Read a bonus in three parts: what it affects, which attack it changes, and what activates it. Crew, module slots and damage types are different categories. Two weapons can fire arrows without sharing the same upgrade tree or benefiting from the same slot-specific artifact.
How do I turn on damage numbers in Wanderburg?
In version 0.9.13 or later, open the settings tab and enable damage numbers. If the option is missing, check your installed game version first.
Use the numbers to compare one attack against the same kind of enemy before and after an upgrade. Keep the target, attack and other bonuses consistent. A larger number on a different enemy does not isolate the upgrade's effect, and a single hit is not your total damage per second.
The quick check before taking an artifact
- Find the target. Does the card name one module, all top modules, your crew, or a damage type such as arrows?
- Find the attack. Automatic shots, active abilities and summoned units can have separate upgrades.
- Find the condition. A kill, a consumed target, a cooldown event or an enemy status may be required before anything happens.
For example, Top Hourglass improves cooldowns for top modules. An equipped Archer Tower matches that slot; Archer Crew does not. A shared arrow theme does not turn the crew into a top module.
Which part of the loadout receives the bonus?
| Bonus wording | What to match | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| A named module upgrade | The named module and its active, automatic or special branch. | Using an Archer Tower upgrade as if it also levels Archer Crew. |
| Top / front / side module | The slot occupied by the equipment. | Choosing Top Hourglass to make a crew work faster. |
| Crew works faster | Your selected crew. Extra Rations is a crew effect. | Treating every weapon operated by small characters as a crew selection. |
| Arrow, cannon or melee damage | The damage type of the attack, rather than where the module is mounted. | Assuming every attack from a mixed build uses the same damage type. |
| Automatic attack / active ability | The specific attack improved by the card. | Picking active damage when automatic shots are doing most of the work. |
| A kill or status effect | The exact trigger, including the target and finishing damage when specified. | Expecting a kill-triggered effect to run constantly against one isolated boss. |
Archer Crew and Archer Tower: same projectile family, different equipment
Archer Crew shoots at nearby targets from the crew selection. Archer Tower occupies the top slot and adds an arrow-rain active alongside its automatic arrows. Their individual upgrade choices remain separate.
A broad arrow-damage artifact such as Golden Bow follows the arrow damage type. Top Hourglass follows the top slot. Extra Rations follows the crew category. Choose the one that improves the part of your loadout you intend to use.
In a turret-and-arrow build, decide whether the next pick should improve the placed turrets, carried arrows or crew before comparing percentages. Adding an extra projectile to one module does not add it to every arrow source on the castle.
Minions are not a single damage type
Start with the unit your module actually summons. A melee army and a mage army need different damage choices. Switching a Barracks branch changes the plan: do not keep selecting melee bonuses merely because the old units fought at close range.
For a Barracks army, the module’s Unit Damage choice is the direct starting point for improving its troops. Then compare type-specific artifacts against the unit’s attack. Iron Sword and Golden Sword target melee damage; their descriptions are not a blanket bonus to every summoned unit.
Does more melee damage mean more stun?
Damage and control are separate choices. Stunhammer adds a chance to stun with melee damage; a sword increases damage. Increasing the damage number does not itself increase the stated stun chance. Check the enemy’s resistances and immunities before making a control effect the centre of a boss plan.
Keep your army close enough to attack. If units spend the fight chasing your castle, more damage will not repair that lost attack time. The Barracks army guide covers recruitment, movement and the charge rotation.
A damage bonus is different from a triggered effect
Read the complete condition on an artifact before pairing it with a damage source:
- Napalm creates fire craters from enemy vehicles that die from fire. Igniting a vehicle and finishing it with another damage source is a different event.
- Magma Core creates a fire crater when cannonballs hit the ground. A fire-themed mage projectile does not become a cannonball.
- Tinderbox spreads burning when enemies touch. It needs both burning and contact.
- Fast Quiver uses arrow kills to accelerate arrow ability cooldowns. A boss with no smaller enemies offers fewer opportunities for that kill trigger.
These distinctions explain why an artifact can feel useful in a crowd but contribute little during a lone boss encounter. Keep enough direct damage and movement to fight before the chain reaction begins.
Choose the next upgrade by what is failing
If the weapon is missing, fix its angle or coverage. If it is landing but enemies survive, improve the matching damage. If an active is unavailable when needed, compare its cooldown options. If a trigger rarely happens, either supply the missing condition or take an artifact that works with the current loadout.
Use the upgrade workshop to compare the named branches. For a concrete example of automatic and active choices diverging, continue with the Front Cannon guide; for several damage sources connected by conditions, try the fire build.
See the Wanderburg 0.9.13 patch notes for the related reward, equipment and settings changes.