Battling in Total War Saga Thrones of Britannia Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia Guide & Tips
Last update: 19 June 2018
Choosing units, your next battlefield and a general are all important factors that result in victory. Try to have a mixed army but with one unit type dominating the rest (units that you use the most). Don't invest in armies that have a large number of ranged units because there are a lot of soldiers who carry a shield. Ranged units are most useful in defending towns or when they are placed in defense spots.
Some factions take the lead in certain types of units - use this in your tactic to make the most out of those warriors' efficiency. Vikings like to rely on axemen who can deal with heavily armored warriors. Develop your technologies and always recruit these units first unless you have other needs. Swordsmen don't do well against armored units but they can deal good damage, especially to units without armors. Spearmen are great against cavalry which in turn is used for flanking and attacking weaker units.
Choose the right general who will be able to get the most out of a given army or a type of unit. Certain generals provide morale bonus during sieges, others can reduce recruitment costs or they can give bonuses to certain units, e.g. spearmen or cavalry. Thanks to that you can use your units even better in combat. Also, generals receive various bonuses (usually to Command or Influence) by winning battles, raiding or capturing settlements.
Units' morale and their level of fatigue play an important role during battles. Fatigue affects a unit's speed and efficiency during a battle. Usually, a well-rested but weaker unit can defeat armored warriors who have hard time standing on their feet due to being too tired. Morale is also very important - a broken unit can start retreating and even leaving a battlefield.
Choosing a battlefield
Choosing a battlefield is important. Placing your army in the right spot on the map or attacking enemies in the right moment and in the right location can decide about your win or loss.
Take into considerations both your army and the enemy's. Attack your opponent in an open field if you have a lot of cavalry (or leave your army in this spot) and avoid fighting on hills or in forests. Your enemy won't be able to stand still on a hill or hide between trees making your cavalry unable to use the power of charge.
Blocking small mountain paths, bridges or isolated beaches is very useful when your army is smaller than that of your enemy. A spot that can be easily defended can be found on the tactical map. This tactic works with higher-quality warriors (higher levels, more expensive versions) who have high morale or possess "disciplined" skill. This allows you to, e.g. defend a bridge for a long period of time. In the meantime, your archers will be able to weaken hostile units. Defending a beach is about attacking enemy units that have just landed on the beach - this prevents them from regrouping.
Remember to support other armies. These groups should be within range of an attacked army. Place one army on the road and hide the second army in forest - the enemy will probably be surprised by your forces hiding in the forest. This gives you an advantage - your enemy must decide whether they want to face you or to retreat.
A town's garrison can be used in the same way but this is a double-edged sword. On one hand, these warriors can help you (or your ally) win a battle. On the other hand, if you lose, your town won't have any defenders (the garrison has nowhere to retreat and gets eliminated)
Land battles
Keep your units in one large group during almost every land battle. In short, the majority of your battles, along with the way your units are organized, should look like this:
- Create a large line of melee units and place them in the front (provided that the battlefield has enough space).
- Spearmen should be on flanks and in the center. Try to mix them with axemen and swordsmen. Thanks to this they will be able to react to enemy cavalry charge.
- Ranged units should stand in the front to shoot at incoming enemies. Then, you have to move them to the second row. Give them an order to stand still until the first line gets broken.
- A general's squad should stand right behind the first line. Order him to join the battle if a situation requires that. He should support a unit that is already engaged in combat.
- Cavalry should stand on a side of the entire army - they must be able to reach hostile ranged units fast. After that they can attack enemy infantry from behind or a side or they can hunt the enemy general.
Your goal in every battle is to break enemy formation and fight with single units. Because of that it is better to widen your ranks - the line gets longer which allows you to attack enemies from sides and back. Try to break enemy units on flanks and you will be able to surround the rest of enemy units. Single hostile units will have to fight in a few different directions which weakens their combat abilities and morale.
One of the best ways to break enemy formation is to use cavalry or skilled units. A charge can quickly eliminate multiple units, it can lower enemies' morale and force them to fight in yet another direction. A cavalry with enough speed can even break through an enemy line (but not through spearmen) and then attack the enemies again, from behind.
Reduce length of your formation to make your units more condensed if your opponent has a lot of cavalry. This prevents the enemies to break through your lines - attack them and surround. You now have enough time to bring your spearmen who can quickly deal with soldiers riding on horses.
Create a few lines of melee units if you have to fight in narrow passages. Replace your units on the first line if they have failed or they are starting to lose. This rotation of units can help you in defending, e.g. a bridge. Rested units from the second line will have easier time defeating enemies (remember to order your archers to weaken the opponents).
Naval battles
Vikings are the best when it comes to this type of battles because they, unlike other factions, don't suffer any penalties to naval battles. Here, we recommend swordsmen, axemen and archers. Melee units are great for boarding.
Archers can set their arrows on fire which allows them to deal more damage to enemy ships or to eliminate their crews. What is more, these arrows are great for reducing morale (on land, too). However, they are ineffective during rain. Unlike javelinmen, they have great reach and good stats. Order them to join the fight once other units start attacking. Your archers will be able to eliminate enemy units with ease and from a safe distance.
Naval battles are clunky and it is difficult to navigate during them. Avoid participating in them by yourself - rely on automatic battles if you get a chance to do that. Retreat to land and face your enemies there if you don't play as Vikings or you don't have more units than your enemy.
Sieges
Capital towns of each of the provinces are surrounded by walls. It is hard to break through them even though walls can't be upgraded nor build in other locations. Every army that tries to siege a place like this needs to build a siege equipment. A battle ram can destroy a gate, a siege tower allows you to enter walls, and catapults can make a hole in a wall which allows your troops to enter inside. If you attack from sea (only towns with ports), you won't have to worry about any walls at all.
For sieges (both offense and defense), you should assign a general with additional skills as well as swordsmen, axemen and ranged units. The majority of a siege takes place on walls which means that you will need powerful units that can deal a lot of damage.
You can also take cavalry with you to a siege if you are planning on destroying a gate. Simply order these units to attack a gate. After a while they should be able to break through. After that you can order as many units as you want to hunt the remnants of enemy army or capture a town's center. During defense, you can use cavalry to defeat archers or to destroy siege equipment outside that town (remember to order your units to return to the town once the attack is over).
Once the walls are captured, remember to order your units to destroy towers (you need to have a unit nearby them). Otherwise, these towers will keep shooting at your warriors. After that a siege turns into a regular land battle. Buildings create barriers that you can't cross so watch out for your flanks and place the strongest units on the front line. Your goal is to defeat all enemies (or to force them to escape) or to capture the town's center.