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While tough heroes and mighty spells (discussed in Part I) are useful, they can't win an Age of Wonders campaign on their own. Okay, maybe the really strong heroes can, but they'll never reach that power level without employing sound tactics while they're still wimps. Part II of our tips piece will show you how to how to litter the battlefield with your enemy's unsightly corpses and not your own.

Battlefield Tactics 101: Luring the foe into your clutches
The mechanics of Age of Wonders melee combat are pretty straightforward. Most units get two swings per turn, and the attacker strikes first. Astute generals will take advantage of this by always maneuvering so that they get the first blow. After all, he who hits first, if he hits hard enough, may not need to hit again. Cavalry and heroes who possess the "charge" special ability especially benefit from this.

The giant in this screenshot is one space away from being able to hit a Dark Elf archer with his hurled boulders. By advancing that space, he will trigger a charge by all of the enemy's troops
It's easy to take advantage of the AI's predictability and consistently strike first. When you are the attacker, the defending forces will remain stationary until any of their units are within the range of your charge or missile attacks. Gain the first strike advantage by positioning your troops so that fast units (heroes or cavalry, for example) are just barely able to reach a unit that is too slow to reach them in one move. When it realizes one of its troops is threatened, the AI will move all of its units forward, but none of them will be able to close the distance. On your next turn, with most of them now in range, sound the trumpets and charge! Some missile troops, like the very long-ranged giants, are also excellent at luring the enemy into range.

It's even easier to gain first strike advantage on the defensive. When the AI attacks, it immediately moves all its units forward at top speed. When they close, make 'em pay.

Battlefield Tactics 102: Formations
The foolish Dark Elves charge the giant and his friends, but can't move far enough to hit them in one turn. They are now vulnerable to a countercharge
The AI's failure to use formations is another exploitable weakness. While it does take missile and charge ranges into account, the AI does not try to deploy its forces in a coherent battle line. Instead, its troops move forward at their best individual speeds, with predictably chaotic results. Fast units will outdistance their slower brethren, which enables you to deploy your entire army against a portion of the enemy. It also creates gaps through which your cavalry can charge to engage dangerous missile troops or spellcasters, which will otherwise concentrate their fire to deadly effect on the target of their choice.

Be sure you don't make the same mistakes! Advance in nice, tight formations that protect vulnerable ranged units from enemy charges. Match the speed of your army to that of its slowest members until the mop-up stage of the battle, and try to position your missile troops one space behind the front rank, where they will be relatively free to fire over the fighters.

The cleric and the archer in the rear of this tough Dwarven army are well-protected from the enemy but still able to damage the foe
However, consider making exceptions to these formation rules for flying units and very well defended heroes. Flying troops ignore units without ranged attacks and can thus engage the enemy's rear in relative safety, and tough heroes can pretty much rampage around most battlefields at will.

Battlefield Tactics 103: Tear down the walls!
The way walls are implemented in Age of Wonders is pretty weird. Defending troops cannot deploy themselves on top of or inside these structures, and walls block their missile attacks just as well as those of the attacker. They do offer two advantages, however: armies without units or siege engines capable of breaching or bypassing walls can't conquer the city, and the gates open on the defender's turn, which allows sorties.

A Dark Elven army is fleeing the scene after losing their only battering ram to the outnumbered defenders. The boar rider, despite suffering from nearly fatal wounds, is giving chase, taking advantage of the fact that it gets free hits on running foes
Take advantage of these features when you're on the defensive. Many of the armies assembled by the AI for city assaults contain a single wall-breaking unit, and destroying it will win the battle. Position your missile troops 3-4 spaces behind the wall, which will enable them to shoot over it with a fair chance of success at many targets. Move your melee troops adjacent to the gates and then, on your next turn, sortie forth against the siege engine or wall crushers. If you can kill them, the enemy force will immediately start to flee the field, even if it could easily slaughter your surviving foot soldiers. In fact, you can get a lot of free hits on them as they run. When a unit is adjacent to an enemy and moves away, that enemy can take a free swing with no chance of a counterattack. Take advantage of this and the besieging army will retreat in very sorry shape.

Three giants tear a hole in the city's defenses big enough to drive a truck...er...giant through
Attacking fortified cities is easy when you avoid the AI's mistakes. If you have to use wall-crushing units like battering rams or yetis, make sure you bring several of them along so that a single fatality doesn't lose you the battle. Better yet, just tear the wall down from a safe distance with catapults or giants. Another option is to jump over it. Flying troops and wall climbing units (Halfling rogues, Orc Assassins, heroes, etc.) ignore walls completely—they aren't even slowed crossing them.

Sometimes, older actually is better: Unit experience
Experience in Age of Wonders is handled somewhat unfairly. The killing blow, not the amount of damage done, determines which unit gets the credit. Take advantage of this by letting your less experienced troops finish off badly wounded enemies. Elite troops (those with gold medals) cannot improve any further, and neither can heroes that have hit their level limit for that scenario. When possible, use them to soften the foe up without killing them. The stat and skill bonuses that veteran and elite units gain are worth the risks involved.

Before entering a fight, check to see which units haven't reached elite status yet. Have them strike as many killing blows as possible
Another nice way to give weak units experience is to let them destroy enemy battering rams, drills, or builder units. These lack the strike ability and cannot damage troops. Better yet, the AI never bothers to retreat them from the battlefield. They are the easiest kills in the game and just sit there, waiting to die. Oblige them.

How to win friends and influence monsters: Diplomacy
Age of Wonders' diplomatic model isn't very dynamic. Convincing a declared enemy to make peace generally costs too much to be practical; by the time you can afford it, it's usually easier to destroy them instead. Still, there are a few points to keep in mind. First, unless you're feeling particularly bloodthirsty, be sure to enable the "allied victory" condition at the start of a campaign. Otherwise, the scenario won't end until everyone, even your friends, has been destroyed.

Did they forget their Prozac? The suicidal crew of this battering ram doesn't even try to flee the battlefield. It's a risk-free experience present for some lucky unit
Second, at the start of each scenario go ahead and offer peace to anyone you think might accept it. On rare occasions one of your foes will—an easy way to eliminate a potential headache. While you're visiting the diplomacy screen, be sure to check out the ability level of your foes' AI. The Lords are much more dangerous than the Knights or Squires. Try to kill them first—if you do, the rest of the scenario will be comparatively simple.

Finally, use migration to replace hostile conquered populations with happier residents. Good players should generally migrate every evil city they conquer, and evil players every good one. Replace them with an allied race or (better still) a neutral one that you're hoping to influence in your favor. After a few such migrations (upgrades and fortifications help too), they will cheerfully serve your side even if you're at war with their leader. Neutral players have more options here—they can generally make use of all three types of cities.

Tough choices: Moving between scenarios
Migrating this captured city's population to Frostlings will improve relations with them and eliminate the need for a strong garrison
The toughest choices in Age of Wonders come between campaign scenarios. A maximum of four items, four rank and file units, and four heroes may accompany your main leader to the next scenario. Items, which don't have maintenance costs, are almost always a good choice. However, units and heroes can be problematic. While you may be given enough gold to pay for their transfer, many campaign scenarios start you off in very poor economic shape. Maintenance costs on these extra troops can bankrupt you, forcing you to disband the very units you just paid for.

Unless you're a glutton for punishment, the best way to deal with this problem is to reload the prior scenario after playing enough of the next one to know what you can afford. Ditch some troops and take extra gold instead. Leave good heroes behind only if there is no other choice. While you'll encounter new ones on occasion, they won't have spent their experience as well as they could have. Heroes that have served with you for a few scenarios are your best weapons, and you squander them at your peril.

mmorphon00@yahoo.com

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Page Updated Mon Feb 28, 2000 8:25pm EST