Positioning Guide

How Many Dudes? is an autobattler: once the round starts, Dudes fight on their own. The decision that still belongs to you is positioning — who stands where before the chaos begins.

Good placement multiplies average Relics. Bad placement turns S-tier Types into free Knock Outs. This guide covers default lanes, when to break them, and how to rearrange for swarm waves versus the G.O.A.T..

Default Lane Rules

Slot priority	Who belongs there	Why
Front	Knight, Spartan, other tanks	Eat first aggro and burst
Mid	Cleric, Medic, hybrid bruisers	Close enough to heal, not first to die
Back	Wizard, Ninja, Hacker, fragile carries	Need uptime more than they need to tank

Enemies tend to pressure the forward line first. Put durability where that pressure lands.

Role-by-Role Placement

Tanks

• Lead with the Dude that has Taunt, Temporary Health, or the highest Toughness
• If you run two tanks, stagger them so a single AoE does not delete both utilities at once when Relics allow
• Knight-style taunt carriers want to be where Rams and bosses actually path

Healers and Support

• Cleric and Medic need adjacency or mid coverage so pulses land on the wounded
• Do not hide a lone healer in a pocket where they never touch the fight — wasted heals are wasted Gold
• If your healer is also a damage trigger (Medic heals off damage dealt), keep them alive and active

Carries

• Glass cannons belong behind a body
• Ninja stealth chains still fail if the opening volley deletes them before the first kill
• Summoners (NecroDude) can sit slightly more forward if skeletons are meant to intercept — test once, then lock the lane that keeps the summoner alive

Peel and Rescue

• Cowboy lasso value rises when the Cowboy can see endangered allies without dying first
• Place peel Dudes where they survive long enough to use the tool — often mid, not extreme front

Matchup Adjustments

Swarm / Ram Waves

• Widen tank presence; pure backline glass gets surrounded
• Favor AoE carries who can still fire from protected tiles
• Consider summon Taunt Relics so trash mobs stop facechecking your Wizard

Single-Target Burst Bosses

• Stack Cheat Death and Toughness on whoever will eat the first slam
• Keep the primary DPS unclipped by early focus
• Hold consumables for the HP cliff, not the first chip damage

Mobile Bosses (G.O.A.T.)

• Avoid formations that only work if the boss stands still
• Prefer damage that remains relevant across the arena
• Reposition explicitly before round 105 — do not inherit a round-60 layout

Between-Round Routine

1. Who died first last fight? Move that Type behind a tank or give them Cheat Death
2. Who never cast? Move healers/supports closer to the action
3. Did Rams ignore your tank? Adjust taunt bodies and summon placement
4. Spending Gold? Buy the Relic that fixes the lane problem before cosmetic damage

Positioning vs Relics

Positioning is not a substitute for pool control. A perfect lane with no sustain Relics still collapses. Use Dudeconomy to afford the fix, and Relic Pool so the fix can appear.

Related Guides

• Getting Started — first-run lane basics
• Best Builds — comps that assume sane lanes
• Synergies — family bonuses that change who can afford frontline duty
• Tips — advanced habits beyond placement