Combat
Combat is a large part of this game and has many things to know. The map of a combat is based on hexagons and reminiscent of old strategy games.
Units stats basics:
- Attack (
: Damage dealt - Defense (
): reduces damage taken - Speed: both initiative and movement rate
- Range
: movement points available - HP: All units have 10 Hit Points
- Retaliation: If a melee survives an attack it will counter attack the unit next to it.
At the bottom of the screen, you can see the order the units will act in. This order does not change and just cycles every round. It is important to know what unit goes next as you may be able to kill it before it can move.
When targeting a unit it will show the range of damage that will be done to the defender and how much the defender can do if it qualifies for retaliation. If the minimum damage is more than the total life of the defender it will say "retaliation 0-0 damage" hence it's dead. If the attacker is a ranged unit it will still state the retaliation damage even if the target is not in melee range.
- Terrain: All units except fast units have some sort of terrain advantage. Ranged units and artillery units do bonus damage on theirs and light units and heavy units have better defense on theirs.
Stats in Depth
Attack/Defense: Damage done is not linear. A Spearfighter (
) has 7 attack and 7 defense. You would expect it to do 0 damage. Base damage is 4-6 +/- attackers attack - defenders defense. It is not linear thought. The Spearfighter would do 4-6 damage. If they attack a Slinger (
) who has a defense of 3 that is their 6 Att - 3 Def = 3. You might expect it to do 3 extra damage but not so. It seems to be at least for bronze every 3 points over the defense = +1 damage done expressed as 5-7 instead of 4-6. The Spearfighter would do 5-7 damage. That means the average damage done for it would be 6. A slightly above average attack but it will survive it at full HP.
Defense: Having less defense is not as terrible as it sounds since the damage is not 1:1.
Speed: The units on each side with the most speed act first. If attacker and defender have a unit with the same speed, the attacker goes first. Speed is not how far you move 1:1. See Movement Cost
Range: Ranged and artillery units generally get more range as the ages advance. Range is a defensive feature because it allows you to attack while staying out of the opponents range. Later, ranged classes have enough range to attack over slow terrains whilst the other party can't move up to attack them through the slow terrain.
HP: never changes. To heal the units HP after a fight you can pay Diamonds or let it regenerate over time. Hovering over an injured unit shows you how long the healing process takes. The speed is also influenced by your guild's level. HP also effects the attack strength of units. When a unit takes damage it does less damage. A unit with 1 HP still does damage but way less than normal.
Retaliation: If a ranged class stands next to a melee class and attacks the melee class can counter attack. The attacker goes first and then the wounded defending unit can with still inflict the damage. The damage predicted to be done is based on the terrain. If the attacker is a light unit and located on the plains but plans to attack from trees, the correct damage range will be shown after the unit moved.
A unit can only retaliate 1 time between its individual turns. This makes it possible for light units to kill heavy units by swarming it and only getting retaliated 1 time.
Terrain: Fast unit and artillery unit can't move on rocks. Artillery units can't move on swamps. Proper use of terrains can make or break the combat. It is often worth 1 extra turn to get on the terrain you need rather than charge in and attack the enemy.