Joe’s Journal, Volume 4
Captain selection plays a huge role in your efficiency in the game. At the start of the game, you should have at least Logos, Sofia, and Tengel. Here I am going to recommend activities for each captain, with an explanation as to why. Of course, there are probably uses I don’t know, so if you have a good suggestion please write to me!
Logos: Player versus player (PVP) battles in which you are using specialists. People sometimes use specialists as frontline troops for stacking against epics, but this is not a good reason to use Logos to attack epics. Logos’s power counts when he is involved in the battle.
Aydae: A good captain for attacks in which you might take a decent amount of damage. Hitting common monsters or citadels. Her power affects all guardsmen, including griffins, and most mercenaries are included in this bonus. Aydae’s power is active only when she is involved in the battle.
Proscope: Used for scouting. Scout your enemies before you attack them. It’s good to know if there are troops, resources, or if you’re about to get demolished by reinforcements from their big friends. Proscope must be the captain chosen for scouting to use his power.
Tengel: A very useful captain, with the unique bonus of adding march range and speed. People use him for mercenary exchanges on other kingdoms, which will be important when we open. Tengel’s uses vary, for whenever you want to get somewhere quick. Personally, I use him as my secondary crypt explorer and have him outfitted accordingly. Tengel’s power only benefits his own marches.
Doria: One of the least useful captains, in my opinion. You only get her victory point bonus if you win the combat, so do not use her for epic monsters. That said, she can be nice for daily common monster hunts and potentially heroic raids. Doria must be in the combat to benefit.
Stror: For mining resources. This one is obvious. However, Stror is also useful to boost your carrying capacity, so consider using him when raiding a player with a massive hoard of resources. Stror must be mining or involved in the combat.
Carter: Useful for crypts. Don’t forget that crypts give every player in your clan a chest. Crypt efficiency determines how high of a percentage your exploration covers, while cost reduces the amount of tar used to do so. It is important to improve both of these scores. Carter must be the one exploring.
Dustan: Useful to include during PVP battles. Dustan, unlike Doria, will give you the conquest point bonus if you lose the battle. Dustan does NOT give bonuses for attacking Shadow Invasion. Dustan must be involved in the battle to give his bonus.
Ingrid: Useful in the same way Aydae is, but monsters are less represented in most armies. Consider her though, as bonuses to monsters are harder to come by from other sources, including equipment. Ingrid must be involved in the battle to boost your monsters.
Brann: Useful for citadel battles, or PVP battles when you need to use your leadership, dominance, and authority to bring other troops. Brann must be involved in the combat to boost your engineers.
Ye Ho-Sung/Bernard/Lucius/Brunhild: The lower value epic captains compared to their legendary counterparts. However, these captains may outpace the legendaries in the early levels, as shards for those captains are harder to come by. They all must be involved in the combat to count.
Aurora: Grants a bonus to construction speed if she is present in the city at the time the construction is initiated. After that, you can switch her out.
Sofia: Her power affects your entire army, monsters included, and can be a good source to help control losses when facing formidable enemies who are sure to do some damage, especially ones with multiple stacks. When following the citadel army advice, she can drastically reduce the number of troops you will lose. She may be able to help in Great Hunt as well. Do not use her against epic monsters.
Xi Guiying: A bit of an enigmatic choice, her bonuses affect two completely different aspects of play. I can’t say I would ever use her, unless it was to store my backup crypting or mining gear as a backup Carter or Stror, respectively.
Farhad: Much like Aurora, Farhad needs to be loafing around in your city to grant his bonus, at the time you start your research. I equip him with honored ruler gear as well. After you begin research, switch him out.
Cleopatra: A very useful captain for combat. Cleo is the go-to choice for epic monsters, because with epics you will almost never kill them, so your health does not matter, only strength, to reap the rewards as much as possible. Cleopatra must be the captain chosen to boost your strength.
Alexander/Minamoto/Wu Zetian/Leonidas: The superior versions of Lucius, Bernard, Brunhild, and Ye Ho-Sung respectively. If you are using these captains, consider their legendary varieties if available to you. Notably, Wu Zetian is often used for citadel battles because no monsters found in citadels are strong against flying troops.
Ramses II: The improved Sofia. You can use him to control losses against high level citadels. He is also useful to have when you are being attacked in PVP, as he will improve your odds of survival. You can only obtain fragments in the Pharaoh’s Bazaar.
Amanitore: A very useful captain to use in raids, and to reinforce your allies or clan forts. Note that her bonus does not apply to marches in which you are the only player, such as attacking citadels. She also only affects your troops in a group march or raid. Useful for ancient vaults and runic raids.
Helen: Add her to the ranks of Aurora and Farhad, Helen is an extremely useful captain to have during troop training. She needs to be idle in the city to apply her bonus to your work.
Mythics: If you can get the mythic captains, you don’t need me telling you what to do with them.
As always, if I missed anything or made points that were glaringly wrong, please let me know by attacking Enso’s castle and sending me the battle report, with your comments.
TLDR: Look at your captain’s bonuses before you send them on missions!
Thanks 275,
Joe