Medal drop rates, theoretically, work on total losses on both sides. I.E if the enemy has 5000 troops, and you have 5000 troops, You will have a higher medal/item drop percentage if 4500 of your troops are killed, and a lower medal drop percentage if 0 of your troops are killed.

Thus the game punishes good tactics and rewards foolish errors.

This becomes a really big problem for people trying to get their first couple of titles, as they are generally farming valleys level one and two. I.E lakes for roses and lions.

If you send in, say 500 archers, your drop rates will be minuscule because only 50 or so troops enemy will have been killed, along with none of yours, which is at the very bottom at the minimal required dead for a drop spectrum.

The same thing they put in place to prevent scouts from getting medals from empty valleys.

If however you send in say 70 warriors, and get 50 of your own people killed needlessly, you will find your required medals much quicker.

If you wish to test this theory, farm 20 level 2 NPC with ballista, and then with the minimal number of required warriors. You will not only find far more medals the second method, but they will be of a higher quality.

That is the most inexpensive way to do the experiment.