General Advice | Age of Wonders Planetfall Guide Age of Wonders Planetfall guide, tips

Last update: 05 August 2019

Age of Wonders: Planetfall is a spin-off cycle of a popular, turn-based strategy series called Age of Wonders, which is governed by similar principles, and requires appropriate knowledge of the basic mechanics, as well as excellent planning of the next steps. In this section, we present some tips that should help both the beginners and more experienced players.

• Play the tutorial
• Plan the development of the colony in advance
• Use the option of immediate completion of a building
• Keep an eye on resources
• Monitor the status of the colony
• Use Influence points to recruit units
• Care for technological development
• Have the right size of the army
• Discover and annex new sectors for colonies
• Create new colonies as needed
• Regularly use Influence
• Find, create, and use Operations
• Learn the types of units and use that knowledge in battle
• Do not recruit only a single type of unit
• Explore the battlefield before giving any commands
• Carefully plan the movement of units
• Try to flank enemy troops
• Develop the commander and heroes responsibly
• Skillfully use diplomacy

Play the tutorial

Age of Wonders: Planetfall allows you to select a tutorial mission from the main menu, and this is highly recommended, especially for people who have never had contact with the series. During the training mission, you will play several rounds on a specially prepared map, learning about the most important gameplay mechanics. Then, you gradually move to a story-driven campaign. It is necessary to complete the training mission - it's only a few dozen minutes of gameplay, but it can greatly help you enjoy the game later.

Plan the development of the colony in advance

In Age of Wonders: Planetfall player usually begins the game with a single colony, but over time, new ones will be added, and subsequent sectors are annexed under them. Thus, the colony quickly grows, and you gain access to a myriad of buildings to erect - things get even more complicated, as some of them are mutually exclusive. Plan the expansion of the colony in advance, so as not to end up, for example, with a massive excess of electricity output, while your scientific development is virtually non-existent.

Use the option of immediate completion of a building

Instant completion (Buy Now) resembles the mechanics known from browser games, where you can buy premium currency for real money, and then use it for instant construction of buildings or hiring units. In Age of Wonders: Planetfall mechanics, this works on the same principle, however, uses a regular resource as currency - the Energy. Use it to quickly complete crucial research, or recruit a squad that will complete a given army.

Note - this option can be used once per turn for a given colony. This is a good way to utilize surplus Energy but only use this mechanic when you actually have a surplus.

Keep an eye on resources

The game uses four main resources - Energy, Cosmite, Knowledge, and Influence. It is recommended to monitor their condition all the time - lack of Energy or Cosmite prevents recruitment of units and construction of buildings, and a low level of Knowledge will mean that some technologies take an unbearable time to complete - even a dozen turns. Things are different with Influence - it is recommended to spend them regularly so that they do not reach the upper limit.

Monitor the status of the colony

In order to optimally develop colonies, it's important not only to gather resources but also to make sure they're in good condition. We are talking primarily about the indicator of Happiness, which affects what events will occur, as well as the Population parameter, which mainly depends on how quickly - and if at all - you will be able to develop the colony. Both of these parameters can be increased through a number of actions, including the construction of the right buildings.

Use Influence points to recruit units

If only you have good relations with the NPC factions, you can use Influence Points to purchase their units. This is a great way to replenish your army (which is especially useful at the beginning of the game, when recruitment lasts a long time), as well as for the acquisition of unique and powerful units.

Care for technological development

Technological development in Age of Wonders: Planetfall is, without exaggeration, one of the most important gameplay mechanics throughout the entire game. Thanks to this, you will have access to all the best combat units, new buildings increasing the output of raw materials, and brand new gameplay mechanics. Accordingly planned technological development is the key to success.

Have the right size of the army

The game also offers diplomacy and peaceful solutions to conflicts, but it's rather difficult sometimes to avoid an armed conflict. To be able to compete with the growing power of factions, and all these increasingly powerful neutral units appearing on the map, it is important to constantly increase and expand your army. Through the initial turns, one army may well be enough, but after a dozen turns, it will be necessary to recruit a full second army, and gradually increase them, as the financial capacity of the colony grows.

Attention - a great way to discover the map is to use a single unit. It will not win almost any battle but will allow you to discover interesting places where you can then send the entire army.

Discover and annex new sectors for colonies

The development of each colony depends on how you expand it. However, the colony itself will not offer an extraordinary number of development options - they are unlocked by exploring and annexing new sectors, which then join an adjacent colony. Because of this, the revenue of the player increases, as generated by raw materials, but also the new opportunities for expansion, which further allow you to speed up development.

Create new colonies as needed

The first additional colony can be created during the first turns of the game - it will grant you more territories, which will make the development accelerate significantly. Plan establishing new colonies in advance - choose the right place, so that their further development will be faster and easier.

Regularly use Influence

Influence is a special resource that is used mainly in diplomacy - with its help, you can influence the decisions of other faction leaders, or improve your relationship with someone. In addition, these points can be used in relations with NPC factions - for example, to gain unique, often very powerful units, or acquire new improvements.

Find, create, and use Operations

Operation is special processes that you can use to enhance friendly units or weaken enemy troops and destroy fortifications, increase the productivity of a colony and get more information through espionage. The option to create the next operation appears every few turns, and their outcome depends on the available technologies.

Learn the types of units and use that knowledge in battle

The game has several types of units, among others, Skirmisher, or Specialist. Each of these fulfills a different role - the task of the said Skirmisher type unit is to inflict as much damage as possible to opponents, and the Specialist, in turn, uses special abilities to support the rest of the team. The right combination of these units within an army is as crucial as the recruitment.

Do not recruit only a single type of unit

It can be tempting to initially create an army consisting entirely of air units or tanks. But that's wrong - an army consisting of only one type of units will not be able to cope in battle

Explore the battlefield before giving any commands

When the battle begins, all units will be transferred to the tactical map, where, in the turn-based system, the fighting will take place. As soon as your turn begins, spend a few minutes to get acquainted with the construction of the map - the shape of the terrain, natural obstacles, which can provide cover for units, or places that will make it impossible harder for the enemy to maneuver. Using the terrain to your advantage is a thing you need to master as soon as possible.

Carefully plan the movement of units

When already acquainted with the battlefield, and having checked the enemy troops, it's time to give the first orders. It's good to think twice about them and decide whether moving a unit into the thick of the enemy troops is a good idea only because it's not able to reach them with a grenade. Sometimes you have to stop and wait for the enemy to move and then counter them.

Try to flank enemy troops

As in any strategic game, flanking is important in Age of Wonders: Planetfall, too. If a unit is attacked from a side, or from behind, the game will determine the unit is flanked, and it will hence receive more damage - it will also be easier to hit it. Flanking is particularly useful when the enemy is dug down behind a strong cover, and fires at your troops.

Develop the commander and heroes responsibly

Each combat unit in the game gains experience for participating in battles and eliminating enemies, allowing them to rise to higher levels. Normal units gain new ranks, increasing their efficiency in combat and the number of health points; commanders and heroes, in turn, receive development points that can be used, in addition, as in RPG games, for the development of their particular abilities. Heroes and commanders can unlock passive abilities that increase their overall efficiency, or those that allow them to, for example, pilot vehicles.

Accordingly, the development of commanders and heroes is the key to victory - you can earn a lot of development points in the game, but never enough to unlock all the special abilities.

Skillfully use diplomacy

A diplomacy is a powerful tool in Age of Wonders: Planetfall. Thanks to it, you will be able to improve relations with other factions, get their military support during conflicts, or trade with them in resources and available areas. If your kingdom is accordingly developed and vastly superior in strength to another faction, you can use diplomacy to make another faction your vassal or absorb it completely under your control.