Empire total war all units sweden. Diplomacy in Empire Total War. Tips for use. From Liverpool harbor

Many are convinced that it is difficult to conquer the world in Empire: Total War. In fact, this is quite an achievable goal if you choose the right strategy, plan well and enter into promising alliances. In this article, you will learn how to become the most feared emperor by progressing in the "Main Campaign" mode.

Steps

Resource Creation

1. Create a new campaign. State selection is vital to winning the game. If you want to get ahead at the start, Great Britain is the best choice, because this country is located on an island and has a large naval power.

   • This empire on the island will remain intact until the enemy state can build strong battleships.

2. Make trade agreements and alliances. Early trade agreements and alliances will give you an advantage in the game. This will increase your annual income and strengthen your relationship with the state with which you want to cooperate.

   • There is a chance that your ally will terminate the agreement, so it is better to use it while the opportunity exists.
   • Build trading ports. The more trading ports you have, the more trading partners you will have.
   • You can trade with neighboring countries by land.
   • If you're playing as the UK, you'll need to have a trading port for your exports and resources from a trading partner.
   • Piracy is a good way to reduce your opponent's resources. To do this, block the enemy's trade route with your brig.

3. Upgrade farms and production. The development of the economy requires the construction and modernization of farms, as well as the production of fur, cotton, sugar and coffee.

   • Don't forget to destroy church schools and replace them with universities so that you can do research. Research is carried out at universities. The better you upgrade the universities and fill them with nobles, the faster the research will be.
   • If you have multiple universities, you can research different technologies at the same time.
   • Universities cannot team up to research the same technology.
   • Researching a new technology costs a certain amount of research points. Research points are produced by universities per turn. The higher the level of your university, the more points it produces.
   • Nobles also provide points and reduce the time it takes to complete research, so try to place your nobles inside the university to get this bonus.

   Build strong naval and army units

   1. Improve technology. In order to get stronger units, research military technologies such as Attach Bayonet, Ring Bayonet, Formations, etc. Your soldiers will become stronger on the battlefield.

      • By researching on the Troops tab, your units will receive new and improved weapons, as well as drilling barracks that will provide access to more powerful soldiers.
      • The same goes for naval development. In addition to fast-paced buildings and cheaper ships, highly advanced naval technology increases your battleship's range of motion, allowing you to move much faster.
      • Cannon explosives can be upgraded.
      • A high level of naval development gives greater accuracy when using ship cannons.
      • Army units can be loaded onto ships. This allows you to conquer the lands across the ocean, just make sure you have enough soldiers to invade the capital.

   2. Help your allies. Once you have a stable economy and strong units, feel free to help your allies when they ask for help. This will strengthen your relationship and also give you a chance to conquer new lands.

      • Allies can help you invade other countries.
      • To wage war against a specific state, click on the "Diplomatic Relations" icon, and then find the name of the country in the list and click on it. Make sure your future enemy is not part of your allied group to prevent this peace agreement from being broken. Now click on the "Open Negotiations" window and then "Declare War".
      • If you declare war on your ally, the alliance will automatically be terminated.
      • If you have declared war on the same enemy that an allied state is fighting, you can ask him for help. This is useful in suppressing states that constantly come across in your path.
      • If you reject an ally's request for help, he can (if he wants) cancel your alliance.
      • By helping an ally defeat an enemy state, you increase the chance of obtaining new lands. With their military help, there is no need to send many troops to capture the city.

   3. Use the fortress garrison. The fortress garrison has a zone of control, which acts in the same way as an army unit. This makes forts ideal for guarding some of the places that enemy units will try to take over in order to get inside.

      • By stationing your unit in a fort, you greatly increase the defense, giving you enough time to call in reinforcements to quell the invaders.
      • With the help of generals or admirals, you can hire units directly.

   Command and Conquer

   1. Plan ahead. Plan which state to deal with first. Make sure that this state is close to your main city and within reach or close to your ally.

      • Most players choose to target nations that are already in the war. Joining the fight is a little shameless, but it is a very good strategy.
      • In the "Diplomatic Relations" window, you can see the status of each state and their relationship with other states.
      • Find a state that you can choose as a common enemy, and then form alliances with those who you think can provide assistance during an attack.
      • Create enough units, call or recruit elite, and then move the army closer to your target.
      • When the troops gather right at the border of your target, open the Diplomatic Relations window to declare war or simply invade their territory.
      • A window will appear asking if you want to ask your allies for help. Remember to only select those that are close to you so they can quickly provide reinforcements.

   2. Penetrate new lands. Taking over Europe is just the beginning. Use your strong navy, load your army on it and scout the other part of the world.

      • Conquering America is much better than conquering India, as America has a lot of resources and trading ports that will come in handy.
      • If you're playing as the UK, you can start conquering America from your base in Nassau and Port Royal. If the thirteen colonies are still under your protection, you can request their help in conquering the Indian tribes.
      • You will have to fight France if you attack her; but better try to avoid unnecessary confrontation until you subdue the Native Americans.

   3. Build and expand. After sending troops to America and capturing the city of Native Americans, build and expand your empire. Upgrade resources, upgrade drill barracks, and call on soldiers to deploy in newly conquered lands to defend against any invaders.

      • The newly captured city will have a very unstable economy due to the dissatisfaction of the inhabitants.
      • Whenever you annex or capture a city, the happiness of the inhabitants will drop dramatically. There will be uprisings, protests and other manifestations of discontent. To deal with this, attack any rebels that appear near the captured city.
      • After capturing the city, do not forget to repair it. The city must be in good condition in order to modernize it and call on more soldiers.
      • Free the area from taxes, if necessary - this will increase the happiness of the inhabitants. When they calm down, you can remove the privileges to start earning an annual income.
      • Build, increase resources, hire and then expand. Repeat. With a high amount of resources, you don't have to worry about annual income. Just focus on conquest, then head to India to continue your world domination.

He who has proper personal qualities and knows the methods of government, even though he owns a small land, will gain power over the whole world and will not be defeated.

Kautilya, Arthashastra,
or Treatise on Profit, chapter 96.

Great Britain has become a colony and market for India, the Maratha Confederation has brought troops into the territory of 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 a swarthy man in barbarian Europe. Fantasy in our world, but quite feasible in the world Empire games: Total War. Describing game process ETW, usually mean playing for one of the European states. I want to talk about the exotic nations of the Empire world, as well as the features of their tactics.

Homeland is chosen

Priority directions of expansion at the beginning of the reign.

So, oriental exotic Ottoman Empire and Maratha confederations.

How is the Turkish Sultan doing? Huge territories, high authority, stability, even the only enemy - Russia - is separated by buffer states. Perhaps the Sultan himself can handle it. But the little one Maratha confederations there are enough difficulties: from the very beginning of the game, a powerful enemy threatens - a huge Mughal Empire, and only two areas are available: 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 please the invaders with a very small garrison. It is better to capture the Mughal cities as early as possible, until the huge empire builds an equally large army in its ten provinces. This is not Europe, entangled in a web of allied treaties. You have to fight right here. A strong army and good generals, but a small territory determine the choice of strategy at the beginning of the game - blitzkrieg.

We also have a small principality mysore. It can be captured immediately, but it is better to leave it for later and not disperse your forces. Even among our neighbors we have possessions of Europeans - 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 her ally - Britain. The Maratha Confederation at the beginning of the game will not survive such naval rivalry, which means goodbye, sea trade, goodbye, trading posts, I will miss you. So decide if it's worth it or not.

Personally, I recommend not only delaying the capture of Goa and Ceylon, but also sending modest gifts to their owners, especially if the difficulty level of the campaign is above average. A thaw in relations will protect against a stab 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 stronghold of the Mughals falls, it is worth avoiding war with the European barbarians by all means. Gifts and trade partnerships will help you with this. But only at first we will be so peaceful!

Are you ready to begin your reign, future great rajah?

India rises from its knees

You can get rich quick in 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. For starters, it’s worth raising taxes a little - the provinces originally owned by the player are not prone to rebellion, and the profits are huge. The areas captured from the enemy will still have to be exempted from taxes.

But trade is no less, if not more important, since in Empire it promises untold wealth. 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, one more can be chosen. 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 should not feel sorry for a thousand or two - very soon this money will more than pay off.

Successful trade requires safe seas, which means achieving total superiority at sea is a top priority. The first couple of merchant ships will sail for exotic goods unhindered, but soon the Mughal fleet may become a problem, plundering trade routes and recapturing 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 by a small detachment or ship. By annexing Gujarat, the last port area in the west, it makes sense to move a little more west and capture Sindh. This will give an overland trade route with Persia.

It is important: if several provinces are not quickly taken 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 is far to go there, it is better to swim by sea. If you land troops quickly, in the first two or three moves, then there will be practically no resistance. If they didn’t manage to arrive there so quickly, then the fleet and the landing force would have to be seriously strengthened. They worked quickly - excellent, you can completely switch ports to the building dow- Eastern merchant ships.

This is where the pirates bring their loot.

Just in case, it is better to protect your own ports as well. A garrison of one cheap detachment of militia is enough to prevent enemy ships from entering our port and destroying all efforts to build 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 port areas of the enemy are captured. We not only undermined the enemy's economy (after all, trade is the lion's share of the budget!), but also strengthened our own. Indian merchants set up trading posts and bring 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 dow is one less trading post, and they still need to be maintained, which is not cheap. Look for new states that will open markets for your goods, and your country will become rich quickly.

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 the knife and ax workers decide to rob your trade route somewhere near Europe or America, it is not necessary to immediately throw your fleet there - most likely your trading partner will do it earlier. It is worth taking up pirates seriously when the Mughal Empire is wiped off the face of the earth, or at least close to it.

Pirate hunting

No matter who you play as, pirates significantly interfere with maritime trade. To do away with them once and for all, you do not need to constantly hunt for pirate fleets, it is better to strike at their bases in the American southeast: New Andalusia and the Leeward Islands. A couple of battles against a dozen units - and your trading interests are not threatened by sea robbers, and two areas in America are now yours. Just keep in mind: a fairly strong fleet can hang out next to the pirate lair.

Yes, you can cheat yourself. This is not only pleasant, but also profitable. The more of your ships on the enemy trade route, the greater the profit. That's just anonymously rob a neutral state will not work.

When the Mughal Empire loses more than half of its territory, the lightning war will turn into a positional one. At this stage, you can even conclude a truce, but it's better to finish the job. The main priority now is the training of armies. All for the front, all for victory. The newly acquired regions are still exempt from taxes, but there should be enough funds anyway. Improving cities is not worth paying special attention to. The sooner you crush the Mughals, the easier it will be, and many provinces are useful and pleasant.

The game developers have not succumbed 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 brahminous heresy to do on our sacred land!

Don't forget to use tight who join you if you have many taverns. Tug is a jack-of-all-trades: he scouts and kills enemy agents and generals, and conducts subversive (in the literal sense!) enemy cities. To demoralize an army by killing a general, to cause an uprising in a city by blowing up the buildings that maintain order, you are always welcome. Theoretically, it is even possible to take the region from a peaceful state, because the rebellious region is considered a no-man's land. But in practice it is very difficult, and failure can ruin relations so much that you still have to fight. But if someone's area revolted without your help - quickly capture it before you get ahead of it.

And let's not forget to build schools - are we an advanced state or what? Science will very soon find its most practical use in your army, in the form of bayonets on guns and shotgun shells. The benefits will be even greater in the future.

It is interesting: Eastern scientists, unlike European ones, do not fight duels. No wonder they were called wise men in Russian translation.

It is possible to steal technology from enemies if there are no enemy assassins nearby. But from non-hostile neighbors like Mysore, it’s not worth stealing technology - the chance of success is low, and each failure brings the undesirable war closer. It's easier to buy now.

In the meantime, the commandants of the newly acquired regions deal with their problems, the generals move on. Battle after battle, siege after siege - the Mughals have less and less land, and our power is getting stronger. Don't leave hardened veterans with badges in the garrison, recruits will come down for this. Make up for losses and continue the campaign.

On a note: if during the attack of an enemy city you are not confident in your abilities, choose not an assault, but a siege. Most likely, on the next move, the computer will try to remove it, which means that the enemy, not you, will be in the difficult position of 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

Strength in close combat is especially important when assaulting.

What are the armies of the East like? Do not think that outside Europe they fight at best with bows and catapults. Eastern armies are quite proficient with rifles and cannons and have even managed to borrow Western formations.

Let's start with the armies of the Maratha Confederation. You will not find the usual grenadiers, dragoons, as well as light and elite infantry with them. But among the Maratha units of interest is 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 counterpart, suffer greatly from a lack of maneuverability: in order to effectively fight, they must successfully stand up, turn around and direct 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 defending against cavalry flanking attacks.

Melee units can also be used against line infantry. At the same time, 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 this 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 an ambush from the number of visible units, if there are not enough of them!

But in the best way, melee infantry can prove itself in the assault on fortress walls and buildings, in narrow passages. There, 15 damage in melee is much more important than the ability to shoot.

Bandits, another type of eastern hand-to-hand units, can bind or distract the enemy - and nothing else. Typical cannon fodder is weak, cheap, plentiful.

The propensity for close combat is manifested among the Hindus even among line infantry. Its first appearance is indian arrows- although it does not shoot so accurately, it does much 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.

Let's move on to the cavalry. Silladar Spearmen— classic lancers- fast, with a high rate of onslaught. However, they compare favorably with the fact that they are already available in an early era. The use is common for light cavalry - flank attacks from a good run, the destruction of gun crews, trampling the fleeing. After cutting the enemy into the ranks with cavalry, 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 introduced by the Marathas pindari cavalry and camel cavalry. Personally, I do not see much use in mounted archers. The only advantage over foot shooters is speed, but there are more than half as many cavalry in the detachment. Camel Riders, a unique unit of the Eastern armies, are slightly better in shooting qualities, and, as the description says, camels intimidate cavalry. However, not to scare someone with such combat characteristics. Camel cavalry is useful in the campaign, where it is available almost at the very beginning. But in a single fight or network game camels are opened only in a late era, by that time no one needs them.

War elephants. Size matters.

After all, in a later era they become available bargyrian spearmen, an advanced variant of the Silladar, and formidable sipahis. The latter can be safely called the pride of the eastern armies - a sort of Asian cuirassier, but with an onslaught indicator higher than that of a lancer. Only the Polish winged hussars surpass 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 it is possible from the front. Also keep in mind that numerical superiority is always on the side of the infantry.

And finally, the main trump card of the Marathas - elephants. Monstrous damage and onslaught, scare infantry and cavalry, literally scatter enemies - an ideal squad for breaking through the enemy formation. One or two squads of elephant riders are capable of wreaking havoc on any enemy army. But there are only a dozen elephants in the detachment, and if other branches of the army do not immediately follow them, the elephants will only die ingloriously. It is necessary to use it while the formation of the line infantry is broken, and immediately develop success by all available means. And beware of pikes and stakes, they destroy elephants as well as cavalry. No less beware of buckshot.

It 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 the regular militia to the grenadiers and the elite guard. Truth, Eastern line infantry and elite infantry (Beilikan shooters-Janissaries) lag behind European counterparts of the same time. The East is not strong for this.

In great abundance among the Turks light infantry, lovers of ambushes and "shot-and-disappear" tactics can safely recommend this nation. Special attention I advise you to refer to nizam-and jedid shooters- shoot at a distance of 125 against the usual 70, and also very accurately. They are especially good if you need to kill an artillery crew, a general, or provoke an offensive with fire from afar. And, of course, the Turkish light infantry is capable, like the European one, of placing stakes against the cavalry.

Like the Marathas, in the army of the Sultan you will meet bandits, as well as two types melee infantry: bashi-bazouks weak, but Semaash Janissaries it is quite possible to use them as their counterparts among the Marathas, except that the Turks fight a little worse.

But in the Ottoman army, unlike the Marakht one, there are grenadiers, and even what! First Grenadier Division Semaash Janissaries with grenades - available at an early age! In the later era, the game presents us with a unique unit - Janissary calculation of a portable mortar. Shells from Turkish hand-held mortars reach much further than hand-thrown ones - approximately at the distance of a musket shot. A successful volley or two - and panic may well begin in the enemy ranks. The main disadvantage is that the shells explode with a slight delay, so the mortars are practically useless against moving targets.

We meet among the Turkish cavalry equestrian delhi, a typical shooting cavalry, to which everything that has been said above about this type of troops applies. Next come the already familiar camel cavalry and sipahis.

The Turkish grenadier strikes from afar, but he strikes for sure.

Artillerymen, the Sultan gave the order! Artillerymen, the Motherland is calling us!

On a note: if you choose the map in a multiplayer game, choose the conditions for your strategy. For example, forests are good for shelters, plains are good for dispersing cavalry, shelters are good for defense. Also take advantage of the fact that in a hot climate, Eastern soldiers get tired less than European ones.

Artillery in the armies of the East, in terms of characteristics, it is almost identical to the western one - the same guns, mortars, howitzers. That's just many types of European artillery in exotic countries are missing. For example, you will not see in the eastern armies "high-speed" artillery transported by six horses, as well as such wonderful wonders of technology as the Pakla gun. The Ottomans did not acquire falconets and rockets, and the Marathas did not acquire half-guns.

Instead of all of the above, the eastern armies received a formidable 64-pound gun. If a this is hits the enemy - the effect is guaranteed. This monster on the battlefield is fundamentally non-transportable, but it shoots at a solid 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 like with artillery - they practically duplicate the European ones, but at the same time, the Maratha Confederation is deprived of some types of ships, such as a steamer. Thank you, even though the battleships were not taken away.

Liberation of native Marathi lands

The Mughal Empire collapsed. We have all of India in our hands, except maybe Ceylon and Goa. Mysore, if it is not already yours, we seize it now. And now it’s worth for a few years to forget about the ringing of blades and cannon volleys and do 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, the 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 be frightened by 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 are building schools and universities. However, dissatisfaction is quickly brewing among the intelligentsia: “Where is freedom of speech? Democracy is in danger! How to solve this problem?

Initially, the system of the eastern states is an absolute monarchy, which means that 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 less repression in the republic, that is, less public order. In addition, even under the republican system, frantic human rights activists still do not calm down completely - this is always not enough freedom, just like in life.

You can also remain a despot. To do this, we maintain solid garrisons in areas where there is a university. And most importantly: we reduce taxes or even exempt the corresponding provinces from them. You will already be swimming in gold.

It is possible, at worst, not to study the social sciences at all. Fortunately, in order to study, for example, a new formation of infantry, you need not an advanced university, but an improved barracks. Let there be less income and slower research, but the 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 Marathas by right. Do it 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 pay off a strong enemy and not spray your strength on many enemies at once. You can also redeem the area from another state, spending a very impressive amount.

The monarch is deposed, freedom, equality and brotherhood triumph!

India is liberated. It remains to liberate Europe.

If you have chosen the "short game" mode, then control over the whole of India is quite enough to fulfill the victory conditions, and you just need to wait for the end of the allotted time without losing what you have. If you choose " long game”, or “dominance”, or just want to spend the time allotted to the end interesting - further expansion is inevitable.

It is important: computer opponents very rarely fight among themselves, but regularly train troops. So don't be surprised if a state the size of one region meets you with a couple of the most complete 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 yearn to join the free peoples of your empire.

So the 18th century ended and another story ended. The story of eastern hegemony that did 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 you learned a lot about this wonderful game from this article. Someone, perhaps, wanted to lead the armies of the Turks or Hindus himself, while someone, on the contrary, learned how to fight against them more effectively. And 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 battlefield!

The strategy map and concepts in Empire: Total War have changed a lot. Much has gone in the past, much has appeared. In a short game guide, surprisingly, there is practically no word on 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'll build small towns

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. Normal 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 the so-called "rake" - saboteurs, combining the qualities of a spy and a hired killer. They can be sent on delicate missions, but you should be careful - the use of saboteurs hits to a large extent on diplomatic relations with the target country and to a small extent - with all other countries.

Note: now you can't hire agents in the game. They themselves “hatch out” on the map from time to time - and their number strongly 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) influence 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's a good idea to have both on hand.

Note: all cities where you can build or upgrade a specialization building are marked on the map with a hammer and trowel symbol.

Parish schools it makes sense to build where the population does not entirely share the state's views on religion. It is impossible to change the state religion in the game, and the conquered provinces of a foreign faith tend to rebel more often. It is precisely in order that religious disagreements do not spoil the mood of the inhabitants that there are parochial schools, as well as missionaries who from time to time are “born” 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 universities - the temples of science. How many provinces you have with a school, how many technologies you can learn at the same time, which is useful when you want to get ahead in the technology race, get new ammo for cannons and quickly teach soldiers useful skills. Some social sciences require improved schools. From time to time, “gentlemen” come out of 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, it is possible to specialize the school in the sciences of one kind.

Note: if parochial schools are useful for peace and tranquility in the provinces, then ordinary schools cause free-thinking moods and may even lead to riots if public opinion is not followed.

From schools in other countries, with some luck, a gentleman can steal 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 are not able to challenge to a duel - this is not customary among them.

Note: want to send a gentleman to steal technology? To get started, get ready to scan the map for a long and tedious time for cities where schools are built. This is not an easy task - apparently, the developers did not expect that someone would seriously decide to use the gentleman for industrial espionage. Secondly, know that if your agent is unlucky, if he is caught and deported, then it is better not to use him for spying again, otherwise the country's reputation will suffer.

In each non-capital city of the region, only one thing can be built and developed: a school, a parochial school, a workshop or a tavern. If you change your mind, nothing prevents you from destroying the building and changing the specialization of the city - but at the same time you will have to spend money and moves on construction and improvement again.

From Liverpool harbor

In addition to cities, the provinces come across valuable resources, and if it goes to the sea or ocean, then most likely it has its own port.

Resources do not benefit the state until they are mastered. On the map, the symbol of firewood, sheaves of hay, animal skins means places where you can build or improve buildings that extract resources or plow fertile land. Only after construction, the resource begins 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, the collection of taxes.

Mines act in exactly the same way and also allow you to build forges in nearby cities.

Farms increase the wealth of the area, provide an increase in population growth and protect the entire area from starvation. In addition, they are required for the study of agricultural sciences.

plantations is a colonial invention. Plantations allow you to grow tobacco, coffee, cotton, spices and tea - these resources are considered trade and are sold for money on the world market. Sometimes the player can choose what exactly they want to grow on the plantation.

Items reception of skins act in the same way as plantations - they bring the state a valuable trade 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!”

Note: an enemy army walking around the map can destroy resource buildings, and an artificial enemy often does this in order to somehow avenge the captured province. For you, there is no point in vandalism - if you are in enemy territory, then the most obvious way is to the capital!

With ports, the situation is by no means so simple. To begin with, there are as many as three types of them, and before building a port, it is necessary to decide what we want from it: for it to feed the province, make it richer or build ships for us.

Fishing port works like a farm - increases population growth, saves the province from starvation. They are especially numerous among the Indians on the east coast of North America in the campaign for the United States (it opens after completing the tutorial). Since they are of little use, it makes sense to capture areas, destroy ports and build something more meaningful in their place.

Trade port benefits in several ways. First, it increases the wealth of the province. Secondly, it opens up a trade route that allows you to conclude trade agreements with other countries and get a good amount of gold from this every turn. Thirdly, the trading 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 sea 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, getting to it using scientific technologies is much longer than getting to the hospital, and by the time the universities have studied the sciences necessary for them, it is unlikely that there will be countries in the world that can at least oppose the might 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. So it was 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 whole country differ little - both here and there buildings are being 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 threatened to see enemy armies near Moscow - artificial intelligence does not like and does not want to invade the player's territory. The centers of the regions and the capital of the whole country also differ in the number of possible buildings - in ordinary cities there are only two places for construction, and in the main ones - five or six each. In the same Russia, “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 build the town hall, the governor's building in them. It not only pacifies the inhabitants of the city, but also allows you to hire basic units. The second building place is reserved for the walls, and the economical player will not build them, because mighty warriors are the real walls of cities.

Note: 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, during the assault on the fortresses, we do not see the cities themselves, and this is good - there is less fuss on the streets. Fortresses should not be upgraded to the second level - small fortresses are easier to defend with small forces, and even twenty units are not enough to defend a large one from all sides. Soldiers with climbing equipment climb the walls of both fortresses with equal ease.

Stakes - a thunderstorm of cavalry! Already for their sake it is worth keeping light infantry at hand.

When the town hall is upgraded to the second level, we have the opportunity to choose the future fate of the city - to complete its construction in the military or civil part. The “military town” is intended for hiring advanced military branches, and the peaceful one is for collecting taxes and restoring order in the province.

With the capitals, in which there are not two, but six places for construction, the player practically does not experience the torment of choice. You can build whatever you like. In only one place you have to choose whether to build conservatories (improve the mood of people, "give birth" to saboteurs) or observatories (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 it is influenced by several various factors. For example, iron mined in the region greatly spurs 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 area of ​​the road, the more capacity they have. The economy is influenced by developed social sciences and, of course, taxes - if you set a high tax rate for the nobility in the country, the region will begin to get poorer and the taxable base will decrease, and with it the budget revenues. To see clearly what makes up the wealth of the area, you can double-click on its capital.

Note: if desired, you can set different tax rates for the mother country and the colonies (for example, if we want to increase emigration in the colony). However, it is not possible to change the tax rates for each region separately. Separate areas can only be made "offshore", temporarily freeing them from any taxes. This is usually done in those cases when the people, after the capture of the province, have not yet appreciated all the charms of friendly bayonets and are ready to rebel.

It is possible to break through the walls with artillery, but it is not at all necessary.

Taxes affect not only wealth, but also population growth in an area. The less taxes and the more food (farms, fisheries), the faster the people arrive in the area and the faster the villages in the province turn into full-fledged cities.

Public order is a term familiar to us since the days of Civilization. Here it is calculated separately for the lower classes and for the nobility (if the state system is a republic, then the place of the nobility is occupied by the middle class). The influence of various factors on public order is clearly visible in the window of the city: the level of taxes, the recent wars for the provinces, and the state system matter - so, for example, under the monarchy and the governor's building was built, a fair part of the disaffected simply do not risk speaking out because of repression.

Advice: this means that immediately after the capture of the city, the governor's building must be repaired immediately so that the repression will begin to act as quickly as possible.

In addition, religious issues matter, so if cities with not those religious buildings - demolish them and replace them with the ones you need. After successful military actions, the people become imbued with patriotism for several turns, and this works for your ruler rating. Finally, the troops stationed in the city apparently calm the dissatisfied - dragoons are especially effective in this sense.

If there are not enough troops in the city, and discontent is about to overflow, then detachments of city guards will spontaneously form in the city, which for some time can restrain popular unrest.

Gibraltar is one of those places where it is convenient for the fleet to catch enemies and piracy on trade routes.

If the satisfaction level of the 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 with a strike or an open letter of protest. Then riots begin in the city, damaging buildings. If even then urgent measures are not taken, a real rebellion will break out in the province, which will have to be suppressed by the army.

It is interesting: sometimes a rebellion can take the form of a separatist or national liberation movement. If the captured province shows dissatisfaction, then the rebels can come out under the flag of the power to which it belonged before. If the country from which the area is captured is no longer in nature, it may reappear. Finally, the British provinces in America can claim to be the United States, the Norwegian provinces will call themselves Finland, and northern Great Britain will try to become a free Scotland.

How to make steam out of stone?

Science in Empire: Total War is very transparent and accessible. The only drawback is the small icons that you have to peer into - but this does not interfere too much.

All science is divided into three major areas: military, industrial and social.

Military sciences help unlock new troops, new ammo for cannons, advanced sailboat models, and make it easier to handle the army (for example, help save money on the military budget). All military sciences are divided into three large groups: army(this includes both infantry and cavalry), ammunition(unlocks new types of shells for cannons) and fleet(new ships and their new features).

Industrial Sciences divided into agricultural(provide population growth and improved effect from farms), metallurgy(allows you to build advanced mines, sawmills, docks and other improvements) and textile(improve economic and social effects from weaving workshops in cities).

Social sciencies consist of only one branch. They greatly spur the speed of development of sciences and give a powerful kick to the state economy. But practically every social science is accompanied by a small but very harmful portion of social discontent. If you just take it and delve into the study of social sciences, then mass riots are inevitable. If you want to turn the country into a republic in order to get all the pluses and minuses of this political system, you can safely throw the country's scientific reserves into the 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.

To hold out for three minutes in the square without letting the enemy pass on it - and our fortress!

As I said above, sciences are studied in schools and their advanced versions (colleges, universities). In capitals and other cities with six places for construction, you can turn the theater into an observatory - 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 simultaneously work on the same science. The more schools there are in the country, the more sciences you can study at the same time (and the more anxiety there will be in the country from unnecessary knowledge, which will have to be compensated or suppressed).

From time to time the 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 it makes no sense to keep more than three or four in one city. Remember that it is better to immediately divide the schools according to the sciences - give the fleet to one, the other, for example, textiles, and the third - animal husbandry. This will enable the gentlemen who sit in one field of science to develop in themselves qualities which will accelerate research in that field.

We've come with peace

Diplomacy... It had great potential. The classic diplomacy window allows 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 the opponent to become more accommodating. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will visually show a map where different colors show the attitude of other countries to you and to each other - tooltips will describe in detail why this or that country loves you or not very much.

Every year ambassadors from Prussia come and beg Courland.

The potential of diplomacy prevented the realization of the noble madness of artificial opponents. As they say, "you are a good man, prince, but it hurts unearthly." A simple example: a small and weak state declares war on a big and strong one (us). We raise an eyebrow and offer the daredevils to pay tribute in exchange for a peace treaty. They, after thinking, agree, and the next turn they declare war again. Profit!

The principles by which technologies are traded are also not entirely clear. 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 ask for big money, but a very rich country, which has discovered the most valuable colonial resources and occupied world trade centers, is able to buy a province every two or three years and do practically without wars.

So what do we do with diplomacy? Try to conclude 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 resisting, offer it money, scientific technology, or passage in exchange for a trade deal. Persia, Venice and Savoy (Turin) should be prioritized in terms of trade agreements - these are very rich trading powers.

Dwarf countries generally don't hold back too long when 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 completely unfavorable terms for you.

How much?

Trade in Empire: Total War is very, very important - especially for sea powers. Let's just say: a well-established trade will bring many times more money for each move 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 hold India, then you will have a huge amount of the most valuable ivory. If you own plantations in America, you can trade in sugar, cotton or tobacco.

If you do not hurry, all the trading ports (five each in four trading zones) will be occupied by competitors.

However, it is not enough to have a trading resource - you also need trade routes, sea or land. The sea trade route becomes available if both you and the country with which you have an agreement have trading ports. The commodity 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 part of the possible profit from trade. Guard trade routes with strong fleets! The better developed the trading port and the more of them, the more countries you can trade with.

An overland trade route is built 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 trading 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 on the so-called "trading zones", small areas of the sea, where, according to the terms of the game, a 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 occupies these ports first gets a trade route, valuable resources and big profits.

Ports are occupied with the help of special merchant ships of the brand "Indian" or "Dow" - you can recognize them by the yellow number in the upper right corner of the pictogram. Theoretically, merchant ships can fend off an attack, but against serious fleets, they will do nothing, and they are worth guarding. The beginning of the game is a race for trade ports, and if you're playing as a naval power, then you should very quickly occupy as many trade ports as possible out of the twenty available. Most likely, you won’t have time to take everything, but if you wish, you can tear yourself a good jackpot. When the race is over and the ports have been allocated, you can start accumulating ships in each - it makes sense to keep up to three or four "Indians" in one port.

The trade route can be reclaimed and pirates frequent the trade zones, so it's best to have navies on hand to protect your economic interests.

Hear the music of the revolution

For the first time in the series, we can choose the state system with the help of revolutions. There are three possible state 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 as he likes and dismiss unwanted ones, replacing them with people from the "personnel reserve". This system pleases the nobility, but upsets the lower strata of the population - discontent is compensated by a high level of repression, which does not allow openly expressing discontent. Under an absolute monarchy, science and the economy 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 that my troops have fortified themselves on a steep hill, the artificial enemy is lost.

When attacked, the city itself forms militia units to help the defenders. The larger the city, the more citizens put forward militias.

An absolute monarchy is ideal for a warlike state that quickly pushes its boundaries.

A constitutional monarchy limits the power of the king. Science and economics are developing faster than under absolutism. The nobles aren't so happy anymore, but the lower classes don't rebel either. The level of repression has also been reduced, which means a greater likelihood of a riot in case the people don’t like something. The monarch can still replace ministers, but only one per turn. Elections are held every ten moves 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 ahead of schedule 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 are very active in conflict, since there are practically no repressions. Every eight moves, the head of state and ministers are re-elected. They cannot remain in office for more than two consecutive terms. It is impossible to change ministers manually - only to re-elect the entire cabinet ahead of schedule (in this case, all ministers are replaced at once).

If you want to change the state system, you will have to arrange a revolution, and not just any, but the one that you need. The rules are like this.

If pissed off ordinary people and raise it to the revolution, it will introduce republic.

If pissed off know, she will enter absolute monarchy.

If pissed off middle class, he will enter constitutional monarchy.

If you don't have a middle class, but you need a constitutional monarchy, you must first infuriate the common people, set up a republic, and then infuriate the middle class.

If you anger the nobility, and you already have a constitutional monarchy, then you will simply change the monarch.

As you can see, nothing complicated! The question is how exactly to bring the class you need to the assembly point. First, you don't need riots in any province other than the central one - only a capital riot leads to a revolution. So the algorithm is as follows: we take and increase to the limit the tax on the class that we want to anger, but at the same time we exempt all provinces from taxes, except for the central one. We destroy all entertainment buildings in the central province, build schools, study “free-thinking” sciences, withdraw all troops from the province.

That's the whole recipe for disaster! After three or four turns, a riot will begin, and you will only have to support the rebels.

Tactics

The time has come for us to start a conversation about the tactics of battles on land and at sea. But first, let's see what has changed and what has remained the same in the rules for the movement of ships and armies on the strategic map.

Easy to hike

In distant antiquity, in Shogun and Medieval: Total army war were depicted as chips that jumped from province to province, like chess pieces. It looked gloomy and sad - it was very difficult to figure out the map where the chips were rushing about, differing from each other only in color, it was very difficult. In Rome: Total War, things went smoothly - the map got a decent look, and the soldiers began to walk on it.

This one doesn't seem to be from our area.

One of the main problems in sea ​​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, look at what area they can overcome in one turn (it is marked in green), and with a mouse click we send the army on the road. If you do not click the mouse button, but hold it down, you can see in advance which path the army will take. Small "bricks" next to the flag indicate the number of units in the army. The flag itself is proudly fluttering if the units are fully equipped, and slightly torn if their numbers have suffered in battle. The more the units got, the more the flag was torn. Fortunately, now you can replenish units not only in your cities, but everywhere. Units replenish 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 uniting the 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, melee defense and attack, and morale.

Advice: when combining units, be careful if their experience is not the same. 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 squads with each other or add “newbies” 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, then the army will have the opportunity to attack him, that is, to intercept him. It is not necessary to do this - the game will ask you every time if you want to arrange an interception or stay put.

If all units in an army have the "Uncharted Paths" skill, then the army can naturally hide on the map and ambush the enemy. The game will ask you if 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" that extends much further. If two units are in each other's zone of influence, then when one of them enters the battle, the other will also take part in the battle.

Note: 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 advanced the army sciences are.

A gloomy sight is this ship, which barely carried the frames out of the battle. For the full effect, the only thing missing is Leopold the cat on the deck.

Three French detachments immediately stuck and pupated near the stone wall. Now you can do anything with the "hanging" French - they actually dropped out of the battle.

Remaining in one place for one turn, the army automatically digs in. Now, if attacked, infantry and artillery will be able to build small ramparts before the battle and hide behind them. If you need to protect a particularly dangerous area in front of 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 units before they climb the ropes onto the walls.

Note: all armies and fleets can be renamed to your taste.

If there is no general in the army, he can be promoted from the bottom 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. However, be careful - there should be only one detachment from which you nominate a general. If there are several allocated, there will be several generals and several squads, and your budget will suffer greatly.

Advice: if you are going to land an amphibious assault, see if there is a port nearby on the coast. Armies that have landed in a port may move on the same turn. Armies that simply land on the beach do not start moving until the next turn.

Lastly, if you conquer all the provinces needed to win before the campaign ends, the game will not end. You'll have to at least keep them up to last move campaign, and only then will you be rewarded with a winning video.

Flashed behind the formation

While the enemy is running along the house, our soldiers are knocking out row after row of windows and opening fire.

Where does victory begin? With the selection of the army. In the old days, when armies were not all firearms, 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 line infantry, just as you can't spoil porridge with butter. Even if the whole army will consist of linear infantry - well, it will not be too flexible, but it will simply take in numbers.

For there are many soldiers in the detachment - one hundred and twenty people by default. Everyone is armed with a rifle. If military science has advanced at least a little bit, you can screw a baguinet onto each rifle bike - and the shooter will turn into a melee fighter.

A friendly volley of hundreds of guns will help against the cavalry. Against the fleeing and shaking axes melee fighters - he, and the enemy connected with the battle, will then finish off a volley of a partner from the flank or rear. Against cannons, a quick run over rough terrain will help. The line infantry is the king and god of the battlefields of Empire: Total War.

Note: however, there is a means for line 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 dropping his morale. One thing is bad - they do not guess to throw grenades one after another. For each throw they need a team of superiors, that is, ours.

Mounted archers are a rare species found in the Russian steppes.

Light infantry, on the other hand, is not particularly useful. First, there are two times fewer soldiers in one detachment than in a line infantry detachment. On the one hand, the ease is extraordinary, but, on the other hand, two times is two times! Well, a volley will take down half of the detachment of horsemen, suppose. But the second half will scatter and lay down the detachment. Yes, and in a duel with line infantry, the light, obviously, will lose. Of course, in some cases, light infantry rifles hit a little further. But they still can't be peltasts, because a long reload nullifies this advantage. Place a light infantry unit on a steep hill and it will show class. But on the plain, she will not be able to wear down the enemy, and the button that launches the “shot and run” tactics is useless.

Nevertheless, it is possible to have a couple of light units on hand. If they know how to dig in stakes in defense, then cover the flanks with stakes - so you will seriously puzzle 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 for "friendly fire" and use light infantry against exposed enemy flanks.

Melee units should be used according to the situation. The same Janissaries cut through light infantry armed with guns and unaccustomed to blades - but this is if it allows 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 formations are interesting to watch, but they won't do much against firearms. But the flank will be covered from the cavalry. Line them up like a hedgehog and the horses won't know what to do with the pikemen.

The cavalry ... She, frankly, got it. It has completely lost its strategic strike value. Where are you, cataphracts? Where are you, medieval knights? And for what offense cavalrymen instantly turn into whipping boys, if they are at the wrong time in the wrong place? No matter how fast the cavalry detachment gallops to the attack, the volley of the linear infantry detachment leaves horns and legs from it. Therefore, it is not necessary to arrange a “light cavalry attack”. In today's shooting times, the cavalry must hide, tiptoe along the flank and ride in a saber attack only on the backs of the enemy, bound by battle ... Well, or to 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 gun battery crew is not an easy task for cavalry. It comes to the ridiculous - a cavalry detachment can suffer heavy losses ... pursuing a fleeing enemy. Who would have thought that this is such a dangerous business?

Nevertheless, having a couple of cavalry units on hand is useful for the same pursuit and elimination.

Apotheosis of war.

Mounted archers (Tatars, Kalmyks) can disturb the enemy by shooting from a distance. Not the Parthian circle, well, what can you do ... we are not heroes. The firing range most often allows you to stay out of the reach of bullets, but you need to keep an eye on horse archers - it costs them nothing to get hit by a volley, and after a lead rain they are usually no longer capable of anything.

Dragoons stand apart - the ones with ponytails. They are interesting guys. Dragoons can be both cavalry and firearms - as the party orders. Cities are well guarded against freethinking, again. They could shoot from the backs of horses - they would not have had a price. But their versatility is worth a lot, even if you consider that a squad of dragoons is inferior in size to a squad of line infantry by four times.

Artillery - to take or not? The first argument is "against" - it is no longer needed to take fortresses. The second argument "against" - 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 whole army urgently needs to run and take up high ground for defense. The third argument "against" - now the artillery is really and densely stuffed with bugs. She can disobey orders to fold and move, she does it brazenly and unpredictably, she can decompose into a stowed position at the wrong time. There were times when the mind of the gunners was carried away so far that they hit with buckshot direct fire each other(naturally one cannon on the other) or in one gulp carried out half of the general's detachment, sending the general himself to the forefathers.

The horses are carrying cannons to the bastions. What for? Out of habit!

Of course, there are benefits from guns, and considerable ones - but only if the gunners are experienced, and there are things in the ammunition more interesting than cannonballs. If the enemy has not settled in the building, but stands in an open field, then the cannonballs will not harm anyone - they will only make fun. 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, mortars of antiquity!

Note: the gunpowder and ammunition of the guns do not end, unlike the soldiers. So, if you want to hit the defenders of the hill for at least half an hour in a row, go ahead. 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 the shrapnel appears, the cannons become useful and are great for dealing with the defending enemy.

Didn't sit well

Hide behind a 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 deployed in wide ranks of three rows, so that everyone shoots. If the squad is more compact, then the back rows will smoke and poison jokes instead of shooting, and in a shootout the squad will die instantly. If you make the unit even longer, it will not fit on the battlefield. Since friendly fire is a big 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.

Do not put guns behind the detachments - the gunners will kill their own. Do not place cannons in front of the squads - in the inevitable skirmish between you and the enemy, the gunners will find themselves under crossfire. Put them between the detachments - and no one will loom in front of the muzzles of the cannons, and the infantrymen will protect the artillery from the equestrian encroachments of the dodgy enemy. And never leave batteries unattended, because mounted raids on them are AI's favorite pastime.

As always, it is better to place your cavalry on the flanks - for more freedom of maneuver. Raiding enemy artillery is a hobby worth learning from the AI. Strikes to the rear of an enemy who is fighting or weakened by a firefight affect his morale. But do not drag out the battle - they hit, withdraw the cavalry so that the losses do not become pyrrhic (and so that after the battle the repairmen do not run with their tongues hanging out).

Well hidden!

The general, as usual, needs to be protected. In Empire, the death of a general is not yet a catastrophe, but we do not need a decadent mood in the army. Keep it close to a key battlefield, use it to "push" vacillating units to flee, but never throw it into a heavy bloody fight.

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 on the defensive, with stakes deployed by light infantry. Fans of the unusual use pikemen, but this should be done with caution, since pikemen units themselves are afraid of flank attacks, unless they line up with a “hedgehog”.

Buildings or fences in defense should be used with caution: archers hidden in the house are really only effective against cavalry, and any cannon becomes a deadly threat to them. Hide-and-seek 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 in a long line, you can advance little by little, or wait patiently for the enemy to advance.

Our guardsmen are victorious

The secret of victory is to fall on the enemy from different sides.

From battles in which the outcome of the battle was decided mainly in close combat, the Total War series has abruptly moved to battles in which armies are mostly within gunfire. It changed all tactics.

If you are on the defensive, take the best height on your side of the map to give yourself an advantage. As in previous parts game, you can use the borders or corners of the map for the most reliable protection of the 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 rear ones will shoot over the heads of the front ones, and you can not 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 envelop him from all sides and put him in a “fire bag”. Let your cavalry fight artillery or try to intercept the enemy general if he suddenly broke away from the main army. Throw cavalry to attack from the rear only on those units that have been badly damaged in battle, faltering or wavering.

Advice: in no case do not throw the cavalry on stakes, even if there are no enemies nearby. Horses will die at a gallop. They can be led through the stakes with a step, but it is better to bypass them at a distance.

When attacking enemy positions, it can be useful to highlight the "line" of your units and use the "advance" button. Try to suppress enemy artillery with your artillery, arrange a cavalry raid right at the enemy in the rear (this is often easier than it seems). If the enemy hid in the houses, deploy the cannons 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.

Note: the ability to give the detachment an order to move along several waypoints has not gone away.

If you have an advantage in artillery, weaken the enemy with continuous fire. Shrapnel do not regret! Gain advantage, then send line infantry into battle, trying to envelop and crush enemy flanks with crossfire as much as possible.

Advice: sometimes cavalry can be used to "scare" an enemy unit with a feint attack and force it into a tight, multi-lane formation. Withdraw your cavalry and start shelling with infantry - the enemy in close formation will be more vulnerable, and his return fire will be weaker.

Castles are not worth storming. Most often, it's best to wait until the defenders stop resisting or try to overpower you. In the first case, the fortress is yours. In the second case, a normal defensive battle awaits you, and you can find and take a suitable height without haste.

It is interesting: select a squad and press the Insert key to see the battle through the eyes of a simple soldier. You can "move" from one soldier to another using the mouse wheel.

Shotgun against saber - who wins? Pay attention, I'm looking out of the eyes of one of the guys with a saber.

Sometimes, however, you need to take a fortress quickly, before the enemy brings reinforcements. For an assault, you need to have an advantage in infantry (although not too much). Flank the fortress a little further than the firing range of the defenders. Try to climb walls where there are no defenders, but even if they are, it's okay. First of all, throw melee units on the walls - there is little sense from guns there. Put the defenders of the walls to flight - they will run away into the hills or gather in the fortress on 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 on the square 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 hindered by the madness that seizes the soldiers on the fortress walls. Sometimes they fall into catatonia and do not pay attention to the enemy. Sometimes they start running back and forth, and sometimes the defenders descend onto the grass along the ropes that the attackers threw on the walls.

Incendiary shells of mortars are ideal against houses in which
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 a little in the corners. If there are cannons on the wall, place a squad next to them, and he himself will "allocate" temporary artillerymen.

Your main advantage is the ability to shoot at the enemy while he chooses the place of the assault. As soon as the assault has begun, concentrate several troops on the wall at the place where the enemy has thrown ropes. But give orders carefully, without fanaticism - you don't want your soldiers to have their brains explode. It's not easy for them either.

If you do everything right 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 arrange a second line of defense in the square or somewhere near the wall. Not bad to lure the enemy to the area. It is sometimes useful to drive your squad into the building next to the square and fire from the windows. Remember that if the enemy has taken possession of the walls, he will be able to open the gate for the cavalry. Don't let her take you by surprise.

Fifteen times he drowned

Water and heaven! Aivazovsky, die, you can't write better!

Naval battles are a clear example of how artificial intelligence takes revenge on a reasonable person for many years of humiliation, showing strength precisely in those areas in which a person is traditionally weak. To calculate where the ships that sail in such and such a direction with 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 guess by eye. As a result, he comes aboard to our stern and makes a volley.

In order to simultaneously deploy several ships sideways to a chosen “prey”, the AI ​​only needs to keep the equations in mind, correct for the wind and speed of the “prey”, giving different teams 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 make a volley immediately from all over the board looks like a mockery of the developers. Yes, it's not bad and spectacular if we and the enemy have one ship each. Well, two at the most. When there are two dozen of them, it is impossible to keep track of the tools of each.

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: firstly, we need to force all our ships to follow one, so as not to give orders to each one individually, and, secondly, to exploit the found weakness of AI - collisions of its ships when tacking.

The secret of victory is to stop the enemy, and at the same time stay on the move.

So, the principle is this - we combine the ships into one group (the most experienced sailors can try the option with two groups) and order them to follow the leader in wake formation - like ducklings after ducks. The whole "column" then floats, winding left and right, so as to be on the windward side of the enemy. You need to loop in order to be on the sides of enemy ships as much as possible. From the windward side we need to go so that the enemy catches up with us against the wind. Under these conditions, he moves very slowly, is forced to maneuver with the whole crowd, and with a high probability his ships will collide with each other, causing a jam in the clear sea. If this happened, congratulations! You will only have to continue to swim back and forth in single file, sequentially sink one ship after another, while the enemy fleet is unraveled after the collision of ships. Even when the ships just pile on top of each other, the AI ​​gets into trouble. When they collide high speed, then they can lose the mast.

Advice: if you right-click on an enemy ship, yours will attack. You don't need it. Set the priority of attacks using the Alt key and right button mice - this way the ships will not sail towards the target, but will keep the same course, but will shoot at the priority target at the first opportunity, not forgetting the others.

Boarding, whistle everyone upstairs! Sailors from excitement fell with a yard.

Even if the enemy formation has not collapsed, your fleet still has an advantage, and victory is quite likely. But you must manage the fleet very carefully, because if your ships collide, it's a tobacco business - the enemy admiral will instantly catch up with you and pump you up.

When giving movement orders, make sure that you have the whole group selected, and not just one ship, otherwise the formation will be broken, and you will not have time to collect it back. When turning the formation one hundred and eighty degrees, do not rush, let your ships make a wide loop.

Advice: instead of using normal cannonballs and hulls, try firing chain cannonballs at enemy sails to damage the enemy's masts and rigging, slowing them down. This can help, but not in all cases, since when tacking the sails of enemy ships it will be almost invisible, and the chain balls will be mercilessly smeared.

With the correct implementation of the "windward" tactics, the player can defeat even a fleet that exceeds it 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 keep an eye on your ships: if one catches fire or leaks, stop firing so that the sailors can start fighting for survivability.

Now you are armed enough with knowledge to grow a powerful state and break the resistance of your enemies! Good luck to you, your sailors and soldiers!

The motherland expects everyone to do their duty.

What nation to play? Of course, after getting Empire: Total War, for me, as, I think, for many in our country, the choice was obvious - "for RRRRussia"!

But, after the first few gaming sessions (still without patches), the game got bored pretty quickly. AI did not attack at all, there are few countries for trade and contacts in principle, it is difficult to develop a fleet. Not going through the game to the end, I had to try to play for France, England and Prussia. There, indeed, the number of countries interacting with you is larger and the theater of hostilities is more extensive.

With the release of patches, the situation has changed. AI has become more aggressive, diplomacy has become more interesting, it has become easier to fight at sea. I returned to the Russian Empire again and was pleasantly surprised by the liveliness of my game campaign.

initial situation

To begin with, in brief, about the difficult Russian geopolitical situation at the beginning of the 18th century (in other respects, as always).

From the north, the country is threatened by Sweden - not a very strong rival, but with a developed economy and fleet, capable of putting up a large army against Russia.

Capture St. Petersburg in ETW - task number 1

In the West, for Russia, at first glance, everything is calm. The Allied Polish-Lithuanian State provides cover from Prussia and Austria and is a good trading partner. But don't get too carried away. Troops reach Kyiv from Minsk or Lvov in two moves, so it’s better to have a couple of units of archers in Kyiv, so as not to provoke an ally.

In the South, Mother Russia has always been burdened with problems. And in Empire: Total War, this is to be experienced to the fullest. The Crimean Khanate is initially at war with Russia, very aggressively (after the latest patches) and will attack resources in Ukraine and Don Cossack Land. The small but proud peoples of Chechnya, Dagestan and Georgia (how relevant!) Are even more viciously disposed towards their Big Neighbor and most likely will provoke a war on the first moves of the game.

As for the old enemy of Russia - the Ottoman Empire, then Russia most likely does not fall into its first circle of concerns at the beginning of the game campaign. However, any attempts to conclude a peace agreement with me were unsuccessful.

Here is a strategic layout. All this is exacerbated by an underdeveloped economy, poor education, and of course, fools and bad roads. Fools sit in the Government - change them immediately and get less negative impacts. And you will have to solve the issues of the economy, education and infrastructure by carving out money from the military budget.

Where to start playing as Russia in ETW

In politics, economics and education

What makes sense to do in the first moves of the game:

• Set higher taxes for the nobility (4th level). Not for long, for 5-10 moves. This will give more financial freedom at the beginning of the game to develop the economy of the Empire.
• To exempt developing regions from taxes, primarily Karelia, the Land of the Don Cossacks, Astrakhan, Bashkiria and Komi. It is better to exempt Karelia from taxes for the faster emergence of the new city of Severomorsk, in which it will be possible to build a fishing port, designed to solve the problems of the region with food. Arkhangelsk may not be exempted from taxes, there are no longer any villages for development. Kazan may not be liberated either - there are agricultural lands there, by developing which you will accelerate the formation of the region.
• Disperse ineffective ministers. See that all effects from them are neutral or positive.
• Actively build roads. This will help trade and the transfer of troops.
• To develop the industry - first of all, workshops in Ukraine and Muscovy.
• Northern fur trading posts can be developed last, while there are no sea trade routes.
• Explore or steal "Emperism" and turn the only school in Nizhny Novgorod into a College.
• In education, in general, I see the first priorities as follows: Empiricism, Battle formation "square", Baginet, Physiocracy. The latest science is needed for the development of agriculture and, accordingly, for the possibility of returning the collection of taxes in the eastern and southern regions.

In military matters

In general, militarily, my advice is to choose only one direction to attack at the beginning, and defend all other directions. This will simplify both the offensive of the army and its financing.

Watch out for the generals! The Ottoman Empire and Sweden will send their assassin saboteurs to them, and fighting without generals is madness.

It is enough to concentrate the production of military units in 4 cities: Moscow, Kyiv, Cherkassk and Astrakhan.

The developers of Empire: Total War have worked out the historical line in the game well, and the arena of hostilities, especially at first, will be close to the real situation at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Most likely, at the beginning of the game, the Swedes will declare war on Russia, or your ally Denmark (why would that be?) will be attacked by them and you will have to choose between loyalty and peace.

In the war with Sweden, first of all, it is necessary to protect Karelia, since the Swedes will constantly make attacks in small detachments on the capital of this region, Petrovsky Sloboda, and on its resource settlements. The weaving workshops in Veliky Novgorod, right on the border with Ingermanland, cannot be left unguarded either.

The relevance of joining St. Petersburg and access to the Baltic Sea is clear to every Russian. Capturing St. Petersburg will not be difficult if you bring in existing and new units from Moscow. But then things will get more complicated - it will be necessary to hold St. Petersburg from the west and north, while repelling raids on Karelia. Therefore, I recommend not to stop the production of units in Moscow, and also to call on troops from Kyiv, leaving only generals and archers there.

Only by concentrating a large army in the north will you be able to capture Livonia and Finland, the latter being more interesting in terms of war and economy. Do not hesitate to resolve this issue. Sweden quickly creates units against Russia in Finland.

Only after moving the border away from Moscow in the north is it worth taking up the south. Although, the Crimean Khanate, Dagestan and Georgia are unlikely to give you such freedom of choice and will bother you without waiting for your issues with Sweden to be resolved. Therefore, at the very beginning of the game, form 3-4 Cossack militias in Cherkassk and Astrakhan to protect the southern borders, and also keep Ukraine protected from the south.

However, I do not recommend getting involved in full-scale military campaigns in the south at the same time as the war against Sweden. This is fraught with high costs and a delay in the development of the economy, as well as, in the event of defeat, a loss of credibility. And it is hardly realistic to take Crimea or Dagestan with small forces.

The most dangerous, of course, is the Crimean Khanate and it is worth starting from it in the south. Baffle the Kyiv generals with a sufficient number of line infantry with the capture of the Crimea.

Until you capture Crimea, defend the North Caucasus with Cossack militias. Dagestan, using cavalry, can invade deep into Russian soil, up to the Balakovo lands in Astrakhan.

It is worth saying that the Crimea, and Dagestan, and Georgia have line infantry and European types of cavalry, as well as good generals. It's strange, but in Empire: Total War it is. Get ready for difficult, protracted battles.

After the capture of Bakhchisarai, to conduct an active war in the Caucasus, transfer the generals and part of the army from the Crimean campaign there. Your Cossack militias guarding the Caucasian borders will be a good addition, although they are not very effective against line infantry. Dagestan has dangerous hand-to-hand units, Islamic swordsmen who can easily chop up your foot units, so you need to have a couple of cavalry regiments on the Caucasian front.

It seemed to me that you can not be afraid of the Ottomans landing by sea in the Crimea (at least in the current patches), so the defense of the Crimea, after the suppression of resistance to the occupation, can remain minimal.

Conclusion

I have only covered the first steps in the Russian Empire: Total War campaign. Do not treat this article as an attempt to formalize something. Surely each of you will choose your own path. I only hope that my notes will help you on your way to victory!

131 comments

29.12.2018 23:37

Rus. Ivan

Playing as Russia for real difficult level battles and strategies. Astrakhan sold the Dagas, the Donskoy Lands to the Georgians (he entered into a military alliance and trade), thereby saving himself from wasting resources on protecting these lands. First of all, the capture of the Crimea and St. Petersburg. In the Crimea, he built a small fleet and completely blocked all ports to the Ottomans. (The economy of the Ottomans in the pope will not last long without trade). Capture of Moldavia, you can now trade with Austria. He exchanged Karelia for Iceland, a convenient island in terms of creating a merchant fleet. Vyturil Swedish fleet from the Baltic, the landing of troops in Finland. Then he quickly transferred troops to the capital, while the Swedes held the siege again recaptured Finland. He sent troops from St. Petersburg and recaptured Finland. That's all with the loss of two rich areas of the Swedes, it remains only to finish off. The war with the Swedes took 30 moves. He raised the economy and regained Astrakhan and the Donskoy Lands. By this time, the Marathas had reached Georgia. The stupid Hindu made an alliance with the Turks and declared war on me, (well, rich India in your pocket does not hurt), and then the Ottomans grew bolder. Restraining the onslaught of the Marathas on the border, he sent a powerful fleet with a landing force to India. The fleet of the Indians is skinny, immediately went to the bottom and nothing prevented the landing. No one particularly defended India on the move and recaptured rich Mysore and Bijapur. Port blockade and further development offensive on the Carnatic, covering the east coast and moving towards Hindustan. Interestingly, the stupid Hindu stubbornly broke into Astrakhan, while losing her territories in India.
With the capture of Hindustan, the pressure on the border weakened. He went on the offensive and squeezed the Indian woman from both sides. And there he took up the Ottomans. The cunning Austrians immediately joined in with the proposal of an alliance and chopped off Greece. Okay, I took everything else. Then he put the Britons under the knife, and then it became no longer interesting. Conquest of Europe and world domination.

17.12.2018 14:50

Arthur Messer

Campaign for the Russian Empire, Battle mode "very difficult", strategy mode "hard". Unfortunately it didn't work! :) Despite the fact that he won almost all ground battles, even with a small detachment using cunning, tactics and terrain, in the worst cases, armies consisting of almost only generals (appointing a general with bodyguards from one detachment, and so on several times, as long as they allowed finance). Winning everything naval battles, having first destroyed the masts of the attacking strong ships, retreating from them, maneuvering and periodically shooting their masts and sails with knipples, then stood sideways to the bow of the enemy and destroyed him, since he could not move and maneuver. (this trick could be done with only one, but a strong ship!) At the beginning, he had territories in India and North America, having exchanged technologies and territories with the Iroquois and the Portuguese, on these continents he then annexed other neighboring territories by war. (The campaign was played in "Domination" mode from 1700 to 1899.). Toward the end of the game, all the remaining powers (of which there are very few left. Of the main ones left: England, Maratha, France, Spain, Poland) abruptly entered the war with me, and even those with which I had not fought in general entered. They did not conclude peace with me under any conditions, even on clearly favorable terms for themselves. At the same time, the powers did not fight among themselves, but were even allies. Trade has stopped. Incomes have dropped sharply. In the diplomatic branch, it was shown that relations are damaged from territorial expansion. The conclusion is that you should not have too large territories by the end of the game, so as not to embarrass strategic partners. And in order to fulfill the victory conditions, certain territories must be captured. But, apparently, closer to the very end of the campaign.

P/S It's a pity that it was not possible to create a fleet on the Caspian Sea!

01.02.2018 00:54

thanks for the advice

15.07.2016 11:03

15.07.2016 11:03

At the beginning of the game for Russia, it is best to start hiring Cossack infantry on the lands of the Don Army and in Astrakhan. You don’t need to hire a lot. 4 detachments and a general and place them on the border with the Dagistani and build forts from the north and from the west this is enough to weaken the Dags and prepare a full-scale offensive. As for Georgia, they do not attack while the Dagestan exists, and as soon as you capture it, Georgia will rather remain neutral than dare to go to russia

21.03.2016 14:04

IMHO, as always in TW, it is necessary to press immediately and wherever possible, until the neighboring natives have spawned heaps of troops. St. Petersburg, Crimea - taken on 2-3 moves, Crimea without problems by the Ukrainian army, for St. Petersburg it would be necessary to pull up what is in Moscow, Georgia and Dagestan will create a real trouble, they will probably declare war on you on the 3-4th move, trouble in that it is very far and inconvenient to go to them - there are mountains and you will have to make as many as 2 armies, separately against Georgians and Dags, plus AI cheats and produces 2 or even 3 units per turn in one city - so go to Tbilisi with a small army risky - until you reach the AI ​​will spawn. Buy nothing but archers, foot bases of all armies, a couple of elective cavalry per army. The reasons are simple - 1) the speed of foot archers is like that of cavalry units! 2) archers are 2 times cheaper than linear infantry, respectively, you can have an army 2 times larger for the same money 3) shooting infantry at the beginning of the game is useless - our task is to minimize losses with a minimum of invested money, and losses in skirmishes will be higher than with a friendly onslaught reeds. Only foot artillery can really strengthen the army at the first stage of the game, and it can be very much strengthened against stupid AI - the conclusion is the first technology to study - buckshot + we immediately build an arsenal above the level and supply all armies with a couple of batteries capable of moving artillery - it simply demolishes cavalry and artillery like a sniper enemy.

03.02.2016 10:38

Vladimir, in order for the "square" to work, you need to increase the number of units. This can be done in the graphics settings.

07.11.2015 22:16

Vladimir

why is the "square" not revealed? although it has been investigated .. squads are not being built .. the button is off .. dim

29.10.2015 17:14

I play for Russia on the hardest level. Peace was made with the Ottoman Empire from the first move, the Crimean Khanate was destroyed on the 2nd move, there are 2 armies 100% full, the treasury has 10,000+ rubles for each turn. it's up to 20 moves.
I think the described tactics are completely ineffective and counterproductive. Under no circumstances should taxes be increased to such a level, and especially the regions should not be exempted from taxes.
I have the following tax rate in the game: for the lower class for min. for the highest in the middle.
If you understand all aspects of the game and are aware of all the rules you should be able to play any difficulty perfectly. If you can't do it, study the rules of the game and all the functions that the company has.

27.07.2015 14:47

A few tips for beginners.
1. Pay attention to ministers, change them so that there are no fools in your government.
2. Trade right of way with neighbors. for 5 passage moves, you can completely gain 1 kilo of coins. In general - trade everything that can be traded in the game: territories, technologies, the right of passage, the possibility of concluding a peace or a trade agreement. You will need money.
3. Hire generals in bulk, where reinforcements are urgently needed. Once I happened to fight off the Indians with the general's army. There were 19 generals in the army + a detachment of archers. Autoboy showed the victory of Russia, and the Indians were unable to capture important territory.
4. Throw generals into the attack at the turning point of the battle. The enemy panicked, but is not running yet - the general's cavalry will finally tip the scales in our favor. And the general will receive experience (asterisks) for bravery and active participation in the battle. Finish off the retreating enemy with the general's cavalry.
5. Lure enemies out of the city you want to conquer. Having lured the enemy troops with one detachment, capture the city with your other detachment.
6. When storming cities, you can only put howitzers with a general as stormers, and the rest of the nearby army will act as reinforcements. Why is this needed? If you capture the city with the whole army, the soldiers will trample, and the destruction in the city will be great. And if only artillery, then only artillery will enter the captured city, and there will be less destruction.
7. Keep 1-2 galleys or sloops in each of your port cities. This will come in handy for the transfer of troops. The troops enter the port, sit on the galley. The galley is carrying troops to a nearby port, the troops are disembarking from the galley. The galley that brought the troops is being withdrawn from the port. The troops in the port board the next galley and move on to another port. And so on. Thus, you can transfer troops in one turn from Malmö (Sweden) to Piraeus (Greece), in general - in any direction you need. And if the Spaniards suddenly declared war on you, when your army in the Crimea is sunbathing, we can use our existing ports in the Mediterranean. The Crimean army, to the chagrin of the Spaniards, landed somewhere near Madrid in one move.

These are just a few of your options that are included in the game. Good luck!

12.02.2015 06:55

Konstantin

And why doesn’t anyone write that after the capture of St. Petersburg, the seaport must be destroyed in favor of the trade, this is + money, since ship technologies are not soon and it doesn’t need up to 30 years for sure.

19.12.2014 19:37

As for me, it's better to immediately attack the South and to the last deny the war in the north, I used to do that. But now I decided to do it differently and, by the way, almost like in this advice. I gathered the entire central army and led it to the border with St. Petersburg, literally on turn 3, Denmark asks for help. Intervened immediately and the first attack went to St. Petersburg. Because of the best Russian roads, a couple of meters were not enough to St. Petersburg. Naturally, the Swedes attacked me. And they were one and a half times more. And I, by the way, on the highest difficulty for battles and campaign. As a result, my artillery saved the entire army, and the general stopped the fleeing "wars" as many as 3 times. Yes, this is from the guide, and yes, it really works, but sometimes. The Swedes did not retreat, they were completely defeated, and the general was killed. Peter surrendered without a fight. And here I am at the Baltic. But I didn't have to freak out. Because the army of the Swedes was defeated, I saved up my strength and sent them to the barn. Riga, similarly to Peter, capitulated. Slightly sat in it and moved the army back to St. Petersburg. The North calmed down, and the Swedes, ahuev from such pressure, switched to Denmark.

But in the south, things were, so to speak, not so hot. The Cossacks did not have time to form, into battle, they died, new ones were formed and again into battle. And so constantly. The money that I received from the north and the center of my mother, all went to the FUCKING SOUTH.
My advice is to immediately subdue Crimea, otherwise these arrogant creatures will be in charge in (in) Ukraine, the Land of the Don Army and even in Kazan. Because of Sweden, I captured Crimea very late, but not really, of course, but by the standards of the game, very late. In 1719, having spent a ton of gold and nerves, and most importantly courageous warriors and one general, I took Bakhchisarai. Joy knew no bounds, everyone thought, right now, Georgia and Dagestan will fall behind. FUCK THERE!!! They, realizing that a powerful ally has been destroyed, SUCH raids are arranged that you are only surprised how 16 people can be considered a regiment. Another decent pack of nerves went to Georgia, I wanted to pacify them and make them a protectorate, but they won’t. I had to capture.
One more piece of advice - do not capture Georgia and Chechnya, but make it a protectorate, even if they hate you, they will not be able to attack. And in addition, you will receive 50% of their budget. And the most important PLUS - the countries bordering them will not attack you, but they too. That is, by conquering, but not capturing, you will ensure the full protection of the South from the Caucasus. But unfortunately, in the war with the Marathas, you will, indeed, have to interfere. But this war will take place, not on your territory, which means you won’t have to be heroic and tear your ass to defend that village or this town. And spending will not be with you, but with your wards. And this, already, is their problem.
The result will be that by spending a lot of money on the south, you will secure it and be sure - it will pay off for you, oh how.

Now back to the north. The clouds are gathering again. If the Poles, after all, dominate Europe, then no one opposes the Swedes, except for the poor Danes and the petty revolutionaries of Norway. And the Swede, again gained strength. A trip to the megarashka is new, but now the first goal is Finland. Everything will be there, depending on Europe. If in Europe there is a symbiosis in terms of the balance of power among Austria, Prussia and Poland, then the Swedes will, oh how, difficult and a full-fledged invasion will not happen. And, if Poland tears and mosques, then no one will stop the Swedes and they will turn all their strength on you.
Well, the third, but unlikely variak is, if Poland was bent by the Aryan representatives, then the Swedes will have enough problems and they won’t even get to you.

The overall result - I did it for the first time, but I was damn interested, the maneuvers are more abrupt and dangerous, which makes the campaign more interesting, because you worry and plan everything sooooo carefully. Regarding the capture of the Crimea, I was in the heat of the moment and exaggerated a bit: D. I took it in 1712, in the winter. As for the West, representatives of European apples betray at the first serious danger. When France, Spain and England started chasing me about Croatia, Rumelia and Greece. The Poles immediately fled, like they don't know me and I was left alone. Having defeated the Spaniards and the French at Athens, I, nevertheless, got out of the situation. And in this I see a huge PLUS. Do you know why? Because our legal territories, in the form of Belarus, Lithuania, Courland (present-day Latvia), and, in a sense, Lviv territory, are located with the Poles. And they untied my hands with their betrayal. It is now 1721 and I plan to send battle-hardened regiments from the north and south to Poland. Money is average - about 50 - 60k. And you know, everything is just beginning;)

AT Empire Total War, the developers have taken a bold step, even a breakthrough in the game series. Because they decided to tell us about a very interesting era.

Empire Total War introduces the player to the era of gunpowder, when muskets and artillery set the tone on the battlefields.

Therefore, very interesting units appeared in Empire, which I want to tell you about in this article.

There are a lot of factions in Empire and each has its own set of units. In order to describe all of them, even ten such articles will not be enough, but it is not necessary to describe all of them, because in fact there are much fewer units in the game.

Since all factions have them, the units among themselves, in most cases, are quite similar, if not in their own way. appearance, then certainly in terms of functions on the battlefield.

Thus, the list of units narrows down to a concise overview, the most interesting representatives, of all types of soldiers on the battlefields of Empire Total War.

The weakest units inEmpire Total War.

I want to start with the simplest units. As a rule, they play the role of local militia, and many of them are not even available for hire, and appear in the game, for example, during the defense of the city, as the local population who came to the rescue. The more developed the settlement that is under siege, the more such units will be there.

Militia.

Historically, these troops took people from local residents. These were soldiers, as they say, part-time. That is, they combined service with work in their main specialty.

In most nations, militias are missile units. Their shot range is 70 points, and their accuracy rarely exceeds 25. These units also have low reload speed and small ammo. Well, their main drawback is a very low morale.

Indians.

When a tribe is threatened, all its men are called up for military service, from youths to old men. Anyone who can hold a weapon in their hands. Those who have never been in combat have learned to handle weapons in hunting or have learned to handle weapons.

The merits of warriors could be recognized by his tattoos. They were applied to the skin with the help of fish bones, and the cuts were covered with soot. If any tribe won a victory over another, all the warriors of the victorious tribe received tattoos in memory of this event.

Indians - play the role of a militia among the Indian tribes. These are warriors armed with axes - melee fighters. But they have very low morale and defense, which makes them ineffective, especially against missile units. They just rarely have time to run to the enemy.

Black mercenaries.

These people are not even peasants, because they have no land to cultivate. However, they can also be armed and find a place for them in the ranks, although this will require a lot of effort. At best, they are armed with agricultural implements. They, too, can kill - if enough anger ...

Of course, the combat value of these units is very doubtful ...

These are perhaps the most original "militias" in the Empire. According to their parameters, they are so weak that in battle they can scare only with their ugly appearance.

Now let's talk about units from the category of line infantry. Line infantry - at that time it was the basis of any army. Therefore, all factions have analogues of this type of troops.

In developed European countries, line infantry is almost all of the same type. Only the colors are different.

Fusiliers and Line InfantryEmpire Total War.

Line infantry.

Line battalions or line infantry make up the majority in European-organized armies. They owe their name to the fact that they form the front line, and not because they fight in the ranks.

Their weapons are not known for their accuracy, and their range is no more than 200 paces.

Cossack infantry.

The Russia faction has interesting line infantry that is different from their European counterparts.

Units are made up of squads, each of which is capable of fighting as an independent combat unit. Traditionally, the Cossacks were incomparable horsemen, which is not surprising for the inhabitants of the steppes. However, on foot they fought no worse. They are brave, stubborn and swift in attack.

In terms of its parameters, the Cossack infantry is similar to the linear infantry of other countries, but not in its appearance.

Archers.

This is an analogue of the line infantry among the Indian tribes. In terms of their parameters, firing range and accuracy, they are in no way inferior to their European counterparts.

In the time it takes a musketeer to reload a gun, an experienced archer is able to fire several arrows.

Healers.

A very original combat unit available to the Indians. By their parameters, these are excellent arrows. Yes, the fact is that these units throw axes before engaging in close combat. Moreover, they throw at a distance half as long as the distance of the shot, but they do it with good accuracy and a fast “reload” speed. True, they have very little ammunition, that is, axes.

By the way, healers have one very interesting skill. They can inspire their units, and even stop them from fleeing.

Next, consider several types of units, which are also related to strings. Almost every faction has squads of very good shooters, which are better in their parameters than shooters from the line infantry, and as a rule are not available at first, but you can get to them by studying some technologies and building buildings.

Snipers Empire Total War.

I will say a few words about the best shooters, real snipers of the game!

huntsmen.

These soldiers are distinguished by initiative, aggressiveness and speed of the onslaught. They consider themselves the cream of the infantry. These fighters do not follow orders thoughtlessly, and move around the battlefield, according to their own tactics, independently choosing shelters on the ground and orienting themselves in the course of hostilities.

These are excellent arrows. The range of their shot is 90 units, the accuracy is 55 (in line infantry, for comparison, these parameters are 70/30). At the same time, Jaegers have a good fighting spirit.

I would like to note that if you have three or four detachments of such shooters in your army, then you can be calm. These guys perform any task given to them.

They are most effective against other enemy line infantry skirmishers. Thanks to their range and accuracy, Jaegers will have time to shoot the enemy before they get close.

They can also withstand fire for a long time, thanks to their fighting spirit.

By the way, these units also have one interesting feature. They can hide in buildings.

Dahomean Amazons.

These are perhaps the most exotic units. Women armed with rifles, however, shoot much farther and more accurately than line infantry. And they also have good melee and onslaught parameters. They fight so fiercely that they instill fear in their opponents.

The initial purpose of these troops, which consisted only of women, was hunting for elephants, but later it turned into the personal guard of the king. Or queens, as in this case, the Maratha faction that these units are available to is commanded by a woman.

The troops were replenished by volunteers or women who were brought before the king by their husbands or fathers, complaining about their inappropriate behavior.

Sikh arrows.

Another well-aimed snipers Total War Empire. Their only difference from the Jaegers is that they have a shorter range (70 versus 90 points). But the Sikh shooters have higher morale.

Sikhs are a brave, free-thinking people, desperate and skilled in battle. Sikhs are members of a religious community in northern India and are easily recognizable by their turbans, long beards and uncut hair.

They are desperate fighters and rightfully feared by their enemies.

Melee units.

During the times that Empire Total War tells about, line infantry and riflemen from other units set the tone on the battlefield. However, hand-to-hand units were still present in the troops of that time. Almost every country has a different type of troops in the game, but the goals and tasks they perform are the same.

In European armies, these were often pikemen, since only they could stand up to the enemy cavalry on equal terms.

Pikemen.

Pikemen are armed with long spears, similar to those used in the troops of Alexander the Great. Pikemen are shock troops, skilled in hand-to-hand combat and taking in numbers.

Also, pike detachments were often formed due to the fact that not every army could afford at that time to supply all soldiers with firearms.

The pikemen resisted the cavalry well, unlike the shooters, since the shooters simply did not have time to fire a sufficient number of shots until they approached the cavalry. Therefore, pikemen continued to be kept in the armies. Although their role, of course, fell.

City shooters.

Very interesting hand-to-hand combat units available to the Russia faction. They have a low morale, however, a high parameter of defense, melee and onslaught.

These lightly armed warriors are the traditional guards of Russian cities, combining the functions of the police, the militia and even the fire brigade.

This branch of the army was founded by Ivan the Terrible. Archers from the merchant class were recruited there. These are somewhat old-fashioned troops during the days of the Total War Empire, but despite this, Sagittarians are reliable fighters when we are talking about the defense of the homeland.

Sikh warriors.

And this, my friends, one of the best melee fighters in the game. Their melee parameter is 14, and their defense is 18 points. They also have a high morale. These fighters, armed with a shield and a sword, agree for the era of the Empire game, a bit old-fashioned combination 🙂

Now let's talk about the cavalry in the Total War Empire. Here, of course, the cavalry does not play such a significant role as in other games in the series, which take place before the era of gunpowder. However, do not forget that the cavalry is still a very formidable weapon against archers. Especially if you hit from the flank.

Each faction has cavalry as part of its armies. And between all the mounted units, you can also find a lot in common.

CavalryEmpire Total War.

General's bodyguard.

Only the most loyal and desperate fighters are enrolled in the General's personal guard. The most important advantage of these units is speed and mobility, as well as high morale.

Leader's bodyguards.

These units are similar to the General's Guard in European factions. According to their parameters, they are really a little inferior.

These horsemen are responsible for the life of their commander, so they are very skilled warriors, ready for anything to complete the task.

They must always follow their leader like a shadow, and if necessary, lay down their lives for him.

Polygars.

Polygars are a special kind of troops. Armored elite light cavalry. Despite the weight of their armor, they were distinguished by good maneuverability and mobility. This is perhaps one of the most powerful cavalry. Not in every faction will you find armored cavalry with such a high defense parameter, excellent onslaught and high morale.

Armed with blades, they are formidable opponents in hand-to-hand combat. They can move very quickly, so they are able to fight enemy arrows. In general, these are ideal units against enemy shooters.

Horse shooters.

Dragoons.

Dragoons are not exactly cavalry. More like mounted line infantry. That is, they can move and attack on horseback, but they also have the "dismount" function. When activated, units dismount from their horses and form a normal line infantry formation.

They cannot shoot on a horse, and use horses only to get to the place of deployment.

Kalmyks.

Enough original units in the game, because they are mounted arrows with bows. Agree, this is more like units of the era of Rome or Medival 2.

But as you can see in the era of gunpowder, this type of troops has not yet gone out of use.

These fighters have a firing range comparable to line infantry, though lower accuracy.

The Kalmyks fell into the steppes, who from time immemorial fought on horseback. Children learn to stay in the saddle even before they can walk. It can be said without exaggeration that the steppe warrior is merged with his horse.

General's bodyguard.

Elephants are already quite exotic for Empire: Total War. These units are available to the Maratha faction as the general's bodyguards. At the same time, elephants are a shooting squad. Plus, it's pretty sharp.

The main task of these fighters is to save the life of the general in the chaos of the battle. But if necessary, they themselves can go into battle.

Artillery.

Here we come to the artillery. Artillery is the queen of the battlefields of that era. In total, there are about half a dozen types of artillery in the game, which are almost 100% the same for all factions.

Mounted three-foot artillery.

One of the most used artillery pieces in the game is arguably the three-foot mounted artillery. Its main advantage is that these guns are very mobile. By attaching them to horses, you can quickly move the squad to another battlefield.