The Combat model that Elvenar uses is quite similar to what you’ve probably seen in several other games. The discussion in the EN Elvenar Wiki is especially well done, so please do take a few minutes to review https://en.wiki.elvenar.com/index.php?title=Battle#Combat_Pentagon

Swords

Who is effective against whom is obviously important.

• Mercenary Troops like it simple. They are strong against the next class in the clockwise rotation, but somewhat weaker against the subsequent class

• Trained Troops are the best at tactics; they focus on the second subsequent class in the rotation, but they’re somewhat less concerned with the immediately subsequent class

• Barracks Troop don’t care. They are somewhat proficient against both classes

• Within each class the various types of troops improve as you move through the Tech Tree, as will the capabilities of the enemy troops. The folks who are into Manual Battle love this stuff, but it’s a wash for the rest of us.

• Don’t forget that it’s a two-sided coin. The enemy will also be attacking YOU, using the same tradeoffs.

Initiative

Mages are peculiar. Their value is that they DEMORALIZE the two Heavy Classes. They’re actually very weak on both Offense and Defense, so they need to be supported by troops from the other classes.

Take another look at https://en.wiki.elvenar.com/index.php?title=Battle#The_Battlefield

It’s useful to think of the Battle formation as a Football formation.

• The Quarterback (Mage or Light Ranged) is protected by

• The Melee classes, who are front and center. They protect the units that don’t have very many Hit (Health) points

• The Ranged classes, who are on the wings, spread out the fight and do most of the actual damage

If you’re manually controlling the battle, then you can pick your targets, but if you’re using Auto-Fight, which is your only choice if you’re on a Mobile, then positioning is CRITICAL because the Combat Engine will always attack, in each round, the remaining combatant with the highest Initiative.

• The first (leftmost) troops will go back center. They should be your Mages or Light Ranged troops

• The next two slots will go in front, to the left and right of center. They should be your Melee troops

• The final two slots will go to the far left and far right wings. They should be your Ranged troops

• You need to ENSURE that your Mages (or Light Ranged troops) will get the first shot in each round, and that’s exactly the purpose of Initiative (positioning).

If you are facing a multi-stage encounter, optimize your troops for the final fight. You aren’t allowed to change your troop disposition between stages, but you are allowed to use Vitality Surge Instants to recharge damaged squads.