Empire: Total War- this is perhaps the most ambitious and epoch-making part of the famous series of turn-based global strategies. Games in the Total War series occupy an intermediate place between classic real-time strategies and the unbreakable leader of turn-based tactical entertainment, the immortal Civilization. We are dealing with a combination of a global historical project and a full-fledged real-time strategy, and with huge battlefields. It is this approach that allows us to understand and imagine at least approximately the full scale of the battles, large and not so large, that took place in the times described. This part, like the previous ones, refers us to a specific period of human history, in this case, it will be the 18th century, that is, the period between 1700 and 1799.

Game Features

• All features can be attributed to specific missions based on the state and historical influence of the country you choose to start the game.
• Strong maritime powers will seek to extend their influence to distant colonies, while continental countries without access to the sea will solve more local problems. For example, continental Poland, which during the indicated period had very strained relations with the Russian Empire, will do its best to resolve border conflicts and try to return the lands that Russia received as a result of one of the divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
• Another of Poland’s tasks outlined in the mission could be the capture of small border states in order to strengthen its geopolitical position and scare away potential enemies from seizing the state or starting military operations.
• Separately, it is worth highlighting the development of technology, because this period in the history of human civilization was accompanied by active technological growth and the introduction of new technologies, both military and civilian.
• The scientific component of the game is quite extensive and allows you to carry out up to four studies simultaneously, which significantly accelerates the industrial and technical growth of the country for which you play.

Gameplay and innovations

The developers did a good job not only when creating full-scale battle scenes or building an economic model, they were especially good at conveying the spirit of the era in setting up tasks for each of the powers represented in the game. If the previous part had extremely simple tasks for completing missions - capturing most territories, then in Empire: Total War there is a clear gradation and a list of specific tasks that were developed based on the needs of an individual state in that very time period. The greatest emphasis of the development of European countries lies not in the conquest, but in the colonization of new lands; all the initial data and capabilities of various countries are also taken into account regarding the goals and objectives, which are contained in specific missions. For example, one of the main colonial missions for Great Britain is maintaining the authority of its state among the inhabitants of the thirteenth colony, located in North America. And this is only possible under the condition of a strong state with a powerful military policy and fleet, therefore, at the initial stages it is very important to appease your European neighbors so that they are not tempted to attack your patrimony, thereby giving more freedom in colonization.

Game summary

Before us is another bright representative of games of a special genre, which is able to combine the tactical capabilities of turn-based strategies and the dynamism and epochal nature of real-time strategies, allowing us to see and imagine with our own eyes how large-scale the great battles of the reporting time period were. It’s not for nothing that numerous gaming publications around the world unanimously speak about the uniqueness of the next part of the famous series, putting the “Must Buy” mark on it, because this kind of new product does not appear so often and is simply bound to deserve the close attention of fans.

Warpath Campaign Add-on

An official add-on was released for the game called The Warpath Campaign. Five new Indian nations and a more detailed map of America have been added. There are changes among the units: elite troops have appeared for each side and several completely new types of soldiers. The Indians have their own technologies and can gradually improve them. The battle tactics of Europeans and Indians are fundamentally different. The former use open battles with a large army, while the latter are based on guerrilla warfare. There are many more innovations that you can learn about during the process.

With Empire Total War, the developers took a bold step, even a breakthrough in the series of games. Because they decided to tell us about a very interesting era.

Empire Total War introduces the player to the era of gunpowder, when muskets and artillery set the tone on the battlefields.

Therefore, very interesting units appeared in Empire, which I want to tell you about in this article.

There are a lot of factions in Empire and each has its own set of units. In order to describe them all, ten similar articles would not be enough, but there is no need to describe them all, because in fact there are much fewer units in the game.

Since all factions have them, the units are, in most cases, quite similar to each other, if not in their appearance, then certainly in their functions on the battlefield.

Thus, the list of units is narrowed down to a concise overview of the most interesting representatives, all types of soldiers on the battlefields of Empire Total War.

The weakest units inEmpire Total War.

I want to start with the simplest units. As a rule, they play the role of local militia, and many of them are not even available for hiring, and appear in the game, for example, during the defense of a city, as the local population came to the aid. The more developed the settlement that is under siege, the more similar units there will be.

Militia.

Historically, these troops took people from local residents. These were, as they say, part-time soldiers. That is, they combined service with work in their main specialty.

In most nations, militias are rifle units. Their shot range is 70 points, and their accuracy rarely exceeds 25. Also, these units have a low reload speed and small ammunition. Well, their main drawback is their very low morale.

Indians.

When something threatens a tribe, all its men are called up for military service, from youngsters to old men. Anyone who can hold a weapon in their hands. Those who have never been in battle learned to handle weapons in hunting or learned to handle weapons.

The merits of the warriors could be recognized by his tattoos. They were applied to the skin using fish bones, and the cuts were covered with soot. If one tribe defeated another, all the warriors of the victorious tribe received tattoos in memory of this event.

Indians - play the role of militia among Indian tribes. These are warriors armed with axes - melee fighters. But they have very low morale and defense, which makes them ineffective, especially against ranged units. They just rarely have time to reach the enemy.

Mercenaries from the mob.

These people are not even peasants because they have no land to cultivate. However, they can also be armed and a place can be found for them in the ranks, although this will require a lot of effort. At best, they arm themselves with agricultural implements. They can also kill - if you have enough anger...

Of course, the combat value of these units is very doubtful...

These are perhaps the most original “militia” in the Empire. In terms of their parameters, they are so weak that in battle they can only scare you with their ugly appearance.

Now let's talk about units from the line infantry category. Line infantry - at that time this was the basis of any army. Therefore, all factions have analogues of this type of troops.

In developed European countries, linear infantry is almost all of the same type. Only the colors of the shape differ.

Riflemen and Line InfantryEmpire Total War.

Line infantry.

Line battalions or line infantry make up the majority in armies organized along European lines. They owe their name to the fact that they form the front line, and not because they fight in formation.

Their weapons are not particularly accurate, and their range is no more than 200 steps.

Cossack infantry.

The Russia faction has an interesting line infantry that differs from its European counterparts.

Units consist of squads, each of which is capable of fighting as an independent combat unit. Traditionally, the Cossacks were peerless horsemen, which is not surprising for the inhabitants of the steppes. However, they fought just as well on foot. They are brave, stubborn and quick to attack.

In terms of its parameters, the Cossack infantry is similar to the linear infantry of other countries, but not in its appearance.

Archers.

This is an analogue of the linear infantry of the Indian tribes. In terms of their parameters, firing range and accuracy, they are in no way inferior to their European counterparts.

In the time it takes a musketeer to reload his gun, an experienced archer is able to fire several arrows.

Healers.

A very original combat unit available to the Indians. According to their parameters, these are excellent shooters. Yes, yes, the fact is that these units throw axes before engaging in close combat. Moreover, they are thrown at a distance half as great as the firing distance, but they do it with good accuracy and a fast “reload” speed. True, they have very little ammunition, that is, axes.

By the way, healers have one very interesting skill. They can inspire their troops, and even stop them from fleeing.

Next, we will consider several types of units, which also belong to string units. Almost every faction has squads of very good shooters, which are better in their parameters than line infantry shooters, and as a rule are not available at first, but you can get to them by studying some technologies and erecting buildings.

Snipers Empire Total War.

I'll say a few words about the best shooters, the real snipers of the game!

Jaegers.

These soldiers are distinguished by initiative, aggressiveness and speed of attack. They consider themselves the cream of the infantry forces. These fighters do not follow orders thoughtlessly, and move around the battlefield according to their own tactics, independently choosing cover on the ground and navigating the course of combat operations.

These are excellent shooters. Their shot range is 90 units, accuracy is 55 (for linear infantry, for comparison, these parameters are 70/30). At the same time, Jaegers have a good fighting spirit.

I would like to note that if you have three or four detachments of such shooters in your army, then you can rest assured. These guys carry out any task assigned to them.

They are most effective against other enemy line infantry shooters. Thanks to their range and accuracy, the Jaegers will have time to shoot the enemy before they get close.

They can also withstand fire for a long time, thanks to their fighting spirit.

By the way, these units also have one interesting feature. They can hide in buildings.

Dahomey Amazons.

These are perhaps the most exotic units. Women armed with a rifle shoot much further and more accurately than line infantry. They also have good melee and attack parameters. They fight so fiercely that they instill fear in their opponents.

The initial purpose of these troops, consisting only of women, was to hunt elephants, but later it turned into the personal guard of the king. Or queens, since in this case, the Maratha faction that has access to these units is commanded by a woman.

The troops were supplemented by volunteers or women who were brought to the king by their husbands or fathers who complained about their inappropriate behavior.

Sikh arrows.

Another accurate snipers from the Total War Empire. Their only difference from the Jaegers is that their firing range is shorter (70 versus 90 points). But the Sikh riflemen have a higher morale.

Sikhs are a brave, free-thinking people, desperate and skilled in battle. Sikhs are members of a religious community in northern India and are easily identified by their turbans, long beards and uncut hair.

They are desperate fighters and are rightfully feared by their enemies.

Melee units.

During the times that Empire Total War talks about, the line infantry and riflemen of other units set the tone on the battlefield. However, hand-to-hand units were still present in the troops of that time. Almost every country has a different type of troops in the game, but the goals and tasks they perform are the same.

In European armies, these were often pikemen, since only they could stand up to enemy cavalry on equal terms.

Pikemen.

Pikemen are armed with long spears, similar to those used by the troops of Alexander the Great. Pikemen are shock troops, skilled in hand-to-hand combat and superior in numbers.

Also, pikemen detachments were often formed due to the fact that not every army at that time could afford to supply all soldiers with firearms.

The pikemen stood up well to the cavalry, unlike the riflemen, since the riflemen simply did not have time to fire a sufficient number of shots before approaching the cavalry. Therefore, the armies continued to contain pikemen. Although their role, of course, declined.

City shooters.

Very interesting hand-to-hand combat units, available to the Russia faction. They have low morale, however, high defense, melee and attack parameters.

These lightly armed warriors are the traditional guard of Russian cities, combining the functions of police, militia and even fire brigade.

This branch of the military was founded by Ivan the Terrible. Streltsy from the trading class were recruited there. These are somewhat old-fashioned troops during the time of the Total War Empire, but despite this, Sagittarians are reliable fighters when it comes to defending their homeland.

Sikh warriors.

And this, friends, some of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the game. Their melee parameter is 14, and their defense parameter is 18 points. They also have high morale. These fighters are armed with a shield and a sword, you will agree that for the era of the Empire game, a slightly old-fashioned combination :)

Now let's talk about cavalry in Total War Empire. Here the cavalry, of course, does not play such a significant role as in other games in the series, which take place before the era of gunpowder. However, do not forget that cavalry is still a very formidable weapon against archers. Especially if you hit from the flank.

Each faction has cavalry in its armies. And you can also find a lot in common between all the cavalry units.

CavalryEmpire Total War.

Personal guard of the General.

Only the most faithful and desperate fighters are included in the General’s personal guard. The most important advantage of these units is speed and mobility, as well as high morale.

The leader's bodyguards.

These units are the equivalent of the General's Guard among European factions. In terms of their parameters, they are really a little inferior.

These horsemen are responsible for the life of their commander, so they are very skilled warriors, ready to do anything to complete the task.

They must always follow their leader like a shadow, and if necessary, give their lives for him.

Polygars.

Polygars are a special branch of the military. Elite light cavalry in armor. Despite the weight of their armor, they were distinguished by good maneuverability and mobility. This is perhaps one of the most powerful cavalry. Not in every faction will you find cavalry in armor with such a high protection parameter, excellent attack and high morale.

Armed with blades, they are formidable opponents in hand-to-hand combat. They can move very quickly, so they are able to fight enemy arrows. In general, these are ideal units against enemy shooters.

Horse arrows.

Dragoons.

Dragoons are not exactly cavalry. More like mounted line infantry. That is, they can move and attack on horseback, but they also have the “dismount” function. When activated, units dismount from their horses and organize a normal formation similar to line infantry.

They cannot shoot on horseback, and use horses only to get to the place of deployment.

Kalmyks.

The units in the game are quite original, because they are mounted archers with bows. Agree, this looks more like units from the Roman era or Medival 2.

But as you can see, even in the era of gunpowder, this type of army has not yet gone out of use.

These fighters have a firing range comparable to line infantry, although their accuracy is lower.

The Kalmyks included steppe people who from time immemorial fought on horseback. Children learn to sit in the saddle even before they can walk. It can be said without exaggeration that the steppe warrior is one with his horse.

General's personal guard.

Elephants are already quite exotic for Empire: Total War. These units are available to the Maratha faction as the general's bodyguards. At the same time, elephants are a shooting squad. In addition, it is quite accurate.

The main task of these fighters is to save the life of the general in the chaos of the battle. But if necessary, they themselves can go into battle.

Artillery.

So we reached the artillery. Artillery is the queen of the battlefields of that era. In total, the game contains about half a dozen types of artillery, which are almost 100% the same for all factions.

Three-foot horse artillery.

One of the most used artillery pieces in the game is probably the 3ft Mounted Artillery. Its main advantage is that these guns are very mobile. By attaching them to horses, you can quickly move the squad to another battle location.

A terrible rain is coming, save yourself! Below, right next to the asphalt, sharp sabers flash, small sabers sparkle, they either line up against the walls, then suddenly they start moving again. In some subtleties, shades, the reason for this battle! Ah, kavale

Gambling addiction https://www.site/ https://www.site/

Guides

A terrible rain is coming, save yourself!

Below, right next to the asphalt,

Sharp sabers flash,

Small sabers sparkle,

They will line up against the walls,

Then suddenly they will start moving again.

In some subtleties, shades

The reason for this battle!

Oh, cavalry, where are you going?

I stand there, wet and amazed.

In flower beds, as if on mounds,

The banners sway a little.

Valery Popov

From the time of Shogun and to this day the strategic series Total War inspired and disappointed fans of strategy and field battles. The main element of the game - spectacular tactical battles of hundreds of soldiers and cavalry - has always overshadowed the rather weak strategic part. Charges of light cavalry, the tramp of soldiers' kaligas, menacing screams of samurai, thundering siege weapons - this is the essence of the Total War philosophy. Taxes and buildings, chips rushing around the map - this is just a means, a way, a reason to push thousands of armies under the command of personally nurtured commanders onto the battlefield.

It is worth understanding and accepting this philosophy, as much in Empire: Total War becomes clear. The times of the Romans and medieval wars are over. On the street is the 18th century, the era of dense formations, gun salvos, wooden ships and iron men. The philosophy of Total War has been developed to its logical limit here. The battles are incredibly beautiful, although the glare of the sun on a bayonet is a test that not every video card can pass. Sea battles are wonderful! Each of them is worthy of Aivazovsky’s canvas, and for the swelling sails of the frigates, we forgive the game all the hardships of managing your own fleet. Tactical AI wrinkles its forehead sternly, with the diligence of a dull but diligent student, it gives out what its teachers taught it from Creative Assembly, and sometimes even manages to portray a commander, which, let’s not hide, hasn’t happened in Total War for a long time. Strategic AI fights like a lion. Dead lion. Well, I mean, it won’t bite, but it looks menacing, that is what it is.

The main question of Total War at all times is formulated this way: are the tactical battles good enough for you to put up with strategic oddities and quirks? Empire: Total War is a riot of colors, a revived canvas of marine and battle painters. For the sake of this, is it worth turning a blind eye to the fact that the minds of foreign kings, commanders and ambassadors regularly become distorted and carried away to the astral plane?

Dragoons with ponytails

Moscow! No calls yet!

Cruel age, cruel hearts! Firearms are no longer an overseas curiosity, but the main means of exterminating the enemy. After the motley Roman and medieval armies, the Total War series took a step towards the brevity of Shogun. Each game power has the same basic kit, differing only in the color of their uniforms: line infantry, light infantry, cavalry and cannons. Turkish Janissaries, Russian Cossacks, Elephants, American Minutemen and other specialized units do not change the situation on the battlefield too much. The backbone of the armies - the linear infantry - also determines the tactics: the columns line up against each other, and crackling gunfire opens; the battlefield is clouded with gunpowder smoke, and the battle usually begins from the flanks tormented by cavalry... well, or where the melee troops, lacking guns, run to the attack.

At the beginning of the campaign, units are trained only to walk back and forth and shoot approximately in the direction of the enemy. Cannons fire only cannonballs - in history they were deadly against dense, deep formations, but in the game there are no such things: squads line up in three rows, a maximum of four, so that the soldiers from the back rows do not smoke while the front rows fire. And the cannonballs fly past.

Military technologies researched in strategic mode equip cannons with grapeshot charges, and shooters are taught to fire rank after rank, form a tight square against cavalry and not clean their guns with bricks. Many interesting innovations have appeared on the battlefield - light infantry in defense digs stakes from cavalry raids, line infantry and cannons pile up small embankments, and dragoons not only dismount, but also climb back onto their horses if suddenly asked to do so. The surrounding landscape has also become interactive - a squad can hide from enemy fire behind stone fences, and entire squads can be driven into houses. The soldiers themselves line up near the windows and, if something happens, they knock out the glass, opening fire. This works well against cavalry and not so much against cannons.

It's not easy for an artificial enemy in rough terrain, but he's trying. Even from afar, you can see how he thinks about tactics, how his electric brains creak. An enemy detachment is walking across the field - as soon as we order the artillery to load buckshot, the detachment runs back. We switch to regular kernels - it comes back.

And sometimes the computer enemy even dances something! Either he will send cavalry to the flank, or he will rivet the cannons, or even strike at a weak point. The intelligence of the computer enemy in tactical battles is strong compared to what it was in previous parts, especially considering that the bulk of the battles are firefights. Sometimes he has problems, but where would he be without them? The squads get stuck in the fence, weakly reacting to the shelling from the nearest hill. Often the computer does not evacuate units from buildings under shelling - and loses them entirely. AI can, of course, only win with a large advantage in manpower or difficulty level, but this has always been the case.

But in Empire: Total War, for the first time in many years, the player’s own units are no longer confused with each other. Remember how the legionnaires’ brains exploded when they were asked to stand “turtle”? No more problems like this! Any formation - a wedge of cavalry, sparse for light infantry, squares, squares of pikemen, long ranks, dense squares - the detachment executes quickly and efficiently. If the front needs to be turned one hundred and eighty degrees, the detachment does not mark time. The soldiers make a circle - and the last become the first.

One can only guess what such an improvement in soldiers' brains cost the developers. A huge amount of work has been done, and the results are impressive - especially if you remember the stupidity of the soldiers of Rome and Medieval. Of course, problems remain. Hiding behind fences and redoubts, fighters often slow down in shooting, so it’s better not to drive them there. Friendly fire has become a serious problem - shooters rarely reflect before firing a volley into the backs of their fighting comrades, and the problem can only be solved by deep micromanagement. Finally, the cannons sometimes behave capriciously and often do not obey orders, capriciously refuse to cling to the horses and sometimes fire buckshot at their own people - but this is an obvious bug, it needs to be caught, crushed and destroyed.

Pull the guy to the mountains, take a risk

Things are even sadder with the assault on fortresses - such menacing-looking stone walls with scarps and counter-scarps now hardly interfere with the attackers. We all remember what major troubles an assault on even the smallest fort was fraught with for attackers since the days of Shogun. Trying to cut through the gates or break them with a battering ram, the attackers suffered severe losses. You had to either carry artillery with you everywhere, or spend months putting together siege weapons.

Apparently, the naive Romans and crusaders simply did not know that they could untwist a hook on a rope, throw it over the wall and calmly rise, resting their feet on the vertical wall and whistling Vysotsky’s melody. In Empire: Total War, of course, you can line up cannons in front of the walls the old-fashioned way (just be careful - the defenders on the walls also have cannons) and pierce the wall with cannonballs. But why? Any infantry detachment is able to walk along the wall to where there are no defenders, and without haste to overcome a multi-meter steep barrier, without even getting out of breath. Even if there are defenders, they will not shoot at the rising “climbers” or cut the ropes, but, like gentlemen, will wait until the first attackers climb the wall.

The formidable appearance of the fortresses should not mislead anyone. In fact, small fortresses are even easier to defend than large ones because they are more compact and make it harder for attackers to find an undefended wall. The main problem that fortresses present to both defenders and attackers is the difficulty of formations and pathfinding. For example, it is common to see defenders on a wall who, in the midst of a battle, were ordered to retreat to the central square and who decided that the best thing to do was to use the attackers' ropes, climb down along them to the outside, and then enter through the gate.

Fortunately, in Empire: Total War we are not forced to storm fortresses over and over again, as was the case in Rome: Total War. Sieges now last very short, the defenders can be asked to surrender (they never agree, but the main thing is the principle!), and they themselves willingly leave the fortress into an open field, forcing the player to defend himself - to the great joy of the latter.

Set sail!

The Creative Assembly has transformed fortresses from dangerous and powerful strongholds into minor nuisances on the battlefield. Well, what can you do - the feudal system is long gone, and in the eighteenth century the strategic importance of fortresses fell. The military art of those times is unthinkable without sea battles, Invincible Armadas and boardings. Already in Medieval: Total War I was depressed by the attitude of the developers towards naval battles. Automatic calculation, eternal automatic calculation. Why, one might ask, build armies and appoint admirals if you can’t see them in action?

Now you can watch it. Majestic sails are inflated by the wind, and ships with graceful silhouettes cut through the surface of the sea. Sailors are crawling along the shrouds, and the gun crews are vigilantly watching to see if someone else’s graceful silhouette is in the affected area.

And then the enemy ships start firing - and the masts break, and the sails tear, and wooden debris scatters around, while the terrified sailors jump from the masts, screaming... right onto the deck. Beauty is beauty, but there is no time to admire it when the enemy fleet is slowly but steadily presenting us with our own food on a silver platter. It seems that the ships are the same in strength, but when the number of sunk ships over and over again is “all-zero” is not in our favor, you can’t help but doubt that it is even possible to win at sea.

The secret of the artificial admiral is that he is able to control all ships at the same time and, unlike us, micromanagement does not scare him. If you wanted a strong enemy, you got it! Our ships could also use some rudimentary AI, if only to turn their sides to the enemy rather than their stern. But we don’t have any smart captains, the admiral is forced to “steer” all the ships of the fleet at once, and the only chance of victory is to approach the enemy from the windward side and force him to pile his ships into a heap.

In the game, it is possible to personally give the order to fire a salvo with the entire board, but in reality there is simply no time to monitor the sides of the ships. In order to somehow avoid micromanagement, you have to be cunning by combining ships into a group and lining them up in a wake formation. Naval science is hard, and glory to those who can, using the wind and formations wisely, nullify the advantage of artificial enemy intelligence. His reward will be spectacular explosions of enemy powder magazines, prize money and new ships boarded and joining our victorious Armada.

In the name of man

The combat land AI resists well. The combat naval AI is unforgiving and is ready to stick an anchor in the player's ear at the first opportunity. Strategic AI is dying and asking for fish soup.

But what a wonderful idea there was with the updated strategic map - several cities in each province, mines, logging, commercial ports and shipyards... schools, finally, where you can study military, economic and social sciences! The map may be puzzling because it is divided into three regions (Europe, the New World, India), but there are special trade zones - having captured them, a strong sea power can earn fabulous money every turn, allowing them to buy back from the owners almost all the areas necessary for victory in the campaign . And if we remember about revolutions, about the opportunity to build steam ships ahead of their time, a huge field for vigorous activity emerges, the prospect of long evenings filled with elegant plans and strategic decisions... this is if you do not pay attention to AI.

What, you ask, is wrong with him? In general, he is sane - you can trade with countries, conclude alliances, pacts, give and receive the right of passage, enroll small states as protectorates. Diplomats, however, have their head in the clouds and sometimes become annoying, offering to give them Courland every year in exchange for the ears of a dead donkey. It is impossible to shut them up for long, but it is not difficult to reject offers every time.

The problem is that in war the AI ​​does not fight back. He will, of course, try to recapture the captured city and bravely attack the invading armies. But he refuses to go to war against your cities - for historical reasons, probably. If you immediately go to the enemy capital and capture it, then the whole country will be annihilated - fleets disappear in the oceans, armies disappear in the forests. It is possible to liquidate half of Europe in one turn if, using the right of passage, you drive armies to the capitals and treacherously capture them. Another major problem with strategic AI is the inability to transport armies by sea. There are no amphibious assaults - there is no threat to the colonies, and England need not be afraid of the French. Everything is in the name of a person, everything is for the benefit of a person, and that person is you.

What about the feeling of achievement? How can you rejoice in victories, knowing that defeat in Empire: Total War is fundamentally impossible? As always! For those who want globality and intelligent AI, there is a series of games from Paradox. In Total War, the strategic mode has always been, is and, I suspect, will remain just a prelude to incredibly beautiful tactical battles and just a reason for a fight.

Moving from the Middle Ages and Antiquity into the eighteenth century, the game left behind much of what players had come to love about Rome and Medieval. There is no more fuss with the royal family, weddings and the birth of heirs. It is no longer possible to take a prince and harden him in battle, turning him from a rake pampered by court life into a stern commander who strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies. The incendiary speeches of the generals before the battle disappeared. Siege weapons, and, by and large, sieges themselves remained in the Middle Ages. Fans of modifications were dissatisfied - the release of Empire: Total War in the distribution system Steam left them, to put it mildly, little opportunity to delve into the game. The modding community considered this a great disgrace on the part of Creative Assembly, and they can be understood - they supported the series with their works for so many years, but they were forgotten about them.

But - ships and sails! The crack of muskets and the beat of drums! The commanders of individual detachments now have a voice, and all twelve countries are voiced in their own languages. But here there are colonies and the wealth of India. Pirate ships terrify the merchants of the seven seas, and Peter the Great invites Sweden to move, freeing up the passage for him to open a window to Europe. New cities and ports are appearing on the map, kings are throwing out careless ministers with a towel, and the mob is proclaiming a republic.

We make history in Empire: Total War - it has always been so and will always be so. Victory may be inevitable, but only we can decide what the path to it will be.

Strategy

The strategy map and concepts in Empire: Total War have changed a lot. Much has gone into the past, much has appeared. In the scanty game manual, surprisingly, there is practically not a word about strategic innovations. We have to understand them empirically!

Did you know: where to look for saved files in case you want to delete unnecessary ones? On Windows XP, look for them at C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\The Creative Assembly\Empire\save_games. On Windows Vista - C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\The Creative Assembly\Empire\save_games.

And we will build small cities

For the first time in the history of the series, in the areas into which the strategic map is divided, in addition to the main city, others appeared - small, but very useful. They are designed to specialize a province in one of four areas: entertainment, profit, missionary, education.

• Taverns designed to entertain the townspeople and reduce the level of discontent in the province. Regular taverns reduce the discontent of the lower classes, improved ones also affect the outlook on life of the nobility (or the middle class, if your political system is a republic). From time to time, taverns “give birth” to so-called “rakes” - saboteurs who combine the qualities of a spy and a hired killer. They can be sent on sensitive missions, but you should be careful - the use of saboteurs greatly affects diplomatic relations with the target country and, to a lesser extent, with all other countries.

For your information: You can no longer hire agents in the game. They themselves “hatch” on the map from time to time - and their number greatly depends on how many cities you have specialized in one direction or another.

• Workshops increase the wealth of the province and indirectly (through collected taxes) affect the flow of money into the treasury. In addition, without workshops it will be impossible to study some technologies, so having a couple on hand is very, very desirable. Weaving workshops can be built in normal areas. If there is a metal deposit in the area, then forges become available. It is advisable to have both on hand.

For your information: All cities where you can build or upgrade a specialization building are marked on the map with a hammer and trowel symbol.

• Parochial schools It makes sense to build where the population does not entirely share the state’s views on religion. It is not possible to change the state religion in the game, and conquered provinces of a foreign faith tend to rebel more often. It is precisely to ensure that religious differences do not spoil the mood of the residents that there are parochial schools, as well as missionaries who are “born” from time to time in the city with this building. Missionaries are also suitable for preaching the correct faith - they should be sent in advance to those provinces that you are going to conquer and which do not believe in your god.
• Schools, they are also universities - temples of science. How many provinces you have with a school, so many technologies you can study at the same time, and this is useful when you want to get ahead in the technological race, get new ammunition for guns and quickly teach soldiers useful skills. Some social sciences require improved schools. From time to time, “gentlemen” emerge from schools, a kind of cross between a scientist, a spy and... a murderer. A gentleman present in the city where the school is built accelerates the study of science - and, if he has the appropriate talents, the school can be specialized in sciences of one kind.

For your information: If parochial schools are useful for peace and tranquility in the province, then ordinary schools cause free-thinking sentiments and can even lead to riots if public opinion is not monitored.

From schools in other countries, with a little luck, a gentleman may steal the technology for you. Finally, an angry gentleman can challenge an enemy agent to a duel and thereby try to destroy him. Scientists from Muslim countries do not know how to challenge people to a duel—it is not customary among them.

For your information: want to send a gentleman to steal technology? First, get ready for a long and tedious scan of the map for cities where schools are built. This is not an easy task - apparently, the developers did not imagine that someone would seriously decide to use a gentleman for industrial espionage. Secondly, know that if your agent is unlucky enough to be caught and deported, it is better not to use him for espionage again, otherwise the country's reputation will suffer.

In each non-capital city of the region, you can build and develop only one thing: a school, parish school, workshop or tavern. If you change your mind, nothing prevents you from destroying the building and changing the specialization of the city - but you will have to spend money and moves on construction and improvement again.

From Liverpool Harbor

In addition to cities, the province contains valuable resources, and if it faces the sea or ocean, it most likely has its own port.

Resources do not bring benefit to the state until they are mastered. On the map, the symbol of firewood, sheaves of hay, and animal skins means places where you can build or improve resource-producing buildings or plow fertile lands. Only after construction does the resource begin to bring money or goods for international trade (for example, the same skins from Russia go well on the European market).

• Logging camp increases the wealth of the area and, accordingly, tax collections.
• Mines They act in exactly the same way and also allow you to build forges in nearby cities.
• Farms increase the wealth of the area, increase population growth and protect the entire area from famine. They are also required to study Agricultural Sciences.
• Plantations- a colonial invention. Plantations allow the cultivation of tobacco, coffee, cotton, spices and tea - these resources are considered tradeable and are sold for money on the world market. Sometimes the player can choose what exactly he wants to grow on the plantation.
• Items The reception of skins acts in the same way as plantations - they bring the state a valuable trading resource.

For your information: An enemy army walking around the map can destroy resource buildings, and an artificial enemy often does this in order to at least somehow take revenge for the captured province. For you, there is no point in vandalism - if you are on enemy territory, then the most obvious path is to the capital!

With ports the situation is by no means so simple. To begin with, there are three types of them, and before building a port, we need to decide what we want from it: for it to feed the province, make it richer, or build ships for us.

• Fishing port works much like a farm - increases population growth, protects the province from hunger. There are especially many of them among the Indians on the east coast of North America in the campaign for the USA (it opens after completing the training mode). Since they are of little use, it makes sense to capture areas, destroy ports and build something more meaningful in their place.
• Trade port brings benefits in several directions at once. First, it increases the wealth of the province. Secondly, it opens up a trade route, allowing you to enter into trade agreements with other countries and get a good amount of gold each turn. Thirdly, a commercial port allows you to build primitive warships and so-called merchant ships, which deserve a separate discussion.
• Shipyard- the place where the most advanced sailing ships are built, the basis of the power of a maritime power. Of course, in order to build improved battleships and admiral flagships, it is necessary to research the necessary technologies. The most developed shipyard can be specialized either in a naval hospital, which allows you to build ships of the second rank, or in a steam dock, which allows you to build ships of the first rank and steamships. On the one hand, the dock is definitely cooler. On the other hand, it takes much longer to get to it using scientific technologies than to get to a hospital, and by the time universities have studied the sciences necessary for them, there are unlikely to be any countries left in the world that can at least do something to oppose the power of a sea power.

A Tale of Two Cities

The main city of each region, its capital is the key to the region. This was the case in Rome and in Medieval II - capture the capital and the region is yours. From the point of view of game mechanics, the capitals of individual regions and the main city of the entire country differ little - in both places buildings are built, in both places it is necessary to keep the people in obedience. But the capture of the regional center means the loss of the region, and the capture of the capital means the death of the nation. But the player is not in danger of seeing enemy armies near Moscow - artificial intelligence does not like and does not want to invade the player’s territory. Regional centers and the capital of the entire country also differ in the number of possible buildings - in ordinary cities there are only two places for construction, and in the main ones there are five or six. In Russia, too, the “cities of large construction projects” are Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyiv.

Let's start the story about cities with small capitals, the main cities of the regions. First of all, we are building a town hall and the governor’s building. It not only pacifies the city residents, but also allows you to hire basic units. The second construction space is reserved for walls, and the economical player will not build them, because mighty warriors are the real walls of cities.

For your information: if in Medieval the fortification was the refuge of the feudal lord, and in Rome the walls contained entire cities, then here the walls built in the city do not literally mean walls, but fortresses somewhere near the city. So, when storming fortresses, we don’t see the cities themselves, and that’s good - there’s less fuss on the streets. You should not upgrade fortresses to the second level - small fortresses are easier to defend with small forces, and even twenty troops are not enough to defend a large one from all sides. Soldiers with climbing equipment can easily climb the walls of both fortresses.

When the town hall is improved to the second level, we have the opportunity to choose the future fate of the city - to complete its construction along the military or civilian side. The “military town” is intended for recruiting advanced branches of troops, and the peaceful one is for collecting taxes and establishing order in the province.

With capitals that have not two, but six places for construction, the player practically does not experience the agony of choice. You can build whatever your heart desires. Only in one place do you have to choose whether to build conservatories (they improve people’s mood, “give birth” to saboteurs) or observatories (they work as an improved version of schools, make people think about revolutions, “give birth” to gentlemen).

The wealth of an area directly affects the taxes collected from it, and is influenced by several different factors. For example, the iron mined in the region greatly boosts its economy. Trade agreements and trade routes that pass through the region also increase financial flows. Infrastructure is also important - for example, the better the roads in an area, the greater their capacity. The economy is influenced by developed social sciences and, of course, taxes - if a high tax rate is set in the country for the nobility, the region will begin to become poorer and the tax base will decrease, and with it budget revenues. You can clearly see what makes up the wealth of a region by double-clicking on its capital.

For your information: if desired, we can set different tax rates for the metropolis and the colonies (for example, if we want to increase emigration to the colonies). However, you cannot change tax rates for each region separately. Certain areas can only be made “offshore”, temporarily freeing them from all taxes. This is usually done in cases where the people, after the capture of the province, have not yet appreciated all the delights of friendly bayonets and are ready to rebel.

Taxes not only affect wealth, but also population growth in an area. The fewer taxes and the more food (farms, fisheries), the faster people arrive in the region and the faster the villages in the province turn into full-fledged cities.

Public order is a term familiar to us since Civilization. Here it is calculated separately for the lower classes and for the nobility (if the political system is a republic, then the middle class takes the place of the nobility). The influence of various factors on public order is clearly visible in the city window: the level of taxes, the recent wars for the province, and the political system are important - for example, under the monarchy and the governor’s building being built, a fair portion of the dissatisfied simply do not risk speaking out due to repression.

Advice: This means that immediately after the capture of the city, the governor's building must be repaired immediately so that the repression can take effect as quickly as possible.

In addition, questions of religion are important, so if in the newly taken province cities with not those religious buildings - demolish them and replace them with the ones you need. After successful military operations, the people become imbued with patriotism within a few turns, and this works for your rating as a ruler. Finally, troops stationed in the city obviously calm the dissatisfied - dragoons are especially effective in this sense.

If there are not enough troops in the city, and discontent is about to overwhelm, then the city itself will form detachments of city guards, which can restrain popular unrest for some time.

If the level of satisfaction of citizens drops to zero, this is a reason to be wary and take immediate action, because negative satisfaction very quickly leads to unrest. First you will be warned by a strike or an open letter of protest. Riots will then begin in the city, damaging buildings. If urgent measures are not taken even then, a real rebellion will break out in the province, which will have to be suppressed by the army.

This is interesting: sometimes a rebellion can take the form of a separatist or national liberation movement. If a captured province shows dissatisfaction, then the rebels can come out under the flag of the power to which it previously belonged. If the country from which the area is captured is no longer in nature, it may reappear. Finally, the British provinces in America could declare themselves the United States, the Norwegian provinces would call themselves Finland, and northern Great Britain would try to become a free Scotland.

How to make steam from stone?

Science in Empire: Total War is implemented very transparently and accessible. The only drawback is the small icons that you have to look at, but this is not too disturbing.

All science is divided into three large areas: military, industrial and social.

• Military Sciences help unlock new troops, new ammunition for cannons, advanced models of sailing ships and make it easier to handle the army (for example, they help save money on the military budget). All military sciences are divided into three large groups: army(this includes both infantry and cavalry), ammunition(open new types of shells for cannons) and fleet(new ships and their new capabilities).
• Industrial Sciences are divided into agricultural(provide population growth and improved farm efficiency), metallurgy(makes it possible to build advanced mines, sawmills, docks and other improvements) and textile(improves the economic and social effects of weaving workshops in cities).
• Social sciencies consist of only one branch. They greatly accelerate the speed of development of science and give a powerful kick to the state economy. But almost every social science comes with a small but very harmful dose of social discontent. If you just go deeper into the study of social sciences, then mass riots are inevitable. If you want to turn the country into a republic in order to receive all the pros and cons of this political system, you can safely throw the country’s scientific reserves into social sciences. If politics is not too close to you, then it is better not to touch them, but to study industry and military affairs.

As I said above, science is studied in schools and their advanced versions (colleges, universities). In capitals and other cities with six places for construction, you can make an observatory out of a theater - it will also be considered a school and, in addition, will give all schools in the country a small increase in the speed of studying science.

One school can deal with only one science. Two schools cannot work on the same science at the same time. The more schools there are in a country, the more sciences you can study at the same time (and the more anxiety in the country from excess knowledge that will have to be compensated or suppressed).

From time to time, schools will produce gentlemen, agents, who are best left in the same schools to speed up scientific work. The effect of gentlemen in one school adds up, but there is no point in keeping more than three or four in one city. Remember that it is better to immediately divide the schools according to sciences - navy to one, textiles to another, and animal husbandry to the third. This will enable gentlemen sitting over one branch of science to develop in themselves qualities that accelerate research in that field.

We've come with peace

Diplomacy... It had great potential. The classic diplomacy window allows you not only to offer alliances, money, demand tribute, give gifts, ask for a trade license, offer a protectorate and discuss the right of passage of armies, but also, if desired, put pressure on your opponent to become more accommodating. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will clearly show a map where the attitude of other countries towards you and towards each other is shown in different colors - pop-up tips will describe in detail why this or that country specifically loves you or not.

The potential of diplomacy was prevented from being realized by the noble madness of artificial opponents. As they say, “you’re a good man, prince, but it’s painfully unearthly.” A simple example: a small and weak state declares war on a large and strong one (us). We raise an eyebrow and invite the brave souls to pay tribute in exchange for a peace treaty. After thinking, they agree, and on the next move they declare war again. Profit!

The principles by which technologies are traded are also not entirely obvious. Technology can be bought from another state for a relatively small amount of gold, but cannot be exchanged for a whole bunch of your technologies. Why? Secret! Fortunately, in Empire: Total War, states are able to part with their own areas for money. Of course, they are asking for a lot of money, but a very rich country, which has discovered the most valuable colonial resources and occupied the world's trade centers, is able to buy a province every two or three years and get by with virtually no wars.

So what should we do with diplomacy? Try to make trade agreements with different countries as early as possible (this may require several trading ports and a direct route from your capital to their capital). If a country is reluctant, offer them money, scientific technology, or rights of passage in exchange for a trade agreement. Persia, Venice and Savoy (Turin) should be prioritized in terms of trade agreements - they are very rich trading powers.

Dwarf countries, as a rule, do not resist for too long if they are offered a protectorate and some gold. Do not spare gold, the protectorate will pay for it very soon.

Make the most of war and peace, demand tribute and try not to pay attention to annoying diplomats who offer the same exchange option every few turns (usually asking for territory) on conditions that are completely unfavorable for you.

How much-how much?

Trade in Empire: Total War is very, very important - especially for sea powers. Let's just say: well-organized trading will bring in each move many times more money than can be collected from taxes. Fifty thousand gold in one move is not a fairy tale, but a harsh reality.

The first thing you need to determine is what resources you can trade. If you are a colonial power and control India, you will have a huge amount of the most valuable ivory. If you own plantations in America, you can trade sugar, cotton or tobacco.

However, it is not enough to have a trade resource - you also need trade routes, sea or land. A sea trade route becomes available if both you and the country you have an agreement with have trading ports. The goods must be mined in the same area as the port, or in an area adjacent to it. Ports must not be blocked by enemy fleets. The sea route should not be attacked by pirates from different countries, since privateers literally “drink the blood” of the country, taking for themselves part of the possible profits from trade. Guard trade routes with strong fleets! The better developed the trading port is and the more there are, the more countries you can trade with.

An overland trade route is established if the cargo can be transported without problems from your capital to the capital of the country with which you want to trade. For example, Russia exports furs exclusively by land.

All trade statistics can be checked in the government window, in the “Trade” tab.

But selling resources on the world market is not all trade. A lot of money can be made in the so-called “trading zones”, small areas of the sea where, according to the terms of the game, very lively trade is in full swing. There are four of them: the coast of Brazil, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar and the East Indies. Each of them has five ports, marked with a yellow anchor symbol. Whoever occupied these ports first gets a trade route, valuable resources and big profits.

The ports are occupied by special merchant ships of the “Indian” or “Dow” brand - you can recognize them by the yellow number in the upper right corner of the pictogram. Theoretically, merchant ships can fight off an attack, but they will do nothing against serious fleets and should be protected. The beginning of the game is a race for trading ports, and if you are playing as a sea power, then you should very quickly occupy as many of the twenty trading ports as possible. Most likely, you won’t have time to borrow everything, but if you want, you can grab yourself a good jackpot. When the race is over and the ports have been distributed, you can begin to accumulate ships in each - it makes sense to keep up to three or four "Indians" in one port.

The trade route can be reconquered, and pirates often visit trade zones, so it's best to have war fleets on hand to protect your economic interests.

Listen to the music of the revolution

For the first time in the series, we can choose a government system using revolutions. There are three possible government systems in the game: absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy and republic.

At absolute monarchy all power belongs to the king. Ministerial positions are inherited, but the monarch can shuffle ministers in any way he likes and fire those he doesn’t like, replacing them with people from the “personnel reserve.” This system pleases the nobility, but upsets the lower strata of the population - discontent is compensated by a high level of repression, which prevents them from openly expressing discontent. Under an absolute monarchy, science and economics develop slowly, and the effect on the country of all the positive and negative qualities of the monarch and his retinue is doubled.

An absolute monarchy is ideal for a militant state that quickly pushes its boundaries.

A constitutional monarchy limits the king's power. Science and economics are developing faster than under absolutism. The nobility are no longer so happy, but the lower classes are not rebelling either. The level of repression has also been reduced, which means a greater likelihood of rebellion if the people don’t like something. The monarch can still replace ministers, but only one per turn. Every ten moves, elections are held in the country and, if the popularity of the government has fallen, the entire cabinet of ministers is replaced by the opposition. Elections can be held early to increase the authority of the government.

Republic eliminates the nobility and replaces it with the middle class. Science and economics are developing rapidly. The plebs are happy, but in case of problems they very actively go into conflict, since there is practically no repression. Every eight turns, the head of state and ministers are re-elected. They cannot remain in office for more than two consecutive terms. You cannot change ministers manually - you can only re-elect the entire cabinet ahead of schedule (in this case, all ministers are replaced at once).

If you want to change the political system, you will have to organize a revolution, and not just any revolution, but exactly the one you need. The rules are as follows.

• If you make me angry ordinary people and raise him to revolution, he will introduce republic.
• If you make me angry know, she will enter absolute monarchy.
• If you make me angry middle class, he will enter constitutional monarchy.
• If you don't have a middle class, and you need a constitutional monarchy, you must first enrage the common people, establish a republic, and then enrage the middle class.
• If you anger the nobles, and you already have a constitutional monarchy, then you will simply have a new monarch.

As you can see, nothing complicated! The question is how exactly to bring the class you need to the point of assembly. Firstly, you don't need riots in any province except the central one - only a capital riot leads to revolution. So the algorithm is this: we take and raise to the maximum the tax on the class that we want to anger, but at the same time we exempt all provinces from taxes except the central one. We destroy all entertainment buildings in the central province, build schools, study “free-thinking” sciences, and withdraw all troops from the province.

That's a recipe for disaster! In just three or four turns, a riot will begin, and all you have to do is support the rebels.

Tactics

The time has come for us to start talking about the tactics of battles on land and at sea. But first, let's look at what has changed and what remains the same in the rules for the movement of ships and armies on the strategic map.

Easy on the go

In ancient times, in Shogun and Medieval: Total War, armies were depicted as pieces that jumped from province to province like chess pieces. It looked gloomy and sad - it was very difficult to understand the map, where chips were thrown around, differing from each other only in color. In Rome: Total War, things started to improve - the map took on a decent appearance, and soldiers began to walk along it.

In Empire: Total War the principles remain the same. We select armies, connect them or separate them, see what area they can cover in one turn (it is indicated in green), and with a mouse click we send the army on its way. If you do not click the mouse button, but hold it down, you can see in advance which path the army will take. The small “bricks” next to the flag indicate the number of units in the army. The flag itself flutters proudly if the units are fully equipped, and is slightly torn if their numbers have suffered in battle. The more the troops got, the more the flag was torn. Fortunately, you can now replenish squads not only in your cities, but everywhere. Units are replenished quickly if the army is standing still, and very slowly if it is moving.

Advice: if the army is badly damaged, save a lot of money and time by simply combining units. To do this, you need to transfer one unit to another in the army window.

In battle, the army gains valuable experience by earning red chevrons. Each unit rank affects accuracy, reload speed, defense and attack in melee combat, and the level of morale.

Advice: When combining squads, be careful if their experience is uneven. If an experienced squad is knocked out by more than half and an inexperienced one joins it, then the chevron disappears. Try to unite experienced units with each other or add “newcomers” to them in small parts - then the chevrons will be intact.

And this one doesn't seem to be from our area.

Each army and navy has its own “interception zone”. If the enemy enters it, the army will have the opportunity to attack him, that is, intercept him. You don't have to do this - the game will ask you every time whether you want to intercept or stay put.

If all units in the army have the “untrodden paths” skill, then the army can naturally hide on the map and ambush the enemy. The game will ask you whether you want to ambush or not. Ambushes, as before, mean that the enemy will be taken by surprise in a marching column.

In addition to the interception zone, each army also has a “zone of influence”, which extends much further. If two units are in each other's zone of influence, then when one of them enters battle, the other will also take part in the battle.

For your information: The speed of movement of an army depends on many factors - on the personal qualities of the general, on whether the army has cannons, whether it has infantry or whether the army consists only of cavalry - and on how developed army science is.

Having remained in one place for one turn, the army automatically digs in. Now, if it is attacked, infantry and artillery will be able to build small ramparts before the battle and hide behind them. If a particularly dangerous area needs to be defended against superior enemy forces, the army can quickly build a small fortress. It is of little use, but shelling from the walls will allow you to slightly thin out the enemy troops before they climb the ropes onto the walls.

For your information: All armies and navies can be renamed to suit your taste.

If there is no general in the army, he can be promoted from the ranks by clicking on the star in the army window. He will stand at the head of the army, and with him a detachment of mounted bodyguards. Be careful, however - only one detachment should be allocated from which you nominate a general. If several are allocated, several generals and several units will appear, and your budget will suffer greatly.

Advice: if you are going to make an amphibious landing, see if there is a port on the coast nearby. Armies that land at the port can move on the same turn. Armies that simply landed on the shore begin to move only on the next turn.

And lastly, if you conquer all the provinces needed to win before the campaign ends, the game will not end. You will have to at least hold them until the last turn of the campaign, and only then will you be rewarded with a victory video.

The formation flashed behind the formation

Where does victory begin? From the selection of the army. In the old days, when armies were not entirely gunfire, finding the right combinations of archers/peltasts/knights/peasants could take a long time. Now everything is different.

Rule number one - take more line infantry. You can’t spoil an army with linear infantry, just like you can’t spoil porridge with butter. Even if the entire army consists of line infantry, well, it will not be too flexible, but it will simply prevail in numbers.

For there are many soldiers in the detachment - one hundred and twenty people by default. Everyone is armed with a gun bike. If military science has advanced even a little, a baguette can be screwed onto every rifle bike - and the shooter will turn into a melee fighter.

A friendly volley of hundreds of rifles will help against cavalry. Against melee fighters running and shaking axes, he will then finish off his partner’s volley from the flank or rear, and the enemy tied up in battle. Running quickly over rough terrain will help against cannons. Line infantry is the king and god of the battlefields of Empire: Total War.

For your information: however, there is also a means for linear infantry - these are grenadiers. Directly under fire, they can run up to the enemy and throw fifty deadly grenades, destroying up to a quarter of the enemy squad and greatly reducing their morale. The only bad thing is that they don’t think of throwing grenades one after another. For every throw they need a command from their superiors, that is, ours.

Light infantry, in turn, is not particularly useful. First, one detachment has half as many soldiers as a linear infantry detachment. On the one hand, the lightness is extraordinary, but, on the other hand, two times is two times! Well, a volley will demolish half a detachment of cavalry, let’s say. But the second half will scatter and put down the detachment. And in a duel with line infantry, light infantry will obviously lose. Of course, in some cases, light infantry rifles hit a little further. But they still can’t be peltasts, because a long reload time negates this advantage. Place a squad of light infantry on a steep hill and it will show its class. But on the plain, she will not be able to wear down the enemy, and the button that launches the “shoot and run” tactic is useless.

However, it is possible to have a couple of light units on hand. If they know how to dig stakes in defense, then cover the flanks with stakes - this way you will seriously confuse the enemy cavalry. The ability of light infantry to hide will allow you to organize a couple of interesting ambushes right on the battlefield. Finally, it can be placed in front of the line infantry and pulled back at the right time. Watch out for "friendly fire" and use light infantry against exposed enemy flanks.

Melee units should be used depending on the situation. The same Janissaries are good at cutting through light infantry armed with guns and unaccustomed to blades - but this is only if they allow you to get close, or maybe not, especially if you have to storm a hill.

Pikemen are an atavism. Their formations and reformations are interesting to watch, but they will do little against firearms. But the flank will be covered from the cavalry. Line them up in a hedgehog formation and the horses won't know what to do with the pikemen.

The cavalry... Let's face it, she got it. It has completely lost its strategic impact value. Where are you, cataphracts? Where are you, medieval knights? And for what offense do cavalrymen instantly turn into whipping boys when they find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time? No matter how quickly a cavalry detachment gallops into the attack, a volley from a linear infantry detachment leaves it with horns and legs. Therefore, there is no need to organize a “light cavalry charge.” In modern times of gunfire, cavalry must hide, tiptoe along the flank and gallop into a saber attack only on the backs of an enemy tied up in battle... Well, or on the flank as a last resort. The cavalry cannot afford to get involved in a long battle - there are already very few people in the detachment. Guerrilla patrols in the rear, raids on artillery positions - this is the fate of the cavalry.

Even fighting with a battery of guns is not an easy task for cavalry. It gets to the point of ridiculousness - a mounted detachment can suffer heavy losses... while pursuing a fleeing enemy. Who would have thought that this was such a dangerous business?

The apotheosis of war.

However, having a couple of cavalry units on hand is useful for the same pursuit and elimination.

Horse archers (Tatars, Kalmyks) can harass the enemy by shooting from afar. Not the Parthian circle, but what can you do... we are not the heroes. The firing range most often allows you to stay out of the reach of bullets, but you need to keep an eye on the horse archers - it costs them nothing to get hit by a volley, and after a leaden rain they are usually not capable of much.

The dragoons stand apart - the ones with ponytails. They are interesting guys. Dragoons can be both cavalry and firearms infantry - as the party orders. Cities are well protected from freethinking, again. They could shoot from the backs of horses - there would be no price for them. But their versatility is worth a lot, even if we take into account that a detachment of dragoons is four times smaller in number than a detachment of line infantry.

1 2 All

1. The game does not allow you to rename or create new cities, and therefore in 1700 St. Petersburg is already present on the map, but it is the capital of the Ingria region and is controlled by Sweden.
2. Historically, the first steamship made its voyage in 1807 of the 19th century. However, in Empire, if you research technology correctly, you can build steamships as early as the 18th century.
3. The capital of Russia is Moscow, not St. Petersburg, and the Winter Palace could be built in Moscow.
4. In Empire: Total War, the Winter Palace and the Kunstkamera can be built in Moscow, but not in St. Petersburg.
5. In Empire: Total War, the capital of Russia is Moscow, not St. Petersburg.
6. Although historically the first steamship made its voyage in 1807, the player, by consistently developing technology, may be able to create steamships as early as the 18th century.
7. In the province of the “Land of the Don Army” (this territory corresponds to the southern federal district of the Russian Federation) there is the settlement of Maykop. This city was founded in 1857 and, moreover, was initially not a peaceful settlement but a fortress.
8. In the province of Tataria there is a settlement of Togliatti, although the settlement on this site was founded only in 1737, and until 1964 it was called Stavropol.
9. In the province of Ingria there is a settlement called Kingisepp, although this fortress was originally called Yama (Yam), and from 1703 to 1922 it was Yamburg.
10. The game engine does not allow renaming or creating cities, so in 1700, St. Petersburg is already present in the game, but it is the capital of the Ingermanland region and is controlled by Sweden.
11. Another 14 types of troops were released in the paid add-on Elite Units of the West, this add-on includes the Russian Horse Guards and the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment.
12. In patch 1.3, 14 new types of troops were added to the game.
13. Special covers and unique additional troops were created for various American online stores.
14. The only thing missing in the Russian collector's version is a book with illustrations from the game, everything else is in place.
15. In the collector's version of the game, in addition to the campaign map and a book about the game, there are also in-game gifts - six additional types of troops. This is HMS Victory - Admiral Nelson's flagship, the elite infantry Rogers' Rangers, the Ottoman Organ Gun, the Nepalese Gurkhas, the Corso Terreste guerrillas and the Irish mercenary detachment Bakelli's Regiment.
16. For the first time in the Total War series, the developers abandoned the GameSpy service for the multiplayer game mode.
17. Noble gentlemen challenging each other to a duel exist only in European countries. In the states of the East, their role is played by priests and they cannot fight among themselves.
18. The map in Empire: Total War is not single, but is divided into four regions - Europe, India, North and Central America.
19. In Empire: Total War, you can't choose between day and night, you can't view the family tree of the ruling dynasty, and you can't become the Pope.
20. Ground battles are accompanied by musicians. You can hear the sounds of bagpipes, drums, flutes and trumpets.
21. Only after version 1.5 did the developers completely correct the game’s artificial intelligence from errors.
22. The game was very warmly received by critics - on average they gave it 9 out of 10.
23. The game sold 810 thousand copies.
24. After the game's release, for the first time in a year and a half, the first line of the charts was taken by a game published exclusively on PC.
25. The game holds the record for being sold out in the series.
26. The game has nine different cover versions. Gift for gaming magazines.
27. To increase the authenticity of what is happening, the developers introduced duels into the game.
28. A full demo version of the game was released on Steam on February 20, 2009. It included two battles - at Brandywine and at Lagos. In the demo, Britain, France and the United States fought during the Revolutionary War.
29. The first trailer for the game appeared in July 2008, and later, a demo of naval battles was shown at E3 in Los Angeles.
30. The announcement of the game in 2007 in Leipzig was “paper”. In principle, there were no visuals for Empire: Total War.
31. The game uses a new engine - Warscape.
32. Initially, Empire: Total War was supposed to be released a month earlier, but Creative Assembly postponed the release in order to add code for full-fledged online games. In fact, until then, Total War could only be fought in real time.
33. For the first time in the series, the game featured a full-fledged online campaign.
34. In battles on the water, the player can control up to 20 ships of different classes and sizes at a time.
35. The historical story campaign is called "Road to Independence".
36. The game features more than 50 factions; however, you can only play as 11 of them.
37. In addition to the traditional sales option - on discs, the game is also sold digitally - through Steam.
38. In addition to the regular campaign, the game features a special campaign reflecting the rise of the United States and the Battle of Independence.
39. For the first time in the series, real-time water battles appeared.
40. The game takes place in the early 18th century.
41. The game became the fifth part in the series, although the name does not give it away.
42. The game received excellent ratings - an average of 90 out of 100.
43. The game's music was composed by Richard Beddoe.
44. The game's lead designer is James Russell.
45. In the province of the “Land of the Don Army” (this territory corresponds to the southern federal district of the Russian Federation) there is the settlement of Maykop. This city was founded in 1857 and, moreover, was initially not a peaceful settlement, but a fortress.
46. In June 2009, patch 1.3 was released, which added an additional 14 types of troops to the game in order to diversify the type and quality of troops between factions. Another set of 14 new types of troops was also released, this time not for free.
47. On February 20, 2009, a demo version of Empire: Total War was released on the Steam digital distribution service.
48. The game was announced on August 22, 2007 at the Leipzig Games Convention.
49. In Russia, the collector's edition is called Special Forces Edition and does not contain an art book.
50. In addition to the standard version of the game, Sega also releases a "Collector's Edition", which contains a campaign map and a book about the game's graphics in the box. In addition, this edition includes six types of troops.
51. For the first time in the Total War series, the developers abandoned the GameSpy service for the multiplayer game mode. In Empire: Total War, online connection occurs through the Steam program. Like the campaign, the multiplayer mode features naval and land battles.
52. In addition to the general world map, the game also includes a story campaign called "Path to Independence", where the player controls the British colonization of America. In the first part of the campaign, the player creates and develops the colony of Jamestown. The second part focuses on the French and Indian War.
53. Hiring troops differs from the system of previous games in the series, where troops were hired in settlements and then transferred to the general's army. In Empire, the general can personally recruit troops from settlements.
54. Unlike previous games in the series, provinces are no longer completely centralized within cities. Although the city is still the center of the province, there are other structures that handle trade and recruit troops.
55. The campaign map is no longer limited to just Europe and the Middle East. It will also cover the territories of America, Africa and India.
56. During ground battles, battle music is played from bagpipes, drums, flutes and trumpets.
57. In each province there are three types of population: nobles, bourgeoisie and poor, but in each government system only two matter. The bourgeoisie is not present in an absolute monarchy, the poor - in a constitutional monarchy, and the nobles - in a republic.
58. In addition to the main three parts of the world (Europe, North America and India), the game also has four so-called trading regions: East Indies, Ivory Coast, Madagascar Straits and Brazilian Coast. These regions cannot be settled or conquered.
59. Although over 50 factions take part in the game, only a few of them will be available to the player.
60. For the first time in the series, the player can personally take part in naval battles.
61. The game describes a period of brutal imperialism, colonization, world exploration and distant wars.
62. The game starts in 1700 and ends in 1799, one turn is equal to half a year.
63. The game engine is called Warscape.
64. Empire: Total War is the fifth game in the Total War series, dedicated to the modern period in the 18th century.

Anyone who has the proper personal qualities and knows the methods of government, even if he owned an insignificant land, will receive power over the whole world and will not suffer defeat.

Kautilya, Arthashastra,
or "Treatise on Benefit", chapter 96.

Great Britain became a colony and market for India, the Maratha Confederacy brought troops into France and Spain under the pretext of protecting them, European monarchs pay tribute to the West European Trading Company, and a famous Indian poet sings of the burden of the dark man in barbaric Europe. Science fiction in our world, but quite feasible in the world of Empire: Total War. When describing the gameplay of ETW, they usually mean playing for one of the European states. I want to talk about the exotic nations of the Empire world, as well as the peculiarities of their tactics.

They choose their homeland

Priority areas of expansion at the beginning of the reign.

So, oriental exotica Ottoman Empire And Maratha Confederacy.

How is the Turkish Sultan doing? Huge territories, high authority, stability, even the only enemy - Russia - is separated by buffer states. Perhaps the Sultan can handle it himself. But the little one Maratha Confederacy there are enough difficulties: from the very beginning of the game a powerful enemy threatens - a huge Mughal Empire, and there are only two regions at disposal: Bijapur and Carnatic. From the very beginning of the game you will have to fight a lot. This campaign will serve as an example for us, because we are not looking for easy ways.

The Mughal Empire, however, is also going through hard times, and at the beginning of the game, many of their cities will delight the invaders with a very small garrison. It is better to capture Mughal cities as early as possible, until the huge empire builds a large army in its dozen provinces. This is not Europe, entangled in a web of alliance treaties. We need to fight here right away. A strong army and good generals, but a small territory determine the choice of strategy at the beginning of the game - blitzkrieg.

There is also a small principality neighboring us Mysore. You can grab it right away, but it’s better to leave it for later and not waste your strength. Among our neighbors, we also have European possessions - Dutch Ceylon and Portuguese Goa. The latter is not difficult to capture, but this will entail a war not only with Portugal, but also with its ally, Britain. The Maratha Confederation at the beginning of the game will not withstand such maritime rivalry, which means goodbye to sea trade, goodbye to trading posts, I will miss you. So decide whether it's worth it or not.

Personally, I recommend not only holding off on capturing Goa and Ceylon, but also sending modest gifts to their owners, especially if the difficulty level of the campaign is above average. Warming relations will protect them from being stabbed in the back, and Britain, their ally, will not threaten our seas. In general, until the Maratha Confederation becomes one of the world leaders and until the last Mughal stronghold falls, war with the European barbarians should be avoided at all costs. Gifts and trade partnerships will help you achieve this. But only at first will we be so peaceful!

Are you ready to begin your reign, future great Raja?

India rises from its knees

You can get rich quickly by trading.

Without what is a great state unthinkable? That's right, without a great army. And a great army, in turn, is unthinkable without great expenses. To begin with, it is worth raising taxes a little - the provinces initially owned by the player are not prone to rebellion, and bring in huge profits. The areas captured from the enemy will still have to be exempt from taxes.

But trade is no less, if not more important, since in Empire it promises untold riches. At the beginning of the game we have two trading ports, which means we can trade by sea with two states. One of our trading partners is already the Republic of the United Provinces, and we can choose another one. Later, with the capture of new ports, the number of trading partners can be increased.

It is important: other states will probably not agree to trade without an additional incentive - some additional payment. You shouldn’t spare a thousand or two - very soon this money will more than pay for itself.

Successful trade requires safe seas, which means achieving total supremacy at sea is a top priority. The first couple of merchant ships will sail unhindered for exotic goods, but soon the Mughal fleet may become a problem, plundering trade routes and retaking our trading posts.

It will be easier to destroy not the enemy fleet, but the very possibility of its creation. The troops available at the beginning of the game should be sent along the Indian coast to the west to capture the coastal areas. Those ports that do not yet belong to you along with the capital of the region can be paralyzed with a small detachment or ship. Annexing Gujarat, the last port area in the west, it makes sense to push a little further west and capture Sindh. This will provide an overland trade route with Persia.

It is important: If you do not quickly take away several provinces from the Mughals at the beginning of the game, the war with the empire risks dragging on for decades.

In the east the enemy also has a port in the area Bengal. It's a long way to get there; it's better to swim by sea. If you land troops quickly, in the first two or three turns, then there will be practically no resistance. If they didn’t have time to arrive there so quickly, then the fleet and landing forces will have to be seriously strengthened. They worked quickly - excellent, you can completely switch ports for construction dhow- eastern trading ships.

This is where pirates bring their loot.

Just in case, it is better to protect your own ports. A garrison of one cheap militia detachment is quite enough to prevent enemy ships from entering our port and destroying all efforts to create a fleet. True, this will not protect against the blockade, but although the blockade interferes with trade, at least it does not cancel the construction of ships.

So, all the enemy port areas have been captured. We not only undermined the enemy’s economy (trade is the lion’s share of the budget!), but also strengthened our own. Indian merchants set up trading posts and brought exotic goods to Europe. It is important to occupy all free trading posts as early as possible, and only then add merchant ships to each of them. And remember: the profit from each new dhow is one trading post less, and you still need to maintain them, which is not cheap. Look for new states that will open markets for your goods, and your country will quickly become rich.

It cannot be said that the seas are now completely safe. There are still pirates with whom it is impossible to make peace. But they are not the most dangerous enemies. Pirates very rarely attack occupied trading posts and practically cannot take away all the profits on the trade route. If knife and ax workers decide to plunder your trade route somewhere near Europe or America, it is not necessary to throw their fleets there at that very moment - most likely your trading partner will do it earlier. The time to get serious about pirates is when the Mughal Empire is wiped off the face of the earth, or at least close to it.

Pirate Hunt

No matter who you play as, pirates are a significant hindrance to maritime trade. To put an end to them once and for all, you don’t need to constantly hunt for pirate fleets; it’s better to strike at their bases in the southeast of America: New Andalusia and the Leeward Islands. A couple of battles against a dozen squads - and your trade interests are not threatened by sea robbers, and two regions in America are now yours. Just keep in mind: a fairly strong fleet may be hanging out next to the pirate lair.

Yes, you can pirate it yourself. This is not only pleasant, but also profitable. The more ships you have on the enemy trade route, the greater the profit. But it won’t be possible to anonymously rob neutral states.

When the Mughal Empire loses more than half of its territory, lightning war will turn into positional warfare. At this stage, you can even conclude a truce, but it is better to see the matter through to the end. The main priority now is training the armies. Everything for the front, everything for victory. The newly acquired regions are still exempt from taxes, but there should be enough money anyway. There is no need to pay special attention to improving cities yet. The sooner you crush the Mughals, the easier it will be, and many provinces will be useful and pleasant.

The game developers did not succumb to the latest trends of political correctness, and therefore the policy of religious tolerance does not justify itself. A temple of a different faith seen in a newly liberated area should immediately be set on fire. There is no need for any kind of vile heresy to do on our sacred land!

Don't forget to use tight, joining you if you have many taverns. Tug is a jack of all trades: he scouts, kills enemy agents and generals, and conducts subversive (literally!) work in enemy cities. Demoralizing an army by killing a commander, causing an uprising in a city by blowing up buildings that maintain order is always welcome. Theoretically, it is even possible to take away a region from a peaceful state, because the rebellious region is considered a no-man's land. But in practice this is very difficult, and failure can so ruin the relationship that you still have to fight. But if someone’s region rebelled without your help, quickly capture it before they beat you to it.

And let’s not forget to build schools - are we an advanced state or what? Science will very soon find its most practical application in your army - in the form of bayonets on guns and grapeshot charges for cannons. In the future, the benefits will be even greater.

This is interesting: Eastern scientists, unlike European ones, do not fight duels. It’s not for nothing that they were called sages in the Russian translation.

You can steal technology from enemies if there are no enemy killers nearby. But it’s not worth stealing technology from non-hostile neighbors, like Mysore - the chance of success is low, and every failure brings closer a war that is not yet desirable. It's easier to buy now.

In the meantime, the commandants of the newly acquired regions are dealing with their problems, the generals are moving forward. Battle after battle, siege after siege - the Mughals have less and less land, and our power is becoming stronger. Don’t leave seasoned veterans with “straps” in the garrison; recruits will do for this. Replenish your losses and continue your journey.

On a note: If during an attack on an enemy city you are not confident in your abilities, choose a siege rather than an assault. Most likely, the computer will try to remove it the very next turn, which means that the enemy, not you, will be in a difficult position for the attacker.

With a well-functioning state, you can win all the battles on the strategic map, but why not personally lead your victorious regiments and armadas? After all, tactical battles are the most interesting component of the Total War series.

Heavy Elephant Attack

Melee strength is especially important during an assault.

What are the armies of the East like? Do not think that outside Europe they fight, at best, with bows and catapults. Eastern armies are fully proficient with rifles and cannons and even managed to borrow Western formations.

Let's start with the armies of the Maratha Confederacy. You will not find the usual grenadiers, dragoons, as well as light and elite infantry. But among the Maratha units it is of interest melee infantry. Lacking the ability to shoot, these units are stronger in hand-to-hand combat than most other types of infantry and, importantly, are inexpensive. Pikemen, the closest Western equivalent, suffer greatly from a lack of maneuverability: to effectively fight, they must successfully stand up, turn around and point their spears towards the enemy, and this cannot be done instantly. The Indians are ready to repel an attack at any moment. Therefore, melee warriors are good for protecting against cavalry flanking attacks.

Melee can also be used against line infantry. In this case, it is very important that the latter, for one reason or another (for example, an ambush), does not have time to line up and shoot. The beauty of such an attack is that during hand-to-hand combat, even units not involved in it will have problems shooting at your warriors - the risk of friendly fire is high.

It is important: keep in mind that the general is always visible, despite the ambush. A human opponent can also guess the ambush by the number of visible units, if there are not enough of them!

But melee infantry can best prove itself in storming fortress walls and buildings, in narrow passages. There, 15 units of damage in melee is much more important than the ability to shoot.

Bandits, another type of eastern melee units, can engage or distract the enemy - and can do nothing else. Typical cannon fodder - weak, cheap, numerous.

A penchant for close combat is evident among Indians even among line infantry. Its first appearance is Indian arrows- although it does not shoot very accurately, it does significantly more damage in hand-to-hand combat than similar enemy units. The rest of the line units are closer to the classic line infantry. Their task is obvious - to line up and fire at the enemy.

Infantry and cavalry of the Maratha Confederacy
Name	Troop type	Qty	Dal- ness	Accuracy	Melee	Onslaught	Defense	Fighting spirit	Price
Peasant militia	Regular militia	80*	70	30	4	3	4	3	260
Mercenaries from the mob	Bandits	200	—	—	6	1	2	3	280
Indian warriors	Melee Infantry	160	—	—	15	4	5	8	510
Sikh warriors	Melee Infantry	160	—	—	13	4	3	10	540
Indian arrows	Line infantry	160	70	35	12	4	5	7	640
Sikh Rifles	Line infantry	160	70	50	8	5	9	11	740
Bargir Infantry	Line infantry	160	70	40	6	7	9	9	730
General's personal guard	Elephants	32**	70	45	13	22	9	14	1370
Silladar Spearmen	Uhlan Cavalry	60	—	—	6	18	2	7	690
Pindari Horsemen	Irregular cavalry	60	70	35	7	6	4	6	720
Bargir Spearmen	Uhlan Cavalry	60	—	—	10	19	4	9	760
Sipahi	Heavy Cavalry	60	—	—	13	21	6	12	880
	Rifle Cavalry	60	90	50	6	6	2	6	580
War elephants	Elephants	40**	—	—	28	22	2	10	1040
Arrows on elephants	Elephants	40**	70	40	20	22	2	10	1040
** This refers to the number of people, elephants are four times smaller.

Let's move on to the cavalry. Silladar Spearmen- classic lancers- fast, with a high pressure indicator. However, they stand out in that they were available already in the early era. The use is usual for light cavalry - flank attacks with a good run-up, destruction of gun crews, trampling fleeing ones. After cutting into the enemy’s cavalry formation, it is better to retreat for the next acceleration in order to avoid unnecessary losses. It is better to attack with cavalry from different flanks so that the squadrons do not interfere with each other.

Shooting cavalry is represented by the Marathas Pindari horsemen And camel cavalry. Personally, I don’t see much benefit in mounted riflemen. The only advantage over foot riflemen is speed, but there are more than half as many horsemen in the squad. Camel Riders, a unique troop of the eastern armies, are slightly better in marksmanship, and as the description says, camels are intimidating to cavalry. However, with such combat characteristics there is no need to scare anyone. Camel cavalry is useful in a campaign, where it is available almost at the very beginning. But in a single battle or a network game, camels are opened only in a late era, by which time no one needs them.

War elephants. Size matters.

After all, in a late era they become available Bargir spearmen, an advanced version of Silladar, and formidable sipahi. The latter can safely be called the pride of the eastern armies - a sort of Asian cuirassier, but with a pressure indicator higher than that of the uhlan. Only the Polish winged hussars are superior to them. It is worth using sipahis to protect the flanks from enemy cavalry, as well as to break through the enemy formation from the flanks, and if possible between shots, then from the front. Keep in mind also that numerical superiority is always on the side of the infantry.

And finally, the main trump card of the Marathas is elephants. Monstrous damage and onslaught frighten infantry and cavalry, literally scattering enemies - an ideal squad for breaking through the enemy formation. One or two squads of elephant riders can wreak havoc on any enemy army. But there are only a dozen elephants in the detachment, and if other types of troops do not immediately follow them, the elephants will only die ingloriously. It is necessary to take advantage while the line infantry formation is broken, and immediately develop success by all available means. And beware of pikes and stakes, they destroy elephants as well as cavalry. Be equally wary of buckshot.

This is interesting: In the Maratha Confederation, the general's guard is equipped with elephants instead of horses, although this detachment is weaker than full-fledged war elephants.

The army of the Ottoman Empire is closer to the European one - all the usual types of infantry are present: from regular militia to grenadiers and elite guards. True, eastern line infantry And elite infantry (Beilikan Janissary Fusiliers) lag behind their European colleagues of the same time. This is not what makes the East strong.

In great abundance among the Turks light infantry, fans of ambushes and “shoot and disappear” tactics can safely recommend this nation. I advise you to pay special attention to Nizam-i Jedid shooters— they shoot at a distance of 125 versus the usual 70, and also very accurately. They are especially good if you need to kill an artillery crew, a general, or provoke an attack with fire from afar. And, of course, Turkish light infantry is capable, like European ones, of putting stakes against cavalry.

Infantry and cavalry of the Ottoman Empire
Name	Troop type	Qty	Dal- ness	Accuracy	Melee	Onslaught	Defense	Fighting spirit	Price
Seimeni	Regular militia	80	70	30	4	3	4	3	260
Muselima	Bandits	200	—	—	6	1	2	3	280
Bashibazouki	Melee Infantry	80	—	—	10	3	4	7	340
Aazars	Light Infantry	80	80	40	6	3	4	5	380
Semaash Janissaries	Melee Infantry	160	—	—	13	4	5	8	440
Semaash Janissaries with grenades	Grenadiers	80	70	45	8	5	9	8	470
Isareli	Line infantry	160	70	35	6	4	11	7	660
Nizam-i Jeid Light Infantry	Light Infantry	80	80	55	5	3	6	7	470
Beilikan Janissaries with grenades	Grenadiers	80	70	50	10	6	10	10	510
Arrows of the Nizam and Jedid	Light Infantry	80	125	65	9	7	7	9	620
Janissary crew of a portable mortar	Grenadiers	80	70	50	10	7	13	12	610
Infantry of the Nizam-i Jedid	Line infantry	160	70	45	10	9	13	11	740
Beilikan Janissary Fusiliers	Elite infantry	160	70	50	9	5	8	10	790
General's personal guard	Heavy Cavalry	32	—	—	16	12	10	14	1300
Delhi Horsemen	Irregular cavalry	60	70	35	8	6	3	6	690
Sipahi	Heavy Cavalry	60	—	—	13	21	6	12	880
Camel cavalry with shaturnals	Rifle Cavalry	60	90	50	6	6	2	6	580

Like the Marathas, in the army of the Sultan you will meet bandits, as well as two types melee infantry: bashibazouki weak, but Semaash Janissaries It’s quite possible to use them like their Maratha counterparts, except that the Turks fight a little worse.

But in the Ottoman army, unlike the Marakhtian, there are grenadiers, and what kind! First Grenadier Unit - Semaash Janissaries with grenades - available even in the early era! In the later era, the game presents us with a unique unit - Janissary crew of a portable mortar. Shells from Turkish hand mortars reach much further than those thrown by hand - approximately to the distance of a musket shot. A successful salvo or two - and panic may well begin in the enemy formation. The main drawback is that the shells explode with a slight delay, so the mortar guns are practically useless against moving targets.

Among the Turkish cavalry we meet Delhi horsemen, a typical shooting cavalry, to which everything that is said above about this type of troops applies. Next come the ones we already know camel cavalry And sipahi.

The Turkish grenadier strikes from afar, but hits for sure.

Artillerymen, the Sultan has given the order! Artillerymen, the Fatherland is calling us!

On a note: If you choose a map in a multiplayer game, select the conditions to suit your strategy. For example, forests are good for shelter, plains are good for dispersing cavalry, and shelters are good for defense. Also take advantage of the fact that in hot climates, Eastern soldiers get less tired than European ones.

Artillery in the armies of the East, the characteristics are almost identical to the Western - the same guns, mortars, howitzers. But many types of European artillery are not available in exotic countries. For example, in the eastern armies you will not see “high-speed” artillery transported by six horses, as well as such wonderful wonders of technology as the Pakla gun. The Ottomans never acquired falconets and rockets, and the Marathas never acquired half-guns.

Instead of all of the above, the eastern armies received a formidable 64-pounder gun. If This hits the enemy - the effect is guaranteed. This monster is fundamentally untransportable on the battlefield, but it shoots at a respectable distance - 600. This is more than any gun, but still less than mortars. Shoots cannonballs and shrapnel.

The situation with the eastern fleets is somewhat similar to that with artillery - they practically duplicate the European ones, but at the same time the Maratha Confederation is deprived of certain types of ships, such as a steamship. Thankfully, at least the battleships weren’t taken away.

Liberation of ancestral Maratha lands

The Mughal Empire collapsed. We have all of India in our hands, except perhaps Ceylon and Goa. Mysore, if it is not yours yet, take it now. And now it’s worth forgetting about the ringing of blades and cannon fire for a few years and doing peaceful work. However, this does not mean at all that the doctrine of non-violence has triumphed and the doves of peace in your government have pecked the hawks to death. With the fall of the Mughal Empire, conquests do not end, but only begin, you just need to create good conditions for them. The Bengal tiger is hiding and preparing to jump.

Now is the time to build everything that has not yet been completed, and improve everything that has not yet been improved, since there is enough money for everything. Farms provide food, workshops make weapons of expansion and sew uniforms, the colors of which will soon frighten the whole world, recruits march on the parade ground, shipyards lay down more and more ships: not a country - a military factory!

Should we bring democracy to the world?

The Empire needs advanced science, which means we build schools and universities. However, discontent is quickly brewing among the intelligentsia: “Where is the freedom of speech? Democracy is in danger! How to solve this problem?

Initially, the system of the eastern states was an absolute monarchy, which means there are difficulties with education. You can make your country a republic, this will speed up the work of scientists and reduce discontent. There are, however, serious disadvantages: there is weaker repression in the republic, that is, there is less public order. Moreover, even under a republican system, frantic human rights activists still do not completely subside - this is always not enough freedom, just like in life.

You can also remain a despot. To achieve this, we maintain substantial garrisons in areas where there is a university. And most importantly: we reduce taxes or even exempt the relevant provinces from them. You will already be swimming in gold.

You can, at worst, not study the social sciences at all. Fortunately, to study, for example, a new infantry formation, you need not an advanced university, but an improved barracks. The income may be lower and the research slower, but your subjects continue to see you as a living god, and not some kind of “night watchman”, like enlightened liberals.

Having gained strength, you can annex Goa and Ceylon, which are Maratha by right. Do this militarily if your fleet is ready to fight not only Portugal and the Republic of the United Provinces, but also their ally, Britain. True, you can always buy off a strong enemy and not spread your strength across many enemies at once. You can also buy regions from another state, spending a very impressive amount.

The monarch has been deposed, freedom, equality and brotherhood triumph!

India is liberated. All that remains is to liberate Europe.

If you chose the “short game” mode, then control over all of India is quite enough to fulfill the victory conditions, and you just need to wait for the end of the allotted time without losing what you have. If you chose “long game”, or “domination”, or simply want to spend the time allotted until the end interestingly, further expansion is inevitable.

It is important: computer opponents very rarely fight among themselves, but regularly train their troops. So don't be surprised if a state the size of one region greets you with a couple of maximally equipped armies.

So, the hour has come to conquer the world. Before you are two parts of the world - Europe and America - and dozens of large and small states, and the people of each of them groan under the yoke of tyranny and long to join the free peoples of your empire.

The 18th century has ended and another story has ended. The story of eastern hegemony that has not come true in our world. The story of how a tiny backward principality, born on the edge of the Earth, became a world leader.

Empire: Total War is rich in various strategies and tactics, secrets and tricks. I hope from this article you learned a lot about this wonderful game. Someone may have wanted to lead the armies of the Turks or Hindus themselves, while others, on the contrary, learned how to fight against them more effectively. I also hope that I was able to show you that playing for the eastern states is no less interesting than for the western ones.

Good luck on the battlefields!