Anno Fans - Anno 1701: Battle & Events

BATTLE

"If you want peace, prepare yourself for war" went the old Roman saying, and the ANNO world is also not only peaceful. The difficult computer players at least are certainly prepared to let their weapons speak in order to reach their targets and the pirates are a constant threat (if you have not switched them off in the options). You should therefore consider protecting your island against enemy attacks even if this is a costly exercise.
Tip: If you are a peaceful player and do not provoke anyone, you will not be attacked by an opponent. The pirates and the computer player Count Igor Yegorov are however exceptions to this rule.

Controlling troops

A life bar is situated above all military units. You can use this to see the health status of your units at any time. The colour green means completely healthy; if this bar starts to empty during battle conditions, your unit’s bar will change colour to red proportional to the extent of the damage suffered.

Training troops

The training of the troops is carried out in the military buildings. You can see which units you can train there and which goods (cannons or weapons) are required for this in the respective building menu. Only one troop unit can be housed per education location at one time. However several units can be assigned training at one time with the training happening in succession. Whilst some troop types are directly available for you for building the training locations, you will have to research into others first at school or university. The maximum number of troops which you can train in a military building depends on the current population level of the island. The troop limit can however be raised by researching into the military draft.

Moving troops

You can move your own troop units via a mouse click on the game world or minimap to any point in the game world. Rivers are crossed if bridges are available, plateaus are accessed via ramps and only mountain ranges and cliffs represent insurmountable barriers. Your units always take the most direct way to their destination. They will also move in formation as long as they have sufficient room. After you have selected a troop unit, you can issue a movement commend in two ways:
A click in the units menu activates the movement command and the mouse pointer changes its appearance. The command is executed via a second click to a free location in the game world or minimap. The movement command can be executed directly with a right-click to a free location in the game world or minimap.

Starting an attack

You can attack opposing military units as soon as you see them. If you have selected one of your own units, the mouse pointer changes appearance over enemy troops, ships and buildings and thus indicates that they can be attacked. You can issue the command to attack in two ways: The attack command will be activated via a left-click in the units menu and executed via a second left-click on the opposing troops, ship or building. The attack can be directly initiated via a right-click on the opposing units.

TIP: You can attack a fellow player with whom you are not at war by keeping the Shift key depressedand clicking on his units or a building. This results in a declaration of war and the immediate commencement of battle.

Battle positions

Units can basically adopt two battle positions:
Offensive: Units automatically attack enemies within their range of view and immediately advance towards to the enemy, when they get closer. If the enemyretreats, they will follow them for a certain distance, but then return to their original position.
Hold position: Units only attack if the enemy comes within range. They do not move towards the enemy on their own or follow them.

Patrolling

You can send your units on patrol between two or more points. In order to do this first select all units that should patrol and activate the Patrol command with a click in the units menu. This action is made clearer via a changed mouse pointer. Now you can set as many patrol points as desired via left-clicks. Finish the route with a right-click. The units now patrol back and forth between the specified points independently. Selecting and grouping In order to select several units at the same time and group them together to form large formations, drag a frame around several troop types with the depressed left mouse key. All troops within this frame are selected when you let go ofthe mouse key. You can select all units of the same type on the screen via a double-click on a unit.
The units selected can be grouped together by assigning them a group number with the key combination Ctrl + number (1,2,3, ... 0). The individual groups can be later activated by pressing the corresponding number (1,2,3, ... 0). All units have their group number on their banner in order to be able to better differentiate the various groups. Clicking on a unit with the Shift key depressed means that it is subsequently added to the selection or that it is removed from it. You must subsequently reassign it the group number again.
Tip: If your troops have been decimated by battle, you can merge units of the same type in order to regain the original battle strength, as you cannot "repair" your units. In order to do this, select units of the same troop type and then click on the Group troops symbol in the selection menu.

Military buildings

Military buildings serve to educate the troops and defend the settlement area. You can educate the respective available troop types via a click on the corresponding troop symbol. You can instruct the freshly recruited units where they should serve with a click on the symbol Set staging area. All military buildings have a certain effective area within which they automatically attack enemy units. The military buildings include: Barracks Watch House: The watch house serves to educate lightly armed military units and to defend your own buildings. It is the first available military building and can be builtfrom the civilisation level settler onwards. Here you can train the troop types Militia and Pikemen. Both can be recruited directly after the building has been built. Buildings which are situated within the effective range of the watch house are better protected against attacks, as approaching enemies will be automatically attacked.
Garrison: Garrisons also serve to train military units and to defend your own buildings. They are available to you in addition to the watch house from the civilisation level citizen onwards. Militia, Pikemen, Grenadiers and Mortars can be trained here. The mortars however first have to be researched into at school. The garrison has a large reffective area than the watch house and can thus recognise and attack approaching enemies earlier.
Fortress: In addition to the watch house and garrison, you can also build a fortress from the civilisation level merchants onwards. The training of all seven troop types is possible in this largest of all military buildings. You will however have to research into some of them before hand. The fortress has an especially large effective area.

Fortifications

Fortifications offer your settlement protection against enemy attacks. You are recommended to erect the following military constructions in order to protect your territory against such unpleasant surprises:

Tip: Erect your fortifications if possible close to the coast, as the danger of an enemy attack is particularly high here. Walls prevent enemy troops from penetrating your settlement and withstand enemy attacks for a particularly long time. They are built like roads. A gatehouse is automatically built everywhere where walls and roads cross. Your own and allied troops can pass through the gatehouse without being stopped whilst enemy troops will be prevented from passing.

Watchtowers serve to defend your settlement and can be built from the civilisationlevel settler onwards. They have a long sight radius and can already recognise at a long distance.

Cannon Towers have a longer sight radius than watchtowers
They also automatically subject enemy units to fire with their cannons as soon as they come into range. Cannon towers must be researched into at school.
Note: You can research into Tower Guards in school. They increase your resistance ability and thedefence capability of all towers.

Military units

In case you should experience the dilemma of having to defend yourself against a fellow player or even if you have to attack one yourself – perhaps because he refuses to pay you adequate respect, because you were provoked or simply because it seemed advisable to do so in the service of the queen – you should also become familiar with the production of land-based military units.

Infantry

The infantry units are trained in units of nine men each. You require weapons in order to be able to train infantry; you only need money for recruiting militia.

Militia: Militia units are the first troop types which are available in the game. They are lightly armed and their training costs are low. They are however quickly at a disadvantageagainst other heavily armed troop types. You can train Pikemen in any military building. They fight with long pikes and carryheavy armour, which makes them resistant against attacks but also slow. They are well suited for fighting against enemy cavalry.

You can train Grenadiers in garrisons and fortresses and they carry a sable and grenades. Grenadiers may only be lightly armoured but they can inflict great damageon enemy units and buildings from a distance. Cavalry Lancers and dragoons are quick units for which you require weapons and horses in order to recruit them. A cavalry unit respectively consists of four riders on horseback.You can train Lancers in the fortress and they are armed with lances. These troops fight on armoured battle steeds and are therefore well suited for fighting both against infantry as well as cavalry. You must first research into Dragoons at university. The troops will be subsequently trained in your fortress and are armed with sabres. As the quickest land unit, they are particularly well suited for fighting against infantry and artillery.

Artillery Mortars and howitzers are land units armed with guns, for which you require cannons in order to recruit them. An artillery unit consists respectively of four guns. You can train Mortars in the garrison and fortress as soon as you have completed the school research project of the same name. The units have small guns with a short range which are particularly suitable for usage against enemy buildings and infantry. Reloading however does take some time. You can research Howitzers at university and subsequently train them in the fortress.The guns of these units have a longer range than mortars but a similarly long reloading time.

EVENTS

Not everything can be planned in the ANNO world. Fortune has pleasant as well as unpleasant surprises in store for you.

Guests of honour

You will be visited by various guests of honour in your island world who will bring you incentives and presents for the duration of their visit in order to increase the satisfaction of the inhabitants amongst other things. You can always find the guests of honour in the village centre. There are nine different guests of honour including the queen. She is however a special case.

The Smithy manufactures tools for you and thus supports you as you build up your settlement.
The Beer Wagon supplies your inhabitants with free beer for the duration of his visit and thus increases your supply of alcohol.
The Itinerant Preacher sells letters of indulgence and thus increases the level of your treasury.
The Inventor brings knowledge to your town as long as he entertains the inhabitants with his experiments.
Research projects require less time as long as he stays in your village centre. Ships require less building materials and gold coins as long as the Captain proves his capabilitiesin your village.
The exotic and colourful Company of Entertainers increases the level of satisfaction in your town for the duration of their show. Similarly to the captain, the Commander helps with building units. In this case all military units become cheaper as long as the commander is instructing your inhabitants with regard to tactics and strategy.
As long as the Bishop is reading his sermon in the village centre, he protects the town against threatening disasters.
When the Queen pays you a visit, you must be able to offer her something. Your town must contain aristocrats as well as a castle and a lighthouse. This is the first step towards your own independence. It is not until you have paid a certain amount of tributes to the queen, or you have caused her entire fleet to flee in battle that the queen will more or less gladly grant you your independence.

Catastrophes

Catastrophes occasionally disrupt the peaceful island life. They happen randomly and have devastating effects on buildings and the population. These catastrophes can inflict themselves on your island world: Earthquakes can cause damage to buildings and roads. An earthquake happens without any warning at all and hits the entire island. It can be so strong that buildings catch fire or collapse completely. Deep crevasses are caused near the epicentre by the quakes and complete sections of roads can be destroyed thus preventing units of troops and market wagons from moving on. The inhabitants are surprised by an earthquake and this can cause mass hysteria. The inhabitants run out of their houses and flee in panic in all directions. There is no remedy for these natural catastrophes. However the crevasses disappear after some time so that you can begin to rebuild your settlement.

Fire damages buildings and causes them to collapse if it is not extinguished. The longer a fire rages, the greater the possibility that the fire will catch onto neighbouring buildings and thereby become a large-scale fire. Inhabitants who notice the fire will immediately rush to the source of the fire and try to extinguish the fire with buckets of water. A house fire however angers the inhabitants living in the building and the satisfaction level in the settlement drops. Fire fighting can be considerably speeded up by building a fire station. The higher the civilization level in a settlement, the less prepared the population is to roll up their sleeves and help extinguish a fire.

The more inhabitants a settlement has, the greater the danger is that the Plague can break out in the congested areas. The buildings affected are surrounded by agreen fog, plague warners walk to and fro in front of the houses and the dissatisfied inhabitants avoid the contaminated area. The inhabitants of the plagued houses fallvictim to the epidemic. The population level thus drops drastically and the buildings themselves remain however at the current civilization level. As soon as the plague breaks out in a settlement, the entire island is put under quarantine. Thus neither the free trader nor the computer players are prepared to pay a visit to it with their ships. The quarantine remains until the plague has been completely eradicated. Only a surgery offers the possibility of curing the plague. The house of the surgery is available from the level citizen onwards.

A plague of rats reduces the level of stored goods in the trading buildings of an entire island. This catastrophe inflicts itself on an island at random. The dangerof a plague of rats however increases the more goods you have stored across the entire island as an abundance of supplies attracts the swarms of rats. They scurry around thebuildings and eat everything that isn’t nailed down. Be aware of your stored quantities and sell excess goods or increase the storage capacities in your trading buildings. You can thus lower the danger of a plague of rats.

If a settlement is situated within the effective range of an erupting Volcano, it must be assumed that large parts of it will be destroyed. Islands with volcanoes are quite seldom in the ANNO world but often have very fruitful raw material supplies. Populating them however is always a special challenge as an eruption can happen at any time. Eruptions announce themselves with a dull rumbling near the mountain and black smoke rises from the crater. Once the volcano really erupts, it hurls red-hot rocks into the air and covers the land with a rain of ashes which sets everything on fire. A volcano eruption causes mass hysteria in a settlement and people and animals flee for their lives in panic. Nothing can be done to prevent this type of catastrophe. The volcano does not always eruptwhen the mountain begins to rumble. With a bit of luck things will calm down again, but the danger is only temporarily averted.

The Hurricane is a mighty natural disaster which races uncontrollably across the entire island world. If the hurricane passes through a settlement, it leaves a trail of destruction behind it. It drags animals, trees and people along with it. Small buildings are also simply destroyed by it. At sea it whirls ships which get caught up in it into the air and they are lost forever. You cannot do anything about a hurricane on dry land. But you can steer your ships to safety by manoeuvring them quickly out of the danger zone.