Development Zones - New Settlement, Growth Province, Borderlands and War City

Quick answer: the map has four regions: New Settlement, Growth Province, Borderlands and War City. Your region follows your Highest Might, the highest total Might you have ever reached. It never goes down, so losing troops or Might does not move you back. When your Highest Might passes a region’s limit, your castle graduates to the next region, and that move is one-way.

The four regions

Region	Highest Might	Attacks, scouting and rallies against castles
New Settlement	up to 35,000	Hostile player actions are disabled.
Growth Province	35,001 to 150,000	Allowed, same province only.
Borderlands	150,001 to 250,000	Allowed, same province only.
War City	above 250,000	Normal rules, War City castles only.

• The colored outlines on the map show each region: New Settlement is a green dashed line, Growth Province a blue dashed line, Borderlands an orange line and War City a gold line. Each outline also shows the region name and a numeral from I to IV. Outlines have no fill. The bright border marks the region your castle belongs to.
• Your own limit and progress are in the Development Journey (it shows “Highest Might X of Y cap”). Tap the Info icon there for the in-game guide.
• Chat works across regions.
• The in-game rules text for Growth Province and Borderlands talks about a Might ratio. At this version the game does not check a ratio when you attack, scout or join a rally. The only checks are that the target is in the same province and that neither castle is in the middle of a graduation.

What decides your region

• New castles are placed in the region that matches their Highest Might.
• Highest Might only goes up. The game keeps your peak, so a drop in current Might changes nothing.
• Only Might decides it. The stage objectives in the Development Journey are lessons. The move does not wait for them, and no timer or activity count ends your protection early or late.
• Might protection settings are not part of this. Attacks on castles are not blocked by a Might gap anywhere on the map right now, and the low-Might exception only applies when that ratio protection is on, which it is not.

Graduation

1. When a Might update pushes your Highest Might over your region’s limit, the game starts your graduation to the region that matches your new peak. You do not need to ask for it.
2. Your castle stays protected while it waits. The game shows Graduation in progress or Waiting for capacity.
3. Before the move, your armies must be home and no rally of yours can be running. The screen shows “N armies are still travelling” or “An active rally must finish first”.
4. If the new region is full, you see “A destination is being prepared” and the move happens by itself when space opens.
5. You choose a spot with Choose location, or let the game pick with Auto Relocate, then you see Welcome to your new region.

While graduation is pending, new military, gathering and supply actions are blocked. They unlock after the move.

It is one-way. The game asks “Graduate to {region}? You cannot return to a lower development tier.” If your Might later drops under the old limit, you stay where you are.

Gathering across regions

• Players in a lower region may gather anywhere, including War City.
• War City castles cannot gather in the three lower regions (error 16181). See Gathering resources and error 16181.
• Attacks, aid and supply cannot cross region boundaries.

Common questions

Why is a strong player in a lower region?

Regions follow Highest Might, the highest total Might you ever reached, not castle level and not today’s Might. A lord whose Might never passed a limit stays in the lower region however strong the army looks.

For a lord who did pass it, the move waits until armies are home, no rally is running and the next region has room. If a castle is far above a limit and shows no graduation, send support a screenshot of the map and the time. See Contact support.

Why can I be rallied in Growth Province?

Attacks, scouting and rallies are allowed between castles in the same Growth Province or Borderlands province. Inside a region, only New Settlement blocks them. To protect your castle, use a Shield. See Shield.

Can I go back to a lower region after my Might went over the limit?

No. Your Highest Might counts, and graduation cannot be undone.

Can protection expire after some time, or require activity?

No. Nothing in the game ends protection because of time or inactivity. It ends only when your Highest Might passes the region’s limit.

Can more players be added to my empty province?

You cannot request it. New players are placed by their Highest Might and graduates move into the next region when it has room. The Capacity label (Open, Nearly full, Full) shows how full a region is. Suggestions about balance or population are not a rule you can change.

Is there a Might gap limit or protection for weaker players in War City?

No. In War City any castle can be attacked by any other War City castle. The Might ratio protection is switched off, so a big Might gap does not stop an attack. Use a Shield to protect yourself. See Shield.

Do Development Zones exist in Kyoto?

No. Kyoto has no Development Zones, so it has no New Settlement, Growth Province, Borderlands or War City split and no region outlines. The normal map rules apply to everyone there. If you migrate to Kyoto from a zone, you leave your zone. Kyoto’s own lock for new kingdoms is in Rules for migrating.

If something goes wrong

What you see	What it means	What to try
“This action is blocked because the castles are in different development regions.”	You and the target are in different regions.	Pick a target in your own province, or graduate.
“New Settlement does not allow hostile player actions.”	You or your target is in New Settlement.	Wait until you graduate.
“Armies cannot march across development region boundaries.” (16179)	The march would cross a region border.	Choose a target inside your region.
“War City armies cannot gather resources inside a protected Development Zone.” (16181)	A War City castle picked a tile in a lower region.	Gather in War City.
“Finish graduation before starting another map action.”	Your graduation is in progress.	Wait until it ends.
“Region rules couldn’t be loaded. Military actions remain unavailable until the rules refresh.”	A temporary problem loading the rules.	Wait a minute, reopen the map, try again.
“A destination is being prepared.”	The next region is full.	Nothing to do. Your castle stays protected and moves when space opens.

If you are far over a limit and no graduation appears, or a message here keeps coming back, open a ticket from Setting → More → Support with a screenshot and the time. Support cannot promise a result in advance. See Contact support.