Almost every complaint about losing troops in Kingshot comes down to one misunderstanding: the Infirmary and the Enlistment Office are not two versions of the same building. They fill in a fixed order, and where a soldier lands depends on which one still has room. Here is the publisher's own description, and what it means when you decide whether to attack.
The Enlistment Office is the overflow, not a second hospital
When the Infirmary reaches its capacity, the Enlistment Office begins recruiting reserves. The Enlistment Office has four times the capacity of the Infirmary. If the number of injured troops exceeds the Infirmary's capacity, the excess troops will die. However, the Enlistment Office can save 70% of those troops.
If you're on the defensive, your troops will never die unless your Infirmary is at full capacity, and your Enlistment Office will not be active. If you're on the offensive, you will always take casualties.
The Enlistment Office won't revive troops killed in battle, but it can recruit 70% of severely injured troops beyond the Infirmary's capacity, allowing you to recover some of your losses.
⚠️ Note: Loyalty points only accumulate when there are troops in the Enlistment Office.
— Enlistment Office FAQ
What that actually means at the keyboard
| Situation | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Defending, Infirmary not full | Nothing dies. The Enlistment Office stays inactive. |
| Defending, Infirmary full | Overflow would die; the Enlistment Office recovers 70% of it. |
| Attacking | Casualties always. There is no configuration that avoids this. |
| Troops killed outright in battle | Gone. The Enlistment Office does not revive them. |
The practical reading is that Infirmary capacity is your real defensive stat. Every point of it converts a would-be death into a heal. The Enlistment Office is worth building because it is four times as large, but it only ever sees traffic after the Infirmary is already overwhelmed, and it hands back 70% rather than everything. Upgrade the Infirmary first.
One easily-missed line: Loyalty points only accumulate while troops are sitting in the Enlistment Office. An empty Enlistment Office earns nothing.
Death rates are set by the type of battle
Different types of battles have varying casualty rates. After each battle, the number of dead, severely injured, lightly injured, and survivors is calculated based on the type of battle.
For example, in battles against other players' Town Center, 35% of the attacker's casualties die; in battles for King's Castle, all casualties go to the Infirmary until it's full, and then any further casualties die.
— Combat FAQ
So attacking a Town Center is the expensive option — 35% of your casualties are dead, not injured, and no building recovers them. Castle Battle is far more forgiving: everything routes to the Infirmary until it fills, which is exactly why players who intend to fight for the King's Castle upgrade the Infirmary beforehand rather than during.
Outposts are the cheap place to fight
The casualty of the battles at the Outposts will be determined differently. Other than the battles at Lv. 4 Outposts which will result in lost Soldiers, the battles at Outposts of other levels will only result in severely injured Soldiers.
— Outpost Battle FAQ
This is the single most useful thing on this page for a mid-size account. Outposts below Lv. 4 produce severely injured soldiers only — no deaths at all. You can contest them aggressively and heal back to full. Lv. 4 Outposts are the exception and cost real troops, so treat them as a different category of fight entirely.
Reinforcements are consumed in a fixed order
Garrison soldier reinforcement: Soldiers will be reinforced based on level first, and then soldier type. If they have the same level, then it will be reinforced from Infantries to Cavalries, then Archers.
— Combat FAQ
Higher-level troops are pulled in first, and at equal level the order is Infantry → Cavalry → Archers. If you garrison a mixed stack, your best soldiers are the ones being spent.