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Everything you need to know about commanders

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What are Commanders?

Commanders are the leaders of your armies. They:

  • Come in all shapes and sizes
  • Can be used for many different purposes (attacking, raiding, defending, etc.)
  • Are essential for army functionality (without a commander, your army is powerless)

Getting Started

Creating Commanders

  1. Access the Commanders interface:
  2. Mouse over the Military button on the main page

  3. Commanders is the second sub-button from the right

  4. Requirements:

  5. At least 1 trained troop that is not in an army

  6. Appropriate research level for the number of commanders you want to maintain

  7. Commander Limits (based on research):

  8. Militia: 1 commander
  9. Conscription: 2 commanders
  10. Call to Arms: 3 commanders
  11. Standing Army: 4 commanders
  12. Warcraft: 5 commanders

Note: When a commander dies, you can either resurrect them (for a price) or create a new one.

Choosing Commander Units

Available Commander Types:

  • Any tier 1 or tier 2 troop you can train
  • Siege engines cannot be commanders

Commander Bonuses:

  • T1 commanders: +5 levels in divisional bonus for defense of their type
  • T2 commanders: +5 levels in divisional bonus for attack of their type

Strategic Considerations:

  • T2 cavalry units typically have the best base stats
  • The extra attack from a cavalry commander often outweighs the 5% attack bonus from matching unit types
  • General rule: Use matching unit type commanders for divisions over 1000 troops
  • T2 cavalry commanders won't slow down armies unless they contain T1 cavalry
  • For T1 cavalry armies, consider using T1 cavalry commanders to maintain maximum speed

Managing Commanders

Army Organization:

  • Minimum: 1 division commanded by a commander
  • Maximum: 5 commanded divisions
  • Multiple commanders' attack and defense values stack
  • Example setup:
  • 3 T2 cavalry commanders leading 500 bow units each
  • 2 T2 infantry commanders leading 1500 infantry each

Commander Skills

Skill Trees

After researching Command, you can research commander skills. There are four skill trees, and you can research one skill per level of your barracks (all skills available at barracks level 20).

Defensive Tactics
  • Agile Defence: +1% defence against spears per level
  • Interlocked Shields: +1% defence against swords per level
  • Square Formation: +1% defence against cavalry per level
  • Tortoise Formation: +1% defence against bows per level
Discipline
  • Force of Will: +5% resistance to magic (currently unused)
  • Forced March: +5% on slowest unit speed per level
  • Military Logistics: +5% maximum load of total unit per level
Offensive Tactics
  • Bloodlust: +1% attack for swords per level
  • Charge: +1% attack for cavalry per level
  • Close Quarter Penetration: +1% attack for spears per level
  • Concentrated Fire: +1% attack for bows per level
Seasoning
  • Accelerated Healing: HP regeneration speed increased by +1 hp/hour per level
  • Vitality: +50 HP per level
  • Avoid Charge: Better defence against cavalry for your commander
  • Break Spear Wall: Better defence against spears for your commander
  • Cover: Better defence against bows for your commander
  • Heroism: Increased damage dealt by your commander
  • Sword Mastery: Better defence against swords for your commander
  • Uncanny Sense: Higher chance to survive an assassination attempt
  • Defy Death: Improved chance to survive a battle even when reduced to 0 HP

Skill Leveling Guide

General Leveling Order (Both Offensive and Defensive)
  1. Heroism → Level 10
  2. Provides base attack that doesn't require retraining

  3. For small armies, level until commander's attack matches army's attack

  4. Divisional Bonus → Level 10

  5. Match to your army type (e.g., Bloodlust for infantry)

  6. Increases attack per troop

  7. Defy Death → Level 10

  8. Reduces resurrection costs
  9. More important for higher-level commanders
Offensive Commanders
  1. Forced March → Level 10
  2. Increases army movement speed
  3. Allows more frequent attacks

After these core skills, consider:

  • Military Logistics (for raiding)
  • Force of Will (for spell resistance)
  • Uncanny Sense (for assassination protection)
Defensive Commanders
  1. Personal/Divisional Defense Bonus → Level 10
  2. Choose based on army size:
    • Large armies (~1000+ troops): Divisional bonus
    • Smaller armies: Personal bonus

  3. Consider terrain when choosing defense type:

    • Plains: Focus on cavalry defense
    • Forests: Focus on infantry defense

  4. Uncanny Sense → Level 10

  5. Critical for defense against assassins

  6. Can be prioritized earlier if needed

  7. Remaining Personal/Divisional Bonus

  8. Level the bonus type not chosen in step 4

Note: You can adjust this order based on your specific needs and playstyle. Different strategies may require different skill priorities.

Advanced Topics

Experience Gain

Commanders gain XP when their division's troops kill enemy units:

  • Against players: XP equal to the gold upkeep of killed units
  • Against NPCs: XP equal to the Experience value listed for the NPC troop

XP Needed to level Commanders

source

Level XP
1 10
2 30
3 70
4 130
5 210
6 310
7 430
8 570
9 730
10 910
11 1,110
12 1,330
13 1,570
14 1,830
15 2,110
16 2,410
17 2,730
18 3,070
19 3,430
20 3,810
21 4,210
22 4,630
23 5,070
24 5,530
25 6,010
26 6,510
27 7,030
28 7,570
29 8,130
30 8,710
31 9,310
32 9,930
33 10,570
34 11,230
35 11,910
36 12,610
37 13,330
38 14,070
39 14,830
40 15,610
41 16,410
42 17,230
43 18,070
44 18,930
45 19,810
46 20,710
47 21,630
48 22,570
49 23,530
50 24,510
51 25,510
52 26,530
53 27,570
54 28,630
55 29,710
56 30,810
57 31,930
58 33,070
59 34,230
60 35,410
61 36,610
62 37,830
63 39,070
64 40,330
65 41,610
66 42,910
67 44,230
68 45,570
69 46,930
70
71 49,710
72 51,130
73 52,570
74 57,827
75 63,609
76 69,969
77 76,965
78 84,661

Resurrection

When a commander dies in battle: 1. They return to your town 2. You can choose to resurrect or destroy them

Resurrection Costs:

  • Gold: 100 + (Level × 1000)
  • Time: Level + 1 hours

Strategy Tip: Consider leveling commanders at low levels when resurrection costs are lower, then level them up when you have more resources to use.

Edited by GM Luna - 28 Feb 2012 at 18:50