Part of the Events Series:

Event Calendar: Every event cycle (Start Here).

Equipment Guide: What the blueprints are for.

Ceroli Crisis Guide: The sister raid event.

Quick Answer

Ian's Ballads is a four-player raid for governors at City Hall 16 and above: you invite three others and fight through waves of barbarians to three bosses, inside a two-hour limit. There are five difficulty levels, and higher difficulties pay better — clearing all bosses on a high difficulty yields super rare blueprints and materials. Each boss drops a chest of gear blueprints and materials, which makes this one of the most important equipment sources in the game.

Why It Matters More Than It Looks

Equipment progression is slow and material-starved for most accounts. Ian's Ballads, alongside Ceroli Crisis and Sunset Canyon, is where a free-to-play player's gear actually comes from.

Skipping it does not just cost you one event's rewards — it slows your entire equipment track, which then slows your combat performance for months. See the equipment guide for how forging works.

The Format

City Hall 16+ to participate.
You plus three others — invite alliance-mates, not randoms.
Barbarian waves, then three bosses.
Two hours to finish.
Five difficulty levels, each paying better than the last.
A chieftain's reward that each governor can receive only once, regardless of how many runs you join.

Picking a Difficulty

The temptation is to jump to the highest tier you think you can survive. The better approach is to work out what your group can clear inside two hours, because an unfinished run collects less than a completed easier one.

Two things decide that:

Commander quality across all four players, not just yours. A group is only as fast as its weakest damage.
Coordination. Four people focusing one target beats four people doing their own thing — the same lesson as Ark of Osiris.

Who to Bring

Bring your best damage pair, not your farming pair. This is boss content, so raw output and survivability matter more than peacekeeping talents — see best commander pairs and the commander tier list.

Barbarian-specific bonuses do help through the wave phase, so a peacekeeping secondary is not wasted, but the bosses are what decide your rewards.

Getting the Most Out of It

Run it with your alliance. Four coordinated alliance-mates clear a higher difficulty than four strangers.
Take the highest difficulty you can actually finish, not the highest you can enter.
Claim your chieftain's reward — it is once per governor, so make sure you have it.
Bank the blueprints and spend them deliberately. Weapon first, then helmet, per the forging order.

FAQ

What City Hall level do I need for Ian's Ballads?

City Hall 16 or above.

How many players can join Ian's Ballads?

Four — you plus three invited governors.

How long do you get in Ian's Ballads?

Two hours to defeat the barbarians and all three bosses.

What rewards does Ian's Ballads give?

A chest of gear blueprints and materials after each boss, with super rare blueprints and materials for clearing all bosses on higher difficulties.

Which difficulty should I choose?

The highest your group can finish inside the two hours. An incomplete high-difficulty run pays less than a completed lower one.

Key Takeaways

Four-player raid, City Hall 16+, two-hour limit, three bosses.
Five difficulties — higher pays better, but only if you finish.
A chest of blueprints and materials after every boss.
One of the main free equipment material sources in the game.
Bring your damage pair, run it with alliance-mates, focus fire.

Ian's Ballads Guide: Bosses, Difficulties and Blueprint Rewards