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Why Attack Order Matters
Every hit changes the next one. After a unit takes damage, its defence force drops, so later attackers deal more. A killing blow also stops retaliation, which can save a wounded melee unit that would have died going first. Ranged attackers often strike from outside the defender's reach, so mixing melee and ranged units changes who takes the return hit.
This calculator tests every order for up to seven attackers and picks a Recommended plan: kill the defender if possible, keep your units alive, preserve HP, and use fewer attackers. You still set board-dependent options such as whether the defender can retaliate and which units stand in splash.
How Polytopia Damage Works
Polytopia combat scales both attack and defence by remaining HP, mixes those forces, and rounds to a whole number. Attack force is attack times current HP over max HP. Defence force is defence times current HP over max HP, then multiplied by the defence bonus. Damage is that attack share of total force, times attack times 4.5, rounded to the nearest whole number.
Wounded units hit more softly and die faster. Forest, mountain, water, and city tiles use a 1.5× defence bonus. A city wall uses 4×. Poison halves defence before that bonus, so a poisoned unit on a wall is still protected, just less so. Retaliation uses the same formula from the defender, but only if that unit survives, can reach the attacker, and is not blocked by Surprise, Stiff, Freeze, or an area attack. Splash and explode hits take the already-rounded damage, divide by two, and floor the result, so an odd 5 becomes 2 instead of 2.5.
Current Game Version
Updated for Polytopia 2.17.2. Combat rules last verified August 2026.
FAQ
How is damage calculated in Polytopia?
Attack and defence are scaled by current HP, combined into a force ratio, multiplied by attack × 4.5, then rounded. Retaliation uses the same steps from the defender.
Does HP affect damage?
Yes. Wounded units deal less damage and take more in return because both attack force and defence force shrink with missing HP.
Does attack order matter?
Yes. Damage and retaliation on one hit change HP for the next, so two line-ups with the same units can finish with different survivors.
How does defense bonus work?
Standard terrain and city bonuses multiply defence by 1.5. A city wall multiplies defence by 4. Poison halves defence before that multiplier.
Is this calculator updated for the latest version?
Yes. It is verified for Polytopia 2.17.2. Store updates from 2.16.5 through 2.17.2 did not change the combat formula or unit stats. Last checked August 2026.