Castle Siege Guide: Tiers, Loot and Defence
By We G Kings · October 3, 2026 · 3 min read
Castle Sieges are the backbone of progression in Cipher Siege. You pick a difficulty tier, choose a castle to attack, and solve the puzzles in its defensive gauntlet. Win, and you pillage a share of its treasure chest and earn Infamy toward your next level. Here is how the numbers work.
The six tiers
| Tier | Word lengths | Time per word | Pillage | Unlocks at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Page | 4 | No limit | 5% | Level 1 |
| Squire | 4 | 60s | 10% | Level 1 |
| Knight | 4–5 | 90s | 20% | Level 2 |
| Paladin | 5–6 | 120s | 35% | Level 3 |
| King | 5–7 | 180s | 50% | Level 4 |
| Emperor | 6–8 | 240s | 65% | Level 5 |
How loot is calculated
- Loot: the tier’s pillage percentage of the target’s chest. A 1,000-gold chest attacked at Paladin offers 350 gold.
- Cost: attacking costs a quarter of the potential loot (Page sieges are free). That Paladin siege costs 87 gold to launch.
- Victory bonus: a win pays the loot plus 15%, or plus 25% against castles with five or more puzzle slots.
- Infamy: about a fifth of the defender’s power rating, with a minimum of 5.
- Scavenging: each win has a 25% chance to unlock a new game mode, difficulty or defensive modifier you don’t own yet.
So a Paladin win against that 1,000-gold chest pays 402 gold for an 87-gold stake, a net gain of 315. A loss costs you the 87.
A worked example
You are level 3 with 500 gold, and a rival castle shows a chest of 1,200 gold and three puzzle slots. At Knight (20%), the loot is 240 gold and the attack costs 60. At Paladin (35%), the loot is 420 and the cost is 105. Winning at Paladin pays 420 plus the 15% bonus, so 483 gold.
If you win about 70% of Paladin sieges, each attempt is worth roughly 0.7 × 483 − 105 ≈ 233 gold on average. At Knight, with an easier 85% win rate, it is 0.85 × 276 − 60 ≈ 175. Paladin is the better deal as long as you win more than about 58% of Paladin sieges; below that, Knight pays more for the same effort.
Choosing a target
The target screen shows each castle’s chest and defences. Big chests are tempting, but larger castles have more puzzle slots, which means more puzzles to solve in one sitting. Early on, prefer small castles with decent chests. Later, the 25% bonus against five-slot castles makes big targets worth the extra work.
Boosts
Boosts from the store can rescue a hard siege. The War Horn adds 30 seconds to the clock, and the Oracle Lens reveals a letter. Use them on the last puzzle of a long gauntlet, where losing costs the most.
Defending your own castle
With a free account you claim a castle of your own. You choose its look, set the puzzles in your defensive gauntlet, and earn passive gold every hour. Your castle also has a treasure chest: 10% of your siege winnings go into it, and that chest is what other commanders and rival bots pillage when they raid you. Your main gold balance is never stolen.
- Mix puzzle types. A gauntlet that switches between modes is harder to clear than one repeated mode.
- Use longer words. Your castle’s power rating rises with longer, harder puzzles, which also makes you worth more Infamy to beat, so expect stronger attackers.
New players are protected by a shield until level 4, so you have time to learn before anyone raids you.
Common mistakes
- Jumping tiers too early. The cost is paid up front, so a run of losses at a high tier drains gold quickly.
- Ignoring the clock. Tiers above Page are timed per word. Practise the length in the untimed Arcade first.
- Saving boosts forever. A War Horn that turns a loss into a win at Emperor is worth far more than its price.
Levelling up
Infamy from sieges, Arcade wins and Battle Royale drives your level, which runs from 1 to 100. Each level-up lets you choose a reward, such as a new defensive modifier, game mode or difficulty, and harder siege tiers open up as you climb.