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Answered Encounters Guide

DeletedUser58

Guest
THIS IS NOT MEANT TO REPLACE THE UNITS WIKI PAGE (click to see) AS IT'S DIFFERENT IN CONTENT.

This is based solely on the first 3 unit types for both races (Sword Dancers, Archers, and Ents for Elves; Axe Barbarians, Crossbowmen, and Hellhounds for Humans).

I only thought of doing this after I had acquired a number of the provinces, so if I've missed any units please let me know. I'm also at the 6th and 7th circle beyond my own city and I'm just now uncovering some new units, if they're not included in this list it means I just haven't gotten to them yet (I'll update as I get to them or as I get a screenshot from someone else). Click the spoilers to see more info.

PLAYER UNITS
Light_melee.png
Light Melee Units: Sword Dancer (Elf), Axe Barbarian (Human), Hellhound (Human)
These units have decent movement and great damage, they're the best for taking out other ranged units, but keep in mind that they're melee and you have to reach the enemy units in order to hit them. They also have the highest initiative and thus they'll be the first unit the enemy wants to take out, so they can be good for taking damage.
Short_ranged.png
Short Ranged Units: Archer (Elf), Crossbowman (Human)
These units have a decent movement and good damage, they're best for taking out other enemy units from afar. Just keep in mind they're easily taken out and they're extra weak versus melee units so your goal should be to avoid enemy units attacking your archers.
Heavy_melee.png
Heavy Melee Units: Ent (Elf), Paladin (Human)
These units have a low movement and great damage, they're best for taking out other melee units but they suffer greatly from ranged units. They also have the lowest initiative so even though they can take a lot of damage, they'll be last priority for the enemy (the enemy will focus on attacking the other units first).
Long_ranged.png
Long Ranged Units: Golem (Elf)
Mage.png
Mage Units: Sorceress (Elf), Priest (Human)

UNIT STATS
Damage.png
Damage per hit (per unit)
Hitpoints.png
Health (per unit)
Unit_size.png
Weight (how much space a single unit of this type takes up in a squad --- example: if the weight is 6 that means 6 units of this type compose a squad size of 36)
Move_range.png
Movement Range (how many hexes on the battlefield the unit can walk every turn)
Attack_range.png
Attack Range (how many hexes away from the enemy unit your unit can be when it attacks)
Strike_back.png
Strike Back (whether or not the unit strikes back when another unit hits them)
Initiative.png
Initiative (the unit with the highest initiative moves first, then the unit with the second highest, etc. The enemy also focuses on attacking the units with the highest initiative, though if they cannot reach those units, they'll just attack whichever unit they can)
Supply_small.png
Training Costs
Time_small.png
Training Time

BATTLEFIELD UNITS PLACEMENT (whole segment provided by Odvar)
When selecting troops on the 'Army Setup' screen you have some control over where they will be placed on the battlefield. Whatever type of troop you place in the first slot when selecting your army will be placed in the center hex. The next will be placed in the second hex from the top and so on as indicated by the roman-numerals in the below images.

ElvenarTemp-3.jpg


ElvenarTemp-4.jpg


Also note that you can enter a battle and immediately surrender without a penalty. Use this to scout the terrain. If the setup is not advantageous to you don't hesitate to surrender and rearrange your troops.

Enemy Units Placement
The same observation works for figuring out where the enemy units will be placed. See the images below as an example. Use this to your advantage and place your own units in starting positions that works against the enemy starting positions.

ElvenarTemp_5.jpg

ElvenarTemp1.jpg


BATTLE TACTICS
Hit & Run (Kiting)

If you're facing enemies with a low movement range, you can easily defeat them using ranged units. You hit the enemy, they move closer but can't attack you due to their low movement range, you back away as much as you can and hit them again. Repeat till you defeat the enemy.

Hide & Seek
Even if the enemy units are fast enough to reach your own ranged units, you can avoid that from happening by using the terrain in your advantage. For example you can place your ranged units behind a line of terrain (rocks, trees, etc.) which prevents the enemy from reaching you in a single turn. As the enemy unit moves from one side of the terrain to reach your units, move your units to the other side of the terrain. Repeat till you defeat the enemy.

The Sacrifice
Use your melee units to take the damage or act as a wall, while you take out the enemy with your ranged units. Even if your melee units are doing fine on their own, you can make their fight easier by taking our enemy units using ranged units, this way you'll have less losses.

Onward
Sometimes the best course of action is not to wait for the enemy, not to hide and use terrain to your advantage, but simply to go all in and strike right away. If all your units have the potential to hit the enemy right away (maybe after you let the enemy do their first move) be wise and take out as many of the units as you can. Units do little damage on "strike back" so it definitely goes to your advantage to hit first.

THINGS TO KNOW
  • The damage a squad can do does not decrease with each lost unit, this means if there was a squad of 36 archers and you lower them to a squad of 25 archers they will still do damage as if they're 36 archers. It seems only after half the squad is defeated (so a squad of 36 units is lowered to 18 or less units) that the squad does 25% less damage. Thus your aim should be to defeat ALL units from a squad as opposed to lowering the number of units in different squads. As the Elvenar Wiki says "a squad will attack at least with half of its original squad damage even if there is only 1 unit left in said squad."
  • (courtesy of SirReal) It may also be worth noting for those new to Elvenar that ranged units cannot be 'cornered.' In other games featuring turn-based combat it is common for ranged units to temporarily lose their shooting ability if an enemy stands next to them. They regain their shooting ability only after they move away from all enemies. In Elvenar this is not the case. I.e., if an Orc stands next to your Archer, the Archer can still shoot at other enemies without moving away. They will only be forced to use their melee attack if they attack the Orc directly (and thus suffer retaliation from him).
  • Be observant and use everything in your advantage --- the type of units you're facing should tell you what kind of units you should use; the terrain should tell you how you should adjust your battle tactic; etc. You can even enter a battle using units with a high initiative which allows you to see the terrain, then surrender without any losses, and enter the battle again with more appropriate units.
  • Be your own judge and decide whether or not a battle is worth fighting. While you may enjoy fighting as opposed to negotiating encounters, if the encounter is too difficult and you can't progress because of it, might be best to raise the white flag and throw in some goods to negotiate. Units get expensive both with training time and costs as your city develops so you shouldn't be wasting them on impossible fights.
  • The tech tree research allows you to A) increase your squad size B) research new units and upgrade old units. While you'll eventually research both, it's up to you to decide which one you do first. Keep in mind that while upgraded or new units can make a change in a battle, increasing your squad size gives you extra fire power for all units and squads (as opposed to just specific unit squads). Meaning I would advise you go for increased squad size first, but there are other factors included here and ultimately the choice is yours.
  • Armories are important as they allow you to recruit more units. You choose whether you want to fight, how often you want to fight, and how long it will take you to replenish your troops. I would advise you have enough armories to keep you training time similar to your squad size, but depending on your choice of gameplay you may choose to do it differently.
  • As you scout further and further away from your own city, you will be meeting larger squads of enemy units, new and stronger enemy units, and you'll be seeing new combinations of units. The negotiation costs will go up as well, and starting from the 5th ring the negotiation costs include tier 2 goods.
 
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DeletedUser58

Guest
Knight
4G3YQmS.png
As evident from the stats this unit has a defense and attack bonus versus Light Melee units so you should avoid using those. Instead, use ranged units and if there are obstacles on the map use them to your advantage --- get the Knights on the other side to prevent them from reaching your achers.

Mortar
tNpEDYq.png
This unit has a huge defense bonus for short ranged units and a huge attack bonus for heavy melee units. You should only use Light Melee units (at least till you get long ranged or mage units).

Bandit
LiXUr0q.png
Bandits are tricky just like your own archers, they're easiest to take out with melee units BUT it may be hard to reach them with melee units due to battlefield terrain. It may be best for you to have both melee and ranged units, just in case.

Knights, Mortars, and Bandits can usually be found in the same areas, meaning you will be facing one, two, or all three of them together. If there are combinations of them (two or three) you should prepare accordingly and use a combination of melee/ranged units yourself.

War Dog
DKytfQZ.png
The stats should be clear enough, do NOT use ranged units versus this enemy. Not only do they have a huge attack/defense bonus versus them but they also have a movement of 6 hexes, meaning they can hit you on their first move and you have no way of using archers to do the "hit and run" tactic against them.

Cerberus II
CpbsDSK.png
This is an advanced version of the above unit, please see that description as it still applies. It just has its stats upgraded. A single change is its defensive bonus versus heavy units, which means that light melee units are the best in this case.

Orc
CVguHVH.png
Orcs are a bit tricky because of their 4 movement range, so they can get to your archers quickly. They also have a moderate damage (slightly higher than other units of its rank but nowhere near the damage Mortars can do for example) so if you use just melee units against them you'll suffer great losses. The best course of action is to use melee units for "soaking up the damage" while using ranged units to take out the Orcs.

War Dogs and Orcs can be found in the same areas, meaning you will be facing one or two of them together. In these areas your army should be mostly composed of melee units.

Swamp Monster
WuUjhVH.png
This unit has a lot of health and damage so you should avoid melee contact. Instead, because it can only move 2 hexes, use ranged units to hit it from afar. Then the next turn move away from it and hit it again ("hit and run").

Necromancer
X4QykgX.png
Necromcers are tricky --- you won't be doing any damage to them with short ranged units, yet they'll easily take out your melee units (both light and heavy melee). Your best course of action is to take them out with a melee unit QUICKLY (make it your first priority in the battle).

Steinling
s6deUeX.png
I've found the best option versus Steinlings is to use a meele unit for taking the hit, while applying additional damage with ranged units. So, a melee/range combination.

Golem II
ljexAaM.png
This is an upgrade from the Steinlings, but it is still quite a different unit. Its movement and attack range remain the same, but the health and damage increase significantly, and more importantly now it gets an attack and defense bonus versus ranged units. This means defeating this units with ranged units becomes pretty much impossible (or otherwise too expensive), so you should aim to have light melee units. Whether it's Sword Dancers, Axe Barbarians or Cerberus, you must use light melee units versus it.

Ent
cgXPUGT.png
See the advice below the "Swamp Monster" --- since the unit can move just 2 hexes, do the hit and run tactic. Do not let it hit your units.

Ent II
This is an upgrade from the Ent/Swamp Monster units so the tactic(s) for defeating it remain the same.

Swamp Monsters, Necromancers, Steinlings, and Ents can usually be found in combinations together. In these areas ranged units are a must versus Swamp Monsters and Ents, but you also need melee units versus Steinlings and Necromancers.

Thief
SKAPdFQ.png
With Thiefs it's best to have a melee unit taking the hit, while you're applying additional damage with ranged units. You can't use just ranged units because of the movement range of the Thiefs, and you should use just melee units because you'll suffer more losses.

Archer
J93DBwD.png
See the advice below "Thief" --- use melee units to take the hit, but also use ranged units to take out the Archers more easily.

Thiefs and Archers are usually found in combination together and they're sort of the most balanced units (they have good average stats, they do not excel in any way but they don't have specific weaknesses either), meaning you should use a good combination of melee and ranged units.
 
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DeletedUser126

Guest
Good job m8!

Was thinking about making this one, but didn't had the time :)
 

DeletedUser58

Guest
Thanks, Khebeln!

I had the idea when I saw your own guide/tips, I just couldn't get myself to sit down and write it up. :D If anyone notices something I've missed let me know so I can add it.
 

DeletedUser

Guest
Nice work ThePhantom. I just noticed that there are 2 types of dogs. The wardogs as you mentioned, but also Cerberus. It has slightly different stats as it doesn't have an att/def bonus against long ranged troops such as the Golem.

http://prntscr.com/60ljn2
 

DeletedUser

Guest
Well, Golem is not one of the first 2 units, i didn't read that part, but maybe you could still add Cerberus as it is a different unit. it's damage is slightly higher and so are the hitpoints.
 

DeletedUser58

Guest
Thanks, I'll edit that in later today, will add some other info then as well. I think the "graphic" for one unit may be used for multiple units, the Human unit "Hellhound" has the same graphic as the "War Dog" found on the map.
 

DeletedUser

Guest
The hellhound is now called Cerberus in your own unit as well. Yes, they used the same one for both of them, even though they have different stats. Maybe a different colour would have been better.
 

DeletedUser58

Guest
I apologize for not getting back to this sooner, I haven't forgotten about it I was just busy with other things. I have now edited it to include:
- Overview of the first three unit types;
- Four possible battle tactics;
- Tips and things you should know/keep in mind;
- Added "Cerberus II" in units.

Nosferatu, I haven't yet edited in the Cerberus because I'm unable to locate it anywhere on the map. Can you confirm it's a unit one would face in an an encounter? Based on the stats, I think it's an early version of the War Dog so it's likely from the first few provinces (and I didn't have notes for those). If it's just the human unit they I wouldn't be including it since it's not a unit one would face in an encounter. But please keep the info coming so I can keep updating this with new units and info! Hopefully at least someone finds it useful. :)
 
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DeletedUser

Guest
I was planning on making this a separate thread but it is very much along the same lines as this one. Phantom feel free to add/move this to another area of this thread.

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When selecting troops on the 'Army Setup' screen you have some control over where they will be placed on the battlefield. Whatever type of troop you place in the first slot when selecting your army will be placed in the center hex. The next will be placed in the second hex from the top and so on as indicated by the roman-numerals in the below images.


ElvenarTemp-3.jpg



ElvenarTemp-4.jpg


Also note that you can enter a battle and immediately surrender without a penalty. Use this to scout the terrain. If the setup is not advantageous to you don't hesitate to surrender and rearrange your troops.
 

DeletedUser58

Guest
That's fantastic, Odvar! I edited it in the first post of the thread. :)
 

DeletedUser

Guest
Phantom, very good job you are doing here. Read this one from the beginning of my career and it was very helpful.
Just a note: Your signature does not contain a link to this post here - by all means not for me. Do I have to activate something in my personal profile here?
 

DeletedUser58

Guest
Hmm it seems links just don't work in signatures, though it appeared as if it works when I made it a link. I've changed it now, so it's somewhat easier to get to this even though not as easy as a link. Thank you! Glad you've found it helpful. :)
 

DeletedUser

Guest
Awesine work! I just found this, and I think it should be a must for beginners to check out. Can this be pinned???
 

DeletedUser58

Guest
This and Khebeln's beginners guide and tips thread are an awesome read if you're just starting out (but can be also helpful even if you've played for a while). You can definitely find out all of those things through gameplay, but it hopefully helps having them collected on one place. :)
 
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