Total War: Pharaoh - Agamemnon Beginner's Guide

Agamemnon's name rings famous in the ears of millions several millennia past his mythologically alleged deeds. There are perhaps no greater individuals eligible to represent Mycenae; and with Total War: Pharaoh's Dynasties expansion, you're given the choice to sally forth as Agamemnon himself (and some near-equally famous allies).

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Should you elect to play Dynasties' campaign as this new faction, you'll learn plenty of broad-ranging things within the first few turns. But they are, indeed, quite broad. Basic battle tactics won't amount to much if you're unfamiliar with Mycenae's skillset both as an Aegean faction and specifically as Mycenae.

Muster Local Support And Displays Of Prestige

Mycenae's unique command is Muster Local Support. When it's deployed, the following bonuses are applied. And, to be clear, you'll want to deploy this often, as gaining units is generally a good thing in a Total War game, but especially keen for a forward-marching faction like Mycenae.

The cooldown for Muster Local Support is a reasonably swift four turns.

• On use: Gain an ancillary unit in the faction leader's army. The quality of it scales with the faction leader's own ranks, so you'll never need to worry about the recruit being underwhelming in strength.
• Buffing the army at the right time is better than doing it as a generalized show of force. Use it if you're in a tough spot. If no tough spots emerge, use it when a quick overwhelm can turn the tide.

If not used, Displays of Prestige will be in effect, which reduces construction times and the costs of main buildings in Province Capitals as well as the Monument of Greatness building.

This one's arguably a bit more useful earlier in the game. The lower your civilization state, the greater the reduction provided by Displays of Prestige; but don't ignore Displays of Prestige later on. It's still useful in that workforce growth is increased in completed provinces.

Atreus' Ancient Legacy

In a developer live stream, it was mentioned that Atreus' ancient legacy is suitable for Mycanae, and, well, we agree. By fulfilling objectives against rival factions, you'll gain Dominance, a unique currency. You'll also gain Dominance via winning battles which the AI perceives you as the underdog in.

Here are some early examples of objectives to fulfill:

• Defeat specified faction leader.
• Conquer the capital settlement of Knossos.
• Raid food resources.
• Sack or raze Phaestos.
• Kill the general Adamas.
• Raze Aegean Fort outpost.

So, as you can probably see, these objectives can often come fairly naturally as you play the game. Especially, again, when you're a faction like Mycenae, which thrives on warfare and its offensive derivatives.

Spending Dominance

Dominance is, technically, a diplomatic form of currency; however, there is a certain "brute force" nature to what you'll be purchasing.

Different actions require differing amounts of dominance.

• 50 Dominance can destroy a Court Plot against you.
• 100 can be turned in for Offer They Can't Refuse, which grants a bonus to Deal Evaluation against weaker factions. It also allows you to make demands at Court.
• With 200, you'll reach A Claim They Cannot Deny, which grants a Legitimacy bonus during civil wars.

Court Demands can net you permission to recruit Elite units. Since Dominance can effectively supplement Regard for spending at Court, Mycenae can shuffle between standard Court rules and flexing its muscle for more rewards.

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Understanding Hecatombs

Unique to the Aegean factions (both Agamemnon's Mycenae and Priam's Troy) is the ability to perform hecatombs, ritual sacrifices which require set amounts of food (the creatures being sacrificed) and are conducted in service to your chosen deity.

Hecatombs are possible for any Aegean god, but while Aphrodite and Apollo are keen for Troy, we enjoy Zeus and Ares quite a bit for Mycenae, as it plays into the faction's offensive military capabilities.

Hecatombs To Zeus

• Shrines: Happiness +7. Construction Cost -45 percent for Management, Administration.
• Prayer: Morale +18 percent. Fatigue -20 percent.
• Devoted General: Aura +40 percent. Missile Damage +20 percent for Heavy Javelin, Missile Chariot, Light Javelin within your army.

Hecatombs To Ares

• Shrines: Recruitment Cost -35 percent in this region. Influence +7 in this province.
• Prayer: Charge Bonus +27 percent. Melee Lethality* +1.5 percent for Swordsmen, One-handed axes, Two-handed axemen.
• Devoted General: Recruitment Slots +2 in this province. Morale -20 percent for all enemy armies in this region.

*On lethality: Lethality is new to Dynasties, it adds a percentage chance every time a blow is landed for it to be lethal and kill the enemy target immediately. We wanted to highlight this since Ares' hecatomb prayer's 1.5 percent boost to lethality might not sound great, but those blows stack fast. It's appreciable, trust us.

Poseidon hecatombs are solid stuff for Mycenae as well. The boost to sea movement can be significantly helpful in a pinch.

Mycenae, as an Aegean faction, is naturally going to spend a fair bit of time at sea; but it's not so structured around the idea as the Sea Peoples. These boosts are a bit harder to come by.

Hecatombs To Poseidon

• Shrines: Influence +10 in this province. Food +20 percent. Wood +20 percent.
• Prayer: Movement at Sea +50 percent speed. Huge. Attrition Immunity in deep sea.
• Devoted General: +25 percent Speed for Melee Infantry and Chariots. Battle Loot +50 percent.

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