Combat & Squads
Battles are fought by armies, not handfuls. Soldiers organize into squads, hold formation, protect their own, and know when a fight is no longer worth dying for.
Squads & formations
Troops don't mill about as a loose mob. They gather into squads behind a leader and hold a real shape on the field:
| Formation | Shape |
|---|---|
| Wedge | Arrowhead — leader at the tip. |
| Column | Single-file marching line. |
| Line | Abreast, for a broad front. |
| Circle | Defensive ring. |
| Loose | Scattered and hard to pin. |
This is what lets hundreds fight at once and still move like an army rather than a swarm.
Loyalty on the field
- Soldiers of the same faction never strike one another.
- Wound one of them and the cry goes up — nearby allies rally to the fight.
- Strike one of a player's followers, and the player's other troops close in to defend.
NPCs fight with whatever weapon they carry. Every blow has a small chance to land a lucky knockout — against players as well as NPCs. A knocked-out player goes down with an on-screen overlay and a countdown.
Knowing when to run
Courage has limits. When a soldier finds themselves badly outnumbered — roughly two to one or worse — they break and run for home instead of throwing their life away.
You don't have to leave the squads to their instincts. The Command Baton lets you set formations and issue orders to your units directly, mid-battle, without ever opening a menu.