Guide to Combat Attributes

In previous guides we’ve looked at Basic Attributes, those in which you can invest the points you earn after reaching a new level, and General Attributes, which include the more mundane stats that those that tend to level automatically and govern things like stamina and what units you can take with you into battle. What we haven’t looked at yet are the Combat Attributes, specifically the stats that underpin the entire system of attack and defence. There aren’t many to worry about, thankfully, but how they interact with other attributes is an important part of understanding the part you should be playing in every combat encounter.

There are a few ways to look at Combat Attributes. The easiest is to categorise them by damage type, where in general there are three ways you can hurt an enemy (leaving aside more skill-based effects like poison and fire): either by poking at them with the pointy end of something (an arrow, sword tip or spear), hacking at them with a blade or sharp edge (such as a nodachi, poleaxe, glaive), or bashing them with the butt-end of a polearm or musket.

How much of each type of damage caused will depend on the weapon, of course, but there are three sets of personal attributes that determine the final outcome, Piercing Damage (affected by Agility), Slashing Damage (Strength) and Blunt Damage (Strength). Some weapons are able to deliver significant amounts of one type of damage or lesser amounts of all three. Some, like spears and muskets, deliver different types of damage from each end.

The amount of damage caused will depend on your Armour Penetration attributes, of which there are again three types (Piercing, Slashing and Blunt). There’s an important distinction to make here because while an arrowhead may be able to cause more piercing damage than a spear, on account of the speed of entry into bare flesh, arrows are more likely to lose a lot of their energy by having to penetrate armour.

While your Strength attribute is important to delivering Slashing and Blunt Damage, Agility helps to increase Slashing and Blunt Armour Penetration. What this means is, unless you’ll be wielding a weapon that consistently delivers a single damage type - such as most ranged weapons - it pays to not let your Agility fall too far behind your Strength. As a simple rule, if Strength is the primary attribute for damage, you’ll need to consider Agility if you want to maximise penetration - and vice versa.

Finally, there are the Defence Attributes, Piercing Defence, Slashing Defence and Blunt Defence, which are directly affected by your basic Armour attribute, as well as any armour items you have equipped. Most basic armours absorb damage equally well across the three types, with heavy armour being more protective (and more restrictive) than light armour items. As you progress, however, you will discover more varied blends of armour that reduce the impact of certain types of damage over others. So, for example, you can tank penetrating attacks more effectively than other damage types.

As well equipping and levelling your Warlord effectively for combat, the same basic stats apply to your units and trusty steed. Needless to say, fitting yourself and your units in ways that are complementary will be advantageous, so that you can either offset the weakness of your units in defence, or support their strengths in attack. Likewise, you will have to be mindful of overall group tactics if you are fighting as part of a cohesive force.