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Combat Explained

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Contents

How to initiate a battle?

A pitched battle is initiated when the following conditions are met:

  1. There are at least two opposing stacks in the same region (subregion: region, not structure)
  2. An “offensive” or “assault” command posture has been assigned to at least one of the stacks
  3. The player(s) with the “offensive” or “assault”-stack(s) must have detected the enemy stack(s)
  4. An army-stack cannot initiate a battle if there are other friendly troops present (including an unescorted Supply unit or solitary captured Artillery for example).

A siege-battle is initiated when the following conditions are met:

  • There are at least two opposing stacks in a region. One of the stacks is positioned in the sub-region “ structure”. The other (opposing) stack(s) are positioned in the sub-region “region”.
  • An “assault” command posture has been assigned to at least one of the stacks in the sub-region “region”.
  • If the structure features a fortification-level, the structure has to be completely breached, i.e. the number of breaches must equal the fortification-level.
  • Note, that there are special rules for cavalry in assaulting structures

Depending on your settings (Options/Game/Delayed Commitment), it might take some days until battle is commenced.

(Note: Do not order a synch-movement for a strong army-stack and a weak column-stack in order to attack. The weak column-stack might initiate battle and withdraw before the army-stack moves in to support)

Commitment of stacks

Stacks are sorted into 3 types depending on their posture: Aggressive/Offensive, Defensive, Passive. A stack in an aggressive/offensive posture in the region of battle is picked in a purely random manner and then will seek a target. It will choose first a non-moving enemy stack which is also in assault/attack stance and which is not already significantly threatened (meaning the enemy stack is attacked by a number of friendly line elements which is less than 150% of the number of line elements it has). If there is none, then a non threatened, moving stack will be picked.

If there is none, then the procedure will be repeated by seeking a non threatened defensive enemy stack (first non-moving, then moving). If there is none, then the procedure will be repeated by seeking a non threatened passive enemy stack (first non-moving, then moving). if there is none (meaning all enemy stacks are 'threatened'), then one at random will be picked.

This concept covers the first stack picked. What about the next? If the stack is already engaged by an enemy, it will fight back against him, and that's it. If this stack is in defensive/passive posture, it will also activate all other friendly stacks (of all friendly factions present) in the region (i.e if the combat is still involving only stacks outside the structure, then units in the structure will take no part).

If the stack was not yet involved but potentially could be (i.e Defensive stacks waiting for their release), then it will first help a threatened stack, if there is none, it will pick a target, as was done for the first stack that entered the battle.

Army HQs will never attack by themselves and always fight in support of another stack, if any is present.

Correlatives: It is possible that a very small stack may target a large one, or the reverse. This is working as designed, and represents the randomness of battles, where a small force will face the brunt of an attack, or where it is on purpose delaying a large force while others troops attack the enemy elsewhere on the battlefield.


Marching to the sound of the guns

When a column-stack or an army-stack is engaged in battle, other column-stacks (or the army stack) which are part of the same army and which are positioned in a region adjacent to the region where the battle takes place, may enter the battle and support their fellows. Therefore, the columns or the army in the adjacent region must not be in a “passive” command posture (and must not have an “evade fight” order) and they must pass a “march to the sound of the guns”-check. This check is made prior to each round of combat. A new "marching to the sound of the guns"-test is necessary prior to each round. So it can happen that a stack(s) supports another stack in battleround 1, but fails its test for battleround 2.

All stacks eligible to march to the sound of the guns have to test individually. The base chance of joining a battle is 100%. This probability is modified by the following factors:

  1. -10% for each day of marching that the supporting stack would (theoretically) need in order to enter the region where the battle takes place. All factors affecting the stack’s movement speed apply (e.g. cohesion, weather, activation status of commander, etc.). E.g. when the battle takes place in a mountainous region, the chance is reduced. Stacks moving at cavalry-speed are more likely to enter the battle (except in bad weather).
  2. +10% if it is the army-stack which has been engaged by the enemy in the adjacent region.
  3. +25% if it is the army-stack that marches to the sound of the guns.
  4. +5% for each point of strategic-rating of the army/column-commander who tries to march to the sound of the guns.
  5. -10% if the stack that tries to march to the sound of the guns is in a “defensive” command posture.
  6. -1% for every 5% of enemy control in the regions. Both, the region where the battle takes place and the adjacent region are taken into account – the enemy military control in both regions is added together and then divided by 5.

When a stack succeeds its march, it participates in this round of battle as if it was in the region where the battle takes place, but it does not actually move there. The stack does not suffer any river-crossing penalties, but on the other hand, it doesn’t profit from any entrenchment levels either.

When a stack fails this test, it will not participate in this round of combat (but it will try again in the next round - if there is one).


Who retreats?

Now that we know who will exchange blows we have sufficient information to have the BE decide if one side wants to retreat. This is done at the faction level, but each stack, if the retreat is decided, will have to make a successful retreat roll to end the battle. It's a 2-step process:

  1. Decide if a faction wants to retreat. This is determined by the ratio of power of the fighting armies, modified by the []Rule of engagement|aggressiveness]] of the Commander in Chief (the highest ranking, most senior leader in the battle), and if some entrenchments are present
  2. If the faction wants to retreat, then each army will roll for a retreat, the dice being modified by various parameters (how big or sneaky is the army, if you have some cavalry, if the opponent has some, Rule of engagement etc.)

For more details see: Retreat and Routing



Commitment of elements

Combat-elements and support-elements

AGE Engine games differentiate between two types of elements: combat-elements (infantry, cavalry) and support-elements (artillery, supply wagons, commanders, pioneers, sappeurs). You can always check this information in the element-panel.


Frontage and Allocation of Elements to Battle

Ok time, to actually fight. Well not yet... Before starting an hour of battle, the Battle Engine will pick a subset of your unit to actually fight. Why a subset? Because you can’t really expect to have 70,000 men actually fighting on a beach if you land or assaulting a fort at the same time or even firing all at once in a dense forest. This is where the Terrain Contingencies kick in!

For details see: Frontage



Sequence of battle

The battle sequence is ordered into days, rounds and (range) phases. One day lasts up to six rounds (or hours). The distance at which the two opposing forces begin combat operations is referred to as the ‘initial combat range’. The initial combat range used to resolve the first round of combat is determined according to the type of terrain in the region and the local weather conditions. It is at the greatest (opposing forces start farther away from each other) in cases where a battle is fought in fair weather over terrain that is open—thus allowing for long range spotting with unobstructed fields of fire. Then range decreases subsequently by 1 until it reaches 0 (and the opponents meet each other in face-to-face combat. The subsequent combat rounds begin at range 1. A typical battle sequence would be:

  1. Day 1, round 0, range 4
  2. Day 1, round 0, range 3
  3. Day 1, round 0, range 2
  4. Day 1, round 0, range 1
  5. Day 1, round 0, range 0
  6. Day 1, round 1, range 1
  7. Day 1, round 1, range 0
  8. Day 1, round 2, range 1
  9. Day 1, round 2, range 0

Note, that in AJE, the first combat round does not have a melee phase.

Prior to each round, a side may withdraw and thus put an end to the battle. A rout may also happen during a round of battle.



Combat Mechanics

General Concepts

Who goes first?

The order of fire is determined by the initiative-values of the elements: elements with higher initiative are likely to open fire before elements with lower initiative (there is a random factor involved though!). Each element has an initiative value that can be improved by some abilities or by experience, and can be degraded if the army is under commanded.


Excluded elements

Elements are also excluded from acting in the following cases:

  1. Ships without enough ammo (land units can still fire but with a penalty)
  2. support element in close combat (artillery, e.g.)
  3. leaders
  4. embarked troops


Target selection

Basically, an element may target any other enemy element on the battle field from a unit of which at least one element has committed (even if the targetted element is not committed itself - this is realistic for range combat even though less so for melee combat - for which the engine was not designed originally). The selection of the enemy unit depends on the weight (total hits of the unit time their combat signature of the enemy units). This means that the elements of your unit are more likely to target the elements of a big brigade than to target a separate unit (with less hits). Note that the elements belonging to one unit (e.g. a brigade) always target the elements of a single enemy unit.

Once an enemy unit has been chosen, a random element will be picked, but at the beginning according to this strict order of priority :


Land combat

- First, among any non-cavalry combat element (including artillery, provided it is in a unit with "line" elements),

- If none if found, then, among any cavalry element

- If none if found, then, among anything else - including leaders, supply wagons, artillery not attached to a line element,...)

Naval combat

- Among any combat element (warships),

- If none if found, then, among transport ships,

- If none if found, then, among troops onboard the transport ships.

There is a saturation limit for both land and naval : once an element has been attacked twice, it is not considered as a potential target anymore until everyone has been hit twice. This allows for instance troops transported on ships to be attacked before all transport ships are sunk. If all elements in a unit have been attacked to the limit, the remaining attacks are not lost but spread out over anyone (no more "priority"). Thus, an element can be attacked more than the limit if there are really a lot of attacking elements for a small unit.


Example:

Let’s say there are two big enemy brigades on the battlefield (each has 25 elements for a total 250 hits per brigade) and one separate unit of 5 elements (50 hits). Each of your units (e.g. a brigade) will have a 9% chance to target the separate enemy unit, a 45% chance to target enemy brigade A, and a 45% chance to target enemy brigade B. So it can be a good idea to use separate units. But beware: When a whole brigade targets a separate unit, this unit is likely to be completely destroyed. When a brigade is targeted, the hits are likely to be spread among the elements in the brigade. Note that it can happen that a very, very unfortunate big brigade targets a unit with only 2 elements (and a total of 4 hits remaining). Is this case, most of the big brigade's fire is wasted as it can only "kill" the 4 hits remaining.

An element that has been targeted by an enemy element is likely to fire back at this element (if it has not fired already: "firing back" does not mean that it gets additional attempts!)

For artillery elements, there are tree cases :

The element of artillery is in a unit which includes line elements and the line elements engaged into battle ; in this case the artillery will shoot at the same target (unit) as the infantry

The element of artillery is in a unit which includes line elements and the line elements did not engage into battle ; in this case the artillery will shoot at any enemy unit which includes line elements

The element of artillery is in a unit which does not include any line elements ; in this case the artillery will shoot at any enemy unit, with or without line elements.

Artillery does not have priority on "larger" units, but like in the general cases are more likely to pick a unit whose combined combat signature is higher.

Fire Phase

Whenever the battle is not at range 0, all elements that have a rate of fire of at least 1 and who are eligible to fire at a certain range, will use their ranged weapons to inflict casualties on the enemy.


Rate of Fire

As soon as battle reaches a range where an element can fire, this element will use its full Rate of Fire (RoF). So if. for example, an artillery element has a range of 4 and a RoF of 2, it will shoot 2 times at range 4. For the rest of the round, it will only fire once per range. So the artillery will fire 1 time at range 3, one time at range 2, one time at range 1. When the next round of combat begins (at range 1), it will again use its full RoF. The inherent RoF of an element may be reduced if it suffers under a command penalty or if an element is considered shaken (see below for details).

Commander’s Note: Combat range is an important consideration. A force with superior firepower will benefit from combat fought at longer distances while a force with superior melee power will want to look for opportunities to engage the enemy ‘up close and personal’.


Hitchances in the Fire Phase

The formula by which the AGE engine calculates if an element will successfully shoot at an enemy is:

RFP*TQM*AM*TCM*PM*EM*WTM*AAM*SupM*CM*HM*FMM*RoEM*PaM*OCM*Coeff

Whereas:

  • RFP = Relevant Firepower of the element (off/def)
  • TQM = Troop Quality Modifier: 1+(TQ-5*0,05). If Cohesion is below 0,5/Max, then TQ changes by -1.
  • AM = Ability Modifier (special abilities of unit-/stackleader. F.e. a cavalryman gives a multiplyer of 1,25 for all cavalry elements.)
  • TCM = Total Command Modifier: 1+(relevant stackleader rating*0,05*(1-out of command penalty/100)+relevant unitleader rating*0,03)-(the respective ratings of the enemies commanders) The TCM can't be lower than 1 for the firing element (So your hitchance won't get worse through command penalties, but you'll be more likely to be hit if undercommanded). Note, that the exact impact of the leaders depends on the game. If unsure, consult the GameLogic.opt file.)
  • PM = Protection Modifier: (1-level of enemies entrechment/10)*(1-terrain protection/10)*(1-unit protection/10)
  • EM = Entrenchment Modifier (artillery only): 1+Level of entrenchment/10
  • WTM = Weather / Terrain Modifier: dependent on the kind of troop and terrain/wheather. Data can be found in the terrain excel sheets. (Numbers have to be divided by 100.)
  • AAM = Additional Ammunition Modifier. If a non-empty supply wagon is present in the stack, it's 1,1. If not, it's 1.
  • SupM = Supply Modifier. If a unit is out of supply or out of ammo, hitchances are reduced.
  • CM = Cohesion Modifier. For a stack in attacking stance, penalties begin if the firing element is at 40% of their max cohesion or less. The modifier decreases slowly by then, until it reaches about 0,75 for a cohesion of 0,03/max. But: With a cohesion of 0, the multiplyer is 0!
  • HM = Hitpoint Modifier. This modifier is 1 as long the unit has more than 0,5/max of it's healthpoints. With less than 0,5/max, it's 0,75, with less than 0,25 it's 0,5.
  • FMM = Forced March Modifier. It's 0,8 if the firing unit did a forced march before it was involved in the battle. If not, it's 1.
  • RoEM = Rule of Engagement Modifier. You can find the exact values in your game folder (Settings/GameLogic.opt)
  • PaM = Passivity Modifier. If the targeted element is in a passive stance, the firing element gets a 1,15 bonus. If not, it's 1. There also is a negative modifier for elements in stacks which had tried to retreat but didn't succeed.
  • OCM = Overcrowding Modifier. See Overcrowding Rule for details
  • Coeff = a fixed number that may vary among AGE-Games. In RoP, it's 2. This number varies among AGEOD-Games though. Again: Consult the GameLogic.opt file for exact information.

Note, that if the result is lower than 0,05, it will be replaced by 0,05. So every element that fires, has at least a 5% chance to hit the enemy.

Now, a 100-sided dice is rolled: If the result is lower than the result of the calculation, an element will inflict losses to its target according to its “Ranged Damage” values (the first number indicates the number of hits which are inflicted to the enemy, the second indicates the inflicted cohesion losses).

Each time an element fires, it loses 3 cohesion points.


Example

Let’s assume, we have an attacking regular infantry element with following values: Offensive firepower: 10

  • Discipline: 8 TQM=1,15
  • Cohesion: 50/90 CM =1
  • Hitpoints: 4/10 HM =0,7
  • Stackleader:Offensive 4
  • Unitleader: Offensive 2
  • Terrain/Weather: Clear, fair WTM =1,1
  • Non-Empty Supplytrain present in stack: Yes AAM=1,1
  • Rule of Engagement: All out attack ROEM= 1,35
  • The stackleader has the "Fire Discipline" Trait (level 1, 10% bonus) AM=1,1

It shoots on an element in defensive stance and with following relevant data:

  • Entrenchment: 1, Protection: 1 PM=0,81
  • Stackleader: Defensive 2
  • No unitleader. The stack suffers a command penalty of 15%.

So we get a final Command Modifier of: 1+(4*0,05+2*0,03)-(0,1-015)=1,26+0,05 = 1,31

So as the final hitchance, we get:

RFP*TQM *AM *TCM *PM *EM *WTM *CM *HM *AAM *RoEM *PaM *FMM *Coeff

10*1,15 *1,1 *1,31 *0,81 *1 *1,1 *1 *0,75 *1,1 *1,35 *1 *1 *2 =32,89, rounded to 33.

Assault Phase

Assault combat occurs automatically when the combat range between opposing forces decreases to Zero (0).


Quality Check

Each element participating in Assault combat is given an opportunity to inflict casualties on enemy elements. But the element has to pass a discipline check before it may attack: A 10-sided dice is rolled and only if the the result is lower or equal the discipline value of the element, it will move to fight the enemy in face-to-face combat. If it doesn't pass the check, nothing happens.

Hitchances in the Assault Phase

The formula is a bit shorter than for ranged battle:

(AV-EV)*TQ*TCM*CM*HM*ROEM*LQM*AM*FMM*OCM*Coeff

Whereas:

  • AV = Assault Value of the attacking element
  • EV = Entrenchment value (of the receiving element)
  • TQ = Troop Quality (=discipline of the element; may be modified by weather / Terrain. If Cohesion is below 0,5/Max, there is a straight -1 malus on TQ. If the element belongs to a stack with passive posture, there's another -1 modifier)
  • TCM = Total Command Modifier, which is: 1+(relevant stackleader rating*0,05*(1-out of command penalty/100)+relevant unitleader rating*0,03)-(the respective ratings of the enemies commanders). This modifier can't be lower than 1 for the assaulting element. *CM = Cohesion Modifier. If the attacking element has less than 0,6/max cohesion, it starts to decrease slowly. With cohesion 0, it's 0.
  • HM = Hitpoint Modifier. It's 1 as long the unit has more than 0,5/max of it's healthpoints. With less than 0,5/max it's 0,75, with less than 0,25 it's 0,5.
  • ROEM = [Rule of Engagement]]Modifier: "AoA" for example gives 1,35 for the attacker, 1,5 for the defender
  • LQM = Low Quality Modifier: if the (modified) TQ of the attacker is lower than the (modified) TQ of the attacked element, it's 0,8. If it's equal or higher, it's 1.
  • AM = Ability Modifier (abilities of the commander, like cavalryman, which gives 1,25 for the assaulting element)
  • FMM = Forced March Modfier. It's 0,85 if the assaulting unit did a forced march. If not, it's 1.
  • OCM= Overcrowding Modifier. See Overcrowding Rule for details
  • Coeff = Hit Coefficient: 0,4 for assaults in RoP


Note, that there is a minimum hitchance of 5% for every element that assaults or counterassaults, even if the calculation results in a lower value.

Example

We have the following element that passed the quality check and is ready to engage an enemy in face-to-face combat.

  • Assault Value: 10
  • Discipline: 8
  • Cohesion: 70/90 CM=1
  • Hitpoints: 4/10 HM=0,75
  • Stackleader: Offensive 4
  • Unitleader: Offensive 1
  • Rule of Engagement: All out attack RoEM=1,35
  • A unitleader in the stack has the Cavalryman Trait AM=1,25
  • The stack was ordered on a forced march this turn FMM=0,85

It engages an enemy with following relevant stats:

  • Discipline: 7, (+1, because of terrain effects, but -1 because cohesion is lower than 0,5/max.)
  • Entrenchment: 1
  • Stackleader: Defensive 2

So the TCM is:

1+(4*0,05+1*0,03)-(2*0,05)=1,23-0,1 = 1,13

Now we have to compare the TQ. This comparison takes into account a modified Troop Quality, which is altered by the command modifier. For the assaulter, we get: 8*1,26= 10,08

For the receiver, we get: 7*1,1= 7,7

So the assaulter suffers no LTQM.

As the final hitchance, we get:

(AV-EV) *TQ *TCM *HM *ROEM *AM *FMM *Coeff

(10-1) *8 *1,13*0,75 *1,35 *1,25 *0,85 *0,4 = 35,01


Now, a 100-sided dice is rolled: If the result is lower than the result of the calculation, an element will inflict losses to its target according to its “Assault Damage” values (the first number indicates the number of hits which are inflicted to the enemy, the second indicates the inflicted cohesion losses).

Assault Combat Effects

Casualties Strength point losses from assault combat are assessed according to the Assault Damage value of an element - the first number is for health damage, the second for cohesion damage ; this number can be modified by the special assault actions explained below.


Cavalry Charges

Once a Field Combat has reached a combat range of Zero (0), a Force containing cavalry elements is checked to see if it will mount a ‘cavalry charge’. The chance of mounting a cavalry charge is determined by the Discipline Value of the cavalry being checked. This check is modified by the Leader’s Offensive Rating. The leadership bonus is applied fully if the Leader in direct command of the charging unit/element or is halved if the Leader providing the bonus is commanding the entire Force. If successful, cavalry units are considered to have charged the enemy elements they are in contact with.

A Cavalry charge attacking defending elements that have not ‘Formed Squares’ inflicts a 50% increase in damage (i.e. damage equals 150% of normal), provided of course it hits it.

The roll is done on a 30-face dice


Disrupting

"Disrupt" can mean two things, with comparable effects : - In AJE settings, it is the charge of heavy cavalry (including elephants) - In RUS settings, it is the action of "breaking" the front done either by tanks or specialized troops (e.g. stosstruppen).

In game terms, "disrupt" works exactly like cavalry charges (chance to succeed modifiers, damage done), with two key differences

1. The roll is done with a 20-faces dice instead of 30-faces dice, so there is more chance to succeed.

2. On success, one level of entrenchment of the targetted unit is cancelled (until the end of the turn and not only for the round / battle).


Forming Squares

If an opposing force mounts a cavalry charge or a disruption attempt, defending line infantry elements have the ability to ‘form squares’. To Form Squares, the defending elements must pass a Form Squares Check. The chance of Forming Squares is determined by the Discipline Value of the defending infantry elements being checked multiplied by its current cohesion / max cohesion ratio. This check is modified by the Leader’s Defensive Rating. The leadership bonus is applied fully if the Leader is in direct command the defending element or is halved if the Leader providing the bonus is commanding the entire Force.

A square successfully formed cancels the additional damage done by the cavalry and allow the defending element to deal 100% more damage to the charging / disrupting cavalry (i.e. damage equals 200% of normal), provided of course the defender actually hits it.

The roll is done on a 20-faces dice.


First Assault (AJE only)

In AJE, elements attacking in melee during the first round of a combat inflicts a bonus of damage depending on the unit (legion and phalanxes have no bonus for instance). This bonus is only dealt if the unit is making an attack, not receiving one.

Morale

Just as National Morale is an indication of a nation’s willingness to continue a conflict, unit morale is an indication of a unit’s willingness to remain in combat. Basically, units that are successful in combat and suffer few losses tend to remain effective for longer periods of time. Units that suffer high casualties in combat tend to Rout (i.e. leave the field of battle). If enough units rout, panic can spread throughout an entire force causing it to ‘break and run’. A Force that is routed from battle is susceptible to suffering additional casualties from ‘Pursuit’.


Morale Checks Prior to Combat Round

At the beginning of every combat round, elements that have suffered losses (in any preceding combat round) must pass a Morale check. To pass a moral check you have to roll a 10-sided dice equal or less your TQ (troop quality). If the element passes the Morale check, it may continue fighting normally. A shaken element has its RoF and its discipline reduced by one for the following round of battle.


Morale Checks During Combat Round

Elements that suffer losses in a combat round (due to either Fire or Melee combat) must immediately pass a Morale check. Morale checks made during a combat round use the element’s Cohesion value. The Morale check is modified:

  • if the checking element is Militia fighting in their own Home Area,
  • if the checking element is defending in fortifications (or trenches),
  • if the checking element is defending a symbolic objective (i.e. home capital),
  • if the checking element has previously suffered losses.

If an element passes the Morale check, it may continue fighting normally. If an element fails a Morale check during a combat round, it is considered ‘Routed’. Routed elements (and units) are considered to have left the field in panic and may no longer participate in the battle. This morale check is based on the current cohesion compared to the maximum potential cohesion and modified by losses taken.


Ending Field Combat

Field combat is concluded in a variety of ways:

  • a Force is successful in withdrawing from combat,
  • a Force is defeated in combat and forced to Rout,
  • the battle ends in a Draw at the end of the current game turn if neither side withdraws.


Pursuit of Routing Force

A Force that is routed suffers additional losses in the form of “Pursuit” casualties. (Pursuit casualties represent losses due to the chaos and disintegration of an army running away in the face of an organized enemy force). Pursuit casualties are increased if the non-routing force (i.e. the winner of the battle) contains a significant number of cavalry units.

For a more detailed explanation see Pursuit.

Effects of Battle on Leaders

At the conclusion of every battle, each Leader who participated in the combat is checked to see if he has become a casualty. Lower ranking officers are more likely to be personally affected than are higher ranking officers. Leaders of 3-star rank have a lower probability of becoming a casualty; however, ALL Leaders, regardless of rank, may become a casualty if their immediate subordinate unit is eliminated. Leaders that survive the battle may gain experience based upon their ratio of losses suffered/losses inflicted (even Leaders on the losing side). Leaders may also gain or lose Seniority depending on whether they won or lost the battle. Winning Leaders are sometimes granted additional Special Abilities as well.


Effects of Battle on Unit Experience

Units participating in combat gain experience regardless of whether they won or lost the battle.


Effects of Battle on National Morale

The winning side gains NM according to the losses inflicted on the opposing force. The losing side loses NM equal to the losses suffered in combat.


Effects of Battle on Victory Points

The winning side gains Victory Points according to the losses inflicted on the opposing force. The losing side neither gains nor loses Victory Points.


Who Wins, Who Loses?

The "Victor" in a battle is determined by "Battle Points".

  • You gain 'Battle Points' at the end of battle. If you hold the ground, you gain 5 points. If you don't hold it (this means you have no fighting units left with a posture which is not passive), you lose 5 points.
  • You gain one battle point for each NM you gained. Same for losses: you lose one BP for each NM lost
  • If your side is routed, you lose a further 5 BP.

Then there is a check for who gained the most BP. This means, and this is important, that victory in the AGE engine is not only considers who is holding the ground. If you 'win' a large Pyrrhic victory, then you'll be declared as the loser regardless of holding the battlefield at the end of the day.

Commander’s Note: Victory in a battle is determined primarily by the losses suffered and losses inflicted.
It is possible to be considered the victor in a battle even if your Force withdraws if it inflicts serious losses on an opposing force.

Further information and helpful links

If you still don't get it or are feeling unsure about some concepts, you should have a look into the following threads in the AGEOD-Forum:


If you're interested in exact data about terrain impact on combat, you should have a look at the Official Files for modding You'll find the terrain information in the "Includes and GameData" folder.

Also very informative: The "GameLogic.opt" file, which is located in the "settings" folder of your game. The file has a combat section where the exact value of many parameters mentioned in this article are defindes.

If you want to do some research on your own, you can do this by enabling the debug mode in the game options then playing a turn, testing interesting stuff and scrolling through the battle log (in the log folder of your game).

Forums