Command An Army Beginner Guide — How to Start Strong (2026)

Command An Army is a 12-player team-vs-team battle where you fight alongside your own troops. The first hour decides how much you enjoy the rest: players who redeem codes and build a real loadout skip the grind, players who skip both end up fielding starter troops against Spartan walls. This guide is the shortest path through that first hour, based on the major creator beginner guides from September 2026.

What should I do first?

Redeem codes before anything else. The current codes pay out 3,500+ Gems — roughly 60–70 summons — which is the entire early-game budget, free. The codes button is locked until you finish the tutorial, so run through it first, then redeem everything in one sitting from our codes page.

With Gems in hand, summon your first batch of units. Creators suggest rolling in bulk rather than one at a time — the first 60–70 pulls are where your roster comes from, and you want the duplicates too (more on that below).

How do I build a good first army?

You can bring up to four units into battle, and the composition matters more than the individual stars:

Two rules from every creator guide:

1. Never run one type. Type matchups beat rarity — a spear wall deletes a cavalry army regardless of stars.
2. Keep duplicates. Ascension merges two copies of the same unit into a stronger version. Selling duplicates for Gems is the classic beginner mistake.

What are the controls and formations?

Movement is standard Roblox (WASD, Shift to sprint), and combat adds four commands worth learning immediately:

• Click — attack. F — block with your shield. Blocking while advancing is how shield units push through ranged fire.
• G — mount your horse. Mounted, you move and hit as a cavalry unit yourself, which is how creators recommend playing the Lancer style.
• Number keys — order your units. Hold position at a point (for example key 2 on the point you are defending) or advance with V. The difference between holding and advancing is the difference between a won and lost capture.

The formation commands are the skill ceiling of the game: a unit ordered to hold a chokepoint survives twice as long as one wandering after targets.

Attack or defend — what should new players pick?

The game asks you to choose attack or defend at the start of a round. New players do better on defense: holding a point with shields and spears is more forgiving than coordinating a push, and the respawn is shorter than the walk back from a failed attack.

Two things that matter on both sides:

• Play with your team. Rushing in alone is the most repeated warning across every guide — a single unit, however strong, loses to three average ones.
• Resupply points matter. In attack, cutting the enemy’s resupply forces them to walk further after each death. In defense, protect yours.

How do I progress after the first hour?

The progression stack, in order of priority:

1. Quests — the steady Gem income once codes are used up. They also unlock the class options you’ll actually want.
2. Level, then Ascend — level the units you field, and feed duplicates into Ascension rather than selling them.
3. Evolve along the lines — the same unit at a higher evolution stage is a straight upgrade: Mercenary → Squire → Knight, Archer → Longbowman → Fire Archer.
4. Mastery — levels a unit to 20 through use; a fully invested 2-star beats a fresh 3-star.

For which units to aim for, see the best units tier list — Spartans and Lancers are the consensus top picks, and the current codes give you a real shot at pulling one.