Generals

## Overview

Generals represent historical leaders (Gallic Chieftains, Roman Generals, etc) and can be assigned to lead combat units or to command camps/cities. Each general has one or more fixed attributes that get applied to the target of their command when they are leading. Generals act similarly to officers or upgade buildings except that you can reassign them to where they are most needed.

* Generals are not created like other units and do not cost gold, consume food, or use recruits. They are either promoted from officers of awarded by completing ojectives. However, generals do still have a home city and will return there if defeated.

* To assign a general to lead a combat unit, left-click to select the general and then right-cllck on the unit you wish them to lead. Once merged they will act as a single unit. You can detach the general in the upgrades tab.

* To assing a general as governor of a camp or city, move them into the city, select them in the unit tab and click the "appoint governor" button in the command panel. Governors can also be removed in the upgrades tab.

* A general's attributes only apply to the unit he is merged with or to the camp/city he is assigned to. Only one general may be in charge of a unit or building at a time.

**Note**: A general can merge with any combat unit to add his skills to the combat unit’s skills. Merging is the only way to take advantage of a general’s skills.

## List of General Types

The following sections have been contributed by garrowe101 in a Steam-Guide

## Starting Generals

At game start the leader of the faction can be customized by the player by investing "points".

Areas starter generals can beat promoted generals:

* Charge Strength. Beats Field Tactician by 40% if all points invested
* Charge Block. Beats Field Tactician by 70% if all points invested
* Missile Damage. Beats Archer General by 40% if all points invested
* View Distance. Beats Scout General by 150% if all points invested
* Siege Damage. Beats Engineer general by 95% if all points invested

Areas no promoted general can get bonuses for:

* XP for New Unit
* XP Earned in Combat
* City Faction Morale
* Population Growth
* Skill Research
* Tax Output

## Strategy

Generals offer respectable bonuses, but tend to shine best when combined with synergistic officers. Also, generals can be assigned to forts and towns, and will provide bonuses beyond just the stuff like the tax output.

* Try putting hunter generals in cities. They will reduce the food cost of that city by 60%! Which means you could crank up the slider to consume 150% food need and you would still save 10%!
* Range buffing generals can buff camp or city garrison attacks like they would any other ranged unit
* View Distance buff generals can also buff city view distance, which is a respectable size to start with once it gets stone walls, meaning lost of area around the city, and neighboring ones are visible
* Try combining the Raider and Hunter officers along with a general of either kind. The 60% visibility distance reduction allows for simple ambushes
* Archer Officer, Archer General, and Scout can make any ranged unit very capable. And if an archer has all three, it is a terror.
* Stacking bonuses for a major stat can really shape a unit
* You can't have two of the same type of officer, but you can have an officer that is the same type as the general. Which enables doubling up on boosts.
* Experiment with combinations. different units may benefit differently from the same general
* Some premade starting generals you can choose to start with has more points spent than the 3 point limit given to customize your own general
* When making your own, consider what you want to use the starting general for.
* Roman legionnaires are very versatile, and the officer and general buffs can be used to emphasize specific aspects. Like their range attack, close combat abilities, or ambush tactics
* Range ambush reduces attack range, but that can be effectively negated via archer gen and officer bonuses, allowing deadly bonuses without having the enemy be almost on top of your ranged unit.