Units

Units

There are many different classifications and styles of units, all of which are of crucial importance to a nation. In spite of their differences, there are a number of attributes and statistics all units share.

Overview

An example of each option is given by matching the number above to one of the numbers below.

1 Unit Traits	2 Unit Display	3 Equipped Weapons / Armor	4 Unit Name
5 Unit Stats	6 Unit History	7 Known Spells	8 Current Enchantments
9 Encumbrance	10 Unit Details Pane	11 Equipment Pane	12 Trade / Shop Window

Traits
The most defining characteristics of any unit are usually their Traits. Traits are special bonuses, stats and abilities that any unit can possess. They are visible both on the unit info pane and the unit details screen and are easily recognized by their unique icons. While any unit can have Traits, different traits are restricted to certain types of units and they can be gained in a variety of ways.

Unit Attributes
Beyond Traits, there are core attributes that every unit shares.

• Level - All units in the game can gain experience by defeating other units in combat. As they do they will eventually gain levels, increasing their combat effectiveness. While all units get more powerful as they level, some increase in strength much quicker than others.
• Race - The race of a unit is very important. All of the playable races in Fallen Enchantress have a Trait they confer to a unit, which can be viewed on the unit details screen. While the creatures of the world don’t get special Traits based on their race, it is still important to consider what race they are in certain situations. For instance, there are Traits that increase a unit’s combat effectiveness versus a specific race of monsters; recognizing these advantages can turn the tide in a battle.
• Wages - Wages are the amount of Gildar that must be payed to a unit every turn in order to retain its services. It should be noted that Sovereigns and creatures recruited from the wild are unique in that they do not require wages.
• History - Most units have a unique history chronicling their journey through the ages. This can be a great source for more of the lore and depth of the world.
• Moves - Moves represent the number of tiles a unit can move in a single turn, both in the strategic game world and in tactical combat. Some terrain is easier or harder to walk through than others. As a result, one may be able to move more or less spaces depending on where they are.
• Attack - Attack is the total damage a unit can do with a standard attack. Note that in combat the actual damage will be in a random range up to the maximum Attack and reduced by the enemy’s Defense.
  • Attack types - Beyond your total Attack, it is very important to consider the different types of attack that make up each strike. Hovering over a unit’s attack will give you a breakdown of the different types of damage that will be done. The icon for a unit’s Attack will change based on what its primary damage type is as a shortcut. Different types of attacks can be reduced by different means, so you will want to keep an eye out for favorable matchups.
• Defense - Defense is a measure of how much protection a unit has against all physical attacks. It’s important to understand that Defense is not flat damage reduction. While one will take less damage as its Defense increases, it will not always scale directly and instead depends on the Attack values of the opponent.
  • Defense types - Beyond the normal reductions Defense provides to all physical attacks, some units have further defense bonuses against specific types of attacks. When a unit has defense bonuses of this nature their Defense icon will glow green; to get about more information about their specific defensive breakdown one can hover over that unit’s Defense value. Units that have bonuses against blunt or cutting attacks will use their increased defense value when fighting units with those corresponding attack types. Magical damage types cannot be reduced by Defense.
• Hit Points - Hit Points are the measure of how much punishment a unit can take before dying. When damaged, a unit will heal a certain number of Hit Points every season up to its maximum value. As units gain more levels their Hit Points will increase.
• Initiative - Initiative dictates the speed at which units take actions in battle. The higher a unit’s Initiative, the more frequently it will act.
• Accuracy - Accuracy is the percentage chance a unit has to hit another unit with a physical attack in combat. Even if a unit has an accuracy over 100%, it could still miss occasionally because of its target’s Dodge value.
• Dodge - Dodge is the percentage change a unit has to completely evade a physical attack in combat. When a unit is attacked, the actual chance it will be hit is the attacking unit’s Accuracy minus the defending unit’s Dodge.
• Crit Chance - Critical chance is the percentage of the time a unit attacks that they will inflict a critical hit. Critical hits do double the damage of normal attacks. There are some ways to increase the damage of critical hits even further.
• Elemental Resistances - Units have a different resistance stat for each elemental damage type in the world. The amount of resistance a unit has to a specific damage type is a percentage reduction of all damage taken of that type. While Defense does not reduce elemental damage from standard attacks, the elemental resistances will still apply and reduce that damage.
• Spell Mastery - Spell Mastery functions as your accuracy with spells. While a number of spells hit no matter what, those that are marked as “resistible” must first make a spell attack roll in order to hit. In these cases, the casting unit’s Spell Mastery is the percentage chance that it will hit and reduced by the defending unit’s Spell Resist.
• Spell Resist - Spell Resist functions as dodge for spells. While a number of spells hit no matter what, those that are marked as “resistible” must first make a spell attack roll in order to hit. In these cases the defending unit’s Spell Resist is subtracted from the casting unit’s Spell Mastery to determine the chance a spell hits.
• Encumbrance - Encumbrance is a measure of how weighed down a unit is by the equipment it is wearing. Every unit has a maximum amount of weight they can equip at any given time, which can be increased with Traits. As units equip heavier gear they become more and more encumbered, giving them penalties to their Initiative values.
• Threat Level - Threat Level is a culmination of all of a unit’s other stats simplified into a basic descriptor of that unit’s combat ability. It takes into account spells and special abilities in addition to base statistics, and should be the first indicator of how dangerous a threat is. Threat levels are not always going to reliably tell the outcome of a potential battle.

Champions

Champions are the heroes of Elemental. They are each unique, with their own history, traits and appearance. They can be customized with different equipment and Traits as the game is played and they grow much more powerful as they level up. In order to recruit Champions, the player will have to find them in the world, move a unit next to them and agree to pay their requested recruitment fee.

Death
As long as one city is under the faction's control, Champions will not die when they fall in battle. Whereas a normal unit would die, they instead will suffer an injury in the form of a permanent negative trait. If the battle they fall in is lost, they will retreat to the nearest city and require multiple turns in order to recover and leave the city.

Equipment
Champions are unique from other units in that they can change their equipment at any time. They can acquire new equipment in a variety of ways including notable locations, shops, quests, and combat. These can be equipped via the Equip menu on the unit details screen in order to take advantage of their bonuses.

Level up traits
One of the most important distinctions between Champions and other units is the way in which they level. While most units simply gain statistical bonuses at each new level, Champions also get to select a new unique Trait every level. These traits will further specialize a Champion, providing them with special bonuses, spells, and abilities not available to other units.

• Paths - Paths are special Traits every Champion can choose when they hit level four that help define a specific role for that Champion. In addition to the large bonuses a Champion gets for picking the Path trait itself, the Path chose nwill allow different Traits to show up as options at later levels.
  • Path of the Assassin - A path specialized in dealing bursts of damage via critical hits and high accuracy. Assassins will not have access to increased weight capacities and thus be limited to lighter armors. They can make up for some of these failings with traits that increase their Dodge.
  • Path of the Defender - The path of the Defender will allow Champions to increase their survivability and that of other units they are grouped with. While there are few offensive traits in the Defender path, it is unparalleled in survivability and weight capacity. Defenders will be able to wear the heaviest of armor while protecting their allies from harm.
  • Path of the Governor - Governor is the path of choice for Champions looking to strengthen a faction's economy and improve cities. What Governors forgo in combat prowess, they make up for with city buffs and other income bonuses.
  • Path of the Mage - The path of the Mage is the ultimate choice for Champions looking to specialize in spell casting. What Mages give up in weight capacity and defense they more than make up for in magical power. If one has the mana and shards to support them, there is no better killing machine than a high level Mage Champion.
  • Path of the Warrior - Path of the Warrior provides a Champion with a balanced mix of offensive and defensive traits that boost their physical prowess. It will not provide the same level of survivability as path of the Defender or the offensive burst potential of the path of the Assassin, but will allow for a Champion in heavy armor with solid damage dealing ability.

Spells
Another huge feature that is unique to Champions is their ability to cast spells. Champions gain access to spells via unique traits when they level up. For every rank in a spell trait a Champion will unlock new spells for use in battle or the strategic game. Champions will never be able to pick entirely new spell traits, instead they can only advance those they start with. This is important to consider when deciding which of the Champions to specialize down a spell casting path.

Quests
Champions are special because they are required in order to undertake quests and claim notable locations. While a Champion is needed for these actions, they can still bring other units with them to help out in their adventure. As a result of this requirement, many quests and notable locations feature rewards specifically for Champions.

Sovereigns

The Sovereign is the leader of the nation. They are a special Champion that represents the faction's people in the world. Unlike Champions, Sovereigns do not suffer injuries when falling in battle, but they will still have to spend time recovering following lost battles. Should a Sovereign fall in battle while its faction has not city, it will be game over for that faction.

Trained Units

Trained units are the rank and file units that make up the armies of a nation. They are known as trained units because of the fact that they must be trained in a city, as opposed to Champions which are recruited in the wild. Because of this distinction, trained units are a much more consistent source of troops for armies, but they do have their drawbacks.

In general, trained units are not as strong as Champions, mainly due to reduced Hit Point and Accuracy values. They will not be able to change their equipment freely and are restricted to equipment that has been unlocked through technologies. Trained units do not gain new Traits when they level up. They are locked to the traits they have when trained. If they fall in battle, trained units suffer permanent death and are gone for good.

Group sizes
An easy way to differentiate trained units from Champions is that the majority of trained units are trained in groups. While an individual trained unit is almost never as strong as a Champion, a group of 3-7 of them may be. As the technology level increases there will unlocked larger group options for trained units. While groups of trained units are controlled as a single unit it is important to realize that they still actually are individual units in the group. For instance, when attacking, every troop in a group of trained units will make its own attack that is able to be dodged and reduced in damage by the defending unit. Conversely, as a group of trained units is damaged, the individual units in the group will be incapacitated one by one, reducing the damage potential of that group. When a group is healed those incapacitated troops will be able to rejoin the battle.

Trained Unit Traits
Much like Champions, traits are a key distinguishing factor for trained units. Unlike Champions, trained units do not receive traits when gaining levels making their traits on creation of the utmost importance. Trained units and Champions have completely different traits that enable them to function quite differently from one another.

Pre-Designed Units
As the player researches technologies that provide new weapons and armor it will also unlock new unit types that can be trained in cities. New unit types are essential to training better troops.

Special Unit types
Many factions have access to special types of trained units with different rules and bonuses. These units are often restricted to a single unit (rather than being trainable as a group), but they possess special abilities or traits that can provide them with extraordinary power.

Designing a Unit
The player can opt to design their own unit types. New units types are created in the “Design Units” tab of the govern screen. Here pre-existing units can be edited, new designs created, and even retire designs that are no longer need. As a bonus, any units designed will be available in all future games played once everything they require has been unlocked.

Weapons
When creating a custom unit type perhaps the most important choice to make is what weapon they will have. A specific weapon can be selected for a unit. In order to have a design that can grow along with the faction one may choose an “upgradable” weapon of a particular type. This will cause the design to create units with the best available weapon of that classification when they are trained. Note that this will not automatically upgrade units of this type if they have already been trained when unlocking a better weapon. In order to upgrade trained units in this case they will have to be selected in the world, manually select the “upgrade weapon” action in their action pane, and pay a fee.

Armor
What armor is chosen for a unit design can be every bit as important as their weapon. In the case of armor it is especially important to keep an eye on the unit’s Encumbrance. Heavier armor may require special Traits to wear in tandem with a heavy weapon. Much like weapons, if one would prefer to have more modular armor selections, they can choose to have the best available armor in a slot instead of a specific piece of armor. The same restrictions apply with armor for upgrading already trained units as weapons.

Equipment
Equipment is one of the ways that can further customize a particular unit design to distinguish them from other units with similar weapons or armor. Here one will find all sorts of accessories and mounts that can be outfitted on units. Keep in mind that a unit can have up to a maximum of four accessories equipped at a time.

Other
The “other” category is where one can customize the look of their unit design. Every unit trained of this type will look like this.

Trait Slots
Every unit design can possess up to four special Traits. Some Traits serve to boost a unit’s general performance, while others allow them to specialize themselves further. For instance, if one is looking to make a unit design that is heavily armored with a heavy weapon, they will probably need to supplement that design with Traits that increase its weight capacity.

Total Cost
All of these options for units come with trade-offs, specifically those of increased training costs. Every weapon, armor, equipment and Trait selected for a unit design comes with its own increase to training costs. Sometimes this is simply an increase in the amount of labor that unit will require. However, they can also include resources such as Crystal and Metal. Balancing the strength of trained units with available resources and production speeds is crucial to fielding the optimal army for a nation.