Total War: Pharaoh How to win battles

Overview: How to win battles in Total War: Pharaoh

The Eagle Standard review of Total War: Pharaoh described this as a challenging game. Even some experienced players of previous Total War players reported finding the battles difficult, at first.

Preparing for battle

"The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand." - Sun Tzu

• New players often find it difficult to have enough food; the page on managing resources may help.
• Consider ways to buff your units, for example by visiting a shrine or allocating an ancillary or title to the general (titles are not permanent - you can replace a title which you gave a general with another one).
• You may want to send an army into the territory of an enemy before starting a war, to see what kinds of units they are using, so you can bring units to counter them.
• When selecting units, take their strengths into account. Clubs degrade armour more quickly, axes are better against shields, composite bows penetrate armour better than regular bows, spears are useful against chariots and cavalry, and camels scare horses.
• If the enemy is likely to bring reinforcements, block them if you can. For example, if you are attacking a city which will be reinforced by a fort, consider sending a second army to besiege the fort.
• Consider whether to fight the battle or retreat.

Deploying your units

"We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country—its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps." - Sun Tsu

• Select a unit and hover your cursor over the terrain, to see the effects (the effects will vary for different types of unit).
• If reinforcements will arrive, their expected location will be marked on the edge of the battle map. However, if you deploy your army close to this location to ambush them, they may appear in another location. Ambushing reinforcements can still be a good strategy - if you want to do this, it may be better to deploy your army in between their arrival location and the middle of the deployment zone.
• Flank attacks can be very effective, so you may want to put units which excel at flanking (such as infantry with two-handed weapons) on your flanks at the start of a battle.
• Direct fire from archers is more effective than indirect fire. If the enemy has no chariots or cavalry, you may want to deploy your bows in front of your melee infantry or on the flanks.

Countering enemy units: rock-paper-scissors

"He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain." - Sun Tzu

• Chariots and cavalry can be countered by spear infantry, and ranged chariots can be countered by ranged infantry. Javelin infantry have a special attack against chariots.
• Cavalry can be countered by camelry, because camels scare horses. (Camel cavalry can be recruited using a native barracks in parts of western Mesopotamia)
• Ranged infantry (javelins, slings or bows) can be countered by concentrating the fire of several of your own ranged units on one enemy ranged unit, until they break.
• Melee infantry with light armour or two-handed weapons can be countered using ranged infantry.
• Melee infantry with heavy armour can be countered by holding them in place with your melee infantry and attacking their flanks and rear.

Movement and stealth

"All warfare is based on deception." - Sun Tzu

• The line of sight can be blocked by high ground, trees and buildings. If you cannot see the enemy, consider using units with the Scout trait (they can see enemies from a longer distance) or move onto higher ground.
• You may be able to use high ground, trees and buildings to hide part or all of your army, allowing you to surprise the enemy
• You may be able to draw the enemy towards you with long-range skirmishers, such as slingers or longbowmen - this may not work, especially if the enemy has skirmishers with a longer range than yours.
• Some units are skilled ambushers, they can remain hidden until the enemy gets close. The faction roster of Bay includes units with this ability.

Stamina and the value of reserves

"Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted." - Sun Tzu

• If possible, avoid fighting when your army is in a stance which means that they are winded or tired at the start of a battle.
• Prolonged fighting drains stamina and degrades armour. Consider pulling back units which are exhausted and replacing them with a reserve unit (if possible) until they recover.
• Some weather conditions affect the abilities of your units. Sweltering heat drains their stamina more quickly, and a sandstorm or rainstorm makes it much more difficult to use ranged units.
• Some units maintain their stamina (or morale) better in certain weather conditions, and you may be able to recruit them from a native barracks. For example, in parts of western Egypt, with a native barracks you can recruit Libu units which are resistant to heat.
• Weather conditions can affect the terrain, for example rain may cause more mud to appear.
• Reserves can be effective against exhausted enemies, because exhausted units suffer major debuffs and may have degraded armour. In some previous Total War games, players often use a front line of cheap units (to absorb the enemy charge) and a second line of higher-tier units. While that isn't a bad idea in this game, you may want keep some cheap units in reserve.