Combat is a major component of Vox Imperium, and the game is designed to bring all players into direct competition with each other for resources and territory. You must constantly evaluate where you are weak and reposition your forces and direct your expansion accordingly.
All attacking modes use a common attack screen. The screen displays the cost of the attack (typically the same as moving into the square), the two selected combatants, and the odds of the attack.
All attacks require resources to initiate, with the exception of the automatic bombardment performed by Fortifications firing on invaders. In combat, the defense of a tile has no resource cost.
All combat is simultaneous – ie, attacker and defender inflict damage at the same time. There is no first strike ability or equivalents.
All melee units (Horsemen, Pikemen, Ships) have access to the Attack command, which directs the selected unit to attack a neighboring tile. When this is done, the server will select the most appropriate defender and combat will commence.
Attacking is a one-on-one system. A single attacking unit will assault a single defending unit. Because of this, it is better to have a single large unit of one hundred troops, compared to ten groups of ten troops each.
When attacking, the attacker’s offense is compared against the defender’s defense, damage is calculated and casualties are subtracted.
The attacker’s offensive ability is blunted by the Defensive Modifier of the tile the defender is occupying. A tile’s Defensive Modifier can be seen in the Tile Viewer located in the upper right hand corner of the game screen. This Defensive Modifier can range from a 5% decrease all the way up to a 50% reduction in attacker strength!
Additionally, attacking across rivers and other bodies of water carries with it a stiff penalty for the attacker. This bonus applies to everywhere a Movement Penalty applies (see Tile Viewer). Attacking across a river is never a good idea unless you wield overwhelming force. The following image shows a situation where an attack penalty is being leveled against the Heavy Calvary.
Attacking is the only method of capturing buildings. Bombardment and Ranged Combat may reduce the defense of a structure to zero, but without a ground assault the building will remain under the control of its owner. Capturing a building via the Attack command reduces its level by one – Cities become Towns, Forts become Stockades, Armories become Castworks.
If the attacking unit completely destroys the defending unit, and there are no other units in the defending the square, the attacker is moved into that square at no additional cost.
All ranged units have the Bombard command, which can result in one of two situations. If the selected target can fight back, Ranged Combat occurs. If the target cannot, Bombardment occurs.
Bombardment is a modified version of attacking in which only the attacker’s offense, modified by the defensive bonus of the target tile, and the target’s defense is taken into account. No casualties can be sustained by the attacker.
Bombardment occurs when the targeted unit has no ranged capability, or the target’s range is insufficient to reach the attacker.
Bombardment may reduce a building’s defense to zero, but it cannot capture or destroy structures.
All ranged units have the Bombard command, which can result in one of two situations. If the selected target can fight back, Ranged Combat occurs. If the target cannot, Bombardment occurs.
Ranged Combat is a modified version of combat where the units defense ratings are not taken into account. Instead, the two offense scores (adjusted by their opponents’ tile defense modifiers) are compared against each other directly, damage calculated, and casualties subtracted.
Ranged Combat may reduce a building’s defense to zero, but it cannot capture or destroy structures.
Automatic Bombardment from fortifications can never be responded to with Ranged Combat, even if the ranged unit could attack the fortification with the Bombard command. Automatic Bombardment is a free hit associated with movement – opportunity fire.
After combat has taken place, a combat results screen is displayed. This screen gives a battle report, list casualties, and informs you of any special events, which include:
- Attacker Losses
- Defender Losses
- Building Wipeout
- Building Capture
- Overrun
All buildings captured via the Attack command suffer one level of upgrade -- Cities become Towns, Forts become Stockades, Armories become Castworks. If a building is first level, then it is wiped out in the fighting.
If the attacker is vastly more powerful than the defender, the combat is judged an Overrun. In an Overrun, the initial cost of the attack is refunded to the attacker and the attacking unit is advanced into the defending square for free. Overruns can help an invader cheaply invade a neighbor’s territory, so avoid leaving weak units close to borders!
Bandits, Partisans, and Spies can only be eliminated by other spies, in a process referred to as Spy vs Spy combat. This is triggered in one of two situations:
- Through use of the Investigate command
- By performing a spy action within the range of an enemy spy
This investigative ability is considered passive and always active on spies. If an enemy spy attempts to use a spy action within the range of your spy (for instance, trying to sabotage a Camp that the Spy is next to), your spy will attack the invader automatically, and recieve an ambush bonus.
In spy vs spy combat, one side is always eliminated. If multiple spies can fight, they will all fight, one at a time, until one side is completely defeated. When one side is defeated, no information is given to the losing player about the origin or type of spies used in the attack.
