Getting Started

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Unit Types
It's easy to get overwhelmed by the hundreds of different units, but in terms of battlefield role there are really only 8:
 * Heavy Cavalry: Heavily armored cavalry with Heavy Lancer, Impact Mounted, or Pistol(I) capabilities and no Shooting capabilities.
 * Medium Cavalry: Lightly armored or unarmored cavalry usually with a mix of Impact, Melee, or Shooting capabilities. Not as large movement range as Light Cavalry and not as heavily armored as Heavy Cavalry.
 * Light Cavalry: Cavalry units classified as Light Horse with large movement range, usually but not always with Shooting capabilities.
 * Line Infantry: Protected that can take cavalry charges and hold their own against other infantry. Ex: Spearmen and most Chinese infantry units in Sengoku Jidai, more or less any unit with Pike in Pike & Shot.
 * Support Infantry: Non-Protected, non-light infantry. Ex: Janissaries.
 * Skirmishers: Light Foot units that have Shooting capabilities and Evade close combat.
 * Artillery: Cannons, rockets, etc that have longe range but next to no close combat value.

Melee Combat
Melee combat holds one principle above all else: Flank, flank, flank. Formations and unit placement are critical to this; arranging your units in a line and marching them towards the enemy. On the other hand flank attacks are decisive. Even if you have a significant advantage it can take turns to grind down a unit from Steady to Disrupted to Fragmented and finally to Broken. On the other hand flank attacks drop a morale level instantly, with the impact combat often dropping them another level, meaning its quite often that a unit goes from Steady to Fragmented in the course of your turn, with Broken status being inevitable by your next turn.

It's easy to see the strategic logic. Simple and amateur as it is.

The crossbowmen are now in front, allowing them

Single-file lines are above all 'inflexible''. ''

It is easier for units to move "up" than "sideways", and what this basically means is that units in the rear rows of a multi-layered formation will be closer to the front than units on the flanks of a single-layered formation are.

You have ten units in two formations, one of a single line of 10 units, another two lines of 5 with a space in-between. In this setup, a unit is never farther than 4 spaces away (one diagonal move, two to the side, another diagonal). This is only a few turns.

The combat engine doesn't allow you to exactly replicate this tactic, but the basic idea of sacrificing the strength of your flanks for more units in the center still holds up.


 * Firepower
 * Flanking
 * Flexibility
 * Friendship: Units should never fight alone.

Entering a Forest
Combat in forests is long and indecisive.


 * Use high-quality units.