So I’m at a point in this game where my upgrades are hours long, so I don’t really understand what I should be doing. Do I need to be sending out my troops 24/7 and all that? What do I need to be doing that I’m not?
Just wait. Those hours will turn into days and weeks. You can use speed-ups or gems to reduce the amount of time research and upgrades take. Otherwise, keep hunting monsters, gathering ore, food, and gold, or attacking towns of similar size for troop kills and any resources they have that are over cap.
I mean in the end, this is a city building game. Upgrades will start taking long periods of time. No you don’t have to be on 24/7 to micromanage your city, just keep the basics of the game in place, and you’ll keep growing.