What Is a Tick?

A tick is the single most important concept in Realm Conquest. A realm does not move forward continuously. Instead it advances in fixed steps, and each step is called a tick. Nothing in the world changes between ticks. Everything changes on a tick.

How a tick works

Every realm has a fixed real-time interval between ticks. When that interval passes, the realm advances exactly one tick and resolves everything that was due. If you queue a building and it finishes "in 5 ticks," it will be ready after the realm has ticked 5 more times, no sooner and no later. This is what makes the game predictable: you can plan around the clock instead of guessing.

Because the interval is fixed, you do not have to be online at any exact moment. Your economy keeps producing and your queued orders keep progressing whether you are watching or not. You log in, set your plans for the next stretch of ticks, and check back later.

Fast worlds and slow worlds

Different realms tick at different speeds. In the Classic ruleset, a slow world ticks once per hour and a fast world ticks four times per hour. Some realms sit in between.

This changes how a realm feels:

• Slow worlds reward long-term planning. A few decisions a day is enough, and the game plays out over weeks.
• Fast worlds are intense. Things complete quickly, attacks land sooner, and active players have a real edge.

Resource costs for buildings and units are the same regardless of world speed. What changes is how long timers take in real time, because a "5 tick" build is five hours on a slow world and a little over an hour on a fast one.

What happens on a tick

Almost every system in the game is measured in ticks:

• Production. Your colony adds metal, oil, and energy to your stockpile each tick.
• Workers. Worker growth pays out on a cycle: every 24 ticks your workers increase based on your economy.
• Construction and training. Structures finish and new units become ready when their tick timer completes.
• Movement. Squads travel for a number of ticks before they arrive.
• Combat and conquest. Battles resolve on the tick a squad arrives, and control timers (like how long you have held an outpost) count in ticks.

Why this matters

Thinking in ticks is the mindset shift that makes you good at this game. Veterans do not ask "how long until this is done?" in minutes. They ask "how many ticks?" and plan their economy, their builds, and their attacks around that single shared clock.

See also: Welcome to Realm Conquest for the bigger picture, Economy for what production looks like each tick, and Movement for how travel time is counted.