Separate the mayor's three jobs
Official Zizka wording separates enemy ranged-troop debuffs from mayor-only effects. His second and third red stars add enemy ranged defense and HP debuffs, while their mayor clauses improve death-to-survival conversion and training speed in that subordinate city. One part faces the enemy. The other stays at the office.
The official Lu Ban guide makes the same boundary useful: Leadership affects subordinate-city training speed, while Politics affects gold production and construction speed when he is Mayor. His Ruler specialty supplies subordinate-city troop capacity; it is not an effect of those attributes. Attack and Defense apply when he leads troops. A large mayor power number is therefore not proof that the main march became stronger.
Put each effect in the correct column
- Enemy debuffs on an active mayor or debuff gear: specialist guidance says these reduce the opposing main army when the selected subordinate city participates. They remain subject to Evony's opponent-dependent debuff cap.
- Effects that say “when the General is the Mayor” or “in this Subordinate City”: count them for that city only unless the text explicitly says otherwise.
- Positive troop buffs, ordinary equipment attributes and refines: specialist guidance and player reports say these improve the subordinate city's troops, not the main army. The mayor's résumé is not a reinforcement march.
- Research, Monarch Talents and culture effects: keep these separate from the mayor. Read the exact condition and confirm the matching row in a current battle report.
Linking has a bill
Specialist guides and player reports say a subordinate city must be selected or linked for the relevant attack or defense before its mayor debuffs can participate. Public official pages reviewed here do not publish the complete linking formula, so treat this as specialist guidance and verify it on the current version.
Linking can also send the subordinate city's troops into combat. Those troops can be lost and must be rebuilt or recovered under subordinate-city rules. Do not link every city by habit when its useful debuff is small or already capped. The city volunteered its troops. The recovery screen has concerns.
Run a one-city report test
Use the same opponent, main march, generals, troop count and active buffs. Save the full report with one subordinate city unlinked, then repeat with only that city linked. Compare the exact enemy-debuff row and the subordinate troop losses. Repeat once. If the debuff was already capped, no visible change is not proof that the mayor failed; use a stronger opponent or temporarily remove another source in a low-risk test.
Use a spending stop rule
Choose missing debuff coverage before developing mayor power. Do not spend Runestones, Blood of Ares, Covenant Stones or refine materials merely to raise the mayor's number. First confirm that the required enemy-debuff line is unlocked, the city can participate and a report shows room below the cap.
For a mayor used only as a debuffer, prioritize active enemy-debuff skills, specialties and debuff equipment. Upgrade positive attributes only when the subordinate troops themselves need to fight or survive. Excellent clothing remains expensive when it is doing the wrong job.
No complete public official subordinate-city combat formula or universal surviving-troop rule was found. The role split above is supported by official skill wording; linking behavior, main-army versus subordinate-troop application and the test method rely on specialist guidance and player observation. Current in-game wording and a controlled report take priority if they differ.
Sources: Current official Evony news hub; Official Zizka skill and Mayor wording; Official Lu Ban Mayor guide; Specialist buffs and debuffs guide; Specialist subordinate-city guide; Player discussion of subordinate-city buffs.
Evidence reviewed 2026-10-12. Official wording, specialist interpretation, player observation and editorial advice are separated. No purchase, private report or independent combat test is claimed.
— 
Kat