General Guide

This is a general guide to managing the main aspects of Ancient Empires.

Public Order
Public Order in Ancient Empires can be hard to manage, and is intentionally designed to be particularly low after a recent conquest. With the historical focus of Ancient Empires in mind; conquering a people, removing their leadership and forcing new laws and taxes upon them should never be an easily accepted thing. Don't worry if your new region seems horribly ungrateful to their new leadership as this is, to an extent, intended. Public order can also be lowered through native discontent, rampant disease, raiding enemies, warfare in the region, squalor, disruptive buildings and, of course, bad governorship. This may seem daunting, but Public Order is not impossible to fix or manage. Ancient Empires has many mechanics and systems in place to increase public order.

Public order is extremely important in Ancient Empires due to the effects it has on the province. At extremely low public order, the province's tax rate decreases, the GDP declines, and troop replenishment completely halts. At -100 public order you will also experience riots which will damage buildings and require expensive repairs, while also at -100 Public order an uprising of rebels can occur, which will slowly gather in strength to eventually attack your settlement. Therefore managing public order is extremely important to avoid these effects. Positive public order is also beneficial as at very high public order the tax rate is higher, the economy has a higher GDP, and the population is eager to join and replenish your military forces making for very fast troop replenishment.

Main Chains
The most important building for influencing public order is the choice of primary government you establish for the region. For the majority of factions there are four primary government lines which can be built in the primary slot for each settlement. These can typically be split between a State line, a Tribute line, an Allied line, and Independent. (See Government Systems for more Information.) As a general rule, the chain which gives the least income usually gives the most public order benefits (or the least public order negatives.) This is because those chains represent a style of government which largely leaves the territory as independent and therefore with more economic and cultural freedoms which causes less discontent but at the cost of reduced income, taxes and usually garrison size for the ruling faction. It is usually a good idea to build a more independent government chain in newly conquered territory to lessen the impact of the conquest before eventually converting to a State or other line to gain when the populace has calmed down and become more accustomed to your culture in order to increase your economic benefit.

Temples
In most Total War games and modifications, temples provide a simple way to increase public order. In Ancient Empires temples are more complicated. Imagine you are a Celtic tribesman who has been conquered by the Greeks, within half a year these Greeks have constructed a huge temple to Zeus in the center of your capital city, naturally, you will not be happy with this. However, if you are a Greek colonist in that new city, this will make you happy. This is how temples work in Ancient Empires, Total War Attila allows us to use two mechanics which mean temples can represent this cultural and historical phenomenon. Firstly, temples increase Native Discontent by a percentage, native discontent is the negative public order caused by cultural differences, therefore a temple can exacerbate these differences, but not add to it when it is not there. Conversely, the 2nd mechanic is to increase public order as a percentage of the amount of your own factions culture in the region. Using our example, this means a temple can simultaneously increase native discontent and thus decrease public order from those Celtic natives while increasing public order through those Greek colonists. This ultimately means that building a temple is not a guaranteed public order fix but very much depends on the cultural composition of your region, if it is high in your culture it will be useful for public order, if it is not, it is perhaps wise to wait until your culture is higher to build a temple. Though bear in mind temples do increase your own culture and have many other benefits, so it may be worth the risk.

Entertainment
One of the most beneficial types of building for boosting public order are arenas, theatres, race tracks, and other forms of public games and entertainment depending on the culture. These buildings generally give a flat bonus to public order as well as some economic benefits from cultural GDP, however they generally increase squalor and have a maintenance cost which may not be offset by their cultural GDP modifier. One synergetic element of entertainment buildings is how they can boost the Bread and Games edict, which can increase by double its value when used in a province where an entertainment building has been constructed. Overall as long as your economy isn't too strained, entertainment buildings are a safe and reliable way to increase public order.

Sanitation
In Ancient Empires certain sanitation buildings can also increase public order. These are the sort of sanitation projects which would provide fresh, clean and running water to a cities population alongside reducing disease and squalor. Naturally such a commodity which is now taken for granted would be a very welcome addition to an ancient city. Like entertainment buildings, sanitation buildings also come with a maintenance cost, but this may also be offset by economic modifiers.

Governors
More than buildings, a governor can be one of the most important factors in managing the public order order of a province. A terrible governor can give massive public order negatives, while a good governor can turn even a rebellious province around. Three different systems which apply to Characters in Ancient Empires influence their ability to govern.

Attributes
The three attribute system of Command, Governance and Popularity. Command can be ignored regarding public order, however Governance will have numerous either negative or positive effects on the province's public order, though it does not directly modify it, it does modify things such as how quickly buildings are constructed, ..... Popularity of the character is also important, and this does give a direct public order modifier, either negative or positive, so even a governor who has low governance, may still benefit public order by being a popular likeable man.

Traits
Traits are also very important in determining a good governor. Traits are essentially the characters personality, and have effects which influence every single part of Ancient Empires. Traits can effect influences on public order such as native discontent, squalor, Popularity, and they can also give direct public order modifiers. Traits can be gained or lost depending on what happens or a character and how he behaves, and is only partly within the players control through what they decide to do with the character, so make sure to keep an eye on them!

Skills
All characters in Ancient Empires share the same Skill tree, which covers Governing Skills, Political Skills, General Skills and Combat Skills. Governing Skills and to a lesser extent Political Skills can have a large influence on the success of a governor regarding public order, and whats more is they generally have few negative effects, as they represent the characters increasing skill through experience regardless of his personality. It is possible to add to the characters Governance attribute through skills, or reduce native discontent, or directly modify public order, so when choosing skills for a governor, pay attention to the requirements of the province and choose the public order skills if necessary.

Edicts
Every province with a governor can be given an edict. Edicts in Ancient Empires cover many aspects but three in particular focus on public order, from different angles.

Assimilation
The Assimilation Edict is the least direct method, as it increases your culture in the province, this is beneficial for temples and other buildings which increase public order based on the presence of your culture in that region, but is a slow way to directly influence public order.

Law and Order
The Law and Order Edict is more direct through a small public order increase, but mainly works by decreasing native discontent in the province by a percentage modifier. This may be more beneficial if native discontent is high as it a percentage modifier which could outweigh any flat public order modifier, the effect can also be boosted by a governor with high governance.

Bread and Games
The third Edict is the Bread and Games Edict, which gives a direct and largest flat bonus to public order, this can further be increased through the presense of an entertainment building or a governor with high governance which can boost the edicts effects. Overall, the correct edict should be chosen based on the root cause of the public order issues the province faces.

Garrisoning
A simple and effective way to increase public order is to simply station an army inside a settlement. The larger the force, the more of a public order bonus will it confer. This does vary slightly between cultures, while any huge force is likely to keep any discontented natives heads down, a barbarian force rampaging around the town every night is less welcome than Greek soldiers going out to gamble, drink wine and sample the regions prostitutes. A stationed army also brings economic benefits to the settlement, but be aware that they can increase squalor too.

Traditions
Military traditions of certain forces can also help to increase public order, as for some cultures their armies can act as a sort of police force wherever they are stationed, so it may be wise to unlock those traditions if you intend to use this method. The caveat of using a military force to ensure public order is that once the force leaves the settlement, all the masked public order issues in that settlement will become immediately exposed, so this method is more of a temporary fix than a sustainable solution. Furthermore, while garrisoning a force does reduce its upkeep, there is still upkeep nonetheless.

Economy
Cultivating a strong economy is critical to any campaign in Ancient Empires. Without a strong treasury you will be left unable to expand your cities and your men will desert if you cannot pay them. There are many factors which can affect a players income.

Trade Agreements
Trade is perhaps the most central part of a strong economy. In the diplomacy screen you can see who you have trade rights with. Green means that you have an active trade route between your faction capital and theirs. White means that no trade route exists but one can be established through diplomacy. Red means that a trade route can be opened as no route links the factions capitals. Factions which have a favorable disposition to your own are more likely to accept a trade agreement.

Trade Goods
The chance of successfully negotiating a trade agreement is also affected by which trade goods your faction controls. These trade good have varying values for example gold is much more valuable than timber. These trade goods are fixed to certain regions and require a specific resource building to be constructed in order to produce the resource. The amount of the resource is fixed and scales with the tier of the building present. It is important to keep an eye on the bottom left of the trade screen where you can see the percentage that you are exporting. If you overproduce a resource and do not have enough demand from your trading partners you will be left exporting less than 100% of the resource.

Certain trade goods are also required to build higher tier buildings. For example temples require marble and docks require timber.

Local and Maritime commerce
Local and Maritime commerce are income from certain building chains primarily markets and ports respectively. Other buildings can also increase income from these. Roads will increase income from local commerce and they allow trade caravans to pass more easily from place to place.

Settlement size
Not all settlements are created equal. In the bottom left info panel in the campaign map you will see the type of settlement that each region is. These can be Sparse, Rural, Communal, Urban and Metropolitan. Each of these confer certain positive and negative attributes to certain areas. Sparse and Rural areas receive bonuses to agricultural income but negative multipliers to all other forms of income. Similarly large urban centers receive a negative to agricultural income but bonuses to other forms. A market constructed in the bustling city of Alexandria will be more profitable than one constructed in the Scythian steppe. It is important to check what type of region you are building in in order to dictate how to maximize profits.

Seasons
Ancient empires features a fully fleshed out seasons system; Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter. On top of this any season can have an additional effect such as a particularly harsh winter or a wet summer. These seasons can have a marked effect on a factions prosperity and it is important to think ahead. Generally speaking income will be lowest in the winter months so it may be prudent to save some of your coins to see you through this.

Taxation
Taxation can be accessed through the finance tab in the campaign screen. The tax rate can be varied between very low, low, average, high and very high. Naturally lower tax rates will produce less income but will also help increase public order and growth across your burgeoning empire. High tax rates will produce more income but will lead to unrest and reduced growth rates. It is important to keep a balance between tax rates. The tax rate is applied to all regions you own and cannot be set differently between regions. You can however choose to exempt a region from taxation. This will greatly help with public order but reduce your overall income.

On Campaign
When leading your armies to conquer new lands there are many economic factors to consider to ensure a successful campaign. A units upkeep is reduced when it is garrisoned inside a city, is unaffected when they are inside owned or allied territory, and is increased significantly when inside enemy territory. Upkeep costs can be reduced through general skills and traits. It is imperative that the player take note of this before moving out as having a barely sustainable income normally means that you will be unable to sustain your economy once your armies move out. The combination of troops on campaign and a harsh winter can quickly cripple an economy.

Increased upkeep costs while campaigning can be offset to a degree by setting armies to the raiding stance which will steal income from the enemy but also mean your army can cover less ground per turn. However this is not a permanent fix as armies cannot be in raid stance while besieging a settlement.

Similarly your navies can be ordered to raid naval trade lines, however you will raid and receive major diplomatic penalties with all factions which share the trade route, this may include neutral or even allied factions. The factions which share a trade route can be seen by hovering over it.

If your treasury cannot sustain itself and you become bankrupt, you will suffer constant attrition across all your armies as your troops desert due to lack of pay.

Mechanics
Sanitation in Ancient Empires generally works in the same manner as in regular Attila and other Total War games. You must keep your sanitation level above the level of squalor to avoid an outbreak of disease, if squalor outweighs sanitation, the chance of a disease outbreak increases and will increase further as squalor continues to increase. It should also be noted that it is still possible to have a disease outbreak while having positive sanitation, though it becomes much more rare. Squalor primarily comes from buildings in Ancient Empires, in particular from upgrading the primary settlement, which represents an expanding city and population. However Industrial buildings and even entertainment buildings can also increase squalor, as well as certain unfortunate traits from characters. Saniation buildings also increase population growth through better public health. Lastly, a military forced stationed in a settlement also increases squalor slightly.

Diseases
There are five types of disease outbreak in Ancient Empires which are Dysentry, Measles, Smallpox, Tuberculosis, and Typhoid. Some of these such as Tuberculosis are quite common and quick to break out, and their negative effects are not particularly severe. This is because disease was a part of life in the premodern world, and outbreaks of common diseases was something that happened frequently and people lived with, and while it did cause problems, it was tolerable, so their effects in Ancient Empires are not drastic. However certain diseases such as Typhoid are more rare and do have severe consequences, but require a much higher level of squalor to have an outbreak.

It could be said in Ancient Empires that a sanitation building is not absolutely required in every province, as long as squalor is not too high, you should only experience outbreaks of common diseases with annoying but not ruinous effects, however if you plan on building extensive industry and settlement upgrades, squalor will quickly increase to levels where dangerous disease outbreaks may occur, and at this point a sanitation building is a definite requirement.

Increasing Sanitation
Increasing sanitation is primarily achieved through constructing sanitation buildings such as sewers, aqueducts and qanats, depending on the faction and culture. These buildings usually have some maintenance cost, but they can also give economic, agricultural and even public order benefits, so they're usually worth the upkeep. Another way to increase sanitation is through good governors, certain unlockable skills can increase sanitation slightly, as well as certain traits, though beware of traits which increase squalor.

Attributes
All characters have three attributes, Command, Governance and Popularity. Command is a characters ability to successfully lead an army, Governance is a characters ability to successfully govern a province, and Popularity is a characters level of popularity as a politician and governor.

Command
Command is a characters ability to lead an army. Under level 4 command, a character will have negative effects on his army, such as lower morale and integrity. Beyond level 4 he will increasingly benefit his army, adding integrity, morale, a larger command aura, and unlock abilities such as rally and inspire. Command also increases the effectiveness of the Conscription Edict.

Governance
Under level 4 governance, a character will have negative effects on his province, including increased construction times, construction costs, squalor, and administration costs. Above level 4, these effects will improve, where level 10 governance will significantly reduce construction time, construction costs, while significantly improving sanitation and tax rate. Though a military effect, a good governance can also benefit as a general by reducing unit upkeep through his superior management skills, though low governance will also increase unit upkeep. Governance also influences the effectiveness of the Law and Order Edict and the Tax Harvesting Edict.

Popularity
Below level 4 popularity is considered unpopular and will have negative effects, such as reduced public order and increased native discontent if the character is a governor, and less political influence. Above level 4 popularity a character will have increased political influence, increase your factions culture, and improve public order and native discontent if he is a governor. Though be warned, at higher popularity levels a character will become increasingly disloyal as his popularity makes him consider his own chances at being ruler.

Skills
Every character has access to the same skill tree with four subtrees which cover governing skills, political skills, general skills, and combat skills. Additionally, all characters have one unconnected background skill with unique effects.

Governance Skills
These skills improve a characters ability to govern a province, they focus on public order, growth, reducing native discontent, improving state influence, and increasing taxes. This skill chain is most important for a governor.

Political Skills
These skills improve a characters ability to be a successful politician, they provide increased influence per turn, reduced influence cost of actions, as well as some overlap with governance skills such as reducing native discontent. This skill chain would be very important for a faction leader and heir.

General Skills
These skills improve a characters ability at being a general, the skills revolve around reducing unit upkeep, increasing campaign movement range, reducing besieging time, increasing army integrity, and reducing attrition. This skill chain is definitely recommended first for any general.

Combat Skills
These skills improve a character and his bodyguard's actual battlefield performance. The skills can improve his bodyguard's morale, attack and defense, and also unlock abilities such as raise banner, second wind and war cry, amongst others, it is also possible to unlock night battles through this skill chain. This chain is recommended for any general who has a powerful combat unit which will be frequently used in battle.



Traits
All Characters can develop traits which reflect their personality and experiences, there are hundreds of traits with wide ranging effects covering every aspect of the game. Traits can develop through situations and events that the character has experienced, and they can also develop due to the existance of other traits. Traits need to be paid attention to, lest your governor turn to alcoholism and gambling, neglecting his duties and ruining your province's public order and economy. Please see the traits page for more information as they are too extensive to cover here.

Ancilliaries
Ancillaries are the various items or followers a character acquires over their career. These ancilliares have various effects which are generally beneficial.

Generals
A general is a character placed in charge of a military force. They can either be from the ruling family, other nobility, or unaffiliated candidates. Choosing a good general is crucial to a forces success. The Command attribute is the most important factor here, at low command the general will reduce his own units morale, while high command can increase it amongst other benefits (see Characters). The skills they unlock are also very important for leading an army and can even turn a bad general into a good general with enough unlocked. Their traits are also important, some traits have very negative effects on leading an army, while some are very beneficial.

Integrity
Military Integrity is the overall morale of the force within the campaign, separate from battle morale. At low integrity, a force is likely to begin deserting, and may even completely mutiny and rebel, taking your general with them. Integrity is affected by three primary factors, the forces general, the forces cultural traditions, and the circumstances it finds itself in. Pay attention to your armies integrity or else watch mutiny and civil war unfold before your very eyes!

General
A good general will maintain good integrity in the force he leads, this is affected by his Command attribute, his skills, his traits, and his ancilliaries. A faction leader also has an automatic "Kings Own" boost to his forces integrity. Be aware of your general's effects on his forces integrity, the men do not want to be led by a cowardly or incompetent general. A general is also able to Decimate his force, this kills every 10th man resulting in an undesirable loss of men, however it does considerably improve integrity for many turns, so use it with caution.

Culture traditions
Cultural traditions play an important role in a forces integrity. This is most noticable for barbarian and eastern cultures, where their forces will suffer a constant negative integrity effect while in home territory. This is because the armies of these cultures were raised to go to war, to gain loot and money, so sitting idle in their home land gradually wears down their spirit to the point of mutiny, therefore a player of one of these cultures must make sure his forces frequently see combat. This effect can be offset by a good general however. On the opposite side, Roman and Greek armies are happy to sit in their home territory being paid a military wage and not having to fight, and will suffer integrity loss while on campaign in foreign territory. Again, a good general an offset this, but the player should keep in mind these cultural traditions and the different gameplay styles they encourage.

Circumstances
The circumstances and events an army finds itself in have significant influence on its integrity. Winter typically lowers integrity as the soldiers would prefer to be at home, while winter or desert attrition, famine, and other negative events will also lower a forces integrity. The largest loss of integrity through circumstance is to lose a battle, if integrity is low enough, a major defeat could be enough for the army to mutiny. However conversely a military victory will give a very large boost to integrity, lasting for two turns. Raiding is also a good way to boost integrity, therefore to increase a mutinious forces integrity, it is a good idea to raid, and seek out a military victory.

Traditions
Traditions are the unquie traits and features a military force has or can aquire over time through experience. These military traditions are split into two categories, Legacy Traditions and Acquired Traditions.

Legacy Traditions
These traditions already exist when an army is created, they represent the cultural impact of that society on its military force. They are not part of the tradition tree, though they can still be upgraded to a secondary level. These traditions usually have a large impact on the play style of a military force.

Acquired Traditions
These traditions are gained as a force increases its experience, which is typically gained through battles. Acquired traditions are unlocked through a tradition tree, and often specialise in certain functions such as allowing a force to have a great impact on public order, or being better suited towards fighting certain enemies such as Barbarians. It is important to choose traditions with respect to what intend to do with your force.

Upkeep
Military upkeep are the costs required to pay for your military forces.These costs not only represent the wages paid to soldiers, but their food supply costs, clothing, equipment, and other necessities, depending on the culture. In Ancient Empires, unit upkeep can vary considerably depending on the circumstances of the force.

Garrisoning
Garrisoned units within a settlement have a reduction to their upkeep, as their costs are somewhat offset by being supplied by the settlement. However this reduction will be lost once the force leaves the settlement, which can significant increase your upkeep costs and strain your economy. Therefore this needs to be planned for when considering going on a military campaign, if your economy is only just making money, then it is not ready to send troops out on campaign.

Characters and Traditions
As noted in the Characters section, a character with good governance, and with quartermaster skills can reduce military upkeep. Similarily so can certain military traditions, so if your economy is strained it may be worthwhile to race towards those traditions.

Raiding
In Ancient Empires Raiding has less negative effects than in other Total War games or mods. Movement range is only partially reduced, but most importantly, raiding reduces unit upkeep by 35%. When in enemy territory it is advised to almost always be in the raiding stance, as it will significant reduce the burden on your economy. It may occasionally be beneficial to also raid within your own territory, if your public order can take it. Remember, historical military forces maintained themselves in the field by raiding and pillaging, so let it be your default stance.

Recruitment Overview
In Ancient Empires recruitment of units can come from many sources. It should be noted that in Ancient Empires many factions have rosters with limited core troop types, such as Parthia lacking significant melee units until far into their technology tree, or the Caledonians lacking heavy cavalry and being forced to rely on chariots. These rosters represent the historical circumstances of these factions but also serve as a way to introduce varied and challenging gameplay into Ancient Empires, as opposed to other Total War experiences which become so excited in making new units that every faction has every sort of troop with no limitations. We believe this inhibits challenge and tactical innovation. That said, it is still possible in Ancient Empires to fill in the tactical holes of your factions core roster by utilising mercenaries and AOR troops, however these will have to be collected from various regions, a challenge in itself. Ancient Empire's roster philosophy also tries to avoid doubling up on units of the same historical origin. You will struggle to find two units such as "Peasant Spearmen" and "Spearmen Peasantry" in Ancient Empires, (A suituation common in other TW experiences), which means each unit in Ancient Empires has a unique cultural and social background. This does make the unit rosters somewhat smaller than other TW experiences, however our philosophy is that less is more in this circumstance, as unit duplication only serves to unnecessarily bloat rosters. Nonetheless faction rosters are still relatively large, just not gigantic in comparison to some TW experiences, and besides that, Ancient Empires has an extensive amount of AOR and Mercenary units to be explored.

Capitals
The capital in a unique building chain and unlocks recruitment of all of a factions core units over its various levels (Technology still required). This is unique, other main building chains do not allow unit recruitment, therefore to recruit outside of your capital province, you will have to rely on Barracks, Auxiliary Barracks, and farms for units

Barracks
Barracks provide your factions core units over it's various levels, these are the units native to your faction and recruited from its citizens and culture. These units may be locked by technology which first needs to be researched. (Unresearched units will not show up in the building recruitment panel, which can make certain barracks tiers appear empty until the unit is researched)

Auxiliary Barracks
Auxiliary barracks provide access to local AOR (Area of Recruitment) troops from other cultures. (Note, within your own cultural region, you cannot access your own AOR units as they simply are your regular units). These troops are a great way to diversify your armies and fill in any weaknesses of your cultures forces.

Farms
Many units are available from farmland, but on a more limited scope. Generally low tier units are available from basic farmland, while noble estates naturally provide noble units, and pasture and nomadic style farms typically provide cavalry units or other hardy units which may originate from this method of farming. Farms also provide basic AOR units from whichever cultural region they are constructed in, for example you will have access to basic celtic spearmen if you build a farm in celtic land, even as a non-celtic faction.

Other Buildings
For some factions, various unique building chains may also provide units for recruitment. This is most commonly the garrison building, which while also boosting the settlements garrison, usually gives access to recruitment of a basic unit such as spearmen. Some factions may also unlock a royal guard unit from building a royal palace, frontier guardsmen from building trading outposts, and so on.

Ports
Naval units are recruited from ports, which are split into three lines for most factions, and two lines for barbarians. For most factions these lines are Fishing, Trade, and Military ports, while Babarians only have Fishing and Military ports. Fishing ports provide only limited naval recruitment of smaller ships, while Military ports will provide the full naval roster available to that faction. Trading ports are an intermediary, providing more naval units than fishing ports, but less than military ports.

Mercenaries
In Ancient Empires, mercenaries are often abundant, more so than other Total War games. This is especially true in the Hellenic area of the map, as historically mercenaries were often the primary source of soldiers or at least heavily contributed to armies of that region in this time period. Unlike regular troops, mercenaries can be recruited on the same turn, however they still have recruitment and upkeep costs. These costs are typically more expensive than regular troops, however many factions which historically relied on mercenaries have many ways to reduce these costs, to levels that near the upkeep of their regular troops, or are at least economically viable. This reduction can come from technologies, military traditions, characters or buildings, so if you intend to use mercenaries a lot, make sure you optimise your forces for them.

Replenishment
In Ancient Empires unit replenishment is tied to many effects, but most noticably to public order. At very low public order, units will not replenish, as nobody in that region wants to join your force, however at very high public order, replenishment will be increased, and units will be back to full strength quickly. Other influencers of replenishment rate come from general skills, traits and attributes, as well as army traditions. Replenishment can be interupted by famine, debt, and disease. However overall a regions public order is the most important factor in deciding replenishment rate.

Battle System and Combat Mechanics
The combat system of Ancient Empires strives for as much historical realism as possible while still maintaining an engaging, fair and competitive gameplay experience. Just like real ancient combat, battles revolve primarily around morale, fatigue, and flanking, with less focus on a units individual combat abilities than other Total War experiences, although this still has a role. While other TW experiences may revolve around elite units physically destroying other units to the last man, in Ancient Empires elite units are more defined by their ability to hold the line and be reliable in battle. Most victories in Ancient Empires are not won by killing every enemy (except perhaps in prolonged sieges), but by causing the enemy army to route from the battlefield, which is when the true killing begins. Therefore victory is typically attained by outflanking manuevers, such as the hammer and anvil.

Morale
Morale may be a units most important stat in Ancient Empires. Battles are won and lost primarily due to morale, especially as one unit fleeing will incur a morale penalty to another, which can stack resulting in a chain route and ultimate disintigration of an army, Morale in AE must be carefully monitored and balanced, as almost all actions will affect it in some manner.

The morale scale of Ancient Empires ranges from around 5 on the lowest units to around 14 on the highest units (which may be buffed by campaign effects). As the most important stat, the unit tiers of AE are based on morale.


 * -8 = Tier 1
 * 9-11 = Tier 2
 * 12+ = Tier 3

Below is an imcomplete list of morale buffs and penalties from various actions.

Per unit losses


 * recent_casualties_penalty_6%   -1
 * recent_casualties_penalty_10%    -2
 * recent_casualties_penalty_15%    -5
 * recent_casualties_penalty_33%    -8
 * recent_casualties_penalty_50%    -15


 * extended_casualties_penalty_10%    -1
 * extended_casualties_penalty_15%    -2
 * extended_casualties_penalty_33%    -4
 * extended_casualties_penalty_50%    -8
 * extended_casualties_penalty_80%    -12

Random Negative


 * was_attacked_in_rear    -4
 * ume_concerned_panic    -4
 * ume_concerned_surprised    -4
 * ume_concerned_horses_frightened    -2
 * ume_concerned_night_battle_unprepared    -2
 * ume_concerned_general_dead    -3
 * ume_concerned_damaged_by_artillery    -2

Random Positive


 * charge_bonus(when charging)    +3
 * ume_encouraged_fortification    +2
 * ume_encouraged_on_the_hill    +2
 * winning_combat    +1
 * winning_combat_significantly    +2
 * defensive_fort    +1
 * ume_encouraged_inspired    +1
 * ume_encouraged_flanks_secure    +1
 * settlement_plaza(siege defence at capture point)   +1
 * blood_bonus (killing alot)   +2

Fatigue (Less if unit has Highly Trained attribute)


 * ume_concerned_tired    -3/-1
 * ume_concerned_very_tired    -5/-2
 * ume_concerned_exhausted    -8/-4

Per Army losses


 * total_casualties_penalty_10%    0
 * total_casualties_penalty_20%    -1
 * total_casualties_penalty_30%    -1
 * total_casualties_penalty_40%    -2
 * total_casualties_penalty_50%    -3
 * total_casualties_penalty_60%    -5
 * total_casualties_penalty_70%    -7
 * total_casualties_penalty_80%    -10
 * total_casualties_penalty_90%    -15


 * losing_combat    -2
 * losing_combat_significantly    -3

Fatigue
Fatigue is extremely important in Ancient Empires as it ties in directly with morale. Fatigue penalties can be severe, such as a totally exhausted unit which will face -8 to its morale, which can be more than the total morale of some units. (See morale for values) This may seem too harsh especially coming from other total war experiences, but this is historical and realistic to ancient combat and human psychology. You have to imagine you have just been forced to run 5 miles, you are completely drained and only want to drop to the floor, and then you are expected to fight in combat, for untrained conscripted levies, this is too much and they will likely just leave. Higher morale units will hold, but will be much easier to route. It should be noted that units with the "Highly trained" Attribute will only face half penalties from fatigue, such as -4 from exhaustion rather than -8. Exhaustion is an extreme example and is only achieved if your unit runs across most of the battlefield or fights for a very long time, most of the time your units will be within Active to Very Tired.

The fatigue effects of various activities is as follows, updating every game tick.


 * running cavalry +12
 * Charging +10
 * combat +9
 * running infantry +8
 * shooting +7
 * reloading +5
 * walking -2
 * ready -10
 * idle -12

While the fatigue scale is as follows


 * threshold_fresh    0
 * threshold_active    2400
 * threshold_winded    6400
 * threshold_tired    14000
 * threshold_very_tired    30000
 * threshold_exhausted    60000
 * threshold_max    66000

Fatigue is also important not only for unit morale but for their combat effectiveness, as higher levels of fatigue will reduce a units combat stats. The reduction is as follows.

Winded


 * stat_melee_attack    0.89
 * scalar_entity_charge_speed_modifier    0.89
 * stat_charge_bonus    0.94
 * stat_missile_block_chance    0.89
 * stat_reloading    0.89
 * stat_speed    0.89
 * stat_morale    -1

Tired


 * stat_melee_attack    0.80
 * scalar_bracing    0.85
 * stat_charge_bonus    0.85
 * stat_missile_block_chance    0.80
 * stat_melee_defence    0.80
 * stat_reloading    0.80
 * scalar_entity_charge_speed_modifier    0.85
 * stat_speed    0.85

Very Tired


 * stat_shield_defence    0.80
 * stat_melee_attack    0.64
 * scalar_bracing    0.69
 * stat_charge_bonus    0.69
 * stat_missile_block_chance    0.60
 * stat_melee_defence    0.64
 * stat_reloading    0.69
 * scalar_entity_charge_speed_modifier    0.80
 * stat_speed    0.80

Exhausted


 * scalar_bracing    0.60
 * stat_charge_bonus    0.5
 * stat_missile_block_chance    0.30
 * stat_melee_defence    0.44
 * stat_reloading    0.60
 * scalar_entity_charge_speed_modifier    0.75
 * stat_speed    0.75
 * stat_shield_defence    0.60

It is highly recommended to walk your units across the battlefield if possible, only running when urgency requires it. Often fatigue can be the decide of a battle or combat, where a superior but exhausted unit may lose to an inferior but fresh unit. Ignoring fatigue in Ancient Empires will lead to defeat, so pay attention to it.

Stamina
One counter to fatigue, is stamina, which is is an attribute level that all units within Ancient Empires have. Stamina represents a units fitness, or perhaps the lightness of their equipment, allowing them to run further without tiring so quickly. There are four different stamina levels, ranging from Very Good, Good, Average, and Poor. Each level changes the rate at which a unit tires and how quickly it recovers from fatigue and for this reason stamina must be considered when moving units around or sending them into combat.

Combat Pace
Direct combat in Ancient Empires is fairly slow, it takes a lot to kill a man, especially an armoured man fighting back, so leaving two units to fight it out may take a long time to get a result, however this is not how victory should be attained. When flanking, morale shocks and proper tactics are used, the pace of combat in Ancient Empires can become quite fast, with situations rapidly changing.

Missiles
Missiles in Ancient Empires are not particularly powerful compared to other TW experiences, and while it is possible to wither away your enemy numbers through missiles, this will take a while and is not typically a means to destroy a unit. Instead missiles often serve a more tactical and harrasament purpose. In AE being under missile fire not only gives a unit a -1 morale penalty, but also reduces that units defense, speed and shield effectiveness, so a unit under missile fire will be considerably weaker than if not. Missiles are also key to forcing an opponent to engage or disengage, particularly long range units such as slingers, which means missile units have a crucial role in helping you control the battlefield and the unfolding of battle.

The Battlefield
Battlefields in Ancient Empires are much larger than in other Total War games. This gives a much larger area for strategy and tactics with less chance of encountering an invisible border. It also heightens the importance of fatigue as the larger battlefield requires patience to not run your units and tire them needlessly.