Achilles was a man of myth and legend, a famous warrior. He was fast, able to knock down any enemy he encountered on the battlefield. Although he may have been a phenomenal warrior, his emotions pulled him in, causing him to act irrationally, sometimes acting as his heel when he needed a cool head. Despite being a hotheaded fighter, Achilles remains a steadfast leader of the Myrmidons and works with the other Danaans to bring Troy to his knees.
Hot-Blooded Achilles and the Living Legend
Achilles has two mechanics that you need to balance while ruling his kingdom. The first is his temper, known as the hot-blooded Achilles. His mood can vary depending on his combat performance and the ability of his armies to fight against overwhelming odds. Here are the four emotions Achilles can have that you need to deal with:
- Proud: Achilles leads his forces with a rational mind, and there are no passives to note in this mood.
- Outraged: Achilles will ignore diplomacy and opt to party with the general populace
- Your faction receives 30% more resources
- The province of Achilles has a happiness rating of +10
- The faction has an influence of -10
- All bid attempts have a rating score of -50
- Mourning: Achilles mourns the loss of his soldiers and trusted men
- The favor of the gods increases by 20% for all temples
- All Achilles troops receive more than 200 experience points each turn
- Priestess ritual favor increases by 20% for your faction
- There is a seventh negative happiness for your entire faction
- Outraged: Achilles is blind with rage and desires only war
- Achilles' army has a 40% melee attack bonus
- Your heroes have a 100% chance to loot treasures after battles
- There is a 10% increase in casualty replenishment rate for all armies of your faction
- Achilles' army takes 25% more damage.
- Your faction receives 100% more income from raiding, plundering and sacking actions
- Your resource rate decreases by 30%
- All provinces have a growth rate of -50.
If Outrage, Mourning, or Outrage are not active, Achilles is usually proud, but these three emotions steadily increase. You can alter these by appeasing Achilles and having him face those who challenge him in the Living Legend mechanic.
The Living Legend Mechanic is where challengers around the world will fight to find out if Achilles is the legend he believes he is. When there's a challenge, choose who you want to fight against, and Achilles will do his best to crush them to prove his point. When the adversary hears that Achilles has accepted his challenge, he will agree to fight a duel, submit or not and not submit. When they aren't fighting or apologizing, Achilles must fight them across the map using armies to prove himself.
While Achilles has the title of undisputed living legend, his faction receives:
- 20% lower maintenance costs for all units
- Grants additional units for instant recruitment for all armies
- A bonus plus four to influence his entire faction
Achilles style of play
It would be better if you had Achilles at the top of almost all your conflicts. He wants to be in combat, and making him work hard in a province bores him, upsets him. By placing him in the heat of all your battles, he can quickly level up and become a powerful hero for you to use. Additionally, the more conflict you put him in, the more you can use his outbursts of rage and emotion in a positive way, rather than calming him down with gifts and resources.
Achilles uses a mix of light and medium class units for his roster, sometimes with a heavy unit at the front of his forces. When building his army, provide him with a mix of specialized units that will serve as his vanguard, such as the spear-fighting Myrmidons, Myrmidon swordsmen, Aegean runners, and a row of heavy archers for the help rush forward. You want to give Achilles the best soldiers in your faction's army, because he will always fight.
Homeric victory
Homeric victory is the special victory path that the faction leader can choose to follow. It is not a requirement for your faction to play this path. You can also complete Total War Victory Goals and win the game.
The specific Homeric Victory of Achilles requires you to meet these conditions:
- Complete all 12 epic Achilles missions
- Destroy these factions:
- Hector of Troy
- Paris of Troy
- Troy
- Reach Rank 27 with Achilles
While fighting Troy and destroying them in battle remains an important goal for Achilles, he wants above all to fight to become the best. You want him to circle around the islands, fight anyone who challenges him, and after conquering your neighbors, set your sights on Troy to bring down its walls.
