# Fortress & Stronghold Battles

Source page: https://wos.sheet.guide/en/guides/battles/fortress-battles  
Last checked: 17 Oct 2026  
Unofficial fan site, not affiliated with Century Games. Numbers, unlock days and event rules change with patches and differ between states; treat them as rules of thumb and confirm in-game.

Part of: [Alliance Battles](https://wos.sheet.guide/en/guides/battles.md)

A season-long fight for control of buildings on your state map, with weekly battles.

**TL;DR:** Pick battle times your alliance can actually attend, rally to take buildings, keep reinforcing after capture, and watch both the 30-minute and 2-hour timers.

## Key facts

- **Season:** 8 weeks
- **Battles:** Weekly, Fridays, up to 2 hours
- **Buildings:** 12 Fortresses + 4 Strongholds
- **Registers:** R4 / R5

## Season & registration

Seasons last **8 weeks**, with a registration stage and a battle stage each week.

The map has **12 Fortresses and 4 Strongholds**. In a new state’s first season, Strongholds usually appear around week 4.

Only **R4/R5** can register. Buildings you captured carry over automatically and can’t be changed. Each week you can add new targets — the official help says one new building; guides say one Fortress plus one Stronghold.

An alliance can end a season holding up to **8 Fortresses and 4 Strongholds**. At season end, everything resets to the NPC defenders.

Note: Building counts and the Friday battle day come from community guides. The registration and occupation rules match the official help center.

## Battle rules

Leaders choose **3 preferred times from 5 options**. The server sets the final time based on everyone contesting that building.

Hold a building for **more than 30 continuous minutes** to occupy it. If your garrison is removed, the timer resets for the new holder. If nobody manages 30 minutes, whoever holds it when the **2-hour** window ends takes it.

You can **rally** a building or attack it alone. Leaving your alliance during the battle phase blocks you from another alliance’s fortress battle that week.

## Rewards

**Fortresses grant better rewards** than Strongholds (official help center). Tap a building, then **View**, to see its current rewards.

**First occupation** (beating the Phaethon Mercenaries) pays participation rewards, alliance rewards, and allocatable rewards that R4/R5 hand out with a per-person cap. **Control rewards** go by mail to members holding the building when the battle ends.

Fortress rewards can include gems, speedups, resource packs, Gold and Platinum Keys, Hero XP and hero fragments.

## Strategy

- Choose battle times with your **strongest attendance**, not the earliest slot.
- Assign roles: coordinator, rally leaders, garrison leader, reinforcers and a reserve team.
- Use **rallies** for the first capture, then keep reinforcements flowing. The garrison bleeds every time it’s hit.
- Track the **30-minute occupation timer** and the **2-hour battle timer** together.
- Defend only what you can hold, and agree on a reward-sharing policy before the season starts.

## Related

- [Sunfire Castle](https://wos.sheet.guide/en/guides/battles/sunfire-castle.md)
- [Foundry Battle](https://wos.sheet.guide/en/guides/battles/foundry-battle.md)