Defining Debuff
To start, let’s define the word DEBUFF, this concept is one of the most important aspects of the game, especially in the Player versus Player (PvP) environment. The debuff is a negative percentage applied to the stats of the enemy, so in Evony, you will be playing a numbers game, let’s see how this works.
Basic Mechanics of Buff vs Debuff
Most importantly, you can only debuff 50% of the enemy’s buffs. To clear this up, follow this example: Let’s assume you will be defending. The attacking keep has a Ranged Attack Increase of 1500% and you have a debuff of -1000%, you won’t be debuffing the 1000% from the 1500% of the enemy. Following the note mentioned before, you will only debuff 750% (50%) of the attacking keep, with that in mind and out of the way, we can start analyzing further how to build the best combinations for your keep.
For more information on buffs, click here.
Where to obtain Debuff Generals?
The fast answer for Free to Play players is Tavern. Even though, most F2P players can get lucky with some tokens from Helen, or different activities or events, the most common and reliable way to get and get the maximum potential is still Tavern.
Recommended Debuff Generals
We are going to divide the Evony Debuff Generals into two categories: Attack Debuff and Defensive Debuff (HP and Defense). This Generals are called Sub City Generals, because they go directly to your Sub Cities for the applied effects.
Important note: In this guide, you will only see the debuffing percentages for the General Main skill, Specialties, and red stars at max, gear is covered in another guide.
Debuff Type: Attack
Attack is one of the main objectives at the time we are debuffing, with the progression of the game, we can encounter really big buffs, 2500-3200% so being able to debuff a big part of those numbers is a priority. The most common march troop used is ranged and the general with the highest debuff would be:
Andrew Jackson – Ranged
Normal debuffs (easy to get) are: -20% Ranged attack and an extra -10% attack to all troops from his second specialty.
DEBUFF TABLE | Attack | HP | Defense |
Ranged | -100% | 0% | 0% |
Siege | -10% | 0% | 0% |
Mounted | -10% | -40% | -20% |
Ground | -10% | -20% | -20% |
Arminius – Ranged & Siege
Normal debuffs (easy to get) are: -10% Ground and mounted HP and -15% Ranged and Siege Attack and an extra -10% attack to all troops from his second specialty.
DEBUFF TABLE | Attack | HP | Defense |
Ranged | -35% | -10% | -15% |
Siege | -35% | -10% | -15% |
Mounted | -10% | -50% | -10% |
Ground | -10% | -50% | -10% |
Harald – Well Rounded
Harald has an all-around debuff set, but the basic and easy to get is -10% on the enemy attack, defense, and HP.
DEBUFF TABLE | Attack | HP | Defense |
Ranged | -20% | -20% | -40% |
Siege | -20% | -20% | -40% |
Mounted | -20% | -20% | -40% |
Ground | -20% | -20% | -40% |
Mansa Musa – Well Rounded
Mansa Musa has a basic set, -10% of all troops attacks. He needs work done with specialties and red stars to unlock his best debuffs.
DEBUFF TABLE | Attack | HP | Defense |
Ranged | -10% | -10% | -10% |
Siege | -10% | -10% | -10% |
Mounted | -20% | -20% | -25% |
Ground | -20% | -20% | -25% |
Margaret I – Mounted / Well Rounded
Margaret has specific debuffs against mounted and ground, her most debuffs come from her last specialty and red stars. Her basic debuffs are: -10% all troops attack and -20% additional attack to mounted troops.
DEBUFF TABLE | Attack | HP | Defense |
Ranged | -10% | 0% | 0% |
Siege | -10% | 0% | 0% |
Mounted | -80% | -45% | -30% |
Ground | -30% | -15% | -30% |
Wei Qing – Ground & Mounted
Wei Qing isn’t a Sub City general, but because of his debuffs on mounted and ground, he can be a good temporary sub general. The table shows his total debuffs.
DEBUFF TABLE | Attack | HP | Defense |
Ranged | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Siege | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Mounted | -25% | 0% | 0% |
Ground | -25% | 0% | 0% |
Debuff Type: Defense, HP
Empress Dowager Cixi – All Defense, Ground Defense
Cixi is very focused on debuffing mounted and ground especially defense. As an all-around, she focuses on the defensive stats of the troops. Her normal buffs are: -15% all troops and a -15% extra to ground troops. Her second specialty gives -10% HP for all troops too.
For further information on Empress Dowager Cixi, click here.
DEBUFF TABLE | Attack | HP | Defense |
Ranged | 0% | -20% | -31% |
Siege | 0% | -20% | -31% |
Mounted | -25% | -50% | -71% |
Ground | -25% | -50% | -86% |
Nero – All HP -15%
Nero is very focused on debuffing mounted and ground especially defense. As an all-around, she focuses on the defensive stats of the troops. Her normal buffs are: -15% all troops and a -15% extra to ground troops. Her second specialty gives -10% HP for all troops too.
DEBUFF TABLE | Attack | HP | Defense |
Ranged | -15% | -51% | -30% |
Siege | -15% | -51% | -30% |
Mounted | -15% | -51% | -30% |
Ground | -15% | -51% | -30% |
Another three good Generals, already listed under attack, are:
- Andrew Jackson – Mounted HP -20%
- Arminius – Ground, Mounted HP -10%
- Harald – All HP -10%
Combinations of Debuff Generals
The combinations of Evony Debuff Generals will depend on the amount of Sub Cities that you own and the progress you are in the game. The most common debuffs that players look for are Ranged Attack decrease and Siege Attack decrease, this basically for defense and attack respectively. From the generals above the best combination would be some all-around and some specific ones, your build should look like this based on 6-8 subs:
- Andrew Jackson
- Andrew Jackson
- Arminius
- Arminius
- Nero
- Cixi
- Cixi/Arminius
- Andrew Jackson
The build above focuses on debuffing ranged attack specifically, also debuffing some of the defensive stats of the enemy and this will greatly help during defense and offense. If you have more subs, then focus on how are you building your defense and start defining your strategy. Also, take into account that upgrading specialties and red stars on these generals is key for your good battle development.