The total war empire is what kind of state can arise. Empire: Total War - facts about the game. Warpath Campaign Add-on
This guide is a summary of all the useful data received by players while completing campaigns in the game Empire Total War
. Many points from this material are discussed in more detail in separate articles that are published on our website in the section on Empire. In our guide to passing the game, we indicate the necessary minimum of information that you cannot do without. Let's divide our guide into the following points:
I: Cities, ports and villages
II: Regional Capitals
III: Agents
IV: Government, state systems and revolutions
V: Diplomacy
VI: Trade
VII: Technology Study
VIII: Armies and navies on the strategic map
IX: Naval Battles
Cities, ports and villages in Empire Total War
I think that many have noticed that in addition to the main city, new areas for constructing buildings have appeared on the map. All these building slots are divided into the following categories: Cities, Mines, Ports, Farms, Plantations, Logging and Factories. You can find out what type of settlement a settlement is by hovering your mouse over it. Please note for the future that some buildings have different names in different countries, depending on the religion and location of the country. But all these buildings, despite the name change, perform the same functions.
Cities
Cities are the centers of regions. In them you can build from one to four buildings, for example: a college, a church, a craft workshop or an inn. If you decide to build one of these buildings, you will not be able to build another one in the same city. But you can always demolish the building and build something else in its place. Each type of building can be upgraded to the third level. The exception is the church, which can only be upgraded to the second level. If the building can be upgraded, a spinning golden hammer will appear above the city. This icon is only displayed if you have enough money to upgrade the building.
Colleges allow you to learn new technologies. This is their main function. Educational institutions also reduce the level of satisfaction of the population, because... the settlers have a craving for reform and transformation. With each improvement in the educational institution, the speed of learning technology will increase, but along with this, public discontent will increase. Some technologies can only be studied in special colleges that have been improved to a certain level. Other technologies can open access to higher levels of these buildings, for example, modern universities.
Nobles also study in colleges. They have three functions. Firstly, they can be sent to a nearby university, which will help increase the speed of learning technologies. Also, nobles can be sent to fight a duel with an enemy agent or used to steal enemy achievements.
The main goal of churches is to convert the nation to your religion. Churches also increase the level of happiness of people who belong to their religion. In other words, the more people convert to your faith, the greater the happiness bonus they will receive. Church ministers and missionaries are also trained in churches. Priests are similar to those in Medieval 2: Total War. You only need to send one of them to the desired region so that he begins to preach his religion there. If your country, for example, is Catholic, and you captured a Muslim mosque, then the captured church will not provide bonuses for your population.
Inns only increase the contentment of the population in the region. At first, these buildings only give a bonus to the lower class. But with their improvement, the bonus will extend to the middle and upper classes. You can also hire spies in taverns. Spies are a spy and a killer rolled into one. They can infiltrate enemy cities and armies, supplying you with the necessary information, or kill enemy generals and agents on the strategic map.
Workshops are divided into three types: weaving, pottery and weapons. A weapon shop can only be built in a region where there is an iron mine. Weaving workshops can be built in any city. Pottery workshops are most often found in the East, such as Afghanistan and northern India. All workshops have one single goal - to improve the level of well-being in the region. Upgrading these buildings will open up new technologies for you to research. The only difference is that different workshops provide access to different technologies. Also, weapon shops bring in a little more income.
Pottery and weaving shops are roughly the same, but they do not provide access to new technologies and do not have technologies specifically designed for them.
Ports
Ports are divided into three types: commercial, shipyards and fishing farms. Trade ports increase the wealth of a region, allow the transport of resources, increase the maximum possible number of trade routes, and allow the construction of merchant ships.
Fishing farms slightly increase population satisfaction through food supplies, and also increase population growth. Indian states cannot build shipyards and commercial ports; only fishing farms are available to them. After seizing territories in America, I recommend that you destroy the Indian fisheries and build trading ports in their place to export rare resources, of which there are so many on the American continent.
At shipyards you can build new ships for your fleet. This is the only place where you can build advanced combat ships. When upgrading a port to level four, you can choose whether to convert it into a military hospital or a dry dock. In a dry dock, you can build such incredibly powerful ships as the Battleship of the First Rank, as well as ships of the Second Rank. Second Rank ships will automatically receive a small bonus in the form of additional experience. Military hospitals do not require high technological advances and can be built long before dry docks, which require steam engineering. But military hospitals are far from useless, although they cannot build ships identical to those that can be hired in dry docks.
Farms, mines, plantations, logging and fur harvesting
These buildings are built only in those places where the required type of resources is available. The amount of available resources will directly affect the profitability of these buildings. If you move your mouse cursor over the resource icon, you will see the following indicators: minimal/low/medium/high/abundant.
Farms increase the wealth of a region and accelerate population growth by providing food for the people.
Note that there are three types of farms: agricultural farms, sheep farms and rice plantations. Farming farms will allow you to study new agricultural technologies.
The mines simply increase the wealth of the region.
Plantations can only be built in America and India. There are several variations of these plantations: cotton, tea, coffee, sugar, tobacco and spice plantations. Plantations supply their unique resources for further trade. Sometimes it is fashionable to choose which plantation to build on a certain site, because... Sometimes two or three types of resources can be located in the same place. In this case, look at which products are most valued on the market and, based on this, make a decision. How higher level your plantation, the more resources it will supply.
Logging provides wealth to the region. They play no other role, and timber is not a tradeable resource.
The fur factory provides you with this resource, which is necessary for trading. Just like with plantations, the higher the level of your factory, the more fur you will receive.
Regional capitals in Empire Total War
Capitals are the main cities in the regions. You must capture it to take control of the entire corresponding area.
Typically, capital cities come in two sizes. Most have only two slots for buildings, one of which is used to build a government building, and the other – a bastion fortification. Once you have built a level 1 government facility, you will have to choose whether to convert it into a military facility or continue to build a regular government building. The military building will allow you to recruit more advanced troops. The government building will increase tax revenues as well as improve public order.
Larger cities are usually the capitals of states (but not always). Such settlements have five slots for construction and another one for building walls. The buildings you can build on these slots will give you access to new technologies (for example, a cannon workshop will give you access to better artillery ammunition). These buildings will also allow you to recruit new units. A separate slot is allocated for each military and government building. The only choice you have to make is what you will build first. The city also has a slot for the construction of a cultural or scientific building. A cultural building will increase the level of population satisfaction, and a scientific building will speed up the study of technology. After the construction of this building, you will have to choose a narrow direction in which this building will further develop.
The fortifications that you will build are not actually walls in the classical sense of the word. This is just a ring of bastion fortifications around the city. So, at the first level of these buildings, the battle will look like an assault on an ordinary fort. At the second level of these fortifications, a more advanced star-shaped fort will appear on the battlefield. (gallery)EmpireTW/rukov/1(/gallery) When you double-click on the capital of the region, you will receive important information for this region. You will be shown the contentment of the population, the welfare of the region, profits, population growth and statistics on religion.
Public order
If the satisfaction of the population reaches -1 point, then you will be sent a letter of complaints from the corresponding class. After the second turn, people will begin to destroy the city. If after the third move no changes occur, then the people will revolt. Usually, uprisings arise in newly captured regions. A people who are loyal to another state is rebelling. If, when capturing a city, you destroyed an entire power, then in the event of a successful uprising, a new independent state will be formed. This is how the USA was born (I also saw the emergence of Norway, Mexico, Quebec, Scotland and Finland).
Welfare of the region
Typically, the wealth of a region is the sum of the wealth of all buildings in that area. These indicators are closely related to taxes. For example, if a mine has an income of 1000 gold and at the same time pays 400 coins in taxes every turn, then this enterprise will be considered rich. The region's prosperity will change over time. Buildings and social technologies will increase the growth of the region's wealth, while high taxes on the lower and middle classes will worsen the situation in the region.
If you hover your mouse over the overall tax percentage, you'll see a detailed summary of how each metric affects your tax collection.
Population
Population growth depends on food production and tax levels. Plenty of food and low taxes will speed up population growth. As the population grows, you will be able to build new cities.
You can see the timing of the appearance of a new settlement on the city information screen.
Religion statistics show how many people in a particular region follow which religion.
To increase the number of people who will belong to your religion, build churches and send priests to the desired regions.
City militia
Another interesting function of regional capitals is that when attacked, several militia units rise to defend it. They are not skilled fighters, but in large numbers they can easily tip the scales in favor of the defending army. The better the public order, the more people will defend your city. Only 20 units can defend the city. Those. if you have 17 units in the settlement, and 5 militia units arrive, then only 3 out of 5 units will go to defend the city.
Agents in Empire Total War
Nobles
Nobles can be used in three ways. They can be sent to your colleges to speed up learning technology, they can be sent to an enemy college to steal technology, or they can be sent to duel an opposing noble. These agents are hired automatically if there is an educational institution or observatory in the region. Each new educational building increases the maximum number of agents by one. After spending some time studying certain technologies, a noble will gain special abilities that will allow him to speed up the study of a particular type of technology. You can distribute different types technologies for different colleges. One college may study, say, only military technologies, while another may study social technologies.
Scholars (a type of noble in the Ottoman, Persian, Mughal and Maratha Empires) cannot fight duels. In addition, they can perform functions identical to their European “colleagues”.
Spies
Spies are killers and spies rolled into one. They can infiltrate armies and cities, providing you with useful information, as well as kill enemy agents and generals on the strategic map. They can undermine enemy buildings and walls. These agents are hired automatically at taverns and inns. By committing sabotage, you will worsen your diplomatic relations with other states. Your relations with the power that was directly sabotaged will deteriorate the most. The deterioration of relations with other countries will be insignificant.
Missionaries
Missionaries are identical to priests from Medieval 2: Total War. Just send your church minister to the desired region so that he begins to convert the population to the desired religion. It doesn't matter where you place it. Missionaries are hired automatically by churches and church schools. Religious buildings have different names in different countries Oh.
Governments, political systems and revolutions in Empire Total War
Your state is governed by a supreme assembly and a handful of ministers who make up the cabinet.
Ministers can have their own unique bonuses and special traits that can raise the level of public order, speed up the learning of technologies, or increase economic growth. The number of stars next to the minister’s portrait shows how well they do their job. For example, a good defense secretary will lower the cost of training and maintaining troops. Individual characteristics harm or help government. Therefore, from time to time, check the personal qualities of your ministers so that each of them sits in his place. You can transfer ministers from one position to another or fire them. You can view all the information about your cabinet by clicking on the "Ministers" tab in the "Government" menu. The opposition consists of ministers who may replace your cabinet in elections. You can fire ministers. In this case, the demoted figure will be replaced by another, randomly selected politician.
In an absolute monarchy there is no opposition, but instead there are candidates. You can replace any minister with another. You can also fire more than one minister each turn. Each expelled minister will be replaced by one of the candidates. If a minister dies, his son takes his place.
(gallery)EmpireTW/rukov/2(/gallery)
The Policy window shows you unlucky regions, areas suffering from higher taxes, and also allows you to adjust the level of taxation. Right-click on the desired region to see detailed information about him. Left-click on an area to move the camera to that subject. Remember that the tax level is set for each region separately. (gallery)EmpireTW/rukov/3(/gallery) If the level of taxes in your colonies is lower than in their native lands, then people will begin to move to your colonies.
Types of government
The game features three types of government systems: absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy and republic.
An absolute monarchy increases the contentment of the nobility, while the lower and middle classes do not experience much joy. Repression using force may begin. Under an absolute monarchy, the rate of technology learning slows down and economic growth slows down. The state is headed by a king or queen; the bonus from the individual traits of politicians is doubled.
A constitutional monarchy increases the contentment of the upper and lower classes and reduces the amount of repression. Every 10 years, elections for a new cabinet of ministers will be held. You can also hold early elections. If your government has low popularity, it will be dismissed completely. The opposition will take the place of the outgoing government. The Cabinet of Ministers will remain in power until it loses the elections. Your king or queen remains in charge until death. The demand for reforms under this government system is not so high, and society does not demand reforms so much.
The Republic increases the contentment of the lower class and also eliminates class divisions in society.
Under a republic, the level of repression is minimal. The head of your state is re-elected every 8 years. If your government does not have the support of the people, it will lose the elections. Your head of state and cabinet of ministers can only be in power for 2 terms (16 years). After this they cannot be re-elected. The Republican system increases economic growth and the speed of technology learning. There is virtually no desire for reform in the republic. Here are the objective numbers:
Absolute monarchy:
Repression: 5
Nobles' Contentment: +2
Lower class contentment: -2
Technology learning speed: -10%
Cost of hiring troops: -5%
Minister Improvement: -6
Wealth growth rate: -5
A constitutional monarchy:
Repression: 3
Nobles' Contentment: +1
Lower Class Contentment: +1
Commitment to reform: -25%
Minister Improvement: +3
Wealth growth rate: +5
Republic:
Repression: 2
Middle class contentment: +1
Lower Class Contentment: +3
Technology learning speed: +5%
Commitment to reform: -80%
Minister Improvement: +10
Wealth growth: +12
Revolutions
To change the political system, you must provoke a revolution (this may also happen against your will). When the contentment of one or two classes in a region drops to -1 point, they will send you a letter of complaint. If nothing changes by the second turn, then people will begin to destroy buildings in the city. By the third turn, if there are no changes, an uprising will begin. If there is an uprising, it will soon develop into a revolution. Once the revolution begins, you will be able to choose whether to side with the rebels or remain loyal to your government.
If the revolution was started only by the lower class, then as a result of the revolution a republic is formed. If the middle class is a constitutional monarchy, and if the upper class is an absolute monarchy. If you want to move from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one, you will first need to anger the lower class to move to a republican system, and then the middle class to move to a constitutional monarchy. If, under an absolute monarchy, a rebellion arises among the upper class, then the leadership of your state will only change the monarch.
Remember that a revolution can only begin in your capital. People in other cities can only rebel and start an uprising. Therefore, suppress such local rebellions before they spread throughout the country.
To provoke a revolution, withdraw your troops from the capital. If you want to support the existing government, then bring the army into the city. The soldiers in the city will remain loyal to your government. Also in a good way To support the revolutionaries is to demolish the walls in your city. You can also maximize the taxation of the class that is about to carry out the revolution. Free other regions from taxes to prevent the uprising in your capital from spreading to other regions.
During the revolution, you will not be able to control other regions. They will be unavailable until the coup is complete. Therefore, carry out revolutions as quickly as possible.
Becoming a republic will worsen all diplomatic relations with monarchical powers, while improving and strengthening ties with other republics.
Diplomacy in Empire Total War
On the diplomatic screen you will find several useful functions. Probably the most useful thing is the ability to view the opinions of other states about your country. You can see what others think of you and why they think of you the way they do. Select your country from the list and hover your mouse over the region of the state whose opinion you are interested in. You can also see the opinions of different countries about each other by selecting the desired country from the list. Remember that gifts to other states will never be able to increase your relations by +100 points, no matter what gift you give. (gallery)EmpireTW/rukov/4(/gallery) Some players had difficulty concluding trade agreements with other states. To sign such an agreement, offer the desired power some technology or right of passage. You can also just give money. Usually, the end justifies the means. Powers rarely need more than 2000 gold. You can easily earn this couple of thousand in a few moves. If you want to conclude a peace treaty with a power, then give them the region you captured from them, or offer money. Most small states only want about 2000k gold and a little more if you ask them to become your protectorate. You can easily get back the amount you spent in a couple of moves. Protectorates can be very useful and serve as buffer zones between your territory and the enemy's. Usually, such small states are very difficult to capture, because... they like to keep one or two full stacks near their cities.
Trade in Empire Total War
The trading system is one of the most difficult things to understand. Let's start with the trading table.(gallery)EmpireTW/rukov/5(/gallery) This table shows the prices of various resources, what kind of resources you extract, how they are transported to their destination, what exactly is exported and where. You can see if trade routes are blocked or attacked by pirates. Trade routes that are attacked will glow red until the goods can reach their destination again. If, when reporting piracy, you cannot find a fleet of robbers, then know that the matter may be that the port of the power trading with you has been attacked, blocked or destroyed. Remember that you produce a limited amount of resources, so a large number of trade agreements does not mean that you will have a ton of money.
Prices on the world market
Resource prices are governed by supply and demand. For example, if there is a lot of fur on the market, the price for it will begin to fall. Prices for resources also depend on the level of development of cities in states. The better developed the city and the greater the welfare of the citizens, the higher prices will rise. This means that resource turnover will bring in more money at the end of the game than at the beginning. Trade with more developed countries will bring much more income.
Trading ports
Trading ports have some influence on trade. The more trading ports you connect into a trade network, the more nations you can trade with. You also need to build such ports to export rare resources from certain regions. If you play as a faction in the Old World and have a colony in the New World, you will not be able to trade New World resources until you build a trading port in your colony. If there are no resources suitable for trade in the region, then the port will not be a trade route and will not be profitable.
Players were interested in how trade would be carried out in countries such as Russia, which do not have access to the sea in the first place. Trade ports will work the same as in other cases, as long as a land trade route can be established from the port to your capital. This means that if you capture Crimea or a number of Baltic regions, you will be able to build ports, export and import goods.
Remember that it is best to have a short trade route. If we are talking about Russia, then the best option for this country would be trade by sea through Crimea. From Crimea, goods will be able to easily reach the Mediterranean Sea, which washes most European countries.
After capturing a region in America, destroy the port built by the Indians and build a trading port in its place. Then you can trade rare resources, which are only available in America. The Indians can only build fishing farms.
You can launch attacks on enemy trade routes that you see on the map. In this way, you will take part of the enemy’s proceeds for yourself. The more ships you send to seize the trade route, the more money you will receive. Each ship takes 5% of the income that this route brings.
If you want to undermine the enemy's economy, then simply blockade his port. This will not bring you any money, but it will completely stop any supply of goods. Although, of course, the AI can also block your port.
Trade areas
There are four special ones in the game shopping areas. This is the coast of Brazil, the Ivory Coast, the strait near the island of Madagascar and the New Zealand Islands. You can look at these areas by switching to them using the buttons near the mini-map. (gallery)EmpireTW/rukov/8(/gallery) In these regions there are yellow circles with anchors, which are called trading posts. To use these trading posts, hire a merchant ship at the port and place it at the trading post. Merchant ships in European countries are called "Indians", and in eastern countries they are called "Dhows". (gallery)EmpireTW/rukov/6(/gallery) Only one state can conduct trade in a trading post. So hurry up before the AI takes over all available retail outlets. These points will supply you with all kinds of resources that you can sell to your partners. The more merchant ships that trade at these points, the more resources you will receive. Protect your trading posts from enemies. Pirates and other states will certainly want to capture them.
Researching technology in Empire Total War
The technology tree is divided into three parts: military technologies, industrial technologies, social technologies. The military part is divided into the following subsections: infantry, cavalry, artillery and navy. These technologies allow you to recruit new units, learn new formations, equip new types of ammunition, and also reduce the cost of hiring troops. The industrial tree is divided into the following subsections: agricultural, textile and mining. These technologies allow you to build better farms and factories that will bring you money and also increase the productivity of these enterprises. Social technologies increase trading income and increase the speed of technology learning.
Technology research is directly dependent on colleges and agents. The more you improve your educational institutions and send nobles there, the faster the process of learning technology will go. If you have many schools, then you can study several technologies at the same time. You can select the desired school to study the required technology at the top of the technology screen.
Note that colleges cannot join together to study the same technology, they can only study different things.
The construction of observatories will increase the speed of technology research. The more such buildings you build, the faster new technologies will be learned.
Each technology must be studied a certain number of moves. Schools have a certain number of research points. The more advanced the educational institution, the more such points it has. Also, each nobleman has his own certain number of points. In other words, if a technology “costs” 100 points, and the school and noble have 20 points in total, then the technology will be researched for 5 years.
Army and navy on the Empire Total War strategic map
Armies and navies have a small vertical stripe next to the flag. This bar will fill up as new units are added to the army. One stripe equals one squad. The stripes are gold in the army and blue in the navy. The flag shows the state of the army. If the army suffered losses, the flag will be torn. The more losses, the more holes there will be on the flag.
One of the most significant things is the interception zone. This zone is colored dark green and shows how far your army can advance. (gallery)EmpireTW/rukov/7(/gallery) An enemy who enters this zone can be attacked by you. If you attack the enemy first and lose, then the enemy army will not advance further, and you will not give up your position. If you win, the enemy army will retreat in a different direction.
Enemy fleets can block your army's passage. For example, the Leeward Islands are connected by bridges. If the fleet is placed between these islands, the army will not be able to cross to the other side.
Forts also have their own interception area, which works the same way as with armies and navies.
This makes forts ideal for protecting destinations.
Remember that everything you use can be used by AI. He can also intercept and attack your armies if you get into his zone.
In the game itself, generals can hire soldiers if they are located near barracks or shipyards.
The number on the unit icon shows how many moves it will take to train the selected unit.
Your armies may be surrounded by a palisade on the strategic map. This means that during a battle this army can dig in and build defensive structures. For such an opportunity to appear, the army must stand in one place for a full move. If the enemy attacked while the army was digging in, the soldiers would still be able to use trenches and sharp stakes. Also, your artillery will be able to build a small fortification around its position, which will help protect your guns from enemy attacks. Light infantry will be able to plant a landmine. All these improvements are created during the army deployment process. Once the battle begins, you will not be able to demolish, drag or change defensive structures.
Some units move faster than others. Artillery will slow down the movement of the army, and cavalry, on the contrary, will be able to quickly reach their destination. Some units may also receive a movement bonus. Also, partisans and some Indian troops are capable of ambushes.
You can rename your units and ships on the strategic map. Just right-click on the unit icon and you will see the name of the unit you selected at the very top of the information card. Click on the squad name to change it.
The hiring of many units is limited. Most unique and elite units can only be present in the army in a single copy (for example, Roger's Rangers or the ship Victoria). You can also only recruit a limited number of elite units at a time (for example, Guard or Hessian Line Infantry).
As you fight, your units will gain experience. Experience is displayed as gold badges on a red background next to the squad icon. With each new badge the squad will receive:
2 Accuracy
+2 Reload Speed
+1 Melee
+1 Defense
+0.5 Morale
Please note that these bonuses will not appear on the strategy map. If you right-click on a unit during a battle, only then will you see its real performance. This is a bug.
Each badge is given for a certain number of enemy soldiers killed:
First stripe: 70 kills
Second stripe: 300 kills
Third stripe: 600 kills
Fourth stripe: 1000 kills
Fifth stripe: 1500 kills
Sixth stripe: 2100 kills
If you land an army from a ship onto the shore, it will not be able to move until the next turn. If you land an army at a port, it will still be able to move.
Naval battles in Empire Total War
In naval battles, proper formation can be beneficial. I often line up my ships. From now on I only use group commands to make my ships follow the flagship. This method can sometimes fail, but it is the simplest way to do the things described in my guide.
If you notice that your ship is sinking for no apparent reason, then there is a logical explanation for this. Sometimes the enemy makes a hole in your ship right below the waterline. This means that during any maneuvers, water will be poured into your ship. The only way to escape is to drop anchor and leave the ship motionless.
If a fire spreads to your ship, then turn off the “fire without order” function. Then part of the team will put out the fire.
Boarding ships is a rather controversial activity, especially if a large ship boards a small one. You will see many sailors dying. This occurs because the sailors jump and miss the small enemy ship. They die from falling.
Using the normal "attack" order will force your ships to use standard tactics.
If you use the key combination “ALT + RMB”, the ships themselves will disperse fire on different enemy ships.
Miscellaneous
At the start of a new campaign, the first move can be used to begin rapid economic and technological growth. For example, you can destroy dry docks and fishing farms to build trading ports that will bring you more money. You also need to find a couple of settlements with not the most necessary buildings (for example, a church school), demolish such unnecessary buildings and build schools in their place, which will allow you to start studying 2-3 technologies in the first turns.
This will give you a huge advantage over your opponents.
If you capture all the territories of a faction in Europe, then all its colonies will become new states or rebels. The same thing happens in India, say, with the destruction of the Marathas.
During a campaign, if you complete the objective before the time limit expires, you will still have to survive until the end (1750 in short campaigns and 1799 in long campaigns) to see the video and hear the eulogy.
When making trade treaties with minor factions, give priority to the largest ones, such as Persia, Savoy and Venice.
When capturing Indian cities, destroy their buildings (in the city itself and outside it). This will allow you to build your own buildings, which are more efficient. Indian farms, for example, can only be upgraded once, while your own farmland can be upgraded multiple times. Also your own government building will provide higher taxes.
Replenishing units takes 2 turns.
To play as the USA in the campaign, go to the fourth chapter of the Road to Independence campaign. This chapter presents full map America with all factions and regions. It lasts from 1783 to 1810, but you can always continue the game after the main game time has expired.
You can merge two squads into one by simply dragging the icon of one squad on top of the other. You can do this on the strategy map when a certain army is selected. This could be used to, say, combine a 57-man unit with a 54-man unit, but the units must be of the same type (you cannot combine grenadiers with line infantry for example). You also cannot exceed the maximum squad size. For example, the standard size of a Line Infantry detachment is 120 people (only Austria has 150) and this size cannot be exceeded. This option can be useful if you don't have time to replenish your army. If you combine 40 people with one experience badge with a squad of 80 people without experience, you will end up with a squad that has no badges.
I hope I was able to provide you with useful information. If you think that the article is missing something or I made a mistake in something, then do not hesitate to write about it.
The strategy map and concepts in Empire: Total War have changed a lot. Much has gone into the past, much has appeared. In sparse game manual, surprisingly, there is practically not a word about strategic innovations. We have to understand them empirically!
Did you know: where to look for saved files in case you want to delete unnecessary ones? On Windows XP, look for them at C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\The Creative Assembly\Empire\save_games. On Windows Vista - C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Empire\save_games.
And we will build small cities
For the first time in the history of the series, in the areas into which the strategic map is divided, in addition to the main city, others appeared - small, but very useful. They are designed to specialize a province in one of four areas: entertainment, profit, missionary, education.
Taverns designed to entertain the townspeople and reduce the level of discontent in the province. Regular taverns reduce the discontent of the lower classes, improved ones also affect the outlook on life of the nobility (or the middle class, if your political system is a republic). From time to time, taverns “give birth” to so-called “rakes” - saboteurs who combine the qualities of a spy and a hired killer. They can be sent on sensitive missions, but you should be careful - the use of saboteurs greatly affects diplomatic relations with the target country and, to a lesser extent, with all other countries.
For your information: You can no longer hire agents in the game. They themselves “hatch” on the map from time to time - and their number greatly depends on how many cities you have specialized in one direction or another.
Workshops increase the wealth of the province and indirectly (through collected taxes) affect the flow of money into the treasury. In addition, without workshops it will be impossible to study some technologies, so having a couple on hand is very, very desirable. Weaving workshops can be built in normal areas. If there is a metal deposit in the area, then forges become available. It is advisable to have both on hand.
For your information: All cities where you can build or upgrade a specialization building are marked on the map with a hammer and trowel symbol.
Parochial schools It makes sense to build where the population does not entirely share the state’s views on religion. It is not possible to change the state religion in the game, and conquered provinces of a foreign faith tend to rebel more often. It is precisely to ensure that religious differences do not spoil the mood of the residents that there are parochial schools, as well as missionaries who are “born” from time to time in the city with this building. Missionaries are also suitable for preaching the correct faith - they should be sent in advance to those provinces that you are going to conquer and which do not believe in your god.
Schools, they are also universities - temples of science. How many provinces you have with a school, so many technologies you can study at the same time, and this is useful when you want to get ahead in the technological race, get new ammunition for guns and quickly teach soldiers useful skills. Some social sciences require improved schools. From time to time, “gentlemen” emerge from schools, a kind of cross between a scientist, a spy and... a murderer. A gentleman present in the city where the school is built accelerates the study of science - and, if he has the appropriate talents, the school can be specialized in sciences of one kind.
For your information: If parochial schools are useful for peace and tranquility in the province, then ordinary schools cause free-thinking sentiments and can even lead to riots if public opinion is not monitored.
From schools in other countries, with a little luck, a gentleman may steal the technology for you. Finally, an angry gentleman can challenge an enemy agent to a duel and thereby try to destroy him. Scientists from Muslim countries do not know how to challenge people to a duel—it is not customary among them.
For your information: want to send a gentleman to steal technology? First, get ready for a long and tedious scan of the map for cities where schools are built. This is not an easy task - apparently, the developers did not imagine that someone would seriously decide to use a gentleman for industrial espionage. Secondly, know that if your agent is unlucky enough to be caught and deported, it is better not to use him for espionage again, otherwise the country's reputation will suffer.
In each non-capital city of the region, you can build and develop only one thing: a school, parish school, workshop or tavern. If you change your mind, nothing prevents you from destroying the building and changing the specialization of the city - but you will have to spend money and moves on construction and improvement again.
From Liverpool Harbor
In addition to cities, the province contains valuable resources, and if it faces the sea or ocean, it most likely has its own port.
Resources do not bring benefit to the state until they are mastered. On the map, the symbol of firewood, sheaves of hay, and animal skins means places where you can build or improve resource-producing buildings or plow fertile lands. Only after construction does the resource begin to bring money or goods for international trade (for example, the same skins from Russia go well on the European market).
Logging camp increases the wealth of the area and, accordingly, tax collections.
Mines They act in exactly the same way and also allow you to build forges in nearby cities.
Farms increase the wealth of the area, increase population growth and protect the entire area from famine. They are also required to study Agricultural Sciences.
Plantations- a colonial invention. Plantations allow the cultivation of tobacco, coffee, cotton, spices and tea - these resources are considered tradeable and are sold for money on the world market. Sometimes the player can choose what exactly he wants to grow on the plantation.
Items The reception of skins acts in the same way as plantations - they bring the state a valuable trading resource.
The besieged could not stand the hardships and went on the attack. And we'll wait here on the hill.
“We are not pirates! We are noble privateers!
For your information: An enemy army walking around the map can destroy resource buildings, and an artificial enemy often does this in order to at least somehow take revenge for the captured province. For you, there is no point in vandalism - if you are on enemy territory, then the most obvious path is to the capital!
With ports the situation is by no means so simple. To begin with, there are three types of them, and before building a port, we need to decide what we want from it: for it to feed the province, make it richer, or build ships for us.
Fishing port works much like a farm - increases population growth, protects the province from hunger. There are especially many of them among the Indians on the east coast of North America in the campaign for the USA (it opens after completing the training mode). Since they are of little use, it makes sense to capture areas, destroy ports and build something more meaningful in their place.
Trade port brings benefits in several directions at once. First, it increases the wealth of the province. Secondly, it opens up a trade route, allowing you to enter into trade agreements with other countries and get a good amount of gold each turn. Thirdly, a commercial port allows you to build primitive warships and so-called merchant ships, which deserve a separate discussion.
Shipyard- the place where the most advanced sailing ships are built, the basis of the power of a maritime power. Of course, in order to build improved battleships and admiral flagships, it is necessary to research the necessary technologies. The most developed shipyard can be specialized either in a naval hospital, which allows you to build ships of the second rank, or in a steam dock, which allows you to build ships of the first rank and steamships. On the one hand, the dock is definitely cooler. On the other hand, it takes much longer to get to it using scientific technologies than to get to a hospital, and by the time universities have studied the sciences necessary for them, there are unlikely to be any countries left in the world that can at least do something to oppose the power of a sea power.
A Tale of Two Cities
Very nice, king. By the age of thirty-three he had acquired a gardener, an auditor and a mistress.
The main city of each region, its capital is the key to the region. This was the case in Rome and in Medieval II - capture the capital and the region is yours. From point of view game mechanics the capitals of individual regions and the main city of the entire country differ little - both here and there buildings are built, and here and there it is necessary to keep the people in obedience. But the capture of the regional center means the loss of the region, and the capture of the capital means the death of the nation. But the player is not in danger of seeing enemy armies near Moscow - invading the player’s territory artificial intelligence doesn't love and doesn't want. Regional centers and the capital of the entire country also differ in the number of possible buildings - in ordinary cities there are only two places for construction, and in the main ones there are five or six. In Russia, too, the “cities of large construction projects” are Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyiv.
Let's start the story about cities with small capitals, the main cities of the regions. First of all, we are building a town hall and the governor’s building. It not only pacifies the city residents, but also allows you to hire basic units. The second construction space is reserved for walls, and the economical player will not build them, because mighty warriors are the real walls of cities.
For your information: if in Medieval the fortification was the refuge of the feudal lord, and in Rome the walls contained entire cities, then here the walls built in the city do not literally mean walls, but fortresses somewhere near the city. So, when storming fortresses, we don’t see the cities themselves, and that’s good - there’s less fuss on the streets. You should not upgrade fortresses to the second level - small fortresses are easier to defend with small forces, and even twenty troops are not enough to defend a large one from all sides. Soldiers with climbing equipment can easily climb the walls of both fortresses.
Stakes are a threat to the cavalry! For their sake alone, it is worth keeping light infantry on hand.
When the town hall is improved to the second level, we have the opportunity to choose the future fate of the city - to complete its construction along the military or civilian side. The “military town” is intended for recruiting advanced branches of troops, and the peaceful one is for collecting taxes and establishing order in the province.
With capitals that have not two, but six places for construction, the player practically does not experience the agony of choice. You can build whatever your heart desires. Only in one place do you have to choose whether to build conservatories (they improve people’s mood, “give birth” to saboteurs) or observatories (they work as an improved version of schools, make people think about revolutions, “give birth” to gentlemen).
The wealth of an area directly affects the taxes collected from it, and is influenced by several different factors. For example, the iron mined in the region greatly boosts its economy. Trade agreements and trade routes that pass through the region also increase financial flows. Infrastructure is also important - for example, the better the roads in an area, the greater their capacity. The economy is influenced by developed social sciences and, of course, taxes - if a high tax rate is set in the country for the nobility, the region will begin to become poorer and the tax base will decrease, and with it budget revenues. You can clearly see what makes up the wealth of a region by double-clicking on its capital.
For your information: if desired, we can set different tax rates for the metropolis and the colonies (for example, if we want to increase emigration to the colonies). However, you cannot change tax rates for each region separately. Certain areas can only be made “offshore”, temporarily freeing them from all taxes. This is usually done in cases where the people, after the capture of the province, have not yet appreciated all the delights of friendly bayonets and are ready to rebel.
It is possible to break through walls with artillery, but it is not at all necessary.
Taxes not only affect wealth, but also population growth in an area. The fewer taxes and the more food (farms, fisheries), the faster people arrive in the region and the faster the villages in the province turn into full-fledged cities.
Public order is a term familiar to us since Civilization. Here it is calculated separately for the lower classes and for the nobility (if the political system is a republic, then the place of the nobility is taken middle class). The influence of various factors on public order is clearly visible in the city window: the level of taxes, the recent wars for the province, and the political system are important - for example, under the monarchy and the governor’s building being built, a fair portion of the dissatisfied simply do not risk speaking out due to repression.
Advice: This means that immediately after the capture of the city, the governor's building must be repaired immediately so that the repression can take effect as quickly as possible.
In addition, questions of religion are important, so if in the newly taken province cities with not those religious buildings - demolish them and replace them with the ones you need. After successful military operations, the people become imbued with patriotism within a few turns, and this works for your rating as a ruler. Finally, troops stationed in the city obviously calm the dissatisfied - dragoons are especially effective in this sense.
If there are not enough troops in the city, and discontent is about to overwhelm, then the city itself will form detachments of city guards, which can restrain popular unrest for some time.
Gibraltar is one of those places where it is convenient for the fleet to catch enemies and pirate the trade routes.
If the level of satisfaction of citizens drops to zero, this is a reason to be wary and take immediate action, because negative satisfaction very quickly leads to unrest. First you will be warned by a strike or an open letter of protest. Riots will then begin in the city, damaging buildings. If urgent measures are not taken even then, a real rebellion will break out in the province, which will have to be suppressed by the army.
This is interesting: sometimes a rebellion can take the form of a separatist or national liberation movement. If a captured province shows dissatisfaction, then the rebels can come out under the flag of the power to which it previously belonged. If the country from which the area is captured is no longer in nature, it may reappear. Finally, the British provinces in America could declare themselves the United States, the Norwegian provinces would call themselves Finland, and northern Great Britain would try to become a free Scotland.
How to make steam from stone?
Science in Empire: Total War is implemented very transparently and accessible. The only drawback is the small icons that you have to look at, but this is not too disturbing.
All science is divided into three large areas: military, industrial and social.
Military Sciences help unlock new troops, new ammunition for cannons, advanced models of sailing ships and make it easier to handle the army (for example, they help save money on the military budget). All military sciences are divided into three large groups: army(this includes both infantry and cavalry), ammunition(open new types of shells for cannons) and fleet(new ships and their new capabilities).
Industrial Sciences are divided into agricultural(provide population growth and improved farm efficiency), metallurgy(makes it possible to build advanced mines, sawmills, docks and other improvements) and textile(improves the economic and social effects of weaving workshops in cities).
Social sciencies consist of only one branch. They greatly accelerate the speed of development of science and give a powerful kick to the state economy. But almost every social science comes with a small but very harmful dose of social discontent. If you just go deeper into the study of social sciences, then mass riots are inevitable. If you want to turn the country into a republic in order to receive all the pros and cons of this political system, you can safely throw the country’s scientific reserves into social sciences. If politics is not too close to you, then it is better not to touch them, but to study industry and military affairs.
Stay on the square for three minutes without letting the enemy enter, and the fortress is ours!
As I said above, science is studied in schools and their advanced versions (colleges, universities). In capitals and other cities with six places for construction, you can make an observatory out of a theater - it will also be considered a school and, in addition, will give all schools in the country a small increase in the speed of studying science.
One school can deal with only one science. Two schools cannot work on the same science at the same time. The more schools there are in a country, the more sciences you can study at the same time (and the more anxiety in the country from excess knowledge that will have to be compensated or suppressed).
From time to time, schools will produce gentlemen, agents, who are best left in the same schools to speed up scientific work. The effect of gentlemen in one school adds up, but there is no point in keeping more than three or four in one city. Remember that it is better to immediately divide the schools according to sciences - navy to one, textiles to another, and animal husbandry to the third. This will enable gentlemen sitting over one branch of science to develop in themselves qualities that accelerate research in that field.
We've come with peace
Diplomacy... It had great potential. The classic diplomacy window allows you not only to offer alliances, money, demand tribute, give gifts, ask for a trade license, offer a protectorate and discuss the right of passage of armies, but also, if desired, put pressure on your opponent to become more accommodating. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will clearly show a map where the attitude of other countries towards you and towards each other is shown in different colors - pop-up tips will describe in detail why this or that country specifically loves you or not.
Every year, ambassadors from Prussia come and beg for Courland.
The potential of diplomacy was prevented from being realized by the noble madness of artificial opponents. As they say, “you’re a good man, prince, but it’s painfully unearthly.” A simple example: a small and weak state declares war on a large and strong one (us). We raise an eyebrow and invite the brave souls to pay tribute in exchange for a peace treaty. After thinking, they agree, and on the next move they declare war again. Profit!
The principles by which technologies are traded are also not entirely obvious. Technology can be bought from another state for a relatively small amount of gold, but cannot be exchanged for a whole bunch of your technologies. Why? Secret! Fortunately, in Empire: Total War, states are able to part with their own areas for money. Of course, they are asking for a lot of money, but a very rich country, which has discovered the most valuable colonial resources and occupied the world's trade centers, is able to buy a province every two or three years and get by with virtually no wars.
So what should we do with diplomacy? Try to make trade agreements with different countries as early as possible (this may require several trading ports and a direct route from your capital to their capital). If a country is reluctant, offer them money, scientific technology, or rights of passage in exchange for a trade agreement. Persia, Venice and Savoy (Turin) should be prioritized in terms of trade agreements - they are very rich trading powers.
Dwarf countries, as a rule, do not resist for too long if they are offered a protectorate and some gold. Do not spare gold, the protectorate will pay for it very soon.
Make the most of war and peace, demand tribute and try not to pay attention to annoying diplomats who offer the same exchange option every few turns (usually asking for territory) on conditions that are completely unfavorable for you.
How much-how much?
Trade in Empire: Total War is very, very important - especially for sea powers. Let's just say: well-organized trading will bring in each move many times more money than can be collected from taxes. Fifty thousand gold in one move is not a fairy tale, but a harsh reality.
The first thing you need to determine is what resources you can trade. If you are a colonial power and control India, you will have a huge amount of the most valuable ivory. If you own plantations in America, you can trade sugar, cotton or tobacco.
If you don't hurry, all the trade ports (five of them in four trade zones) will be occupied by competitors.
However, it is not enough to have a trade resource - you also need trade routes, sea or land. A sea trade route becomes available if both you and the country you have an agreement with have trading ports. The goods must be mined in the same area as the port, or in an area adjacent to it. Ports must not be blocked by enemy fleets. The sea route should not be attacked by pirates from different countries, since privateers literally “drink the blood” of the country, taking for themselves part of the possible profits from trade. Guard trade routes with strong fleets! The better developed the trading port is and the more there are, the more countries you can trade with.
An overland trade route is established if the cargo can be transported without problems from your capital to the capital of the country with which you want to trade. For example, Russia exports furs exclusively by land.
All trade statistics can be checked in the government window, in the “Trade” tab.
But selling resources on the world market is not all trade. A lot of money can be made in the so-called “trading zones”, small areas of the sea where, according to the terms of the game, very lively trade is in full swing. There are four of them: the coast of Brazil, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar and the East Indies. Each of them has five ports, marked with a yellow anchor symbol. Whoever occupied these ports first gets a trade route, valuable resources and big profits.
The ports are occupied by special merchant ships of the Indian or Dow brand - you can recognize them by the yellow number in the upper right corner of the pictogram. Theoretically, merchant ships can fight off an attack, but they will do nothing against serious fleets and should be protected. The beginning of the game is a race for trading ports, and if you are playing as a sea power, then you should very quickly occupy as many of the twenty trading ports as possible. Most likely, you won’t have time to borrow everything, but if you want, you can grab yourself a good jackpot. When the race is over and the ports have been distributed, you can begin to accumulate ships in each - it makes sense to keep up to three or four "Indians" in one port.
The trade route can be reconquered, and pirates often visit trade zones, so it's best to have war fleets on hand to protect your economic interests.
Listen to the music of the revolution
For the first time in the series, we can choose a government system using revolutions. There are three possible government systems in the game: absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy and republic.
At absolute monarchy all power belongs to the king. Ministerial positions are inherited, but the monarch can shuffle ministers in any way he likes and fire those he doesn’t like, replacing them with people from the “personnel reserve.” This system pleases the nobility, but upsets the lower strata of the population - discontent is compensated high level repression that prevents people from openly expressing dissatisfaction. Under an absolute monarchy, science and economics develop slowly, and the effect on the country of all the positive and negative qualities of the monarch and his retinue is doubled.
Sometimes, finding my troops entrenched on a steep hill, the artificial enemy gets lost.
When attacked, the city itself forms militia units to help the defenders. How bigger city, the more townspeople nominate militias.
An absolute monarchy is ideal for a militant state that quickly pushes its boundaries.
A constitutional monarchy limits the king's power. Science and economics are developing faster than under absolutism. The nobility are no longer so happy, but the lower classes are not rebelling either. The level of repression has also been reduced, which means a greater likelihood of rebellion if the people don’t like something. The monarch can still replace ministers, but only one per turn. Every ten moves, elections are held in the country and, if the popularity of the government has fallen, the entire cabinet of ministers is replaced by the opposition. Elections can be held early to increase the authority of the government.
Republic eliminates the nobility and replaces it with the middle class. Science and economics are developing rapidly. The plebs are happy, but in case of problems they very actively go into conflict, since there is practically no repression. Every eight turns, the head of state and ministers are re-elected. They cannot remain in office for more than two consecutive terms. You cannot change ministers manually - you can only re-elect the entire cabinet ahead of schedule (in this case, all ministers are replaced at once).
If you want to change the political system, you will have to organize a revolution, and not just any revolution, but exactly the one you need. The rules are as follows.
If you make me angry ordinary people and raise him to revolution, he will introduce republic.
If you make me angry know, she will enter absolute monarchy.
If you make me angry middle class, he will enter constitutional monarchy.
If you don't have a middle class, and you need a constitutional monarchy, you must first enrage the common people, establish a republic, and then enrage the middle class.
If you anger the nobles, and you already have a constitutional monarchy, then you will simply have a new monarch.
As you can see, nothing complicated! The question is how exactly to bring the class you need to the point of assembly. Firstly, you don't need riots in any province except the central one - only a capital riot leads to revolution. So the algorithm is this: we take and raise to the maximum the tax on the class that we want to anger, but at the same time we exempt all provinces from taxes except the central one. We destroy all entertainment buildings in the central province, build schools, study “free-thinking” sciences, and withdraw all troops from the province.
That's a recipe for disaster! In just three or four turns, a riot will begin, and all you have to do is support the rebels.
Tactics
The time has come for us to start talking about the tactics of battles on land and at sea. But first, let's look at what has changed and what remains the same in the rules for the movement of ships and armies on the strategic map.
Easy on the go
In ancient times, in Shogun and Medieval: Total War, armies were depicted as pieces that jumped from province to province like chess pieces. It looked gloomy and sad - it was very difficult to understand the map, where chips were thrown around, differing from each other only in color. In Rome: Total War, things started to improve - the map took on a decent appearance, and soldiers began to walk along it.
And this one doesn't seem to be from our area.
One of the main problems in naval battle- always try to keep the enemy on board and not let him go to the stern.
In Empire: Total War the principles remain the same. We select armies, connect them or separate them, see what area they can cover in one turn (it is indicated in green), and with a mouse click we send the army on its way. If you do not click the mouse button, but hold it down, you can see in advance which path the army will take. The small “bricks” next to the flag indicate the number of units in the army. The flag itself flutters proudly if the units are fully equipped, and is slightly torn if their numbers have suffered in battle. The more the troops got, the more the flag was torn. Fortunately, you can now replenish squads not only in your cities, but everywhere. Units are replenished quickly if the army is standing still, and very slowly if it is moving.
Advice: if the army is badly damaged, save a lot of money and time by simply combining units. To do this, you need to transfer one unit to another in the army window.
In battle, the army gains valuable experience by earning red chevrons. Each unit rank affects accuracy, reload speed, defense and attack in melee combat, and the level of morale.
Advice: When combining squads, be careful if their experience is uneven. If an experienced squad is knocked out by more than half and an inexperienced one joins it, then the chevron disappears. Try to unite experienced units with each other or add “newcomers” to them in small parts - then the chevrons will be intact.
Each army and navy has its own “interception zone.” If the enemy enters it, the army will have the opportunity to attack him, that is, intercept him. You don't have to do this - the game will ask you every time whether you want to intercept or stay put.
If all units in the army have the “untrodden paths” skill, then the army can naturally hide on the map and ambush the enemy. The game will ask you whether you want to ambush or not. Ambushes, as before, mean that the enemy will be taken by surprise in a marching column.
In addition to the interception zone, each army also has a “zone of influence”, which extends much further. If two units are in each other's zone of influence, then when one of them enters battle, the other will also take part in the battle.
For your information: The speed of movement of an army depends on many factors - on the personal qualities of the general, on whether the army has cannons, whether it has infantry or whether the army consists only of cavalry - and on how developed army science is.
This ship is a gloomy sight, barely carrying its frames out of the battle. The only thing missing for the full effect is Leopold the cat on deck.
Immediately three French detachments stuck and pupated near the stone wall. Now you can do whatever you want with the “hanging” French - they have actually dropped out of the battle.
Having remained in one place for one turn, the army automatically digs in. Now, if it is attacked, infantry and artillery will be able to build small ramparts before the battle and hide behind them. If a particularly dangerous area needs to be defended against superior enemy forces, the army can quickly build a small fortress. It is of little use, but shelling from the walls will allow you to slightly thin out the enemy troops before they climb the ropes onto the walls.
For your information: All armies and navies can be renamed to suit your taste.
If there is no general in the army, he can be promoted from the ranks by clicking on the star in the army window. He will stand at the head of the army, and with him a detachment of mounted bodyguards. Be careful, however - only one detachment should be allocated from which you nominate a general. If several are allocated, several generals and several units will appear, and your budget will suffer greatly.
Advice: if you are going to make an amphibious landing, see if there is a port on the coast nearby. Armies that land at the port can move on the same turn. Armies that simply landed on the shore begin to move only on the next turn.
And lastly, if you conquer all the provinces needed to win before the campaign ends, the game will not end. You will have to at least hold them until the last turn of the campaign, and only then will you be rewarded with a victory video.
The formation flashed behind the formation
While the enemy is running along the house, our soldiers break out row after row of windows and open fire.
Where does victory begin? From the selection of the army. In the old days, when armies were not entirely gunfire, finding the right combinations of archers/peltasts/knights/peasants could take a long time. Now everything is different.
Rule number one - take more line infantry. You can’t spoil an army with linear infantry, just like you can’t spoil porridge with butter. Even if the entire army consists of line infantry, well, it will not be too flexible, but it will simply prevail in numbers.
For there are many soldiers in the detachment - one hundred and twenty people by default. Everyone is armed with a gun bike. If military science has advanced even a little, a baguette can be screwed onto every rifle bike - and the shooter will turn into a melee fighter.
A friendly volley of hundreds of rifles will help against cavalry. Against melee fighters running and shaking axes, he will then finish off his partner’s volley from the flank or rear, and the enemy tied up in battle. Running quickly over rough terrain will help against cannons. Line infantry is the king and god of the battlefields of Empire: Total War.
For your information: however, there is also a means for linear infantry - these are grenadiers. Directly under fire, they can run up to the enemy and throw fifty deadly grenades, destroying up to a quarter of the enemy squad and greatly reducing their morale. The only bad thing is that they don’t think of throwing grenades one after another. For every throw they need a command from their superiors, that is, ours.
Horse archers are a rare species found in the Russian steppes.
Light infantry, in turn, is not particularly useful. First, one detachment has half as many soldiers as a linear infantry detachment. On the one hand, the lightness is extraordinary, but, on the other hand, two times is two times! Well, a volley will demolish half a detachment of cavalry, let’s say. But the second half will scatter and put down the detachment. And in a duel with line infantry, light infantry will obviously lose. Of course, in some cases, light infantry rifles hit a little further. But they still can’t be peltasts, because a long reload time negates this advantage. Place a squad of light infantry on a steep hill and it will show its class. But on the plain, she will not be able to wear down the enemy, and the button that launches the “shoot and run” tactic is useless.
However, it is possible to have a couple of light units on hand. If they know how to dig stakes in defense, then cover the flanks with stakes - this way you will seriously confuse the enemy cavalry. The ability of light infantry to hide will allow you to organize a couple of interesting ambushes right on the battlefield. Finally, it can be placed in front of the line infantry and pulled back at the right time. Watch out for "friendly fire" and use light infantry against exposed enemy flanks.
Melee units should be used depending on the situation. The same Janissaries are good at cutting through light infantry armed with guns and unaccustomed to blades - but this is only if they allow you to get close, or maybe not, especially if you have to storm a hill.
“Save yourself, it’s an ambush! There are two of them!”
Pikemen are an atavism. Their formations and reformations are interesting to watch, but they will do little against firearms. But the flank will be covered from the cavalry. Line them up in a hedgehog formation and the horses won't know what to do with the pikemen.
The cavalry... Let's face it, she got it. It has completely lost its strategic impact value. Where are you, cataphracts? Where are you, medieval knights? And for what offense do cavalrymen instantly turn into whipping boys when they find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time? No matter how quickly a cavalry detachment gallops into the attack, a volley from a linear infantry detachment leaves it with horns and legs. Therefore, there is no need to organize a “light cavalry charge.” In modern times of gunfire, cavalry must hide, tiptoe along the flank and gallop into a saber attack only on the backs of an enemy tied up in battle... Well, or on the flank as a last resort. The cavalry cannot afford to get involved in a long battle - there are already very few people in the detachment. Guerrilla patrols in the rear, raids on artillery positions - this is the fate of the cavalry.
Even fighting with a battery of guns is not an easy task for cavalry. It gets to the point of ridiculousness - a mounted detachment can suffer heavy losses... while pursuing a fleeing enemy. Who would have thought that this was such a dangerous business?
However, having a couple of cavalry units on hand is useful for the same pursuit and elimination.
The apotheosis of war.
Horse archers (Tatars, Kalmyks) can harass the enemy by shooting from afar. Not the Parthian circle, but what can you do... we are not the heroes. The firing range most often allows you to stay out of the reach of bullets, but you need to keep an eye on the horse archers - it costs them nothing to get hit by a volley, and after a leaden rain they are usually not capable of much.
The dragoons stand apart - the ones with ponytails. They are interesting guys. Dragoons can be both cavalry and firearms infantry - as the party orders. Cities are well protected from freethinking, again. They could shoot from the backs of horses - there would be no price for them. But their versatility is worth a lot, even if we take into account that a detachment of dragoons is four times smaller in number than a detachment of line infantry.
Artillery - take it or not? The first argument against it is that it is no longer needed to capture fortresses. The second argument against it is that it really slows down the squad on the strategic map, and on tactical map there is a lot of fuss with it, especially if the entire army urgently needs to flee and occupy heights for defense. The third argument “against” is that now the artillery is really and densely stuffed with bugs. She may disobey orders to fold up and move, she does this arrogantly and unpredictably, and may not be able to unfold into a stowed position in time. There were cases when the minds of the artillerymen were carried away so far that they fired direct fire with grapeshot each other(naturally, one gun against another) or they carried out half of the general’s detachment in one gulp, sending the general himself to his forefathers.
Horses are carrying guns to the bastions. What for? Out of habit!
There are, of course, benefits from cannons, and considerable ones - but only if the gunners are experienced, and there are things in the ammunition supply that are more interesting than cannonballs. If the enemy is not holed up in a building, but is standing in an open field, then the cannonballs will not harm anyone - they will only make them laugh. And screeching shrapnel can not only knock out ten people in a squad at once - it also has an effect on morale.
On rough terrain and when attacking castles, mortars are good. After all, antique mortars!
For your information: Guns do not run out of gunpowder and ammunition, unlike soldiers' guns. So, if you want to hit the defenders of the hill for at least half an hour in a row, go for it. The main thing is to leave time for other units to disperse the survivors (the maximum duration of the battle is an hour).
The conclusion is this: in the early stages of the development of science and technology, it is not worth taking artillery on campaigns. But when shrapnel appears, the guns become useful and are excellent for fighting the defending enemy.
They sat down wrong
Hide behind the fence? Why not, because risk is a noble cause!
The alignment of forces on the battlefield is the second important step to victory. All firearms troops must be placed in wide ranks of three rows so that everyone can shoot. If the squad is more compact, then the back rows will smoke and tell jokes instead of shooting, and in a shootout the squad will die instantly. If you make the squad even longer, it will not fit on the battlefield. Since friendly fire is a serious problem in the game, I don't recommend placing shooters behind other shooters. It is better to put them in a line next to the line.
Don't place guns behind the troops - the artillerymen will kill their own. Do not place guns in front of the units - in the inevitable firefight between you and the enemy, the artillerymen will find themselves in the crossfire. Place them between the squads - so no one will loom in front of the muzzles of the cannons, and the infantrymen will protect the artillery from the mounted advances of the dodgy enemy. And never leave batteries aside unattended, because horse raids on them are the AI’s favorite pastime.
As always, it is better to place your cavalry on the flanks for greater freedom of maneuver. Raiding enemy artillery is a hobby worth picking up from the AI. Strikes to the rear of an enemy who is fighting or weakened by fire will affect his morale. But don’t drag out the battle - strike, withdraw the cavalry so that the losses do not become Pyrrhic (and so that after the battle the repairmen do not run around with their tongues hanging out).
Well hidden!
The general, as usual, must be taken care of. In Empire, the death of a general is not yet a disaster, but we don’t need depressed moods in the army. Keep it close to the key battlefield, use it to “push” wavering units to flee, but under no circumstances throw it into a heavy, bloody battle.
The flanks must be covered. The AI loves to tease them with cavalry. Surprise him with a volley of line infantry deployed in a square, or, if you are defending, with stakes posted by light infantry. Fans of the unusual use pikemen, but this must be done with caution, since pike squads themselves are afraid of flank attacks, unless they are lined up in a hedgehog formation.
Buildings or fences in defense should be used with caution: shooters hidden in a house are really only effective against cavalry, and any cannon becomes a mortal threat to them. Hiding behind stone walls can help you shoot back, but there is a bug in them that sometimes prevents hiding soldiers from shooting.
Now that your army is lined up in a long line, you can advance little by little or patiently wait for the enemy to advance.
Our guards are victorious
The secret of victory is to attack the enemy with different sides.
From battles in which the outcome of the battle was decided primarily in close combat, the Total War series has sharply shifted to battles in which armies are mostly within gun range. This changed all tactics.
If you are on the defensive, take the best height on your side of the map, giving yourself an advantage. As in previous parts of the game, you can use the borders or corners of the map to reliably protect your rear and flanks, forcing the enemy to approach you from one side. The slope of the hill sometimes allows you to place rifle squads one after another - the ones in the back will shoot over the heads of the front ones, and there will be no need to be afraid of “friendly fire” (although you should always be afraid of it). When the enemy approaches and starts shooting, maneuver your flanks so as to cover him from all sides and put him in a “fire bag”. Let your cavalry fight with artillery or try to intercept the enemy general if he suddenly became separated from the main army. Throw cavalry into an attack from the rear only on those units that were badly damaged in battle, wavered or hesitated.
Advice: Under no circumstances throw the cavalry onto the stakes, even if there are no enemies nearby. The horses will die as they gallop. They can be led through the stakes at a walk, but it is better to go around them far away.
When attacking enemy positions, it is useful to select a “line” of your troops and use the “advance” button. Try to suppress enemy artillery with your own artillery, and arrange a cavalry raid right in the enemy’s rear (this is often easier to do than it seems). If the enemy is hiding in houses, deploy the guns and demolish the houses to the ground - there is a chance that the squad will not leave the house until everyone dies under the ruins.
Good old waypoints.
For your information: The ability to give orders to a squad to move along several waypoints has not gone away either.
If an advantage in artillery is achieved, weaken the enemy with continuous shooting. Do not spare shrapnel! Gain an advantage, and then send line infantry into battle, trying to cover and crush enemy flanks with crossfire whenever possible.
Advice: Sometimes cavalry can be used to "scare" an enemy unit with a fake charge and force it into a dense multi-row formation. Withdraw the cavalry and start shelling with infantry - the enemy in a dense formation will be more vulnerable, and his return fire will be weaker.
There is no point in storming castles. Most often, it is better to wait until the defenders stop resisting or try to defeat you. In the first case, the fortress is yours. In the second case, a normal defensive battle awaits you, and you will be able to find and occupy a suitable height without haste.
This is interesting: Select a squad and press the Insert key to look at the battle through the eyes of a simple soldier. You can “move” from one soldier to another using the mouse wheel.
Gun versus saber - who will win? Notice I'm looking out of the eyes of one of the guys with the saber.
Sometimes, however, you need to take a fortress quickly, before the enemy brings reinforcements. For an assault you need to have an infantry advantage (although not too much). Go around the fortress from the flanks a little further than the defenders' shooting range. Try to climb walls where there are no defenders, but even if there are, it’s okay. First of all, throw melee units onto the walls - guns are of little use there. Put the defenders of the walls to flight - they will flee away into the hills or gather in the fortress in the central square, open to all winds. Surround them and shoot them. To win, you need to destroy or put to flight all enemies or hold out in the area for three minutes without letting enemies into it. The first is easier to do than the second. Sometimes, however, a detachment of defenders remains cuckooing on the far wall.
Both in the attack and in the defense of fortresses, the use of more complex tactics is prevented by the madness that seizes the soldiers on the fortress walls. Sometimes they become catatonic and pay no attention to the enemy. Sometimes they start running back and forth, and sometimes the defenders go down to the grass using ropes that the attackers have thrown onto the walls.
Incendiary shells from mortars are ideal against houses in which
The enemy soldiers took cover.
So, if you happen to defend a fort, first make sure that you have complete order with the infantry. Dismount the dragoons if you have them. Place the infantry on the side of the fortress where the enemy attack is expected, and slightly in the corners. If there are cannons on the wall, place a squad next to them, and it will “select” temporary artillerymen.
Your main advantage is the ability to shoot at the enemy while he chooses an assault site. As soon as the assault has begun, concentrate several units on the wall in the place where the enemy has thrown ropes. But give orders carefully, without fanaticism - you don't want your soldiers' brains to explode. It's not easy for them anyway.
If you did everything correctly and meet each rising enemy unit with three of your own, you can put many to flight. If the pressure is too strong, leave the walls (again, without fanaticism) and set up a second line of defense in the square or somewhere near the wall. It's a good idea to lure the enemy into the square. It is sometimes useful to drive your squad into a building next to the square and fire from the windows. Remember that if the enemy has captured the walls, he will be able to open the gates for the cavalry. Don't let it take you by surprise.
He drowned fifteen times
Water and heaven! Aivazovsky, die, you can’t write better!
Naval battles are a clear example of how artificial intelligence takes revenge on Homo sapiens for long years humiliation, showing strength precisely in those areas in which a person is traditionally weak. To calculate where ships will end up that are sailing in such and such a wind from such and such a direction, you need to solve equations, and the AI clicks them with ease. We can only estimate by eye. As a result, he comes out broadside to our stern and fires a salvo.
To simultaneously turn several ships broadside towards the chosen “victim”, the AI only needs to keep the equations in mind, adjust for the wind and speed of the “victim”, giving different commands to all ships at the same time. A person can only pause the game and turn each ship in turn, again by eye. The result is that all AI ships are intact, all of ours are sunk.
The ability to personally give the order to fire a salvo from all over the ship at once looks like a joke from the developers. Yes, it’s not bad and spectacular if we and the enemy have one ship each. Well, maximum two. When there are two dozen of them, it is impossible to keep track of everyone’s guns.
Many even claim that the developers put the player at a disadvantage in relation to the AI, and there is some truth in their words. Nevertheless, we, the pale people, managed to find a winning strategy. It consists of two principles: we need, firstly, to force all our ships to follow one, so as not to give orders to each one separately, and, secondly, to exploit the found weakness of the AI - collisions of its ships when tacking.
The secret of victory is to stop the enemy while remaining on the move.
So, the principle is this - we unite the ships into one group (the most experienced sailors can try the option with two groups) and order them to follow the leader in a wake formation - like ducklings behind a duck. The entire “column” then floats, winding left and right, so as to end up on the windward side of the enemy. You need to loop in order to stay on the sides of enemy ships for as long as possible. We need to go from the windward side so that the enemy catches up with us against the wind. In these conditions, he moves very slowly, is forced to maneuver the whole crowd, and with a high probability his ships will collide with each other, causing a jam in the clear sea. If this happens, congratulations! All you have to do is continue to sail back and forth in single file, successively sinking one ship after another, while the enemy fleet unravels after the collision of ships. Even when the ships simply pile on top of each other, the AI gets confused. When they collide at high speed, they can even lose the mast.
Advice: if you right-click on an enemy ship, yours will sail to attack. You don't need this. Set the priority of attacks using the Alt key and right button mice - this way the ships will not sail to the target, but will maintain the same course, but at the first opportunity they will shoot at the priority target, not forgetting about others.
Boarding, all hands on deck! The sailors fell from the yard out of excitement.
Even if the enemy formation has not collapsed, your fleet still has an advantage, and victory is quite likely. But you must manage your fleet very carefully, because if your ships collide, it’s a big deal - the enemy admiral will instantly catch up and push you.
When giving orders to move, make sure that you have the entire group selected, and not just one ship, otherwise the formation will be disrupted and you will not have time to gather it back. When turning the formation one hundred and eighty degrees, do not rush, let your ships make a wide loop.
Advice: Try shooting chain cannonballs at enemy sails instead of regular cannonballs and hulls to damage the enemy's masts and rigging, slowing down his progress. This can help, but not in all cases, since when tacking, the sails of enemy ships will be almost invisible, and the chain cannonballs will be mercilessly smeared.
With the correct implementation of “windward” tactics, a player can even defeat a fleet that exceeds him in numbers and firepower. The main thing is to use ships with not too shameful speed and maneuverability, move carefully, set and change priorities in time and do not forget to monitor your ships: if one catches fire or leaks, stop firing so that the sailors can begin the fight for survivability.
Now you are well-equipped with knowledge to grow a powerful power and break the resistance of your enemies! Good luck to you, your sailors and soldiers!
The homeland expects everyone to fulfill their duty.
Anyone who has the proper personal qualities and knows the methods of government, even if he owned an insignificant land, will receive power over the whole world and will not suffer defeat.
Kautilya, Arthashastra,
or "Treatise on Benefit", chapter 96.
Great Britain became a colony and market for India, the Maratha Confederacy brought troops into France and Spain under the pretext of protecting them, European monarchs pay tribute to the West European Trading Company, and a famous Indian poet sings of the burden of the dark man in barbaric Europe. Science fiction in our world, but quite feasible in the world of Empire: Total War. Describing game process ETW usually means playing for one of the European countries. I want to talk about the exotic nations of the Empire world, as well as the peculiarities of their tactics.
They choose their homeland
Priority areas of expansion at the beginning of the reign.
So, oriental exotica Ottoman Empire And Maratha Confederacy.
How is the Turkish Sultan doing? Huge territories, high authority, stability, even the only enemy - Russia - is separated by buffer states. Perhaps the Sultan can handle it himself. But the little one Maratha Confederacy there are enough difficulties: from the very beginning of the game a powerful enemy threatens - a huge Mughal Empire, and there are only two regions at disposal: Bijapur and Carnatic. From the very beginning of the game you will have to fight a lot. This campaign will serve as an example for us, because we are not looking for easy ways.
The Mughal Empire, however, is also experiencing better times, and at the beginning of the game, many of their cities will delight the invaders with a very small garrison. It is better to capture Mughal cities as early as possible, until the huge empire builds a large army in its dozen provinces. This is not Europe, entangled in a web of alliance treaties. We need to fight here right away. A strong army and good generals, but a small territory determine the choice of strategy at the beginning of the game - blitzkrieg.
There is also a small principality neighboring us Mysore. You can grab it right away, but it’s better to leave it for later and not waste your strength. Among our neighbors, we also have European possessions - Dutch Ceylon and Portuguese Goa. The latter is not difficult to capture, but this will entail a war not only with Portugal, but also with its ally, Britain. The Maratha Confederation at the beginning of the game will not withstand such maritime rivalry, which means goodbye to sea trade, goodbye to trading posts, I will miss you. So decide whether it's worth it or not.
Personally, I recommend not only holding off on capturing Goa and Ceylon, but also sending modest gifts to their owners, especially if the difficulty level of the campaign is above average. Warming relations will protect them from being stabbed in the back, and Britain, their ally, will not threaten our seas. In general, until the Maratha Confederation becomes one of the world leaders and until the last Mughal stronghold falls, war with the European barbarians should be avoided at all costs. Gifts and trade partnerships will help you achieve this. But only at first will we be so peaceful!
Are you ready to begin your reign, future great Rajah?
India rises from its knees
You can get rich quickly by trading.
Without what is a great state unthinkable? That's right, without a great army. And a great army, in turn, is unthinkable without great expenses. To begin with, it is worth raising taxes a little - the provinces initially owned by the player are not prone to rebellion, and bring in huge profits. The areas captured from the enemy will still have to be exempt from taxes.
But trade is no less, if not more important, since in Empire it promises untold riches. At the beginning of the game we have two trading ports, which means we can trade by sea with two states. One of our trading partners is already the Republic of the United Provinces, and we can choose another one. Later, with the capture of new ports, the number of trading partners can be increased.
It is important: other states will probably not agree to trade without an additional incentive - some additional payment. You shouldn’t spare a thousand or two - very soon this money will more than pay for itself.
Successful trade requires safe seas, which means achieving total superiority at sea is a top priority. The first couple of merchant ships will sail unhindered for exotic goods, but soon the Mughal fleet may become a problem, plundering trade routes and retaking our trading posts.
It will be easier to destroy not the enemy fleet, but the very possibility of its creation. The troops available at the beginning of the game should be sent along the Indian coast to the west to capture the coastal regions. Those ports that do not yet belong to you along with the capital of the region can be paralyzed with a small detachment or ship. Annexing Gujarat, the last port area in the west, it makes sense to push a little further west and capture Sindh. This will provide an overland trade route with Persia.
It is important: If you do not quickly take away several provinces from the Mughals at the beginning of the game, the war with the empire risks dragging on for decades.
In the east the enemy also has a port in the area Bengal. It's a long way to get there; it's better to swim by sea. If you land troops quickly, in the first two or three turns, then there will be practically no resistance. If they didn’t have time to arrive there so quickly, then the fleet and landing forces will have to be seriously strengthened. They worked quickly - excellent, you can completely switch ports for construction dhow- eastern trading ships.
This is where pirates bring their loot.
Just in case, it is better to protect your own ports. A garrison of one cheap militia detachment is quite enough to prevent enemy ships from entering our port and destroying all efforts to create a fleet. True, this will not protect against the blockade, but although the blockade interferes with trade, at least it does not cancel the construction of ships.
So, all the enemy port areas have been captured. We not only undermined the enemy’s economy (trade is the lion’s share of the budget!), but also strengthened our own. Indian merchants set up trading posts and brought exotic goods to Europe. It is important to occupy all free trading posts as early as possible, and only then add merchant ships to each of them. And remember: the profit from each new dhow is one trading post less, and you still need to maintain them, which is not cheap. Look for new states that will open markets for your goods, and your country will quickly become rich.
It cannot be said that the seas are now completely safe. There are still pirates with whom it is impossible to make peace. But they are not the most dangerous enemies. Pirates very rarely attack occupied trading posts and practically cannot take away all the profits on the trade route. If knife and ax workers decide to plunder your trade route somewhere near Europe or America, it is not necessary to throw their fleets there at that very moment - most likely your trading partner will do it earlier. The time to get serious about pirates is when the Mughal Empire is wiped off the face of the earth, or at least close to it.
Pirate Hunt
No matter who you play as, the pirates are a noticeable nuisance maritime trade. To put an end to them once and for all, you don’t need to constantly hunt for pirate fleets; it’s better to strike at their bases in the southeast of America: New Andalusia and the Leeward Islands. A couple of battles against a dozen squads - and your trade interests are not threatened by sea robbers, and two regions in America are now yours. Just keep in mind: a fairly strong fleet may be hanging out next to the pirate lair.
Yes, you can pirate it yourself. This is not only pleasant, but also profitable. The more ships you have on the enemy trade route, the greater the profit. But it won’t be possible to anonymously rob neutral states.
When the Mughal Empire loses more than half of its territory, lightning war will turn into positional warfare. At this stage, you can even conclude a truce, but it is better to see the matter through to the end. The main priority now is training the armies. Everything for the front, everything for victory. The newly acquired regions are still exempt from taxes, but there should be enough money anyway. There is no need to pay special attention to improving cities yet. The sooner you crush the Mughals, the easier it will be, and many provinces will be useful and pleasant.
The game developers did not succumb to the latest trends of political correctness, and therefore the policy of religious tolerance does not justify itself. A temple of a different faith seen in a newly liberated area should immediately be set on fire. There is no need for any kind of vile heresy to do on our sacred land!
Don't forget to use tight, joining you if you have many taverns. Tug is a jack of all trades: he scouts, kills enemy agents and generals, and conducts subversive (literally!) work in enemy cities. Demoralizing an army by killing a commander, causing an uprising in a city by blowing up buildings that maintain order is always welcome. Theoretically, it is even possible to take away a region from a peaceful state, because the rebellious region is considered a no-man's land. But in practice this is very difficult, and failure can so ruin the relationship that you still have to fight. But if someone’s region rebelled without your help, quickly capture it before they beat you to it.
And let’s not forget to build schools - are we an advanced state or what? Science will very soon find its most practical application in your army - in the form of bayonets on guns and grapeshot charges for cannons. In the future, the benefits will be even greater.
This is interesting: Eastern scientists, unlike European ones, do not fight duels. It’s not for nothing that they were called sages in the Russian translation.
You can steal technology from enemies if there are no enemy killers nearby. But it’s not worth stealing technology from non-hostile neighbors, like Mysore - the chance of success is low, and every failure brings closer a war that is not yet desirable. It's easier to buy now.
In the meantime, the commandants of the newly acquired regions are dealing with their problems, the generals are moving forward. Battle after battle, siege after siege - the Mughals have less and less land, and our power is becoming stronger. Don’t leave seasoned veterans with “straps” in the garrison; recruits will do for this. Replenish your losses and continue your journey.
On a note: If during an attack on an enemy city you are not confident in your abilities, choose a siege rather than an assault. Most likely, the computer will try to remove it the very next turn, which means that the enemy, not you, will be in a difficult position for the attacker.
With a well-functioning state, you can win all the battles on the strategic map, but why not personally lead your victorious regiments and armadas? After all, tactical battles are the most interesting component of the Total War series.
Heavy Elephant Attack
Melee strength is especially important during an assault.
What are the armies of the East like? Do not think that outside Europe they are fighting in best case scenario bows and catapults. Eastern armies are fully proficient with rifles and cannons and even managed to borrow Western formations.
Let's start with the armies of the Maratha Confederacy. You will not find the usual grenadiers, dragoons, as well as light and elite infantry. But among the Maratha units it is of interest melee infantry. Lacking the ability to shoot, these units are stronger in hand-to-hand combat than most other types of infantry and, importantly, are inexpensive. Pikemen, the closest Western equivalent, suffer greatly from a lack of maneuverability: to effectively fight, they must successfully stand up, turn around and point their spears towards the enemy, and this cannot be done instantly. The Indians are ready to repel an attack at any moment. Therefore, melee warriors are good for protecting against cavalry flanking attacks.
Melee can also be used against line infantry. In this case, it is very important that the latter, for one reason or another (for example, an ambush), does not have time to line up and shoot. The beauty of such an attack is that during hand-to-hand combat, even units not involved in it will have problems shooting at your warriors - the risk of friendly fire is high.
It is important: keep in mind that the general is always visible, despite the ambush. A human opponent can also guess the ambush by the number of visible units, if there are not enough of them!
But melee infantry can best prove itself in storming fortress walls and buildings, in narrow passages. There, 15 units of damage in melee is much more important than the ability to shoot.
Bandits, another type of eastern melee units, can engage or distract the enemy - and can do nothing else. Typical cannon fodder - weak, cheap, numerous.
A penchant for close combat is evident among Indians even among line infantry. Its first appearance is Indian arrows- although it does not shoot very accurately, it does significantly more damage in hand-to-hand combat than similar enemy units. The rest of the line units are closer to the classic line infantry. Their task is obvious - to line up and fire at the enemy.
| Infantry and cavalry of the Maratha Confederacy | |||||||||
| Name | Troop type | Qty | Dal- ness |
Accuracy | Melee | Onslaught | Defense | Fighting spirit | Price |
| Peasant militia | Regular militia | 80* | 70 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 260 |
| Mercenaries from the mob | Bandits | 200 | — | — | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 280 |
| Indian warriors | Melee Infantry | 160 | — | — | 15 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 510 |
| Sikh warriors | Melee Infantry | 160 | — | — | 13 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 540 |
| Indian arrows | Line infantry | 160 | 70 | 35 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 640 |
| Sikh Rifles | Line infantry | 160 | 70 | 50 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 740 |
| Bargir Infantry | Line infantry | 160 | 70 | 40 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 730 |
| General's personal guard | Elephants | 32** | 70 | 45 | 13 | 22 | 9 | 14 | 1370 |
| Silladar Spearmen | Uhlan Cavalry | 60 | — | — | 6 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 690 |
| Pindari Horsemen | Irregular cavalry | 60 | 70 | 35 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 720 |
| Bargir Spearmen | Uhlan Cavalry | 60 | — | — | 10 | 19 | 4 | 9 | 760 |
| Sipahi | Heavy Cavalry | 60 | — | — | 13 | 21 | 6 | 12 | 880 |
| Rifle Cavalry | 60 | 90 | 50 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 580 | |
| War elephants | Elephants | 40** | — | — | 28 | 22 | 2 | 10 | 1040 |
| Arrows on elephants | Elephants | 40** | 70 | 40 | 20 | 22 | 2 | 10 | 1040 |
|
** This refers to the number of people, elephants are four times smaller. |
|||||||||
Let's move on to the cavalry. Silladar Spearmen- classic lancers- fast, with a high pressure indicator. However, they stand out in that they were available already in the early era. The use is usual for light cavalry - flank attacks with a good run-up, destruction of gun crews, trampling fleeing ones. After cutting into the enemy’s cavalry formation, it is better to retreat for the next acceleration in order to avoid unnecessary losses. It is better to attack with cavalry from different flanks so that the squadrons do not interfere with each other.
Shooting cavalry is represented by the Marathas Pindari horsemen And camel cavalry. Personally, I don’t see much benefit in mounted riflemen. The only advantage over foot riflemen is speed, but there are more than half as many horsemen in the squad. Camel Riders, a unique unit of the Eastern armies, are slightly better at shooting, and as the description says, camels are intimidating to cavalry. However, with such combat characteristics there is no need to scare anyone. Camel cavalry is useful in a campaign, where it is available almost at the very beginning. But in a single battle or network game camels are discovered only in a late era, by which time no one needs them.
War elephants. Size matters.
After all, in a late era they become available Bargir spearmen, an advanced version of Silladar, and formidable sipahi. The latter can safely be called the pride of the eastern armies - a sort of Asian cuirassier, but with a pressure indicator higher than that of the uhlan. Only the Polish winged hussars are superior to them. It is worth using sipahis to protect the flanks from enemy cavalry, as well as to break through the enemy formation from the flanks, and if possible between shots, then from the front. Keep in mind also that numerical superiority is always on the side of the infantry.
And finally, the main trump card of the Marathas is elephants. Monstrous damage and onslaught frighten infantry and cavalry, literally scattering enemies - an ideal squad for breaking through the enemy formation. One or two squads of elephant riders can wreak havoc on any enemy army. But there are only a dozen elephants in the detachment, and if other types of troops do not immediately follow them, the elephants will only die ingloriously. It is necessary to take advantage while the line infantry formation is broken, and immediately develop success by all available means. And beware of pikes and stakes, they destroy elephants as well as cavalry. Be equally wary of buckshot.
This is interesting: In the Maratha Confederation, the general's guard is equipped with elephants instead of horses, although this detachment is weaker than full-fledged war elephants.
The army of the Ottoman Empire is closer to the European one - all the usual types of infantry are present: from regular militia to grenadiers and elite guards. True, eastern line infantry And elite infantry (Beilikan Janissary Fusiliers) lag behind their European colleagues of the same time. This is not what makes the East strong.
In great abundance among the Turks light infantry, fans of ambushes and “shoot and disappear” tactics can safely recommend this nation. I advise you to pay special attention to Nizam-i Jedid shooters— they shoot at a distance of 125 versus the usual 70, and also very accurately. They are especially good if you need to kill an artillery crew, a general, or provoke an attack with fire from afar. And, of course, Turkish light infantry is capable, like European ones, of putting stakes against cavalry.
| Infantry and cavalry of the Ottoman Empire | |||||||||
| Name | Troop type | Qty | Dal- ness |
Accuracy | Melee | Onslaught | Defense | Fighting spirit | Price |
| Seimeni | Regular militia | 80 | 70 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 260 |
| Muselima | Bandits | 200 | — | — | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 280 |
| Bashibazouki | Melee Infantry | 80 | — | — | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 340 |
| Aazars | Light Infantry | 80 | 80 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 380 |
| Semaash Janissaries | Melee Infantry | 160 | — | — | 13 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 440 |
| Semaash Janissaries with grenades | Grenadiers | 80 | 70 | 45 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 470 |
| Isareli | Line infantry | 160 | 70 | 35 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 660 |
| Nizam-i Jeid Light Infantry | Light Infantry | 80 | 80 | 55 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 470 |
| Beilikan Janissaries with grenades | Grenadiers | 80 | 70 | 50 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 510 |
| Arrows of the Nizam and Jedid | Light Infantry | 80 | 125 | 65 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 620 |
| Janissary crew of a portable mortar | Grenadiers | 80 | 70 | 50 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 610 |
| Infantry of the Nizam-i Jedid | Line infantry | 160 | 70 | 45 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 740 |
| Beilikan Janissary Fusiliers | Elite infantry | 160 | 70 | 50 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 790 |
| General's personal guard | Heavy Cavalry | 32 | — | — | 16 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 1300 |
| Delhi Horsemen | Irregular cavalry | 60 | 70 | 35 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 690 |
| Sipahi | Heavy Cavalry | 60 | — | — | 13 | 21 | 6 | 12 | 880 |
| Camel cavalry with shaturnals | Rifle Cavalry | 60 | 90 | 50 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 580 |
Like the Marathas, in the army of the Sultan you will meet bandits, as well as two types melee infantry: bashibazouki weak, but Semaash Janissaries It’s quite possible to use them like their Maratha counterparts, except that the Turks fight a little worse.
But in the Ottoman army, unlike the Marakhtian, there are grenadiers, and what kind! First Grenadier Unit - Semaash Janissaries with grenades - available even in the early era! In the later era, the game presents us with a unique unit - Janissary crew of a portable mortar. Shells from Turkish hand mortars reach much further than those thrown by hand - approximately to the distance of a musket shot. A successful salvo or two - and panic may well begin in the enemy formation. The main drawback is that the shells explode with a slight delay, so the mortar guns are practically useless against moving targets.
Among the Turkish cavalry we meet Delhi horsemen, a typical shooting cavalry, to which everything that is said above about this type of troops applies. Next come the ones we already know camel cavalry And sipahi.
The Turkish grenadier strikes from afar, but hits for sure.
Artillerymen, the Sultan has given the order! Artillerymen, the Fatherland is calling us!
On a note: If you choose a map in a multiplayer game, select the conditions to suit your strategy. For example, forests are good for shelter, plains are good for dispersing cavalry, and shelters are good for defense. Also take advantage of the fact that in hot climates, Eastern soldiers get less tired than European ones.
Artillery in the armies of the East, the characteristics are almost identical to the Western - the same guns, mortars, howitzers. But many types of European artillery are not available in exotic countries. For example, in the eastern armies you will not see “high-speed” artillery transported by six horses, as well as such wonderful wonders of technology as the Pakla gun. The Ottomans never acquired falconets and rockets, and the Marathas never acquired half-guns.
Instead of all of the above, the eastern armies received a formidable 64-pounder gun. If This hits the enemy - the effect is guaranteed. This monster is fundamentally untransportable on the battlefield, but it shoots at a respectable distance - 600. This is more than any gun, but still less than mortars. Shoots cannonballs and shrapnel.
The situation with the eastern fleets is somewhat similar to that with artillery - they practically duplicate the European ones, but at the same time the Maratha Confederation is deprived of certain types of ships, such as a steamship. Thankfully, at least the battleships weren’t taken away.
Liberation of ancestral Maratha lands
The Mughal Empire collapsed. We have all of India in our hands, except perhaps Ceylon and Goa. Mysore, if it is not yours yet, take it now. And now it’s worth forgetting about the ringing of blades and cannon fire for a few years and doing peaceful work. However, this does not mean at all that the doctrine of non-violence has triumphed and the doves of peace in your government have pecked the hawks to death. With the fall of the Mughal Empire, conquests do not end, but only begin, you just need to create good conditions for them. The Bengal tiger is hiding and preparing to jump.
Now is the time to build everything that has not yet been completed, and improve everything that has not yet been improved, since there is enough money for everything. Farms provide food, workshops make weapons of expansion and sew uniforms, the colors of which will soon frighten the whole world, recruits march on the parade ground, shipyards lay down more and more ships: not a country - a military factory!
Should we bring democracy to the world?
The Empire needs advanced science, which means we build schools and universities. However, discontent is quickly brewing among the intelligentsia: “Where is the freedom of speech? Democracy is in danger! How to solve this problem?
Initially, the system of the eastern states was an absolute monarchy, which means there are difficulties with education. You can make your country a republic, this will speed up the work of scientists and reduce discontent. There are, however, serious disadvantages: there is weaker repression in the republic, that is, there is less public order. Moreover, even under a republican system, frantic human rights activists still do not completely subside - this is always not enough freedom, just like in life.
You can also remain a despot. To achieve this, we maintain substantial garrisons in areas where there is a university. And most importantly: we reduce taxes or even exempt the relevant provinces from them. You will already be swimming in gold.
You can, at worst, not study the social sciences at all. Fortunately, to study, for example, a new infantry formation, you need not an advanced university, but an improved barracks. The income may be lower and the research slower, but your subjects continue to see you as a living god, and not some kind of “night watchman”, like enlightened liberals.
Having gained strength, you can annex Goa and Ceylon, which are Maratha by right. Do this militarily if your fleet is ready to fight not only Portugal and the Republic of the United Provinces, but also their ally, Britain. True, you can always buy off a strong enemy and not spread your strength across many enemies at once. You can also buy regions from another state, spending a very impressive amount.
The monarch has been deposed, freedom, equality and brotherhood triumph!
India is liberated. All that remains is to liberate Europe.
If you have selected the " short game“, then control over all of India is quite enough to fulfill the conditions of victory, and you just need to wait for the end of the allotted time without losing what you have. If you chose " long game”, or “domination”, or you just want to spend the allotted time interestingly - further expansion is inevitable.
It is important: computer opponents very rarely fight among themselves, but regularly train their troops. So don't be surprised if a state the size of one region greets you with a couple of maximally equipped armies.
So, the hour has come to conquer the world. Before you are two parts of the world - Europe and America - and dozens of large and small states, and the people of each of them groan under the yoke of tyranny and long to join the free peoples of your empire.
The 18th century has ended and another story has ended. The story of eastern hegemony that has not come true in our world. The story of how a tiny backward principality, born on the edge of the Earth, became a world leader.
Empire: Total War is rich in various strategies and tactics, secrets and tricks. I hope from this article you learned a lot about this wonderful game. Someone may have wanted to lead the armies of the Turks or Hindus themselves, while others, on the contrary, learned how to fight against them more effectively. I also hope that I was able to show you that playing for the eastern states is no less interesting than for the western ones.
Good luck on the battlefields!
In this article, I want to tell you about diplomacy in Empire Total War. About what opportunities diplomacy provides, how to use it in the game, and what its success depends on.
Empire Total War was the first game in the series to introduce diplomacy to new level. The differences from previous games in this aspect are simply colossal...
Firstly, the developers removed the special Diplomat unit, which was in the early games of the series. Diplomacy is now available from a special menu.
The biggest change to diplomacy in Empire Total War is that it has become a truly important aspect of the game.
For example, now, with the help of skillful diplomatic negotiations, you can... not fight at all! In theory, you can win the game with a strong economy by simply buying territory and resolving all issues diplomatically. True, this will require a lot of money...
Of course, this possibility was present in the early games of the series (Rome 1, Medieval), but in Empire this mechanism has become even more effective.
Thanks to a separate menu, there is now no need to send a Diplomat unit across the map to negotiate. All negotiations can be conducted at any time with just a few clicks of the mouse.
Diplomacy menu in Empire Total War.
You can enter the menu by clicking on the special icon.
The arrow indicates the icon for entering the diplomatic menu. - Main states.
- Secondary states.
Opposite the name of a particular country, you will see the diplomatic status and brief information in the form of icons. So you can find out:
- Religion of the country (Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, etc.).
- Government system (monarchy, democracy, etc.).
- The country's relationship to your faction (sympathy, antipathy, enmity, etc.).
- Trade information (trading partner, trade not possible, trade possible).
Using this menu, you can conduct any negotiations. All this information is displayed in the form of icons that have tooltips, so it's not difficult to figure it out.
On the right side of the diplomacy menu, you can see the geographical location of any country, as well as its relations with other factions. This is indicated by different colors:
- White color is the selected faction.
- Red - enemies of the selected faction.
- Green – states neutral to it.
How to conduct diplomacy with another country?
To do this, select the country in the left column and click on “Start negotiations”. After which you will be taken to the following menu, in which you will have access to such functions as:
- Offer trade.
- Break the trade agreement.
- Send a gift.
- Request an alliance.
- To declare a war.
- Demand right of way.
- Regions.
- Technologies.
- Payments.
The possibilities of this menu are simply amazing! Now I want to explain what this or that point means.
“Request Trade” and “Break Trade Relationship.” I think everything is clear with this? In order to make money from trading, you simply need to have many trading partners. But since the possible number of partners is limited, sometimes you will have to choose between them, so you will also use the “Break trade relationship” option.
Send a gift. An extremely interesting opportunity. By sending a gift to the chosen country, you can change its attitude towards you. With the help of such gifts, you can change the attitude of another faction towards yours, from the state of “Enmity” to the state of “Sympathy”.
Try to appease your opponent with a gift and your relationship will improve. The higher the value of the gift, the more the attitude towards your country will improve.
Request an alliance. If you form an alliance with another faction, you can count on their help if someone attacks you. But at the same time, you need to remember that if your ally is attacked, you must also be ready to stand up for him, otherwise the alliance will be terminated.
To declare a war. This point is all clear. You can declare war through a menu item, or simply by attacking another city or army.
In war, you or your enemy can be supported by allies... Right of way. If your troops enter the land of another faction, this is war. But if you ask for permission in advance for the right of passage, you may be allowed to send troops into another territory. This is sometimes required if between your enemy and you there is the territory of another neutral state. The right of passage can be requested or granted for a minimum of five turns, and ad infinitum.
Indicate how many moves you want to ask for or give the right of passage. Regions. With this feature, in the diplomacy menu, you can purchase another faction's region by selecting it on the map. In exchange, you can offer money, technology, or your field. Then an exchange will take place between you.
Exchange of regions, a peaceful way to change the territory of a country. Tip: This is a very interesting opportunity. Using this function, you can obtain a region on the continent you are interested in, completely without a fight, through diplomatic means. Thus, with the help of diplomacy, you can significantly expand your territories.
Technologies. This feature allows you to exchange buy and sell technologies.
Technology exchange. It is better to offer 2 to 1, then the enemy will definitely agree. Advice: If you offer two of your technologies for one you need, the other faction usually agrees. And making a one-to-one exchange is often almost impossible.
Payments. You may demand or offer cash payment for something. For example, you offer a peace treaty to another faction and in return agree to pay 1,000 coins over the course of one or five turns. Or vice versa, you can demand this amount of money from another state.
Financial requests. As you can see, there are many possibilities for diplomacy in Empire Total War, and there can be a huge variety of different combinations of agreements.
What does the success of diplomacy depend on?
The successful outcome of diplomatic negotiations in Empire depends on many factors, such as:
Difficulty of the game. The higher the difficulty level, the less compliant and more aggressive other countries are towards you.
The proximity of religion and political system. It is easier for two Catholic countries to find a common language than, for example, a country of Catholics and Muslims. Also, a country with a parliamentary government system may experience hostility towards the faction headed by the monarch.
History and territorial expansion. Diplomatic relations are influenced by shared history. For example, France and England are historically irreconcilable rivals and this fact plays a serious role. In addition, each country has its own goals in the game, its own territorial expansion. For example, Maratha, it is difficult to find a common language with the British, since they want to create their own colonies on Indian territory.
Authority or rating. Each country has this parameter. Naturally, when a more authoritative faction offers something to a less authoritative one, the latter is more likely to agree. This rating can be viewed on the in-game infographic:
Graphics of the forces of all major factions in the game. Also, in the diplomacy window, when you hover over a faction, a pop-up window will appear in which you can see in detail what factors are on this moment affect your relationship.
Head of the government. Your government has a Head who may have bonuses, for example: +3% to diplomatic negotiations, etc.
The head of government influences the success of diplomacy. From my experience I will say that although diplomacy in Empire Total War is often criticized, in fact it did a very good job good level and opens up new opportunities and strategies for the player. So be sure to pay attention to this aspect of the game, become a skilled diplomat and this will definitely lead you to victory!
Empire: Total War- this is perhaps the most ambitious and epoch-making part of the famous series of turn-based global strategies. Games in the Total War series occupy an intermediate place between classic real-time strategies and the unbreakable leader of turn-based tactical entertainment, the immortal Civilization. We are dealing with a combination of a global historical project and a full-fledged real-time strategy, and with huge battlefields. It is this approach that allows us to understand and imagine at least approximately the full scale of the battles, large and not so large, that took place in the times described. This part, like the previous ones, refers us to a specific period of human history, in this case, it will be the 18th century, that is, the period between 1700 and 1799.
Game Features
- All features can be attributed to specific missions based on the state and historical influence of the country you choose to start the game.
- Strong maritime powers will seek to extend their influence to distant colonies, while continental countries without access to the sea will solve more local problems. For example, continental Poland, which during the indicated period had very strained relations with the Russian Empire, will do its best to resolve border conflicts and try to return the lands that Russia received as a result of one of the divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- Another of Poland’s tasks outlined in the mission could be the capture of small border states in order to strengthen its geopolitical position and scare away potential enemies from seizing the state or starting military operations.
- Separately, it is worth highlighting the development of technology, because this period in the history of human civilization was accompanied by active technological growth and the introduction of new technologies, both military and civilian.
- The scientific component of the game is quite extensive and allows you to carry out up to four studies simultaneously, which significantly accelerates the industrial and technical growth of the country for which you play.
Gameplay and innovations
The developers did a good job not only when creating full-scale battle scenes or building an economic model, they were especially good at conveying the spirit of the era in setting up tasks for each of the powers represented in the game. If the previous part had extremely simple tasks for completing missions - capturing most territories, then in Empire: Total War there is a clear gradation and a list of specific tasks that were developed based on the needs of an individual state in that very time period. The greatest emphasis of the development of European countries lies not in the conquest, but in the colonization of new lands; all the initial data and capabilities of various countries are also taken into account regarding the goals and objectives, which are contained in specific missions. For example, one of the main colonial missions for Great Britain is maintaining the authority of its state among the inhabitants of the thirteenth colony, located in North America. And this is only possible under the condition of a strong state with a powerful military policy and fleet, therefore, at the initial stages it is very important to appease your European neighbors so that they are not tempted to attack your patrimony, thereby giving more freedom in colonization.
Game summary
Before us is another bright representative of games of a special genre, which is able to combine tactical capabilities turn-based strategies and the dynamism and epochal nature of real-time strategies, allowing you to see and imagine with your own eyes how large-scale the great battles of the reporting time period were. It’s not for nothing that numerous gaming publications around the world unanimously speak about the uniqueness of the next part of the famous series, putting the “Must Buy” mark on it, because this kind of new product does not appear so often and is simply bound to deserve the close attention of fans.
Warpath Campaign Add-on
An official add-on was released for the game called The Warpath Campaign. Five new Indian nations and a more detailed map of America have been added. There are changes among the units: elite troops have appeared for each side and several completely new types of soldiers. The Indians have their own technologies and can gradually improve them. The battle tactics of Europeans and Indians are fundamentally different. The former use open battles with a large army, while the latter are based on guerrilla warfare. There are many more innovations that you can learn about during the process.
