Compare realistic pairs
Put your current main and assistant beside the new pair at the stars and specialties you can afford. Keep troop type, equipment and battle conditions comparable. Separate attack, defense, HP and march size. Adding them into one large percentage does not predict a battle.
Write the rebuild budget
- Copies and ascension: count the fragments you own, a realistic route to more copies, and the remaining Blood of Ares cost shown in-game. One lucky summon is not a supply plan.
- Specialties and cultivation: record the Runestones, Gems, cultivation items, experience and Skill Books still needed. Price the development you will actually complete, not a finished build you hope to fund later.
- Equipment: list what you can move from the old main without disrupting another march. Reuse suitable gear; budget separately for replacements or different refinements. Do not charge the new general for a whole new set by default.
- Conditional buffs: include skins, covenants, dragons and other bonuses only at the levels you can use, in the role and battle conditions where they apply.
The portrait is included. Most of the performance is sold separately.
Do not build an assistant like a main.
Evony’s official rules draw a sharp line. An assistant’s base attributes, ascension attributes, equipment, Dragon stats and Spiritual Beast stats do not apply. Specialties apply fully. Special Skills and Skill Books apply only when active and not blocked by a conflict. A Dragon may still be required to activate a listed Specialty or Special Skill, even though the Dragon’s own stats remain inactive.
- For assistant-only duty, do not spend General Fragments or Blood of Ares on ascension for combat value. Those ascension effects are inactive in the assistant role.
- Do not cultivate or build and refine equipment solely for assistant combat performance. Those effects are also inactive. Premium gear has better places to work.
- Spend only where the role can use it: active Specialties, non-conflicting Skill Books and any Dragon required to activate a listed condition. Check the exact wording. Evony has never been shy about a condition.
The assistant does not need a ceremonial set of equipment. The Forge will recover from this news.
Run the zero-rebuild test
- In General Simulation, select the exact main, assistant and Skill Books you intend to use. Confirm that the assistant’s Special Skill and books remain active.
- Try the candidate as an assistant before adding cultivation, ascension or equipment. Confirm any Dragon requirement, but do not count the Dragon’s stats as assistant value.
- Compare the useful change under the same conditions: monster wounds, march capacity or comparable PvP reports. Change one decision at a time. A prettier General screen is not a battle result.
If the assistant route solves the problem, stop. If the candidate must become the main to deliver the needed gain, then write the full rebuild budget for copies, Blood of Ares, cultivation, Specialties, equipment and refinements.
This does not mean an assistant must remain undeveloped forever. Development can make sense if that General will later serve as a main or in another active role. Keep that future plan separate from what the assistant contributes today.
Audit monster-rally assistants before development
On the march screen, open the detail beside the main and assistant. Evony’s official assistant rules say an overlapping Special Skill or Skill Book on the assistant does not apply. A specialist guide documents the practical check: coloured effects apply and grey effects do not. Check every preset because changing the main or Skill Books can change the conflict. If a double-drop skill is grey, count its chance as zero.
Track outcomes, not a lucky afternoon
Observed double-drop rate = double-drop results ÷ eligible completed monster kills × 100. Keep monster and event conditions as stable as practical. Record the main, assistant, stamina charged and whether the relevant effect was coloured or grey. Change one thing. Start with 200 eligible kills; a small gap is a lead, not proof.
Worked example: eight chests are not a coronation
A baseline preset produces 82 double-drop results in 200 eligible kills: 41.0%. A candidate produces 90 in 200: 45.0%. The apparent lift is 4 percentage points, or eight extra double drops.
That is useful evidence, but random variation and changing event bonuses can explain a small gap. Do not buy Specialties or spend Runestones from this result alone. Keep testing under comparable conditions.
The spending rule
- Grey or conflicting: spend nothing for that benefit. Use a compatible pair, or price the general as a main if the full rebuild has a worthwhile job.
- Coloured and condition met: test with the development already owned. Add an expensive Specialty only when the likely extra drops justify its Gems and Runestones, and the role remains useful beyond one short event.
A grey effect is not a sampling question. The official conflict rule says it is disabled. Assistant equipment attributes and ascension additions also do not apply. The assistant attended; the skill did not.
Sources: Official assistant conflict rules; Specialist: assistant screen and monster roles; Specialist: rally-joiner investment limits; Player discussion: drop-rate sampling.
Price the fragment runway
Current official Epic Historic General examples list the same rising ascension costs: 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 fragments, plus 620, 750, 890, 1,070 and 1,250 Blood of Ares. Five red stars therefore total 450 fragments and 4,580 Blood. Check the candidate’s own Ascend screen because other qualities and special cases can use different rules.
| Target | Cumulative fragments | Cumulative Blood of Ares |
|---|---|---|
| 1 red star | 30 | 620 |
| 2 red stars | 90 | 1,370 |
| 3 red stars | 180 | 2,260 |
| 4 red stars | 300 | 3,330 |
| 5 red stars | 450 | 4,580 |
Use this planning formula: Fragment months = round up((target fragments − specific fragments owned − eligible Ascension Fragments allocated) ÷ proven eligible fragments per month).
Worked example: the target is 3 red stars, or 180 fragments. You own 70 specific fragments and are willing to allocate 20 eligible Ascension Fragments. The gap is 90. If your recorded average is 15 eligible fragments per month, the fragment runway is 6 months.
Run the same check for Blood of Ares. The 3-star target in this example also needs 2,260 Blood in total. Whichever resource takes longer is the real schedule. A general is not ‘almost ready’ merely because one of the two counters looks encouraging.
The portrait has estimated completion. This is a serious improvement in project management.
Official rules say specific General Fragments are consumed before substitute Ascension Fragments. Allocate universal fragments deliberately; they can shorten a scarce candidate’s runway, but they also cannot fund another general afterward. For assistant-only duty, remember that ascension attributes remain inactive. A six-month runway should buy a main-general benefit, not decorative red stars.
Official Ascension Fragment rules; Official Epic Historic General cost example; Specialist ascension table and acquisition notes
Give the change a job
- Switch when the attainable pair improves something you need: cleaner monster kills, useful march capacity, or better results against the opponents you actually face. Decide what improvement would justify the cost before spending.
- Keep the current pair when the gain is small, copies are uncertain, or the rebuild delays a more useful upgrade. Owning a newer general does not create a deadline.
Money and materials already spent are history. They are not a reason to keep an inferior setup forever. Compare the additional cost and benefit from today.
Official references: General Simulation, Assistant General rules, Ascension Fragments. These sources document the mechanics discussed. Use current in-game costs and active skill descriptions for your own build; this is a decision guide, not a current general ranking.
Independent cross-check: Theria Assistant General guide. It agrees on the main role limits, but its example pairings are from 2023 and are not treated here as a current ranking.
Evidence reviewed 2026-10-07. Official assistant rules confirm that conflicts disable assistant skills and that assistant equipment and ascension attributes do not apply. The coloured/grey march-detail check is specialist guidance. Recent player threads motivate the sampling caution but do not establish an exact drop rate or best pairing. The 82/200 and 90/200 figures are illustrative. Existing fragment-cost cautions remain subject to the candidate’s current Ascend screen.
Keep the useful parts.
Test the new combination.
Let the portrait wait.
— 
Kat
Reviewing applications. Several candidates have expensive references.