Post by Ralyks on Aug 18, 2022 21:27:59 GMT
Hi! I wanted to make a gathering of the stuff I've been finding while playing plus reading through here and reword it to make it a guide, so that everyone can have an easier time finding it detailed. I'm sure some of the stuff mentioned here will be known by you, but I'm pretty sure a bunch of other will not. The release of this guide, like for my other guides is guaranteed not to be the final, as I'll be updating it with feedback, more testing and new game content comes by. So please, feel free to contribute, its welcomed as it can make this guide better for all.
Combat
- Movement is decided at the start of the troop's round. Meaning that if you equip Alfred on this turn on a squad with a 9 movement unit and a 12 movement unit, for that round, its movement will remain 9, next rounds it'll be 12. So generals with Rapid March should be deployed ASAP, to make the most of this skill. This also applies to ships that give movement bonus. There is also another exploit with this (more useful in Conquest). Train a single Scout Cavalry (fastest troop) on cities near the frontier the turn before. You cannot move it anyway as it cannot move the turn it is created. The next turn, add 2 stronger and slower troops to it. Even though the movement will show as 9, it will still be 12 for that round, meaning you will move 33% more, often allowing for an extra tile or attack that round. These troops should accompany your tavern heroes so that they destroy the garrison and can move on without having to stop and capture the cities, as these general-less squads will do it. Or just leave it with a single scout cavalry for constant 12 movement.
- Tile movement costs from 3 to 5. Even if its a river with mountain and forest, it will still cost at most 5 movement points. Plains do cost 3, and whatever the type is, extra movement cost is added. Forests add 1, so do Rivers and Deserts, Mountain costs 2. This means a tile with mountain+forest+river, a tile with forest+river and a last one with just mountains will all cost 5. However, a squad with "Chase" skill (ignore movement bonus on forests) will see this tiles costing 5, 4 and 5 respectively, as it will only negate the corresponding forest debuff. There is no tile defensive bonus like in previous ET games for being in a forest or a mountain.
- Campaign troop levels for your troops AND your allies are whichever level you have them upgraded to. Meaning that you should focus upgrading first the troops you see on whichever mission you're stuck on, as that not only makes you perform better, but also your allies.
- War Drums: you will be stacking them since early on. They not only recover HP for the selected squad, but also raises morale (not mentioned in tooltip). Although not suggested, you can make a troop start with high morale already by using a small drum on it.
---Small Drum: heals for 30% of all the squad's max health and raises their morale by 15.
---Big Drum: heals for 70% of all the squad's max health and raises their morale by 40. - Morale is not new in ET, but here there's a different take to it. Morale will not drop by surrounding a troop, it will do so by attacking a troop. Staying within a city will raise 5 morale per turn.
---High Morale: morale value between max and 95% of max value. Final output damage increases by 20%, charge, counter, dodge and detour chance raised by 20% (needs a base value to get this raise, meaning that a Squire Cavalry will get an extra 20% to both Detour and Charge, while a Shield Pikemen will only get the 20% raise to Counter)
---Normal Morale: morale value between 50 and 95% of max value. Squad doesn't get bonuses nor penalties.
---Low Morale: morale value between 20 and 50. Final output damage -20%, charge, counter, dodge and detour chance decreased by 20% (needs a base value, min value 0)
---Shattered Morale: morale value under 20. Final output damage -40%, charge, counter, dodge and detour chance decreased by 40% (needs a base value, min value 0). Half of squad's current hp % will be lost every turn (ouch) - All troops spawn with 80/100 morale. Adding a general to it (or spawning it with a general) will raise its max morale and current morale by their morale stat value, meaning it costs the same morale points to get it to high morale but it is harder to demoralize it. You
- Displayed troop's attack value isn't its final damage output. Like in most ET games, attack damage is not fixed, attack is always within a range. Displayed value is the max value, min value is max value * 0.8, so 20% lower from max. On each attack, a random number between the range will be chosen as the attack value. Headhunting skill can guarantee the max value output for a whole turn. Final damage output formula is apparently this: attack * (troops / 133) ^ 0.5 * 75 / (75 + defense) * unit reduction * other kinds of damage bonus/reductions
- General's capability adds stats to all the troops they lead. Attack value is increased by capability points /2 and defence value by capability points /3, the capability of the type of troop. Meaning if your general has 100 cavalry and 50 infantry, any cavalry on his squad will see his attack value increased by 50 points and his defence by 33, and half of those values for any infantry in his squad.
- Since 1.8, equipable items (excluding unique weapons) have types, symbolized by a small icon. You can equip any two items on any general if the item type of these differs.
- Mixing unit types is normally recommended, with or without generals, as the "Legion effect" skills will apply to all, giving some solid resistances against certain enemy types, and all of the same unit type will have 2-3 skills identical already. There are some exceptions to this, for example Generals with passive skills that improve spear damage will be favoured by using charge cavalry or defence infantry. The other exception is if the General is using its mercenary and it has equipped his unique weapon. On this case, more than one of these troops can be even recommended.
- It costs 6 mobility to attack a unit, but even the minimum mobility will allow you to attack as well, so if you are next to the enemy and you have 7 mobility, you can attack twice. Some generals and troops have active skills which reduce mobility cost when moving or attacking. Others have to give extra mobility points. These are normally best used after the squad attacks, granting an extra attack with this new spare mobility.
- Fire and poison causes to lose 8% of all squad's max hp per turn, both last 3 turns. Fire is stuck to the place it is on, meaning avoiding the tile will avoid the damage, poison can only be cured with Medical Mastery skill. On ships, fire will be carried along your movement. The only wait to avoid the full damage is to disembark, however upon doing so, this action can't be undone like any other normal movement.
- Embarking and disembarking cost 4 mobility points. Meaning if you're next to the sea and you want to sail, you need 8 (or 9 if its a reef) mobility points to be able to move to the tile next. There's an exception, if the land tile has a port, it can be used to embark/disembark without a movement penalty.
- You can undo even if you unselect the last moved troop. This only stops if you move another troop, which will replace the focus of the undo. However, there are a few exceptions to being able to undo:
---if the move was done by auto-battle
---if the troop captured a city
---if the troop is on a ship on fire and disembarks, removing the fire
---if the troop's general used his skill
---if the troop recruited or dropped any troop
---if the troop attacked
Territory
- You get 4 silver medals and 1000 gold per attack.
- While boring and somewhat repetitive, daily rewards for the first three battles are decent, so try to get them. Still try to use all your available attacks every day, as they give silver and a few gold, but the first three are a no-brainer. If you have time, spending 50 medals to get 3 extra attacks. It offers better value than buying them directly on Sundays, even when discounted.
- Unless you want to go for the 1000 trophy season reward, avoid paying the 50 daily medals for the 3 extra battle attempts. Its not worth it as summed up its a lot of medals, that should have a better use elsewhere. And imagine paying them to end the season short of a bunch of trophies still. Aim for the 550 and 750 ones.
- If you do a cloud save before the daily reset, you can reload it to get different 25 opponents if you had very few easy ones on the current rotation.
- Normally it is better to hold still (unless the opponent is already at your side, or you're in attack range of a tower) the first turn, as this will split the aggressive and patrolling troops from the defensive ones, and also allow you to double hit some. As there's no turn limit, it is recommended to do.
- Aggressive stance will make the opponent go for you. Patrol will make it move not more than 1 tiles from its starting position, if foe retreats or is defeated, it will return to original position if no other is on range. Defensive will keep the troop static.
- Bombard tower is really strong, focus whoever is on it if there's one. Leaving the tower without a troop will leave it unusable, but if a troop of yours occupy it, you can use it to your advantage. Damage output is the same no matter how strong or weak the troop using it is.
- Leave your base easy for others if you want others to leave it easy for you. There's currently no advantage to not being attacked nor defending successfully from attacks. Lets make climbing trophies less of a hassle for everyone.
- For heraldry recommendations, check the last point on Expeditions, as this is pretty much the same.
- As of currently, if you don't like the buffs you're given to choose from, you can press cancel on your phone and reopen it and 2-3 new random privileges will show up. This doesn't work on expedition though. If you're overwhelming the foe in strength, do not bother, however if its a close fight, this may tip the edge.
Expeditions
- Medical Tent is your best friend here. It will allow you to heal between rounds, as you should not charge in, but skip turns and play defensively to allow extra healing and it will also make the fight easier, as it will split further the opposing army, leaving you to fight the faster troops first (specially guys like Aetius or Charlemagne) and later the slower troops, instead of a more compact group.
- You always get 1-2 skip tokens upon beating the 14th opponent. These should be used against the last two foes, who are also the strongest and where you reach being weakest. Feel free to try first those battles, luckily you may save one, and retreat if its going badly, as retreat has no penalty, and then use token.
- Your general's troops and their levels is decided when the expedition starts. Changing troops or improving them will not change them on the current expedition, only from the next onwards. So if you want to make some change, be sure to do it before the reset, so that it is applied for the next expedition.
- Sadly you can't use a cure on a not-fully dead general. Meaning that if a general of yours is badly damaged and you don't have tents or you have tents, but his squad number dropped to 1 or 2, consider sacrificing him fully to be able to "revive" him fully healed. Do not waste cures on medium and mediocre generals unless its the last battle (so the 18th) and you have noone better to heal.
- Once a month, a x2 will occur on two consecutive expeditions, giving double rewards.
- You can obtain skip tokens also in some rank rewards in territory every season.
- Do not autobattle here, even on early stages. Losing a single troop early because AI did throw him into the enemy will make the whole expedition harder.
- Heraldry (passive bonuses) are selectable between a list of 2 (or 3 if you bought IAP Su Dingfang) and they have a level, being this 1, 2 or 3. The higher level, the bigger bonus the privilege gives, however, there are privileges that even on lower levels than others, will be more valuable. Here, a tier list of these, colors being blue (best), green (good), yellow (mediocre) and red (bad or useless), the ones with two colors are because it depends on which buff it gives, read description of it for further info:
SELF BUFFS:
---Damage of x type of troop increased by 10/15/20%: if your most used troop or second most is the type mentioned, then go for it. Else just dodge it. Melee charging infantry and charging cavalry is the most valuable normally here, unless you play with other troop types because... reasons?
---Damage of x type of troop against x type of troop increased by 15/20/25%: worst buff, as although it provides the highest value (+25% damage) it is too specific. Unless you have plenty of that troop and the opponent. Never take for expedition though, as you don't know what you'll be facing, and there's 6 troop types, only rarely for territory battles.
---Chance of Detour/Charge/Counter/Dodge for x troop type increased by 10/15/20%: if its the stat your most used troop has, then go for it. Its useless grabbing dodge if you main charge cavalry as it will not do anything.
---Damage amplification by 10/15/20%: solid upgrade. Try to first hit always if you have it, even if that means the foe will attack twice. If you badly damage him, his double attack will do almost nothing to you (if it survives)
---Damage reduction of 10/15/20%: solid upgrade. Having it, priorize always keeping the distance on the initial clash, as it is better to be attacked once or no times and in exchange attack twice or once.
---Starting morale increased by 10/15/20: very strong one, allowing your troops to start with high morale if the value is 15 or higher, giving you a big advantage
---Morale increases for by 10 for 2/3/4 turns: very solid one, like the one above, as you can wait for morale to ramp up thanks to the no turn limit.
---Movement increased by 1 for 2/3/4 turns: can be slightly useful in Territory battle if the foe is nearby. If the foe is playing defensive or for expedition, best to avoid.
---Defense decreased by 10/15/20: a flat value, way worse than the % damage reduction. When defense numbers are over 100, adding 10 or 15 provides way less.
---Defense of x troop type increased by 10/15/20: this one is even worse normally than the previous one, unless you have full 1 troop type or almost.
---Counterattack damage increased by 15/20/25%: a weaker version of the damage amplification one, as it only works when defending, which will output always less damage as you hit back with your damaged troops instead of healthy ones, plus archers will only be counter attacked by other archers.
---(Only in Expedition) At the end of the battle, all troops will heal for 10/15/20%: not bad, but having tents and a couple of knights Hospitalier should be enough. If you don't have enough tents or knights, then go for it (green instead of yellow). Having a level 2 or 3 of this skill can also allow you to use more battle-focused gear instead of healing gear, ideally covering whichever hp is missing with some Hospitalier.
Added in 1.8:
---(Only in Territory Battle) Water damage +15/20?/25%: very situational, as there are a couple of , and even on those, its common battle occurs in land.
ENEMY DEBUFFS:
---Damage of foe's x type of troop decreased by 10/15/20%: if you could check the opponent in territory and it matches his most common or second most common troop, then go for it. For expeditions, unless its charging cavalry the type, avoid it, as its the most dangerous type while also being quite common.
---Chance of Detour/Charge/Counter/Dodge for x troop type decreased by 10/15/20%: never take this for expedition. Overall neither do so for territory battles, unless you noticed he uses plenty of the troop type that takes advantage of that stat, and there's no other green or blue upgrades.
---Damage output reduced: solid choice. Very similar to damage received decreased buff.
---Morale decreased by 10/15/20: useless. This won't do anything. At most you'll delay them getting high morale if they use Templar Knights, but that's about it.
---Foe's morale decreased by 10 for 2/3/4 turns: even though the final value is better than previous debuff, its still bad. It won't achieve nothing, as you have to morale drop over 50 points in order to just get the to low morale as they all have generals, meaning higher starting morale values.
---Foe's initial movement decreased by -2/-5/-8: pretty much useless. This will only affect on the first round, which on likely, no battle will happen, after that, its like fighting without privilege.
---Foe's movement decreased by -3 for 3/4/5 turns: really bad, 1 movement point is often meaningless, and made even worse by the fact it just lasts a bunch of turns. Avoid in both game modes. -3 one can be useful in some occasions, where the opponent's squad has 9 mobility, restricting them from a second attack, but still weak as you'll take advantage of it for a couple of turns at most.
---Foe's attack cost +1, lasts 3/4/5 turns: really bad, it will still allow for double attack if next to enemy and attack move if at one tile distance.
---Defense decreased by 10/15/20: a flat value, alike with the defense increase, when defense numbers are over 100, subtracting 10 or 15 provides way less value. If your strength is lower than 80k this is good, if you're way ahead that point, then skip this.
---Defense of x troop type decreased by 10/15/20: this one is even worse normally than the previous one, unless you have full 1 troop type or almost.
---Counterattack damage decreased by 15/20/25%: normally most hits you will do be very devastating, leaving little margin for a solid counter attack, meaning reducing this even further is not recommended, but its not bad either.
Added in 1.8:
---(Only in Territory Battle) Rampant decreased by 25/50/75%: decreases the rampant of all buildings the oponent has. It will slowly regenerate though, so if you're going with this one, which is kinda weak, to make the most of it, you're to go on the offensive.
---(Only in Territory Battle) Wonder nullification, lasts 2/3/4 rounds: wonders will not have any effect for a few rounds, there's just a couple of wonders that are quite annoying. As a rule of thumb, if you see 3 or more wonders, this skill is normally worth it, if there's less, then go for smt else.
---Enemy cannot use active skills for 4/5/6 rounds: this can be really useful or even bad. For Territory Battles, it is normally good, and better if the enemy has good skills or is very close to you, as you can abuse for more turns the fact that they can't use active skill, and once dead, that will remain the same. For expedition though, as you should play defensively, this will not only avoid heroes like Charlemagne and Aetius to split from the rest of the troops, but also it will be pretty much over by the time the fight starts, unless you decide to go for the enemy, which is more risky. For expedition, you should normally pick smt else.
Refer to this other guide for some more tips: european-war-4.boards.net/thread/18112/easy-steps-complete-expedition-f2p
Conquest
There's an in-depth guide about these here, check the tips there: european-war-4.boards.net/thread/17901/ew-7-conquests-guide
Gear
- Level 1 and 2 of every gear cost the same to equip, however always the level 3 increases the price by 1.
- Worse/common gear do get the lowest improvement upon reaching it level 3. Top/rare equipment do get the same raise or even higher upon reaching level 3. Once you get a single level 2 and a level 3 of each common war gear (ram, catapult, siege tower, Cheval, Manlet and Caltrop), the rest you should scrap it to get more parts that you can exchange for better gear. Scrap Banner Chariot after unlocking it (for the achievement).
- Parts required to raise items: 10 to level 1, 30 to level 2, 90 to level 3. Notice the big jump to level 3, so its often not worth it unless you have plenty.
- Scrap all Raider Ships after unlocking one (for the achievement), as they are bad ships. Caravel/Frigate is easily amass-able too and performs better for the gear cost. Best naval combat ship is Dromon (until late game), but it fares badly against rampant, use any with "Attacks ignore % of rampant DMG reduction" before until rampant durability is over.
- Land special gear tips: Rhinoceros, Iron Ballista and Constantine's Hammer get a solid buff at level 3, clearly worth the upgrade. Rocket Shooter, Helepolis's Cannon, Triple Bed Crossbow, Hussite Wagon and Support Wagon better to keep at level 2. Medical tent level 3 upgrade is also solid, however this is a item where quantity > quality, so rather not use 90 parts for a level 3. Orban and Steyr cannons are both worth to get getting to level 3, but considering how rare and expensive they are and how costly level 3 is, normally keep at level 2. Iron Ballista gets an interesting bonus at level 3, but only horse archers have dodge, and they are rare to see, so its better to keep it at 2 as it only gets this bonus.
- Naval special gear tips: all not really worth upgrading to level 3 except Venetian Galleass, although GL with getting that badass to level 3.
- Focus first on getting better land gear first, as most campaign missions, conquests, territory and expedition happens in land, making them more valuable.
- To be able to exchange parts for a specific war gear shards, you need to have at least one shard of it.
- List is ordered by offensive gear, defensive gear and last, ships. It will also follow a gear price order within each group, with the exception of offensive, that I give preference to similar gear grouping.
- Everything can be bought with either Coins (more basic) or Silver (advanced gear), with the exception of Hussite Wagon.
- No ship has any anti-rampant bonus on level one. Most of the advanced ones get it on level 2 (with the exception of the Viking and Zebec), and then Venetian which only gets it on level 3.
- There is no exception on when a level 3 item costs 1 technology more than level 1 and 2.
- Shards can also be sold for parts. The amount of parts you get per shard is their "Parts Price" value divided by 5.
- Those with a "Yes" in "Worth buying" column are both the best values IMO for late game, meaning not only to buy them when they show up, but also exchange your parts for them.
- I replaced all "No" for empty spaces, as it made the Yes (which are the important ones) more visible. Its not that I forgot filling those haha
**: While the upgrade is worth it, the value for these items at level 2 is still very big, meaning only upgrade if you have at least a few other level 2 left over.
| Gear | Cost | Silver Price | Coin Price | Parts Price | One lvl 2 > Three lvl 1? | One lvl 3 > Three lvl 2? | Worth buying? | Tips |
| Battering Ram | 2 | 5000 | 5 | Yes | Weak siege, but its the cheapest siege equipment. For level 2 and 3, infantry take prio. | |||
| Rhinoceros | 3 | 4 | 125 | Yes | Siege with anti-infantry bonus. Tier 3 gets a nice -1 attack cost bonus, allowing some troops to do an extra attack or to move after attacking. | |||
| Catapult | 3 | 6000 | 20 | Yes | Decent siege. For level 2 and 3, cavalry should take prio. | |||
| Constantine Hammer | 4 | 6 | 80 | Slight Yes | Siege with anti-cavalry bonus. Tier 3 gets a nice +1 movement point, which can allow an extra tile or now attack when reaching one. Beware this extra movement point wont be applied the turn it is equipped. | |||
| Siege Tower | 3 | 5000 | 20 | Yes | Good siege. For level 2 and 3, archers should take prio. | |||
| Rocket Shooter | 3 | 6 | 125 | Use only when on a siege, the defenders are strong units and the siege will last for a few turns. Remember that the fire caused will also damage you after. Avoid using this gear in most cases. | ||||
| Ballista | 3 | 7500 | 45 | Yes | Low value for the technology cost. Prio for archers on level 2 and 3. If against rampant, use Siege Tower isntead or full rampant focused gear. | |||
| Iron Ballista | 4 | 5 | 80 | No | Slight Yes | A more unit-damaging focused Siege Tower. Lvl 3 adds some value when fighting horse archers as ranged yourself, but at a hefty 5 tecnology price, again, not worth. | ||
| Triple Bed Crossbow | 4 | 8 | 180 | Yes | Slight Yes | A far better version of the ballista. Use only on full infantry, full cavalry or mixed. No anti-rampant damage though, use ram/catapult instead for those. | ||
| Helepolis Cannon | 3 | 6 | 80 | Fully blocks the rampant from regenerating that is useful to avoid the first hit every turn hit rampant. It also has some anti-ship damage, but when fighting ship, equip this to archers, as else only the front unit within the ship is likely to receive damage, specially on counterattacks. | ||||
| Steyr Cannon | 4 | 7 | 125 | Yes | Slight Yes | This trades blows with Constantine Hammer, but way harder to get. | ||
| Orban Cannon | 4 | 10 | 180 | Slight Yes | Yes** | Yes | Best siege gear by far. Give this to your highest hitting unit when sieging and it'll crush the city and its defenders like nothing. | |
| Cheval de Frise | 2 | 7500 | 45 | Yes | Slight Yes | Use when fighting many cavalry. Level 2 and 3 also add anti-charge value. | ||
| Manlet | 2 | 7500 | 45 | Yes | Use when fighting many archers. If spare technology, give defensive gear at the end of the turn to your troops. | |||
| Hussite Wagon | 4 | 180 | Yes | Yes | When you know some troop is going to be heavily attacked, specially by ranged damage. This item needs a rework, as it only protects against ranged with a massive movement drawback. | |||
| Caltrop | 2 | 7500 | 45 | Yes | Use when fighting many infantry. | |||
| Banner Chariot | 3 | 5000 | 20 | Slight Yes | Slight Yes | Use when you are going to be attacked by many different troop types (ideally while in a fortress/city). Works better on archer+counter defense squads. More value on desert and snow, but overall weak niche gear. | ||
| Support Wagon | 3 | 17500 | 125 | Weak healing item. Its level 2 and 3 are weak improvements, mostly works against ranged and defence infantry, but not very impactful. | ||||
| Medical Tent | 5 | 7 | 180 | Slight Yes | Yes** | Yes | Best item ingame. Level 3 increases healing by 50%, but y, that's 90 tent shards, so rather stay with many lvl 1 and 2. Equip lvl 2 and 3 on melee troops, lvl 1 on ranged. | |
| Raider Ship | 2 | 5000 | 15 | Yes | Avoid and sell for parts. Use either better ships or the equally priced but better Caravel. | |||
| Caravel | 2 | 7500 | 20 | Slight Yes | Best 2 cost ship. Do never upgrade to level 3 as its only advantage is its cheap value, 50% price increase for almost no upgrade not worth. | |||
| Frigate | 3 | 8500 | 45 | Avoid and sell. Use Schibeci, Galleon or Manila Galleon. | ||||
| Schibeci Warhip | 3 | 3 | 45 | Slight Yes | Yes | A solid 3 technology ship. They are far cheaper than Manila too, but also weaker. | ||
| Galleon | 3 | 10000 | 80 | Yes | Weak 3 technology ship. Its not bad per se, but the other two options here are far better. | |||
| Manila Galleon | 3 | 5 | 125 | Yes | Yes | Best 3 technology ship. Outclasses most higher class ships as well. Level 2 is the sweet spot as it gets the whooping 40% against rampant, but his level 1 and 3 are very solid. | ||
| Wave breaking Warship | 4 | 4 | 80 | Yes | Okeish ship, decent damage boost and the +1 mobility. It falls down slightly on level 2 and 3, but still remains decent. | |||
| Artillery Warship | 4 | 4 | 125 | Yes | Mediocre ship for a 4 gear cost. At level 4 it gets a nice 40% (which others also get) but its sea performance is too bad for its price. Substitute these for Carracks or Manilas asap. | |||
| Zebec Warship | 4 | 7 | 125 | Slight Yes | Kinda overpriced, for a rarely used gimmick (reefs). Its a slightly better Viking Longship, as it can defend itself better on sea while also giving a land unit bonus. No rampant bonus tho. | |||
| Viking Longship | 4 | 6 | 125 | Slight Yes | Mobility king. It will also fare well against land units, but struggle against most ships, which is bad for its high price. Also no rampant bonus. | |||
| Dromon | 4 | 6 | 125 | Slight Yes | Really solid specially against units. But this ship heavily struggles when the enemy is protected by rampant. | |||
| Carrack Warship | 4 | 7 | 180 | Yes | Yes | Best ship in the game. Its the only clear upgrade to Manilla Galleon for an extra gear cost. | ||
| Venetian Galleass | 4 | 8 | 180 | No | Yes | Its level 1 and 2 are kinda mediocre for its price. Level 3 changes it, making it one of the strongest, being a morale focused version of the Carrack. |
Mercenaries
- Focus on raising a single (or couple at most) of troops from each troop type. Meaning you will not only have more resources to spend on those troops (and raids), but also more of those troops, as you can sell shards for soul of war, which you can then exchange for whichever troop you use.
- Some unit types counter another, and some do resist better another, except for both archer types. Interesting to note that melee cavalry does extra damage to ranged cavalry and ranged cavalry also does bonus damage against melee cavalry. Best current mercenaries to spend resources on:
---All the Chinese tier 6 troops added on last patch (some of them are absurd)
---Melee Infantry (counters & resists archers): Varangian Guard (all infantry gens should have these), runner up Janissary
---Defense Infantry (counters & resists charge cavalry): Swiss Halberdier, runner up Heavy Phalanx Pikemen
---Melee Cavalry (counters ranged cavalry, resists melee infantry): Knights Hospitalier (no brainer, free extra support wagon for the troop AND all troops 1 tile from it, very solid. Don't focus on raising it much as the key skill is the healing passive. Have at most 1 per squad of these), runner up Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, Teutonic Knight & War Elephant
---Charging Cavalry (counters & resists melee infantry): Knights Templar (hard to amass without buying IAP Richard) and Winged Hussar (hard to amass too), runner up Cataphract & Noble Cavalry
---Ranged Infantry (counters defense infantry and melee cavalry): Conquistadors, runner up Dragoon (IAP locked) & Woad Raider (great skill, and really easy to amass, but falls off late game)
---Ranged Cavalry (counters defense infantry and melee cavalry): Mamluk Archers (super strong against other archers and hard hitting against others, protect him from charging cavalry and melee infantry), runner up Mongolian Raiders (improved version of Woad Raider, but harder to level up). Their built-in dodge makes them very solid against other horse archers and archers. - Unit skills can be improved, as they show green values in many of these numbers, but only the first skill can currently be improved (its the bonus damage one), these improve at troop level 6 and again at 12, becoming red and yellow respectively.
- Three troops can receive "transfer" currently: Two Handed Swordsmen, Knights Templar and Longbowmen. It is pricey though, and its not a solid improvement, rather move around stat points and change one skill (longbowmen skills remain fixed though). IMO only the Swordsmen one is a clear upgrade, the other is just a switch, so paying gold, shards and Mercenary Orders is not worth it RN, better to keep upgrading troops instead. More should be added and hopefully they also buff the current ones, as the incentive to pay the high price is little to none.
- There are 4 special stats besides the hp, attack, defense, movement and population cost, these are:
---Detour: adapters of this bonus are Melee Cavalry and Melee Infantry. This allows to hit backline enemies instead of only the frontline. These units are normally foot and mounted archers, targets which both of these detour users have damage bonus against.
---Charge: adapters of this bonus are Charge Cavalry and Melee Cavalry (these with lower %), with a few Melee Infantry also having. These gives a chance to deal also damage to all troops in the squad.
---Counter: adapters of this bonus are exclusively defense infantry. This adds a chance that while counterattacking, each troop with counter will also hit back all enemies (except ranged).
---Dodge: adapters of this bonus are Ranged Cavalry, with a few extra troops like the Fire Longbowmen, Jannissary and Zhuge Batallion. This gives a chance to completely nullify ranged damage, both when attacking and defending. - To be able to exchange soul of war for a specific troop shards, you have to first have at least one shard of it.
Raids
- Raids can be done on hero legends you fully cleared, both on Normal and Hard. Hard cost double the tickets, but they're normally worth it. Most value are the ones that give a high tier units.
- Tickets can be purchased on the Advanced Shop (one for free, and one with purchase, both once a day) and also obtained in Expeditions (on stage 3 though (14-20)). Empress Matilda IAP purchase also grants 2 extra tickets daily.
- Up to 3 tickets can be used on a same raid each day.
Shops
Normal Shop- Unless you bought the Advanced Rewards in Proof of Honor or you're very active with daily tasks (these give a bunch of gold and medals on the long run), do not buy all the items here. Guide of items priorities on this shop follows below.
- Grey items are the best stuff for gold here. Mithril, Blueprint and Mercenary Order being the most valuable. Scarecrow, Heraldry and drums being second to best. Least useful/important items being Quintain, Target and Seal, which you'll amass even without buying them.
- If you have plenty of gold, feel free to buy the "We have Medical Tent at home" version Support Wagon, if not, don't bother. It is expensive and its not as good as Medical Tent, and sadly its tier 3 upgrade doesn't increase the life healed like it does for the "big bro".
- Buy only the troops you use the most when they show up. Troops are relatively expensive, and buying for not using will doom you later on with lacking gold. Best troop purchases that show up here are Varangian Guard
- Green items will restock on every refresh (6h since opening the store). Again, get the . You can also sell these when you don't need them, or the worse ones when you get better ones instead. They will give back 1/5 of the price the shop lists them for. Green items
- Blue items can only be bought once, meaning once bought, they won't reappear. Get only the most expensive ones. Alike with green items, you can also sell these, but beware because these will also sell for gold, not for medals, even though it costed medals to buy them. Its not an efficient way to trade medals for gold, if you want to do so, do it on the Advanced Shop, as its more profitable (still not suggested though)
- Paying 50 gems will refresh the shop and the timer back to 6h. Doing this will also affect Territory Shop.
Advanced Shop
- Grab the daily free pack here.
- Do not buy these until a sale happens. This is the only shop that gets discounts around once per month for 2-5 days each. These discounts get up to 50%, depending on the product. Unless you're a whale and care little, waiting for the sale and buying there is the way to get the most of your medals, as there's no limit on how many purchases you can do like there is on the normal shop. Mercenary Order and Blueprints are the best purchases here, which also get the highest discounts. If you see a top troop you use often while on discount, consider it buying it too. My last recommended purchase is Mithril.
- Items off this shop are mostly constant, with the exception of war gear, troops and gems, which will vary each day. ALL PRICES BELOW ARE FOR 10 ITEMS EACH, as all are sold in packs. Discounts (when they occur) go for 10% up to 50%, and they are fixed depending on the product it is:
---Troops in the shop do cycle depending the day of the week. It shows up 3 troops daily (with the exception of Sunday) and their price depends on their tier mostly. Discount for troops is a 10% when a sale occurs. Prices shown below are without the discount:
------Monday: Varangian Guards 2000, Longbowmen 2100, Imperial Bow Cavalry 2250, Janissary 2250
------Tuesday: Genoese Shielded Crossbowmen 2100, Mamluk Archers 2250, Cataphracts 1800, Sultan Musketeer Guards 2250
------Wednesday: War Elephant 1800, Nordic Heavy Axemen 1800, Modao Batallion 2350, Dragoon 2400
------Thursday: Knights Hospitalier 2400, Knights of the Holy Sepulcre 2250, Hengdao Batallion 2350, Balkan Heavy Cavalry 2250, Western Liao Heavy Cavalry 2250
------Friday: Teutonic Knights 2400, Boyar Cavalry 2250, Black Armored Guards 2400, Knights of the Garter 2250, Winged Hussars 2400
------Saturday: Two Handed Swordmen 1500, Mongolian Raiders 2250, Khesig 2250, Zhuge Battalion 2400, Swiss Halberdiers 2100, Khesigs 2250
------Sunday: Knights Templar 2400, Jet Black Armor Cavalry 2400, Klibanophoros 2250, Gendarme Knights 2400, Sipahis Heavy Cavalry 2250, Conquistadors 2400
---War gear available is also depending on the day of the week. Discount is slightly higher, at 20% when a sale occurs:
------Monday none, Tuesday Carrack Warship 900, Wednesday Viking Longship 900 + Orban Cannon 1100, Thursday Constantine Hammer 700, Friday Rhinoceros 500, Saturday Dromon 1000, Sunday Medical Tent 1000
---Gems follow a cyclic order, putting prices and day it shows up below. Discounts here are of 30% for all of gems. Gems sold here are always level 1 (but like most items, in packs of 10, meaning each pack is a Tier3 gem and a Tier1)
------Monday morale (teal) 750, Tuesday infantry damage (blue) 750, Wednesday cavalry damage (purple) 750, Thursday archer damage (yellow) 750, Friday administration (white) 750, Saturday damage reduction (green) 1000, Sunday damage increase (red) 1200
---Eagle coins can be bought on Sunday for 100 medals. When discounted, it is done by only a 10%
From here onwards are always available at the store, doesn't matter the day of the week like for the ones above:
---Gold is always available, 100000 for 450 medals. Not very worth, but the best way to trade medals for gold if you desperately need. Wait until sale for a 20% discount.
---War drums are always available. Small one costs 125 and giant costs 225, and discounts are 40% and 30% respectively when on sale.
---General's upgrade equipment (Heraldry and Seal) cost 285. When discounted, price drops by 20%.
---Unique weapons upgrade item Mithril costs 550, and 440 when sale occurs due to the 20% it gets.
---Normal troops upgrading items (Scarecrow, Quintain and Target) each cost 225. Discount for all three is 40%.
---Summoning items (Mercenary Orders and Blueprints) cost 350 and 200 respectively. When discounted, they do get the highest discount, being this 50%.
---Compasses can be bought in also packs of 10 for 200 medals. When discounted, price falls by .
My personal suggestion is to spam buy Mercenary Orders with some Blueprints when a sale occurs, its even more worth than buying directly the troop, even without considering discounts. - Even though you get a x2 on your first medal purchase, it is way more valuable buying Richard/Saladin/Proof of Honor, so don't be fooled. Sucks that only direct medal purchases are the ones to unlock the "buy medals" achievements, but even considering those, its far less worth still.
- With update 2.0, they did give some coupons. This give a 10% discount on whichever purchase of this shop. They can be used even on sale period. Suggestion is to use them on more pricier units, like troops, as this way you'll make each coupon worth the most medals.
IMPORTANT: a single ticket is used on a purchase, doesn't matter the amount bought, and the discount applies to all items bought. Meaning its far better to buy 100 Templars than 10 times 10 Templars, as it will be the same end price but you will use a single coupon instead of 10.
Territory Shop
- Lower level gems are more valuable than higher level ones. It is better to have 3 level 2 than 1 level 2, as you can upgrade them for free whenever you need and it costs the same amount of silver (8 for level 1, 24 for level 2 and 72 for level 3).
---Prices for lvl 1 gems: morale (teal) 8, infantry capability (blue) 8, cavalry capability (purple) 8, archer capability (yellow) 8, administration (white) 8, damage reduction (green) 10, damage increase (red) 12 - Prioritize infantry/cavalry/ranged capability gems, then damage increase and damage reduction ones, last morale and administration ones. These last two I would suggest not even buying, as you'll need them the least and you'll still get some from expeditions, raids and achievements.
- Buy shards of top tier troops you use if they show up here.
- This shop resets every 6h like normal shop, and the timer starts at the same time normal shop does, whenever either is opened.
- Purple equipment on this shop have a gem slot that can be unlocked by paying 15000 gold. You cannot get any combination, but its some free extra stats of your preference.
- Golden equipment on this shop have two gem slots that can be unlocked by paying 22000 gold. This is enough to get even an extra skill.
--Note about 5 and 6. These gems do not combine in any way with the ones in the Unique Weapon, nor between them. The combinations are only possible within the same item. - Paying 50 gems will refresh the shop and the timer back to 6h. Doing this will also affect Normal Shop.
Recruit
This is the core way to obtain shards, both for troops and items, the other main one being rewards from campaign. You can also obtain some purchasing from the three different shops, through achievements or in territory/expedition, but the gains on these are fewer. However, here there's two extras, whenever you do a x10 pull, you will be guaranteed "Advanced" shard, so always go for these, and thus avoid single pulls. The rates for the remaining 9 items will remain 50% for normal (AKA crap), 40% for medium and 10% for advanced. But on practice, I did get way less crap than I should do, so I don't think these rates are correct. Also, each 25 pulls you will be given an extra gift, which is preset and follows this order:
For unit (once the cycle is over, it will start again from the start):
--5 Legion brigade
--5 Scottish spearmen
--5 Woad raider
--5 Heavy Armoured Assault cavalry
--200 Souls + 5 Heavy Lance cavalry
--5 Heavy Phalanx
--5 Camel Rider
--5 Frank Axemen
--5 Garrison Spearmen
--200 Souls + 5 Heavy Phalanx
--5 Two Handed Swordsmen
--5 Camel Archers
--5 Legion Spearmen
--5 Viking Raiders
--200 Souls + 15 Rough Stones
--5 Legion brigade
--5 Scottish spearmen
--5 Woad raider
--5 Heavy Armoured Assault cavalry
--200 Souls + 5 Heavy Lance cavalry
--5 Heavy Phalanx
--5 Camel Rider
--5 Frank Axemen
--5 Garrison Spearmen
--200 Souls + 5 Heavy Phalanx
--5 Two Handed Swordsmen
--5 Camel Archers
--5 Legion Spearmen
--5 Viking Raiders
--200 Souls + 15 Rough Stones
For items (same behaviour as for troops):
--5 Cheval de Frise (defense against cavalry)
--5 Frigate (ship)
--5 Caltrop (defense against infantry)
--200 Parts + 5 Manlet (defense against archers)
--5 Battering ram (bonus against rampant, lvl 2 and 3 also give bonus damage for infantry)
--5 Caravel (ship)
--5 Banner Chariot (morale not dropping, lvl 2 increases counter attack damage and lvl 3 increases morale passively by 1/turn)
--5 Catapult (bonus against rampant, lvl 2 and 3 also give bonus damage for cavalry)
--5 Siege Tower (bonus against rampant, lvl 2 and 3 also give bonus damage for ranged)
--200 parts + 5 Raider Ship
--5 Frigate (ship)
--5 Caltrop (defense against infantry)
--200 Parts + 5 Manlet (defense against archers)
--5 Battering ram (bonus against rampant, lvl 2 and 3 also give bonus damage for infantry)
--5 Caravel (ship)
--5 Banner Chariot (morale not dropping, lvl 2 increases counter attack damage and lvl 3 increases morale passively by 1/turn)
--5 Catapult (bonus against rampant, lvl 2 and 3 also give bonus damage for cavalry)
--5 Siege Tower (bonus against rampant, lvl 2 and 3 also give bonus damage for ranged)
--200 parts + 5 Raider Ship
Gem Inlay Combinations
These do provide bonus skills that will only work if your hero doesn't have them yet. At least 2 are needed for a combination to be done, meaning only can be achieved on Golden items and Unique Weapons (using gems on Unique Weapons that are not the owner of such weapon will have no penalty, meaning full stat points and ability from gemming will be added fully). Like for everything here, there are better ones and almost useless ones, so I'll be rating them (not only the skill, but the rune stats for the troop type) - IMPORTANT: remember that if your hero already has the skill, it will not benefit at all from the combination:
S tier:
Cavalry: Rapid March (shame it has a cavalry stone and is not fully denfese/offense increase, this makes it only shine with cav, as its also the fastest), Cavalry Tactician, Polearm Mastery (for charge cavalry enthusiasts, also works with defense infantry, but less value)
Infantry: Infantry Tactician, Master Swordman (melee infantry (and maybe melee cavalry) squads)
Ranged: Ranged Tactician, Master Shooter
Infantry: Infantry Tactician, Master Swordman (melee infantry (and maybe melee cavalry) squads)
Ranged: Ranged Tactician, Master Shooter
Consul: Lobbyist (if you dont have Justinian, whoever you put as consul, this is a really useful skill, but this is worse than Justinian, as its capped at lvl 1 and not 2)
Note to S tier: Here, although it will normally not work for Campaign and Conquest, as it is more common to use normal troops and not mercenary troops. However, in many cases I don't think it should be on top tier, as either the gem combination is often odd (normally only 1 gem is of the type of the troop, another being another type of troop and last either administration or morale, and top tier troops require high lvl gems, which are harder to get), but still A tier, so worth getting if you're using that troop. Having more than one of this troop will not stack this buff though, it will remain at 5%.
A tier:
Cavalry: Master Learner, Plains Commander (its not top tier because of the crap gem combination, some more red or green here would've make it S), Melee Cavalry Expert (smaller bonus (4 instead of 5%) and only for melee cavalry, not all cavalry), Charging Cavalry Expert, Master Swordsman (melee cavalry mostly, feel free to combine with melee infantry)
Infantry: Underdog strategy, Plains Commander, Forest Commander, Rapid March (specially useful if general is Infantry+Cavalry, for cavalry bonus and cavalry mobility), Melee Infantry Expert, Defense Infantry Expert, Master of Assault (mostly for the x2/x3 Varangian squads, shame it uses a yellow gem), Polearm Mastery (very solid if using defense inf and charge cav)
Ranged: Underdog strategy, Plains Commander, Master Commander (useless on Territory/Expedition though, but can prove important for generals which are normally on the lead and restocking them cheaper), Rapid March (specially useful if general is Ranged+Cavalry)
B tier:
Cavalry: Underdog strategy, Forest Commander, Swamp Commander (niche, but it can prove useful to allow cavalry to charge in the few swamp scenarios)
Infantry: Master Learner, Leadership, Siege Master
Ranged: Master Learner, Siege Master
Infantry: Master Learner, Leadership, Siege Master
Ranged: Master Learner, Siege Master
Consul: Logistics, Goodwill Ambassador
If its below B tier, my take is to instead of trying to do some combination, just add the gems that the general suits most (for example, full cavalry general having 3 purple stones or 2 purples and 1 red)
Important: if a skill combination requires two/three gems of x level, if you use at least x+2 lvl gems, the skill obtained will have its value doubled. For example, if the skill requires three lvl 2 gems, using three lvl 4 gems will give you double the bonus. However:
---upping the required gem level by 4 will not work again giving you a x3 of the bonus. This is capped at x2 with 2 levels up.
---skills that cannot be upgraded will not gain this bonus. Example of these are terrain damage bonuses, fire fighting (anti-fire skill), discipline (detain and surrender immune), intelligence expert (interception immune), etc.
---skills that cannot be upgraded will not gain this bonus. Example of these are terrain damage bonuses, fire fighting (anti-fire skill), discipline (detain and surrender immune), intelligence expert (interception immune), etc.
---average doesn't work. Meaning if it requires two level 1 gems, using one level 4 and a level 2 will not work, you need two level 3
Max Gem level as of version 1.8 is 5. Having three lvl 5 gems will not allow you to combine them.
Unique Weapons and Runes
- You can give any unique weapon to any hero. However, if its not the real owner of the weapon, stat bonuses will be halved AND skill bonuses do not apply even if your general's skills matches the one from the weapon.
- All IAPs do get their unique weapon without having to pay extra, but you have to unlock it. If you are not planning to buy those IAPs, give these weapons to generals which don't have or you lack the weapon of, as it still gives some bonus stats. Consider raising these to level 3, as its cheap, helps out for the unique weapon upgrades achievement and offers some extra stats.
- Level 7 is the sweet spot for these, as price keeps raising with every upgrade. If you plan to use more than 1 of the corresponding mercenary troop, you may consider raising to level 9. Raising from level 9 to 10 costs 9 times more than from 1 to 2, and provides the same bonus stats. But beware the next point.
- To unlock rune engraving on weapon you must pay 25000 gold. The first 2 slots will be unlocked, with the third one only unlocking at when weapon hits level 10. If you can inlay a good combination of runes that take advantage of the three slots, it is the best moment to upgrade. If you start accumulating gems, you can either upgrade them further (which also reduces their value, as 3 tier 1 runes provide 4 bonus points each, while 1 level 2 provides only 8) or upgrade your heroes if you have the Mithril to be able to give them an extra gem for a few extra stat points. If you have the spare Mithril, then upgrade even if you don't have good rune combinations.
- Inlay combinations can be done with higher level runes, but not lower. Meaning if you need 3 level 2 ranged runes, you can use a level 4, 3 and 2 and it will also give the inlay bonus (along with more stats), but lower tier runes don't work.
- You can merge for free 3 of the same level and type runes to get a higher level one. However, stats only double instead of triple, meaning 3 level 2 runes are more valuable than 1 level 3 rune, not only stat-wise, but it also allows for more combinations.
- Runes can be equipped and unequipped for free. Surprising but welcomed.
General's Purchase Path (Tier List)
- This is a suggested guide, so bear it with a grain of salt. It is considered their potential, their possibility of getting their unique weapon and to a lesser extent, their unique troop. For highest priority, also get a balanced team, meaning dont get 3 cavalry while you have 0 infantry and ranged top gens.
- Tier list:
--S: Alfred (cav), Roland (cav), Alexander Nevesky (cav), Cnut (infantry), Basil II (infantry), Robert the Bruce (infantry), El Cid (ranged) and Timur (ranged). Grab also Justinian if you're going to start with Conquests, and max on him administration.
--A: Li Jing (cav), Edward I (cav), John I (cav), Frederick I (cav), Gao Xianzhi (cav), Baldwin IV (cav), Beowulf (infantry), Belisarios (infantry), Subutai (ranged) and Nur Din (ranged). Again, for conquests, grab also Theodora, she should be kept on the capital's province along with Justinian (who should also be Consul) in order to provide the v useful Bond bonus
--B: Alexios I (cav), Yelu Dashi (cav), Khalid (cav), Harald (infantry), Narses (infantry+ranged) and Jebe (cav-ranged)
--C and under: rest. Avoid buying.
Real Money Purchase Recommendations
- Best single purchase is Proof of Honor. The amount of rewards (and its variety) this gives is huge, and it was already extended three times, and I would bet a fourth one will be its last.
- Second to best are:
---Richard I: one of the strongest units of the game, a free bonus pack (with a skin), 75 daily medals and one generous and easy Hero Legend. He is on the podium of cavalry generals as well, and he does specially well thanks to his unique troop. Has skin which improves his disable skill to be on 3 targets.
---Charlemagne: solid unit (specially due to its area heal), and two very good bonuses. The latter will allow you to get more PoH rewards and also reach higher levels, which are very hard to achieve currently. Has skin which makes him the most mobile troop by far, with some aura buffs for nearby troops.
---Saladin: very strong unit, three very good bonuses. The second one will allow you to reach 1000 trophies every season without having to spend medals, and the last is decent (valued as 50 medals). As a general he doesn't shine much, but he is still solid. Big plus is that its really cheap compared to most other IAPs.
---Su Dingfang: likely the strongest defence infantry troop, a very useless first bonus (+1 option to choose from in heraldry, which is also higher level), but a decent second bonus (allows you to basically do full expeditions just with coins). He is very solid as well, his active is specially deadly against the IA. Along Richard, he also comes in with a bonus pack, which is very generous.
---Edward the Black Prince: barely makes it to this tier, but his privileges and low price makes him a good option (specially the gem inlay one). Getting Knights of the Gartier with him is very meh, but he is quite solid. - Empress Matilda, Joan of Arc, Otto I (has bonus pack), Arthur (has bonus pack).
- Olga, William Wallace, Genghis.
- Medal purchases. Although the first one you get a x2 on the first one, as well as unique achievements, its still the worst deal for the money. Obviously its the fastest way to whale. If you dont care for price, then do the most expensive first, as you'll get the most of the first x2. Spending very little to get Robin Hood isnt worth it either, as he is average and his unique weapon is behind a bigger paywall. Discount packs (available in advanced shop) should be better than medal purchases, but considering the initial x2 and medal purchasing achievements, I grouped them here.
Other
- This is the first ET game in which in Notice, they send you some rewards. Claim them on the envelope in the right of the main menu.
- Set game speed to max in settings, its still not fast but at least its better. You still have the skip to make it extra faster when needed.
- Generals have currently 3 slots, one reserved for unique weapon and two for items. These two other slots must have different item types, meaning that if you give the +20 blue administration item (Dazzling Crown), the other item cannot be an administration item, no matter if its green or blue. Territory items seem to be an exception, as they don't offer a single stat boost, thus not giving any restrictions.
- You can check ALL of the achievements' rewards and requirements for a certain type (for example, for upgrading unique weapons) by clicking it. Also works for territory achievements.
