Winter and New Years Ambush

Dear players,

we've run a successful Abyssal Ambush and gathered more data about it.

We're using this data to fine-tune the event as well as the rewards.

Based on our evaluation and considering your feedback, we've made slight adjustments, so that in general Abyssal Ambush will yield slightly more rewards (all resources) than this last run in future.

We're also going to run 2 special Ambushes, the details of which you'll find in the next post.

The Winter Ambush rewards will be substantially higher than those of the last run: enjoy the holiday gifts

Note: the post below contains also changes already introduced in the normal Abyssal Ambush from a couple of days ago again in Further Event Info just for sake of completeness.

Happy Ambushing!

Your Ikariam Team

Events: Winter & New Year’s Ambushes

Once again, treacherous creatures from the inky depths have been brought forth… But what’s this? The hydras are wearing cosy winter hats and even the sirens have adapted to the season!

Come together with other rulers on your server to defeat these bleak sea monsters on the high seas! Reap valuable rewards for your efforts—with the top three players on each server getting even more loot, as well as exclusive and custom town icons!

• Winter Ambush time frame: 22.12.2025 11:00 CET - 29.12.2025 11:00 CET
• New Year’s Ambush time frame: 05.01.2026 11:00 CET - 12.01.2026 11:00 CET

Monsters from the Deep

Open the world map to see which sea monsters you can take on. On the map, click on a particular monster’s icon to take part in the event and send your troops into battle against the monster.

You won’t stand a chance against these powerful creatures alone—but with the combined force of other emperors and their armies, you may be victorious. Once a monster is defeated, it won’t be long before it resurfaces stronger than ever… Stay on your guard!

The monsters which appear have different strengths and weaknesses against certain units, determined at random each round. These stats are shown in the event interface so you can select your units accordingly. (You no longer need to attack first to see the effectiveness of individual units.)

Event Interface

As for previous versions of this event, there will again be a special info bar on the interface; you’ll find it at the top centre of the game interface. This bar will display the event progress, as well as which monster is currently attacking. You can also use this bar to participate in the event and send your units into combat against the monsters.

Rewards

Defeating the monsters can earn you numerous rewards for your feats on the high seas. Glorious seafarers can unlock achievements with unique titles, and a great haul of precious resources!

Please note: Rewards will not be issued immediately at the end of each event. To ensure our servers maintain stable performance, rewards will be sent to event participants over several days. This means that not all players will receive their rewards at the same time.

Achievements

You can unlock the following achievements and titles, found in the Events category in the game:

• Participate in the Event: Abyssal Ambush 50 times. Grants a title.
• Participate in the Event: Abyssal Ambush 150 times. Grants a title.
• Participate in the Event: Abyssal Ambush 300 times. Grants a title.
• Reach the top 10 in the Event: Abyssal Ambush.
• Reach the top 5 in the Event: Abyssal Ambush.
• Reach rank number 1 in the Event: Abyssal Ambush. Grants a title.

Resources

You will be rewarded with Building Material, Wine, Marble, Crystal, Sulphur and Gold for participating in the event.

In contrast to previous versions of this event, your resource rewards can now never be negative. The calculation is now based on the resources you invest in your units when sending them into battle against monsters.

A monster’s strengths and weaknesses against your units (per round) will continue to influence how highly you are rewarded. The more damage you deal to a monster, the more resources you will receive.

Even if you happen not to emerge gloriously victorious, you will always come away from the event with positive resource rewards.

From now on, resources will be placed into your inventory as items (and not into your warehouse as before).

Extra Rewards for Top 3

The top three players on each server will also get an additional reward pack containing powerful premium items.

Winter Ambush Rewards

Rank 1

• 10x Triton Engines
• 5x Premium Trader
• 1x Town Relocation
• 1x Premium Account (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Hammer (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Crystal Drill (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Saw (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Sulphur Paddle Wheel (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Wine Press (30 Days)

Rank 2

• 5x Triton Engines
• 2x Premium Trader
• 1x Steam Hammer (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Crystal Drill (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Saw (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Sulphur Paddle Wheel (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Wine Press (10 Days)

Rank 3

• 1x Triton Engines
• 1x Premium Trader
• 1x Steam Crystal Drill (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Saw (10 Days)

New Year’s Ambush Rewards

Rank 1

• 5x Triton Engines
• 5x Premium Trader
• 3x Bronze Fleece
• 1x Steam Hammer (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Crystal Drill (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Saw (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Sulphur Paddle Wheel (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Driven Forklift (30 Days)
• 1x Steam Wine Press (30 Days)

Rank 2

• 2x Triton Engines
• 2x Premium Trader
• 1x Steam Hammer (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Crystal Drill (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Saw (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Sulphur Paddle Wheel (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Wine Press (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Driven Forklift (10 Days)

Rank 3

• 1x Triton Engines
• 1x Premium Trader
• 1x Steam Crystal Drill (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Saw (10 Days)
• 1x Steam Driven Forklift (10 Days)

Players ranking in the top 3 will even get a unique town icon per rank, which can be (de)activated in each Town Hall. The icon (and the glory!) is visible for all players to see on the island view!

Further Event Info

We’ve made the following adjustments based on your feedback:

• The leader board now has an Alliance tab for displaying your alliance’s total damage.
• You can now search for specific names in both the player and alliance rankings.
• Monster strengths and weaknesses have been adjusted: instead of 60–120%, the range is now 80–120%. This means that the disadvantages are less significant if the optimal units are not selected.
• A close button has been added to the event banner.
• Your own rank will now be permanently displayed in the highscores.

Equip your units for battle on the high seas and return to your towns with fully laden ships!

Have fun,
The Ikariam Team

For the stats fans, here's New Years Ambush stats.

TOP 20 DAMAGE WORLDWIDE

UNITS USED WORLDWIDE

TOP 20 WORLDWIDE: COMBATS DONE

TOP 20 WORLDWIDE: STAGES REACHED