Scout (mission)

A Scout mission is a kind of mission for gathering intelligence about a target, which is disclosed in a scout report. Scout troops are required to launch a scout mission.

Scout Performance
Scout performance is measured by
 * 1) The success or failure of the mission.
 * 2) The amount of information and level of detail provided in the scout report.
 * 3) The speed of the scouting mission.
 * 4) The range of the scouting mission.

Success or Failure
Success and quality of the scouting mission depends on a variety of factors.
 * 1) Level of the tower in a target city - To scout highest level targets, upgraded Beacon Tower is required.
 * 2) Number of scouts in the attacker's city compared to the level of the target location. 10 scouts are required for each level of the scouted target - This only applies to Valleys and Flats
 * 3) Number of scouts in the target location compared to the number of scouts in the scout mission - This only applies when scouting a rival city, when gates are open.

Level of Detail
The detail of the scout report is increased by several factors:
 * 1) Level of Informatics of the player
 * 2) Intelligence of Hero included in the mission. (disputed)
 * 3) For valleys, the level of the target location.
 * 4) Level of  Beacon Tower
 * 5) Number of scouts sent (disputed)

The most important factor is researching Informatics. Every level of Informatics increases the chance of success and the level of detail that will be provided on a successful scouting attempt. To successfully scout an area or a city your Informatics level must be equal to or higher than the area being scouted.

The number of scouts sent on a scouting expedition also contributes to the success of the mission. For every level of the area being scouted a minimum of 10 scouts should be sent.

Range and Speed
If you are sending just scouts (fastest) your range will be limited by the amount of food they can carry. Adding load-bearing units increases the amount of food that can be carried, and thus the range, but slows the mission down.

Adding a Hero
You can include a hero in your scouting mission. This will increase the level of detailed information. The higher intelligence of the hero, the more he (or she) affects the outcome.



Quest
But if you have the patience, you can scout until you get a level 1 hero, and that will increase your chances A LOT! The event of failing and losing is lower if you include a fighting unit like archers to support your scouts

Scouting for Weak Defending Heroes
One method of attacking a higher-level NPC's that you might otherwise be able to successfully attack is to repeatedly Scout it until a very low level Hero appears in the reports.

Each time the city is scouted a new Hero will be in charge. Repetition and persistence will lead to a very weak defending Hero in the city. At this point, STOP Scouting and attack!