Fortress

The Fortress holds the player's full collection of cats, including any duplicates. It is distinct from the Hero Book, which catalogs every cat in the game, including those the player has not yet recruited. The Fortress appears at the left end of the guild hall screen and tapping on it opens the fortress screen. Here, players can rename, equip, and dismiss their heroes as well as evolve them to unlock their full complements of Traits and Skills. The guild's hero recruits are listed eight to a page, and the buttons at bottom left can be used to sort the heroes according to their level, the order in which they were collected, and other criteria.

## Favorites

An unlimited number of heroes can be marked as "Favorite" by applying the heart-shaped widget when the hero is selected. This prevents accidental dismissals of those cats. Newly recruited heroes are usually automatically marked as favorites, unless the player already has a copy of the cat. Note that the following characters cannot be dismissed regardless of their setting: The main trio, Conan, Catniss and Francis; Purrcilla, for those who started playing after she became the Tutorial hostess; and all eight Legendary heroes.

## Active Cat Slots

The Fortress is also where players can choose heroes to fill the guild's "Active Cat Slots", or "Current Team" as displayed on the guild status screen, by marking them as "Visible" with the green "eye" widget. Active or visible cats will appear in the guild hall when not on quests. The number of active slots a guild has is important because it is also the maximum number of heroes that can be sent on quests at the same time. The number of slots is determined primarily by the guild's Fortress level. After the player has finished the Tutorial the Fortress is at level 2 with four active slots. This level can be further upgraded to 8 with a maximum of ten active slots, unless a player's VIP rank enables more. Upgrades can be made in the game's Shop, accessed by tapping the red-ribboned box in the lower right corner of the guild hall screen.

## Hero Limit

The Hero Limit was announced in February, 2019, and introduced in early March, 2019, with version 2.4.30. The limit determines the maximum number of cats that can be held in the Fortress, including duplicates, and is expandable as needed, up to a point, at the cost of gems. New players start with a limit of 32 cats on four pages, as each page in the Fortress can display up to eight cats. The update also introduced a hard overall cap of 504 slots in the Fortress. Once they have reached this maximum capacity, players are not able to recruit, craft or purchase any more heroes, except for the following: Daily Rewards cats; other reward cats such as Minty Heart, the Reputation heroes, and the one awarded for completing the Main Story Quest; and cats won in official contests and giveaways.

The number of heroes currently filling spots and the player's current limit, including any additional space made available by VIP benefits, are shown in the top left corner of the fortress screen. Tapping the green plus sign in that area opens the Hero Limit window, which shows the cost in gems of increasing the Fortress's capacity by one page of eight slots. This window also appears when attempting to craft or buy a cat if doing so would exceed a player's current limit. The table below shows how the cost of Fortress space slowly increases as the current limit does.

## Trivia

* The "Favorite" and "Visible" controls in the Fortress were introduced in December, 2017, though with different icons than those currently used; prior to this, it was too easy for players to accidentally dismiss cats with one tap.
* The introduction of the Hero Limit in early 2019 was very controversial, as many players expressed their displeasure at the newly imposed cost of keeping recruited heroes. Comments on PocApp Studios' social media posts referenced below document the outcry.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/castlecatsgame/photos/a.1091007500921428/2216135958408571/ *Castle Cats* Facebook post announcing a new "Hero Limit" on cat slots in the Fortress, February 22, 2019.
2. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/castlecatsgame/photos/a.1091007500921428/2230511080304392/ *Castle Cats* Facebook post announcing update to version 2.4.30, March 3, 2019.
3. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/castlecatsgame/photos/a.1091007500921428/2220583994630434/ *Castle Cats* Facebook post explaining the hows and whys of the new Hero Limit, February 25, 2019.
4. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/castlecatsgame/photos/have-you-checked-out-the-new-fortress-menu-yet-what-do-you-think-of-them-control/1651666634855509/ *Castle Cats* Facebook post about Fortress menu changes, December 11, 2017.

**Customizations**: Avatar Customization • Hero Outfits • Plushies
**Quests**: Quests • Main Story Quest • Regular Quests • Battle Quests • Reputation Quests • Attack Skills
**Activities**: Alchemy • Challenges • Daily Events • Daily Rewards • Events • Mini-games • Missions
**Upgrades & Acquisitions**: Guild • **Fortress** • Shop • Exclusive Shop • Story Book • VIP
**Utility**: Market • Materials • Skills • Traits • Tutorial
**Media**: Connections • Merchandise • News • Original Soundtrack