Genghis Khan General & Battle AI FAQ

Genghis Khan General & Battle AI FAQ
Version 3.1

By chessjerk (John Kearsley IV)

Created - December 7, 2005
Most Recent Update - December 10, 2009

Questions? Comments? Contact me: [email protected]

===============================================================

Welcome to my Genghis Khan General & Battle AI FAQ. I have been playing this
game for many years and have noticed certain patterns in the computer's
movements from countless hours of studying battles to the point that I can
predict the computer's movements with near perfect accuracy. Here, I hope to
share my insights.

Also, I would like to direct your attention to Darkstar Ripclaw's Walkthrough
FAQ on GameFAQs which includes detailed walkthroughs for the Mongol Conquest
and the World Conquest that are very useful to get players going. Here's a link
to his FAQ/Walkthrough:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/file/587298/44071

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Table of Contents:
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I. On the World Map
1. Country Statistics
2. World Map Commands
3. List of Countries
a. Mongol Conquest
b. World Conquest
4. List of Items
a. Items for Trade
b. Items for War
II. War!
1. Conditions for Victory
2. Battle Commands
3. Battle AI Script
4. Oddities in the AI Script
5. Other Aspects of Battle
6. Rebellions
7. Strategies and Planning
a. The Computer on the Attack
1. Moving
2. Attacking
3. General Strategies
b. The Computer on the Defense
c. Miscellaneous Battle Tips
III. Credits/Disclaimer
IV. Version History

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I. On the World Map
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1. Country Statistics
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These are the statistics shown on the screen when it is your turn to act.

1. Date - The current year; Mongol Conquest begins in 1175, World Conquest
begins in 1206 (or whatever year the Mongol Conquest was completed if after
Spring 1206)
2. Season - The current season; at the beginning of a season, the following
effects may randomly occur in one or more countries:
a. Spring
1. Sickness may occur (can affect any country, countries affected
will lose about 1/4 of their overall population). Very rarely, a
dreadful epidemic will occur (which is even worse than sickness, due to
its harsher effect and more widespread nature).
2. All lords, princes, and children will age one year; if they have
reached the end of their life, they will die. If the lord dies of old
age without a son of at least age 10 to succeed him, the game is over.
3. New children may be born (up to a maximum of 5 unmarried and/or
unpromoted children at one time).
4. Gold is received based on the tax rate, the total population, and the
Economy level.
5. Gold is paid equal to the troop level. If insufficient gold is
available, unpaid troops will leave.
6. Food is lost equal to half of the total population. If insufficient
food is available, the overall population will decrease.
7. The total population will increase slightly; as the population grows,
the Spring increase will grow larger.
8. Morale decreases slightly with the increase in population.
b. Summer
1. Major storms may occur, diminishing Economy and Defense (World
Conquest only, can only affect countries 2, 18, 19, and 23-27).
2. The troops' Skill level will decrease slightly.
c. Fall
1. Sickness may occur (see Spring).
2. Food and items increase based on the average number of food producers
and artisans over the previous 4 seasons, respectively (the increase is
approximately 4x the average number of producers assigned).
d. Winter
1. Severe cold waves may occur, diminishing Economy and Defense (can
affect any country in Mongol Conquest; in World Conquest, can only
affect countries 1-7 and 15-19).
2. The troops' Arms level will also decrease slightly.
3. Orders left - The lord's base country receives 3 orders per season, directly
controlled countries receive 1 order per season. Every completed command
consumes 1 order. If war is initiated with another country, 30 days are
available for the battle for each order remaining when the war was
initiated. See Section 2 for more details on the commands that can be given.
4. Rate - This is a general indicator of price levels (higher rates mean higher
prices for buying and selling goods and hiring mercenaries). The rate will
be randomly set in Spring (the lowest it can go is 50, the highest is about
190) and slowly decrease over the next 3 seasons until being randomly reset
next Spring. Generally, try to buy items/weapons and hire troops when the
rate is low and sell items for gold when the rate is high.
5. Country number/Controlling party - Self explanatory, really
6. Country leader - Shows who controls the country
7. Method of control
a. Base - Indicates the country in which the lord resides.
b. Family member - Indicates a country controlled by a member of the lord's
family
c. Non-family member (blank description) - Indicates a country controlled by
a prince who is not a member of the lord's family; or controlled by an
another nation
d. Direct - Indicates a country the lord controls directly but the lord does
not reside in; these countries only get one order per season instead of
three, and may not use the following commands: Train-Prince, Train-Self,
People-Switch, People-Demote, People-Promote, People-Marry, Move, Policy,
Treaty, or War
8. Main item produced - Indicates the item produced by the artisans and
collected every Fall
9. Gold - Gold in stock
10. Food - Food in stock; if there is a large excess of food and Morale is low,
some of it may be stolen before a turn begins
11. Troops - Number of troops (1 troop equals 10 troops in battle)
12. Town - Number of townspeople, every season, Economy increases or decreases
based on this number
13. Masons - Number of masons, every season, Defense increases or decreases
based on this number
14. Food - Number of food producers, see Fall in 2c. above
15. Artisans - Number of artisans, see Fall in 2c. above
16. Morale - Morale level, if this dips below 100, peasant revolts and stolen
food are more likely
17. Economy - Economy level, influences tax collection
18. Defense - Castle defense level, if high, units attacking a unit on the
castle in battle will sustain more damage and the unit on the castle will
sustain less damage
19. Arms - Indicates level of equipment in battle, determines how many arrows
can be shot by archers in battle (maximum 20) and how many ambushes can be
set by infantry (maximum 5)
20. Skill - Indicates general skill level of the troops in battle, the higher
it is, the more damage can be inflicted in battle

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2. World Map Commands
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Numbers in parentheses indicate the lord ability points necessary to carry out
commands. After the command is executed, the lord will lose those skill points.
The abbreviations are as follows:

Leadership=L; Judgment=J; Planning=P; Charm=C; Body=Bo; Battle=Ba

1. Tax - Influence taxes
a. Change rate (L5, C5) - Attempt to change the tax rate for tax collection,
but doesn't work very often. Increasing the tax rate severely lowers
Morale, decreasing the rate only slightly increases morale. There is no
real reason to ever use this, to raise Morale effectively, use the Give
command instead.
b. Extra tax - (L10, C10) - Collect extra tax, adding it to gold. Since this
command lowers the total population, Morale, and Economy drastically if
used, there is no reason to ever use it.
2. Assign (L5, P5) - Change the country's distributions (an order and ability
points are only spent if changes are made)
a. Labor - Change distribution of troops, townspeople, masons, food producers
and artisans
b. Army - Change number of units in battle, as well as the distribution of
cavalry, infantry and archery units
3. Give (P5) - Give to the people to raise Morale
a. Gold - Give gold to the people, not very effective (avoid this)
b. Food - Give food to the people, somewhat effective
c. Items - Give items produced by the country's artisans to the people,
effectiveness depends on the item (if the item fetches a higher price in
the markets, it will increase Morale more)
4. Train - Raise various attributes, the more skillful the lord is, the
higher the increases will be
a. Troops (L5) - Increase Skill, increase is dependent on the population of
the country (larger population equals smaller increases)
b. Prince (C5) - Increase one attribute of one of the princes
c. Self (None) - Increase one attribute of the lord
d. People (C5) - Increase the percentage of the draftable population
(maximum 50%), impacts the number of draftees available under People-Draft
5. Trade (J5) - Visit the marketplaces of China, Islam and Uighur, skill points
are only used if a transaction is completed (just browsing the stores costs
nothing). Sometimes a particular vendor is unavailable for whatever reason,
sometimes they can ALL be unavailable. See the Items section for a list of
items.
a. Sell - Sell items from the stock (weapons cannot be sold)
b. Buy - Buy items, adding them to the stock, or weapons, which increase
the troops' Arms level
c. Hire - Hire soldiers, decreasing Morale, Arms and Skill (although, since
these troops have a default of 100 Arms and 100 Skill, if the current
troops' Arms and/or Skill levels are below 100, Hire will actually
"increase" the troops' Arms and/or Skill levels)
6. People - Perform various personnel changes
a. Switch (L5, J10, P5) - Move princes around
i. Change - Use on a country already controlled by a prince, switch the
ruler with one from another country or from the list of princes. If
used on a directly controlled country, identical to the "Send" command
ii. Send - Send a prince to a country that is directly controlled
iii. Direct - Use on a country controlled by a prince to return that prince
to the list of princes; the country becomes directly controlled.
Cannot use if there are already 5 princes on the list of princes.
b. Select (L5, J10, P5) - The computer generates a prince with random
abilities, select whether or not to add him to the list of princes.
Generally, this prince is pretty crappy, so unless you are in dire need of
a prince, skip this command. In this case, you lose an order and skill
points whether you take the prince or not, so avoid accidentally picking
this command.
c. Demote (L5, J10, P5) - Remove a prince from the list of princes
d. Promote (L5, J10, P5) - Promote one of the lord's sons (age 10 or higher)
to the list of princes. Unlike the Select command, an order and skill
points are not lost unless the promotion is accepted, so the command can
be declined and attempted over and over until his attributes are as high
as they can be. Be careful not to promote all the lord's sons too quickly,
since if the lord dies, a son aged 10 or older is needed to succeed him.
If none exist, the game is over.
e. Marry (J10, P10) - Marry one of the lord's daughters (age 8 or higher) to
one of the princes who is not a family member to make him a family member.
Princes who are members of the lord's family will never rebel.
f. Draft (L5, C10) - Draft members of the population, decreasing morale, Arms
and Skill. Also see the Train-People command.
7. View - View various statistics of the current country and other countries.
Viewing the lord's own countries does not use an order or consume any of
the lord's attributes. Viewing other countries and/or rulers consumes 5
Judgment per country/ruler, but only one order per batch of countries/rulers
a. State (None/J5) - View a country's stats, must send a spy to view foreign
countries, see Spy-View & Report
b. Ruler (None/J5) - View a country's ruler, must send a spy to view foreign
countries, see Spy-View & Report
c. Allies (None) - View list of allies and the number of years remaining on
treaties
d. Prince (None) - View list of princes, select a prince to view his
individual attributes
e. Child (None) - View list of children
f. Stock (None) - View stock of items
8. Move - Move people or items from one country to another, the countries must
share a border to successfully move
a. Base (Bo20) - Move the lord's base camp to another country. If the new
country was ruled by a prince, that prince will now control the first
country, if the new country was directly controlled, the first country
will now be directly controlled. If this command is used as the first or
second order for that season, all other commands for that season will be
forfeited. Therefore, only use this command as the last order of the
season to avoid the loss of orders.
b. People (L10, C10) - Move any type of people to another country, the new
country's Morale will decrease, arms and skill levels will be adjusted
accordingly based on the arms and skill level of the incoming people
c. Gold (L5, J5, C5) - Move gold to another country
d. Food (L5, J5, C5) - Move food to another country
e. Items (L5, J5, C5) - Move items to another country (can only move the main
item produced by the moving country)
9. Policy (L5, J5, C5) - Can only use this command on a country controlled by a
prince, set policies for how the prince should rule that country (e.g.
amount of troops to have, whether to attack another country, etc.) If
no policy has been set, the computer will use the default that the AI itself
uses. Honestly, I never use this command, since the computer-controlled
prince seemed to do whatever he wanted anyway, regardless of my policies,
but to each his own.
10. Treaty - Create diplomatic relations with foreign countries
a. Become vassal (C25, Bo5, Ba10) - Does not work on allied countries.
Attempt to take over a country without a war, they may send 1/4 of their
gold, food and main items to appease you. I have never gotten this command
to work consistently, therefore, I don't use it. I'd rather just attack
them.
b. Pay us (C5, Bo5, Ba5) - Does not work on allied countries. Demand that
the other country pay 1/10 of their gold, food and items. As with the
"Become vassal" command, I never reliably accomplish anything with this
command, hence I don't use it.
c. Ally (C5, Bo5) - Can only be used on a country where a lord resides (a
lord's princes cannot sign treaties). Attempt to create a peace treaty
with a neighboring country (requires a 10 gold payment to that country).
If successful, that country and its vassal states will not attack you and
your vassals for 5 years. Review current treaties under View-Allies. If
the allied country is destroyed by another nation, the treaty is voided.
11. Spy - Try to become the next 007...or something like that
a. View & Report (P5) - Pay 10 gold to send a spy to another country (ally or
not). Any number of spies may be sent at once and only one order will be
consumed. Until he is caught or that country is conquered by another
nation, view that country's stats and ruler under View-State and View-
Ruler.
b. Wreak Havoc (Bo20) - Does not work on allies. Pay 50 gold to attempt to
destroy another country's town and castle, lowering Economy and Defense.
The computer often uses this command if Economy and Defense get to very
high levels, but this command never seems to work for me and is a waste of
time anyway.
c. Kill (Ba20) - Does not work on allies or other players. Pay 100 gold to
attempt assassination on another ruler. If successful, that ruler's
abilities are reduced. The instruction booklet says reduced by half, but
I have been unable to verify that as a fact, so we'll go with that, since,
again, it is a waste of time since it rarely works.
d. Search State (L5, P5) - Pay 20 gold to search the country for spies. It's
hard to see, but if you watch the rotation closely and see a box of text
that quickly disappears, it's an indicator that a country sent a spy to
one of your countries. Of course, since the computer already knows all the
stats of your countries even without spies, you really don't need to waste
time looking for them, now do you? Avoid this useless command.
12. War - Hmmm...wonder what this does? If a lord or prince goes to war and
wins, he will gain (L30, J15, P10, C10, Bo20, Ba25). If he flees from
battle or the allotted time runs out, he gains no attributes. See the
Conditions for Victory section for more details. No attributes are given to
the defending leader, win or lose.
a. Self (L40, J10, P5, Ba20) - Go to war with the lord leading the battle.
It's the preferred way to battle, since you get to control the action.
b. Prince (L5, P5, C5) - Send one of the princes to battle instead of the
lord. I don't recommend this unless you are unsure of yourself in battle.
13. Pass (None) - Forfeit all remaining orders.
14. Other - Other game functions, none cost any attributes
a. Save - Save the current game
b. Wait - Change the speed of text, 1 is fastest and 10 is slowest
c. Music - Turn World Map and Battle music on or off
d. Sound - Turn sound effects on or off
e. Display - Whenever you enter a command, cute little graphics are shown.
Turn them on or off with this command.
f. Animation - Whenever you go to war, an animation of a horse charging into
battle is shown. Turn this on or off with this command.
g. Battle - If this option is on, all battles are shown in their entirety.
If off, whenever a battle occurs that doesn't involve the player or his
countries, a quick message showing only the result of the battle is shown
on the screen. Each option has its pros and cons, obviously the "off"
option is faster and speeds up gameplay, but I don't feel that the "off"
option truly represents what goes on in the battle. But I know not
everyone is willing to sit there and watch up to 10 battles in between
turns, especially in World Conquest mode, so I can understand that.

===============================================================
3. List of Countries
===============================================================

Here's a list of the original country names for both scenarios, as well as the
original lord, the items that country's artisans produce, and the countries
that they can attack. Note that when a base country is conquered, if any vassal
states exist, they become independent, with the current ruling prince becoming
the lord. The name of each new country is chosen randomly by the game, and
since there are far too many variations, I will only list the original country
names.

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a. Mongol Conquest
===============================================================

1. the Mongols - Temujin - Fur - 2,5,6,8
2. the Tatars - Tug Temur - Fur - 1,3,6,7
3. the Ongirats - Daisetin - Fur - 2,4,7
4. the Onguts - Alagush - Fur - 3,7
5. the Taichiud - Targutai - Woodworks - 1,8
6. the Jadarans - Jamukha - Fur - 1,2,7,8,9
7. the Keraits - Tooril - Fur - 2,3,4,6,9
8. the Merkits - Toktogha - Metals - 1,5,6,9
9. the Zurkins - Sachu Beki - Fur - 6,7,8,11,12
10. the Tumeds - Bistam - Jewels - 11,13
11. the Oirats - Qudoga Beki - Fur - 9,10,12,13
12. the Naimans - Tayang Qan - Woodworks - 9,11,13,14
13. the Kirghiz - Chimsuyi - Fur - 10,11,12,14
14. the Qarlugs - Arslan - Fur - 12,13

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b. World Conquest
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1. the Mongols - Genghis Khan - Fur - 2,3,14,15,16
2. the Chin Empire - Hsuan Tsung - Silk - 1,16,17,18,19,26
3. the Cumans - Basch Khan - Fur - 1,4,10,11,12,13,14
4. Kiev Russia - Fuseboro - Fur - 3,5,6,10
5. Teutonic Knights - Sachsen - Ceramics - 4,6
6. Poland - Resska - Metals - 4,5,9,10
7. England - Richard - Textiles - 8,9
8. France - Phillip - Metals - 7,9,20
9. the Holy Empire - Heinrich - Glass - 6,7,8,10
10. Hungary - Endore - Textiles - 3,4,6,9,11
11. Byzantin - Alexious - Metals - 3,10,12
12. the Rum Seljuks - Qelkubud - Jewels - 3,11,13,21,22
13. Khorazm - Muhammad - Glass - 3,12,14,23,24
14. the Kara Khitai - Cherkes - Jewels - 1,3,13,15,24
15. the Uighers - Barjag - Perfume - 1,14,16,17,24
16. Hsi-Hsia - Heng Tsung - Fur - 1,2,15,17
17. To Fan - Sakiaba - Woodworks - 2,15,16,24,25,26
18. Korea - Shen Tsung - Medicines - 2,19
19. Japan - Yoritomo - Silk - 2,18,26
20. Al Muwahhid - Sultan - Jewels - 8,21
21. Ayyub - Saladin - Glass - 12,20,22
22. Baghdad - Caliph - Textiles - 12,21
23. Delhi - Balulala - Medicines - 13,24
24. Ghore - Qori - Perfume - 13,14,15,17,23,25
25. Pagan - Naraba Testu - Textiles - 17,24,26,27
26. Nan-Sung - Ning Tsung - Ceramics - 2,17,19,25,27
27. Dai-Viet & Ta-Li - Duan Tsung - Woodworks - 25,26

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4. List of Items
===============================================================

===============================================================
a. Items for Trade
===============================================================

Here's a list of the items that can be bought or sold in the marketplaces and
an approximate price range that they can be sold for (buying prices range quite
widely and are not included):

Fur - 0.5 to 2.5
Silk - 1.5 to 9.5
Jewels - 2.0 to 8.0
Metals - 1.5 to 5.0
Medicines - 0.5 to 3.5
Woodworks - 0.5 to 3.5
Ceramics - 1.0 to 4.0
Glass - 0.5 to 4.5
Textiles - 2.0 to 8.0
Perfumes - 2.0 to 9.5
Food - 1.0 to 2.5

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b. Items for War
===============================================================

Here's a list of the weapons that can be bought and their approximate price
ranges, as well as their relative effectiveness at raising the troops' Arms
level:

Daggers - 2.0 to 6.0
Swords - 8.0 to 20.0 - 4x daggers
Axes - 12.0 to 30.0 - 5x daggers
Spears - 6.0 to 15.0 - 2x daggers
Pikes - 9.0 to 25.0 - 3x daggers
Bombs - 20.0 to 60.0 - 8x daggers

===============================================================
II. War!
===============================================================

===============================================================
1. Conditions for Victory
===============================================================

If any of the following conditions occur, the attacking army wins the battle:

1. The defending command unit is destroyed
2. The defending command unit surrenders
3. The defending command unit flees to a neighboring country
4. The defending ruler is captured in a duel
5. The defending army runs out of food

After the battle is over, the attacker chooses the country's new ruler:

1. Victor - The attacking leader rules the new country
2. Former ruler - The captured leader becomes a prince and rules the country
(cannot be chosen if the defender flees the country)
3. Direct - The country becomes directly controlled

If "Victor" is chosen, the attacking country's new ruler is chosen:

1. Prince - A random prince from the prince list rules the attacking country
2. Direct - The attacking country becomes directly controlled

If "Victor" or "Direct" is chosen, and the defender did not flee the battle,
the attacker must decide the defending ruler's fate:

1. Make prince - The defending ruler becomes a prince (cannot use if there are
already 5 princes on the list)
2. Execute - Kill the defending ruler
3. Free - Let the defending ruler go

Finally, a message may pop up that an outstanding man was also captured during
the battle. Decide whether or not to add him to the prince list. Again, if
there are already 5 princes on the list, he cannot be added.

If any of the following conditions occur, the defending army wins the battle:

1. The attacking command unit is destroyed
2. The attacking command unit surrenders
3. The attacking command unit flees to a neighboring country
4. The attacking ruler is captured in a duel
5. The attacking army runs out of food
6. The attacking army runs out of time (same as fleeing)

After the battle is over, if the attacker did not flee, the defender decides
the attacking ruler's fate:

1. Execute - Kill the attacking ruler
2. Free - Let the attacking ruler go, he DOES NOT return to his country, that
country has a new ruler chosen for them randomly

NOTE: In the EXTREMELY unlikely event that both command units are destroyed
simultaneously, the defending army wins the battle.

If you attack another country as the lord and lose the battle without fleeing,
the lord will die and must be replaced by a son of age 10 or greater. If no
such sons exist, the game is over.

If your base country is attacked and you lose without fleeing, the game is
over.

If one of your princes attacks another country and loses, he may be executed,
in which case his country becomes directly controlled. If he is freed and you
have 5 princes on your list, he goes back to his country, otherwise he returns
to your list of princes and his country becomes directly controlled.

If one of your princes is attacked and loses, he may be executed or freed. If
freed and you have less than 5 princes on your list, he returns to the list,
otherwise he seeks life elsewhere.

In computer vs. computer battles, if the attacking army wins, a new ruler is
chosen for the country randomly; if the defending army wins, the attacking
ruler always returns to the attacking country.

===============================================================
2. Battle Commands
===============================================================

This section lists all commands that can be executed in battle. A particular
unit can execute only one of these commands every day of the battle.

1. Move
a. Entire - Move the unit until the unit's move points are exhausted. Units
cannot freely move around enemy units unless the enemy unit has less than
1/4 of the troops of the moving unit. Units do not have to use all of
their move points in any one turn, but cannot carry over unused move
points to a future turn. See the Battle section for the move points
assigned to different types of terrain.
b. Divide - Can only be used by cavalry units with 13 move points, or
infantry or archery units with 11 move points, only if the player's army
has less than 10 units, and only if that particular unit has an empty
space next to it. Move any number of troops from the original unit into
an empty space and create a new unit with the lowest available unit number
and the same type as the original unit. The original unit's move points
are reset to 10 for cavalry and 8 for infantry and archers.
2. Attack
a. Normal - The unit attacks an enemy unit that is right next to it. Damage
to both units is impacted by many variables, including the armies' Skill
levels, the leaders' stats, and the terrain. You cannot attack your own
units.
b. Arrows - Can only be used by Archers. Fire arrows at another unit. See
the Strategies and Planning section for the mechanics of firing arrows.
The damage done by the arrows depends on the Skill level, the number of
arrows available depends on the Arms level. You can fire arrows at one of
your own units that is in ambush, so beware.
c. Duel - Can only be used by the Command unit, only if the enemy Command
unit is next to it, and only once per battle by each side. Challenge the
enemy leader to a duel. If the challenging leader's attributes are much
higher than the enemy's, the duel will be automatically refused without a
loss of turn (which is a reason not to train the lord too much). If the
leaders' attribute levels are comparable, a duel may take place. In this
situation, if the opposing leader refuses to duel, the challenging Command
unit loses its turn, but the refusing leader's Leadership and Battle stats
will be reduced. If you are challenged to a duel, you may opt to refuse,
but sometimes the duel happens anyway. If the duel is accepted, either
leader can be defeated or captured. If defeated, the battle continues, but
20% of the losing leader's troops go over to the other side, spread out
proportionately among the winner's battle units. If captured, the battle
ends immediately, and the victorious leader wins the battle, regardless of
the troop levels.
d. Ambush - Can only be used by Infantry, and not by the Command unit.
Select either the square the Infantry unit is on or an adjacent square, as
long as the square selected has no enemy units next to it. The Infantry
unit disappears from the map until an enemy unit moves next to it, at
which time the Infantry unit reappears and immediately attacks the enemy
unit. This attack hurts quite a bit, since it is stronger than a normal
attack, and is quite useful against the computer, since the computer will
walk into it. If no enemy unit reveals the ambushing unit before the
ambushing unit's next turn, it can choose to remain in ambush (same as
"pass") or reveal itself so it can behave as normal next turn.
3. Pass - The unit foregoes its turn, gaining one move point. The maximum move
points is 15 for cavalry and 13 for infantry and archers.
4. Other
a. Demand - Can only be used by the Command unit and only if the enemy
Command unit is next to it. Demand that the enemy surrender. Only a much
larger army will cause the computer army to even consider surrendering,
and even then, they can refuse, thus costing your Command unit a turn.
This command is only really useful if the rest of your units will destroy
the enemy on this turn anyway, it may get you some free troops if the
enemy surrenders.
b. SOS - Can only be used by the Command unit, only if it is placed on an
entry/exit point to a country that is under common control, and only once
per battle. Call for reinforcements, which arrive in 3 days. The country
sending troops must have sufficient gold to pay for the troops to go to
battle, they arrive without provisions, and the number of troops requested
don't always equal the number of troops that are actually sent. Any type
of unit can be requested. Useful if desperate.
c. Raid - Can only be used by the Command unit, only if it is placed on the
enemy town square and only once per battle. Plunder the town for
provisions, adding them to your army's food supply. Useful if low on food.
d. Hunt - Can be used by any unit that is on a forest square as long as no
enemy units are next to it. The unit skips this turn and its next turn,
but it does not consume any provisions for those 2 days.
5. Flee - Can be used by any unit as long as they are on an entry/exit point to
a country under common control. The unit flees the battle to the country
indicated by the entry/exit point. Be wary of this command, and if you are
fleeing, make sure you flee with the Command unit last, since when the
Command unit leaves battle, the battle ends, and any units that remain on
the battlefield go over to the enemy.
6. View
a. Unit - Display the exact number of troops in each unit. Ambushing
infantry units display the word "trap" instead of the troop amount.
b. Leader - Display the attributes of the leaders.
c. Army - Display the Arms and Skill levels of the armies, the castle's
defensive strength, and the morale of the defending army.
7. Recon
a. Map - Show a map of the battlefield, indicating the attacking units with
an "A" and the defending units with a "D".
b. Battlefield - Allow the player to move around on the terrain map. Also
shows all entry/exit points to other countries.

===============================================================
3. Battle AI Script
===============================================================

This section shows, in flowchart form, how the computer will act in battles
involving the player. It may look confusing, but it can be useful if you are
stuck in battle and need to determine where the computer will move next.

On the Attack

1. Command unit - Am I the only unit left?
a. Yes - am I next to the enemy command unit?
i. Yes - have I already demanded a duel?
a. Yes - attack the enemy command unit
b. No - demand a duel, attack enemy command unit if cannot duel
ii. No - move towards enemy command unit
b. No - am I being threatened?
i. Yes - run away
ii. No - do I have more troops than enemy command unit?
a. Yes - am I next to enemy command unit?
i. Yes - attack enemy command unit
ii. No - determine path and move towards enemy command unit
b. No - pass
2. Unit 1 - Determine type of unit
a. Cavalry/Infantry - is the command unit being threatened?
i. Yes - am I next to the command unit and are the same unit type as the
command unit?
a. Yes - join with command unit
b. No - can I attack a unit threatening the command unit?
i. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
a. Yes - attack the target with the lowest unit number
b. No - attack the target
ii. No - find the highest numbered unit threatening the command unit
and move towards it
ii. No - am I next to the enemy command unit?
a. Yes - attack enemy command unit
b. No - am I next to a unit with less than 1/3 of the troops in my unit?
i. Yes - is there more than one unit with less than 1/3 troops?
a. Yes - attack the target with the lowest unit number
b. No - attack the target
ii. No - move towards enemy command unit
b. Archery - is the command unit being threatened?
i. Yes - am I next to the command unit and are the same unit type as the
command unit?
a. Yes - join with command unit
b. No - can I attack a unit threatening the command unit?
i. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
a. Yes - attack target with the lowest unit number
b. No - attack the target
ii. No - do I have any arrows left?
a. Yes - can I shoot arrows at a unit threatening the command unit?
i. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
a. Yes - shoot arrows at the target with the lowest unit number
b. No - shoot arrows at the target
ii. No - find the highest numbered unit threatening the command
unit and move in a position to shoot arrows at it
b. No - find the highest numbered unit threatening the command unit
and move towards it
ii. No - am I next to the enemy command unit?
a. Yes - attack enemy command unit
b. No - am I next to a unit with less than 1/3 of the troops in my unit?
i. Yes - is there more than one unit with less than 1/3 troops?
a. Yes - attack the target with the lowest unit number
b. No - attack the target
ii. No - do I have any arrows left?
a. Yes - can I fire arrows at the enemy command unit?
i. Yes - fire arrows at the enemy command unit
ii. No - can I fire arrows at a unit with less than 1/3 of the
troops in my unit?
a. Yes - is there more than one unit with less than 1/3 troops?
i. Yes - fire arrows at the target with the lowest unit number
ii. No - fire arrows at the target
b. No - move into position to fire arrows at the enemy command
unit
b. No - move towards enemy command unit
3. Repeat step 2 for all other units.

On the Defense

1. Command unit - Am I the only unit left?
a. Yes - am I greatly outnumbered?
i. Yes - is the enemy command unit next to me?
a. Yes - have I already demanded a duel?
i. Yes - run away
ii. No - demand a duel, run away if refused
b. No - run away
ii. No - am I on the castle?
a. Yes - do I greatly outnumber the opposing command unit?
i. Yes - attack the enemy command unit
ii. No - pass
b. No - is the enemy command unit next to me?
i. Yes - attack the enemy command unit
ii. No - pass
b. No - am I being threatened?
i. Yes - am I on the castle?
a. Yes - run away
b. No - is there another unit of the same type next to me?
i. Yes - is there more than one unit of the same type?
a. Yes - join with the unit with the lowest unit number
b. No - join with that unit
ii. No - run away
ii. No - am I on the castle?
a. Yes - do I greatly outnumber the opposing command unit?
i. Yes - is the opposing command unit next to me?
a. Yes - attack the opposing command unit
b. No - pass
ii. No - pass
b. No - is the opposing command unit next to me?
i. Yes - attack the opposing command unit
ii. No - pass
2. Unit 1 - Determine type of unit
a. Cavalry - is the command unit being threatened?
i. Yes - am I next to the command unit and are the same unit type as the
command unit?
a. Yes - join with command unit
b. No - can I attack a unit threatening the command unit?
i. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
a. Yes - attack the target with the lowest unit number
b. No - attack the target
ii. No - find the highest numbered unit threatening the command unit
and move towards it
ii. No - do we greatly outnumber the opposition?
a. Yes - am I next to the enemy command unit?
i. Yes - attack enemy command unit
ii. No - am I next to an enemy unit with 1/3 of the troops in my unit?
a. Yes - are there multiple such targets?
i. Yes - attack the target with the lowest unit number
ii. No - attack the target
b. No - move towards enemy command unit
b. No - am I next to the command unit?
i. Yes - can I attack an enemy unit as outlined in Section 2 "Other
Units"?
a. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
i. Yes - attack the unit with the lowest unit number
ii. No - attack that unit
b. No - pass
ii. No - is there an open square next to the command unit?
a. Yes - move next to command unit
b. No - move next to a unit that is next to the command unit
b. Infantry - is the command unit being threatened?
i. Yes - am I next to the command unit and are the same unit type as the
command unit?
a. Yes - join with command unit
b. No - can I attack a unit threatening the command unit?
i. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
a. Yes - attack the target with the lowest unit number
b. No - attack the target
ii. No - find the highest numbered unit threatening the command unit
and move towards it
ii. No - do we greatly outnumber the opposition?
a. Yes - am I next to the enemy command unit?
i. Yes - attack enemy command unit
ii. No - am I next to an enemy unit with 1/3 of the troops in my unit?
a. Yes - are there multiple such targets?
i. Yes - attack the target with the lowest unit number
ii. No - attack the target
b. No - move towards enemy command unit
b. No - is this my first turn?
i. Yes - is there an available ambush space and are there ambushes left
to use?
a. Yes - are there multiple ambush squares available?
i. Yes - set an ambush on a random square
ii. No - set an ambush
b. No - am I next to the command unit?
i. Yes - can I attack an enemy unit as outlined in Section 2 "Other
Units"?
a. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
i. Yes - attack the unit with the lowest unit number
ii. No - attack that unit
b. No - pass
ii. No - is there an open square next to the command unit?
a. Yes - move next to command unit
b. No - move next to a unit that is next to the command unit
c. Archery - is the command unit being threatened?
i. Yes - am I next to the command unit and are the same unit type as the
command unit?
a. Yes - join with command unit
b. No - can I attack a unit threatening the command unit?
i. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
a. Yes - attack the target with the lowest unit number
b. No - attack the target
ii. No - do I have any arrows left?
a. Yes - can I shoot arrows at a unit threatening the command unit?
i. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
a. Yes - shoot arrows at the target with the lowest unit number
b. No - shoot arrows at the target
ii. No - find the highest numbered unit threatening the command
unit and move in a position to shoot arrows at it
b. No - find the highest numbered unit threatening the command unit
and move towards it
ii. No - do we greatly outnumber the opposition?
a. Yes - am I next to the enemy command unit?
i. Yes - attack enemy command unit
ii. No - am I next to an enemy unit with 1/3 of the troops in my unit?
a. Yes - are there multiple such targets?
i. Yes - attack the target with the lowest unit number
ii. No - attack the target
b. No - can I fire arrows at an enemy unit with 1/3 of the troops in
my unit?
i. Yes - are there multiple such targets?
a. Yes - fire arrows at the unit with the lowest unit number
b. No - fire arrows at the target
ii. No - move towards enemy command unit
b. No - am I next to the command unit?
i. Yes - can I attack an enemy unit as outlined in Section 2 "Other
Units"?
a. Yes - are there multiple targets to attack?
i. Yes - attack the unit with the lowest unit number
ii. No - attack that unit
b. No - can I fire arrows at an enemy unit as outlined in Section 2
"Other Units"?
i. Yes - fire arrows at the target
ii. No - pass
ii. No - is there an open square next to the command unit?
a. Yes - move next to command unit
b. No - move next to a unit that is next to the command unit
3. Repeat step 2 for all other units.

===============================================================
4. Oddities in the AI Script
===============================================================

Computer vs. Computer battles:

If you turn on the battles so you can watch the computer vs. computer battles,
you'll notice that there is an additional script that the computer follows, and
that's when the attackers outnumber the defenders by at least 2 to 1 at the
outset. In that case, the attacking command unit will move towards the opposing
command unit as normal, but the other attacking units will move to get next to
their own command unit. The defending units will move to a spot next to their
command unit and wait until surrender is offered. When the attacking command
unit reaches the defending command unit, it will demand surrender. If the troop
ratio is still at least 2 to 1, the defenders will surrender and the battle
will end. If not, the surrender is refused and the battle continues using the
above script. Sometimes the defenders will still surrender if the ratio is less
than 2 to 1, this usually happens when the attackers have fewer, but larger,
units than the defender.

Moving to the Castle:

Sometimes, when the defending command unit vacates the castle, the attacking
command unit will move to the castle and stay there instead of chasing the
defending command unit. If the attacking command unit ever ends up on the
castle, it will not move away unless threatened.

Running Direction:

When the command unit is being threatened and decides to run away, it will
generally run away in the direct opposite direction of its attackers. But, if
the threatened command unit's other units block this escape, it may choose to
wait instead of running away. This can lead to a very quick defeat of that unit
since it did not run away at all when threatened.

Low Food:

If the defending army does not have enough food for the duration of battle, the
defending army's units (except for the command unit, which remains on the
castle) will behave as attackers and go straight after the attacking command
unit. If at some point during the battle, the defending army loses enough
troops that it is no longer in danger of losing the battle due to lack of food,
it will revert to the defending AI script.

Fleeing to Another Country:

In computer only battles, a losing army will never flee to a neighboring
country via the entry-exit points. However, if a player attacks a computer
country (controlled by a lord, not a prince), vastly outnumbers the enemy, and
the defending army owns another country that it can flee to, the defenders will
not start the battle as normal. They will instead start on the entry-exit
points of the other country they control. On the first turn, the non-command
units will flee. On the second turn, the command unit will flee, thus letting
the player win the battle.

Lords vs. Princes vs. Directly Controlled Countries:

As a general rule, armies led in battle by the lord will deal more hand-to-hand
damage in battle than those led by a prince. Directly controlled countries are
even worse at hand-to-hand battle. Archers' strength in battle is relatively
unaffected by who leads them in battle, making them ideal to defend directly
controlled countries since they can still deal good damage with arrows.

===============================================================
5. Other Aspects of Battle
===============================================================

Decrease in Defending Country's Castle Defense:

With each direct attack on a unit residing on the castle, the defending army's
defense decreases.

Decrease in Defending Country's Morale:

Similar to the first item, for each turn that an attacking unit resides on the
castle or town square, the defending country's morale decreases.

Decrease of Food in Battle:

Each army's food supply decreases after the defending army's turn is over, if
an army runs out of food, it loses the battle. On the rare occasion that both
armies simultaneously run out of food, the defending army wins. An amount of
food equal to the amount of troops will last 30 days of battle, or the minimum
length of a battle. The battle can last either 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on
how many orders were remaining when the attacker initiated the battle (30 days
for each remaining order).

===============================================================
6. Rebellions
===============================================================

There are three types of rebellions to watch out for:

1. Any non-family member prince ruling a country may decide to rebel at any
time. There is no war in this case, that country simply becomes
independent. This is the main reason to only use family member princes to
rule countries and prevent the loss of countries.

2. Any non-family member prince on your list of princes may decide to rebel in
your base country or any of your vassals. He will command a portion of that
country's army, and if victorious, he will now rule that country
independently. If you are victorious, you may either execute him, free him,
or add him back to your prince list.

3. Any country with low morale (under 100) may experience a peasant uprising.
Generally a small army of very low skilled troops and a similarly low
skilled leader will attempt to take over. If you lose, then the peasants
now control the country. Even if you win, that country's morale and economy
will take a serious hit.

===============================================================
7. Strategies and Planning
===============================================================

This section details a more in-depth analysis of what the computer does in
battle.

===============================================================
a. The Computer on the Attack
===============================================================

Hopefully you are smart enough to leave sufficient troops in your country to
actually defend against an attack. Even I cannot regularly defend against an
attack when I'm outnumbered 3 to 1 or more, unless I have over 1000 troops, in
which case a defense is still possible. If you outnumbered 2 to 1 or less and
have at least 800 troops or so (80 units), defeating the computer should not be
too difficult.

1. Moving

The first thing to understand is how the units move. The general rule is the
computer will select a route that takes the least amount of move points. The
move points needed to pass through each type of terrain are:

Plains: 3
Forest: 4
Mountain: 5
Desert: 6
Water: 8
Town: 4
Castle: 5

Also, the computer gives priority to certain directions to break ties, as
follows:

5
4 6
X
1 3
2

Essentially, this means that the computer prioritizes routes as follows:

1. down-left (first priority)
2. down
3. down-right
4. up-left
5. up
6. up-right (last priority)

Let's take a simple example:

1
2 3
4 5 6
7 8
9 10 11
12 13
14 15 16
17 18
19

Say you have one unit on the defense on square 10, and the computer has one
unit on the attack on square 9. If both squares cost the same move (i.e. both
are plains, one is forest and one is town, etc.) the computer will always abide
by the first diagram in terms of breaking ties. In the above example, if 7 is
town and 12 is forest, it will always move to 12, since down-right has priority
over up-right.

If we place the computer unit on square 11, the same rule holds. The computer
will move to 13 since down-left has priority over up-left.

If the squares have different move costs, the computer simply chooses the
square that costs the least amount of move points. Go back to the first
example. Assuming square 7 is plains and square 12 is forest, the computer will
move to square 7 (since it only costs 3 move points as opposed to the forest's
4). If square 7 is water and square 12 is mountain, the computer will move to
square 12.

For paths longer than one square, the computer will add up the move required
for each path and select the path that costs the least amount of move points.
On the above map, place your unit on square 11. If the computer unit is on
square 9, the computer first analyzes the terrain to determine the path
requiring the fewest move points. For the first example, assume all squares are
plains. All paths that get the computer next to square 11 cost 9 move points.
Now, applying the tiebreaker rules for each movement, the unit will move from 9
to 12 to 15 to 13.

If square 15 is forest, now the route 9-12-15-13 costs 10 move points and is
not the route with the least move required. Now the computer will take the
route 9-12-10-13, the prioritized route that only costs 9 move points.

If square 15 is forest and square 10 is mountain, then there is only one route
that costs 9 move points, and that is 9-7-5-8. Notice that the computer unit
will move up, not down, on its first move, since it adheres to the lowest move
point route first, the priority rule only applies when there are multiple
routes that can be taken.

The computer never considers the number of squares on the path when choosing a
route, only the move points required. If, in the above example, the squares 1,
2, 3, 4, and 6 are plains squares and the rest are water squares, the computer
will choose the path 9-4-2-1-3-6 (15 move points required) instead of the more
direct 9-12-15-13 (24 move points required).

If there are other units on the battlefield, the computer simply does not count
that possible route in its calculations. If square 15 is forest, square 10 is
mountain, and another unit is occupying square 5, the shortest route is 9-7-5-8
as previously shown, but since it cannot move to 5, this route is unavailable.
The next shortest route is 9-12-15-13, and this will be the route taken.

Another item of interest is that the computer "knows" where ambushing infantry
units are, even though they are invisible on the map, and will plan their
units' moves as if the ambushing unit can be seen. See the Strategies section
below for more details about proper placement of ambushing infantry units.

Now, the above rules apply to cavalry, infantry, and archers that have run out
of arrows. However, when facing archers that have arrows remaining, they move
in a different way. Reposting the previous map:

1
2 3
4 5 6
7 8
9 10 11
12 13
14 15 16
17 18
19

Assume your unit is on square 10, the enemy archer unit can shoot arrows at you
from squares 1, 4, 6, 14, 16 and 19. If the archer unit is not on one of these
squares, the basic rules of priority will still apply. Therefore, if all of
those squares are unoccupied, it will move towards square 14 (the square most
down and left). If square 14 is occupied, it will move towards 19 (still down,
next square right). If both 14 and 19 are occupied, then it will move towards
16, and then to 4, 1 and 6. If all 6 squares are occupied, then the archer unit
behaves as if it has no arrows.

This rule holds true no matter which direction the archer unit is coming from.
Place the archer unit on square 17 in the above example (assume all squares
except 10 are unoccupied). The unit will always move to 14. Simple, right?

Put the unit on 18. Even though 16 and 19 are unoccupied, the computer
determines that it should move to 14. It then uses the section 1 rules for
movement, and will move to 19, then 17, and probably wait there, since archer
units only have 8 move points, thus costing the computer a turn. :)

Put the unit on 3. Again 1 and 6 are available, but it will move towards 14,
via the route 5-7-9-14. Strange, no?

2. Attacking

The general goal for attacking for the computer is to destroy your main unit.
It will attack your other units on occasion; that will be covered later. This
can be broken down into 3 sections: the command unit, archer units, and other
units.

a. Command Unit

The computer command unit will only attack your command unit. They will NEVER
attack another unit under any circumstances. It will maneuver for an attack on
your command unit and that's it. However, if the command unit has fewer troops
than the opposing command unit, it will wait where it is, regardless of where
it is on the map.

Also, unlike all non-command units, the command unit will run away if too many
of the defending forces are able to attack it. I'm not sure of the exact ratio
needed to accomplish this, but I believe it's approximately 5 to 1.

If the command unit is being threatened too heavily even after it tries to run
away, the other units will attempt to attack those units that are threatening
the command unit. If no units are in range to attack, they will move into
position to attack the unit with the highest unit number, regardless of the
highest units type, amount of soldiers, or if other threatening units are
closer. Why, I'm not sure, I guess the AI considers those units with lower
numbers to be easier to destroy, which is most often not the case.

If the command unit manages to break away and escape, the other units continue
their attack pattern as normal. The command unit will only move again when the
opposing command unit has fewer troops than itself, then it will return to the
fray, or if the opposing command unit vacates the castle. Sometimes (not
always) the command unit will see the empty castle and attempt to occupy it (I
guess for the attack and defense bonuses associated with the castle).

As for dueling, the computer command unit will never demand a duel until it is
the only unit left. A viable strategy, if your lord has better stats than the
opposing lord, is to kill off all of the other computer units and leave the
command unit to move up to you and demand a duel. The computer will do this
regardless of the troop situation. Be aware, though, if you do not capture the
computer lord and only defeat him (taking 20% of his troops), you still have to
destroy what's remaining of the unit to win the battle.

b. Archers

Archers follow similar attacking patterns to other non-command units. It will
fire arrows at any unit with 1/3 or the troops the archers have, or it will
maneuver for a shot at the opposing command unit.

c. Cavalry, Infantry, Arrow-less Archers

These units will attempt to move to a square next to your command unit. Once
they get there, they will attack the command unit, regardless of the number of
troops in both units. Even if the attacking unit has 10 troops and the
defending unit has 1000, it will still attack in a suicidal fashion.

If a computer unit begins a turn next to an opposing non-command unit that has
1/3 or fewer troops than itself, it will attack that unit instead of moving
towards the command unit. This is one of the few times a computer unit will
attack non-command units.

3. Strategies

Your strategy as the defense hinges upon 3 things that you have going for you:

1. Based on the previous sections, you can reasonably predict the computer's
movements

2. Your objective is to destroy the computer command unit, thus taking the rest
of the computer's troops as your own, and the computer will let this happen

3. Barring very unusual circumstances, the computer command unit will be
cavalry, and thus have very weak defenses on non-plains squares

The general strategy is to force the command unit onto non-plains squares and
continually attack it until it is destroyed. Sounds simple, eh? It is easy to
execute once you know how the computer will move.

An important unit to have in this case is infantry. Archers do have some use on
the defense, but infantry are better. For example:

1
2 3
4 5 6
7 8
9

Assume squares 2 and 7 are mountains, the rest are plains. Your castle is on
square 6, where your command unit is located. You have an infantry unit on
square 8. The opposing command unit has just moved to square 4, and it is your
infantry unit's turn. Since infantry have the very powerful ambush command, you
want to set an ambush to attack the enemy unit. But where to put the ambush so
it will hurt the most? Since you know how the computer will move and attacks
on that unit hurt more when on the mountains, you place the ambush on square 9.
The computer's turn is next, and it moves to the mountains on square 7, and
suddenly you hit them with an ambush for big damage! Plus, since the computer
unit's turn ends after hitting an ambush, you get another turn to attack them
with the infantry before the computer can move, and again, you are hitting the
computer unit on the mountains.

Thus, the basic strategy becomes clear. Force the computer to hit your ambushes
on unfavorable terrain, and you will win easily.

Sometimes, though, you run into a situation where the opposing command unit has
fewer troops than your command unit, and thus, will not move on its first few
turns until your command unit has taken damage or all of the other computer
units have been destroyed. This generally happens when you have only 3 or 4
units (with a large proportion in your command unit) and the computer has 4 or
5 units and doesn't have a significantly larger force than you do. If the
computer originally starts the command unit on non-plains square, you can still
follow the above plan, except you have to move your units towards the command
unit and attack it while it just sits there. If the command unit starts on
plains square, a better plan is to use archers to weaken them first, and then
go for an all out assault.

If you are outnumbered 2 to 1 or more, and the computer has the 3 unit setup
(with 50% of the force in the command unit) this defense gets very tricky,
since a direct assault will not likely work, unless your skill level is much
higher than the computer's, or if you are facing a prince (since prince-led
armies generally don't fight as hard as when they are controlled by a lord). A
different tactic to take is to use the terrain to your advantage. The attacking
units take more damage from terrain than the defending units do, so if you can
force the opposing command unit to continually move on mountain or desert
tiles, it will weaken them considerably to the point where a direct assault
will work. Remember, the computer calculates its path for movement based on
move points, not terrain, so if the shortest path is through the desert, it
will take it, even if the next shortest path contains nothing but plains
squares.

This strategy is also essential if you are defending a country you are directly
controlling (as opposed to one you are occupying as the lord). Your hand-to-
hand fighting ability goes WAY down in these battles, despite whatever your
skill level may be. Archer's power with arrows in unaffected, so the best way
to take them down is by forcing them onto non-plains squares and shooting
arrows at them until the unit is dead. This strategy takes longer, but it is
still effective.

===============================================================
b. The Computer on the Defense
===============================================================

This is easier than the computer on the attack, since the computer will place
its units and they will stay there and wait for you to come to them. The
computer will place the command unit on the castle, unit 1 on the town, and any
remaining units on any available squares around the castle. Note that on some
maps (e.g., country 26) the town square is nowhere near the castle. Use this to
your advantage! The computer unit 1 will often spend a lot of time moving back
to the castle instead of attacking you, so if you are faster, you can get to
the castle before that unit does, giving you a temporary advantage.

Here is the turn progression for the computer (assuming the attacker is not
within range yet):

Command unit: The unit will wait, without exception.
Unit 1: If infantry, will set an ambush on a random square around it; if not
infantry and the town is not right next to the castle, it will move to an
unoccupied square next to the castle, following the previously established
rules for movement (down over up, left over right); if not infantry and the
town is right next to the castle, it will wait.
Units 2 through 9 (if present): If infantry, and the computer has enough skill
to set further ambushes, it will set an ambush on a random square, otherwise,
it will wait.

If you massively outnumber the enemy (I'm not sure of the exact ratio, but
let's say 8 to 1), the defending cavalry units will combine themselves with the
command unit and any infantry units will not set ambushes, regardless of skill
level.

When your units get closer, the units will start to perform as follows:

Command unit: If the computer command unit is the only unit left, is massively
outnumbered (rough estimate: 4 to 1), and your command unit is next to it, it
will demand a duel; if your command unit is not nearby, or if the computer
still has other units alive, or if it already has requested a duel before, it
will attempt to run away. Otherwise, it will wait.

Other units: If the command unit is still on the castle and not massively
outnumbered, the next unit will check around itself for your units. If your
command unit is on any square around it, it will attack your command unit,
regardless of troop levels. If your command unit is not next to it, it checks
for other units, but only in certain places. A diagram will help here:

1
2 3
4 5 6
7 8
9 10 11
12 13
14 15 16
17 18
19

10 is the castle, with the defending command unit on it. Unit 1 is on 12, and
it has the active turn. The attacking command unit is on 1, not threatening
anything, so it checks for other units, starting with the next lowest numbered
unit. If the attacking unit 1 is on 15, the defending unit 1 will attack it,
regardless of troop levels and the placement of any other units. If unit 1 is
on 14 (whether archers or not), the defending unit 1 will attack it. The
curious scenario is when the attacking unit 1 is on 9 or 17 (not directly in
position to attack the castle, but 1 square away. The defending unit 1 will not
attack units on those squares. If attacking unit 1 is on 9 and attacking unit 2
is on 7, defending unit 1 will attack 2, even though 1 is also nearby. This is
critical for effective attacking, since you need to know if the defending units
will attack you or not.

If the defending unit is an archer, it also has the option to shoot arrows,
however, it looks for units starting with the highest number and working its
way down to the command unit, and it will only shoot those units that are
threatening the castle.

After defending unit 1 goes, all other defending units take their turns,
behaving the same way as unit 1.

Now, assuming you get the battle to the point where the defense decides it's
time to hightail it out of there, the command unit will attempt to run away.
The fleeing pattern of the computer seems to be random, but generally it will
run to squares that are not threatened by the opposition. However, if its own
units block the path of retreat, the command unit will wait on its turn, and
the other units will try to get out of the way. Here's where you, as the
attacker, can carry out your attack in such a way that when the computer
decides to run away, it won't be able to do so.

===============================================================
c. Miscellaneous Battle Tips
===============================================================

- Always target the enemy command unit as much as possible. Only target other
units if absolutely necessary.

- Always leave sufficient troops in a country to defend it.

- If you are greatly outnumbered, don't panic. Use the terrain to whittle down
the opposing troops to a level where you can take them out.

- When on the attack, if you have archers, use them first. The arrows will
diminish the opposing castle defense without a loss of troops, making a direct
assault easier and less painful for you.

- If you are still unsure of the AI's movements, leave the Battle function ON
in the "Other" options menu, and watch the computer vs. computer battles.
You'll learn the AI patterns in no time.

- Watch the screen when an enemy unit goes into ambush. If the screen shifts
for a second in one direction and then resumes its movement, you can reasonably
tell where the unit is ambushing. Similarly, if you go to View/Unit and notice
that the defending army has decreased after an ambush has been set, the
ambushing unit must have set the ambush on a rugged terrain square and suffered
some terrain damage.

- When defending, note that the terrain damage is not as severe on you as it is
on the attacker. Use this to your advantage and watch the computer units damage
themselves down to a level where you can easily defeat them.

- This may seem odd, but don't put too many troops into one unit. I tried
putting the maximum of 9990 into one unit, and was quite surprised when the
unit was attacked by a much smaller unit and suffered quite heavy damage,
around 4500 troops worth (!). Try to spread out your troops into 3 or 4 units
if you have a large number of troops in a battle.

===============================================================
III. Credits and Disclaimer
===============================================================

This FAQ is copyright 2005-2009 by John Kearsley IV. This FAQ may be
distributed freely as long as it is not altered and I am credited for its
existence.

Thanks go to Brian Sulpher and everyone else on the FAQ Contributors board that
inspired me to expand my original Battle AI FAQ into a full-blown FAQ. Thanks
also go to Darkstar Ripclaw for his Walkthrough FAQ. In addition, thanks go to
GameFAQs.com and CJayC/SBAllen for hosting a great site. Keep up the good work!

===============================================================
IV. Version History
===============================================================

Version 1.0 - Original FAQ for the Battle section of the game only

Version 2.0 - Large update to include non-Battle sections of the game as well

Version 3.0 - Another big update to include various new information, including
country and item lists

Version 3.1 - Minor updates to some sections, including a re-do on the
explanation of movement patterns in battle and re-writing of some
sections for clarity