Getting a well-oiled army off the ground in Swords & Soldiers can be a costly endeavour. Units don’t come cheap, and upgrading those units can be even more expensive than acquiring them in the first place. Even so, it may be hard to suppress your instinct to rush through the upgrade tree as quickly as possible and attain the most powerful units and spells available.

In lots of other strategy games, buying the most powerful unit out there basically guarantees victory. Not so in Swords & Soldiers. You will need to balance your own economic growth with your attempts to keep pressure on the enemy - especially in the hectic multiplayer mode. Trying to get the most powerful unit too early will surely lose you the game. That's because, under the right circumstances, all the starter units can be just as powerful as the units at the end of the upgrade tree.

With this in mind, it’s clear that getting the most out of the units you already have is of the utmost importance. You might want to consider getting some basic unit upgrades at first, whilst sending out your lowest level units as soon as possible. This will keep the enemy busy, while giving you room to expand. Another great idea is just to pick one unit type to start, and add a supportive spell to overcome their flaws. To give a more practical example, Dartblowers make a great starting unit, but they're pretty fragile against Berserkers. However, combine them with the Cage trap spell, and you could simply trap any Berserker coming for you - making it incredibly easy for your Dartblowers to pick them off without ever getting damaged themselves.

Another thing to keep in mind is the importance of knowing when to push through towards the enemy base, since your progress will be slowed as soon as you start to chip away at enemy workers. There is a risk they can use this moment to start stacking their own combat units and break out stronger than before - especially if the enemy has the option of building ranged units and hiding behind the workers in relative safety. As soon as it's obvious you won't be able to push through in one go, you should consider slowing down your production and start saving for those upgrades, or get more workers. One option is to place a tower that will offer you some extra security when the enemy does thwart your first offence.

Of course, this slowdown effect can also be used to your advantage, especially against melee units. Again, using Dartblowers as an example, let the enemy come and reach your workers. As soon as they hit them, build as many Dartblowers as you can. They will start to form a group while the enemy is desperately trying to get through the workers and start damaging your Dartblowers. If this group reaches 4-5 units, they will be powerful enough to beat any enemy Melee unit before they reach them. This means you'll break out completely, forcing your opponent to buy upgrades to counter this group before they reach his base. Keep in mind that if the enemy manages to kill any of your workers this will be a costly setback. So it's up to you to decide if it's worth it.