Wild horde levels: rules, rewards and timing

Short answer

Every wild horde has a level from 1 to 10. Big hordes of up to 250 zombies hunt only the strongest villages.

What it does

A wild horde's level matches the strength of the villages it hunts. A horde never goes after a village much weaker than itself, so newcomers only meet small packs while the realm's strongest villages face hordes in the hundreds.

The realm keeps hordes of every village's own level in sight of it, so there is always something worth fearing, and something worth hunting, at every stage of the game.

A horde bigger than 18 zombies attacks in waves. The guards each wave kills stay down for the next one, so a deep reserve matters as much as strong gates. From level 6 its zombies are armoured, and from level 9 they are fast too.

Horde level

Horde level	Village strength it hunts	Zombies	Smallest hunting party	Traits
1	0+	4–14	3	None
2	120+	8–18	3	None
3	250+	12–24	8	None
4	400+	18–34	10	None
5	550+	26–48	12	None
6	750+	38–66	14	Armor
7	950+	54–92	16	Armor
8	1,150+	100–150	18	Armor
9	1,400+	150–200	18	Armor, Speed
10	1,700+	190–250	18	Armor, Speed

Tips

Hunting a high-level horde needs a bigger party, and pays in salvage as well as bound zombies.
You can hunt hordes up to two levels above your village's own.
A win against a horde bigger than your party breaks its front line; the rest keeps roaming.
Post guards on every road once your strength climbs: bigger hordes will start to notice you.

Questions

Why is a level 8 horde coming for my village?

Wild hordes only hunt villages at least as strong as their level. A level 8 horde goes for villages with 1,150 strength or more, so a big one at your gate means your village has grown.

Numbers come straight from the game's rules and update with every release.