Total War: Pharaoh Kurunta
| Total War: Pharaoh Kurunta | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kurunta |
| From Game: | Total War: Pharaoh |
| Culture: | Hittite |
| Playable: | Yes |
Kurunta is one of the Hittite playable factions and faction leaders in Total War Pharaoh.
Overview
Kurunta is the Hittite King of Tarhuntassa on the southern coast of Anatolia. The units of Kurunta's faction roster include well-armoured sword, spear and axe infantry, poorly armoured club infantry and spear chariots. While Kurunta's faction roster lacks archers, the native units in your home province include armoured archers, as well as a selection of melee infantry.
Starting Position
At the start of the campaign, Kurunta controls one region, Tarhuntassa, the main settlement of South Hatti province. Kurunta is at war with Cibrya, the faction which owns the two minor settlements in South Hatti (Lystra and Cibrya). Your first task is likely to be to take the two settlements in your home province which are under the control of your enemy at the start of the campaign.
Tarhuntassa includes the Grand Temple of Kurunta, providing your faction with useful bonuses from the start of the campaign (+250 Favour, +2 Legitimacy, -15% upkeep for units and +15% production).
Capturing the remaining settlements in South Hatti province quickly would be a useful first step, before their garrisons can be improved. After that, the nearby kingdoms in southern Anatolia all control several regions, so there is no obvious initial target for expansion on the mainland.
While the province of South Hatti can provide food, stone and a small supply of wood, it lacks bronze (which is needed for higer tier units) or gold.
Strategies for Kurunta
As you start with the Grand Temple of Kurunta in your capital, you can quickly receive the benefits of the favour of your starting deity, including the ability to dedicate a general to Kurunta earlier than with most factions. Generals devoted to Kurunta have a better charge bonus and more speed; it seems that Kurunta's faction units are based around the idea of winning battles through charges by melee units.
To your south is the island of Cyprus. On Cyprus, one faction has two regions and another has only one region (all with relatively small garrisons, at least at the start of the campaign), so they should be easier to conquer than the nearby kingdoms on the mainland. All three regions on Cyprus can supply bronze.
However, there are problems and dangers associated with an early conquest of Cyprus. The inhabitants of Cyprus are Canaanite, not Hittite. Conquering Canaanite regions gives you access to the Canaanite native roster, providing more options for units. However, newly conquered Canaanite regions will have very low influence, which means that their output of bronze will be very low until your influence is increased. Building a shrine of Kurunta in one of your outpost locations on Cyprus is one way to boost your influence quickly. Also, if most of your warriors are away on Cyprus, other Anatolian kingdoms may notice that yout home province is lightly defended, and attack.
Kurunta can build mercenary hunting camps, providing food and experience for units (at a cost of lower happiness and influence). In port settlements, Kurunta can construct smugglers' markets, which provide more food as the era of plenty ends and the Bronze Age collapse begins.
Legacies
As a Hittite kingdom, you can choose from the legacy of Tudahya the Overseer (generals become princes and manage vassals), and Muwatalli the Benevolent (vassals provide more resources). Of course, neither legacy is likely to be useful until you can acaquire some vassals.
