Elemental - War of Magic
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Elemental: War of Magic 1.09e
FAQ Version 0.9
by Craig Gibbens aka Gyb
gyb1@hotmail.com
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x Table of Contents x
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Tip: Use CTRL + F and search the X.X number to jump to the section you want.
01.00 Introduction
01.01 Version History
01.02 About the Game
01.03 About the Guide
02.00 The Basics
02.01 General Game Concepts
02.01.01 Your Sovereign
02.01.02 Champions
02.01.03 Cities
02.01.04 Prestige
02.01.05 Influence
02.01.06 Resource Tiles
02.01.07 Elemental Shards
02.01.08 Food, Housing & Gold
02.01.09 Caravans
02.01.10 Technology
02.01.11 Magic
02.01.12 Kingdom vs. Empire
02.01.13 Combat, world map
02.01.14 Combat, tactical
02.01.15 Neutral Factions
02.01.16 The Store & Equipment
02.01.17 Quests
02.01.18 Maps and Map Size
02.01.19 Victory Conditions
02.02 Game Controls and Interface
02.02.01 Keyboard Map
02.02.02 The User Interface
02.02.03 Unit Commands
02.03 Common "How do I..." Questions
02.03.01 Demolish a building
02.03.02 Remove something from a production queue
02.03.03 Raze a City
02.03.04 Find a Caravan
02.03.05 Remove groups of units from a city
02.03.06 Pick the right bonus when my city levels up?
03.00 In-Depth
03.01 Sovereign Creation
03.02 Faction Creation
03.03 Dynasty System
03.04 City Placement
03.04 Resources
03.05 Diplomacy
03.06 Adventure/Domination
03.07 Kingdom vs. Empire breakdown
04.00 Strategy
04.01 The Fundamentals
04.02 Game Start
04.03 the 'Bluff & Plunder'
04.04 Tips and Tricks
05.00 Data
05.01 Tech Trees
05.01.01 Kingdom Civilization
05.01.02 Kingdom Warfare
05.01.03 Kingdom Magic
05.01.04 Kingdom Adventure
05.01.05 Kingdom Diplomacy
05.01.06 Empire Imperium
05.01.07 Empire Conquest
05.01.08 Empire Sorcery
05.01.09 Empire Domination
05.01.10 Empire Cooperation
05.02 Tech Rewards
05.02.01 Kingdom Civilization
05.02.02 Kingdom Warfare
05.02.03 Kingdom Magic
05.02.04 Kingdom Adventure
05.02.05 Kingdom Diplomacy
05.02.06 Empire Imperium
05.02.07 Empire Conquest
05.02.08 Empire Sorcery
05.02.09 Empire Domination
05.02.10 Empire Cooperation
05.03 Spell List
05.04 Kingdom Buildings
05.05 Empire Buildings
05.06 Kingdom Equipment
05.06.01 Kingdom Weapons
05.06.02 Kingdom Armor
05.06.03 Kingdom Equipment
05.07 Empire Equipment
05.07.01 Empire Weapons
05.07.02 Empire Armor
05.07.03 Empire Equipment
05.08 Champion Abilities
06.00 Glossary of Terms
06.01 FAQ & Game Glossary
06.02 Lore & Mythology Glossary
07.00 Coming "Soon"
08.00 Special Thanks
++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 01.00 INTRODUCTION +
++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 01.01 Version History +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
9/21/10 v0.5 - Basic outline, introduction, core concepts
9/29/10 v0.6 - Massive fleshing out of sections
10/06/10 v0.7 - Even more massive fleshing out, uploaded
10/10/10 v.8 - Tech trees, Sovereign creation, early game strategy, who knew
there were ASCII art generators?, victory conditions, misc.
10/12/10 v.82 - numerous spelling fixes, added more information in most of
"The Basics" sections, added Basic sections Quests, Shards,
The Store & Equipment, UI; in "In Depth" added Champion
abilities, custom faction creation; a few more tips and tricks
10/15/10 v.83 - Reformat into more thematic sections; added info in Cities;
changed the way I talk about Kingdom/Empire ideology; split
Glossary into Game vs. Lore; added start of Keyboard map, unit
commands, Caravans, common "how do I..." questions, Kingdom
Tech rewards list, Diplomacy
10/21/10 v.84 - Updates to Influence, Technology, Tactical Combat, Neutral
Factions, Tips & Tricks, Adventure Tech rewards, Food, UI,
Diplomacy, Champion Abilities; Finished Empire Tech rewards
list; Added Empire Equipment lists, Maps; more Empire
buildings
10/28/10 v.9 - Added how to remove groups of units from a city; added
adventure/domination; finished Kingdom equipment lists; more
Strategy
++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 01.02 About the game +
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Elemental: War of Magic is a 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate)
fantasy turn-based strategy game by Stardock Games. You are a Channeler,
a rare individual who is still capable of using magic after a global
Cataclysm destroyed civilization many years ago. It is your goal to rebuild
the world as you see fit, whether through peace and cooperation or war and
domination. You will found cities, build troops, research lost technology
and spells, recruit champions, found a dynasty, go on quests, and in general
do whatever else you want to do.
If you follow reviews or read gaming news at all you know that Elemental was
received somewhat poorly upon release and suffered from a wide array of bugs,
crashes, and so on. I am not going to defend or criticize Stardock here,
simply try to write an objective guide. Obviously I enjoy playing Elemental
and I imagine others do as well.
I am beginning this guide post game version 1.08, the game is now at version
1.09e. Game version 1.1, which will include some major game play changes, is
scheduled for early November 2010. And no I do not have any inside knowledge
about the date, that is my best guess based on posts from Stardock.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 01.03 About the guide +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Elemental includes a campaign mode however this guide is focused solely on
sandbox play. The goal of the guide is to make the game a bit more accessible
by breaking down the core concepts behind game play. As official documentation
on Elemental is somewhat... lacking, at least at the time of this writing,
I hope fellow players will find this helpful.
Since Elemental's release there were and will continue to be patches and
updates which will significantly alter the game play. I will attempt to stay
abreast of these changes and keep this guide as current as possible. At the
same point there are certain areas of play that I know are going to
drastically change in the near future (magic for one), so some areas of this
FAQ will be "glossed over" until game version 1.1.
Comprehensive FAQ's for 4X games can be dense, to say the least, so consider
yourself warned. I am an avid player of this kind of game and have been
playing Master of Magic, the game Elemental is often compared to, off and
on since 1994. I also owe a great deal to the wonderful community at the
Elemental forums. This is my first FAQ. Oh, and pronounce "Gyb" as "jibe."
++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.00 THE BASICS +
++++++++++++++++++++
Every 4X game ever made has a learning curve and Elemental is no different.
This section will familiarize you with some of Elemental's core concepts and
game play mechanics.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01 General Game Concepts +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.01 Your Sovereign +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In Elemental the leader of your people is called the Sovereign and he/she is
an actual figure in the game that you can move around the map. Your Sovereign
can attack and be attacked, cast spells, explore and go on quests, and
otherwise do anything else that your other units can do. Based on your pre-
game choices your Sovereign may be a combat monster, a behind-the-scenes
manipulator, or something in between. But regardless of your choices your
Sovereign is your most important unit because if he/she dies in hostile
territory it is game over.
In the early game you will have little choice but to use your Sovereign for
scouting, questing, defense against wild creatures, and recruitment of
champions. As your kingdom grows you will need to decide if you want to
continue to risk your Sovereign on the front lines or keep him/her safely in
your territory.
If your Sovereign loses a fight in friendly or neutral territory he/she will
revive at one of your cities but permanently lose one point of Essence. If
your Sovereign loses a fight and has no more Essence, no more cities, or if
he/she loses in hostile territory your game will end. On the other hand if
your Sovereign falls but your side wins the battle, your Sovereign will still
be there after the battle with 1 hit point and no Essence loss.
++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.02 Champions +
++++++++++++++++++++++
You will notice a number of non-hostile humans wandering the desert. These are
Champions, notable people who can be hired to serve your kingdom. By default
Elemental will spawn a Champion named "Janusk" near you after the first turn
of every game to act as your advisor (he can be disabled from the options menu
if you prefer). Janusk is free to hire and usually provides +1 gold per turn,
but rarely provides +1 tech per turn. His stats can be considered average/
below average depending on the version you get.
Champions can serve as scouts, warriors, or even mages if you grant them
spell casting ability via the "Imbue Champion" spell. Some champions have
abilities that make them best suited to stay stationed in a city, granting
a bonus to food or production. While every Champion has profession that
grants some sort of bonus or ability, some rare Champions have extra special
abilities such as "Crushing Blow" or "Daze." As of 1.09 in order for a
Champion to use these special abilities you will need to imbue them with
Essence, as the abilities cost mana to use. (list of all abilities in 05.05)
If you find a Champion of the opposite gender and have a higher reputation
level than they do (you can see your reputation level on the main Kingdom
screen) you can ask them to marry you. This will start the dynasty system,
covered in depth in 03.03. In general you want to marry someone with the
highest stats and coolest special abilities you can find as early in the game
as possible (which can be hard to do). On the other hand if your goal is to
have children as soon as possible then just marry the first opposite gender
Champion you find (Janusk makes a good choice if you start as a female
Sovereign).
+++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.03 Cities +
+++++++++++++++++++
Cities are your primary centers for production, research, and spreading your
influence across the land. Your Sovereign has the ability to build your first
city, but after that you will need to produce pioneer units to found
subsequent cities. For the most part it is only "worth it" to build cities
that will be near (say, within five tiles) a Resource Tile, but this is
debatable since "city spam" is always a viable strategy in a 4X game.
Optimal city placement is covered in section 03.04.
A city has two production queues, buildings and training, meaning you can be
producing a building and training a unit at the same time in a single city.
Beyond the up-front resources (gold, materials, etc.) you will need to pay,
production in your city is turn-based and buildings and units are measured in
"labor" which is the number of turns it will take to produce them. There are
several buildings which can reduce the turns necessary for unit training
(barracks, garrisons, etc.) but the only way to reduce building construction
time is with Champions that possess the "Administrator" ability. Each such
Champion will reduce building time in a city by 10% when they are stationed
in it. Note that it is possible to get a total unit production bonus of -100%,
meaning you can produce any unit in just 1 turn. Theoretically this would work
for buildings as well if you could find 10 Administrative Champions, but I
have not been able to verify.
To remove an item from your city's build queue, select the city, click on the
"building" or "training" tab in the lower left, and on the circular icon for
the item/unit in queue click on the small X at the 1 o'clock position. When
you remove something from your build queue you will have the gold/materials/
etc. that you paid for it up-front returned to you, but not any labor.
Cities have levels based on population. You can only build certain buildings
if your city is at the required level. The exact population requirements to
reach each level are a little different for the two ideologies:
Level 1 2 3 4 5
Kingdom 0 25 100 400 1250
Empire 0 25 100 500 1000
+++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.04 Prestige +
+++++++++++++++++++++
In Elemental your kingdom grows by having people flock to your banner. Your
ability to draw the refugees in from the blasted wasteland is called Prestige.
Each city has its own Prestige level and it starts at 1, meaning your cities
will grow by one person per turn. Special abilities and buildings can increase
this number. As we go along remember that your cities do not grow in
population because of food or birthrate, but because of Prestige.
++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.05 Influence +
++++++++++++++++++++++
Influence (territory that is considered part of your kingdom) is shown by
your kingdom's colored borders spreading out from around your cities. A city
will start with an influence radius of one tile in each direction, and will
grow to two tiles after about 13 turns (special abilities and/or buildings
may modify this). The influence will continue to grow indefinitely but at an
increasingly slower rate. Higher populations will cause influence to grow
faster. At present there is no way to track how long it will be until a
city's influence grows another tile.
There are two reasons you care about your influence: Resource tiles and
monster spawn. Resource tiles (covered next) are of vital importance to your
kingdom and can only be "claimed" by falling within your influence and then
being built upon. Wandering monsters can not spawn within your influence
(although they can spawn OUTSIDE it and then wander in) so spreading
influence keeps your cities safe, or at least safer.
Influence is also important because your troops can only heal while within
your territory (without special equipment), and there are spells (notably
teleport/spirit dance) that can only target within your area of influence.
Finally influence will convert the land to match your ideology; lush and
verdant for Kingdom, dark and foreboding for Empire. Your troops receive a
bonus when fighting on their 'native' land type, and a penalty when fighting
on the opposite land type. See section 02.01.12 for more on ideology.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.06 Resource Tiles +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A Resource Tile is a special tile on the map that, when claimed (is within
your influence and built upon), will provide a set number of that resource for
your kingdom each turn. If the Resource Tile is within 5 tiles of a city
square then it is considered "linked" and any bonuses that city has will
apply to the Resource Tile (only one city may be linked to a given Resource
Tile; multiple cities near a Tile will not stack). Once produced resources are
not city-specific and are available for use anywhere in your kingdom (global
resource pool).
Resource Tile control is vital to your economy. Unlike other 4X games you may
be used to, basic land tiles do nothing for your cities; only the special
resource tiles provide any benefit.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.07 Elemental Shards +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Throughout the land you will find elemental shards that you can claim. In 1.09
each shard will give all of your units a 10% bonus to Essence. Also most of
the elemental spells get a boost by controlling an associated shard; e.g.
the Fireball spell does 5 extra damage for every fire shard you control. You
also will need to control one of each elemental shard to cast the game-winning
"Spell of Making." There are a few other higher-level spells that also require
one or two elemental shards to cast.
Expect elemental shards to be the most valuable resources to control and
prioritize them accordingly. In 1.1 they will produce mana for you each turn.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.08 Food, Housing and Gold +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
While Prestige controls how many people join your city each turn, housing
determines the maximum number of people your city can support. A city starts
out being able to house 10 people; to grow beyond that you will need to build
housing improvements (huts/shanties/etc.), which requires access to Food.
I find it easiest to think about Food like currency. The number of Food
displayed in the top bar is how much you have, period. You can't store it so
if you have 4 food this turn, you will still have 4 food next turn.
Because Food is usually in short supply in the early game, you will need to
watch how you 'spend' it. If you build one house, that takes one of your food.
Food is also required to build many (but not all) gold-related buildings.
Think of food as the foundation of your economy, you are taking away some of
the food that would otherwise be used to support more housing and instead
selling it off directly for profit. Or something like that. Point is you need
food not only for housing but also for most economic improvements.
If your Kingdom/Empire ever slips into a negative food situation (usually
because you either lost a vital caravan route or city, or took over a large
city you couldn't afford food-wise) you will go into "Rationing." Rationing
imposes -100% to Prestige and -50% to EVERYTHING else (gold, tech, arcane,
etc.). This Rationing applies to all of your cities, so you will want to fix
the problem ASAP.
+++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.10 Caravans +
+++++++++++++++++++++
After you have researched the "Trading" technology you will be able to train
Caravan units. A Caravan has 1 move per turn and has no attack/defense value.
A Caravan 'remembers' where it was produced and we will call that the 'home
city' (you can see the Caravan's home city by bringing up the unit detail
screen). When you move a Caravan into any other city it will establish a
trade route and build a road between the destination and home city.
In 1.09 caravans boost food production. Based on the distance between the
two cities, their base food production, and whether the cities are of the
same or different factions, a food bonus will be generated when the trade
route is established. You can see this bonus on your city's detail screens.
The bonus is listed at each city (+42% for example).
Each turn a tiny caravan or trader unit will travel between the two cities.
This unit can be attacked and destroyed by hostile forces. If destroyed the
home city will be able to construct a new caravan, which can be sent back to
the same city or somewhere else. Roads remain even if the trader is destroyed,
so unless that particular route was vital to your overall food production I
would advocate sending replacement caravans to new destinations to grow your
road network.
Each Kingdom city is limited to one caravan. Empire cities can research
"Advanced Trading" which will allow 2 (or maybe 3, or it might be tied to
city level, still researching) per city.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.10 Technology +
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Once you start generating research you choose one of five areas to focus your
research in. When you have accumulated enough research you will be given the
choice of a technology to learn from within that area. Each lost tech
you research will make subsequent techs cost slightly more, both in that
area and across the tree (See 05.01, it is easier if you visualize it). So
it is not that each technology has a set 'cost' per se, but more that all
techs within an area start at a certain base cost and get more expensive as
you learn them. This means eventually you could learn 2 or three techs from
a different research area in the same time it would take you to learn the
next tech in an area you have been focusing in.
For the most part Elemental uses a non-linear technology tree; there are five
areas of research and you are under no pressure to research them all. It is
completely possible to win a game by focusing solely on one or two research
paths and ignoring the others, or by balancing your research over all paths.
Further, even within a path there are separate branches of research available.
Finally certain techs are not 100% guaranteed to be available every time you
reach a new research level, potentially throwing a curve into plans to bee-
line to specific techs.
When choosing a branch to research the game will list which technologies may
be available when your research is done. Techs listed with a green background
color will definitely be available; techs with a yellow background will
"likely" be available; and techs with a red background are "unlikely" to be
available. As I alluded to above, this means it could take multiple research
attempts to get an "unlikely" tech. The more research you sink into a given
branch will, over time, increase the likelihood of techs in that branch, so
eventually red techs will turn yellow and yellow techs will turn green. Even
the repeatable techs (Refined ____) behave like this, going from red to yellow
over time (though I've not seen them go to green).
The main source of research is the Lost Library resource, and you will want to
control as many of these as possible.
++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.11 Magic +
++++++++++++++++++
Magic is one of the areas that will be getting a large overhaul in a future
patch so I will not go into a lot of detail yet. The basics as of v1.09 are
you get +1 mana per turn for each caster, and they can store mana up to their
Essence attribute. You research spells using Arcane Temples in a manner
similar to technology. The main difference is you unlock "spell levels," and
once you do you can then research any spell of that level from any book you
possess. Some books are chosen at the start of the game, and others are found
or researched in the tech tree.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.12 Kingdom vs. Empire +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There are two ideologies available in Elemental: Kingdom (the 'good' guys)
and Empire (the 'bad' guys). You are in charge because you are a Channeler and
have tremendous power. Think of ideology as how you choose to wield that
power. The Kingdom ideal is sort of a benevolent dictatorship / rule of trust,
while the Empire ideal is more of a police state / rule of fear. Kingdom
ideologies practice Life Magic, while Empire ideologies practice Death magic;
you will automatically start the game with either the Life or Death spellbook.
This ideological decision spills over into the appearance of the land as your
influence brings it back from the Cataclysm. Kingdom lands are verdant and
sparkling, while Empire lands are dark and foreboding. Aside from the obvious
graphical differences each side also has their own tech tree, special
buildings, units, and equipment. The separate tech tree in particular lends
to a very different feel and game pacing for each side.
The costs and benefits for various buildings and resources are also different
for each ideology. For example, the Kingdom only gets 2 materials per turn
from an Old Growth Forest (via a "Lumber Mill"), while the Empire gets 4
materials per turn (via a "Timber Mill"). Note that when you take over an
opposing ideology's city their buildings and improvements stay (meaning the
captured Old Growth Forest will keep producing at the number it was prior to
your conquest). So in some cases keeping the existing improvement is better,
and in other cases you might want to destroy the improvement and build your
own if possible.
In general the Kingdom tech tree lends itself to fast diplomacy, while the
Empire tree lends itself to fast conquest. There are numerous other
differences, but that is the nutshell version. (see 03.07 for more)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.13 Combat, world map +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Combat on the world map (or in other words letting the combat auto-resolve)
is a risky proposition. Each unit in your stack will attack, in the order they
are listed in the stack, against each unit in the opposing stack. Your units
will use what the computer perceives to be their strongest attack, which means
for spell casters expect to blow a lot of mana. The up side of auto-resolve
combat is you can skip over a lot of tactical time when you clearly have the
advantage. The downside is you will often spend resources that you would not
have if you took the time to do it tactically.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.14 Combat, Tactical +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tactical combat is going to get a major overhaul in game version 1.1, so more
to come.
In 1.09 the game will randomly determine which side goes first. Each side gets
to move all of its units on its turn. A unit has a number of action points
equal to its "Combat Speed" attribute. A melee attack takes one action point;
movement, archery, and casting a spell take two action points. As long as you
have at least .1 action points remaining you can still take an action. When
you attack with melee the defending unit gets to counter-attack. However the
attacking unit applies its damage before the defending unit gets its
counter-attack, so if you kill the defending unit in one hit no counter-attack
will happen. A unit can only counter-attack a number of times equal to its
action points, meaning the average unit can only counter-attack 3-5 times.
At present it is not well-understood what the exact formulas for determining
chance to-hit, damage, how groups work as opposed to individual units, etc.
This will get fleshed out as the information becomes available. For now we
can assume it works something like: Attacker rolls a value between 0 and
Attack score and Defender rolls a value between 0 and Defense score; if the
Attacker's number is lower than the Defender's then it is a miss, if it is
higher then the difference is applied in damage.
The word on 1.1 is that combat will use a per-unit initiative system, allowing
each unit to act in order of speed regardless of which side it belongs to.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.15 Neutral Factions +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Games can include Neutral Factions (you can toggle the option when setting up
you game). A neutral faction will have one city that will never expand. You
can interact with a neutral faction in most of the same ways as "real"
factions (e.g. trade, treaties, marriage, etc.) or you can conquer them. Note
that even if you take over a neutral city it will never grow beyond level 1.
If you have a non-aggression pact or alliance treaty with a neutral faction
you can shop in their store, which will often have a few pieces of equipment
that are 'rare' or otherwise unobtainable. Also neutral cities often produce
rare resources, such as crystal or metal.
Neutral factions will not appear on your main diplomacy screen, but you can
talk to them by: go to the diplomacy screen and talk to one of the AI
Sovereigns; up at the top of the screen there is a window listing the name of
of the faction; on either side of that window are arrow keys; click the arrow
keys and cycle through the leaders until you find the neutral faction.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.16 The Store & Equipment +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In friendly territory you can press "S" while a Champion is selected to access
the store. The store will sell items based on the techs you have researched.
Note that if a particular Champion can not equip an item it will not be listed
in the Store's inventory. And before you ask, no, the game doesn't currently
list anywhere why some items can be worn by some characters and not by others.
"Traveler's Boots" can only be worn by the race of Men (Altarian or custom),
and Journeyman's cloaks can only be worn by male Men.
The store will also buy items you no longer need. It will let you sell quest-
related items so be careful. Speaking of that, I have never needed more than
six 'Midnight Stones' in a game so feel free to sell off extras.
Note that a Champion can wear an unlimited number of rings, amulets, trinkets,
packs, kits, etc. but not more than one of the exact same item. The items you
ARE limited on are: 1 one-handed weapon and 1 shield or 1 two-handed weapon; 1
piece of armor in each 'slot' (head, chest, arms, legs); 1 cloak; and 1 mount.
Boots count as armor for the leg slot. Also the "Legendary Cuirass" takes up
both your chest and arm slots, as does its quest-earned equivalent "Azur's
Armor."
I have not encountered a limit on the number of items a Champion can carry.
You can trade items between units by pressing the "T" key, or using the trade
icon in a unit's command bar. Champions/units/Sovereigns must be within one
tile of each other to trade. Note you will have to un-equip an item before you
can trade it. Also note that you can give items to regular units; they may
not be able to use them, but they can hold them allowing you to leave an item
with a unit at one part of the map so that a different Champion can pick it up
from there later.
If a Champion dies all of their inventory is lost.
+++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.17 Quests +
+++++++++++++++++++
Locations such as "A humble inn," "an odd hut," and such can grant your
Champions quests. At some point I will catalog them all in an 'In Depth'
section, but for now here are some pointers.
Many quests have a pop up screen where you either 'Fight the ____' or 'Walk
away' (or 'I'm not ready', etc.). Choosing anything but fighting ends the
quest and you get no reward (The Master Quest is a notable exception). So make
sure you always choose to fight.
While most quests can only be done once, there are a few repeatable ones such
as "A Useful Potion." If you visit a quest-giving location and nothing happens
it may be because you already have the quest it would have given you marked
as active. Finish your active quests and then go back to the location. You
can view your active quests in the Kingdom screen on the "Quests" tab.
Some quest-giving locations will not disappear after you have completed their
quest. Unfortunately you are just stuck with them. This is especially
annoying when "A humble inn" is within your city radius, blocking your growth.
A few quests can only be completed by your Sovereign. Make sure the stone/
dead rat/dragon egg/whatever is in your Sovereign's inventory and take him/her
to the location if you are having problems.
Usually if you zoom out to the cloth map active quest objectives will show up
in a bright yellow/gold color. When in doubt return to the location you got
the quest in the first place.
As of 1.09 at least one quest, "Destiny's Tutor," is broken. You can't
complete it so just ignore it after you visit the location that disappears
and gives you no message. It will continue to list as active in your quest log
but there is nothing you can do about it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.18 Maps & Map Sizes +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
At 1.09 the only map parameter you can control is size. Your choices are tiny,
small, medium, and large. Maps are not randomly generated; there are a set
number of maps for each size (the distribution of resources and starting
locations ARE random however). Which map you get is random unless you Load
a specific map.
In general I find the maps to be much larger than you might expect from the
descriptions. I feel you can fit five or six opponents on a 'tiny' map without
being too crowded, though of course starting location factors in heavily. Your
definition of crowded may vary. The large maps can support well over 100
cities depending on spacing.
The size of map you play on will have a substantial impact on your game.
Expect smaller map games to go faster and have more clustered resources,
while larger map games can take a very long time and have scattered resources.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.01.19 Victory Conditions +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Elemental has four victory conditions:
-Conquest:
Probably the most straightforward, kill all of the opposing Sovereigns.
Remember that killing an enemy Sovereign in neutral or their territory will
only cause them to respawn minus one Essence point as long as they have a
city remaining. On the other hand if you kill the Sovereign in your
territory while they still possess cities all of those cities will vanish (as
in poof, no more enemy civilization; sort of 'Fisher King,' the Sovereign and
the land are one), so be certain you have taken control of all the cities you
want before you kill a Sovereign in your territory.
-Diplomatic:
As soon as you are allies with every remaining non-neutral faction you will
win diplomatically. This means if you have one ally and kill off the last
hostile faction you will win diplomatically, so if you are intent on a pure
conquest victory do not make any allies. Key factors in winning by diplomacy
are forging treaties as early as possible, having a strong military, and
arranging marriages between your children and the children of opposing
factions. Having "Diplomatic Capital" also helps, but varies by game.
-Master Quest:
If you research towards the end of the "Adventure" (Kingdom) or "Domination"
(Empire) tech tree you will get the option for the master quest. Like other
quests expect this to take you all over the map and have several (somewhat)
challenging battles. Exactly how challenging they are will likely depend on
the kind of gamer you are; expect significant difficulty in the final battle.
Once you have all the pieces you must return to the location where you got
the quest. Note that there is an option if you want to complete the quest but
not win/finish the game (walk away from the final battle).
-Spell of Making:
You will need a LOT of arcane production for this one. You must research to
spell level 10, and then research the "Spell of Making." Even with a large
arcane knowledge per turn expect level 10 and the Spell of Making to take
40+ turns each, not counting the time it took to get there in the first place.
To research the Spell of Making you will have to have discovered the "Book of
Mastery" in the Magic (Kingdom) or Sorcery (Empire) Technology area (which is
an "unlikely" tech so it may take multiple tries). To actually cast the Spell
of Making you will also need to control at least one of each elemental shard
(earth, fire, water, air) and have at least 20 mana.
Good luck.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.02 Game Controls & Interface +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.02.01 Keyboard Map +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
For now I am only listing the keys that I actually use.
General:
TAB: Cycle through active units
CTRL + S: Quick Save
ESC: Options Menu
Space Bar or Enter: End turn (when no units have movement left)
Left-Click: Select
Right-Click: move to or attack target
Shift + Left-Click: Information about what you just clicked on
Shift + S: Find and center on Sovereign
When a Unit is selected:
S - Enter the Store (friendly territory only)
T - Trade items (with anyone within 1 tile)
G - Guard (presumably 'sleeps' until hostile unit comes near)
F - Fortify (requires tech research to unlock, gives defensive bonus)
X - Auto Explore (unit heads towards unknown parts of the map)
DEL - Disband Unit (population of unit returns to nearest city)
Space Bar - Skip/End Turn (for that unit)
When a city is selected:
T - Train
B - Build
X - Raze city (requires tech research to unlock) (bugged, works anyway)
V - Vacate city of all units
D - Detail screen for that city
Shift + Left-Click - Select multiple units within the city
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.02.02 The User Interface +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hopefully most of the UI is intuitive but here are some common questions:
That list along the left-hand side of your screen is called the "Empire Tree"
by the game, but I will never call it that because of confusing terminology.
Anyway, it starts by listing all units that are not stationed in a city, then
switches to all of your cities in the order you founded/conquered them. The
little red boxes next to your cities indicate how many troops are stationed
there, and the little blue boxes are the number of buildings you have
constructed in that city. If you click the "+" symbol it will expand that city
to show icons of all the troops and buildings. Clicking on the box itself
will center you on that unit/city. Mouse over a city box and it will pop up
the info card, which can be a quick way to check on current population and
cap for that city.
The top middle bar displays all of your current resources. Mouse over one of
them to see your per-turn generation.
The top right-hand corner shows turn count and has toggles for the mini-map,
terrain info window, and some other pop-up windows.
The bottom center interface is your workhorse for units, cities, and tech/
arcane production. I can't really do it justice with a text description so
this is one of the few cases where I will refer you back to the game's manual
so you can see screenshots. Just realize you really can do almost everything
from down there, but some of the buttons are quite small. Seriously, try
clicking every single part of it, there are things you can do from that
interface that I'm still learning after hundreds of hours of gameplay.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.02.03 Unit Commands +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
While you will get most of what you need to know about unit commands from the
Keyboard map section (above), there were are few points I wanted to make:
Functions like "Guard" and "Auto-Explore" will not turn off just because you
select the unit and try to make it move. This is especially noticeable when
you have a unit on Guard/etc. and then merge another unit with its stack.
I had situations where I kept moving a stack towards my city, only to have it
reverse direction and move away each turn before I finally figured out one of
the units in the stack still had Auto-Explore on.
Likewise if you merge your only active unit on the map with a stack that is
Fortified, expect bad things to happen.
While I personally believe keyboard shortcuts are easier in the long run,
when learning the game I would recommend using the unit action buttons in
the lower left UI to get a sense for what each unit can do and when they
can do it, since some actions are context-sensitive.
To date I still haven't figured out how to "Lay Siege" or what exactly it
would do if I could do it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 02.03 Common "How do I..." Questions +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
- 02.03.01 Demolish a building?
Go to the city build screen, one of the icons in the lower left (where you
select what building to build) looks like a shovel, click that button then
notice your mouse pointer has changed. Click on a building on the map and
it will ask if you want to destroy the building. Since it will be awhile
before you can recognize each building solely by its looks, expect to have
to click around a bit before you find the right building.
- 02.03.02 Remove a building/unit from the production queue?
Select the city and click on the 'Building' or 'Training' tab. You may need
to exit the city and re-select it if the tab isn't there. You will see the
production queue with circular portraits of the buildings/units to be built.
At the 1 o'clock position there is a tiny X. click the X to remove the item.
Any resources you had spent will be returned to you (except turns; turns
invested WILL NOT carry over into the next item in production if you cancel).
- 02.03.03 Raze a city?
You can only Raze a city once you have researched "Fortifications" as
Kingdom, or "Warrior Castes" (need to verify) as Empire. Once the tech is
unlocked you will see the "Raze" option on the main city screen. Note that
as of 1.09 the keyboard shortcut for raze city is bugged and will work even
if you have not researched the required tech.
- 02.03.04 Know where a caravan is?
In pre-1.09 versions the TAB key would include established caravans in the
active units it would cycle through, which was very annoying. TAB now skips
caravans, but that includes non-established ones as well (meaning you can't
TAB to find a caravan unit that hasn't made a route yet). Caravans also do
not show up on your left-hand screen list of units. If you move all of your
units but your turn doesn't end, you probably have a caravan sitting
somewhere. Your best bet is to zoom out to the cloth map and start hunting
for it. For this reason be very deliberate about where you send your
caravans.
- 02.03.05 Remove groups of units from a city?
You have several options. First you can SHIFT + Left Click each unit, which
will allow you to select multiple units, then right click a destination to
have them exit the city. Second if you look to the left of where all the unit
portraits in the city are you will see a shield icon; click the shield icon
to bring up a window where you can select units and then click an "Eject"
button. Third, if you want all units out of a city, while the city is
selected press the "V" key to have all units 'Vacate' the city.
- 02.03.06 Pick the right bonus when my city levels up?
If you are asking because the window blocks the city so you can't check to
see what the city produces... yes its a problem. It will eventually get
fixed. In the meantime I suggest naming your cities in such a way that you
will always remember what they are focusing on.
If you are asking for advice, my opinion is to totally specialize each city
(as in pick the same bonus each level up) and that Tech beats Gold beats
Arcane. So if you had a city that actually had all three resources available,
pick the Tech increase each time. If a city has none of those resources, pick
Gold (because a Gold Mine might spawn nearby later). I tend not to pick
'spawn a random guardian unit" but I can imagine times when it would be an
OK choice.
++++++++++++++++++
+ 03.00 IN-DEPTH +
++++++++++++++++++
In these sections I will go into much greater detail about certain systems in
the game and offer my opinions along with them.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 03.01 Sovereign Creation +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Elemental has 10 pre-made Sovereigns to choose from, but let's face it sooner
or later you are going to want to make your own. Once you have created a
custom Sovereign he/she will be available for all subsequent games. To
delete a custom Sovereign right-click their portrait from the Sovereign
selection screen.
A custom Sovereign has 50 points to start with.
Attributes:
All attributes start at 10 and cost 3 points to raise, or give 3 points if
you lower them. You can't raise an attribute above 15 or lower it below 5.
Even if you have spent down to only 1 or 2 points left, the game will allow
you to use your last 1 or 2 points to raise an attribute.
-Strength: "Increases attack"
Specifically each point of STR over 10 gives you a 10% increase in your
attack rating, or each point under 10 a 10% penalty.
-Intelligence: "Increases your chance to hit with offensive spells as well as
damage done"
Each spell has its own formula for how INT increases the damage, usually
somewhere between .1 and .3 extra damage per point of INT.
-Charisma: "Affects cost of recruiting champions"
It doesn't say this explicitly but I imagine it works like STR and DEX
where each point over 10 gives a 10% discount and each point under 10 a
10% increase in cost. There are also one or two spells that factor in
your CHR.
-Dexterity: "Increases defense"
Works just like STR, each point over 10 gives you a 10% increase to
defense, and each point under 10 a 10% penalty.
-Wisdom: "Determines number of action points it takes to cast spells in battle"
Um, no. After character creation you will never see the word Wisdom
again. This is your Essence stat, and it equals the max mana you can
have at any given time. Casting a spell is a flat 2 action points.
-Constitution: "Determines hit points"
You will have 1 hit point per point of CON. Interestingly the game treats
this as bonus HP over a hypothetical base, meaning the way is paved for
future 'X race has Y starting HP modified by CON'.
Spellbooks:
At present the only way to have the four elemental spell books is to start
the game with them. The Enchantment book you can eventually research if you
do not want to pick it at creation.
-Fire (3 points)
-Water (3 points)
-Air (3 points)
-Earth (3 points)
-Enchantment (5 points)
Professions:
You can only choose one profession and it is "free" (doesn't cost any of your
50 points).
-Miner: "Increase the production of metal mines by 20%"
Useful but not critical. Does nothing for you unless you actually have
some mines.
-Warrior: "Receives an attack rating bonus"
You get a 15% bonus to your attack value, before your strength modifier
is applied. Decent and straightforward.
-Bard: "Decreases cost of recruiting heroes"
Useful but not critical. How useful depends somewhat on map size; there
are far more NPC champions running around on large maps than tiny, even
before tech research becomes a factor.
-Thief: "More loot after battles"
Useful but not critical; you get extra gold after killing things. Not a
lot, but it adds up.
-Royalty: "Cities have increased prestige"
Currently overpowered. It should be +1, instead it is +100%. Expect this
to be nerfed. Having multiple champions with this ability stacks.
-Warlord: "Sovereign starts the game with two sentinel units"
Nice for early exploration and safety, but since they are units and not
champions they can't pop goodie huts, and they will be obsolete fairly
quickly.
-Merchant: "Produces additional gilder each turn"
+2 gold per turn, which isn't shabby early game.
-Assassin: "Initial attacks from champions deal double damage"
It is debatable whether this is working or not. Sometimes I think yes,
usually I think no. And the way it is worded, does it mean just the
person with the ability or ALL champions? Who knows, for now skip it.
-Adventurer: "Increased movement"
+1 move. More movement is always nice.
-Dungeon Master: "Extra damage to creatures"
I would take Thief over this if you are going to focus on creature
hunting. Right now creatures are not plentiful enough to take this, and
Thief applies to battles against rival troops as well.
Talents:
These special abilities are not only useful, but get passed on to your same-
sex children.
-Brilliant (10) +1 Tech per turn
Great to start with, then slowly becomes irrelevant.
-Green Thumb (5) +2 Food
Great to start with, then slowly becomes REALY irrelevant.
-Intimidating (10) Lowers enemy morale
This rocks. By the 2nd-4th round of combat all enemies are paralyzed with
fear. Expect it to get nerfed. Of course then again most combats do not
last more than 2 rounds, so your mileage may vary.
-Hardy (10) You get a 15% bonus to hit points.
For that many points I'd want more like a 50% bonus, so pass.
-Naturalist (10) You are guaranteed to have a mine near your starting location.
Not bad, but I prefer to gamble and save the points.
-Daring (3) Attacks have a 3% chance to ignore defense
Yippee. I've never seen a notification that it has happened, so hard to
say if is working and/or if it is worth it.
-Wealthy (5) +1 gold per turn
Useful at the start, rather quickly irrelevant.
-Diplomatic (10) Increases the perceived value of your diplomatic offers.
Will be useful once the diplomacy system is fleshed out more. At present
not really needed.
-Natural Leader (5) Increases your army's morale.
Other than to counter an Intimidating AI I have not seen any use for high
morale. If something is going on behind the scenes (like more damage or
better chance to hit) then it would be worth it, but I have no proof
anything like that is happening.
-Tracker (10) Sovereign gets an extra move
+1 move is always nice.
-Meditative (10) Generates 1 Arcane knowledge per turn
Great to start with, then slowly becomes irrelevant.
Quick note on Brilliant/Green Thumb/Meditative: even though I go out of
my way to point out how they become irrelevant, in the early game they
really speed things up. If you favor fast games and lightning tactics,
they are solid choices.
Weaknesses:
These give you more points to spend. Recognize that if your Sovereign spends
little time in your cities or will never intentionally see combat duty then
some of these are not that bad of an idea. On the other hand your same-sex
children will inherit these flaws as well, so be warned if you plan on having
kids.
-Cowardly (+10) "Increases enemy's morale"
Positive morale doesn't seem to do much at present, so kind of like 10
free points. But if there are actually things going on behind the scenes
when enemies have positive morale then this is a really bad idea.
-Clumsy (+3) "Randomly reduces Sovereign's movement each turn"
Pass unless your Sovereign is never going to leave your capital.
-Blunt (+3) "Increases cost of hiring champions"
Sometimes when I don't plan on using many champions, otherwise pass.
-Ugly (+3) "Fewer children"
I like the dynasty system so I never take this, but if you are playing
short games where children are never going to be a factor anyway then no
reason not to take this. Also most people report it doesn't work anyway.
-Cruel (+3) "Lowers your army's morale"
Unlike positive morale, negative morale DOES eventually paralyze your
troops, so bad idea.
-Stupid (+3) "Spells take longer to research"
Unless you are ignoring magic I'd say this is also a bad idea.
-Insane (+3)"Any city your Sovereign is in has reduced prestige"
It's -50%. I'm a big fan of this one, I can live with it for a few turns
when I need to station my Sovereign to heal up. Also I'm insane.
-Inefficient (+3) "Any city your Sovereign is in has reduced production"
I hate anything that reduces production, even if I incur it rarely, so
pass. But if you are not me then it is manageable.
Equipment:
While you have the option of spending points to start the game with basic
equipment (such as a staff) I do not recommend it. All of the items available
can be purchased in your Store either immediately or after 1 tech discovery,
making the point investment meaningless. I am not even going to list the
options.
EDIT: OK there is one item, "Longstrider Boots," that you can only buy if
your Sovereign race is "Men." The boots add +1 move and +.25 combat speed for
a cost of 10 points, which may make them a better buy over the "Tracker"
talent (above). On the other hand if you wear boots you can't wear leg armor,
so there is a trade-off. Also the only thing Longstrider boots have over
Traveler's Boots is the +.25 combat speed, and you can buy Traveler's boots
for 10 gold once the game starts (again assuming your race is 'Men').
In future versions I hope to see the current options replaced with unique
equipment only available at character creation.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 03.02 Faction Creation +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You can create your own custom Faction using the "Faction Creator" tool
located under the "Workshop" option from the game's main menu.
You can customize a number of things including name, colors, your symbol,
whether you use the Kingdom or Empire trees, etc. One particularly cool thing
I found was the "metal color" option - try changing it to pure white or blood
red for some interesting-looking weapons and armors!
The races of Trog, Urxen, and Quendar can only be Empire; the other 7 races
can be either Empire or Kingdom.
You have 10 points to spend on faction strengths/weaknesses, and they are
seriously in need of a patch/balancing so expect this to change extensively.
Strengths:
-Death Worship (2): "Our people cull the weak and get +10 bonus to HP."
Doesn't work, if it did +10 hit points would be huge early game.
-Master Archers (2): "Faction starts with archery technology."
Works, should cost way more than 2 points. Not only do you have short- and
longbows available from the start, but because the game thinks you have
the tech researched it lets you 'skip' ahead in the tech tree (so for
example I was able to research "Smiting" as the Empire as my very first
Conquest tech - see 05.01.07 to see what I mean). This 'skipping' is of
no benefit to Kingdom players, as the only tech after Archery is Advanced
Archery, which you don't need because you already have longbows. Screwy.
-Egalitarian (1) "Can design male and female warriors."
Works, has no statistical benefit but hey, let's hear it for the ladies.
-Master Smiths (5) "Metal production is increased by 25%."
Works as advertised.
-Influential (1) "Influence is increased by one tile."
Doesn't work, but if it did should cost WAY more than 1 point.
-Brave (2) "All units start with more health."
Works, gives a 5% boost to unit health.
-Civilized (1) "It costs less to establish settlements."
Doesn't work. Not sure how it would. Less materials or time for pioneers?
-Master Scouts (3) "Units have greater line-of-sight."
Works, units start with base 3 sight instead of 2.
-Industrious (3) "Metal production increased by 10%."
Works as advertised. Hmm, 10% for 3 points or 25% for 5...
-Diplomatic (6) "Faction receives relations bonus."
If it works I can't see it, so hard to tell.
-Resourceful (3) "Faction starts out with 10 materials and 10 metal."
Works as advertised; great to get a human pioneer out quickly.
-Road Warriors (7) "Caravans produce roads faster."
Must be a legacy from a previous game version or something. Does nothing.
Caravans already produce roads instantly once they reach their
destination. I thought maybe this would increase the base move of a
caravan, but no.
-Siege Masters (2) "City walls reduce effect of attacks."
Not only is it horribly worded (don't city walls do that anyway? does this
make them better? or is it making my enemy's walls weaker?), but I can't
tell if it works or not.
-Great Warriors (8) "All units have a combat speed increase."
Works, the increase is 10%. Note that since base combat speed for most
units is 2, +10% puts you at 2.2, which ends up giving you THREE basic
melee attacks in a round since as long as you have any combat speed left
at all you can still swing.
-Educated (2) "Worldly knowledge production is increased by 10%."
Works as advertised.
Weaknesses:
-Arrogant (+1) "Makes it more difficult to recruit champions."
Haven't tested.
-Superstitious (+2) "Decreases arcane knowledge learning ability."
Horribly worded, and haven't tested.
-Uneducated (+2) "Worldly knowledge production is decreased by 20%."
Works as advertised.
-Inefficient (+1) "Increased building time by 10%."
Works as advertised; note that a +10% increase will only noticeably
effect buildings with a labor time of 6 or more (which isn't many) (note
the note: except Empire has a LOT of one-per-faction 15+ turn buildings
it turns out) (note the note note: 'turns out' HA a pun)
One final thing to note about custom factions is that you can actually load
them as opponents for your games, and they will end up controlled by one of
your custom Sovereigns! (it can even pick the one you are using, so I've had
a game where I was literally playing against myself)
++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 03.03 Dynasty System +
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Once you have acquired some Champions of the opposite gender as your Sovereign
you may notice the option to propose (located on the Champion's action tab in
the lower left). A Champion will only accept your proposal if your reputation
is higher than their level. You can see your reputation on the Kingdom report
screen.
If you get married you will eventually start having children. Note that you do
not need to keep your Sovereign and spouse together for this to happen. When
the children grow up they will inherit some of their parent's abilities and
can then be used as Champions themselves or even be used in arranged marriages
between other factions. Expect it to take around 20-40 turns before you start
having kids and then another 40-60 turns for a kid to grow up (rough
estimates).
The primary benefits of arranged marriages are a diplomatic boost with the
faction and the potential for grandchildren down the line.
When married your male children will always stay with you and have the other
faction's daughter join you, while your female children will always go to the
other faction. Horribly sexist, I know.
When grandchildren grow up they have a chance to join either of their parent's
starting faction. It seems weighted towards their joining their mother's
faction, that is, your son's kids will probably defect away from you while
your daughter's kids will probably defect back to you. It isn't set in stone,
just seems like it happens that way more often.
Because children inherit the abilities of their same-sex parent you can end up
getting the abilities of other Sovereign's this way. So for example I marry my
daughter to Kul-al-Kulan's son, they have a boy, that boy grows up and joins
me, now I have a grandchild with the Organized talent.
The formulas that determine children starting stats are still a little screwy,
for example even if both parents have 2 base move I frequently get kids with
1 base move, which sucks. Also no matter how pumped my two parents stats are
(STR, DEX, etc.) the children and especially grandchildren tend to "even out"
to 10 (because the AI tends to not level their kids much so all their stats
stay at 10). The only exception is Essence which has been stated to always be
"50-100% of the stronger parent's essence." Note that part about the stronger
parent, that means you do not need to Imbue your spouse in order to guarantee
your children will have Essence.
One thing I do before sending my daughters off to marriage is level them up a
bit and equip them with a basic set of armor. It only takes 3-4 easy battles
to get them to level 3, put the level ups in hit points or dexterity, and buy
them whatever armor you can afford. This increases their survivability
considerably even when controlled by the AI.
Of course the safest thing to do is simply not marry off your daughters,
especially if you are pursuing a conquest victory.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 03.04 City Placement +
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Factors to consider when deciding where to found a city include geography and
distance between cities, availability of Resource tiles, and using influence
to strategically block portions of the map.
Cities in Elemental actually take up multiple tiles on the world map as they
grow, meaning whenever you construct a new building in a city you will need
to pick which tiles it will occupy. This is why availability of open space
is a factor. At present you can not build on these tiles: water, coastline,
forest, and mountain. Also note that the only building you can build on a
beach tile is a harbor.
While your influence spreads from your city's hub (the actual tile where you
founded the city), distance from the city is calculated from any tile that
has a city improvement/building in it. This means that if something needs to
be "within five tiles of a city" then you count from ANY tile that includes
part of your city. This is especially important when founding cities close
to each other, as you can not build a city improvement within five tiles of
another city's improvement. To illustrate:
AXXXXXB
If A and B above are cities and the Xs are empty tiles, the game will have
let me settle like that because there are five empty tiles between each
city. However I will not be allowed to build any improvements to the right
of city A or to the left of city B. Where it gets more complicated is:
AXXGXXXXXB
Here A and B started eight tiles away from each other with a Gold Mine (G)
between them. After a few turns both cities expand with improvements:
AIXGXXXXIB
Still legal so far because there are five tiles between each improvement
(I). Next A builds another improvement next to the Gold Mine, which then
makes all the tiles between A and the mine contiguous:
AIIGXXXXIB
As soon as a city improvement "touches" a resource tile like our Gold Mine,
that resource is considered part of the city. Distance from city A is now
calculated from G, and that means city B's improvement is no longer legal.
City B will get to keep its improvement, but it can no longer build in that
direction.
When picking a city location to harvest nearby resources, you have a choice
between building your city directly next to a resource or leaving space for
your influence to eventually include the resource. Each decision has its
merits. If your city "touches" the resource then it will be included in your
city's defenses; however, it will also take time from your city's production
queue to build the improvement. If the resource is within your influence but
not touching your city, you can build on it without it taking turns from
your city's production queue but the resource will not be defended by your
walls.
When time is not a factor (that is I'm not rushing a pioneer to grab a
specific resource before someone else does) I prefer to start a city one tile
away from any / all resources, let my influence expand over them, build the
resource, then build improvements out to include the resources in my city
walls.
+++++++++++++++++++
+ 03.05 Resources +
+++++++++++++++++++
Note: I've realized that the output for a few of the resources are actually
different for Kingdom vs. Empire, and will update all values accordingly when
I have the data. When it is different I will denote it as K: or E:
Food:
Food is the stuff that your people eat, at least theoretically. In practice
food is used to set the limit on how much housing you can construct in a city.
Food is also a prerequisite for certain economic buildings.
If your Kingdom/Empire ever slips into a negative food situation (usually
because you either lost a vital caravan route or city, or took over a large
city you couldn't afford food-wise) you will go into "Rationing." Rationing
imposes -100% to Prestige and -50% to EVERYTHING else (gold, tech, arcane,
etc.). This Rationing applies to all of your cities, so you will want to fix
the problem ASAP.
Food is one of those resources that you will either have not enough or way too
much of.
-Fertile Land: 4
-Oasis: 6
-Fruit Grove: 5
-Twilight Bees: 3
-Wild Wheat: 5
Gold:
Money makes the world go round. Gold (or Gildar) is predominately generated
from claimed gold mines, but can also be generated and increased by certain
city improvements. Gold is needed to pay for construction, unit training, unit
upkeep, city upkeep, hiring heroes, buying equipment, and more. As such it is
vital to generate as much gold as possible per turn.
Gold can also be earned through adventuring, either as a reward for defeating
enemies or found in goodie huts. At times this can be quite profitable, but
you cant count on adventuring to support your entire economy.
You can never have enough gold.
-Gold Mine: 5
Materials:
Materials is a generalized concept for stuff that isnt metal. Materials can
be generated from lumber, stone, clay, etc. Materials are used in all sorts of
construction, from units to improvements.
The availability of materials in the early game can be very challenging, but
by late game you will probably have a gigantic surplus.
-Old Growth Forest: K:2 E:4
-Stone Pit: 5
-Marble Pit: 4
-Clay Pit: 3
Metal:
Metal is used in the production of units and is needed for certain weapons and
armor. While having a source of metal is certainly desirable it is not
strictly necessary for victory. Metal currently has no use other than unit
training. Note you do not need metal to buy equipment for your Sovereign/
Champions, just regular units.
You will either need a lot of metal or none at all (but probably a lot).
-Iron Ore: 1
-Ventri Mine: 3
Crystal:
Crystal is used to outfit units with magical equipment, so it plays a role
similar to metal. If you do the magical research necessary you can provide
your units with a variety of useful trinkets. Crystal currently has no use
other than unit training. Note you do not need crystal to buy equipment for
your Sovereign/Champions, just regular units.
Some neutral faction cities can provide crystal each turn (even without an
associated Crystal Crag visible on the map) once conquered. Check the neutral
citys overview screen to see what it is producing.
-Crystal Crag: 1
Horses/Wargs:
Mounts can be added to trained units to add +1 to both moves and combat action
points. Horse Tiles can only be claimed by Kingdom factions and Warg Tiles by
Empire, but they both work the same way: when claimed they will produce one
horse/warg every four turns (note if you take over an already-developed horse/
warg tile then it will still continue to produce for you, even if you are not
the right ideology).
There is no downside to outfitting your troops with mounts other than
cost/training time. Be aware however that horses and wargs seem to be some of
the rarest tiles in the game as of 1.09, in that there may be only be 1 tile
even on the largest maps. Like metal and crystal, you can purchase these
mounts for your Sovereign/Champions even if you do not actually have the
resource.
-Horses: .3
-Wargs: .3
Tech:
Lost Library tiles are the main source of Tech. Progressing up the technology
tree provides many benefits in Elemental so you will want to control as many
of these as possible.
You will never have enough Tech. At 1.09 in games where I was able to produce
175+ Tech points by turn 300, I had maybe unlocked 80-90% of all techs.
-Lost Library: 5
Arcane:
Ancient Temples are the main source of Arcane. Your overall strategy will
determine how important Arcane is for you; you can succeed with just a small
number of low level spells, or you can research all the way up to the game
winning spell.
Like Tech you can never really have enough Arcane. When trying for a Spell of
Making victory you will need to get to spell level 10, then research the spell
itself. As of 1.09 generating 100+ arcane points per turn by mid/late game it
was still taking 300-400 turns (total game) before achieving this victory
condition.
-Arcane Temple: 5
Diplomatic Capital:
Diplomatic capital is kind of like gold but only for diplomacy. Having more
DC than your opponents will improve their opinion of you. You can trade DC
in the diplomacy screen, but personally I hang on to it for the relations
bonus.
You seem to get DC sometimes when you kill an enemy Sovereign but I haven't
quite figured out how that works yet.
-Scenic View: 4
Elementium:
Elementium is a rare resource that is only available from goodie huts and
quest rewards. There is no way to get a per-turn source of elementium.
Elementium is required for certain high-end magical armors and weapons.
+++++++++++++++++++
+ 03.05 Diplomacy +
+++++++++++++++++++
At the beginning of a game the only diplomatic option you will have is to sign
a Non-Aggression Pact. This Pact allows each side to travel through the
other's lands, and prevents attacking the other sides units. The Pact lasts
99 turns and can not be broken or ended early.
As you research the Kingdom's Diplomacy or the Empire's Cooperation tech trees
more diplomatic options will become available:
-Trade Resources: Allows you to trade materials, metal, crystal, mounts, and
elementium. You can trade resources for resources, or you can trade
resources for gold or diplomatic capital (DC).
-Trade Champions: Allows you to trade Champions. Like resources you can use
any combination of resources, gold, DC, or other Champions to trade.
-Economic/Technology Treaties: These are two separate treaties but unlock at
the same time and behave the same way. Each side will receive a boost to
their gold or tech production. I believe the boost is 10%. The treaty seems
to last indefinitely, or possibly 99 turns; you can only cancel it by
declaring war.
-Arranged Marriage: Allows you to set up a marriage between your offspring
and the offspring of another Sovereign. Doing so will increase relations
and provide the chance for further offspring.
-Alliance: An Alliance Treaty works like a Non-Aggression Pact, but further
you agree to come to the aid of your Ally if they are attacked. You do
not have to join them if your Ally is the one to declare war. At present
you also do not have to join in any pre-existing wars when you sign the
Treaty. To be honest at present there is no penalty if you do not come to
your Ally's aid either. If all living Sovereigns have an Alliance Treaty
with you, you will win a Diplomatic Victory.
When trading with another Sovereign notice that in the pop-up window where
you choose the amount of gold/DC/etc. to add to your offer, you need to click
"OK" so that the gold/DC/etc. actually appears in the middle area before you
click "Great! Sounds like a deal."
Whenever you are about to declare war check with the other AI Sovereigns to
see if one of them will trade you gold/materials/etc. for the declaration.
You can often get paid to do something you were about to do anyway.
AI Sovereigns determine their attitude toward you based on the following
factors:
-You are dominating me: +5
-We are impressed by your diplomatic capital: +1, +2, +3
-Your military is stronger than mine: +1, +2, +3, +4
-We have mutual family: +2
-We have mutual grandkids: +1
-We have the same allegiance: +1
-We have treaties together: +1
-We have a different allegiance: -1
-My military is stronger than yours: -1, -2, -3, -4
-We are at war: -2
-You control all the shards: -1
-You killed my spouse: -5
From the above list only a single military or diplomatic capital factor will
apply at a time. Controlling all the shards means one of each element (earth,
fire, water, air). "Dominating" seems to kick in when your power rating is
3-4X that of the AI.
Basically if you can keep the net sum of the above factors positive you will
not be attacked, and vice versa. You will need to be at around +3 total or
higher to sign an Alliance Treaty. You can not sign an economic or trade
treaty with an AI if their opinion of you is negative.
The AI determines if it will accept a trade based on an equivalent exchange/
perceived value system, where everything you are offering is boiled down to
some behind-the-scenes point value and then compared against the AI's
relative strength, the number of similar agreements you already have set up
with other Sovereigns, and what turn it is (note that much of this is
speculation on my part). It is always cheaper to sign treaties as early in
the game as possible because as the AI Sovereigns get more powerful their
perceived value demands will grow substantially. So even if you are far
stronger than an AI late in the game, they will still demand exorbitant
amounts of gold to sign an Alliance treaty.
It is a viable strategy to sell resources you have an abundance of (materials,
metal, etc.) to an AI for gold or other resources. Likewise you can try to
buy resources you are short on from an AI that has it in surplus. Selling
Champions to the AI can be especially profitable.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 03.06 Adventure/Domination +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Technology research in the Kingdom's "Adventure" tree or the Empire's
"Domination" tree provides five key benefits:
-Reveal new resource tiles
-Raise your quest level
-Raise your notable location level ("goodie huts")
-Raise your NPC level
-Increase monster spawn quantity and difficulty
The Empire also has a line of techs in Domination that allow the construction
of several one-per-faction buildings; the Kingdom has no buildings in their
Adventure tree.
-Resource Tiles: Some of the techs will reveal a specific resource, while
others will reveal a random resource. Random seems to pick from: Gold Mine,
Crystal Crag, and Ventri Mine. This may vary between Kingdom & Empire. The
resource can appear right next to an existing city, or up to 15 tiles
beyond your current border. Where it appears is random and can be cheesed
with save/reload tactics.
-Quest Level: Your quest level starts at 1, and each level beyond that will
spawn more quest locations.
Level 1: A humble inn
Level 2: An odd hut
Level 3: Ancient ruins
Level 4: dungeon
Level 5: ____ (the Master Quest)
The game only has a certain number of quests for each level, so even though
you may see level 3 buildings all over the map they will all disappear once
you have done two level 3 quests (Alzor's Armor and Moriah's Lost Spellbook).
More quests will be introduced in 1.1
-Notable Location Level: Your notable location level starts at 1, and each
level beyond that will spawn more goodie huts. Unlike Quests, each discovery
can spawn goodie huts of its level OR LOWER, meaning when you unlock level 4
you may notice more level 3, 2, and 1 goodie huts.
-NPC Level: Each NPC level will spawn more Champions in the world and reduce
your cost to hire 'higher level' Champions.
-Monster spawn: Any tech that raises your NPC, quest, or notable level will
also increase the spawn rate and level of monsters in the world.
It is important to understand that all of the above are global effects,
meaning when you spawn more monsters or reveal more locations/champions they
can appear all over the world, not just in/around your borders. Resource tiles
will be 'near' your territory but are not guaranteed to be. This means that AI
research will also reveal/spawn more stuff, so the more opponents you have in
a game the more overall quest/goodie huts/npcs/resources you will have in the
world. On higher difficulty settings the AI also gets a bonus to the quantity
of items, meaning they can get multiple gold mines, ventri mines, etc. from
just one tech. This can be quite profitable for you.
You can see exactly which techs raise which levels in 05.02.04 and 05.02.09
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 03.07 Kingdom vs. Empire +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pseudo-comprehensive list of the statistical differences between Kingdom and
Empire ideologies. In no particular order until I come up with a better
system.
In general I would describe Empire as "Front Loaded" and Kingdom as "End
Loaded."
-Imbue Champion: K must research, costs 3 Essence; E starts with, costs 4
-Weapons: K gets more speed, costs more metal; E gets more damage, costs more
materials
-Gold Mine: K takes 4 turns; E takes 10 turns
-Housing: K is late-tech; E is early-tech
-Teleport: K starts with, costs 15; E must research, costs 20
-Buildings: K has several level 5 buildings; E has almost none
K has few 'per faction' buildings; E has lots of 'per faction' buildings
-Prestige: K can get 4 per city; E can get 2 per city (not counting uniques)
-Influence: K gets more in all cities; E gets more uniques per city
-Caravans: K gets 1 per city; E gets 2 per city
Total number of techs comparison (not counting Refined ___):
-Civilization/Imperium: K 21; E 14
-Warfare/Conquest: K 33; E 18
-Magic/Sorcery: K 12; E 11
-Adventure/Domination: K 15; E 20
-Diplomacy/Cooperation: K 12; E 13
++++++++++++++++++
+ 04.00 STRATEGY +
++++++++++++++++++
More to come as the game play stabilizes. I should say up front that if you
haven't figured it out by now, I'm the kind of player that likes figuring out
the rules and the "most efficient" way of doing things. I also recognize not
everyone plays like that. So please take my Strategy suggestions with a grain
of salt; there are certainly many strategies and the only 'right' way to play
a game like this is the way you have the most fun.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 04.01 The Fundamentals +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Regardless of your overall strategy there are certain things you need to do
every game to be successful. I call these the Fundamentals. Rather than a
step-by-step, the Fundamentals are a checklist of early to mid-game goals
that every aspiring Sovereign should worry about.
First you NEED a steady supply of:
-Materials: Almost all buildings and troops require some materials to
produce. You can hope for a certain number of materials in the early game
from goodie huts, but ultimately you need to be producing your own each
turn. The minimum is a workshop/labor pit in every city, but grab every
material-producing resource tile you can. By late game you will probably
be producing more than you need, but oh well.
-Food: without food your cities won't grow beyond level 1. Every game you
will have a 'Fertile Land' tile near your starting location; I recommend
you build right next to it and develop it soon. Grab every food resource
you can. If late game you have more than you need, oh well.
-Tech: Without a supply of Tech you won't learn new technology, and that
will eventually but you at a severe disadvantage. If you do not have at
least one Lost Library tile you are probably in for quite a challenge. Grab
all you can.
-Gold: Without gold you can't build most buildings and troops, hire
champions, buy equipment for your champions from the store, and so on. You
will survive the first 20 turns or so because you start with 100 gold, but
once it runs out your growth will stagnate until you get some Gold Mines.
Second you WANT a steady supply of:
-Arcane: Some players will argue this with me but as of 1.09e you don't NEED
magic to be successful, it just helps. So arcane knowledge is a 2nd-tier
priority for me. I still build an arcane lab/lore shop in my 1st city fairly
early, but I don't develop arcane temple tiles until my NEEDS are met.
-Metal: You have to research a military tech or two before you have any use
for metal, so it is not an immediate priority. In fact you can play a whole
game with no metal, it just means you have to rely on different kinds of
troops.
-Crystal: Magical equipment can make your troops far more effective, but it
isn't strictly necessary. Unless you get lucky probably won't have a crystal
resource until mid to late game.
For units you NEED:
-Your Sovereign and 1-3 other Champions to grab goodie huts.
-AT LEAST one troop per city.
For units you WANT:
-All the Champions you can afford to hire; there is usually no downside to
having a bunch of Champions, even if you are not actively using them. You
can always sell/trade them to an AI for gold or resources.
-As many of the biggest groups of the best equipped troops you can afford.
For cities you NEED:
-Three cities: In my opinion three cities is the minimum needed to lay claim
to a sufficient portion of any map to make sure you have relatively secure
borders. Space the cities about 6-12 tiles apart.
For cities you WANT:
-More than three specialized cities: Ideally you will have at least one city
focusing on gold, one on tech, and one on arcane (from city level-up
bonuses). In a 'perfect' game your cities would not overlap on those three
resources - your tech city would have no gold mines, your gold city would
have no arcane temples, etc. Of course this isn't always possible. And
since you can never have too much Tech, Gold, or Arcane the more cities the
better.
Once your Fundamentals are in place you can consider yourself established in
the world of Elemental and can go on to any other strategy.
++++++++++++++++++++
+ 04.02 Game Start +
++++++++++++++++++++
Here is my starting game sequence. Exact order may vary depending on
circumstances.
-If I started with the Sovereign talents 'Brilliant' or 'Meditative' go to
the tech/arcane research screens RIGHT NOW and choose your first items to
research; the game itself will not prompt you until turn 2 (for arcane) or
turn 4 (for tech) if you have those talents. Otherwise ignore this step.
-Found first city. Ideally it will be right next to a fertile land but not
touching any other resource tile, but also have a gold mine or lost library
one tile away. If I have to take one step to achieve this I will, but I will
not move my Sovereign enough to end turn 1.
-Have first city start building a workshop/labor pit. Do not place it in
the tile your Sovereign is now standing in, as that will cause him/her
to move and start the next turn.
-Now move toward the nearest goodie hut, but try to stay within a tile of your
first city; turn one will end.
-Occasionally a Champion (other than Janusk, see next step) will be nearby
in which case prioritize them over the goodie hut.
-Turn two will start; Janusk the Scribe will appear, hopefully next to you.
Hire him (he's free). He (and any other Champion you hire) will have .1
movement, which will let you move him one step. Move him into your city's
influence if he isn't already. Open the Store (S) and buy a pair of
Traveler's Boots if they are available. Equip them. Then do the same thing
for yourself if possible. The boots may not be available depending on your
race.
-Now explore and claim as many goodie huts as you can. You are hoping for
materials. If you manage to find more than 10-13 materials (depends on
faction) start building a pioneer.
-By turn 4 your workshop/labor pit will be done. If you have found enough
materials through exploration to develop your Fertile Land do so now.
Otherwise you will have to wait another few turns to start it. It takes 25
gold and either 2 (Kingdom) or 5 (Empire) materials.
-When the Farm/Imperial Farm is done build a hut/hovel (10 gold 1 food)
-When the hut is done build an arcane lab/lore shop if you don't have a
positive Gold per turn yet, OR build a study/archivist if you do have a
positive Gold per turn.
-The last of the starting buildings I build is the merchant/money changer.
-In a 'perfect' game your influence has expanded by turn 13 to include a Gold
Mine, Lost Library, or both. Develop them (or any other resource tiles).
-When Arcane research starts coming in learn Fire Bolt then Imbue Champion if
Kingdom, or Firebolt then Giant Strength if Empire. After that its up to you.
-When Tech research starts coming in... it depends on your overall strategy.
But personally I usually start with Adventure/Domination to get more quests
and/or goodie huts out there.
-When your Pioneer is done send him to start your second city. If possible
start training another Pioneer.
By now you are approaching turn 20 and after that everything depends on your
overall strategy.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 04.03 the 'Bluff & Plunder' +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I call this strategy the Bluff & Plunder. It is primarily a turtle/builder
strategy for players wanting to focus on exploring the game without
much conquest. This is generally what I used while writing this guide so I
could do things like get to the end of all research paths, research all
spells, try different Sovereign talents, etc. without having to worry too
much about being invaded or losing (or winning 'too soon').
The nutshell version is you are going to use the diplomacy system to keep
every rival faction happy with you, while you rake in tons of gold by beating
the AI to every goodie hut all over the world. You will use this gold to pay
for champions and the alliance treaties that will win the game. In between
you do whatever else you want. I expect to have to adjust this strategy after
1.1
Pre-game: Any Sovereign and Kingdom faction will work, pre-made or custom, but
if you want to go all-out max your Sovereign's charisma and take bard +
diplomatic (to hire champions as cheap as possible). You can do the same
basic thing with Empire but Kingdom is easier tech-wise. This strategy is more
effective on larger maps with maximum opponents at ridiculous difficulty, but
can work on smaller settings as well.
Start out using the standard tactics outlined in 04.01 above; get your 1st
city founded, get material/tech/gold/arcane production going ASAP, explore
and grab as many goodie huts as you can, and hire every champion you come
across. I try to found at least four cities (total). Since this is a turtle
strategy I don't need more than four, but I'll go up to ten if there are
enough unclaimed resources nearby. Beyond ten cities and I figure I may as
well be playing a conquest strategy, so that's where I cut off.
The order of technology research is important. I would suggest using the
following logic: on the chart below research the cheapest tech starting
at the top and working your way down. So start with Exploration, when that
is too expensive move to Diplomacy, when that is too expensive move to
Warfare, etc. When you hit an "ANY" which tech you pick doesn't matter for
this strategy. An * means that tech is not guaranteed, so you may have to
treat it as an ANY and try again next research round.
(Exploration) Quests -> Ancient Lore -> Ruin Delving -> Ereog's Journals ->
Dungeoneering -> Breon's Letters* -> ANY
(Diplomacy) Treaties* -> Influencing -> Alliances* -> ANY (but get them all)
(Warfare) Equipment -> Logistics -> Weapons -> ANY
(Civilization) ANY
(Magic) ANY
What you are doing is bee-lining down the Adventure path that unlocks quests
and goodie huts, and getting the ability to sign treaties and alliances ASAP.
The Warfare is to build up just enough military presence to keep the AI from
seeing you as an easy target.
AS SOON AS YOU CAN sign either an economic treaty, a research treaty, or both
with every AI you meet (you will only be able to do this after you have
unlocked Treaties). This is so you get the +1 "We have treaties together"
diplomatic modifier. If you can manage to sign a treaty on the very turn you
meet an AI then they don't have time to decide they don't like you. Wait on
signing any non-aggression packs for now.
After you unlock Equipment design a spear-wielding unit with a padded cuirass,
include legs/helm/arms only if you think you can afford it. Build at least one
in each city, two if you can afford it. Once you unlock Logistics try to build
at least 1 four-man group per city, but you probably do not need to rush it.
Check your power rating in the Kingdom overview screen and compare it to the
other AI's power rating on the diplomacy screen; as long as you are close to
their numbers (say within 10) you are doing fine. All of your champions add
to your power rating as well. After you research Weapons upgrade the spear to
a mace (You can also use an axe instead of a spear if you have a metal
supply).
Once you are sure you can keep you military power rating on pace with the AI,
use your swarm of champions (you've been hiring every one you meet, right?)
to scour the land looking for goodie huts. Not only have you been spawning
lots of huts yourself with your research, but so has the AI. If you have max
opponents there should be a steady stream of huts to occupy you all over the
map. IF YOU CAN, skip signing a non-aggression treaty and go straight for an
alliance to give yourself access to AI lands. However if you are crowded and
need the access earlier signing a non-aggression treaty is OK.
With 10+ champions or so spread all over the map you should be able to get
to the majority of goodie huts before the AI does. When possible equip your
champions with "Traveler's Boots" from your Store (not all Champions can wear
them). If you have the gold to spare you can also equip them with other
+movement items. Remember to keep several champions within your own territory
since the AI will have access to your lands as well after you sign non-agg or
alliance treaties.
As long as you keep your power rating close to the AI, your +1 from having
a treaty signed will keep your relations positive. Eventually over time
they will grow to "Close" and then you can try for the alliance. If you
marry some children to an AI faction the boost will almost guarantee a "Close"
relationship. Being stronger than the AI also speeds it up. Since you are
maxing out Diplomacy you will eventually have "Shrills" - train a few groups
of those and your power rating will jump.
NEVER trade away diplomatic capital. In fact, sell any extra champions
you don't need to the AI for their DC and/or gold (once you have
Negotiations). You can also sell excess materials or metal to the AI for
gold. You will need a LOT of gold.
Expect early treaties to cost 20-40 gold to get the AI to sign. Mid-game
treaties will cost 200-400. Late game treaties can cost 1000+. I typically
have all AI's at "Close" relations by turn 100 or so, depending on map size.
Then you can either win or explore to your heart's content.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 04.04 Tips and Tricks +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
This section is for information I haven't found a better place for, or tips
that bear repeating; newest info goes in at the top:
-The Potion of Experience just gives you XP straight up when you drink it;
the description is misleading.
-The spell "Mass Heal" heals 20 HP per unit in the selected stack.
-Spawned quest locations are random, so if it spawns the place you need to go
deep inside another faction's territory you can use save/reload cheese tactics
to try until it spawns in a place you have easy access to.
-You can change research midway through and not lose the invested research
when you come back to that area (so if I'm halfway to my next Warfare advance
but then decide I need a certain Diplomacy tech ASAP, when I switch back to
Warfare later I will still be halfway to the next breakthrough).
-Goodie huts can spawn on top of unclaimed resource tiles and not be visible;
mouse over resources to check if a goodie hut is there. Likewise a goodie hut
can spawn on top of another goodie hut, though this is less of a problem.
-When sending a unit that is stationed in a city to a far off destination,
first pick which square you want the unit to exit the city into. Cities seem
to have a default square that they will always use, and there is no guarantee
the default square is on the same side of the city as your eventual
destination. So you can save a few squares of movement by manually selecting
the exit square, then sending the unit off to the destination.
-Before you declare war check with the other AI Sovereigns to see if one of
them will trade you gold/materials/etc. for the declaration. I had Relias
pay me 400 gold to declare war on Kraxis for example, which I was going to
do anyway.
-Your troops will suffer a penalty when fighting on the opposite terrain for
their ideology; Kingdom troops take the penalty when on Empire land, and
vice versa. The penalty appears to be about 25%. Note I'm talking about LAND,
not influence. Sometimes the game has patches of "not blasted wasteland"
right from the beginning, and I've noticed the penalty there. Likewise you
get about a 25% bonus for fighting on your ideology's land. You will see
the adjusted numbers on the card that pops up when you mouse over your
troops, not on your inventory screen. The penalty/bonus applies to both
attack and defense.
-Even if your Sovereign dies in tactical combat, as long as your side wins
it will not count as a death. Your Sovereign will still be there after the
fight with 1 hit point and no loss of Essence.
-Only Champions and Sovereigns can run away in combat, standard troops are
hosed. To run away you need to move to one of the edges of the tactical map
where it looks bright.
-If you click on a resource within your borders, the tab at the bottom left
will tell you which city the resource has been claimed by. If the resource is
more than five tiles from any city square then it will say "not linked." If
you construct some buildings towards the resource you can link it and thus
gain your city's multipliers, if any.
-Whenever you have a unit, city, resource, etc. selected make sure you notice
the tabs on the status bar in the lower left; these tabs will have all of the
various options for you to interact with that object (such as asking a
Champion to marry you).
-Holding the center mouse button down and moving the mouse will rotate the
camera. Also when using a mouse wheel the map will center on the area you
are holding the pointer at while you zoom in.
-As of 1.09 Caravans boost Food production and are the only way to make roads.
The most efficient thing you can do is send one caravan from each city back
to your capital city. This will give a big boost to food production in your
capital, and also create a somewhat efficient road network for yourself. Send
the caravan from your capital to any city outside your kingdom/empire that
you want a road to (to make later conquest easier ;)
-Many of those goodie huts you see popping up around the world require you to
raise your notable location level in the "Adventure" (Kingdom) or "Domination"
(Empire) in order for you to loot them. See sections 05.02.04 and 05.02.09 for
the exact techs needed.
-Try to avoid a situation where your last active unit joins a stack that is
fortified; turns will fly by (and the game will likely crash).
++++++++++++++
+ 05.00 DATA +
++++++++++++++
Finally, raw data! Darn subjective opinions. Anyway, here is some of the stuff
that you want to be able to easily reference. Because you are like me and just
sitting at work and suddenly, hey, does researching X before Y give me a
slight turn advantage when producing Z? OK maybe you are not like me but the
data is still useful.
++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01 Tech Trees +
++++++++++++++++++++
The numbers along the left-hand side are showing the relative level of that
tech as if you bee-lined to it. So for example "Smelting" in the Kingdom
Civilization branch could be the 4th tech you research if you went straight
for it. If it doesn't make sense let me know.
Note that in Elemental's research system some techs are not guaranteed to be
available even after you do the requisite research. These techs will be listed
(in the game) in a color other than green. You can get them eventually, it
just may take multiple tries.
When a branch ends in "REF ___" that means you can continually research it for
a 10% increase in that area each time.
When a branch ends in END that means there are no more techs that direction.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.01 Kingdom Civilization +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Harvesting Seafaring Production Civics
| | | |
2 Guilds END Construction Specialization
/ | /
3 Mining Farming REF Entertainment Administration
Guilds Guilds Production | |
| | | |
4 Smelting Superior Hospitality Economics
| Farming / /
| / /
5 Blacksmith REF Spectacle Education REF
| Farming / | Economics
6 REF REF Housing
Blacksmithy Hospitality /
7 Literacy REF
/ Housing
8 Higher REF
Education Education
|
END
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.02 Kingdom Warfare +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Logistics Training Equipment
| / / |
2 City Fortifications Unit Superior Weaponry Mounted
Defenses | Quarters Equipment / Warfare
| | | | / |
3 Sieges Squads Command END Armor Ranged END
| | Posts / Weapons
| | | / |
4 Forts Catapults Movement War Cutting Blunt Advanced
| | | Colleges Weapons + Weapons Archery
| | | | / |
5 END Fortresses Veteran END Light Armor END
| Troops /
| | /
6 END Company Mighty Mighty
| Cutting + Blunt
| /
7 Advanced Heavy Armor
Tracking / |
| / |
| Expert Expert Expert
8 Elite Cutting Blunt Armor
Troops / |
| / |
9 REF REF REF
Weaponry Defense
(note: yes, you can currently research Fortresses BEFORE you research Forts,
which then makes it pointless to research Forts; also in the equipment branch
the + indicates you need BOTH weapon techs before being able to research the
next armor tech.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.03 Kingdom Magic +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Shard Harvesting Arcane Research Channeling
| | |
2 Shard Mastery Arcane Mastery Magical Equipment
| | |
3 END Advanced Spellbooks Magical Forging
/ |
4 Expert Spellbooks REF Arcane Weapons
| Arcana |
5 Master Spells Arcane Armor
| |
6 END REF
Channeling
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.04 Kingdom Adventure +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Recruiting Exploration Quests
| | |
2 Heroes The Lost Bounty Ancient Lore
| | |
3 Legends Lost Maps Ruin Delving
| | |
4 REF Rare Resources Ereog's Journals
Charm | |
5 Secrets of the Nemesis Dungeoneering
| |
6 END Breon's Letters
|
7 Quest of Mastery
|
8 END
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.05 Kingdom Diplomacy +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Trading Treaties
| /
2 Negotiations Influencing Unlikely Friends
| / |
3 Dynasties Outreach Alliances Pariden's Ally
| | | |
4 The Ties that Bind END REF The Third Race
| Diplomacy |
5 END A Dance with Dragons
|
6 END
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.06 Empire Imperium +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Proper Living Harvesting
/ |
2 Bartering Learning Agriculture
/ / / |
3 Money Trade Centers School Majesty REF Superior Wood
| | | | Farming Mining Working
| | | | | |
4 END Exchanges END Sages REF REF
| / | Mining Wood
5 REF REF REF Academies Working
Bartering Living Majesty |
REF
6 Learning
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.07 Empire Conquest +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Navies Armies Tools of War
| | / |
2 END Garrisons Offense Superior Tools Defense
| / | |
3 Warrior Temples Siege Slaying END City Defenses
| | Weapons |
| | | |
4 END END Piercing General Armor
Weapons |
| |
5 Smiting Battle Armor
/ |
6 Victory REF Castles
Weapons Weaponry /
| /
7 END Master REF
Armor Armor
|
END
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.08 Empire Sorcery +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Sion Temple Shard Harvesting Lore Mastery
| | |
2 END Shard Domination Spell Books
| / |
4 END Arcane Arcane Arcane
Weapons Experiments Armor
| | |
5 Advanced END END
Spellcasting
|
6 Essence
Transference
/
7 Book of Mastery REF Essence Use
|
8 REF Arcana
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.09 Empire Domination +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Morrigan's Notes Mapping The Old Order
| / |
2 Umber's Diary Destiny's Myth Order of Zaleth
| Scrolls Making |
| | | |
3 Curgen's Journal Treasure Plundering Keepers of the
| Hunting | Telenanth
| | | |
4 Legend of the Bane END Demon Lairs Order of Islidar
| | |
5 Kir-Tion's Codex Quest of Mastery Keepers of the Faith
| | |
6 REF Charm END Order of the Emerald
|
7 Keepers of Avarice
|
8 Order of Draginol
|
END
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.01.10 Empire Cooperation +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 Negotiation Trading Reunion
/ | |
2 Persuasion Dynasties Advanced Trade Routes Lady Umber's Legacy
| | | /
3 Treaties END END Pariden's The Other
| Demise Side
| | |
4 Propaganda END END
|
5 Alliances
|
6 Indoctrination
|
7 REF Diplomacy
(note: Pariden's Demise seems not to work as of 1.09)
++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02 Tech Rewards +
++++++++++++++++++++++
These are lists of exactly what each tech does for you.
B- means Building (to go in a city)
T- means Training (a unit or unit upgrade)
E- means Equipment (for your troops or Champions)
I- means Improve (a 10% increase is granted unless otherwise noted)
A- means Ability (new commands for unit, new spellbook, new diplomacy, etc.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.01 Kingdom Civilization +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-Administration: B-Palace (+7 gold +7 prestige)
-Blacksmithing: B-Blacksmith (+50% metal)
-Civics: B-Market (+25% gold)
-Construction: B-Construction Yard (+20% materials)
-Economics: B-Mint of Ruvenna (+100% gold); B-Bazaar(+50% gold); B-Trade
Center (+50% gold)
-Education: B-School (+15% tech)
-Entertainment: B-Pub (+1 prestige)
-Farming Guilds: B-Farming Guild (+100% food)
-Guilds: B-Guild Tribunal (-25% upkeep)
-Harvesting: B-Irrigation System (+25% food)
-Higher Education: B-University (+50% tech)
-Hospitality: B-Inn (+2 prestige)
-Housing: B-House (upgrades Hut)
-Literacy: B-Hosten's Library (+100% tech)
-Mining Guilds: B-Mining Guild (+100% metal)
-Production: B-Great Mill (+4 materials)
-Refined Economics: I-Gold
-Refined Education: I-Tech
-Refined Entertainment: I-Prestige
-Refined Farming: I-Food
-Refined Housing: I-Housing
-Refined Mining: I-Metal
-Refined Production: I-Materials
-Seafaring: B-Harbor; T-Transport
-Smelting: B-Smelter (+50% metal)
-Specialization: B-Town Hall (counts as 2nd city center for influence)
-Spectacle: B-Great Theatre (+100% prestige)
-Superior Farming: B-Granary (+25% food)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.02 Kingdom Warfare +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-Advanced Archery: E-Cedar Longbow
-Advanced Tracking: I-Movement
-Armor: E-Leather Helm; E-Leather Cuirass; E-Leather Armlets; E-Leather
Greaves; E-Heavy Wood Shield
-Blunt Weapons: E-War Hammer
-Catapults: T-Catapult
-City Defenses: B-Hedge Wall (+2 defense)
-Command Posts: B-Command Post (-25% training time)
-Company: T-Companies (12 people)
-Cutting Weapons: E-Battle Axe; E-Broadsword
-Elite Troops: T-Elite (more HP)
-Equipment: E-Axe; E-Oak Spear; E-Dagger; E-Traveler's Cloak; E-Soldier's
Cloak; E-Journeyman's Cloak; E-Scout's Cloak; E-Padded Greaves; E-Padded
Cuirass; E-Leather Shirt
-Expert Armor: E-Master Plate Helm; E-Master Plate Cuirass; E-Master Plate
Armlets; E-Master Plate Greaves; E-Master Light Steel Shield; E-Master
Heavy Plate Helm; E-Master Heavy Plate Cuirass; E-Master Heavy Plate
Armlets; E-Master Heavy Plate Greaves; E-Master Heavy Steel Shield
-Expert Blunt Weapons: E-Lord Hammer
-Expert Cutting Weapons: E-Claymore; E-Karrazan
-Fortifications: B-Watchtower (+4 sight, this is wrong); A-Fortify; A-Raze
-Fortresses: B-Fortress (+6 defense)
-Forts: B-Fort (+4 defense)
-Heavy Armor: E-Scale Mail Shirt; E-Heavy Plate Helm; E-Heavy Plate Cuirass;
E-Heavy Plate Armlets; E-Heavy Plate Greaves; E-Heavy Steel Shield
-Light Armor: E-Chainmail Shirt; E-Light Plate Helm; E-Light Plate Cuirass;
E-Light Plate Armlets; E-Light Plate Greaves; E-Light Steel Shield
-Logistics: T-Parties (4 people)
-Mighty Blunt Weapons: E-Battle Hammer
-Mighty Cutting Weapons: E-Longsword
-Mounted Warfare: E-Mounts (horses or wargs)
-Movement: I-Movement (this one is +1 move, others are +10%; doesn't work)
-Ranged Weapons: E-Cedar Shortbow
-Refined Defense: I-Defense
-Refined Weaponry: I-Attack
-Sieges: A-Lay Siege
-Squads: T-Squads (8 people)
-Superior Equipment: E-Medical Pack; E-Ranger's Pack
-Training: T-Experienced (more HP)
-Unit Quarters: B-Barracks (-25% training time)
-Veteran Troops: T-Veteran (more HP)
-War Colleges: B-War College (-25% training time)
-Weaponry: E-War Staff; E-Mace; E-Short Sword
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.03 Kingdom Magic +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-Advanced Spellbooks: A-Book of Enchantment
-Arcane Armor: E-Band of the Stalwart; E-Legendary Plate Helm; E-Legendary
Plate Cuirass; E-Legendary Plate Greaves; E-Legendary Shield; E-Ward of
Health; E-Ward of Defense
-Arcane Mastery: B-Tower of Ereog (+2 mana); B-Abbey of Izil (+100% arcane)
-Arcane Research: B-Monastery (+25% arcane)
-Arcane Weapons: E-Elementium Karrazan (doesn't work); E-Vengeance Coating;
E-Cloak of Thwarting
-Channeling: I-Essence
-Expert Spellbooks: A-Books of Combat, Restoration, Summoning
-Magical Equipment: E-Band of Might; E-Band of Endurance; E-Amulet of Assault
-Magical Forging: E-Band of Agility; E-Band of Fortitude; E-Band of the
Berserker; E-Band of the Eagle-Eyed; E-Amulet of Warding; E-Amulet of Life;
E-Amulet of Roaming
-Master Spells: A-Book of Mastery
-Refined Arcana: I-Arcane
-Refined Channeling: I-Essence
-Shard Harvesting: B-Air/Earth/Water/Fire Shrine
-Shard Mastery: B-Temple of Essence (+50% essence)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.04 Kingdom Adventure +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note: 'reveals random resource' seems to pick from: Gold Mine, Crystal Crag,
and Ventri Mine
-Ancient Lore: +1 Notable Level
-Breon's Letters: +1 Notable Level
-Dungeoneering: +1 Quest Level
-Ereog's Journals: +1 Notable Level
-Exploration: Reveals random resource
-Heroes: +1 NPC Level
-Legends: +1 NPC Level
-Lost Maps: Reveals random resource
-Quest of Mastery: +1 Quest Level
-Quests: +1 Quest Level
-Rare Resources: Reveals a Ventri Mine
-Recruiting: +1 NPC Level
-Refined Charm: I-'Charm' (10% less to hire Champions)
-Ruin Delving: +1 Quest AND Notable Level
-Secrets of the Nemesis: Reveals a Crystal Crag
-The Lost Bounty: Reveals a Twilight Bees & Fruit Grove
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.05 Kingdom Diplomacy +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-A Dance with Dragons: Reveals Dragon's Roost
-Alliances: A-Alliance Treaty
-Dynasties: A-Arrange Marriage
-Influencing: B-Embassy (+1 Diplomatic Capital)
-Negotiations: A-Trade Champions
-Outreach: B-Missionary Hall (increases influence)
-Pariden's Ally: Reveals Shrill Hive
-Refined Diplomacy: I-Diplomatic Capital
-The Third Race: Reveals Drath Village
-The Ties that Bind: A-"More diplomatic benefit from arranged marriages" (I
do not believe this works)
-Trading: T-Caravan, A-Trade Resources
-Treaties: A-Economic & Research Treaties
-Unlikely Friends: Reveals Spider's Nest
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.06 Empire Imperium +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-Academies: B-Academy (+50% tech)
-Agriculture: B-Granary (+25% food)
-Bartering: B-Barter House (+25% gold)
-Exchanges: B-Curgen's Exchange (+100% gold)
-Harvesting: B-Fungi Storehouse (+25% food)
-Learning: B-School (+25% tech)
-Majesty: B-Monument (+1 prestige); B-Statue of Kir-Tion (+50% prestige)
-Money: B-Imperial Mint (+100% gold)
-Proper Living: B-Shanties (improves Hovels)
-Refined Economics: I-Gold
-Refined Farming: I-Food
-Refined Learning: I-Tech
-Refined Living: I-Housing
-Refined Majesty: I-Prestige
-Refined Mining: I-Metal
-Refined Wood Working: I-Materials
-Sages: B-Sage Ministry (+100% tech)
-Superior Mining: B-Smelter (+50% metal)
-Trade Centers: B-Trade Center (+25% gold)
-Wood Working: B-Craft Shop (+10% materials)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.07 Empire Conquest +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-Armies: T-Group (3 people)
-Advanced Tracking: I-Movement
-Battle Armor: E-Heavy Plate Helm; E-Heavy Plate Armlets; E-Heavy Plate
Cuirass; E-Heavy Plate Greaves; E-Scale Mail Shirt; E-Heavy Steel Shield
-Castles: B-Castle (+city defense)
-City Defenses: B-Wooden Wall (+city defense)
-Defense: E-Leather Cuirass; E-Leather Armlets; E-Leather Greaves; E-Leather
Helm; E-Leather Cuirass; E-Heavy Wood Shield
-Garrisons: B-Garrison (-25% train)
-General Armor: E-Light Plate Helm; E-Chainmail Shirt; E-Light Plate Cuirass;
E-Light Plate Greaves; E-Light Plate Helm; Light Plate Armlets; E-Light Plate
Shield
-Master Armor: E-Master Plate Cuirass; E-Master Plate Armlets; E-Master Plate
Greaves; E-Master Plate Helm; E-Master Light Steel Shield; E-Master Heavy
Plate Cuirass; E-Master Heavy Plate Armlets; E-Master Heavy Plate Greaves;
E-Master Heavy Plate Helm; E-Master Heavy Steel Shield
-Navies: B-Harbor; T-Transport
-Offense: E-War Staff; E-Imperial Short Sword; E-Scimitar
-Piercing Weapons: E-Cedar Shortbow; E-Cedar Longbow
-Raids: T-Raid (12 people)
-Refined Armor: I-Armor
-Shock Troops: T-Shock Troops (more HP)
-Siege: T-Catapult
-Slaying Weapons: E-Axe; E-Reaper
-Smiting Weapons: E-Mace; E-War Hammer; E-Battle Hammer; E-Lord Hammer
-Superior Tools: E-Medical Pack; E-Ranger's Pack
-Team: T-Team (6 people)
-Tools of War: E-Boar Spear; E-Fang Dagger; E-Padded Greaves; E-Padded
Cuirass; E-Leather Helm; E-Leather Shirt; E-Light Wood Shield; E-Mounts;
B-War Council (-25% train)
-Victory Weapons: E-Battle Axe; E-Trog Scimitar; E-Great Scimitar
-Warrior Castes: T-Expert (more HP); A-Fortify; A-Raze City
-Warrior Temples: B-Warrior Temple (-50% train)
-Zealotry: T-Zealots (more HP)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.08 Empire Sorcery +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-Advanced Spellcasting: A-Book of Combat; A-Book of Summoning
-Arcane Armor: E-Legendary Helm; E-Legendary Cuirass; E-Legendary Greaves;
E-Legendary Shield; E-Ward of Defense; E-Ward of Health
-Arcane Experiments: E-Band of Fortitude; E-Band of Berserker; E-Band of the
Stalwart; E-Band of Eagle-Eyed; E-Amulet of Clarity; E-Amulet of Life;
E-Amulet of Roaming; E-Crystaline Stonelet; E-Hate Stone
-Arcane Weapons: E-Band of Might; E-Band of Endurance; E-Band of Agility;
E-Amulet of Assault; E-Vengeance Coating; E-Cloak of Twarting
-Book of Mastery: A-Book of Mastery
-Essence Transference: B-Tower of Titans (+75% Essence)
-Lore Mastery: B-Tower of Sorcery (+100% arcane)
-Refined Arcana: I-Arcane
-Refined Essence Use: I-Essence
-Shard Domination: Tower of Souls (+50% essence)
-Shard Harvesting: B-Elemental Shards; B-Temple of Essence (+50% Essence)
-Sion Temple: B-Sion Temple (train Sion)
-Spell Books: A-Book of Enchantment
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.09 Empire Domination +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Note: 'reveals random resource' seems to pick from: Gold Mine, Crystal Crag,
and Ventri Mine
-Curgen's Journal: +1 NPC level
-Demon Lairs: +1 Notable Level
-Destiny's Scrolls: reveals random resource
-Keepers of Avarice: B-Temple of Avarice (+100% gold)
-Keepers of the Faith: B-Temple of Knowledge (+100% tech)
-Keepers of the Telenanth: B-Temple of the Telenanth (+100% crystal)
-Kir-Tion's Codex: reveals Ventri Mine
-Mapping: reveals random resource; +1 Notable Level; +1 Quest Level
-Morrigan's Notes: +1 NPC level
-Myth Making: +1 Quest Level
-Order of Draginol: B-Order of Draginol (reveals a new elemental shard)
-Order of Islidar: B-Islidar's Bounty (+100% food)
-Order of the Emerald: B-Emerald Palace (+Influence)
-Order of Zaleth: B-Zaleth's Treasury (+50% gold)
-Plundering: +1 Notable Level
-Quest of Mastery: +1 Quest Level
-Refined Charm: I-Champion Cost
-The Old Order: B-Temple of the Titans (+Influence)
-Treasure Hunting: +1 Quest Level; +1 Notable Level
-Umber's Diary: reveals Gold Mine
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.02.10 Empire Cooperation +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-Advanced Trade Routes: A-extra caravans per city
-Alliances: A-Alliance Treaty
-Dynasties: A-Diplomatic Marriage
-Indoctrination: B-Umber's Temple (+Influence)
-Lady Umber's Legacy: reveals Umberdroth Pack
-Negotiation: A-Trade Champions
-Pariden's Demise: reveals Drota Citadel (doesn't work)
-Persuasion: B-Consular's Palace (+1 Diplomatic Capital)
-Propaganda: B-Propaganda Ministry (+Influence)
-Refined Diplomacy: I-Diplomatic Capital
-Reunion: reveals Darkling Camp
-The Other Side: reveals Demon Gate
-Trading: T-Caravan; A-Trade Resources
-Treaties: A-Economic Treaty; A-Research Treaty
+++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.03 Spell Lists +
+++++++++++++++++++++
(In progress)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.04 Kingdom Buildings +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(In progress)
Resource Tile Improvements:
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Food | Maint | Level | Tiles | Provides
Apiary 3 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 food
Farm 3 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 food
Gold Mine 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 gold
Mine 5 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 metal
Lost Library 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 tech
Lumber Mill 2 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 material
Crystal Found 10 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 crystal
Wheat Farm 12 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 food
City Improvements:
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Food | Maint | Level | Tiles | Provides
Arcane Lab 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 arcane
Hut 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 housing
Study 3 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 tech
Workshop 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 material
Market 3 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +25% gold
Merchant 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 gold
Watchtower 5 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 sight
Irrigation 5 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +25% food
Mission Hall 10 | 50 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +Influence
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.05 Empire Buildings +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(In progress)
Resource Tile Improvements:
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Food | Maint | Level | Tiles | Provides
Gold Mine 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 gold
Imperial Farm 4 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 food
Lost Library 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 tech
Clay Quarry 5 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 material
Arcane Temple 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 arcane
Crystal Mine 10 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 crystal
Timber Mill 8 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 material
Mine 5 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 metal
Umberdroths 1 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | can train
Apiary 3 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 food
Ventri Mine 5 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 metal
Scenic View 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 metal
Darkling Camp 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Darklings
Marble Quarry 5 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 material
City Improvements (1 per city):
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Food | Maint | Level | Tiles | Provides
Granary 5 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +25% food
Labor Pit 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 material
Lore Shop 5 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 arcane
Sion Temple 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | train Sion
War Council 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -25% train
Garrison 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -25% train
Academy 4 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | +50% tech
Barter House 5 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +25% gold
Fungi StHouse 5 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +25% food
School 4 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +25% tech
Archivists 4 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 tech
Monument 5 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 prestige
Money Changer 3 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 gold
Wooden Walls 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | increase DEF
Trade Center 5 | 0 | 80 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | +25% gold
Shanty 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +50 max pop
Warrior Temple 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | -50% train
Craft Shop 5 | 35 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +10% mats
Harbor 10 | 150 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | train ship
Umber's Temple 3 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +influence
Smelter 10 | 30 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +50% metal
City Improvements (1 per faction):
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Food | Maint | Level | Tiles | Provides
Tower of Sorcery 15 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +100% arcane
Tower of Souls 15 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +50% essence
Tower of Titans 15 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +75% essence
Statue Kir-Tion 15 | 100 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +50% prest.
Temple of Titans 15 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +influence
Sage Ministry 15 | 50 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | +100% tech
Hallof Knowledge 15 | 140 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +100% tech
Curgens Exchange 20 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | +100% gold
Consulars Palace 25 | 200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 DC
Emerald Palace 25 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +influence
Imperial Mint 15 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | +100% gold
Zaleths Treasury 15 | 40 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +50% gold
Temple ofAvarice 15 | 80 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +100% gold
Temple ofEssence 10 | 50 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +50% essence
TempleofKnowledge15 | 140 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +100% tech
Islidar's Bounty 15 | 40 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +100% food
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.06 Kingdom Equipment Costs +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(In progress)
How much it costs in gold, materials, time, etc. to outfit troops with items.
Champion/Sovereign cost is pure gold and listed in the "Champ" column.
05.06.01 Kingdom Weapons:
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Metal | Cryst | Elemt | Champ | Provides
Gnarled Club 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 ATK (1H)
Staff 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 ATK (2H)
Dagger 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 ATK (1H)
Cedar Shortbow 4 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 3 ATK (2H)
War Staff 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 ATK (2H)
Oak Spear 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 ATK (2H)
Axe 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 4 ATK (1H)
Short Sword* 2 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 4 ATK (1H)
Battle Axe 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 5 ATK (2H)
Broadsword* 3 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 5 ATK (1H)
War Hammer 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 5 ATK (1H)
Cedar Longbow 8 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 250 | 5 ATK (2H)
Mace 1 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 6 ATK (1H)
Battle Hammer 2 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 8 ATK (2H)
Longsword* 4 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 10 ATK (2H)
Lord Hammer 4 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 121 | 12 ATK (2H)
Claymore* 6 | 18 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 138 | 14 ATK (2H)
* also +1 SPD
05.06.02 Kingdom Armor: (Kingdom & Empire armor are exactly the same)
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Metal | Cryst | Elemt | Champ | Provides
Padded Cap 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 DEF
Leather Helm 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 2 DEF
Lgt Plate Helm 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Plate Helm 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 4 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Plate Helm 0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 8 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy P Helm 0 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 10DEF -.1Sp
Legendary Helm 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 116 | 8 DEF
Padded Cuirass 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 3 DEF
Leather Shirt 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 DEF
Leather Cuirass 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 DEF
Chainmail Shirt 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 4 DEF
Lgt Plate Cuirass 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 5 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Plate Cuirass 0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 130 | 8 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Plate Cuirass 0 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 168 | 10DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy P Cuirass 0 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 214 | 16DEF -.1Sp
Legendary Cuirass 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 126 | 12 DEF
Cloak ofThwarting 0 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 85 | 2 DEF
Padded Armlets 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 DEF
Leather Armlets 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 2 DEF
Lgt Plate Armlets 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Plate Armlets 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 4 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Plate Armlets 0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 8 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy P Armlets 0 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 10DEF -.1Sp
Padded Greaves 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 DEF
Leather Greaves 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 2 DEF
Lgt Plate Greaves 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Plate Greaves 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 4 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy P Greaves 0 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 10DEF -.1Sp
Legendary Greaves 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 120 | 9 DEF
Lgt Wood Shield 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 DEF
Hvy Wood Shield 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 2 DEF -.1Sp
Lgt Steel Shield 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Steel Shield 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 4 DEF -.1Sp
Legendary Shield 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1000 | 1 DEF
Mst Lgt Steel Shd 0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 136 | 8 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy Steel Shd 0 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 174 | 10DEF -.1Sp
05.06.03 Kingdom Equipment:
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Metal | Cryst | Elemt | Champ | Provides
Scout's Cloak 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 2 SGT
Band of Might 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 1 ATK
Band of Endurance 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 300 | 1 MOVE
Band of Agility 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 300 | .25 SPD
Band of Fortitude 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 2 HP
Band of Berserker 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 250 | 3 ATK -3DEF
Band of Stalwart 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 1 DEF
Band of Eagle Eye 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 SGT
Amulet of Warding 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100 | 2 DEF
Amulet of Assault 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 100 | 2 ATK
Amulet of Life 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 210 | 3 HP
Amulet of Roaming 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 1 MOVE
Pioneer's Pack 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | FOUND CITY
Scout's Pack 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1DEF .25SPD
Messenger's Pack 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1SGT .25SPD
Medical Pack 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 5HP +REGEN
Ranger's Pack 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1MOVE 1SGT
Ward of Health 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 116 | 3 HP
Ward of Defense 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 116 | 3 DEF
Vengeance Coating 0 | 5 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 186 | 3 ATK
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.07 Empire Equipment Costs +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
How much it costs in gold, materials, time, etc. to outfit troops with items.
Champion/Sovereign cost is pure gold and listed in the "Champ" column.
05.07.01 Empire Weapons:
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Metal | Cryst | Elemt | Champ | Provides
Gnarled Club 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 ATK (1H)
Staff 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 ATK (2H)
Fang Dagger 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 ATK (1H)
Cedar Shortbow 4 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 3 ATK (2H)
War Staff 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 ATK (2H)
Boar Spear 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 ATK (2H)
Axe 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 4 ATK (1H)
Imperial ShtSwd 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 4 ATK (1H)
War Hammer 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 5 ATK (1H)
Cedar Longbow 8 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 250 | 5 ATK (2H)
Mace 1 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 6 ATK (1H)
Scimitar 6 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 6 ATK (1H)
Reaper 8 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 8 ATK (1H)
Battle Hammer 2 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 8 ATK (2H)
Trog Scimitar 10 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 10 ATK (2H)
Battle Axe 2 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 12 ATK (2H)
Lord Hammer 4 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 121 | 12 ATK (2H)
Great Scimitar 12 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 14 ATK (2H)
05.07.02 Empire Armor: (Kingdom & Empire armor are exactly the same)
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Metal | Cryst | Elemt | Champ | Provides
Padded Cap 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 DEF
Leather Helm 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 2 DEF
Lgt Plate Helm 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Plate Helm 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 4 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Plate Helm 0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 8 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy P Helm 0 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 10DEF -.1Sp
Legendary Helm 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 116 | 8 DEF
Padded Cuirass 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 3 DEF
Leather Shirt 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 DEF
Leather Cuirass 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 DEF
Chainmail Shirt 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 4 DEF
Lgt Plate Cuirass 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 5 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Plate Cuirass 0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 130 | 8 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Plate Cuirass 0 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 168 | 10DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy P Cuirass 0 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 214 | 16DEF -.1Sp
Legendary Cuirass 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 126 | 12 DEF
Cloak ofThwarting 0 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 85 | 2 DEF
Padded Armlets 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1 DEF
Leather Armlets 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 2 DEF
Lgt Plate Armlets 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Plate Armlets 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 4 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Plate Armlets 0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 8 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy P Armlets 0 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 10DEF -.1Sp
Padded Greaves 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 DEF
Leather Greaves 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 2 DEF
Lgt Plate Greaves 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Plate Greaves 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 4 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy P Greaves 0 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 10DEF -.1Sp
Legendary Greaves 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 120 | 9 DEF
Lgt Wood Shield 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 DEF
Hvy Wood Shield 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 2 DEF -.1Sp
Lgt Steel Shield 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 3 DEF -.1Sp
Hvy Steel Shield 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 4 DEF -.1Sp
Legendary Shield 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1000 | 1 DEF
Mst Lgt Steel Shd 0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 136 | 8 DEF -.1Sp
Mst Hvy Steel Shd 0 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 174 | 10DEF -.1Sp
05.07.03 Empire Equipment:
Name Turns | Gold | Mats | Metal | Cryst | Elemt | Champ | Provides
Band of Might 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 1 ATK
Band of Endurance 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 300 | 1 MOVE
Band of Agility 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 300 | .25 SPD
Band of Fortitude 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 2 HP
Band of Berserker 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 250 | 3 ATK -3DEF
Band of Stalwart 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 1 DEF
Band of Eagle Eye 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 SGT
Amulet of Clarity 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 100 | 1 SGT
Amulet of Assault 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 100 | 2 ATK
Amulet of Life 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 210 | 3 HP
Amulet of Roaming 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 1 MOVE
Pioneer's Pack 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | FOUND CITY
Scout's Pack 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1DEF .25SPD
Messenger's Pack 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1SGT .25SPD
Medical Pack 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 5HP +REGEN
Ranger's Pack 0 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 1MOVE 1SGT
Ward of Health 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 116 | 3 HP
Ward of Defense 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 116 | 3 DEF
Vengeance Coating 0 | 5 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 186 | 3 ATK
Crystalline Stone 0 | 5 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 186 | 3 HP
Hate Stone 0 | 10 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 219 | 1 SPD
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 05.08 Champion Abilities +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pseudo-comprehensive list of all abilities found in Champions, divided into
'Professions' (the ability that shows on their card) and 'Specials" (rare
abilities that go above and beyond the Champion's profession). Note that I'm
only listing abilities that I have witnessed in the game on Champions, not
abilities listed in the XML or abilities I've seen on monsters.
I am pretty sure I have only seen special abilities on Champions with the
Adventurer profession (with the exception of "___ the Envoy"). You will need
to click on the Champion and look at their status bar or pull up their stat
sheet to see if they have a special ability.
Professions:
-Administrator: -10% building production time when stationed in a city
-Adventurer: +1 movement
-Arcane Master: +1 arcane per turn
-Assassin: "Initial attacks by Champions do double damage."
-Bard: "Reduces the cost of recruiting champions."
-Farmer: +20% food when stationed in a city
-Merchant: +2 gold per turn (works like Sovereign profession)
-Master Merchant: +1 gold per turn
-Miner: +20% metal production EVERYWHERE (works like Sovereign profession)
-Researcher: +1 tech per turn
-Royalty: Cities have increased prestige (currently +100% per unit with
Royalty)
-Thief: You get a little extra gold after each successful battle - ANY battle,
the Champion doesn't have to be present
Specials that cost mana:
-Crushing Blow: Unleashes a melee attack that does max damage and can't miss.
-Daze: Target unit loses its next turn.
-Dominate: Target unit can not counter-attack for the remainder of the battle.
-Savage Strike: Unleashes a melee attack that does triple damage.
Note: as of 1.09 you will have to give the Champion mana (Imbue, Potion of
Essence, etc.) for them to have the mana to actually USE these abilities;
they all cost 3 mana to use. Dynasty children on the other hand...
Specials that do not cost mana:
-Heath Regen: Unit regenerates +1 health per turn in tactical combat.
-Vengeance: successful counter-attacks from this unit do double damage.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 06.00 Glossary of Terms +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Can't figure out what the heck I'm talking about? Check here.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 06.01 FAQ & Game Glossary +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-AI: Artificial Intelligence; The computer-controlled Sovereigns.
-Arcane: Short for 'Arcane Knowledge' and easier to use in a sentence even
though it often ends up being grammatically incorrect. Sue me.
-Area: When I'm talking about tech research I will use Area to mean one of the
five different things you can put your research into (Warfare, Adventure,
Imperium, etc.). As opposed to using 'branch,' which gets confusing when
then getting into the multiple branches within an area.
-Army: a bunch of units that are grouped together and move/attack at the same
time on the world map (or rather, all initiate combat at the same time; once
in combat they move individually).
-Branch: When discussing tech research a branch is a path you can take within
an Area (see Area above).
-Champion: hero units; most Champions must be recruited by paying them gold.
Whenever I say Champion you can also assume it also applies to your
Sovereign.
-City: For convenience I use city to mean any population center you create,
regardless of its level (Outpost, Settlement, Village, Town, etc.).
-DC: Diplomatic Capital
-Empire: One of the base ideologies in Elemental; the 'bad' guys (because
Empires are Always Evil).
-Goodie Hut: A place on the map that will give you a reward if you visit it
(such as gold, an item, etc.); also called a 'Notable Location.'
-Influence: The radius around a city considered to belong to your faction;
your borders. Increasing Influence means more territory. A citys base
influence is determined by population.
-Kingdom: One of the base ideologies in Elemental; the 'good' guys (Because
Kingdoms are Always Good).
-Notable Location: A place on the map that will give you a reward if you
visit it (such as gold, an item, etc.); also called a 'goodie hut.'
-Prestige: The number by which a city's population will grow each turn.
Increasing Prestige means faster city growth.
-Resource Tile: The actual tile on the game map where a resource is located.
-Resource: Something that you collect or generate, including gold, food, tech,
arcane, diplomatic capital, metal, and so on.
-Shard: An elemental resource tile of great power.
-Sovereign: The leader of a faction; your leader is a Sovereign, and so are
the leaders of your rivals.
-Stack: Every unit you have together in one tile; I tend to use stack
interchangeably with army, but technically there is a difference.
-Summons: Units brought forth by magic, such as an earth elemental.
-Tree: When discussing research I use 'Tree' to mean everything (all five
Areas) that can be learned; if I mean a specific Area I will say ____ Tree,
for example "In the Kingdom Diplomacy Tree you can find Dynasties in the
Trading branch."
-Troops: If I need to specifically refer to units that are built in cities
and are not Champions or Summons I will call them troops.
-Units: Anything including Champions, Sovereigns, Summons, and Troops. Man,
why do I have to make it so hard?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 06.02 Game Lore/Mythology Glossary +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I'm only including lore that is relevant to the game (or at least will help
you get the references) and there are no novel spoilers.
See this post for an Elemental timeline:
http://forums.elementalgame.com/399447
-Arnor: a classification of Titan; powerful beings with a slightly more
benevolent moral compass than the Dread Lords; also mentioned in the
Galactic Civilizations line of games.
-Cataclysm: When the clerics of Paladine became so arrogant that he threw a
boulder at Krynn and... wait, wrong Cataclysm. This one happened at the
end of a war between Men, Fallen, Arnor and Dread Lords and pretty much
wiped out everything. The game takes place years later in the blasted
aftermath.
-Channeler: a person capable of tapping the Elemental Shards and using their
power for magic. While many people and creatures in Elemental can use
limited forms of magic, because a Channeler can draw upon the Shards they
are far more powerful. Tend to be very long-lived (but not immortal).
-Curgen: a Titan Dread Lord, one of the most powerful.
-Darklings: a 'failed' Fallen race; the Darklings were cast aside as
inferior but still remain in the world, and can be recruited to fight with
the Empire if desired. They are small, vicious, and resistant to magic.
-Dread Lord: a classification of Titan; powerful beings who were unabashedly
'evil'; also mentioned in the Galactic Civilizations line of games.
-Fallen: any of the non-human races; Trogs, Quendar, Urxen, Wraith. The Fallen
were once men but were twisted by dark magics. Note that the Krax are men who
fight on the side of the Fallen but are not technically themselves Fallen.
-Hosten: a mortal Channeler who proved the Titans were not Gods and led some
of the first revolts against their rule; called the 'Nemesis of the Gods';
father of Morrigan.
-Lady Umber: a Titan Dread Lord, notable for her creation of the Umberdroth.
-Men: the original inhabitants of Elemental. There are six cultural/ethnic
variants: Men (or Altarian), Amarian, Tarthan, Mancer, Ironeer, and Krax.
-Morrigan: a mortal Channeler who slew his father Hosten and ruled the world
for quite some time; generally viewed as 'evil' and insane.
-Sion: Elite Fallen troops with an array of special abilities; may be
considered as a separate race, or at least sub-group.
-Quendar: one of the Fallen races; reddish, scaly skin.
-Tandis: A legendary hero who slew the Lady Umber, battled Talax, and did
a bunch of other heroic stuff back in the day. Reading books about him tends
to be very rewarding.
-Talax: A Titan who was Curgen's right-hand 'man.'
-Titans: Immortal beings of incredible power from another world / plane /
dimension who were drawn to Elemental because of its immense magical
reserves. They are most of the reason the world is such a crap-hole now.
-Trog: one of the Fallen races; very large, physically powerful, fierce
warriors.
-Urxen: one of the Fallen races; a bit larger than men and a lot more violent.
-Umberdroth: a giant stone wolf with a bad attitude.
-The War of Magic: You're fighting it. A period of time after the Cataclysm
but before the novel when many Channelers duked it out.
-Wraith: one of the Fallen races; slight of frame and physically weaker than
other Fallen but more skilled with magic.
+++++++++++++++++++++
+ 7.0 Coming "Soon" +
+++++++++++++++++++++
I.E. my list of things that I plan on including and am putting here to remind
me.
-Spell List
-Finish the buildings list
-more Glossary
-Sovereign build suggestions
-more Strategy
-alphabetize various lists
++++++++++++++++++++++
+ 8.0 Special Thanks +
++++++++++++++++++++++
Stardock
From the official Elemental forums (http://forums.elementalgame.com):
Dhraconus, Glowing_Ember
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Legal Stuff
This document is Copyright ©2010 Craig Gibbens (Gyb1) and is the intellectual
property of the author. It may be not be reproduced under any circumstances
except for personal, private use as long as it remains in its unaltered,
unedited form. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web
site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation
of copyright.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
The following sites are allowed to use my guide:
GameFAQs.com
SuperCheats.com
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Stardock Games has my explicit permission to use this guide, since without
their game there would be no guide.
Amazing Games. Many Cheats. Such Wow.
