A formation needs an unlocked slot, a commander, eligible heroes and properly allocated soldiers before it can march. The hero-card order, battle-position grid and soldier-allocation area control different things. Work through formation selection, hero assignment, positions, and confirmed allocation so problems are found before deployment.
Choose the commander first
Open Troops, select an unlocked formation on the left, and fill its hero slots. The first slot is the commander; the remaining slots are deputies. Deputies without a commander cannot deploy. Command also affects troop-capacity bonuses, so changing the commander calls for another look at soldier numbers rather than simply checking that the portraits swapped.
Select an empty slot to choose a hero or drag a hero card into it. Moving someone from another formation changes that other formation after confirmation. A deployed hero cannot simply be moved away. When maintaining two teams, resolve shared-hero conflicts before dismantling a team already carrying out an order.
The grid controls position; the cards control command
Open Position Adjustment from the formation diagram. Drag a portrait to an empty cell to move it, or onto another portrait to exchange positions. A manual grid change only alters starting battle positions: it does not change commander or deputy status. Swapping heroes in the card row, however, also changes their associated order and positions.
To put a damage absorber in front, use the grid without unnecessarily making that hero commander. You can also keep your chosen commander while arranging a separate battle position. Automatic placement is a starting point; after manual changes, check the full front and rear rows and observe the first engagement in Campaign.
Allocate a tier and quantity for each hero
- Choose each hero’s soldier tier in the allocation area. Heroes may use different unlocked tiers. If a desired tier is locked, inspect the corresponding building requirement first.
- Drag the quantity slider or enter a number. The preview is limited both by that hero’s capacity and by available reserves of the selected tier. A large total reserve does not ensure a supply at every tier.
- If you use Quick Allocation, inspect the result against this march’s purpose. The shortcut distributes existing soldiers; it does not create missing reserves.
- Confirm the allocation before changing formations or leaving. A yellow preview bar is not a saved allocation, and leaving can cancel unconfirmed input. Reopen the formation to check actual numbers.
Recheck after changing command or tier
A commander change can reduce the former commander’s carrying capacity, returning excess soldiers to reserve. Changing tier recalculates available allocation as well; stock at the old tier is not stock at the new tier. Inspect both formation total and individual heroes afterward, ensuring an important hero has not been left with only a small contingent.
A deployed-state restriction needs a location change
Deployed heroes cannot freely be removed or have soldier allocation changed. If a control refuses an edit, check the formation’s state instead of repeatedly confirming. Return the formation to your main city before editing; redeployment to a personal Camp or another forward base does not count as returning to the main city. Campaign may use a map formation even when it is deployed, Critically Wounded or fatigued, but an actual map march still checks the appropriate state and stamina. Do not transfer Campaign’s convenience rules to field deployment.