I think Army Strength and Army Moral are good stats to focus on, I went for an OK defence level to deter too many lower level raiders, but I realised early on that there will ALWAYS be more powerful attackers raiding me while I try and accumulate, so, for me, making good attacks just before I claim seems better, hence my focus on offence , with a modicum of reasonable defence to balance, This way I usually get the max 8 Denar my vault will allow, or very close to it , when I claim.
Now that Denar are a lot cheaper I will divert some Shard earnings from Golem Overlord into Denar, maybe even buy a chest or two !
Good Luck ! and Happy Hunting!
I've come to your same conclusion, but it required more time for me to get there 🤣 now I'm putting everything into Army Strength and Army Moral and it's already paying off! Not sure this will be enough to stop losing placements in the ranks, though, as I'm not buying DENAR...
If Cronwrend starts expanding and evolving, I'm going to do the same, but right now GO is too much funnier for me, so I'm not sure I want to remove funds from it.
Good luck to you too: may your Kingdom grow strong and powerful :)