Mykans Guide - Fighting guide

[Mykan]

This guide forms part of a larger guide Mykans Guide

For a list of unit details please refer to the Elvenar Wiki or to the units section of Elven Architect. The below information is looking at how to turn the unit information into a strategy of your own. Note this information is only valid for world map provinces and not tournaments which have a different randomised approach.

Please note for this section of the guide
Every unit has 3 levels, basic, advanced, expert. The names of the units change as they progress through these levels. Sometimes it is simply adding a II or a III and sometimes words will be added to the name like “Bud” for the Bud Sorceress the expert level Sorceress for Elves.

For the sake of simplicity most of the graphics and comments refer to the basic unit. Generally the strategies needed do not change as you progress through the better unit levels. However at the expert level units obtain special abilities that the earlier levels did not have, this is for enemy and friendly units alike. As such your strategy needs to vary slightly to allow for these bonuses.

When to Fight
Before trying any fight you need to decide if you should fight. The best way to do this is to compare your squad size to that of the enemy. Fight difficulty ranges from easy (you outnumber the enemy), fair (evenly matched), difficult (enemy out numbers you a little), to impossible (enemy outnumbers you by 2 or more). See chart below.

Thanks to @varron for the inspiration and design
The scouts give you an indication of difficulty before and after scouting. The colours above are similar to those in the game but are only indicative and do not reflect actual difficulty of in-game colours..

If you are outnumbered consider your skill, troops available to you, combat pentagon, wonders that you own, special event buildings and any soon to activate military technologies.

Military technologies
Your initial squad size is 6 and increases with every new squad size technology. The increase is 3 times the squad size technology. So if you have researched squad size 1 and 3 your squad size would be 6 + (1 x 3) + (3 x 3) = 18. Researching new military technology is very important to be competitive in provinces.

You are not meant to or expected to win fights where your opponent is double or more your army size, so ensure you keep researching your squad size upgrades.

Wonders and Event buildings
Certain wonders increase the effectiveness of your troops by improving their hit points or increasing their strength. Some wonders also provide free troops every few hours. Please refer to the section on Wonders.

Some event buildings provide troop increases for a limited time, 5 days, from the time the building is built. They can be timed to provide a boost to your tournament or provincial combats.

Battle Pentagon
Each unit type is specialised against 2 other unit types and weak to 2 unit types. From the picture below Light melee is good against light ranged and magical units while it is weak to heavy ranged and heavy melee.

General fighting
Manual verse Auto Fighting
Manual fights will typically cost you less units, learning to fight early when fights are easier will save you in the long run. Losses are inevitable assess possible losses against the cost of negotiation, it can be cheaper to negotiate if losses are expected to be high. The more varied the enemy types the more likely losses might occur.

With auto fights the AI seems to cope better the less units types you enter. So all of 1 type of unit is easier for the AI then 3 or 4 different units.

Scout terrain
You can scout a province by choosing to do a manual fight and then quit, do this with your highest initiative troop. This costs nothing and allows you to scout a battlefield so you can position troops effectively.

Troop placement
The starting position of troops depends on the order you select them. The first troop starts in the middle, the second troop goes immediately above the first and the third immediately below. The fourth one goes at the top and the fifth at the bottom. Whether manual or auto-fighting improved placement can save you from suffering heavy losses.

The enemy targets the highest initiative troops within range, thus Archers are often good as cannon fodder to draw enemy fire.

Troop bonuses and special abilities
Look at the offensive and defensive bonus of your troops. A defense bonus of -80% means you take 80% less damage. An offense bonus of 20% means you cause 20% more damage.

Only one special ability stays in effect on an enemy if it is a similar type of effect. Effects of different types will stack. Pay attention to this if fighting with multiple troops with the same effect as the impact on the enemy changes based on who attacked them last. For example a -20% weakens enemy will replace a -60% weakens enemy if it was the last attack on the enemy.

Retaliation and focused attacks
A troop only retaliates once per turn so ganging up on an enemy can mean you take less damage than fighting 1v1. Cerberus and War dogs get an increased number of retaliations when they are 2 and 3 star troops.

Retaliation typically only occurs when in close combat range (touching the other hex). Rangers are an exception that can retaliate from range.

Troop selection
The game has a user interface that helps with identifying good unit choice

Thanks to @ptparks for the image
When you hover over a unit it will highlight enemy units that it has an advantage against or is neutral to. The pop-up above your unit shows which units it is strong against with a sword rating and which is neutral. For details of why there are these ratings check the unit information in game, wiki or elven architect for details.

 

[Mykan]

Human Troops
Axe Barbarian

Light melee unit
It has attack bonuses for light range and mage units. When they become storm barbarians they gain a special ability that increases damage on an enemy by 30% for 1 round. Both light range and mage units have the advantage of distance, you will need to draw them in close or run them down quick to take advantage of your attack bonus.

Crossbowman

Light range unit
It has attack and defense bonuses for heavy melee and mage units. When they become Master Crossbowman they gain a special ability to reduce enemy attacks by 20% for 3 turns.

They are good in fights with combinations of Heavy Melee and Mage units due to all round abilities against both units.

These units have a high initiative so they will be targeted first by enemy troops. You can use this to draw in the enemy for your slower moving units to close in. They are also ideal for scouting maps to decide placement. When they get the special ability this can be used to provide cover for allies to close on an enemy or in combination with defense bonuses to greatly reduce damage.

Priest

Mage unit
It has attack bonuses for heavy melee and heavy range plus defense bonus for heavy range. Special ability increase damage to enemy units by 40% for 2 rounds. When they become sacred priests they gain a special ability to reduce enemy attacks by 30% for 2 turns.

These unit are particularly effective against heavy range units due to their defense bonus, as sacred priests their defense bonus and special ability can make them immune to heavy range units. Also works well in combination with paladins against heavy range.

They can be used against Heavy Melee units due to their long range and high attack bonus but you need to avoid getting cornered. A specialist hunter for Heavy Melee may be a better option.

Paladins

Heavy melee unit
It has attack bonuses for light melee and heavy range plus defense bonus for heavy range. When they become blessed paladin they gain a special ability to increase damage by 10% for 3 turns.

These unit are specialist Heavy Range hunters. A Specialist for Light Melee can be a better option or an all round unit like the Faineant Frog

Mortar

Heavy range unit
It has attack bonuses for light melee and light range plus defense bonus for light melee. When they become rad mortar they gain a special ability to reduce enemy attacks by 20% for 3 turns.

These unit are particularly effective against light melee units due to their defense bonus.

 

[Mykan]

Elven Troops
Sword Dancer

Light melee unit
It has attack and defense bonuses for light range and mage units. When they become sword acrobat they gain a special ability that reduces enemy damage by 40% for 1 round.

Light range and mage units have the "long reach" on sword dancers. You will need to absorb their first attack or rush them down to kill them. With a high imitative sword dancers are targeted quickly by enemy units. The map will determine if sword dancers or your archers are better to take out the mage units. Using them as kamikazes can be an option, drive in and take out the mages then sacrifice what is left of them while your other troops focus on the next key targets.

Archer

Light range unit
It has attack bonuses for heavy melee and mage units and defense bonuses for heavy melee units. When they become Elite Archer they gain a special ability to increase damage by 20% for 2 turns.

These units have the highest initiative so they will be targeted first by enemy troops. You can use this to draw in the enemy for your slower moving units to close in. They are also ideal for scouting maps to decide placement.

Note while specialised against mage units they have no defense ability against mages. You will need to protect them so every hit they do counts.

Sorceress

Mage unit
Attack and defense bonuses for heavy melee and heavy range. Special ability reduces enemy attacks by 50% for 2 turns. When they become bud sorceress they gain an additional special ability to increase damage by 20% for 2 turns.

Extremely effective against heavy range and heavy melee units due to their high defense bonus and special ability. Use their ability to reduce damage taken by other allies, for allies with high natural defense the sorceress can help make them immune to a certain units attacks. With a range of 3 she must be within striking distance of heavy melee units to hit them, be mindful of this in respect to terrain/other units or consider a blossom mage for superior range.

Their ability lasts for 2 turns, by alternating attacks between enemies you can strategically reduce the damage your units receive.

Treant

Heavy melee unit
It has attack bonuses for heavy range plus defense bonus for light melee and heavy range. When they become elder treant they gain a special ability to reduce enemy attacks by 30% for 2 turns.

These unit are particularly effective against heavy range units due to their high defense bonus, works well in combination with sorceress defensive ability. Their slow movement means you need to plan how best to close in on your opponent. Note they have only a mild defense against light melee units with no offensive bonus, if possible time it so you get first strike.

Golem

Heavy range unit
It has attack bonuses for light melee and light range plus defense bonus for light range. When they become granite golem they gain a special ability to increase damage by 10% for 3 turns.

Golems and sorceress make a great combination with one skilled at light melee/range and the other for heavy melee/range.

 

[Mykan]

Training ground units

The training grounds is a separate building to your barracks but shares the same build queue. This building is available from chapter 2. You may upgrade your barracks while still building troops in your training ground and vice versa.

Cerberus (Chapter 2)

Light melee unit
Specialist Mage hunters. A strong attack and moderate defense against mage units. A high movement range lets them close on Mages quickly. They also have a unique ability for multiple retaliations with later technology.

With no defense against light range and minimal against mages these units will take a lot of damage. Their high movement can often see them surrounded by other enemy units that have a specialty against light range. You will need to either draw the light range and mage units away from their allies or go for a kamikaze approach and aim to destroy their primary targets first.

This is a valuable early game unit to have a fast moving light melee option. They are also a very good choice against Abbots as they can close in one them quickly.

Dryad (Chapter 4)

Light Range Unit
Specialist Heavy Melee hunter. Excellent attack and defense bonus for Heavy Melee.

They have a reasonable defense against Mage units but no attack bonuses.

Banshee (Chapter 5)

Mage Unit
Specialist Heavy Range hunter. Excellent attack and defense bonus agaonst heavy Range units. They have a natural ability to increase damage by 50% for a short time.

They can also be reasonable against Heavy Melee due to a high defense bonus but would need to employ hit and tun tactics and they lack a decent offense bonus.

Orc Warrior (Orc Chapter)

Heavy Melee Unit
Specialist Light Melee hunters. They have a strong attack bonus against light melee but ony mild defense. Light melee often target Heavy melee units allowing the orcs to close in and damage them.

With only mild bonuses against Heavy Range units other units are better suited.

Your Orc resource is used to produce this unit. Thus if you are low on supplies you can still produce troops using orcs.

Orc strategist (Orc Chapter)

Heavy range unit
Specialist Light Range hunters. Strong attack and defense bonuses for light range. They have a moderate defense against light melee but no offense bonus.

Your orc resource is used to produce this unit. Thus if you are low on supplies you can still produce troops using orcs.

 

[Mykan]

Mercenary Camp units

The mercenary camp is a separate building but shares the same build queue as your barracks and training grounds. This building is available from chapter 7. You may upgrade your other military buildings while still building troops in your mercenary camp and vice versa.

Drone rider (Fairy Era)

Light melee unit
Specialised Light Range hunters. They have a strong attack bonus and mild defense for Light Range but their movement of 4 allows them to close quickly and inflict high damage early.They can be used for Mages but lack any defense bonus against them

Blossom Mage (Fairy Era)

Mage unit
Specialised Heavy Melee hunters. They have a strong attack and defense against heavy melee. Despite a movement of 2 their long range of 5 lets them keep their distance from heavy melee using hit and run tactics. They also have a strong defense against Heavy Range.

Ranger (Wood Elves Era)

Light range unit
Specialised Mage hunters. They have an exceptional attack and defense bonus against Mage units and a high initiative. Good movement, Range and the unique ability to retaliate from a distance makes them very good anti-mage units. They also have moderate attack and defense against Heavy Melee units and their good movement makes them a reasonable option for Heavy melee units as well.

Valorian Guard (Sorcerers and Dragons Era)

Heavy Melee unit
Specialised Heavy Range hunters. Good attack and defense against Heavy Range units with a range of 2. They only have a small defense against Light Melee so there are better options for Light Melee.

Faineant Frogs (Halflings Era)

Heavy Range unit
All round Light Melee and Light Range Hunters. Strong attack and defense against Light Melee units with a high range. They also have a moderate attack and defense against Light Range and are a reasonable option for these units.

Provinces
Summary
Each province has 3 unit types, you will have 1 unit that has bonuses against 2 of those 3 units (target units). This unit is described as your key unit for that province. It will be the main attack strength in that province for you. The third (counter) unit type is specialised against your key unit so you will need to determine what level of support, if any, that your key unit needs.

The pictures in each section typically show 2 support options, there can be more. The ones shown are your typical options but you will need to find the style that suits you. Sometimes an encounter exists almost entirely of the counter unit so you would use a different key unit in that instance.

If you are able to use your supporting units to eliminate the counter units leaving only your key units and the target units you stand a good chance of success. Encounters with a large number of counter units will require different tactics to normal, perhaps even an opposite approach.

Here is a summary of the key unit types for each province. Selecting units from that type will give you a strong advantage in most fights.

Early game players (Era 1 and 2)
As you do not obtain all unit types until Era 3 your strategy has to be different to other players. As a generic rule match range verse range and melee verse melee. Your units are often up against their counter units so loses will be heavy and you are relying on overwhelming your opponent.

Your melee units need to focus where possible to limit enemy retaliation moves. Your range units make it easier to chase down enemy units with high maneuverability. Of course still be aware of your units strengths and weakness.

 

[Mykan]

Provinces (Part 1)
Marble

Enemy unit types: Heavy Melee, Heavy Range and Light Range
Enemy units: Orc General, Knight, Canoneer, and Mist Walker

Your key unit: Sorceress (Elve), Priest (Human), Blossom Mage (Mercenary Camp), Banshee (Training Ground)

Early game strategy
Light range (Archer/Crossbow) are your key units. They can use hit and run tactics on the heavy melee units. You can use Light Melee (Sword Dancers/Axe Barbarian) as support, typically they will be targeted after your Light Range so may be required to "clean up" if your Light Range don't survive. When you unlock Cerberus their fast movement will help against ranged units and escape the Heavy Melee. In era 2 your key unit is Heavy Melee (Paladin/Treant) use light melee units to protect them from Mist Walkers.

Mid to Late game strategy
Mage (Sorceress/Priest/Blossom Mage/Banshee) are your key units. Light Range (Mist Walkers) are excellent against mages so protect your units from them. Try to kill the Mist Walker early, if the fight has mostly Mist Walkers consider using Heavy Range units as your main unit.

Support options
For support Light Range (Archers/Crossbow/Rangers/Dryads) are a good choice due to range and maneuverability. They are neutral to Light Range and great against Heavy Melee (Orc General and Knights), just avoid the Cannoneer with them. Archers will draw all enemy fire so they can also be used as cannon fodder to draw attacks.

While Light Melee are specialised against light range the gauntlet of heavy melee and heavy range units is most likely going to see them massacred before they can be used. Don't forget them though if the map or enemy composition is favourable although they will likely be kamikazes. When you have a training grounds Cerberus are also good anti-archer units and have large movement to catch and kill them, they will suffer the same weakness as other Light Melee and likely be killed by the enemy heavy melee and range units.

Heavy Range can be very effective against the Mist Walker, particularly Orc Strategist who specialise in Light Range. Heavy range is neutral to the Cannoneer but you need to avoid the Orc Generals and Knights.

Steel

Enemy units: Swamp monster, Orc Warrior, Thornrose Mage and Thief
Enemy unit types: Heavy Melee, Light Melee and Mage

Your key unit: Archer (Elve), Crossbowman (Human), Ranger (Mercenary Camp), Dryad (Training Ground)

Early game
Light Range (Archer/Crossbowman) are your key units. Try to eliminate thief and Thornrose Mages early, after that your maneuverability and specialty against heavy melee give you a clear advantage.Unless you face 3 or more Thief's you can likely go only Light Range as an attack. If you face more light melee use your own Light Melee (Sword Dancers/Axe Barbarian) units as support as they are neutral to Thief and specialised against mages. Your barracks units will be fine but if you have cerberus use them against the mages due to their speciality.

Mid to Late game
Light Range (Archer/Crossbowman/Ranger/Dryad) are your key units. They have bonuses against Heavy Melee and Mage units. Dryads are your Heavy melee specialist so use them in fights with lots of Swamp monsters and Orc warriors. Rangers are mage specialists and will be great against the Thornrose Mage.If there are a good mix of heavy melee and mages then go with your barracks units as a more all round choice.

These unit are susceptible to Thief units, thieves have no defense ability to light range, just strong attack bonuses so kill them as a priority or use terrain where possible to avoid close combat.

Support units
Mage units (Sorceress/Priest/Blossom Mage/Banshee) make strong support with strengths against Heavy Melee and neutral to Mage Units.They are also weak to Thief units so may not be the best choice when faced with several Thieves. The Blossom Mage is a heavy melee specialist with good range, a good choice with mostly heavy melee opponents.

Heavy Melee (Treant/Paladins/Orc Warrior/Vallorian Guard) make a good option to counter against light melee and are neutral to the other Heavy Melee units.The Orc warrior can be reasonable, other Heavy melee units have minimal offense/defense against light melee.

Heavy Range (Golems/Mortar/Orc Strategist/Faineant Frog) could be considered to counter Thief units. The Cannonner and Faineant Frog have long range to take out Thiefs. The main issue with Heavy Range is their weakness to all of the other enemies in this province. If your fight is almsot entirely Light Melee than these are a good choice.

Planks

Enemy unit types: Heavy Melee, Light Melee and Light Range
Enemy units: Orc General, Ancient Orc, Bandit, and Dryad

Your key unit: Golem (Elve), Mortar (Human), Orc Strategist (Training Ground)

Early game strategy
Key unit is will depend on enemy troop mix. Your Archer and sword dancer are strong against 1 enemy unit, neutral to 1 and weak to 1. A 2/3 mix is your likely approach favouring your unit that is best against the greatest number of enemies. For fights with a lot of Orc Generals if you can clear the enemy support and are left with your archers verse the Orc General you have a clear advantage. In Era 2 your Heavy Melee (Paladin/Treant) units will be good for fights with lots of Ancient Orcs and Bandits.

Mid to Late game strategy
Heavy Range (Golem/Mortar/Orc Startegist) are your key units. They have no or minimal defense bonus against light melee so focus on taking out the ancient orcs first.

Support options
Light Range (Archer/Crossbowman/Ranger/Dryad) or Mage Units (Sorceress/Priest/Blossom Mage/Banshee) provide support against the Heavy Melee units but are likely to be targeted first due to highest initiative. You will need the key units to help protect them from the Ancient Orcs, Dryads and Bandits. For encounters strong on heavy melee units these are your go to support choices, especially the Dryad and Blossom Mage

If the fight is strong on Light Range units with minimal Heavy Melee consider Light Melee units (Sword Dancer/Axe Barbarian/Cerberus/Drone Rider) as support units.

Crystal

Enemy units: Cannoneer, Orc Deserter, Hellhound, and Enchantress

Strategy (Chapter 1-2)
Heavy Melee units are available in chapter 2. Prior to that this is a tough province and your key unit will depend on the enemies in the fight. Your Light Range (Archer/Crossbowman) manoeuvrability makes it easier to catch the ranged enemy but the Hellhound will be a big issue. Orc Deserter are also specialised against Light Range so if there are a lot of those go with Light Melee (Sword dancer/Axe Barbarian/Cerberus) which can also help protect your archers from the War Dogs.

Strategy (Chapter 3+)
Aim to eliminate Enchantress early to protect Heavy Melee, you will also want to remove Hellhounds early as well, both of units which have to come within strike range to attack. Mage is an alternate choice to Heavy Melee but are very susceptible to Hellhounds.

Support option
Light Melee is a good support option to eliminate enemy enchantress and they are neutral to Hellhounds. Light range is also a good option against mages and have a range advantage but are weak to Hellhounds. Both support options are weak to the main enemy units, check enemies abilities before deciding which is the better support for a fight.

Scroll

Click image to enlarge
Enemy units: Mist Walker, Ranger, Orc Deserter, and Abbot

Strategy (Chapter 1-2)
Target Orc Deserter first to protect light melee units. If there are a lot of Abbots use Cerberus or Light Range units. Light Range can be support against Orc Deserter due to ranged attacks making it easier to reach them, however they are quite weak so Light Melee may be better.

Strategy (Chapter 3+)
Keep your Light Melee protected from the Orc Deserters who are specialised against Light Melee. Your speciality units against Light Range are very effective as is the Cerberus against Abbots. Heavy Melee are your alternate choice, the Orc Strategist really shines against Light Range enemy units.

Support Units
Mages are a good support option is few to no rangers are against them, Mist walkers specialise against Heavy range so are less threatening to a mage than a normal Light Range unit. While heavy range could be used against Orc Deserters the long range ability of all enemies makes this a poor choice unless the fight is almost entirely Orc Deserters.

Light Range is another good support option as they are neutral to the main units and have a ranged ability to take out the Abbots they are likely to be kamikaze in nature as they will draw enemy fire. You need fast moving mobile troops as all enemies have ranged attacks.

Unit Comparison
Continued in the below post
https://us.forum.elvenar.com/index.php?threads/mykans-guide-fighting-guide.4205/page-3#post-76350

 

[DeletedUser2870]

Sounds nice, except the cerberus still can not be made by elves.
And the mercenary camp units still do not exist either...after at least 4 months after having build that bloody camp

 

[Mykan]

Provinces (Part 2)
Silk

Enemy units: Hellhound, Cerberus, Steinling, and Enchantress

Strategy (Chapter 1-2)
The key unit type becomes available in chapter 2. For chapter 1 Light Melee will be your go to units as they are neutral to the main enemy unit.Your Light Range are handy for closing in on the ranged enemy units, just keep them away from the Hellhounds and Cerberus. Your fast moving Cerberus could be used to neutralise enemy Mage units and Steinling although they may suffer heavy losses.

Strategy (Chapter 3+)
The slow speed of Heavy Melee is often their issue but with all enemies needing to be in close to attack you can try waiting for them to close and gain first strike or be prepared to counter attack if they get to you first. Try to remove Enchantress first due to her ability against Heavy Melee.

While most heavy melee units are specialised against light melee they only have an offense or defense bonus except for the Orc Warrior that gets both who is the specialist.

Heavy Range units are your alternate choice with bonus against light melee and neutral to Steinlings.

Support Units
Light Melee or Light Range are the support choices verse the Enchantress. Light melee is likely the better choice as they are neutral to the main enemy units, cerberus is the specialist and is obtained early. Later versions of cerberus have multiple retailiations which will help when cornered.

You could choose to fight fire with fire and go with Mage units. The will be neutral to the enchantress and strong against cannoneers. On maps with cerberus/war dogs they would be cannon fodder and only good as a distraction or as a kamikaze.

Elixir

Enemy unit types: Light Melee, Light Range and Heavy Melee
Enemy units: Thief, Drone Rider, Bandit, and Orc General

Your Key Unit: Golem (Elve), Mortar (Human), Orc Strategist (Training Ground), Faineant Frog (Mercenary Camp)

Faineant Frog is specialised against light melee and Orc Strategist is specialised against Light Range, consider these key units there is a lot of their specialised unit type. You base Heavy Melee option is a strong choice and best with mixed opponents.

Early game
This is a difficulty province as you have no troops with the advantage against most enemies. You will have neutral attacks except for your Light Range against the Orc Generals where you will have the advantage.

Light Range (Archer/Crossbow) are your key units. Use your range to eliminate the enemy Light Range and Light Melee units then try hit and run tactics on the Orc Generals. Light Melee (Sword Dancer/Axe Barbarian/Cerberus) can help protect against light melee units and assist with Light Range but will be slaughtered if the Orc General catches them. In Era 2 you have access to Heavy Melee units that will provide your archers some protection from the Thief, Drone Rider and Orc General.

Mid-late game
Avoid the Orc Generals while you take down the Thief, Drone Rider and Bandit. The enemy has 2 light melee units so the Faieneant Frogs can be handy with a light melee speciality, alternatively Heavy melee units can provide good support or be used exclusively in a mostly light melee fight.

Support Units
Mage units (Sorceress/Priest/Blossom Mage/Banshee) can be used as support to help with Orc Generals. Use exclusively if the fight is mostly Orc Generals. Due to their high initative they may be targeted first. Humans do have the benefit of the long range and can use mages as support more often than Elves in this instance.

Light Range units (Archer/Crossbow/Ranger/Drayd) can be used as support against the Orc Generals or exclusively if the fight is mostly Orc Generals. They face the same issues as mage units but are not weak to Bandits. Beware the Drone Riders are specialist light Range Hunters, use with caution in fights with these units.

Magic Dust

Enemy unit types: Mage, Light range and Heavy Range
Enemy units: Abbot, Enchantress, Wild Archer and Steinling

Your Key Unit: Sword Dancer (Elve), Axe Barbarian (Human), Drone Rider (Mercenary), Cerberus (Training)

Early game
Light Melee (Sword Dancer/Axe Barbarian/Cerberus) are your key units. When there are a lot of Abbots use more Cerberus due to their strong anti mage ability and fast speed, they can also help close in on archers. Axe Barbarians and Sword Dancers often have a higher initiative then Cerberus so they can be used to absorb damage for them and help with the Steinling. In Era 2 you access Heavy Melee units but these should be avoided unless there are a lot of Steinlings.

Mid-late game
Light Melee (Sword Dancer/Axe Barbarian/Drone Rider/Cerberus) are your key units. When there are a lot of Abbots use more Cerberus due to their strong anti mage ability and fast speed.

Support Units
Light Range units (Archer/Crossbow/Ranger/Dryad) are good support options. They have range and are anti Mage while Neutral to the Wild Archer

Alternatively Mage Units (Sorceress/Priest/Blossom Mage/Banshee) can be used to take out the Steinling and help with the other units.

Gems

Enemy unit types: Heavy Range, Light Range, and Heavy Melee
Enemy units: Cannoneer, Orc Strategist, Knight, Mist Walker

Your Key Unit: Sorceress (Elve), Priest (Human), Blossom Mage (Mercenary), Banshee (Training Ground)

Early game
Key unit is Archer/Crossbowman to take out the Knight and Mist Walker, Use Light Melee (Sword Dancer/Axe Barbarian/Cerberus) to soak damage from the Orc Deserter and Cannoneer. Orc Deserters are specialised against Light melee with no defense to light range so focus your Light Range units on them.

The Heavy Melee (Treant/Paladin) units in Era 2 will help greatly against the Cannoneer and Orc Strategist and should be considered your key unit.

Mid-late game
Mages (Sorceress/Priest/Blossom Mage/Banshee) are your key units. They have bonuses against Heavy Melee and Heavy Range. The Banshee is particularly focus against Heavy Ranged. Beware the Mist Walker who is specialised against Mages kill this counter unit first with your support unit.

Support Units
Heavy Range (Golem, Cannoneer, Orc Strategist) are key to helping take down the Mist Walker. Once they have killed the mist walker they can assist your mages with the remaining Heavy Range units

Light Range (Archer/Crossbowman/Ranger/Dryad) units are good support choices also, especially if there are a lot of knights. They will still need to focus on the Mist Walkers to protect your Mage units.

 

[DeletedUser2870]

I wonder. The sorceress may be effective against light ranged units....except that those light ranged units will slaughter the sorceress units in retaliation.
I've tried the sorceress in many situations since it was one of my fav units. Now however she is next to useless.
And bowmen as core? protect them agains mortar/cannons? Pray tell, how do you do that since those units have an unlimited range. Not to mention they seem to be the main target of many units. So all in all, the bowmen are only good as cannon-fodder. And for that the sworddancers/-acrobats are much better since they can at least withstand some damage. The archers already drop dead if another unit looks at them so to speak

 

[DeletedUser2870]

Mercenary Camp units
Drone rider (Fairy Era)
This is a light melee unit.

Blossom Mage (Fairy Era)
This is a mage unit.

Ranger (expected v1.16 Wood Elve Era)
This is a light range unit. Unit will strikeback an enemy if hit in close combat, no other light range unit will do this.

Yes....waiting for 4-5 months now for those fairy units. And still nothing. Wasted KP's. And a lot of them. I will keep to my view that if something is not ready, do not implement it. Inno never should have put these in the tree since they plainly weren't even close to ready

 

[Calenmir]

I'm looking for help so came here. I just got Treants and I see you say Treants work well with Sorceress except I won't get those for a long time. Would be nicer to see these in the order they are received (unless they are received in different orders depending on which world you are in, in which I apologize for asking). Right now I have Sword Dancer, Archer and Treant.

Although I have to say this is good information. Sounds like I would be foolish to try to fight with the Treants unless I have Sorceress too. So I'll just build them up rather than send them in. Thanks!

 

[Mykan]

I'm looking for help so came here. I just got Treants and I see you say Treants work well with Sorceress except I won't get those for a long time. Would be nicer to see these in the order they are received (unless they are received in different orders depending on which world you are in, in which I apologize for asking). Right now I have Sword Dancer, Archer and Treant.

Although I have to say this is good information. Sounds like I would be foolish to try to fight with the Treants unless I have Sorceress too. So I'll just build them up rather than send them in. Thanks!

I have started a new town to revisit a few things as too much for a new player compared to when I was there. Whether I stick with it long enough to get to this point I don't know. I believe in act 3 you have access to all units. Treants are still your tank unit and good against heavy melee, the sorceress ability just makes treants immune to heavy archers and much more resistant to light melee so they can tank for longer.

 

[Calenmir]

Yes, will get Golems as the first research item in chapter 3. Sorceress comes quite a bit after (knowledge point wise) but yes it is there as well.

 

[DeletedUser1766]

Thankyou Mykan for such a detailed strategy. I have used treants in some of these provinces as I have the elder ones and they survive but they are slow and if you do not kill their mages it takes the treants so long to chase them down for the kill. I tried that the other day and the mage killed 2 groups before they trapped her. Very slow but tough. I will try your suggestions and see how they go.

 

[Mykan]

Thankyou Mykan for such a detailed strategy. I have used treants in some of these provinces as I have the elder ones and they survive but they are slow and if you do not kill their mages it takes the treants so long to chase them down for the kill. I tried that the other day and the mage killed 2 groups before they trapped her. Very slow but tough. I will try your suggestions and see how they go.

I am still updating this as I go, there is so much to learn and test and that's before they bring out the next phases . I will be interested in how you go and any suggestions to improve the strategies.

 

[DeletedUser4778]

Hi Mykan. You might want to add that the sorceress can make the archer immune to heavy melee (although I'm not sure if they will nerf this in the next release). I've found golems and treants to be not that advantageous in the marble and steel provinces if there are mages and heavy range due to its weakness against mages and slowness against heavy range. Really sor/arc for me in these cases and these are where I often win with very light to zero losses. I'm also loving the Sor II which I just unlocked and have been using her against heavy range & heavy melee due to the archer's weakness vs. heavy range. She can really kill the knights now.

 

[Heymrdiedier]

i find this thread very usefull for new playeres, so im bumping it

 

[Mykan]

I saw this post from a member of the Beta community and thought I would add it to the guide as it gives a nice summary of the 15 units that are (will be) available. I have made some minor formatting edits to help with reading.

Light melee:
sword acrobat: average damage to light ranged + mage + 30% offense debuff
sinister cerberus: best for mage, average to light ranged + 20% defense debuff
venom drone rider: best for light ranged, average to mage + 20% offense debuff

Light range:
elite archer: average to mage and heavy melee + 20% defense debuff
poison dryad: best for heavy melee, average to mage + 30% offense debuff
pro ranger: best for mage, average for heavy melee + 30% defense debuff

Mage:
bud sorceress: average to heavy melee and heavy range + 50% offense debuff + 20% defense debuff
ghastly banshee: best for heavy ranged, average to heavy melee + 50% defense debuff + 40% offense debuff
blossom princess: best for heavy melee, average to heavy ranged + 30% defense debuff + 20% offense debuff

Heavy melee:
elder treant: good/best for heavy ranged(not known yet), average to light melee + 30% offense debuff
gruff orc warrior: best for light melee, average for heavy ranged + 20% defense debuff
heavy melee from merc camp not known yet, either best for heavy ranged and average to light melee, or average to heavy ranged and light melee + debuff

Heavy range:
granite golem: average to light ranged, best/average to light melee + 10% defense debuff
senior orc stategist: best for light ranged, average to light melee + 30% offense debuff
heavy ranged from merc camp not known yet, either best for light melee and average to light ranged or average to light melee and ranged + debuff

I see 15 different units usable in 15 different situation.

 

[DeletedUser4778]

Excellent! I was thinking of coming up with something similar and now have a good example to work with.

 

[DeletedUser5825]

Thank you for the great information on fighting. But I still don't understand how you make them fight. I only have Sword dancers and Archers. The quest I am on said that I have to win 5 fights. Well needless to said that I lost my first only fight so far. Because I do not know what I am doing. GolddustMisty