Holy Grail is a combined-arms order: infantry, archers and cavalry fighting as one, each arm covering what the others can't. No single arm wins a battle — the combination does, and that's why we drill together rather than as a crowd of duelists.
The arms
Infantry — the shieldwall — the body of the host.
- Holds ground and anchors the fight (The Shieldwall).
- Soaks the enemy charge and pins them in place.
- Spears in the line keep enemy cavalry off everyone behind it.
Archers — the pressure — the fight before the fight.
- Soften and break the enemy as they cross open ground (Archery).
- Interrupt charges and focus-fire called targets.
- Need the line to screen them, since they're fragile up close.
Cavalry — the hammer — the decisive blow.
- Flanks, breaks wavering formations and runs down routers (Mounted Combat).
- Needs the wall to pin the enemy so the charge has something to hit.
Medics — the staying power — what keeps it all standing.
- Bandage, revive and triage so the line outlasts the enemy's (Health & Revives).
How the arms cover each other
The whole is a set of locks and keys. Archers need the wall to keep them from being charged; the wall needs the archers to soften the enemy and the cavalry to chase a beaten foe; the cavalry needs the wall to fix the enemy in place so a charge lands on a target that can't simply turn to face it. Pull one arm out and the others get exposed — which is exactly what we do to the enemy.
Don't swing through your own line
Fighting shoulder to shoulder carries one tax worth drilling into every new member: the ally damage debuff. Swing your weapon through an ally before it reaches the enemy and your own damage collapses. It never harms the ally — it only punishes *you*.
- One-handers — hitting an ally first cuts that swing's damage by 70%: an *ally-then-enemy* blow lands for just 30%.
- Two-handers — each ally in the arc eats one of your [cleave](/wiki/combat-guides/weapon-types) stacks. A clean cleave through three enemies reads 100% / 60% / 30%; clip an ally first and it becomes none / 30% / 30% — and three allies in the way can zero out the whole swing.
- The danger bubble is large — you don't have to visibly pass *through* a teammate, only swing too close to one.
This is why a real line spaces out and angles its swings rather than bunching up — and why a disciplined warband out-damages a mob of the same size. Stand clear so your neighbour lands clean, and they'll do the same for you.
Fight as a unit
This is why Holy Grail trains as a unit, not a mob. If that's the way you want to fight, join the muster and read about the guild.