What is the difference between a raid and a sack?

A raid loots stored resources and leaves the keep standing. A sack requires sappers in the march and permanently destroys enemy building levels.

How do I protect my resources from raiders?

Upgrade your walls and garrison, keep Gold in the Merchant Bank or Hidden Vault, and use 12, 24 or 48 hour shield items when you go offline.

Is there a penalty for farming weak players?

Yes. Repeatedly hitting far smaller keeps drains your honor, which slows every future march and locks you out of honor rewards and titles.

Raiding and sacking in Ironhold Empire

Raiding is how empires get rich fast — and how rivalries start. Steal a neighbour's stockpile, tear down their walls with sappers, or ambush the caravans crossing the realm.

Claim a free keep Browse the wiki

Raid for loot, sack for ruin

A raid sends your army at a rival keep to haul back Wood, Stone, Iron, Food and Gold. A sack is heavier: it needs sappers in the march and permanently strips levels from the buildings you break. Losing a Warehouse level hurts a defender for weeks.

Pick targets from a living world map

The top-down realm map shows every keep as a castle that grows with its Headquarters level, live march trails crossing the map, active shields and the shroud thrown up by counter-intelligence. Click a keep to scout, raid, message or trade with its owner.

Caravan heists, bandits and bounties

Not every fight is a siege. Ambush trade caravans for cargo, clear bandit camps for resources and energy draughts, hunt outlaws for coin, or post a bounty on the player who just burned your farms. All of it feeds the Resources Stolen leaderboard.

Defence is a strategy too

Watchtower intel gives you estimated inbound troop counts and the World tab flashes red when an army is on the way. Bank your Gold, stack shields, rally your alliance, and turn an attacker's greed into their biggest loss of the week.

At a glance

Player-driven loot: resources come out of real stockpiles
Sapper sieges: permanently destroy enemy building levels
Counter-play: shields, vaults, banks, rallies and scouting
Leaderboards: raids feed combat, honor and resources-stolen ranks

Frequently asked

What is the difference between a raid and a sack?: A raid loots stored resources and leaves the keep standing. A sack requires sappers in the march and permanently destroys enemy building levels.
How do I protect my resources from raiders?: Upgrade your walls and garrison, keep Gold in the Merchant Bank or Hidden Vault, and use 12, 24 or 48 hour shield items when you go offline.
Is there a penalty for farming weak players?: Yes. Repeatedly hitting far smaller keeps drains your honor, which slows every future march and locks you out of honor rewards and titles.

Go deeper in the wiki

Start your keep

Your first raid is one march away. Start a free keep, train a squad, and take what your neighbours left unguarded.

Play free in your browser Read the beginner guide