Population is a game mechanic in the Stick War series, determining the maximum possible army size a player can field. Each unit trained will take up part of the population size; once the maximum population size is reached, no further units can be trained.
Players have to get around this curve-ball by structuring their force early-on to be strong early on, not relying on too many weak cannon-fodder units that won't get an offensive far, but also not over-relying on more specialized troops that can take up multiple unit spots.
Function and History[]
Stick War[]
In the original Stick War, all units would use up 1 population, but along with this the population cap was limited to 20. This effectively restricted army sizes to 20 of any unit, regardless of their strength; under this system, a Swordwrath occupies the same space as a Giant. The game's low population limit for each side can be largely attributed to the performance of the game on computers of that era, as flash games running on mid 2000's hardware often crashed in the midst of a game.
In this installment, it is possible to go over the population limit using the Magikill, whose summoned minions count towards the population limit but can still produce more units after the cap has been reached.
Stick War II: Order Empire/Stick Empires[]
In Stick War II: Order Empire and Stick Empires, the unit population was heightened to a cap of 80 units, but now each unit had varying population values depending on their strength and overall usefulness. These unit values are reflective, and in-theory coordinated, with the cost of unit itself. Below are the population values for each respective unit:
Order[]
| Unit | Population |
|---|---|
| Miner | 2 |
| Swordwrath | 1 |
| Archidon | 2 |
| Meric | 3 |
| Magikill | 5 |
| Spearton | 3 |
| Shadowrath | 4 |
| Albowtross | 4 |
| Enslaved Giant | 7 |
Chaos[]
| Unit | Population |
|---|---|
| Enslaved Miner | 2 |
| Crawler | 1 |
| Dead | 3 |
| Marrowkai | 4 |
| Medusa | 5 |
| Juggerknight | 3 |
| Bomber | 1 |
| Eclipsor | 3 |
| Chaos Giant | 7 |
Elemental[]
| Unit | Population |
|---|---|
| Earth | 2 |
| Water | 2 |
| Air | 3 |
| Fire | 3 |
| Charrog | 5 |
| Cycloid | 5 |
| Treature | 9 |
| Infernos | 6 |
| V | 10 |
It is also possible to go over population by using Blind Gate as it will lower the population and then increase it.
Stick War: Legacy[]
Stick War: Legacy has a population limit of 50, with units once again having different population values. Unlike in the first game, Magikill minions no longer count towards the population limit.
The population can be exceeded by first filling up to population to maximum, and then using spells to summon additional units. There is no limit on this population.
Using summoned Griffon the Greats and Merics to surpass the traditional population limit
- Miner, Archidon, Swordwrath: 1
- Spearton: 2
- Magikill: 5
- Giant: 4
Stick War III[]
In Stick War III, the population limit was changed to 100 for 1v1 games and 75 per player for 2v2 (60 and 50 respectively prior to version 2023.2.1286).
It is possible to go over the population limit using Deads summoned by Summoning Staff or Rune of Reanimation, or units converted by Bewitch.
| Unit | Population |
|---|---|
| Miner | 3 |
| Enslaved Miner | 3 |
| Crawler | 1 |
| Dead | 1 |
| Bomber | 1 |
| Sicklewrath | 2 |
| Swordwrath | 3 |
| Archidon | 3 |
| Eclipsor | 5 |
| Shadowrath | 5 |
| Spearton | 5 |
| Juggerknight | 6 |
| Riprider | 8 |
| Toxic Dead | 5 |
| Enslaved Giant | 10 |
| Giant | 10 |
| Meric | 5 |
| Magikill | 7 |
| Generals | 9 |