So the long-awaited Total War Saga: Troy has been released. Creative Assembly not only brought the most useful and interesting gameplay mechanics from the previous parts to the new part of the world famous franchise, but also developed many new, truly unique features for it. Never played a Total War game yet? Then you’ve come to the right place! In this small but highly informative guide, we’ll share with you valuable tips to help you on your difficult Trojan adventure.
How do you achieve campaign triumph?
It would seem that victory is victory, right? It will be interesting for you to know that there are two types of victories in Total War Saga: Troy: total and Homer. Let’s go through each of them. To achieve total, i.e. complete, victory, you need to destroy your first antagonist (we will talk about this below), destroy or capture a hundred cities and establish control over some (not all!) provinces on the world map. In general, a total victory.
But to achieve victory according to Homer will be somewhat (not very) difficult. There are three things you need to do:
- complete all epic missions for your hero and his group;
- deal with some enemies;
- fulfill one or more optional conditions.
Regarding the latter, here’s a small example: several provinces will come under the control of Agamemnon and you will need to bring the level of Achaean control in these territories to 60% or higher. In general, the conditions of such a plan are often, but there are also more interesting ones.
Collision with the first antagonist
The antagonists in Total War Saga: Troy are randomly selected during the direct campaign. The selection of the antagonist can be influenced by various factors, for example, the so-called “controversial situations” that arise between your main character and other heroes / factions. Problems can arise if the game decides to make an antagonist a group that you need to destroy in order to get that very victory according to Homer. If this happens in your game, well … you can only sympathize, because in that case, you have to sweat pretty well. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to negotiate with your first antagonist. Simply put, either you are him, or he is you.
More on Epic Missions
Do you want a Homer victory? Then you will have to deal with the already mentioned epic missions. It should be noted that the missions each time differ from each other, but they are always performed in turn, i.e. you can only do one mission at a time. It is also important to mention that the next mission does not always become available after completing the previous one. For example, after completing the first task, the second will immediately become available to you, but the third will open for you only after a few / ten moves.
Resources and value
Gold is the resource around which the gameplay of the previous parts of the Total War franchises revolved, nevertheless, in Total War Saga: Troy, players will have to accumulate several resources at once: provisions, wood, stone, bronze and, of course, gold. Literally each of the listed resources has its own special purpose and each of them needs to be given attention. How to get this or that resource? While inspecting the settlement, you can see what specific resource is being produced in that – capture the settlements you need in the game world and install buildings in them to extract resources. Also, do not forget that you can exchange the accumulated resources with other factions, a mechanic that will definitely come in handy when concluding agreements with them.
And what kind of heroes are …
Heroes in Total War Saga: Troy have several classes and subclasses. Each hero in the game can have one class and at least two subclasses, i.e. some may have multiple specializations. Let’s go through the classes that your hero can have:
- Warlord. A warrior suitable for almost any situation, capable of strengthening the entire group. You have the opportunity to increase the number of combat units that you can hire into your army if you take a commander subclass for your hero, pump it to the fifth level and select the appropriate perk.
- Fighter. A hero like this is best suited for melee battles, and his perks are mainly aimed at increasing the level of rage.
- Intercessors. On the battlefield, such heroes are engaged in provoking enemy units. Increase the defense, stamina and health of your army.
- Archers. As you might guess, the heroes of this class will be extremely useful at long range, behind the melee fighters. However, if the situation so requires, archers can take up swords.
And what about the development of heroes …
Up to level 14, your protagonist will almost constantly receive new perks and skills. After level 14, only the level of the hero and his characteristics will increase. The maximum possible level for any hero is 27.
Pantheon of gods
In Total War Saga: Troy, you can try to get the favor of certain gods, so that they endow you with a variety of useful bonuses. To increase the favor of the gods towards yourself, you can:
- build temples in their cities;
- order prayers and hecatomb;
- hire priestesses and oracles;
- … and much more.
Of course, no one forces you to please some deities, but it is always nice to have useful bonuses at hand.
Rage Mechanic & Ultimate – Aristea
By participating in battles, your hero gradually builds up rage. Rage acts in this game as a kind of manna, which at certain stages of its accumulation will allow you to use various abilities. And as soon as you accumulate a full scale of rage, you will have access to the so-called Aristea. Aristea is a kind of ultimate ability that will help you emerge victorious even from a seemingly losing situation.
How are sieges
Settlement sieges are an exciting pastime. During such events, players have access to such classic siege tools such as battering rams, ladders and even those Trojan horses, which, in fact, are just towers. It is clear that the defenders do not have such tools in their assortment – the fortress wall and structures on it are available. It is unclear whether this is a miscalculation on the part of the developers or not, but here is a little advice: as soon as the siege of the fortress begins, let your hero run straight to the enemy gates. The fact is that in this case, the towers located on both sides of the gate will not be able to attack you. We quickly destroy the gate and make our way inside.
Siege of Troy
As you might guess, at what point in the passage of Total War Saga: Troy you will have to take part in the siege of the legendary Troy. Be aware that such a siege is an obligatory part of the game: it cannot be completed automatically, like other sieges – you will have to deal with it yourself. The whole difficulty in the siege of Troy lies in the fact that it constantly replenishes its defenders, and at an extremely high speed. Simply put, this is a rather difficult stage. However, from time to time, Poseidon himself will come to your aid, who, expressing his obvious dissatisfaction with the Trojans, will destroy the buildings and walls of the fortress. Use these moments to attack!