Total War: PHARAOH – Complete Combat Guide

Combat is one of the aspects of the Total War series that has been severely improved in PHARAOH. There is a lot of versatility in combat in the latest installment of the series due to various mechanics that impact different elements of the battle. Players must learn all the mechanics after combat to help increase their chances of overtaking the enemies on the battlefield.

In this guide, we’ll be telling you everything you need to know about combat and how to win battles in Total War: PHARAOH.

Combat Guide for Total War: PHARAOH

Basic Key Controls for Combat

Before we get to the major mechanics of combat, you must learn all the basic key controls for controlling your troops on the battlefield.

1. Grouping

Grouping units is a basic but important skill in battles. To do it, you select the units you want to group. You can pick several units at once by holding down the shift key and clicking on them. After selecting, click the icon at the top of the screen that looks like three glaives pointing upwards.

Grouping helps you organize your army into smaller parts. Even if your soldiers are far apart at the start, grouping lets you control different parts of your army easily. This means you don’t have to control each soldier separately, which is helpful in big battles with many enemies.

2. Formation

Formations are managed using the crossed swords icon at the end of the unit menu bar. You can arrange units in either a ranged or melee setup. The choice depends on where the enemy is, the possibility of a flank attack, and your strategic plans for unit positioning. Both formations have their uses based on these factors.

3. Stance

You can alter a unit’s stance using the shield icon. This choice keeps the unit in position and prevents them from chasing fleeing enemies, especially useful for defensive strategies. Additionally, there’s a bow symbol next to it for ranged units. This controls whether the ranged units maintain a distance from enemies, retreating if they get too close.

Key Mechanics of Combat

We will be going through each important mechanic that heavily impacts combat and turns the tides in favor of you to win the battles. 

1. Morale

In a battle, morale determines who wins. At the start, a bar shows how confident each side is. During the fight, morale can change based on many factors, like how tired the soldiers are and the weather. If one side’s morale drops to zero, they lose. Things like soldiers getting hurt can make their team retreat for a while. It’s crucial to watch your leaders too; if their group runs away or is destroyed, your side’s morale goes down a lot.

2. Exhaustion

As the battle goes on, soldiers get tired. Moving and fighting make them even more tired, especially in challenging conditions like hot weather. The more tired they are, the less effective they become, and their morale drops faster. To deal with this, it’s important to rotate soldiers out of the front lines so they can rest, make sure they start the battle well-rested and try to finish the battles quickly.

3. Weather

Weather conditions can greatly affect a battle, so it’s crucial to consider them. When starting a battle, you can wait twice before engaging. If the weather is severe, waiting might be wise. However, be cautious as forecasted weather can influence the battle if it drags on.

Consider how the weather can work in your favor. For instance, sweltering heat could tire out enemies during a siege defense. Alternatively, if you’re attacking a fortified position, using a melee-heavy force might be advantageous against bows and slingshots during a thunderstorm.

The weather that you will encounter randomly at the start of every battle is the following.

• Sandstorms: These significantly reduce unit movement, range, line of sight, and attack abilities.
• Thunderstorms: They decrease the range, rate of fire, and attack power of ranged units.
• Sweltering Heat: This weather quickly exhausts fighting units.
• Normal Weather: No buffs or debuffs apply in this condition.

4. Terrain

The kind of ground your troops are on can impact their performance. In places like water or mud, units, especially heavy cavalry, move much slower. Mud, in particular, weakens both defense and offense. Try to steer clear of bad terrain whenever you can, or pass through safely when enemies are too far away to intercept. It’s a smart strategy to lure enemies onto such terrain to gain an advantage.

5. Elevation

Terrain elevation plays a crucial role in battles. Units positioned higher up, especially ranged ones, have a significant advantage as they can aim more accurately. Conversely, fighting uphill puts you at a disadvantage. Whenever you can, aim to secure the higher ground as it often leads to a stronger position in battle.

Tips for Winning Battles

You can use the key controls and key mechanics to your advantage to help your army stand victorious in battles.

1. Deployment Phase

Before every battle starts, you get a deployment phase. During this time, everything is paused, so your soldiers can’t move, but you can organize them as you like. To do this, choose a unit, then click on the ground inside the yellow area where they can be placed. You can also adjust their starting formation and which way they’re facing by clicking, holding, and dragging.

While you’re setting up, it’s a good idea to look at the battlefield. Check out the paths, high and low places, hiding spots, narrow areas, and natural defenses. Think carefully about the best way to move forward. If you can figure out where the enemy is before the battle starts, planning can help you find special opportunities to use their weaknesses to your advantage.

2. Correct Units V Correct Units

Army consists of three different compositions containing various unit types in each composition. While ordering a certain unit to charge against an enemy unit, check the opponent’s unit whether they are powerful or weak against the unit that you are sending. Choosing the weak unit against the strong unit can severely knock down Morale so, manage the units accordingly throughout the battle.

3. Flanking

Flanking means attacking the enemy from the sides or behind. If you do it successfully, it can make a big difference. The enemy has to defend themselves from many directions, making it hard for them to fight back. In Total War Pharaoh, using flanking tactics a lot can help you win battles.

To do this, you can right-click a unit and move it to a certain spot on the ground. However, it might not work well if you’re moving a lot of soldiers together. If you’re careful and control your soldiers individually, you can move in quickly and position your soldiers next to or behind the enemy. Planning before a battle is also a great way to attack the enemy from the sides and weaken their army.

4. Reinforcement

You can bring in extra help during a battle, but you have to set it up before the fight starts. If you have another army nearby and it’s close to the enemy (you’ll see a glowing circle around them), that army can join the battle too. This is super helpful, especially in sieges or ambushes, because having more soldiers gives you a big advantage.

The cool part is, that you can’t choose exactly where they come in, but they usually appear in a spot that’s tricky for the enemy. This means you can attack from different directions, making it easier to win battles in Total War Pharaoh. So, if you get the chance, use reinforcements to help you win more battles!

One last thing that might help you in future fights is using the Auto-battle feature when you are sure that your army is bigger than your opponent’s. It’ll save you a lot of time.