FAQ for Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns 

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First of all, I would like to thank Freezone, whose answers to these articles 
allowed 	me to correct them, and for the entire Outpost section. Also, I 
would like to 	present my deepest gratitude to the AI, for always being there 
for me, and 	for being a complete pain in the a** sometimes. 
	
This article isn't "12 steps to victory", it does not predict every actions and 
present 	a safe way to deal with it. What it does is present strategies 
that can be 	adjusted to many situations to give a good way to come out on 
top. 	Adaptability is the very base of those tactics, you will have to adapt 
them to 	your style of play, and not the other way around. It was made 
during the 	beta so some things might be out of date. 

COMBAT

BASICS

There are three basics: knowledge, anticipation and surprise. 
	Knowledge: Keeping an eye on the map is a good way to gain knowledge. It 
		represents the ability to know the terrain and make use of it.
	Anticipation: This is mostly used in game against the AI since it is very 
			predictable. It represents the ability to predict how the 
player 			will act and to prepare for it.
	Surprise: This is mostly used against real players, since they will 
hesitate 		more than the AI. It represents the ability to confuse a 
player 			and making him react to your attacks. 
	
These basics are applied differently for different situations, such as how to 	
	prepare the terrain, the offensive and defensive aspects of war, and also 
how 	to fight against the Ceyah, since they are very different compared to the 
	others. 

TERRAIN 

Knowledge: Know the map and what terrain represents the most useful modifiers. 
	Look for a place where a very defensive terrain borders a weak one to set 
up 	a defense.
Anticipation: Search where the enemy is most likely to come from (a pass, a 
direct 	line between your kingdoms). Set up companies to take advantage of the 
	terrain he will walk upon.
Surprise: Set him a trap in plains or deserts when you are from a strong 
location. 	Set it up far from your cities so that he will take time to 
realize what 	happens (he will anticipate a long march). 

OFFENSE

Knowledge: Know your enemy's territory and seek out weak points. Don't attack as 
	soon as you find him.
Anticipation: Look where his weakest or most important cities are. He will most 
	likely have all of his armies in one position to strike, so strike his 
support, 	where it will do the most damage. Try to avoid direct combat 
until you reach 	a favorable position.
Surprise: Don't attack in only one place, make him shift his troops everywhere. 
	Distract him will other companies capture his undefended cities. Make him 
	regret his decisions, he will be even more hesitant in the future. 

DEFENSE

Knowledge: Know your own territory and its weak and strong points. Prepare your 
	cities near the frontiers. Try to see what city your opponent first 
discovers.
Anticipation: Any player often try to attack the first city they find. If you 
know 	which one of them it is, you can prepare its defenses more than others. 
Shift 	some defensive troops in the nearest city (not all at this one, if he 
sees too 	much strength he'll back off).
Surprise: As soon as he engages your city, send your companies you kept nearby to 
	take out his support, than his main line companies, while the militia 
distracts 	him. With some luck he will break at very low cost for your own 
troops. 

AGAINST THE CEYAH

(The Ceyah being very different from the others, they deserve a special strategy 
to eliminate.)

Knowledge: The Ceyah units are normally weaker and slower than others, but they 
	have overwhelming numbers. You can easily take 2 or 3 units of 
	Zombies/Shadelings with only one. The dangers are the leaders, support 
	units and support companies.
Anticipate: Being so slow, you can usually see the Zombies coming from a mile. 
	They are not the main danger. Send some fast units (read cavalry) around 
	near the back of them, but DON'T engage them right now.
Surprise: As soon as the line units engage the expendable companies, move your 
	fast units to the rear to take out his mages/clerics/archers units. 
Without his 	main damage potential, his expendables are doomed. 

CONCLUSION

Here are some more concrete suggestions if you need them:

	-Keep 1 or 2 units of cavalry for defense.
	-Do some recon fast, knowledge of the map is important.
	-Exploit weaknesses in enemies


SETTLEMENTS AND OUTPOSTS

This is the second part of my tactics. It is about the cities and outposts, as 
well as 	the economy. The outpost section was possible due to the insight 
provided 	by Freezone.
 
BASICS 

Two concepts are important for constructing settlements: Emplacement and Use. 
	Emplacement: Where to place the settlement. 
	Use: The different uses of the settlements. 

CITIES 

Emplacement: Because losing a city can be a great blow on the economy, they 
	should be placed where they are difficult to reach and to spot. A great 
	desert, 	forest or jungle is a good place, since they slow down 
units. Also put them in 	hard to reach places so that the enemy has 
difficulties finding them. It 	would 	also mean that his choices will be 
limited as to how he will reach it. 
Use: There are two main uses for cities, although most cities often enter both 
	categories: Recruitment Centers and Resource Supplier.
	-Recruitment: This is a upgraded city or citadel. The buildings in it 
allow you 		to recruit most or all of your possible units. A single 
one will often do, 		but you might wish to have Ceyah and non-mareten 
settlements in 		this function, since their units are different. Losing 
such a city is a 		great blow, so make sure it is defended.
	-Resource: Most of your settlements will be used like this. They are the 
ones 		who provide you with the resources. They don't need to be 
upgraded 		much, usually only to town level. You won't recruit much 
from this 		town. The buildings will be quarries, woodmill, 
blacksmiths and some 		markets. They will be easier to capture than 
recruitment centers, but 		are also less important, since you will 
have more. 

OUTPOSTS 

Emplacement: The position of an outposts is very dependent of its use. They will 
be 	discussed for each uses. 
Use: There are many ways to use outposts, depending on the situation: Defense, 
	Information, Support or Resources.
	-Defense: Outposts are relatively easy to destroy, so you must not put 
them 		alone to protect a pass, they won't manage to do it. A good 
defensive 		outpost would be one that is close to a very important 
city, or other 		outposts, to help the militia and slow down the attacker.
	-Information: Outposts have a good view range. By putting them on plains 
		between your opponent's kingdom and yours, you can learn when an 
		attack is coming. Also, if they are near your enemy, they can be 
used 		for support too.
	-Support: Those outposts are used to support your army when attacking the 
		enemy. This one is best placed in a hidden location, since your 
enemy 		will try to destroy it. They will create a supply zone where your 
			companies will be able to regroup and regain strength 
without going 		all the way back to your cities.
	-Resources: This one is easy. When you find a mine, put an outpost near 
it 		to mine it. Be sure to protect it with troops if it is close to 
the enemy. 
	-Warning: Since they cost less and don't switch sides when attacked, 	
		outposts are less dangerous to use than towns. With their low 	
		maintenance, money does not seem to be a problem. In the 	
		beginning or middle game however, their cost of 50 gold isn't 
cheap. 		With that money you could recruit more companies, settle towns or 
		upgrade cities. They are very useful, but they can't win the war. 

ECONOMY
 
At the beginning, money will be the greatest problem, since +5 isn't that much. 
When 	you build or conquer new settlements, be sure to construct banks, to 
bring in 	a greater cash flow. When you reach +60 or +80, the time has come 
to start 	thinking about full war. With gold, you can afford to lose some 
units. Also 	make sure that most resources stay above 0 at this time. Don't 
forget to 	recruit some companies too, you will need them for defense. 
When your forces have fought some battles, it is time to think about those 
	resources. You will need them to build your unstoppable army and maintain 
	it. You can probably accept some negatives in the resources, but always 
	keep an eye on the gold: should it fall below +30, things are not going 
well; 	make sure it does not happen, or stay there long (that usually means an 
	attack at this point, losing some units will reduce maintenance) . 
At the end, economy will most likely not be a problem. +200 gold or higher are 
	likely, 	if you are winning. At this point you do not need my 
help. Just find the enemy 	and destroy him. If you are losing though, there 
is a good chance 		you can't do anything about it at this point. Try 
recruiting all you can, no 	matter how much gold is dropping. If you can win 
some towns back, make 	sure to balance your 	budget. 

COMPANIES

This is the third article. In it are my strategies for the design and use of 
different 	types of unites. 

BASICS 

There are four main types of companies: infantry, archer, cavalry and 
specialists. The 	specialists' roles are obvious and will not be included 
in this text. I will talk 	about each type's strength, design and use in 
their own section. 
My general philosophy for the design and use of the companies is this: I add 
	support units that help the company's strength, and not units that 
	complement their weaknesses. This create companies that are more 
	specialize and which need support from other to be truly effective. It 
may be 	different for your own tactics, but they work with mine. 

INFANTRY 

Strength: Infantry companies are good in melee and defense. They make good line 
	units to engage the enemy in his front line. 
Design: The best units to put with infantry are the clerics and priests. Most can 
cure 	and/or boost their company's stats. Making them more resilient is a great 
	concern, since they do most of the fighting. Generally, any unit making 
their 	enemy rout faster, or yours less likely to do that, is a nice addition. 
Mages 	are not very good to have on the front though, they get killed too fast, 
so I 	leave most of them out. Paladins can be useful, especially when playing 
	against Ceyah players, because they have a good attack value. 
Use: They are the ones who will make most of your army and the ones who will 
	most often do the actual fighting. They will be the one who defend your 
base 	or take cities in your name. They will also suffer the greatest 
casualties. Try 	to keep them alive. 

ARCHERS 

Strength: Archers are good support companies for your infantry. They usually do 
	more damage than infantry. They will be far from the melee. They can hit 
	almost anything, if close enough. Sending them in melee is suicide: they 
	can't take a good hit. 
Design: In this case, most clerics are useless, except if they have some direct 
	effects 	on the enemy. If they need a cure, something is going 
wrong, and you need to 	back off. Mages are best used here. They do some good 
damage from afar and 	are better protected if they never engage the enemy. 
Rangers could be a 	good investment too, as they could allow a safer retreat 
if the company is 	engaged in close combat. 
Use: Archers are support companies for infantry companies. If they are kept away 
	from melee they can do good damage and possibly cover your retreating 
	companies or eliminate his. If they are ever engaged in melee, retreat. 
They 	are useless in this situation. Better to keep them alive to fight another 
day. 

CAVALRY 

Strength: Speed. That is their main advantage, but also their greatest weakness: 
it 	limits their design choices. 
Design: The only support unit that I give them is the ranger. They add to the 
	company's speed by their trailblazing ability. As they are also as fast 
as 	cavalry, they don't slow them down. The other support units don't have 
	enough movement value, they will slow the company down and destroy their 
	greatest strength. Better use them for infantry or archer companies. 
Use: They are many uses for them. At the beginning, their speed allow them to 
	scout around with great ease. In defense, they form a fast reaction 
force: 	they can reach most cities in time to help in their defense. In offense, 
they 	can distance most enemy units and strike where he is most vulnerable. In 
	combat, they can move in from the back to destroy his support 
	units/companies. There are two important things to remember when using 
	them: keep them back until they are truly needed and they need some 
	space 	to maneuver. If they are well used, they can become the factor 
needed to win 	a battle or even the game. 


CEYAH

Serving the Dark Master is very different than fighting him. That is why I have 
	dedicated an entire article for those who want to follow the dark path. 
This is 	meant to be used as a complement for the other subjects: most of 
what is 	written there can be used for Ceyah too. Included in here are 
concepts that 	are unique to Ceyah, separeted in these sections: Basics, Company 
Design, 	Regiment Design, Combat, Beginning and Economy. 

BASICS 

As the Ceyah, you will notice that your main units are weaker and slower than 
	those 	of the other factions. They, however, have three useful 
advantages. The 	first one is that most of their units won't rout. The 
greatest one is that 	some of their units require no maintenance. The last one, 
and decisive one, is 	that their support units are more powerful than the other 
factions'.

Alone, those advantages are useful, but nothing is really game winning. Together, 
	they can be truly frigthening. No maintenance = more companies = more 
	support units. Not only that but since they don't break often, the enemy 
	have to go througth every melee units before reaching the support. 

COMPANY DESIGN 

There are two kinds of main units for the Ceyah: expendable and shock. You have 
	to reach a balance between these two types. Too much expendables mean a 
	weak military. The opposite means a less numerous one.
Expendable: Those are the Zombies and shadelings. As they don't require 
	maintenance, you can have as many as you want at the same time. Give 
	them some support units since they usually can't win by themselves. 
	However, at the beginning, you may leave support at home: they require 
too 	much gold. Afterwards, you can always disband supportless companies to 
	recruit them with support.
Shock: Those are the units who require maintenance: skeletons and beasts. They 
	are stronger, but you can't have as much. Always give them the support 
	units as they will most usually survive longer. 

REGIMENT DESIGN 

A regiment, if you don't know, is a group of 2-6 companies. Always make them the 
	same speed: you don't want some to reach the enemy before others. I have 
	three kinds: Zombies, Skeletons and Reaction.
Zombies: This is a group of (surprise!) zombies. They are very slow and will need 
	support. I recommand wraiths: they are very strong, won't slow down the 
	zombies and require less mana than others.
Skeletons: Composed of skeletons and bone bows, they are faster than zombies, 
	stronger and extremly resistant to archers. However, they require 
	maintenance and will be less numerous than zombies. Most support units 
	will work in companies here, except the wraith, since he will slow them 
down. 	If you want to put bone bows in zombies regiment, give them one.
Reaction: These regiments are the (relatively) fast one. Composed of shadelings 
	and shadow/void beasts, they will go twice as fast as the zombies. The 
only 	support unit you might put in them is the shadow demon, the others will 
	slow them, but I don't recommand it. Only one shadow demon will double 
the 	cost of the company, and they aren't worth that much. Also watch for the 
	number of beasts: they use mana that could possibly be better used for 
	support.
 
COMBAT 

There is one great principle for using Ceyah in combat: DON'T BE FLANKED. If you 
	are, you will lose your support and, without support, winning will be 
difficult. 	Keep some companies, preferably supportless expendables, 
unengaged, along 	the flanks of your main army to occupy possible flankers. 
You can afford to 	lose those companies.
In offense, make sure you outnumber his troops. You may want to keep some 
	companies back home for defense: your zombies will never reach anything 
in 	time. 
In defense, remember to use the terrain: you might double the defense of some 
	units. Making them live longer give more time for support to finish the 
	enemy. 

ECONOMY 

There are three resources that are critical to the Ceyah's war effort. The other 
	resources are little used: often by only one unit.
Mana: All those support units, even the shadow/void beasts, require mana. It 
	doesn't come cheap, but there is a greater possibility of mana extraction 
by 	Ceyah 	town: they can give up to 14 mana (Mage College, Temple and Mana 
	Forge). Never have a deficit in mana: it costs 5 gold for each minus. You 
	may want to trade mines for khaldunite fields/spires in team games.
Money: To recruit all the companies you need you need much money. Not for the 
	main units, but for the support units. Remember, mana doesn't come cheap. 
	An intersting twist of the Ceyah is that you might wish to use the bazaar 
	instead of the bank: you won't need much of the three basic resources.
Maximum number of companies: This is often overlooked for other factions. Without 
	maintenance for some units you may want to raise the limit. There are 
only 	two ways to do it: get more cities or upgrade them. But also don't forget 
	this: always try to reach it your maximum. 

BEGINNING 

Ceyah needs time to expand to be really effective. The beginning of the game is a 
critical 	time for them, moreso than other factions. They are very slow at 
first. This part will 	contradict the rest of the text, but the most important 
thing to remember in the 	beginning is that, since you don't have enough 
money for support, leave them at 	home. 	You only need them once you 
establish first contact with the enemy. This is 	especially true in a low 
starting gold game. 
Early, you will need 3 companies: 1 shadowlings to scout around, and 2 to conquer 
cities 	(one is not enough for Ceyah). I personally prefer to use a full company 
of 	skeletons and a company of 4 bone bows. I upgrade my city early and put 
in a 	carpenter guild first, a bank and a blacksmith. I also awaken my Kohan 
since he 	will be very useful to fight independents and I still have some 
money. In all new 	settlements, I put in a bank. Believe my experience, you 
will need that gold soon 	enough. 
However, as soon as you capture a city from a different faction, you can use it 
to recruit 	standard units. It is easier than to use only Ceyah units 
earlier. A mixed army from 	those two factions can be extremly powerful later 
in the game too. Or you can just use 	the other's strong company as support for 
your own companies. The choice is yours.

CONCLUSION 

Ceyah is very different from other factions and here are some things to remember 
	when playing them: 
	-Use other factions/races city to complement your Ceyah companies with 	
	more conventional companies.
	-Your stength lies in your support units, not in your main units.
	-Always try to max out your maximum number of companies.
	-Balance your weak units with strong ones.
	-Don't slow down your companies too much by having slower support. If you 
		play Ceyah, you need all the speed you can have.

MISCELLANEOUS

This will be the last one I write, and perhaps the one with the least precise 
tactics. 	In here are concepts that don't fit the rest of the articles. 

It will be separated in four sections: Teams, Experience and Tips. 

TEAMS 

There are some important concepts to remember when playing in teams: positions, 
	recon and how to help each other. 
Positions: Your position at the beginning of the game, in relation of those of 
	teammates', will determine much of your tactics. If you are close 
together, 	defense will be easier, but the recon aspect will suffer since 
you will have to 	travel more distance to find new things. If you are 
isolated, recon will be 	easier, but don't expect much direct help. Also, 
if you are isolated, your 	reaction might be to make contact with the others 
as soon as possible. That 	is a mistake early on, as it will most often 
leave you very vulnerable with a 	large territory. Play more defensively: 
destroy the enemy's companies before 	attacking his towns. Your teammates won't 
be there to help you, so don't 	make mistakes. 
 Recon: Recon becomes even more crucial in team games. You don't have to find 
	only one opponent, you have to find his friends too. If you fail to do 
that, 	you open yourself to surprise attacks. Also, lairs become even more 
	important. They may include techs, and these are given to your teammates 
	as well. Finding them before your opponents can give you a great edge, 
and 	the more people in your team, the greater the benefits are when finding 
one. 
How to help: In team games, your survival depends on how well you and your allies 
	work together. There are many ways to help each other in a crisis, I 
organize 	them in 4 categories: companies, money, resources and 
counterattack.
	-Companies: If your companies are close to his towns, they can assist in 
their 		defense . If he attacks, sending them in with his army could 
assure 		the complete annihilation of your common enemy. Watch out for 
this 		tactic though, it makes your own territory vulnerable to 	
			counterattacks.
	-Money: If he needs money, or if you don't know what to do with your 	
		money, send him a tribute. This is an indirect way to help, if 
you can't 		reach him in time. I personally recommend sending much to 
a Ceyah 		player: he only needs money to recruit all his companies, 
as their 		maintenance is not a problem, and he may lose many.
	-Resources: For other factions, it might be a good idea to send your 
friends 		mines or cities. This should not be done in an emergency, 
for it is of 		no use at that moment. This action will help him recruit 
other 			companies. Only do this if you don't need those resources 
however. 		You might want to send a settlement to your ally if he is 
dying. 			Changing cities from different factions/races allows 
diversity in your 		army by giving you access to new units.
	-Counterattack: This is hard to pull off and should not be done lightly. 
It has 		the possibility to win the game, but, if badly done, can result 
in a 		great setback. It consists in attacking the cities of an opponent 
who 		fight against one of your teammate. By losing too many cities, it 
will 		cripple him and possibly break his assault when he looses all of 
his 		gold. But remember, I warned you: this is the hardest tactic to 
pull 		off. Make sure your ally can take his opponent before trying 
this. 

EXPERIENCE
 
(This most likely won't apply to the Ceyah since they need many companies and 
	tend to lose them fast.) 

The fact that your companies can improve with experience is one of the most 
	important features of Kohan. An elite unite can take most of all the 
other 	units, no matter what they are made of. For example, I had a unit of 
Gauri 	Anvils who had reached elite level. Without support, they destroyed 
	everything thrown at them. The only time they broke was after 5 minutes 
of 	continuous combat against an army 4 times their size. My two companies of 
	elite guards did not do as much. 
Take care of your companies. Don't throw them in desperate fights. It is better 
to 	retreat than lose experienced fighters, although I have no problem 
	sacrificing recruits if need be. In the long run, they will do far much 
damage 	by staying alive. Also, as long as something is left in a company, it 
does not 	cost a thing to replenish
Gaining experience. Having fewer companies help them gain experience faster. 
	Destroy all the monsters and lairs you find. All the resources you'll 
save will 	help you upgrade your cities. Of course, nothing stops you from 
recruiting, 	but 1 elite and 2 recruits are better than 3 regulars. 

TIPS 

This category is for tips that do not have a definite category to be placed in. 
They 	are not game winning, but are useful. 

	-Use the Zone of Population to find cities and prevent them from spotting 
		you.
	-Pick your fights, don't throw away everything in a poorly planned 
offensive.
	-Non-mareten units are stronger than maretens for the same maintenance.
	-Never let your enemy know your full strength.
	-Companies rout to their nearest supply point, follow them.
	-If a city is about to fall, sell everything in it, better have money 
than leave 		him a fully built town.
	-If you can't defend a city you have just captured, raze it. He will try 
to take 		it back ASAP.
	-Just have a good time: this is a game. 

Well that's it. That's the end of my tactics. Thanks for everyone who has read 
them. 	See you all in the game.
