Combat
Combat is an essential part of CryptoCrusades. It is one of several ways of earning Gold. Players can engage in one-vs-one combat with other players, the result of which is stealing Resources, with a chance of obtaining Gold and Relics from the defeated player. Combat happens in three main phases: the Siege Phase, the Combat Phase, and the Thievery Phase. There are also many preliminary phases and preparation that happens before actual combat occurs, such as training Units, choosing empire-wide Class Policies, and Unit Movement.
Preliminary Phases and Combat Preparation
Before combat, Units must be trained via the Barracks. All units cost specified amounts of time and Resources. Therefore, before training, Resources must be harvested from surrounding tiles or acquired through trade with other players. As in real life, Resources are not evenly distributed on the hex-tile Earth, therefore trading is recommended.
A player's Class and Policies also greatly affect the way a battle pans out. For example, the Warrior Class will receive Policy bonuses during the Combat Phase, while the Guardian will receive defensive bonuses. Each Class has a unique tree of Polices that affects gameplay. As a player progresses through the game, these Policy choices will dramatically alter the player's experience.
Heroes, when placed in a Settlement, may also affect Combat outcomes. Some Heroes may be meant for Combat bonuses, but others are geared toward trade, Resource generation and other empire-specific tasks.
Building upgrades are also a factor. If an Empire has higher-level Walls, then the during the Siege Phase, the attacking player will require more Siege Units to lower the defensive bonus that Walls provide during the subsequent Combat Phase.
Troop Movement is the stage nearest to actual Combat. Players must have enough Food to sustain their Units on a journey to and from an enemy player's Settlement. This cost is calculated before sending Units. After all, a good commander makes sure his troops are well fed for the duration of a war campaign.
Battle Phases
The Siege Phase
The Siege Phase is the first stage of combat after Troop Movement. If a player has trained Siege Units, then there is an opportunity to knock down the defensive bonus of the defending player's Walls. Siege Units are one-time use only. They cannot retreat and do not return to the attacking player's barracks. Walls provide a defensive bonus during the Combat Phase to the defending player's units. Lowering this bonus may completely turn the tides of battle in favor of an attacker.
Like the other phases, each player's Class and Policy choices may grant additional benefits. In this case, to sieging and wall defense.
The Combat Phase
The Combat Phase is the second stage of combat following the Siege Phase. A player's primary combat units participate in this phase: Archers, Cavalry and Spears. These units clash against the defending player's primary combat units. Each type of unit has a bonus and a weakness against the other types. For example. Archers are strong against Spears, but weak against Cavalry. Spears are strong against Cavalry, but weak against Archers. Cavalry is strong against Archers, but weak against Spears. Because of this, the proportion of each type of Unit in an attacker's army must adequately counteract the proportion of units in a defender's army. If a defender has a lot of Cavalry, it would be wise to send an army with ample Spears.
Like the other phases, each player's Class and Policy choices may grant additional benefits to attacking and defense. In this case, to the combat dynamics of primary combat units.
The Thievery Phase
The Thievery Phase is the third and final phase of Combat following the Combat Phase. If an attacking player successfully decimates a defending player's army, then a unique opportunity arises to steal Resources, Relics and Gold from the defending player.
There are two Thievery Units: Wagons and Scholars. If a player has sent Wagons along with an army, then the player will be able to steal a proportional amount of Resources from the defending player, with a chance of stealing Gold, a unique resource that can be exchanged for Gold. If a player sends Scholars along with an army, then there is also a chance of stealing a Relic. Relics are highly valuable, craftable items based on historical artifacts that increase a player's shares of the daily Gold airdrop.
Post-Battle
After the three phases of combat, there is another phase of Unit Movement, where Units must make the journey back to the Settlement from which they were sent. The distance traveled takes generally same amount of time it took to travel to the enemy Settlement. Attacking players who are nearby may at times be beneficial, due to faster travel times, unless those nearby empires are valuable trading partners.