"In Naggarond, the weak do not survive"
General Druco
Dark Elves
After the death of Aenarion, the first Phoenix King, his son Malekith tried to force his own election as leader of the High Elf people. After being rejected for his evil disposition by the main Asur deity, Asuryan, Malekith fled with his followers from his people's home island, Ulthuan, and settled in Naggarond. This was the schism from which the Dark Elves - or Druchii - arose, cruel elves worshiping the gods of Chaos.
That of the Dark Elves is a society based on the violent supremacy of force and deception, in which betrayal is often used to achieve one's goals.
The Druchii armies have the same amazing warfare prowess as their Asur kin, and have learned to subjugate the deadly creatures of the Naggarond to wreak havoc in battle. Their economy is based on the exploitation of resources and systematically resorts to raids in which the few survivors are enslaved.
Strategy in the Campaign
Characteristic traits of the faction:
- Arche Nere:
When the Asur princes followers of the Cult of Pleasure followed Malekith into the schism, they used powerful magic to transform their palaces into immense arks, with which to transfer their court from Ulthuan to Naggarond. previous Total War titles) have chains of buildings through which they can be upgraded, and a wide range of troops can be recruited on them.
All armies that fight alongside their own Ark will unlock some upgradeable spells also with special buildings on the ship, and will be able to recruit the same recruitable units on board.
To recruit a Black Ark it is necessary to officiate one of the rites available to the Druchii; it will then be recruitable from any of its port outposts.
- Slavery:
The Dark Elves base their subsistence economy on the merciless exploitation of all kinds of resources, including prisoners of war and opponents of the ruling class.
Each faction of the Druchii has a counter that indicates the total number of slaves available in their entire territory. The main source of slaves is capture in battle: following a victory, a Druco general will be able to capture survivors to increase his economy.
Through a special panel it is possible to choose in which cities the slaves who will arrive in the future will be destined (there is no way to move the slaves already in one's possession) and in what quantity. To maximize the benefits of this workforce, it is good to allocate your slaves to a province where the infrastructure of the slavery branch has been built.
The greater the amount of slaves in a city, the greater the income, but on the other hand there will be a penalty to public order.
It is very important to keep in mind that losing control of a city will disperse the entire population of slaves present in it, and therefore it is risky to place them all in one place or in a border town.
In evidence, the counter of the total amount of slaves of the faction.
The slave management panel, where their income, public order, their position and the commands for their management are indicated.
- Murderous prowess:
The chief deity of the Druchii pantheon and god of murder, Khaine, requires large amounts of blood from his followers.
During each battle, a bar will be visible at the top of the screen and will fill up as the fighters on the field are eliminated. When it is completely full, the units of this faction (including chariots and Naggarons, but excluding the other monsters) will see their combat skills greatly improved in almost all respects over a period of time, in a similar way to what succeed the high elves with their martial prowess.
The amount of troops that must perish for the gauge to fill is proportional to the amount of troops that initially take part in the battle.
Army Mode:
- Marching
- Ambush
- raid
- Channeling (allowing for troop reset)
Recruitment Mode:
- Local
- Black Ark (when in the sphere of influence of a Black Ark)
Settlement conquest mode:
- Occupies
- Raid
- Raze to the ground
Initial game phase
In the first phase, great attention must be paid to the progress of one's neighbors, who will mostly be of our own race. The icy north of Naggarond is home to Norsemen tribes and packs of Beastmen, hard to subdue without taking your armies far from home.
The Druchii economy requires extensive urban centers to fuel, but in some directions the terrain will not offer an ideal climate, while expanding to the east coast of the continent will lead to conflict with numerous small factions. It is good to invest your funds in military buildings located far from the front, otherwise they will be annihilated during enemy raids. Choose your path to greatness carefully, and be consistent with your decisions without dispersing in all directions.
Development
Once you have consolidated in the local reality of your capital, you can try to annex by diplomacy or more likely by force all the factions of the Naggarond, with the exception of your allies, which may have expanded more widely than you have had the opportunity to do. you.
In any case, if you want to have good relations with other Dark Elves you must carefully study the path of your conquests so that they do not cut your way by walling you in a closed area. If you wanted to forcefully subdue the other playable factions too, you would certainly have bread for your teeth, and you might not be able to annex the legendary leader to your cause, making him disappear from the campaign. In case you fight a civil war against the other playable Druchii know that you will do without a precious ally.
Final phase
After having achieved a reliable hegemony in the macro-region of departure, one can attempt the crossing towards Ulthuan or the conquest of Lustria. In both cases it will be necessary to deploy all your forces, as in all likelihood the other races will have united themselves. Which direction to take will be your choice, dictated by which enemies are most vulnerable. This final crossing won't be necessary for victory in the ritual rush, but you may want to invest some resources to undermine at least one of the opposing factions.
If you had not unified all of Naggarond under your banner, it is possible that your allies have bloodied the shores of Ulthuan for you, scaling down the High Elves. Still consider expanding in the opposite direction so as not to compete with each other.
Battle Tactics
Strengths:
- Quality infantry, even hybrid (i.e. melee but with missile weapons)
- Excellent penetrating missile infantry
- Great monster options
- Good knowledge of magic, particularly effective against large densities of enemies
Weaknesses:
- Limited artillery park, no firearms
- Average expensive units
Use the Dark Elves
The most common Druchii armies are made up of privateers and light cavalry, supported by large numbers of crossbowmen. These cheaper armies are very agile and are perfect for penetrating deep into enemy territories in order to plunder and capture slaves for the elven war machine. In the early game stages it can be useful to make use of these troops with simple but effective formations (refer to the page Part 6: Advanced tactics and commands), so as to procure riches.
When you have more advanced buildings, you can dispense with missile infantry in favor of a greater number of heavy swordsmen, black guards and monsters; these in particular can be very destructive, and are often more resilient than their counterparts from other factions.
On the map of the campaign it will be necessary to carefully cultivate the slave economy, an essential element to maintain the army. To this end, some agents may be left in the capital to increase the income of the slaves, after having deported large parts of them to it.
Confronting the Dark Elves
To face a Druco army you must first understand which formation you are facing.
A low tier army will have great mobility and good penetrating range shot, but will not hold up against good quality infantry. A charge of infantrymen in the right places can easily break the enemy formation and make your blades meet with the opposing shooters.
Defeating a high tier Druco army will be very, very difficult. In each sector there is a risk of not having qualitative superiority, and it is a priority to send each unit against its enemy.
If you have artillery, you can start targeting single units of the Dark Elves, starting with the Lord; this will lead to an advantageous situation on the air front and on that of the monsters, creating a virtuous chain with which it will be possible to make all the enemy formation capitulate.
The strategy of the campaign against the Druchii must be centered on the destruction of the black arks, with which they can strengthen their armies, and on the systematic conquest of their territories, without provoking their allies, so as to make the maintenance of their warriors unsustainable.
Best Units
- Corsairs of the black arks
The dark elf medium tier infantry, available in both the standard variant with increased damage against infantry and the crossbow variant, slightly less skilled in close combat but capable of shooting at close range.
Both are equipped with good armor, are also recruitable by black arks, and all in all not that expensive. The perfect warriors for raids.
- Har Ganeth's executioners
Incredibly bloodthirsty, armored swordsmen. They cost, but they pay their price on the battlefield. Even a head-on charge of these assassins during Khaine's rage will inflict terrible damage to every enemy line, and their murderous mastery will cause them to cause fear. However, they are slow and vulnerable to penetrating range fire, as they lack shields.
Like other Druchii units, it has a counterpart in the High Elves. Compared to Hoeth's Swordmasters, their Asur equivalent, they have more armor and fewer combat skills.
- Black Guards of Naggarond
The Praetorian Guard of the Witch-King Malekith. Solid as a stone wall, dark as a moonless night.
While being halberd units, they can also wreak havoc on medium to high tier swordsmen, but not without casualties.
These soldiers should be deployed not only on the flanks (to avoid being encircled by the cavalry) but also behind the main line, so as to make them advance if an enemy lord straddles a monster or some unwelcome single enemy unit. Their halberds will do the rest.
- War Hydra
One of the most horrible monsters in Naggarond, encrusted by the captivity of the Druchii.
In addition to the already remarkable ability to kill, it is equipped with regeneration and exhaling different breaths of fire, qualities that make it one of the most destructive monsters ever and very competitive even against heroes and lords.
It certainly gives way against units with bonuses against large units, while regeneration partially protects it from enemy fire.
- black Dragon
The Witch King has corrupted Dragon Eggs with Chaos magic to create creatures to help him reclaim the elven throne.
Unlike the Asur, the Druchii have a unique dragon specimen, a middle ground in power among the options of the High Elves, capable of moving fast and firing on clusters of enemies or rival lords. A pawn of value on the board of the battlefield.
Continue reading with the next article Focus 3: Lizardmen
Go to previous article Focus 1: High Elves
