Version 2: Alliance wars

Changes from the page now

Summary

The weekly alliance war from sign-up to rewards: the four phases, the board of zones and squads, team duel attacks, war points, VP and the war ladder. The weekly alliance war: sign-up, setup, attack and review days, the board of zones, team duel attacks and how war points are scored.

1. −Removed: Alliance wars are Polandball Go's weekly team mode. Two alliances are matched, each builds a board of defense squads, and for one day every member attacks the other side's board. The alliance with more war points at the end wins, and the result feeds a season-long war ladder.
2. +Added: Once a week, two alliances fight on a board of defense squads. Your alliance defends its own board and attacks the other side's. Since October 10, 2026, each attack is one team duel.
3.  
4. {{balls: 344:0=Carthage, 203:0=British Empire, 156:0=First French Empire}}
5.  
6. −Removed: Since October 10, 2026, an attack is a single team duel: up to five of your balls against whatever is left of one enemy squad, with damage carrying over from one attack to the next. Older guides that talk about five one-hit matches per attack describe a system that no longer exists.
7. −Removed:  
8. −Removed: ## The war week
9. −Removed:  
10. −Removed: The war clock runs on UTC, not on the 8 PM Eastern clock the PvP ladder uses. Every phase starts at 00:00 UTC, which is 8 PM US Eastern the evening before in summer time and 7 PM once daylight saving ends on November 1, 2026.
11. −Removed:  
12. −Removed: - **Thursday: Sign-up.** Alliances enter that week's wars. Nothing is listed yet.
13. −Removed: - **Friday: Setup.** Sign-up closes at 00:00 UTC and matchmaking runs at once. Members spend the day placing defense squads.
14. −Removed: - **Saturday: Attack.** The boards open and members attack.
15. −Removed: - **Sunday: Review.** The results become final when review ends, and rewards arrive with the weekly payout.
16. −Removed:  
17. −Removed: The game labels each war in its history by a week date, such as "Oct 8". That is the label for the week, not the day the fighting happened. The war labeled Oct 8 was fought on Saturday, October 10.
18. +Added: ## The weekly schedule
19.  
20. −Removed: ## Your lineup is frozen at the lock
21. +Added: Each phase starts at 00:00 UTC. In US Eastern time that is 8 PM the evening before in summer time, and 7 PM after daylight saving ends.
22.  
23. −Removed: The balls you war with are the ones you held when sign-up closed, at Friday 00:00 UTC. The game freezes each ball's CP, upgrades, typing and item at that moment, so a level, a star or a new pull after the lock waits until next week. Pressing the sign-up button early changes nothing; the close is what counts. [Roster lock](wiki:roster-lock) covers the timing and what to do before it.
24. +Added: - **Thursday: Sign-up.** Alliances enter that week's wars. No wars are listed yet.
25. +Added: - **Friday: Setup.** Sign-up closes and the game matches alliances. Members place their defense squads.
26. +Added: - **Saturday: Attack.** Members attack the other side's board.
27. +Added: - **Sunday: Review.** Results are final once review ends. Rewards arrive in the weekly payout.
28.  
29. −Removed: ## Matchmaking
30. +Added: Your lineup for the week is your roster as it stood when sign-up closed. The game freezes each ball's CP, upgrades, typing and item at that moment. A ball you level or pull later doesn't count until next week.
31.  
32. −Removed: At matchmaking the game records each side's **war power** and how many members joined. Wars are then sorted into brackets A to D by the number of members taking part.
33. +Added: ## Matchmaking and brackets
34.  
35. −Removed: Each war is fought on a named battlefield, a real city the game picks for that war. It sets the scene and has nothing to do with where any member lives or plays.
36. +Added: At matchmaking the game records each side's war power and how many members joined. Wars are sorted into brackets A to D by the number of members who joined.
37.  
38. ## The board
39.  
40. −Removed: Each side has a board of **zones** arranged in three rows: front, middle and back. Zones open row by row. You can only hit a middle zone after a front zone in front of it has fallen or was left empty, and the back opens the same way.
41. −Removed:  
42. −Removed: Most boards are eight zones with two squad slots each, sixteen slots in all. Larger wars have 24, 32 or 40 slots. A single player can place up to 16 squads.
43. −Removed:  
44. −Removed: A **squad** is five defending balls in one slot. The first two seats are visible to the attacker and seats 3 to 5 stay hidden until an attack reveals them. While the war runs, the other side's score is masked.
45. −Removed:  
46. −Removed: Each slot you leave empty pays the other side 65 war points automatically, and each squad you place pays you 40, so an unfilled slot is a 105-point swing before a single attack is made.
47. −Removed:  
48. −Removed: ## One pool of balls
49. +Added: Each side's board is a set of zones, split into front, middle and back. A zone further back opens once a zone in front of it falls, so you fight from the front toward the back.
50.  
51. −Removed: A ball can attack at most once per war, and a ball placed on defense never attacks. Both jobs draw on the same roster, which makes the split the main decision of setup day.
52. +Added: A **squad** is five defending balls placed in a zone slot. Some of its defenders stay hidden until an attack reveals them, and the other side's score is hidden while the war runs.
53.  
54. −Removed: A check from real wars: top alliances field defenders around 9,000 CP holding Shadowscript-class items, and a 6,000 CP ball will not KO two of those on its own. An alliance that puts every strong ball on defense has nothing left that can break the other side's best squads. Keep enough strength back to win attacks.
55. +Added: A ball attacks at most once per war, and a ball on defense never attacks. Defense and attack come out of the same pool, so the split matters. A war plan that puts all your strongest balls on defense leaves you nothing that can break the other side's squads.
56.  
57. ## Attacks are team duels
58.  
59. −Removed: An attack sends a team of **1 to 5** of your balls against every defender still standing in one squad. It is one round-based duel with the PvP moves (Attack, Block, Swap and Weapon), fought in seat order, with a cap of 40 rounds.
60. +Added: An attack sends a team of **1 to 5** of your balls against every defender still standing in one squad. It is one round-based duel, using the same moves as PvP: Attack, Block, Swap and Weapon.
61.  
62. −Removed: - **HP carries over.** A defender left at 1,050 of its 7,804 HP starts the next attack at 1,050.
63. −Removed: - **A squad falls when its last defender is KO'd.** A strong squad can be worn down over several attacks.
64. −Removed: - **At the round cap, the defenders keep whatever HP they have.** The attacker needs a full wipe to clear the squad.
65. −Removed: - **Items count only through their attack and defense numbers.** Effects such as execute, double damage or unexhaust never fire in a war duel.
66. +Added: - **HP carries over.** A defender that survives keeps the HP it had left. The next attack on that squad starts from there.
67. +Added: - A squad is worn down over several attacks. It falls when its last defender is KO'd.
68. +Added: - A duel runs at most 40 rounds. At the cap, the defenders keep the HP they have.
69. +Added: - Items count only through their attack and defense numbers. Item effects like execute or unexhaust do nothing in war duels.
70.  
71. −Removed: The full rules, with the old one-hit system for history, are in [War attacks and team duels](wiki:war-attacks-and-team-duels). The moves themselves are explained in [the duel engine](wiki:how-a-duel-works).
72. +Added: Strong defenders with strong items are hard to move. A much weaker ball will barely scratch them, so send attackers that can finish the job.
73.  
74. −Removed: ## War points
75. +Added: ## Scoring
76.  
77. −Removed: War points are the score of a war. The game draws them as banners. They come from placing squads, from empty slots on the other board, from KOs, from clearing squads, from clearing zones and from clearing the whole map. The first attack on a squad pays more per KO than later ones, and back zones pay three times what front zones do. A failed attack still pays for the defenders it KO'd.
78. +Added: War points come from these sources:
79.  
80. −Removed: The game also sets a **participation floor**, a minimum score each member is expected to reach. [War scoring and the war ladder](wiki:war-scoring-and-ladder) has the full points table and worked examples.
81. +Added: - Placing a defense squad.
82. +Added: - KOing defenders. The first attack on a squad pays more per KO than later ones.
83. +Added: - Clearing a squad, with a bonus for doing it on the first attack.
84. +Added: - Clearing a front, middle or back zone. Back zones pay the most.
85. +Added: - Clearing the whole map.
86. +Added: - Empty slots on the other side. Each one pays your side automatically, so fill every slot you have.
87.  
88. −Removed: ## VP, the war ladder and rewards
89. +Added: A failed attack still pays for the defenders it KO'd. Each member also has to reach a minimum score, the participation floor. The game sets it.
90.  
91. −Removed: After each war the alliance receives **victory points (VP)** toward the war ladder. A loss can still pay some; one defeat paid 51. The ladder's tiers carry the PvP tier names, Bronze up to Ethereal, with promote, stay and demote zones over a season. Season 1 began the week of September 21, 2026. Wars before that were preseason.
92. +Added: ## Victory points and rewards
93.  
94. −Removed: Rewards are paid by the alliance's ladder tier and the result (win, draw, loss or bye): War Bonds, Clay and XP for members, and alliance XP for the alliance. A separate end-of-season reward depends on whether the alliance was promoted, stayed or was relegated. **War Bonds** come only from wars, never expire and are spent in the War Shop, home of the Glorious Set. See [Currencies, shops and events](wiki:currencies-and-shops).
95. +Added: Each war pays **VP** toward the war ladder, and a loss can still pay some. The war ladder has tiers named like the PvP ones, with promote, stay and demote zones over a season.
96.  
97. −Removed: ## On polbielytics
98. +Added: Each war ladder tier pays by result (win, draw, loss or bye): War Bonds, Clay and XP to members, and alliance XP to the alliance. A season reward depends on whether the alliance was promoted, stayed or was relegated. War Bonds come only from wars, never expire, and are spent in the War Shop.
99.  
100. −Removed: - [This week's wars](/alliances/scoreboard) shows every war of the week, and the [war ladder](/alliances/wars) shows the season standings.
101. −Removed: - Each alliance's page has its war record and head-to-head history.
102. −Removed: - A **clean sweep** is this site's word for a war in which one side took every zone on the other board.
103. −Removed: - [War Council](wiki:war-council) is polbielytics' own fantasy game built on these wars. It is not part of Polandball Go.
104. −Removed: - The [alliance wars guide](/guides/alliance-wars) and the [PvP Duels guide](/guides/pvp-duels) go into strategy.
105. +Added: ## On polbielytics
106.  
107. −Removed: See also [Alliances](wiki:alliances) and [Roster lock](wiki:roster-lock).
108. +Added: - [This week's wars](/alliances/scoreboard) and the [war ladder](/alliances/wars).
109. +Added: - Each alliance's page has its war record.
110. +Added: - The [alliance wars guide](/guides/alliance-wars) and [PvP Duels guide](/guides/pvp-duels).
111. +Added: - [War Council](wiki:war-council), our fantasy game built on these wars.

This version

Once a week, two alliances fight on a board of defense squads. Your alliance defends its own board and attacks the other side's. Since October 10, 2026, each attack is one team duel.

CarthageBritish EmpireFirst French Empire

The weekly schedule

Each phase starts at 00:00 UTC. In US Eastern time that is 8 PM the evening before in summer time, and 7 PM after daylight saving ends.

• Thursday: Sign-up. Alliances enter that week's wars. No wars are listed yet.
• Friday: Setup. Sign-up closes and the game matches alliances. Members place their defense squads.
• Saturday: Attack. Members attack the other side's board.
• Sunday: Review. Results are final once review ends. Rewards arrive in the weekly payout.

Your lineup for the week is your roster as it stood when sign-up closed. The game freezes each ball's CP, upgrades, typing and item at that moment. A ball you level or pull later doesn't count until next week.

Matchmaking and brackets

At matchmaking the game records each side's war power and how many members joined. Wars are sorted into brackets A to D by the number of members who joined.

The board

Each side's board is a set of zones, split into front, middle and back. A zone further back opens once a zone in front of it falls, so you fight from the front toward the back.

A squad is five defending balls placed in a zone slot. Some of its defenders stay hidden until an attack reveals them, and the other side's score is hidden while the war runs.

A ball attacks at most once per war, and a ball on defense never attacks. Defense and attack come out of the same pool, so the split matters. A war plan that puts all your strongest balls on defense leaves you nothing that can break the other side's squads.

Attacks are team duels

An attack sends a team of 1 to 5 of your balls against every defender still standing in one squad. It is one round-based duel, using the same moves as PvP: Attack, Block, Swap and Weapon.

• HP carries over. A defender that survives keeps the HP it had left. The next attack on that squad starts from there.
• A squad is worn down over several attacks. It falls when its last defender is KO'd.
• A duel runs at most 40 rounds. At the cap, the defenders keep the HP they have.
• Items count only through their attack and defense numbers. Item effects like execute or unexhaust do nothing in war duels.

Strong defenders with strong items are hard to move. A much weaker ball will barely scratch them, so send attackers that can finish the job.

Scoring

War points come from these sources:

• Placing a defense squad.
• KOing defenders. The first attack on a squad pays more per KO than later ones.
• Clearing a squad, with a bonus for doing it on the first attack.
• Clearing a front, middle or back zone. Back zones pay the most.
• Clearing the whole map.
• Empty slots on the other side. Each one pays your side automatically, so fill every slot you have.

A failed attack still pays for the defenders it KO'd. Each member also has to reach a minimum score, the participation floor. The game sets it.

Victory points and rewards

Each war pays VP toward the war ladder, and a loss can still pay some. The war ladder has tiers named like the PvP ones, with promote, stay and demote zones over a season.

Each war ladder tier pays by result (win, draw, loss or bye): War Bonds, Clay and XP to members, and alliance XP to the alliance. A season reward depends on whether the alliance was promoted, stayed or was relegated. War Bonds come only from wars, never expire, and are spent in the War Shop.

On polbielytics

• This week's wars and the war ladder.
• Each alliance's page has its war record.
• The alliance wars guide and PvP Duels guide.
• War Council, our fantasy game built on these wars.