PvP Commanders and Troops

SHORT VERSION

For attack armies, t2 cavalry commanders lead t1 and t2 cavalry units. t2 infantry commanders lead t1 and t2 infantry units. For defense armies, t1 commanders (typically t1 cavalry) lead mixed armies of spears and bows. Sometimes an elf t2 bow Trueshot leads a super cheap attack army of t1 sentinels, or a t1 cavalry commander leads a very fast attack army of t1 cavalry.

LONG VERSION 

This article summarizes the basics of pairing a commander with a large-scale PvP army. Such armies are commonly used for tournaments, city defense, and siege warfare. This article specifically does not cover commander builds for hunting or elite divisions. Those are separate topics that will be covered in different articles.

Always remember: On attack, match. On defense, mix.


COMMANDERS

When people say "t1 is better at defense than t2", they mean commanders, not troops. t1 commanders are used for large-scale defense, and t2 commanders are used for large-scale attack.

On attack, t2 commanders are matched to your attacking army type. t2 cavalry leads cavalry; t2 infantry leads infantry; t2 bow leads bows. A t2 commander can level up an extra +5% to the army attack bonus, but only for troops that match the commander's type. For example, a Human Knight (t2 cavalry) commander can provide Charge: +15% to Cavalry Attack when leading a division of cavalry units. This cavalry-specific bonus would be meaningless if the Knight commander were leading infantry or bow troops.

On defense, your commanders are often a different troop type than your army. Defensive t1 commanders are matched to the expected enemy attack, not to your own troops. A t1 commander can level an extra +5% on a single division-wide defense skill. Each division bonus will increase your army's defensive resistance to a specific type of enemy attack. The division skills are different because their bonus applies to all defending troops in that commander's division, regardless of troop type. For example, it is very common to see a t1 cavalry commander with Square Formation: +15% to Defense vs Cavalry leading a large division of t2 spear units. The t1 cavalry commander multiplies the high cavalry defense stat of the t2 spears.

 t1 cavalry is by far the most common type of defensive t1 commander. Cavalry is the most common attack unit in Illyriad, so it always makes sense to boost anti-cavalry defense.

 
Attack Commanders and Troops

Commander	Skill	Troops	Notes
t2 cavalry	Charge	t1 or t2 cavalry	Standard cavalry attack army
t2 infantry	Bloodlust	t1 or t2 infantry	Standard infantry attack army.
t2 bow	Concentrated Fire	t1 or t2 bow	Standard bow attack army.

Defense Commanders and Troops

Commander	Skill	Troops	Notes
t1 cavalry	Square Formation	t1 and t2 spears	Classic anti-cavalry defense combination.
t1 bow	Tortoise Formation	t1 and t2 bows	Maximizes the high ranged defense of archers. Typically used as the bow defense component of a larger siege camp.
t1 sword	Interlocked Shields	t1 and t2 bows t2 and t2 spears	Used in forest and building battles where enemy infantry attacks are highly effective. Also used when the enemy favors dwarf stalwarts.
t1 sword	Interlocked Shields	t1 and t2 swords	Useful in forests, very powerful in buildings. Helpful against stalwarts. Typically used for the sword defense component of a larger siege camp.

EXCEPTIONS

There are two standard exceptions to the above guidelines.

Elvish sentinels (t1 bows) are medium attack power units that build quickly and are super cheap. They cost 1 beer and 1 bow. So elves often build attack armies with a Trueshot (t2 bow) commander with Concentrated Fire: +15% division bonus to bow unit attack, leading a huge swarm of t1 bow Sentinels. This is a very effective strategy because many units defend poorly against bows. An elf player can also switch the entire army from offense to defense simply by assigning a defensive t1 commander.

The other exception is fast t1 cavalry armies. If you put a slower t2 cavalry commander in charge of a very fast t1 cavalry army, the whole army's speed will be limited by the commander. To build a super fast cavalry army, both the commander and the troops must be t1 cavalry. The t1 cavalry commander will also have a maximum forced march stat to give the entire army a +50% boost in speed, and Charge +10%. In practice, most players will still use the t2 cavalry commander equipped with a light spear, extra light armor, and an elven thoroughbred. Although this will degrade the commander's Heroism bonus, their function is solely to provide the improved Charge +15% to a large army. Situations do exist where the small speed difference is more important than an extra 5% attack power, but these situations are very rare.

SUMMARY
 
You should now have a basic understanding of how to pair PvP commanders with PvP armies. Match on attack, mix on defense. t2 commanders for attack, t1 commanders for defense. Until next time, my fellow cannon fodders:

Misbehave. Kill lots of stuff.

<^^^^^^^^||==O    Skint Jagblade