builder 1: Always on HQ chain (HQ → required buildings → next HQ).
Builder 2: Dedicated to barracks rung racing (upgrade lowest → next milepost).
Builder 3: Drill Grounds, hospitals, secondary buildings.
Builder 4: Flex — whatever needs catching up.

Barracks rung racing never blocks HQ progression. They "race" each other — your barracks chase the milepost target but pause at your HQ cap until HQ progresses, then resume. Neither is ever fully ahead or behind.

Common mistakes

Mistake

Upgrading all barracks equally

Destroys the waterfall chain. You want staggered levels, not matching ones.

Mistake

Training highest tier directly all week

Slow, expensive, and earns minimal event points. Always train low and promote high.

Mistake

Ignoring Drill Grounds capacity

If you can't stockpile 20,000+ troops, your VS Day cascade will be tiny. Check capacity weekly.

Mistake

Promoting troops outside of event days

Never waste promotions when there's no event running. Hoard the low-tier troops and only cascade during VS Day 5 or Arms Race Unit Progression.