The Rescue

G: the worker walks into range and the Rescue kills every enemy troop in a large area. Only 1 per match; if it hits nobody, it comes back after 3 min. Best saved for a big wave near your castle. When time runs out, saved Rescues decide the match.

How to cast it

Press G and click the area you want to clear; a ring shows what will be hit. Your worker casts from where it stands, at medium range, and walks until it's close enough. It never leaves your territory, though, so spots too far from your side are out of range. Right-click cancels. The HUD shows whether your Rescue is ready, on cooldown or used.

What it hits

• Every enemy troop inside the ring dies at once, flyers included, and none of them rises again.
• You collect the bounty for each kill.
• Buildings and the castle are not affected.

The safety net

If the Rescue hits nobody, it isn't lost: it comes back after a 3-minute cooldown. If it kills even one troop, it's spent.

When to use it

The Training's Wave timing lesson sums it up: troops spawn in cycles and arrive in waves, and the same Rescue is worth 2 kills or 10, depending on timing.

• Wait for a big wave at your base. The bigger the wave inside the area, the more it's worth. In the Training, the warning comes when six or more enemy troops gather near your castle: a good rule of thumb.
• Don't spend it on a trickle. A Rescue spent on one or two troops would have been worth much more on a big wave.
• Center it on the crowd. Everything inside the ring dies, so aim where the enemy is packed tightest.

Saving it is also a strategy

At the time limit, the side with more Rescues left wins; only a tie on Rescues sends the decision to income. So the Rescue is both your emergency button and a point on the scoreboard. If your opponent has already spent theirs and you haven't, the clock is on your side, and the reverse is just as true. The first-match tip says it plainly: save your Rescue to wipe out an invasion near your castle, because it counts as points when time runs out.

The result screen keeps score of both sides of the trade: Rescue kills and Rescues left. There's even an achievement for killing 15 troops with a single Rescue.

In team matches

Each player has their own Rescue, and at the time limit the team with more Rescues left in total wins. When one player casts, their allies' Rescues get a 2-second cooldown, so two Rescues can't land on the same push at the same instant.

Some game modes take the Rescue away entirely; then income alone decides at the time limit.