Player Village Farming and Rainbow Farming Guide

Numerical reference status: the target matrix is a planning template, not a set of verified zero-loss recommendations. Egyptian, Spartan and Viking compositions also remain unverified. The calculator specification below describes proposed validation, not functionality added by this guide.

Purpose of This Guide

This guide covers the management of low-level or inactive player villages as repeatable farms. The objective is not simply to win a raid: it is to extract resources repeatedly while using the smallest practical force and, ideally, taking zero casualties.

Rainbow farming is one tool inside that wider system. It should not be used automatically. Very weak villages can often be farmed more efficiently by a single fast troop type; rainbow compositions become useful when passive village defence makes small homogeneous raids inefficient.

The Farming Lifecycle

1. Identify: Find low-population, inactive or abandoned-looking player villages.

2. Scout: Confirm whether troops are present and determine whether the village has meaningful defensive infrastructure.

3. Clear: Remove defending troops if necessary before treating the target as a routine farm.

4. Test: Begin with the smallest sensible farming force rather than immediately sending a large raid.

5. Optimise: Use solo farming, a small same-unit group, or a 2-3 troop rainbow according to the target's passive defence.

6. Prepare: For a valuable permanent farm, consider destroying the Residence/Palace and, where worthwhile, the wall.

7. Maintain: Keep the farm in a stable low-defence state and avoid wasting excessive troops on every raid.

Population Is a Clue, Not the Defence Formula

A tiny population is useful reconnaissance information. A newly settled village around 8 population, or a village with only a few additional buildings, is unlikely to contain a developed Residence and wall. That often makes it suitable for extremely small farming parties.

However, population itself is not what causes casualties. The actual calculation depends on the target's passive defence, defensive buildings, wall, any defending troops and the attack strength/composition of the raid. Therefore, use population to choose an initial test raid, then use observed results and known building levels to optimise it.

Passive Defence and the Zero-Loss Breakpoint

The key concept in this guide is the zero-loss breakpoint: the smallest raid that wins strongly enough for the game's casualty calculation and rounding to return zero dead attackers.

Conceptually, treat the target defence as a function of base village defence, Residence/Palace contribution, wall effects and any defending troops. Compare that effective defence with the attack value of the farming party. The important practical result is not merely whether the raid wins, but whether each troop group in the attacking composition rounds to zero casualties.

Effective target defence = (base defence + Residence/Palace defence + troop defence) × wall effects

Because Travian casualty calculations and rounding can make mixed troop groups behave differently from one large homogeneous group, a rainbow can sometimes produce a zero-loss raid with far fewer total troops. Exact numeric breakpoints should always be calculated against the server/version data used by the calculator.

Solo Farming Comes First

Do not rainbow-farm a village simply because you can. If one fast offensive troop can raid the village without dying, that is normally the cleaner solution. The same applies to a small group of identical troops.

Examples include fast cavalry such as Theutates Thunder or Steppe Riders. Tiny, undeveloped villages with no meaningful Residence and wall may need almost no force at all. Increase the homogeneous group only when the smaller raid starts producing casualties.

When Rainbow Farming Becomes Useful

Rainbow farming means sending several different troop types together so that casualty rounding is applied across multiple troop groups. The practical target for this guide is a maximum of three troop types. This keeps the raid manageable while still exploiting the mixed-composition effect.

The progression should therefore be: smallest solo raid → slightly larger homogeneous raid → 2- or 3-type rainbow → permanent farm preparation with siege if passive defence becomes uneconomical.

Offensive Rainbow Baselines by Tribe

The baseline combinations below follow an important rule established for this guide: use troops an aggressive player would realistically train. Do not add a defensive unit merely because it improves a theoretical calculation.

Target Tribe, Wall and Residence Matrix — Unverified Template

The finished calculator/table for each attacking tribe should test every defending tribe because wall type changes the effective defence. Use a consistent grid so players can make decisions quickly.

Repeat this matrix for Roman, Teuton, Gaul, Egyptian, Hun, Spartan and Viking defending walls. Each cell should ultimately report the smallest zero-loss option rather than merely whether the raid wins.

Decision Rules for Each Farm

• If one fast offensive troop survives with zero loss, use one troop.

• If one dies but a small homogeneous group produces zero losses, use the smallest safe group.

• If the homogeneous group becomes disproportionately large, test a 2- or 3-type offensive rainbow.

• Do not add slow or defensive troops solely to improve the mathematics if doing so destroys the raid's practical farming speed.

• If Residence/Palace defence forces a large recurring farming party, consider catapulting the Residence/Palace once and reducing every future raid.

• Destroying the wall is situational. Compare the permanent reduction in defence with the cost and travel time of rams.

• A farm that is raided frequently can justify more preparation than a distant or low-yield farm.

Worked Practical Scenarios

A. Newly settled / extremely low-population village

A village around the initial settlement population, with no evidence of a Residence or developed wall, should be treated as a solo-farming candidate first. Send the smallest fast offensive unit appropriate to your tribe. There is no reason to send a three-type rainbow when a single troop already produces zero casualties.

B. Small inactive village with some passive defence

If the first solo raid begins taking casualties, test a slightly larger same-unit group. If the number of troops needed for zero losses jumps sharply, compare it with the tribe's offensive rainbow. This is the point at which rainbow farming can reduce the number of troops tied up in each raid.

C. Established inactive farm with a substantial Residence

A high Residence/Palace can make repeated brute-force farming inefficient even when there are no defending troops. For a farm that will be hit repeatedly, siege becomes an investment: catapult the Residence/Palace, then return to a much smaller farming force. The payback is measured across future raids, not only the first attack.

D. Wall versus Residence priority

Do not automatically demolish both. Calculate which building is actually pushing the raid beyond its zero-loss breakpoint. If the current rainbow already survives the wall, ramming it provides no immediate farming benefit. If the Residence/Palace is the limiting factor, target that first.

Farm Preparation and Maintenance

Once an inactive village has been cleared and its important defensive buildings reduced, keep it in a predictable state. The ideal farm is not the village you can hit with the biggest army; it is the village that repeatedly pays resources while requiring almost no attacking capacity.

Re-scout or investigate unexpected casualties. A returning player, newly trained defenders, rebuilt wall or rebuilt Residence can change a previously safe farming threshold. Avoid blindly repeating a raid composition after the target state has changed.

Proposed Calculator Validation for Numerical Tables

For each attacking tribe, the calculator should evaluate solo and rainbow options against every defending tribe. Inputs should include attacking troop upgrades, troop counts, defending tribe, wall level, Residence/Palace level, defending troops if any, and relevant server/version modifiers.

• Calculate effective infantry and cavalry defence separately where the combat formula requires it.

• Apply the defending tribe's exact wall formula and any flat wall defence correctly.

• Calculate casualties for every attacking troop group, not just total army casualties.

• Mark a composition SAFE only when all attacking groups round to zero deaths.

• Search for the smallest homogeneous zero-loss group.

• Search all sensible 2-type and 3-type offensive rainbow combinations.

• Compare troop count, attack strength, speed and carrying capacity—not attack alone.

• Return a recommendation category: Solo, Homogeneous Stack, Rainbow, or Prepare/Demolish.

Important Numerical Note

Rough breakpoint figures from the source draft are not final reference data.

The source document used exploratory examples while developing the guide. Final Residence/wall breakpoints still require a verified Travian combat formula, a verified set of unit statistics for the relevant gameworld and checks against in-game examples. The numerical matrix above remains a template awaiting that verification.

Short Version

Start tiny. If one fast troop works, use one. If a small same-unit group works, use that. Rainbow only when passive defence makes homogeneous farming inefficient. Keep rainbows offensive and practical, normally no more than three troop types. For valuable inactive farms, remove the Residence/Palace—and the wall only when it materially changes the breakpoint—so future raids can return to the smallest possible farming party.

Related guides

Read more about Scouting, Catapults: targets, durability and how many to send, Rams and walls and Smithy upgrades: what they do to your units, or explore the battle simulator.