Age of Wonders: Planetfall is out now and the Vanguard is one of the factions in the game. The Vanguard has different units that it can use in order to defend its lands or attacks others. In this Age of Wonders: Planetfall Vanguard units guide, we are going to walk you through the different types of units their traits, abilities, tiers and other factors that you might be interested in learning about.

Age of Wonders: Planetfall Vanguard Units

The following are the different Age of Wonders: Planetfall Vanguard Units that you need to know about and their different stats and abilities that you need to know about:

These are all the Age of Wonders: Planetfall Vanguard Units that you need to know about. If you are interested in learning more about the game then be sure to check out our strategy guide that will tell you how you can win every time. You can also check out our guides on Trophies and Combat.

If you’re a veteran of 4X games in general, a lot of the mechanics implemented in Age of Wonders: Planetfall will seem familiar. While AOW: Planetfall doesn’t present a steep learning curve, there has always been a very unique way combat has been presented in the AOW series and Age of Wonders: Planetfall is no different – picking up from where its predecessors left off.

Age of Wonders: Planetfall Combat

Planetfall provides two integrated approaches to combat within the 4X grand map. The traditional Civilizational-style of hex on hex interaction with battles being auto-resolved using a “rock-paper-scissor” style system to determine combat winners or the signature ‘tactical’ approach.

In Planetfall, you can conduct the battle on a granular scale, commanding each unit individually on an RTS style map while utilizing the environment to provide bonuses to your units in a turn-based XCOM-esque battle. And while your approach to each battle will depend on which race you play, there are certain general paths that you should be aware of.

Let’s take a general look at what you should be looking at to win in tactical battles in Age of Wonders: Planetfall.

Heroes Rise and Cartographers Take Note!

When entering a tactical battle, you will be greeted with a randomly-generated map whose theme will be based on the hex your units were standing on when the battle was initiated. An example would be that if your units initiated battle on a forest tile, the map generated for the battle will have a forest environment complete with fixtures that would be relevant to a forest.

Remember not only the units on the tile will be in the battle but also units in any adjacent tiles will also be in the battle, so plan your battles accordingly and be wary of adjacent enemy units before initiating combat.

Also, harkening back to a few RTS games of old, the Age of Wonders series has Hero units. Individual units capable of greatly boosting your armies, changing the entire battlefield, throwing enemy units into disarray or some combination of the three. Age of Wonders: Planetfall gives these hero units a heavy sci-fi twist.

You can mod them like regular units with whatever you have available, though what is unique is that Heroes gain experience, level up, and develop new abilities. What they develop is entirely up to you and the playstyle you want to adopt. Want to lead an always aggro army, rushing enemies down. Build your hero with abilities that enhance unit movement, damage, and give the Hero the ability to stagger enemies.

Tactics, Tactics, and more Tactics

Battles are all turn-based and the comparison to XCOM is quite warranted. Most tactical battles play out as smaller XCOM squad missions and on average end in around 5-6 turns. Therefore, your playstyle whatever it is should not worry about long drawn-out battles but rather a very efficient use of the resources you have made available to yourself prior to initiation of the battle.

The units you bring with you into battle need to be well thought out before you initiate or defend. Ensure that your armies have a balanced set of unit types and have cover from other armies in adjacent hexes, remember the lone wolf will always have a difficult time winning.

Most of the units in Planetfall have a few simple abilities in combat which play into either shoot on sight or wait till an enemy unit shows up and shoot. For example, the Dvar Foremen can heal and their Trencher compatriots have an ability to dig in and create a protective barrier around their position.

When utilized at the same time they create a strong rearguard that melee units usually can’t get near enough to hit. This, in turn, could allow your Hero to do what you need it to do, whether that’s rushing in and dealing massive melee damage or sniping with great accuracy from afar.

Remember to utilize the environment for different bonuses and defenses for units while also perhaps creating hurdles for enemy units and allowing yourself better line-of-sight. Then there are operations, which add another layer of decision-making and strategy to the turn-based fights, acting the same way as spells did in the original fantasy-based Age of Wonders games.

Although not available in the first turn and also until you research them, you won’t have much in terms of variety, but later into a game, they allow all manner of buffs and special attacks.

Conclusion

Plan ahead, think on your feet and make sure to equip your soldiers with the latest and greatest, these are the take-away for combat in Planetfall.

Although in truth you could skip all of this and just auto-resolve battles like in traditional CIV games, but then where’s the fun in that? Happy hunting on the new planet!

For more on Age of Wonders: Planetfall, be sure to check out our Modding Guide, Tips & Strategies Guide, and Global Resources Guide.

Age Of Wonders: Planetfall is out now and it can be a complex game if you have not played it before. There are a few things that you can do early in the game that will make sure that you win. In this Age Of Wonders: Planetfall Strategy Guide we are going to walk you through everything that you should do in order to win every game.

The ladder to absolute dominance is a long and complex one, with many challenges and conflicts. Age of Wonders: Planetfall encourages its Commanders to explore every option and opportunity strategically. This type of thinking is applied to development of the empire, researching for resources, making pacts with other settlements and minimizing losses in war.

Age Of Wonders: Planetfall Strategy To Win

Age Of Wonders: Planetfall has plenty of changes, so returning players will need some help as well. That is perfectly fine. Stick to this guide and you should be on your way to victory in no time. Whether you’re a returning veteran who might want to brush up on the new changes in this installment of the series, or a first-time newcomer who might get overwhelmed at the number of mechanics in the game, we’ve got it all covered for you guys in our Age of Wonders: Planetfall Guide.

Happiness Structures Go A Long Way

Building a mightly army is fun and all but it is not going to be worth it if your own people start to rebel against you. That is why you need to ensure that people are happy with you from the very start of the game. The problem here is that the happiness of the population declines rapidly no matter what you do. You need to build structures in order to reverse that.

The Recreational Dome is a great example of a happiness building and in some missions and scenarios, you will be able to build it from the start. You should do so as soon as possible. If the Recreational Dome option is not available then you can get it by researching Frontier Facilities in the Society research tree. It is pretty straight forward and simple but this can impact your game in a huge way down the line.

The following are the main options that increase the happiness of a colony in Age Of Wonders: Planetfall and where you can research them:

Once you have completed one of these happiness buildings, you should produce some low-level units which will be part of your army. These units can be used to replace the ones that are dead. They can be used to defend your capital or scout the surrounding areas for resources.

Defend Your Cities

Leaving your cities open to an attack is a common mistake that people make. I do not blame them. In the early game, it seems logical to strike when the enemy is weak and can easily be overpowered with brute force and numbers. While that is an option that you can choose to go with, remember to leave some troops behind to defend your cities, especially the capital.

You might think that there are no enemy forces nearby but it only takes a while for them to pop up out of nowhere and retreating to protect your city can cost you a major battle. In the early game, a single unit is more than enough but one you progress you will need stacks and heroes in order to defend your lands from potential invaders.

Scouting For Resources From The Start

Like other games in this genre, resources are important and scarce in Age Of Wonders: Planetfall and it is a wise strategy to get as many resources as soon as possible. From the start, you should send out a scout to pick up any resources that are not defended. This will give you a major boost and will help you through the game.

A single unit with high movement speed is all that you need in order to do this. Kir’ko can summon a Whisper of Discord by researching Whispers and Visions on the Psynumbra branch of the Military tree. The Dvar can deploy Trenchers by researching Drudges on the top branch of the Military tree.

Scout units are cheap and you can produce them in early game whenever possible. Keep in mind that you should set your research and unit production at the start of the turn. before you start exploring. Taking over research nodes or finding caches can help boost your production and research. This will give you an edge over your rivals.

Manage Influence

Your colony does need energy and other resources but as you progress through the game, you will quickly learn that influence is a very important resource that needs to be managed as well. You will find one or more NPC factions that operate independently of other AI players. They will be one or more of the following:

• Autonom
• Growth
• Paragon
• Psi-Fish
• Spacers

These factions are not looking to rule the map and they will sell you units and mods. All you need to do is be on good terms with them by completing their quests or offering them tributes. You can spend influence and buy high-level units without spending any energy or waiting turns. The units you get via influence spawn at your capital immediately. These units can be used to win a battle or defend your capital.

When you become friends with the Psi-Fish you can get the tier 3 elite siren unit for just 80 influence. That is much cheaper and much quicker than if you produced one on your own.

The Path To Victory Needs To Be Decided Early On

Campaign missions have specific conditions that you need to take care of in order to win the game but if you are playing a random map then the following are your paths to victory:

• Total Conquest
• Unification
• Destruction (Purification)

Other than the first one, you need to plan ahead because you need to complete the respective research. Here is what you need to know about the three paths to victory that you can choose in Age Of Wonders: Planetfall, you can plan your strategy accordingly.

Total Conquest

This one is pretty simple you need to dominate your enemies. Work with your allies to gain power over the map and be on top at the end to win.

Unification

Planetary Unification Protocol can be researched early by unlocking Dawn Of A New Union at the top Doctrine branch in the society research tree. It does take longer to implement when compared to the destruction path. There are three major limitations that you need to keep in mind with this path.

1. You can’t take resources and structures from other players, and you need to forge alliances and spend influence to compliment other factions
2. Cannot be at war with players or NPC factions.
3. Need 3 dwellings under alliance control.

If you want to win this way then you will need to take a defensive stance and only expand where there are hostile marauders that do not belong to any faction on the map.

Purification

Next, we have the purification path to victory. Researching Planetary Purification takes longer to start and it is found at the end of the military research tree. There are no restrictions for this course of playing the game and hence is much easier.

If you do plan to take this path to victory then keep in mind that all resources are culled by 30% during the countdown for purification that lasts 10 turns. You will need to plan accordingly in order to counter this. You will not be able to produce many units during this phase. Other factions will try to destroy you before you can wipe out the planet and all life on it.

If you are interested in learning more about the game then be sure to check out our guides on Commander Customization, NPC Factions and Faction Technology.

This marks the end of our Age Of Wonders: Planetfall Strategy Guide.