General guide for GCR(for free to play players)
Jul 13, 2019 6:03:21 GMT
andrei, jcash, and 14 more like this
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2019 6:03:21 GMT
Are you pissed that those with IAPs are doing better than you in this game? Are you tired of them bragging how fast they completed a campaign, or how strong Hannibal is? Do you feel despair that you will never be able to beat them in speed runs or in high scores? Then do not despair, for i, a user of 2 IAPs,is here to guide you 
As Ovid said, abundance has made me poor. There is one advantage Free to play players always have against those with IAP and whales, which is being forced to be resourceful. If you can't beat them with resources, then you beat them by using yours more efficiently. I'm not free to play myself, so how am i supposed to help free to play players if i don't know their plight? Simple, math. And some help from stoic (long time player who always goes free to play for the fun of it)and other players who would add comments if they're accurate to the situation they are in or not. I would constantly be editing this thread as new content appears, and if i got something wrong and other players point it out. Anyway, let's not waste any more time on introduction and get straight to the point.
Number of Medals given:
First is to calculate the number of medals we receive from conquests and the current campaign. In total, we have 62 campaigns in total. Each campaign gives us 30 medals. That means we would have 1860 medals if we perfect complete the campaign from Punic wars to Civil war of Caesar. Now for the conquests.
Based on what i calculated: Punic wars gives us 410 medals ( 3 star countries gives us 20 medals, 2 star gives us 25, while 1 star gives us 30) while Caesar's time conquest gives us 865 medals(3 stars = 25, 2 stars=30, 1 star=35).
For the campaigns:
Punic wars =240 medals
The Spartacus Uprising=210 medals
The Sertorian War=240
The Mithridatic Wars=210
The Gallic Wars=300
The British Wars=210
The Eastern Empire=210
Civil War of Caesar=240
A total of 1860 medals.
1860 + 1275 + 200(medals given at the start of the game)=3335 medals are given excluding the achievement rewards and missions.
What should i make my free general as?
Click me
Just click the link above to redirect you to a thread where it's discussed which general you should make your commander. Personally, i made mine as an archer gen since there are already too many good cavalry and infantry gens, while archers are somewhat lacking of solid options aside from Mithridates and Drusus. You choose either way, i'll leave that judgement to you
Where to use your medals and how to progress (Punic wars to The Gallic Wars):
(For those lazy to read, here's a simply guide for you on which general to buy : Pacorus > Drusus > Pompey > Your choice)
First and foremost, the first thing to think of is endgame, which is to have at least 6 strong generals. 8 is ideal, but i think 6 would be more practical for now. And to get there, you must think of the steps needed to get there. To get to the 6 strong generals, you must need to get medals. Where do you get medals? The campaign. But to clear the campaign, you must also need generals, not necessarily the strongest, but the best generals in terms of price efficiency. It's great to have all the gold generals and parade them off, but since you're free to play, managing your resources is the most important thing. I would even recommend those with IAP or whales to read this, to give them an idea on how to progress. After getting your core of 6 strong generals, you can do whatever you want with your medals, except for wasting them of course. Now, let's get to the specifics.
You are given 200 medals at the start of the game. Where to use it? Simple answer is to buy a general. To answer your second question, it's Pacorus.
Why Pacorus? There are some reasons why he's great, like being able to reach 7 points in cavalry , or a percent chance of attacking without being attacked back, but the main reason is because of his talent :Inspire. It will be explained later why Inspire is so great, but for now, trust me on this.
european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11218/great-conqueror-rome-pacorus
You are left with 102 medals. Next thing to do is to level up Pacorus. How to level up generals will be discussed later on. After leveling up Pacorus to have his cavalry points maxed, go complete the first 2 campaigns. They aren't particularly difficult, but if you are having problems, you can ask questions here or look for the specific missions on other threads. Now that you have 552 medals after that, it's time to you to buy your first (or second archer general if you made your commander an archer gen) archer gen. It's Drusus, that's who.
Why Drusus? Simple. Inspire + advantage. You already know what inspire is, which if you somehow have a really short memory, is a talent that keeps you in high morale. Advantage is a skill that increases your crit chance by 15% if you have high morale. Doesn't take a genius to find out why he's great. He also reaches 8 points in archery. His other skills are mediocre, but if they weren't, he would be straight up better than the golden boy Mithridates. stoic loves this guy, so you should too.
european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11108/great-conqueror-rome-drusus
european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11295/drusus-surena-li
Now, after deducting 542 medals, we are left with 10 medals. Lvl up Drusus until he reaches max lvl or max archer points. Continue doing the campaign. However, the campaigns wouldn't be that easy. You can perfect clear the Sertorian war, but for the Mithridatic wars, it would be difficult. Possible, but hard. I would say for a new player, you can get 240 medals from the Sertorian war, but only around 175 medals from the Mithridatic wars. But for the sake of this thread, let's assume you are able to 3 star all the campaigns of the Mithridatic wars except for 2 missions, which you got 2 stars on. That means you have 450 medals right now. But that wouldn't be enough for the next general, and i have to say, he's pretty much the best infantry general in game.
This guy will carry you during the later campaigns. But right now, you only have 450 medals(lesser if you weren't able to perfect clear most of the Mithridatic wars). So how do you continue? You have 2 options: to continue doing the campaign, or to do 5 1 star conquests. None of them is the wrong choice. There's only a painful one and a long one. So, let's mix them up. Do 3 1 star conquests, and some campaigns in the Gallic wars. I suggest doing the 1 star conquests from the Punic wars, since they are rather easy to do. I also suggest you do Macedonia, Illyria Kingdom and Masaesyli.
Links to the conquest guides: european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11095/great-conqueror-rome-conquests-guides
After that, doing the first 2 missions of the Gallic wars shouldn't be that difficult. Just do more campaigns or conquests if you still don't have enough medals for Pompey. After getting Pompey, continue doing your campaigns and perfect clear the Gallic wars. Go back to the Mithridatic wars to perfect clear it. Now, out of the 3335 medals they give you, you have used 1240 medals, meaning you can still get 2095 medals. This is where i stop giving specific generals to buy, which conquest to do or if you should continue doing the campaign. Reason is that your decision while completing the first 5 campaigns is the most crucial, and afterwards, mistakes won't be that harsh. Your last 2 generals to complete your core of 6 gens is up to you.
Here are some suggestions on which generals to buy afterwards:
Antony:
Vercingetorix:
Mithridates VI:
Cleopatra:
Honorable mentions: Octavian, Arminius, Huo, Crassus, Bato, Tiberius, Commius, Ambiorix
How Morale works:
How to level up your generals:
Your generals level up by attacking or getting attacked by a unit or building and killing a unit or destroying a building. Killing a unit or destroying a building gives you more exp than simply attacking.
There are several ways to do this. One is to just replay a campaign over and over, or just keep doing campaigns normally. You can play a conquest, which will take a while unless you use your general to keep attacking and killing units over and over. Another one is by using the expedition as a means to do so. I prefer just playing the campaign normally or doing a conquest, but you can do either way. If you want time efficiency, just keep doing the first part of the Expedition to Africa.If you don't know how to place a general on your units, just press the very first hexagon(headquarter). Pick a unit, and you are given the option to place a general on the unit. Then do any of the first 2 expedition missions. You can auto play it since it's easy and there's virtually 0 chance of your general dying. Just play retry after.
(if someone can help me find the thread where a guy pointed out that you can level up units by repeating the first mission of the expedition over and over, please notify me. I want to credit him)
Edit:here's the link. Thank you AlterFritz
european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11251/gen-exp-farming
How level affects your general : european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11188/general-level-affect
Items to buy:
You can buy whatever items you want. But if you want efficiency, then read further. For items bought using gold, i suggest you buy them only after you maxed out your senate. Only buy the top tier gold items. Those are Cartage, Gold ring, Centurion Shield,Pompeii Gladius ,Scale armor and Crossbow. Cartage gives +2 mobility, Gold ring a +50% chance to increase morale when attacking, Centurion shield +15 health per unit in a legion, Scale armor +7, and Crossbow +15% crit chance. As for the items bought by medals, i would say you spend your medals first on ranking up some of your generals to Marshall rank, which costs 380 medals. After that, prioritize buying the Golden Spear,Military Map,Laurel Crown and Gallic war. Augustus helmet and Consul Scepter are great, but they require you to reach Consul rank, which costs 575 medals to reach (assuming your general is Marshal rank). Give your golden spear to any general who is Marshal rank, as well as your Laurel crown. Give you Gallic war to a cavalry gen(requires general rank)of yours not named Antony or to Pompey.
Item list : european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11223/items-list
Medal Items in ranked in terms of their usefulness:
1.Laurel Crown
2.Gallic war
3.Military Map
4.Golden Spear
5.Augustus helmet
6.Consul Scepter
7.Dragon Shield
8.Fasces of Power
9. Pharaoh's scepter
General Ranks
(edited in the future)
Hp vs Defense
(edited in the future)
Senate
Town hall>Ampitheater>Pantheon>Library>Barracks>Colosseum/Field of Mars>Triumphal Arch> Workshop > Port
For barracks, focus on infantry mobility and defense/hp
For Colosseum, focus on cavalry attack and Mobility
For Field of Mars, focus on attack and mobility
For Port, place on your points in mobility and then 1 point in defense
(edited in the future)
Legions and forces
(edited in the future)
Infantry vs Cavalry vs Archers
Infantry is
Link: european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11253/which-best-unit-type
Weapon and Armor types
(edited in the future)
Conquests
(edited in the future)
(Other topics will be added in the future as i see fit, and from requests)
Credits:
stoic for his insight on Free to play players
andrei his great opinions on the game, inspired me to compile ideas and make this thread
Seger and Friedrich โFried Riceโ Paulus for some of the pictures i shamelessly used in this thread, and for some of the threads
and to all the other players who helped me indirectly with their ideas of the game
As Ovid said, abundance has made me poor. There is one advantage Free to play players always have against those with IAP and whales, which is being forced to be resourceful. If you can't beat them with resources, then you beat them by using yours more efficiently. I'm not free to play myself, so how am i supposed to help free to play players if i don't know their plight? Simple, math
. And some help from stoic (long time player who always goes free to play for the fun of it)and other players who would add comments if they're accurate to the situation they are in or not. I would constantly be editing this thread as new content appears, and if i got something wrong and other players point it out. Anyway, let's not waste any more time on introduction and get straight to the point.Number of Medals given:
First is to calculate the number of medals we receive from conquests and the current campaign. In total, we have 62 campaigns in total. Each campaign gives us 30 medals. That means we would have 1860 medals if we perfect complete the campaign from Punic wars to Civil war of Caesar. Now for the conquests.
Based on what i calculated: Punic wars gives us 410 medals ( 3 star countries gives us 20 medals, 2 star gives us 25, while 1 star gives us 30) while Caesar's time conquest gives us 865 medals(3 stars = 25, 2 stars=30, 1 star=35).
For the campaigns:
Punic wars =240 medals
The Spartacus Uprising=210 medals
The Sertorian War=240
The Mithridatic Wars=210
The Gallic Wars=300
The British Wars=210
The Eastern Empire=210
Civil War of Caesar=240
A total of 1860 medals.
1860 + 1275 + 200(medals given at the start of the game)=3335 medals are given excluding the achievement rewards and missions.
What should i make my free general as?
Click me
Just click the link above to redirect you to a thread where it's discussed which general you should make your commander. Personally, i made mine as an archer gen since there are already too many good cavalry and infantry gens, while archers are somewhat lacking of solid options aside from Mithridates and Drusus. You choose either way, i'll leave that judgement to you
Where to use your medals and how to progress (Punic wars to The Gallic Wars):
(For those lazy to read, here's a simply guide for you on which general to buy : Pacorus > Drusus > Pompey > Your choice)
First and foremost, the first thing to think of is endgame, which is to have at least 6 strong generals. 8 is ideal, but i think 6 would be more practical for now. And to get there, you must think of the steps needed to get there. To get to the 6 strong generals, you must need to get medals. Where do you get medals? The campaign. But to clear the campaign, you must also need generals, not necessarily the strongest, but the best generals in terms of price efficiency. It's great to have all the gold generals and parade them off, but since you're free to play, managing your resources is the most important thing. I would even recommend those with IAP or whales to read this, to give them an idea on how to progress. After getting your core of 6 strong generals, you can do whatever you want with your medals, except for wasting them of course. Now, let's get to the specifics.
You are given 200 medals at the start of the game. Where to use it? Simple answer is to buy a general. To answer your second question, it's Pacorus.
Why Pacorus? There are some reasons why he's great, like being able to reach 7 points in cavalry , or a percent chance of attacking without being attacked back, but the main reason is because of his talent :Inspire. It will be explained later why Inspire is so great, but for now, trust me on this
.european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11218/great-conqueror-rome-pacorus
You are left with 102 medals. Next thing to do is to level up Pacorus. How to level up generals will be discussed later on. After leveling up Pacorus to have his cavalry points maxed, go complete the first 2 campaigns. They aren't particularly difficult, but if you are having problems, you can ask questions here or look for the specific missions on other threads. Now that you have 552 medals after that, it's time to you to buy your first (or second archer general if you made your commander an archer gen) archer gen. It's Drusus, that's who.
Why Drusus? Simple. Inspire + advantage. You already know what inspire is, which if you somehow have a really short memory, is a talent that keeps you in high morale. Advantage is a skill that increases your crit chance by 15% if you have high morale. Doesn't take a genius to find out why he's great
. He also reaches 8 points in archery. His other skills are mediocre, but if they weren't, he would be straight up better than the golden boy Mithridates. stoic loves this guy, so you should too.european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11108/great-conqueror-rome-drusus
european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11295/drusus-surena-li
Now, after deducting 542 medals, we are left with 10 medals. Lvl up Drusus until he reaches max lvl or max archer points. Continue doing the campaign. However, the campaigns wouldn't be that easy. You can perfect clear the Sertorian war, but for the Mithridatic wars, it would be difficult. Possible, but hard
. I would say for a new player, you can get 240 medals from the Sertorian war, but only around 175 medals from the Mithridatic wars. But for the sake of this thread, let's assume you are able to 3 star all the campaigns of the Mithridatic wars except for 2 missions, which you got 2 stars on. That means you have 450 medals right now. But that wouldn't be enough for the next general, and i have to say, he's pretty much the best infantry general in game.This guy will carry you during the later campaigns. But right now, you only have 450 medals(lesser if you weren't able to perfect clear most of the Mithridatic wars). So how do you continue? You have 2 options: to continue doing the campaign, or to do 5 1 star conquests. None of them is the wrong choice. There's only a painful one and a long one
. So, let's mix them up. Do 3 1 star conquests, and some campaigns in the Gallic wars. I suggest doing the 1 star conquests from the Punic wars, since they are rather easy to do. I also suggest you do Macedonia, Illyria Kingdom and Masaesyli. Links to the conquest guides: european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11095/great-conqueror-rome-conquests-guides
After that, doing the first 2 missions of the Gallic wars shouldn't be that difficult. Just do more campaigns or conquests if you still don't have enough medals for Pompey. After getting Pompey, continue doing your campaigns and perfect clear the Gallic wars. Go back to the Mithridatic wars to perfect clear it. Now, out of the 3335 medals they give you, you have used 1240 medals, meaning you can still get 2095 medals. This is where i stop giving specific generals to buy, which conquest to do or if you should continue doing the campaign. Reason is that your decision while completing the first 5 campaigns is the most crucial, and afterwards, mistakes won't be that harsh. Your last 2 generals to complete your core of 6 gens is up to you.
Here are some suggestions on which generals to buy afterwards:
Antony:
Best Cavalry gen, if we don't include Hannibal of course. He may not be the most powerful of the gold cavalry gens,but he is the most useful. His skill geography makes it so you ignore terrain. He has march, meaning you can move 1 more tile than other cavalry gens. This makes him extremely mobile, and could get to locations some of your generals would take 2 or even 3 turns to arrive. He also doesn't lack in the damage department, having charge which increases his damage output against infantry, and cavalry commander which has a chance for him to attack again. Breakthrough isn't the best 4rth skill, but it will be useful in campaigns where trenches are numerous. His talent and March combination is something other generals could not match, freeing him from needing to use any mobility items and go for more offensive items like the golden spear or laurel crown(just rank him up to marshal first).
Vercingetorix:
A living tank. Give him a defense item, and watch him hold a city by himself. Shieldwall and Ambush makes him tanky as he is, and Roar with Jungle fighting makes it so he won't lack in the damage department. His talent Fearless makes it so that even if your legion is damaged, he won't lose attack. Legions will be explained further later, but basically, he's damage won't be lowered even if he is 1 health. Reason why he's not as good as Pompey is because he has low mobility.
Mithridates VI:
Best archer gen(excluding Caesar). Drusus outdamages him, but he has a higher crit chance when commanding a larger legion than the enemy and has high morale. He deals more damage to units with a smaller force than him, he can attack twice, and has a higher attack in jungles. Nothing else for me to say about this guy.Get him if you need another archer gen.
Cleopatra:
Best navy gen. As much as i want to compliment her, i think people overestimate her worth. Reason is that navy gens are rarely needed in game. She can reach 7 points in archery, and deal a ton of damage. But, she won't do as much as Mithridates or Drusus. But just because people overestimate her worth means she is useless. In fact, she is useful. In conquests, you can use her to surprise enemy nations by sea, and defeat enemy navies larger than yours. Get her if you really like her character, her art, or after you have your 6 core generals.
Honorable mentions: Octavian, Arminius, Huo, Crassus, Bato, Tiberius, Commius, Ambiorix
How Morale works:
Back to the topic of Inspire and why you should buy Pacorus first,inspire is a skill that makes the user always in high morale. And why is that so great? Hannibal has a talent to buff his own attack and cavalry allies around him, Mithridates has a talent to have 20% crit when facing against units with a smaller force than him. Why would i waste 98 medals on a guy simply because he has a talent that always keep you in high morale? Let me first explain how morale works.
Morale is a pretty much a state in which your general is in. High morale gives you a +atk boost(not sure if flat or percentage, but i think it's percentage), while low morale means lowered attack. If you get flanked, you get 1 less moral. Getting surrounded gets you 2 less morale. Getting attacked can also lower your morale. Having your morale lowered 3 times means your unit goes into chaos, which they won't be able to move or counterattack, which is obviously bad. You can get a high morale if you manage to defeat a unit or destroy a structure. If you're perceptive, you now know why having High morale is great. Inspire is a top tier talent basically.You can get surrounded, and your morale will never go down. And not only that, that means your damage will always be high, even higher than GOLD TIER GENERALS. Pacorus is elevated to top tier status because of it, not only that, but also because he costs 98 medals.
Morale is a pretty much a state in which your general is in. High morale gives you a +atk boost(not sure if flat or percentage, but i think it's percentage), while low morale means lowered attack. If you get flanked, you get 1 less moral. Getting surrounded gets you 2 less morale. Getting attacked can also lower your morale. Having your morale lowered 3 times means your unit goes into chaos, which they won't be able to move or counterattack, which is obviously bad. You can get a high morale if you manage to defeat a unit or destroy a structure. If you're perceptive, you now know why having High morale is great. Inspire is a top tier talent basically.You can get surrounded, and your morale will never go down. And not only that, that means your damage will always be high, even higher than GOLD TIER GENERALS. Pacorus is elevated to top tier status because of it, not only that, but also because he costs 98 medals.
How to level up your generals:
Your generals level up by attacking or getting attacked by a unit or building and killing a unit or destroying a building. Killing a unit or destroying a building gives you more exp than simply attacking.
There are several ways to do this. One is to just replay a campaign over and over, or just keep doing campaigns normally. You can play a conquest, which will take a while unless you use your general to keep attacking and killing units over and over. Another one is by using the expedition as a means to do so. I prefer just playing the campaign normally or doing a conquest, but you can do either way. If you want time efficiency, just keep doing the first part of the Expedition to Africa.If you don't know how to place a general on your units, just press the very first hexagon(headquarter). Pick a unit, and you are given the option to place a general on the unit. Then do any of the first 2 expedition missions. You can auto play it since it's easy and there's virtually 0 chance of your general dying. Just play retry after.
(if someone can help me find the thread where a guy pointed out that you can level up units by repeating the first mission of the expedition over and over, please notify me. I want to credit him
)Edit:here's the link. Thank you AlterFritz
european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11251/gen-exp-farming
How level affects your general : european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11188/general-level-affect
Items to buy:
You can buy whatever items you want. But if you want efficiency, then read further. For items bought using gold, i suggest you buy them only after you maxed out your senate. Only buy the top tier gold items. Those are Cartage, Gold ring, Centurion Shield,Pompeii Gladius ,Scale armor and Crossbow. Cartage gives +2 mobility, Gold ring a +50% chance to increase morale when attacking, Centurion shield +15 health per unit in a legion, Scale armor +7, and Crossbow +15% crit chance. As for the items bought by medals, i would say you spend your medals first on ranking up some of your generals to Marshall rank, which costs 380 medals. After that, prioritize buying the Golden Spear,Military Map,Laurel Crown and Gallic war. Augustus helmet and Consul Scepter are great, but they require you to reach Consul rank, which costs 575 medals to reach (assuming your general is Marshal rank). Give your golden spear to any general who is Marshal rank, as well as your Laurel crown. Give you Gallic war to a cavalry gen(requires general rank)of yours not named Antony or to Pompey.
Item list : european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11223/items-list
Medal Items in ranked in terms of their usefulness:
1.Laurel Crown
2.Gallic war
3.Military Map
4.Golden Spear
5.Augustus helmet
6.Consul Scepter
7.Dragon Shield
8.Fasces of Power
9. Pharaoh's scepter
So who gets the items? General guide is to give offensive items to archers and cavalry, defensive items to infantry, and utility items are given to those who need it. Give items that have synergy to your general's skills, like how Golden ring's chance to increase your general's morale by 50% when attacking and Laurel Crown's inspire ability is useful for generals with roar, assault and advantage.You can item swap during conquests, which can help to get lower ranks, although the fog of war lowers the value of Military Map. Also remember that the item will only work the next turn after you swapped the item.
General Ranks
(edited in the future)
Hp vs Defense
(edited in the future)
Senate
Town hall>Ampitheater>Pantheon>Library>Barracks>Colosseum/Field of Mars>Triumphal Arch> Workshop > Port
For barracks, focus on infantry mobility and defense/hp
For Colosseum, focus on cavalry attack and Mobility
For Field of Mars, focus on attack and mobility
For Port, place on your points in mobility and then 1 point in defense
(edited in the future)
Legions and forces
(edited in the future)
Infantry vs Cavalry vs Archers
Infantry is
Link: european-war-4.boards.net/thread/11253/which-best-unit-type
Weapon and Armor types
(edited in the future)
Conquests
(edited in the future)
(Other topics will be added in the future as i see fit, and from requests)
Credits:
stoic for his insight on Free to play players
andrei his great opinions on the game, inspired me to compile ideas and make this thread
Seger and Friedrich โFried Riceโ Paulus for some of the pictures i shamelessly used in this thread, and for some of the threads
and to all the other players who helped me indirectly with their ideas of the game
