Conquest

A conquest is an attack after which your troops stay in someone else's village and take control of it. You take no loot — instead you receive part of its production every hour.

What can be conquered

Only other players' villages. You cannot conquer a capital, a trading post, a bandit camp, your own villages or your allies' villages.
You need a free village place (2 plus one more per Palace level). An occupied village takes a place from you and frees one for its owner.
Night protection, beginner protection, a truce and the player's vacation apply, as for an attack (see Army and combat).

Battle and siege

The fight goes like a normal attack on a village: the defenders get the wall and river bonus, and support fights together with the garrison.
The first battle lasts at most 100 rounds. If it is not decided, both sides suffer losses and your troops set up a siege camp outside the village for an hour. During that time the defender's allies can send or withdraw support, the defender can evacuate their troops (giving up control of the village), and you can withdraw the camp.
After the hour comes the assault, which fights until it is decided. A draw in the assault means a failed conquest and the troops return.
You take control when you win and at least 1,000 of your combat units survive. If you win with fewer, the village stays with its owner and the survivors go home.

Occupation

The surviving troops stay in the village as a garrison. Its upkeep eats food from your capital, and when food runs short, occupation garrisons starve first.
The garrison must have at least 1,000 units. If it drops below that — after a battle or from hunger — it withdraws to you and the village returns to its owner. You send reinforcements as support.
Of the conquered village's production, 90% goes to your capital and 10% to its owner's capital.
Artifacts in the conquered village's treasury come under your control and go back to the owner when the village is retaken.
You can upgrade the conquered village's wall with resources from your capital.
The owner cannot do anything in the occupied village — its construction and training stand still.
Important characters stationed in the village die when it comes under different control.

Retaking and takeover

The owner and their allies can attack the occupied village. They fight the occupier's garrison, which defends with that village's wall.
When the garrison drops below 1,000, the village returns to its owner — even if an ally broke it.
A player outside the owner's alliance can take over the occupied village with a conquest: if at least 1,000 of their units survive and they have a free village place, they become the new occupier.