Alliances lose Sanctuary Battle in the same three places every season: they misread the 30-minute rule, they assume participation rewards come from winning, and they assume their own alliance picks the battle time. None of those are true. What follows is Century Games' own English help centre — eleven FAQs — laid out in the order the phase actually runs.
Who can sign up, and how many buildings you get
Only members above R4 from an alliance with 20 or more members are eligible to sign up.
— Why can't I sign up for Sanctuary Battle?
If the sign-up button does nothing, it is one of those two conditions — the alliance is under 20 members, or you are R3 or below. Promoting you to R4 clears it immediately.
Each alliance can only sign up for one Sanctuary and one Fortress for each phase. If your alliance occupies a Sanctuary during the current phase, it will automatically sign up for the same Sanctuary in the next phase.
However, if the current phase is the final phase of the season, your alliance will not automatically sign up for the Fortress in the first phase of the next season.
— Why can my alliance only sign up for one Sanctuary, while other alliances can sign up for multiple Sanctuaries?
The cap is one Sanctuary plus one Fortress. Alliances that look like they signed up for more are simply carrying last phase's holdings forward on automatic sign-up.
The season boundary is where holdings get quietly lost. Automatic sign-up for a Fortress does not carry from the last phase of a season into the first phase of the next one. In changeover week an R4 or R5 has to sign up by hand, or the building is simply free for someone else.
Your alliance does not set the battle time — the whole kingdom votes
R4/R5 members can choose 3 time slots during the Sign-Up Phase. However, the battle time will be determined by the votes of all alliances in the Kingdom that have signed up for the particular building. The time slot with the highest number of votes will be finalized as the battle time.
— Why is the actual battle time different from the chosen time slot?
Your three picks are candidates, not a booking. Every alliance that signed up for that same building votes, and the slot with the most votes becomes the real battle time. That means the alliances with the most sign-ups win the clock. If you need the fight to land when your main force is awake, the only lever you have is agreeing the slot in advance with the friendly alliances chasing the same building.
When R4/R5 members sign up for Fortress Battle, the notification will appear on the Task List. You will also receive a signup notice via mail.
— How to add items to the Task List for Sanctuary Battle?
The Defense Phase, and the NPCs you have to clear first
During the Defense Phase, the Shield will be activated, and the Fortress/Fortress cannot be attacked. When the battle begins, NPCs will be garrisoned at the Sanctuaries/Fortresses again. You are required to defeat the NPCs to control the Sanctuaries/Fortresses, and the team members who defeat the NPCs will obtain rewards.
— What is the Defense Phase?
For roughly two days after you take a building nobody can touch it. When the next phase opens, fresh NPCs are garrisoned and you have to clear them before player-versus-player fighting starts at all. An alliance whose troops are idle at the opening bell misses that NPC reward window completely.
The rule that decides everything: 30 consecutive minutes
If no other alliances compete with your alliance after it has occupied a building, your alliance will automatically gain full control of the building when the countdown ends. On the other hand, if other alliances attack the building, the battle phase will begin. The alliance that continuously occupies the building for 30 minutes during the battle phase will gain full control of it.
If none of the alliances manage to occupy the building for 30 minutes by the end of the battle, the control goes to the last alliance that occupies the building.
— Rules for occupying buildings
| Situation | Who takes the building |
|---|---|
| Nobody contests it | Automatic when the countdown ends |
| Someone holds it 30 minutes straight | Settled on the spot |
| Nobody reaches 30 minutes | Whoever is standing on it when the phase ends |
That table is the whole of Sanctuary Battle strategy. When you are ahead, the goal is to close out the 30 minutes. When you are behind, the goal is to never let the other side get a clean 30 and to be the one standing there at the final second. Sitting on your troops while an enemy is 25 minutes into a hold is the one genuinely losing play.
Alliances that have occupied buildings in the previous phase can automatically sign up for the same buildings in the current phase. If no other alliances attack their buildings, they will retain control of the buildings.
— Why some alliances can occupy buildings when their territories are not adjacent to the buildings?
An alliance sitting on a building its territory does not even touch is not a bug. If nobody takes it, the previous holder keeps it — indefinitely.
Participation rewards pay the first kill, not the winner
Only the first governors who defeats the Cesares' Rebels in the sanctuary during the event is eligible for participation rewards.
— Why didn't I receive any participation rewards after occupying a Sanctuary/Fortress?
This is the single most common complaint about the mode, and the answer is that participation rewards are not tied to owning the building. They are tied to being first onto the Cesares' Rebels that phase. Arrive late and help finish the job and your alliance still takes the building — you personally get nothing. If you want the reward, be on the NPC fight the moment the phase opens.
You can gain points by occupying Sanctuaries/Fortresses. At the end of the season, you will receive rewards corresponding to your points.
— How to obtain Season Rewards?
Season rewards are cumulative across phases. Holding something modest every single phase beats one spectacular phase followed by three blanks.
Two different buffs, two different conditions
After occupying an Outpost, its buff will take effect, even when you enter another Kingdom during Kingdom of Power.
— How do Outpost Buff take effect?
Alliance Territory battle buff will only be active when the battle takes place in a city within the Alliance Territory.
— Can the squads garrisoned at a Sanctuary/Fortress enjoy the Alliance Territory buff?
Read those two conditions carefully, because they are not the same. The Outpost buff travels with you — it still applies in another kingdom during Kingdom of Power. The Alliance Territory battle buff is positional: it needs the fight to happen in a city inside your Alliance Territory. Fight outside the territory and that buff is simply not in the maths, which is why defensive engagements are worth pulling inward.
What R4 and R5 should check every phase
- Is this the first phase of a season? That is the one gap in automatic sign-up. Re-register by hand.
- Coordinate your three time-slot votes with the alliances chasing the same building — your votes alone do not set the clock.
- Have bodies on the NPC fight at the opening bell. Personal participation rewards exist nowhere else.
- Watch the 30-minute clock. Ahead: close it out. Behind: deny it and take the final second.
- Fight defensive battles inside your own territory — the Alliance Territory buff does not follow you out.
Sources: Century Games Kingshot help centre, Sanctuary Battle section, FAQs 8999–9009 (11 articles), checked 2026-07-29. In-game timings and reward tiers can vary with server progress, so read them off the event screen as well.