First Ten Turns - The Empire (Reikland)

This guide is designed to show players, new and old alike, how to utilize the first 10 turns of a campaign to set yourself up for a successful legendary campaign as none other than the Prince and Emperor Karl Franz himself, leading his Empire faction of Reikland.

Disclaimer

**As the sole creator and content producer for this guide, and others in the First Ten Turn series,
I DO NOT authorize the copying, redistribution or republishing of this guide or any other guides in the series outside of steam**

While imitation is the greatest form of flattery, plagiarism and profiteering are not. I have spent a lot of time and effort creating this series of guides to help other players learn the game. I aim to keep the guides as up too date to the current state of the game as possible and have found other websites publishing versions of my guide, sometimes crediting me often not. If you happen to find a version of any of my guides published outside of steam, please let me know.


Foreword
This guide is intended to provide a step-by-step outline of the first 10 turns for the Empire faction Reikland playing as Karl Franz in the Mortal Empires campaign on Legendary campaign and Normal battle difficulty.

This guide has been designed to show the best way that I personally have found to start the campaign. While every campaign is different, the first ten turns can be manipulated to produce the same results. To ensure the outcome of this guide I have tested the strategies a minimum of 3 separate campaigns.

I chose to write the guide playing with these difficulties both because they are my personal preference to play on balance wise (I find the extra hidden bonuses in battle on Very Hard difficulty make a lot of units obsolete) and to make it easier for newer players who have yet to take the leap to legendary where battles are played in real time without slow or pause. Hopefully with the help of this guide players can become more familiar playing battles in real time without pause and increase their level of battle micromanagement.

This guide is not an in-depth breakdown on the Empire faction or it's late game campaign and battle strategies, however I have including tips and advice for the continuation of your campaign at the end of the guide.

Enough preamble lets get stuck in.

Before We Begin

An extra small disclaimer.
Compared to my other guides Reikland has quite the deviant start. A few key things can change early on due to being surrounded by so many factions. I have done my best to describe the different outcomes and when they are likely to occur, as well as what you can do if such outcomes do occur. The later parts of this guide can still be followed if you encounter a setback. I have played around 20 starts making this guide to make it as comprehensive as possible. I hope you enjoy!


Legendary difficulty
The two biggest changes to legendary difficulty are not being able to manually save the game and the inability to pause/slow in battles. The campaign is saved before and after battles and at the start of a new turn, however it is not saved for army movement that does not initiate a battle, or hero movement and actions. Building and technology research options also do not trigger a game save.

For those unaware the main differences in Legendary effects for this campaign;
*+15% Supply Line Upkeep
- We want our armies to be as cost effective as possible as we will have multiple supply line penalties.
*-8 Public Order
- Lots of rebellions until corruption is stabilized and public order building are built.

A full list of changes can be found here https://imgur.com/a/1RD1JhB

A note about Line of Sight
Not a lot of people know that the recent Line of Sight changes are linked to a provinces Public Order. This means that farming rebellions isn't as straight forward as it used to be, especially in larger provinces. It can be quite beneficial to quickly stabilise Public Order in order to have full Line of Sight over your Province.

Faction Effects
* Diplomatic relations: +10 with Empire
- A nice little bonus, it will help with Diplomacy especially when stacked with technology boosts.
* Lord recruit rank: +2
- Being able to recruit a Lord on Turn 1 at lvl 3 is a nice boost early on and remains relevant throughout the campaign
* Campaign movement range: +10%
- Campaign movement bonuses are always good, being able to march that little bit further is the difference between catching an enemy army or not.
* Upkeep: -15% for Reiksguard and Greatswords units
- Upkeep reductions are always welcome and these two units are staples in the Empire roster. Reiksguard are an amazing unit available early and stay relevant throughout the campaign. Greatsword units being the AP melee unit in the empire roster.

Lord effects
* Leadership: +8 (Lord's army)
- +8 Leadership is quite the buff and could mean the difference between a full army rout or a Pyrrhic Victory.

Additional Units
* Halberdiers
- Armour-Piercing, Anti-Large, Charge Defence Against All. What more is there to say, these guys are a solid "Hold the Line" unit with only one major weakness, ranged fire. They make a good bodyguard for Franz fighting enemy Lords in the early game.
* Handgunners
- Armour-Piercing Missiles. Excellent for putting some early damage on enemy Lords before an engagement and when flanking provide massive damage potential.
* Reiksguard
- Armoured & Shielded, Anti-Infantry. The hammer to the anvil tactics, a superb unit to take out enemy ranged units and rear charge the melee. They can be a little slow to maneuver however with such a high charge bonus when they hit, they hit like the Heldenhammer itself.

Abbreviations and Terminology
NAP - Non-Aggression Pact
TA - Trade Agreement
MA - Military Access
Region - An area of land controlled by a single Settlement
Province - A group of Regions combined with one Provincial Capital settlement and 1-4 minor settlements, when completely owned will allow a Commandment to be issued.
Construction Priorities - The order you should construct buildings, if you can't afford to build them all it's no problem. Sometimes you won't get enough Post-Battle Loot.

Now lets take a look at the beginning of the campaign.



Karl Franz starts off with only Altdorf in his possession and the remainder of the province, as well as the Fort Helmgart in the hands of the Secessionists. He is also at war with the nearby Greenskin tribe the Skullsmasherz who will be a thorn in his side for some time, as well as the Beastmen who usually don't make it to his area before meeting their demise.

The Secessionists have two armies nearby, one near Grunburg and one near Ubersreik. It is possible to draw these two armies out at once and leave the settlements with only the garrisons which the course of action this guide takes.

Of the neighboring Empire factions, relations with Nuln and Middenland are strained while Talabecland and The Golden Order are supporters of Franz. To the West lies Marienburg, an Empire faction that is exempt from the Elector Count mechanisms so is best taken out of the picture early and over the mountains is the land of Bretonnia. The Bretonnian minor factions are generally good trade partners with Couronne making a strong ally.

In the mountains separating Bretonnia from the Empire is the settlement Grung Zint owned by the Skullsmasherz which is usually razed or occupied by Marienburg or Couronne early, Heinrich Kemmler in Blackstone Post who will start spreading corruption through osmosis if left unchecked and finally the Dwarf faction of Karak Ziflin who are an angry bunch that really destabilize the region. The mountains further south are home to Skarsnik who sometimes beats Wissenland sometimes not, and Karak Norn a good future trade partner.

Their is also a minor Greenskin tribe the Leaf-Cutterz to the north who have a back and forth struggle with Middenland and they are generally keep each other occupied.

Campaign in a Nutshell

Turn 1

• Move Karl Franz to the border near Ubersreik
  
• Recruit a Second Lord
  
• Garrison Second Lord in Altdorf
  - Recruit Sowrdsmen x2, Archers x1
  
• Diplomacy
  - Talabecland - NAP, TA
  - The Golden Order - NAP +300 gold
  - Couronne - TA, MA
  - Karaz-a-Karak - MA
  - Kislev - TA, MA, +900 gold
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Altdorf - Upgrade Province Capital
  
• Research
  - Tithe Rebates
  
• End Turn - Secessionists will attack with two armies, rout the reinforcing army first.

Turn 2

• Unassign Research (Do this at the start of every turn for a chance to gain a "Student" follower)
  
• Second Lord to attack and Occupy Grunburg
  
• Karl Franz to attack Hans Frankenwurter (Rout the reinforcing army first again)
  
• Karl Franz to attack and Occupy Ubersreik
  - Recruit Archers x3
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Altdorf - Demolish Training Field
  
• Reassign Research
  
• End Turn

Turn 3

• Teleport Karl to Quest "Battle of Bloodpine Woods"
  
• Karl Franz to attack and Occupy Eilhart
  - Recruit - Swordsmen x2, Archers x1
  
• Second Lord to Force March to Ubersreik
  
• Wizard to move to Ubersreik
  
• Transfer Dragon Tooth (The Reikland Runefang) to your second Lord
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Altdorf - Fields
  
• End Turn

Turn 4

• Second Lord to attack and encircle Helmgart
  
• Force March Karl Franz down and transfer his army to your second Lord
  
• Embed your wizard into Karl Franz's army
  
• Attack and occupy Hemlgart
  
• Move your wizard out of Karl Franz's army toward the Skullsmashers settlement Massif Orcal.
  
• Franz to Force March towards Eilhart
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Altdorf - Upgrade Fields, Build Weaving House and Clay Pit
  - Eilhart - Upgrade Settlement
  
• End Turn - Secessionists will attack due to owning no settlements.

Turn 5

• Break siege at Altdorf
  
• Second Lord to Force march to Eilhart
  
• Karl Franz to move to Marienburg border
  - Recruit 3x Archers
  
• Wizard to move towards Massif Orcal
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Grunburg - Upgrade Settlement
  
• End Turn

Turn 6

• Wizard to move and scout Massif Orcal
  
• Second Lord to besiege Marienburg
  
• Karl Franz to move to support where needed (potentially Helmgart to counter Greenskins)
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Ubersreik - Settlement Upgrade
  
• Research
  - Local Militia
  
• End Turn

Turn 7

• Second Lord to attack and Occupy Marienburg
  
• Assign second Lord to Elector Count of Marienburg
  
• Karl Franz to recruit Elector unit "The Bordermen"
  
• Karl Franz to move where needed
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Marienburg - Demolish building in second slot
  - Helmgart - Fort Upgrade (If funds permit)
  
• End Turn - Skullsmasherz may attack Helmgart

Turn 8

• Second Lord to attack and Occupy Fort Bergbres
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Helmgart - Upgrade Fort (If not already started)
  - Marienburg - Basic Walls
  - Eilhart - Guard House
  - Grunburg - Guard House
  - Altdorf - Upgrade Clay Pit (If funds permit)
  
• Ensure 3,200 gold next turn
  
• End Turn

Turn 9

• Second Lord move to Marienburg to stabilise
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Altdorf - Upgrade Province Capital
  - Ubersreik - Guard House
  
• Ensure 1,600 gold next turn
  
• End Turn

Turn 10

• Karl Franz to move to Ubersreik, this will allow future reinforcement of all minor settlements.
  
• Construction Priorities
  - Fort Bergbes - Upgrade Fort
  
• End Turn

First Turn

Turn 1 involves quite a bit of Diplomacy and preparation for the battles to be fought the next turn.

Move Karl Franz towards Ubersreik staying within friendly borders

Recruit a second Lord and garrison him in Altdorf
- Recruit - Swordsmen x2 Archers x1.
- Skillpoint - Route Marcher and Inspiring Presence

*Note: it is your preference on what Lord type to recruit, all are viable. I tend to lean towards Huntsman or Arch Lectors due to their unique skills and Franz being a melee specialist. Getting a Lord with the "Noble" Trait (-25% Construction time, +10% local income) will make the most difference to the early game*

Diplomacy
Talabecland - NAP, TA
The Golden Order - NAP +300 gold
Couronne - TA, MA
Karaz-a-Karak - MA
Kislev - TA, MA, +900 gold


Construction Priorities
Altdorf - Upgrade Province Capital


Research
Tithe Rebates - +10 extra growth is always good early, and +2 Public order is nice. The main reason is it unlocks the Local Militia technology (+2 recruit rank and -15% recruit cost for infantry) which can be completed in 12 turns, right around the time to start building a decent army.


End Turn
There will be a battle initiated by the Secessionists, even though they reinforce each other they can be taken out individually. Concentrate on breaking the reinforcements and try to wipe out the main army, then take the replenishment post battle option. For a detailed breakdown of this battle, check out the battle section of the guide.

This battle is actually quite easy due to one of the armies reinforcing from behind, you can damage and rout the reinforcing army quickly then turn to face the second army.


A good outcome, be sure not to kill the Lords in the battle so they are easy to take out in follow up battles

*Note: In order to remove a unit from an army you don't have to kill every model, just reduce it to 10 or less.*

Second Turn

Turn 2 has two settlements regained from the Secessionists. Don't worry about attacking the Lord, he isn't in a position to reinforce and will eventually attack a garrison and be defeated.

Unassign Research
This will allow the chance of a Student follower to be rewarded after each battle throughout the turn.

Move your second Lord to attack then Occupy Grunburg.


A relatively easy fight, although outnumbered the Lord will more than make up the difference.


Skillpoint into Emperor's Finest. The second Lord will be the primary early game attacker and transition into a defensive Lord on the western side, having buffs to early game units is a huge boon for this Lord.

Assign Karl's skillpoint into Route Marcher and have him attack Hans Frankenwurter.


This battle will be much like last, attack the reinforcing army and route them before dealing with Hans himself.


You are safe to ransom the captives as there will be a turn of replenishment before the next fight.

Have Franz attack and Occupy Ubersreik
- Recruit - Archers x3


This is a safe Auto-Resolve.

It's up to you where you assign Karl's next skillpoints. I would highly recommend going down the blue line to get Irrepressible then the upkeep reduction from Quartermaster. The first 4 skills are all rather subjective, my preference is to put 3 points into Fervent and 1 into Iron Disciplinarian as Karl will be on the front lines not recruiting and Untainted will help stabilize corruption and in turn public order quicker before moving on.

Construction
Altdorf - Demolish Training Field


Re-Assign your research

End Turn

Third Turn

Turn 3 involves fighting a Quest Battle, completing the Reikland province and preparing to strike at Helmgart.

Un-Assign Research
- From now on i will assume this is done at the start of every turn

Move Karl out of the settlement and Teleport to Quest "Battle of Bloodpine Woods"


Try to completely wipe out the artillery units for the chance to capture them after battle.


Ransom the captives unless you took heavy losses. The next battle is an easy Auto-Resolve and a turn replenishing before attacking Helmgart.

Take Karl and Attack and Occupy Eilhart.
- Recruit Swordsmen x2 and Archers x1.

Force March the second Lord to Ubersreik.

Move your Wizard toward Ubersreik
Assign a Student follower to your wizard if you have one available.

Transfer Dragon Tooth (The Reikland Runefang) to your second Lord

Construction
Altdorf - Fields


Set the Commandment for Reikland to Council of Burgomeisters.

Continue Research

End Turn

Fourth Turn

Turn 4 involves besieging and securing Fort Helmgart, forcing the Secessionists to attack during their turn, as well as moving some units to begin scouting for future engagements.

Move your second Lord to attack and encircle Helmgart

Force March Franz down and transfer his army to your second Lord

Embed your wizard into Franz's army
*Note: This order of movement is important to conserve the movement range of the Wizard*

Attack and occupy Hemlgart


A relatively easy fight with the ranged superiority of the current army, and the AI's inability to use its mortar effectively.


Hardly a scratch.

Put another skillpoint into Emperor's Finest granting a melee attack boost on top of a greater melee defense boost for the line infantry.

Move your wizard out of Franz's army toward the Skullsmashers settlement Massif Orcal.


It is located in the mountains south of Montfort

I recommend assigning the wizards skillpoint into Specialist. This hero will be scouting the Skullsmasherz for some time then heading towards Ulthuan to make contact with the High Elves to establish trade.

Force March Franz towards Eilhart

Construction
Altdorf - Upgrade Fields, Build Weaving House and Clay Pit
Eilhart - Upgrade Settlement

*Note: The reason Eilhart is the first to be upgraded is to get the garrison building as soon as possible. It is the most vulnerable of the minor settlements early due to planned aggression against Marienburg.*

Set Commandment in Helmgart to Council of Burgomeisters

End Turn - Secessionist will be forced to attack as they have no remaining settlements and will be destroyed.

Fifth Turn

Turn 5 starts with a potential siege of Altdorf by the Secessionists which is easy to break. After which it's moving units to scout out engagements for the following turn as well as some more recruitment and construction.

You may start receiving Dilemmas regarding Empire politics, generally it is best to take whatever option grants Imperial Authority as it is a hard resource to come by. If there is an option to spend gold over Prestige, such as reinforcing another Elector Count, do so. You will gain back some gold in post battle loot and is worth any construction delays. Early game prestige is also hard to come by and you want to always have 1000 saved if possible in case an Imperial Authority Dilemma occurs

If the Secessionists besieged Altdorf instead of attacking a minor settlement during the end turn, go ahead sally out and destroy them now.


Ransom the captives as we aren't worried about replenishment for garrisons

Force March your second Lord to Eilhart

Move Franz to the border of Marienburg
- Recruit - Archers x3.

Move your Wizard towards Massif Orcal.

Construction
Grunburg - Upgrade Settlement


End Turn

Sixth Turn

Turn 6 is where things can start to diverge. I would advise reading this whole chapter before proceeding.

Move your wizard and scout the Skullsmasherz settlement Massif Orcal.
*Note: It's not worth doing any agent actions just yet, there is a chance your agent can be wounded in the attempt and loosing line of sight at this stage can be dangerous*

If Grung Zint is still in the hands of the Skullsmasherz
They will likely be building armies at Grung Zint instead of Massif Orcal. If this is the case Karl Franz is free to support military actions in the west as they won't be attacking Helgart from the south.

If Grung Zint was Razed or Occupied by either Marienburg or Couronne
Then the Skullsmasherz will be amassing an army at Massif Orcal. It will take them 2 turns to attack Helmgart, one to underway, one to attack. They won't move out until they have a 20 stack so once you see this, move Franz back to Helmgart. If they have a full stack here now move Franz back towards Helmgart, recruiting 3x Archers on the way if you haven't besieged Marienburg. The earliest the Skullsmasherz will attack in my experience is Turn 7.

With Franz having scouted Marienburg it is time to assess your options.

If Marienburg has a small or no army garrisoned in the settlement, and no army visible on the map
Siege Marienburg itself build 1x Battering Ram. They will have to Force March a stack if one is close enough, and being a reinforcement battle you will be able to take out both armies with one being fatigued. If Franz is still available move him into the Light Forest nearby in an Ambush stance. Even if Marienburg has an army nearby the Ambush should give you the edge, and even if it fails it will separate the garrison reinforcements from the field battle.

If Marienburg has a large army garrisoned inside the settlement
Move your second Lord in to the Light Forest within reinforcement range of Eilhart and set an ambush. Move Franz, if available, within the zone of control (the red circle) of the second Lord but outside the reinforcement range of Eilhart to act as bait. Declare War on Marienburg and End Turn.

If you got extremely unlucky and Couronne is besieging Marienburg
Don't attack them just yet and hopefully Marienburg will beat them off leaving them weak and ripe for take over.

Move your armies as needed

Construction
Ubersreik - Settlement Upgrade


Research

Local Militia - This tech gives a +2 recruit rank and -15% recruit cost for infantry. It will allow quicker recruitment of higher quality armies crucial in the early game.

End Turn

Seventh Turn

Turn 7 if all goes to plan should end with Marienburg Occupied and Karl and The Bordermen reinforcing the upcoming Skullsmasherz attack on Helmgart.

If you besieged Marienburg the previous turn, go ahead and Attack and Occupy the Settlement.


With a wooded area on the left side of the battle map, it's easy to hide your infantry during deployment and use the Reiksguard as a diversion. This will cause the AI to deploy their forces to counter the Reiksguard and allow you to rush your infantry to the walls with no opposition.


You might be tempted to Sack Marienburg before Occupying, however it is best to just Occupy instead. Taking the Settlement will complete the Chapter Objective and reward you with some gold. Occupying it outright also means it will remain at tier 2 and allow you to demolish the building in the second slot to build Basic Walls the following turn.

Assign your second Lord to the position Elector Count of The Wasteland.


This is why we used the second Lord instead of Franz. The position grants +20% income from all Ports and gives the Unique Talisman "Key to the Stadsraad" which has 3 local effects. It increases all income by 10%, income from ports by 20% and provides a +5 public order bonus. Excellent buffs for a Lord whose purpose is to defend the western border.

With Franz recruit the Elector Count State Troop "The Bordermen"
This unit is an extremely powerful version of Outrider - Grenade Launchers. It's missile attack is Armor-Piercing compared to the standard version, and is devastating against any blobbed infantry units as well as cavalry in a pinch. It does have a 10 turn cool-down on recruitment which is why I suggest recruiting it immediately to start the cool-down timer.

OR

If you were not able to besiege Marienburg and they took the bait and were defeated in the ambush, besiege the Settlement.

OR

If Marienburg didn't take the bait go and scout ahead. Make the call whether to siege the settlement or try and bait them out.

Keep an eye on Massif Orcal if Franz needs to divert to Helmgart to reinforce. At tier 2 the Forts can win most battles without support, at tier 3 they are practically impregnable.

Construction
Helmgart - Upgrade Fort (If funds allow)
Marienburg - Demolish building in 2nd slot


End Turn

Skarsnik will usually ask for a NAP, turn him down as we will want to eliminate him eventually.

This is the earliest the Skullsmasherz will attack you in my experience.


All you need to win the battle is to have Karl Franz supporting the garrison at this stage as it is still replenishing. Holding the center choke point is more important than holding the walls as it will force the greenskins to blob up perfect for your mortar. If you recruited the extra Archers it will make the battle easier, The Bordermen will make it trivial. Try not to kill the Lord so if there is a follow up attack he is already wounded.


It's free money at this stage.

Eighth Turn

Turn 8 sees the second Fort occupied and the full on construction of defenses on the frontiers.

By now you should have hopefully captured Marienburg or be at least besieging the settlement. If you captured Marienburg the previous turn you will have received the 5000 gold from the Chapter Objectives.

Attack and Occupy Fort Bergbres
If you don't take it this turn it will be upgraded to tier 3 next turn and will have a much stronger garrison.


Similar to the last Fort battle, this one is a tier higher and has slightly better troops. The empire knights won't be an issue as this battle will be won on the walls.


The melee troops took a beating however the day was won with minimal losses.

If you fended off the Greenskin attack during the end turn, it is safe to disband the Archers you may have recruited with Franz to save some upkeep. The Greenskins are likely to have a follow-up attack planned and you can check this by seeing how many armies there are around Massif Orcal this turn compared to last.

Construction Priorities
Helmgart - Upgrade Fort (If not already started)
Marienburg - Basic Walls
Eilhart - Guard House
Grunburg - Guard House
Altdorf - Upgrade Clay Pit

Altdorf will be ready to upgrade the following turn. Ensure you have the 3,200 gold available to do so.

End Turn

Ninth Turn

Turn 9 is about consolidating. Moving the 2nd Lord to Marienburg for stabilizing the region and providing income boosts, upgrading the capital at Altdorf and starting construction on the final minor settlements garrison.


A Stranger Comes, it's up to you if you grant his request or not. +3000 gold is nothing to scoff at this early however 5 turns of +4 Chaos corruption is huge when you don't have any countermeasures in place.

If you haven't taken Fort Bergbres yet it may be best to leave it for a while until you have artillery of your own as it will now be a tier 3 Fort with an impressive garrison.

If Marienburg moves any armies towards you, move your second Lord to Fort Bergbres and Franz to Eilhart as they will prioritize attacking these settlements due to not needed to build siege equipment. You will be able to see their army if it is in range to attack.

Move your second Lord back to Marienburg
This will help boost public order increasing Line of Sight over the region as well as provide a replenishment buff and allow the Lord's local income buffs to come into effect.

Construction Priorities
Altdorf - Upgrade Province Capital
Ubersreik - Guard House

Ensure you have 1,600 next turn to upgrade Fort Bergbres.

End Turn

Tenth Turn

Turn 10 has the upgrade of Fort Bergres begin and Franz moving to a more central position allowing him to react quickly should the need arise.


By now you should have both Forts in your possession with construction completing next turn on the Guard Houses in the three minor settlements, walls in Marienburg and Helgart's Fort upgrade.

Once all these defenses are up you can disband some of your army relying on a half stack army and the garrisons for defense. This will allow you to focus on building up the infrastructure to support the rest of your campaign. Having Marienburg as a western bastion, the two Forts protecting the south and Altdorf in the north leaves you in a very secure position.

Feel free to send your wizard on an adventure to Ulthuan at this stage to make contact with the High Elves and establish some more Trade Agreements.

Move Franz to Ubersreik now if it's safe to do so. From here he can reinforce the garrisons of Helmgart, Eilhart and Grunburg in one turns worth of movement. Skullsmasherz sometimes tunnel under the mountains to surprise attack Grunburg bypassing the Fort.

I would recommend building Reikland up to the point you have walls in the minor settlements and a gunsmith in Altdorf. With this done you are secure from surprise attacks and can recruit a decent army.

In terms of futher expansion you can try to provoke Wissenland to break away from the empire to claim their lands for your own. Nuln is a hugely important settlement for empire factions due to it's Landmark building and Elector Count Unit The Emperor's Wrath Steam Tank. Wissenland also starts with low fealty so it is generally easier to provoke them instead of confederating later.

After that you can choose to help Bretonnia with its Undead problem, take out the nearby Greenskins, launch a crusade into Sylvania or the northern wastes or go help your dwarven allies.

Tips and Tricks

Coming Soon...

Battle Guides

The Secessionists Attack


This battle may look like it isn't in Karl's favor however with out battle plan it's a relatively easy fight. The desired outcome of this battle is to quickly rout the reinforcing army then wipe out as much of the main army as possible while keeping both enemy lords alive.


Deploy your units where the reinforcing army is to enter the map. the marker is placed at the left most flank of the reinforcing army so the units will enter all the way up to the Reiksguard. Having Karl start centered is important to getting the enemy Lord to separate from his army.


Here you can see the reinforcing army entering the map. Have Karl move across to intercept the enemy Lord, he will move to engage your ranged units. Be sure to target the enemy Lord with your Handgunners to inflict some initial damage, have your Crossbowmen shoot at the enemy Spearmen as they are unshielded.


Wait to charge your Reiksguard until the Spearmen move towards your infantry then loop them around and into the enemy Crossbowmen, if you move them too soon the Spearmen will try to intercept. Karl has engaged the enemy Lord and blobbed a unit of Swordsmen for the Handgunners to shoot at.

Charge your infantry into the fray and swing the Reiksguard around to start rear charging. The benefit of waiting this long to do this is now the enemy is far enough away from the map border to inflict as many casualties as possible before they rout off the map.


Once the reinforcing army is in full retreat reposition your infantry to the base of the hill while your ranged units fir on the remaining units still on the map. Move your Reiksguard around to the left chasing down any units that ran in that direction. They will be charging up the hill to engage the next unit of Crossbowmen.


With your infantry at the base of the hill your ranged units can fire over their heads into the enemy. Target the enemy Lord with the Handgunners and Spearmen with your Crossbowmen. The Reiksguard are to the left of the screen looping around the rear of the enemy to catch the Crossbowmen.

Having looped around the enemy infantry pulling them away from the battle the Reiksguard are dealing with the Crossbowmen. Karl having dueled the enemy Lord who now flees is about to rear charge the enemy. They are about to break due to army losses.

With the enemy in full rout have the Reiksguard chase down and kill as many units as they can.

With both Lords near death and their units wiped or severely damaged the follow up battles will be a breeze.


Reclaiming Grunburg

This battle is for Grunburg and although it can be won via Auto-Resolve there will be heavy casualties.


Deploy on top of the hill with the Archers in a square formation in the center. The reason for the square formation is so the unit can turn and fire faster. Have your Lord slightly in front as his role will be to charge first and stop some of the enemy units.


Target the Spearmen with your Archers to inflict maximum damage. This army will break to losses.


As the enemy draws near charge the Lord ahead into the fray, he will draw a few units to himself. Charge your Swordsmen as the rest of the enemy infatry close. Be wary of charging too soon as you may open your Archers to attack. Target your Archers into the flank of the Swordsmen now they are distracted.


With all the enemy melee units pinned down it's time for your Archers to dish out the damage.


Re-position the Archers to inflict the most casualties as possible, always firing into the flank where able. The enemy leadership is starting to falter with the losses sustained and the leader unit routing.


All the units are in full rout and the battle is done. There isn't any need to chase down the foe as they will all perish with the settlements capture.


Only 37 men lost and an impressive kill count on the Archer unit.


The Defeat of Hans

This battle is for attacking Hans as he is supported by Ubersreiks garrison. You don't want to completely wipe the garrison just damage and rout it.


Deploy along the expected reinforcement border with your Reiksguard to the right of the rock, this will allow them to swoop around and rear charge unopposed.


Fire on the Spearmen and let the enemy close the distance to you. Start moving the Reiksguard around.


Counter charge the enemy infantry at the last moment and activate the Reikland Runefang. Rear charge the enemy Swordsmen with the Reiksguard and continue firing on the retreating units. The aim is to break them piecemeal and shoot them as they rout.


With no routing units to shoot, aim into the flank of the enemy infantry. The Reiksguard will have crushed the Swordsmen.


Start to re position as the Reiksguard deal with the remaining routing units.


Swordsmen up front as they are the only sheilded units and will take a volley or two from the Crossbowmen, Ranged forwards also to shoot the enemy Spearmen and the Reiksguard on the flank to loop around and take out the Crossbowmen


As the enemy close fire a few volleys at the Lord then switch to the Spearmen. The Reiksguard can start to swing around the rear.


Have Franz charge the enemy lord, with his death the army will shatter.


They instantly break. Mop up the remaining units for experience on the Reiksguard.


With such a small garrison remaining the following battle is an easy Auto-Resolve.

Battle Guides Continued

The Battle of Bloodpine Woods


If this were a regular field battle this army composition would be serious trouble however it's an ambush with two separate forces that can be taken on one at a time. It is ideal to full wipe the artillery units as there is a 5% chance to claim them after the battle.


Deploy with ranged units in the trees and melee on the hill opposite, have the Reiksguard ready to charge in and shut down the artillery and ranged with Franz on the ranged side to stop any troops engaging.


With the battle beginning charge the melee infantry down to occupy the enemy infantry and the Reiksguard into the Artillery. Franz should hold back a moment while you focus the ranged fire, then engage any unit heading towards him.


Franz held off a unit of infantry and the Lord while the ranged units focused them down. Focus fire the infantry engaged with the Swordsmen first as their shields will block any stray shots. Have the Reiksguard chase down the artillery.


Mop up as many units as you can as they will go and regroup with the reinforcements.


Re-position and prepare for the next wave


Focus fire any stray units and counter charge the main group with your melee line. Karl should concentrate on the enemy Lord.


It won't be long before these guys see the error of their ways and beg for mercy.


There was 4 men left in the Rocket Battery so they weren't wiped out, the mortars were the units we wanted this early. Unfortunately neither came through although there will be a another chance when taking Helmgart.


The Siege of Helmgart


With a concentrated assault on one side this battle pretty straight forward and will be decided on the walls.


Deploy to the left side of the map as close as you can. The aim being to rush 4 units of swords on the walls to engage the enemy Crossbowmen while the Archers rain arrows on anything unshielded or facing the wrong way. The Reiksguard should attack the gate directly and once through engage the mortar.


Move the Reiksguard in first as they will take heavy ranged fire on approach then order the Swordsmen to climb the 4 sections of wall to the left of the tower. Finally move the Archers up into range and begin focusing units.


With most of the army carrying out their orders move Karl and the Wizard up to the walls and send the unit of Spearmen to scale the walls to the right of the tower. This area is sometimes in range of the mortar and the Spearmen being the most expendable unit to act as bait.


The first of the Swordsmen are reaching the top of the wall with 2 units already focused by the Archers. Move the Lord into position to buff the Swordsmen with the Reikland Runefang.


When approximately half to two thirds of the Swordsmen have reached the top use the Runefang. Focus fire down the Greatswords as they are the biggest threat on the walls. Send the Spearmen up to flank the enemy melee units.


The initial attack on the walls is going well. Heavy causalities to the Swordsmen however the reserves are about to commit.


With the gates breached, charge the Mortar.


Focus the remaining troops and commit Franz where he is needed. It won't take much longer now.

Seeing all hope lost the last of the troops flee.

Some of the heaviest losses yet however there will be time to recover before the next battle.


The Siege of Marienburg


A Small garrison and easy to overcome.


Deploy hidden in the woods to the left and have the Reiksguard ready to charge the gate. This will mean the AI deploys its troops in the center and allows the army to move forward unopposed.


Move the Archers up and angle them to fire on the incoming troops. Send the Swordsmen up the walls.


Being able to position without taking counter fire is a huge bonus.


The first few units routed before the Swordsmen even topped the walls.


Swordsmen moving to secure the walls from incoming troops


With the tower under friendly control the Archers are free to rain death over the walls.


The last of the defenders retreating into the city.


A very Decisive Victory.

Closing Notes

Writing this guide definitely more of a challenge compared to the previous two I have written. The Empire is my favorite faction and I really wanted to do them justice! With so many variables from turn 7 on wards it was quite the lesson in patience, having to play the campaign start so many times to try the different outcomes. It only took 2 runs to perfect the first 6 turns, including the battles. It took another 18 or so runs to get the last 4 turns to a place I was comfortable with releasing, I stopped counting the hours when I went over 50!

In saying that, I am extremely happy with the end result. It's the most solid guide I have written and is more than tested at this point, I am confident that the Empire will endure!

This being my third guide in The First Ten Turns series I would love to hear your feedback on the layout and style it is written in. I do plan on keeping these guides as up-to-date to the current state of the game so if you come across anything written here that no longer works, please let me know.

If you liked this guide check out my others;

First Ten Turns - The Order of Loremasters (Vortex) 

A Guide for Total War: WARHAMMER II

By: coximus

This guide is designed to show players, new and old alike, how to utilize the first 10 turns of a campaign to set yourself up for a successful legendary campaign as Teclis the High Loremaster of Hoeth leading his...

First Ten Turns - The Barrow Legion 

A Guide for Total War: WARHAMMER II

By: coximus

This guide is designed to show players, new and old alike, how to utilize the first 10 turns of a campaign to set yourself up for a successful legendary campaign as Heinrich Kemmler leading The Barrow Legion

[Jedi Master AK]

Great guide if you suppose Marienburg to have no armies.

[eugee]

This has been an incredible guide--Reikland secured + Bloodpine on turn 3!? I play normal/normal and it all went beautifully. My first successionist attack was a different map which was a little awkward but the tactics held up and I'm now sitting on Marienburg plotting my next move--the Greenskins are a lot less aggressive on Normal so I'll have to go root them out.

[Thegrinch]

To all those complaining that it DOES NOT WORK --- the guide was written for LEGENDARY / VERY HARD --- if you are playing on less then this, the AI may react differently due to it not having the perceived advantage.

[SnarfYourSnarf]

Decent guide, although its viability may be dependent upon the normal battle difficulty your using.

[The Sand Witch]

Stunning guide actually, never thought of doing it this way.
I'm trying it out but it all seems to work just fine, and it's super neat to see such a very different approach. I also love the idea of starting with 2 armies in legendary difficulty, I never do that.

If I may, though, in my attempt right now, Kislev is not a true friend and I cannot get the usual MA/T for +900 (has happened in the past, too, I guess it's RNG), but if you type it, you can grab 1K instead of 900.
On the dawi side, you can also join in war against the lesser tribes for some gold (T1 => red fangs +500 ; T2 bloody spearz +400, T4-6 scabby eyes +300)
So while Kislev gold and trade are not guaranteed, the dawi gold is.

Btw slight difference for me : by taking helmgart, I got a mortar, giving me freedom to siege and take the city without buying a ram, so saving one turn. But obviously RNGs are in the mix, doesn't change the way to play, just granting +/- gold, or saving a turn.

[Loser]

Worked just about perfect for me on 2nd try. I found that the growth is either a bit different or I messed that up. The guy does go back to Ubersreik but if you do decent in the battle with him, that next fight wasn't too much of a challenge. You should also note that for the archers, the Hunter and the Beast is necessary otherwise access to ranged units is blocked until crossbows and also add in that you should recruit(I made a guess based on the images that you should recruit at some point around turn 3-4 as your army grew in size but it wasn't mention in the guide). But aside from that it worked great for me.

[Fiction Weaver]

Fell apart completely turn 2 because the second lord can't reach Grunburg in one turn and Franz's army was weakened after fighting two armies.

[keoriv]

This guide is beyond worthless, because so many of the points are wrong, and the AI doesn't do what is claimed here anyway, both in terms of army movement (after the first battle Hans fucks of back to Ubersreik) and diplomacy (most of the deals in this guide are impossible). Also the Empire doesn't even have archers to recruit on turn 1. They have swords and spears.

[Cyrus]

still need to rush the forts before they got upgraded BEFORE Turn8 starts, helmgard will be sacked by orcs turn 4, no matter what, and really there's nothing u can do about it, u have to take it and eat that loss or clutch out with a garrison you just beaten to half death, and u cant afford to stop there for a turn because basically u have to take marineburg and bergres backtoback in turn 7 or they will get upgraded, so you need a 3rd lord and that means more money spent or u take the loss and get raided...up to rng which one costs more money in the end
franz will have no rest at all and most likely u have to attack bergres with a half dead army, If ur lucky u can take a mortar from the quest and u can take a mortar from marineburg as well,just make your cav and franz crush the gates and rush to the mortar to break it, with 2 mortars and 6 ranged bergres will route before u climb the walls with your infantry

[Cyrus]

okay scratch what i said, still good guide all in all
i was trying all day so I really feel the "pain" in the closing notes :D
guide is still good but shit happens kinda random now from turn 2, not turn 7
secessionist could be an issue i turn 3,I had to recruit a 3rd lord just to fortify grunburg because as soon as u move on helmgard they start raiding and attack grunburg, this way with the 3rd lord as extra muscles u can def grunburg, have fresh recruits and rush to helmgard or escort franz as he takes marineburg and moves onto bergres, also if he defends grunburg he can get item rewards and followers..