Troops are too expensive to waste! Know what you’re up against before you start or join a Watcher battle.
A Watcher fight isn’t one big clash. Each Watcher brings a fixed number of zombies, and the fight is played out as a series of battles across the squads that joined. The fewer squads that join, the more battles each one has to fight, and every battle wears that squad down.
That’s why joining a Watcher you can’t handle costs so much. Under-powered squads usually lose most or all of their troops, and most of those troops die outright instead of going to the hospital.
Quick reference
| Watcher level | Watcher power | Zombies | Minimum to start | Minimum to join | Ideal group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 1.5m | 5,325 | Above 1.5m | 1.5m | 4–5 squads at 3m+ |
| 110 | 3.2m | 6,625 | 4m (recommended) | 4m (recommended) | 4+ squads at 4.5m+ |
| 120 | 6.5m | 7,345 | 6.5m | 6.5m | 4–5 squads at 8m+ |
“Power” here means your Squad 1 power, not your account power. The “Watcher power” column is the Watcher’s own power: the number your squad has to stay above for the whole fight.
Meeting the minimum doesn’t make a battle safe. At the minimum you should still expect to lose at least half your troops. The “ideal group” column is where losses become manageable.
Why too few joiners hurts
If not enough squads join, the battles that remain fall back on whoever is still in the fight, usually the player who started it. Each extra battle that squad fights is fought with fewer troops than the last, so its power keeps dropping. By the final battles its power can fall below the Watcher’s, and that’s where the heavy losses happen.
The rule of thumb: if you’ll be fighting several times, you need noticeably more than the Watcher’s power at the start so you’re still above it at the end.
Level 100 Watcher
Watcher power 1.5m · 5,325 zombies
- Starting: don’t start one unless your Squad 1 is above 1.5m. Even then, expect to lose at least half your troops, most of them killed.
- Joining: don’t join unless your Squad 1 is above 1.5m. Under 1.5m, expect to lose all of your troops.
- Only 3 join: the player who started fights 3 times. Unless that squad is at least 2.5m, its power in the last battle will be under the Watcher’s 1.5m, with heavy losses.
- Ideal: at least 4–5 members, each with a Squad 1 power above 3m.
- Example: a T7 squad at 2.6m lost about 256 troops.
Level 110 Watcher
Watcher power 3.2m · 6,625 zombies
- Starting: the Watcher itself is 3.2m, but the recommendation is not to start one unless your Squad 1 is at least 4m. Even then, expect to lose at least half your troops, most of them killed.
- Joining: the recommendation is not to join below 4m. If your Squad 1 is under the Watcher’s 3.2m, expect to lose all of your troops.
- Only 3 join: the player who started should expect to fight 3 times. Unless that squad is at least 4.5m, its power in the last battle will be under the Watcher’s 3.2m, with heavy losses.
- Ideal: at least 4 members, each with a Squad 1 power above 4.5m.
- Example: a T5 squad at 3.2m lost about 987 troops.
Level 120 Watcher
Watcher power 6.5m · 7,345 zombies
- Starting: don’t start one unless your Squad 1 is at least 6.5m. Even then, expect to lose at least half your troops, most of them killed. Start one below 6.5m and you should expect to lose all of your troops.
- Joining: don’t join unless your Squad 1 is at least 6.5m. Under 6.5m, expect to lose all of your troops.
- Only 2–4 join: when several joiners are under 6.5m, the squads that are above 6.5m end up fighting several times. Unless those squads are at least 8m, their power in the final battles will be under the Watcher’s 6.5m, with heavy losses.
- Ideal: at least 4–5 members, each with a Squad 1 power above 8m.
- Example: a T7 squad at 6.9m lost about 405 troops.
Before you start or join
- Check your Squad 1 power, not your account power, against the table above.
- Count who’s coming. If you’re starting, wait until enough squads at the right power have committed. Starting with 2–3 joiners usually means you take the repeat battles yourself.
- Skip a Watcher that’s above your level. Joining one you can’t handle doesn’t help the group. It costs you troops and adds a weak squad to the fight.
- Plan for the hospital anyway. Even a well-sized group takes losses. See Instant Hospital Healing for healing the wounded without spending diamonds.