For fame, honor and power – the strategy game Total War: Arena puts you in the role of an ancient warlord. In real time, you must control your troops, capture strategic points and use your war power tactically to earn your place in the history books.
The introduction to the strategy game
As a budding warmonger, you can play Total War: Arena for free and at the start of a new round you will be spoiled for choice as to how you want to start the battle. Because unlike other war games, the factions can be re-selected every round. You can choose each time whether you want to go into battle as part of the Roman Empire, the Greeks, the army of Carthage or as barbarians.
After choosing a faction, it’s time to choose a commander. Heroes of history such as Leonidas, Julius Caesar or Hannibal are available to choose from. Each commander has their own strengths and special abilities that can be used in the online games. For example, Leonidas can create a defense against projectiles at the push of a button and is only vulnerable in close combat for a while. Hannibal, on the other hand, is able to briefly increase the attack power of his units in order to carry out a liberation strike.
The third choice before starting is troop composition. Total War: Arena simplifies its gameplay for multiplayer games so that each player can only send three units into battle. There are infantry soldiers, ranged fighters, mounted units and war animals such as dogs or elephants. You can either put together three of the same troops or mix up your selection to have more freedom of action in the online games. Once the choice of faction, commander and troop composition has been completed, the war games can finally begin.
The battle of the giants begins in real time
Total War: Arena relies on the principle of mass battles. You will be randomly assigned to one of over ten war scenarios and can choose at the beginning in which position you would like to start your war games. If not all positions are covered by human players, the computer fills empty positions in the free strategy game with AI units.
When all troops are ready, the battle begins in real time. You control your troops and your commander with the mouse and keyboard and must try to defeat the opposing army or capture and hold strategic points on the map. A special feature here is that all players have to combine their fighting strengths with each other. Because unlike other war games, not every warrior fights alone. Instead, you become part of a diverse army that can include troops from all four factions. Only if the players on the same side support each other, use their skills wisely and balance their strengths and weaknesses can they ultimately be successful.
Swords, spikes, elephants – which troops use
Skirmishes in Total War: Arena work on the principle of rock, paper, scissors. This means that a unit within the real-time online game always has strengths and weaknesses that need to be exploited. Mounted units, for example, are very effective against artillery and archers because the soldiers on their horses can quickly dive under the hail of arrows and bridge the distance to the enemy. On the other hand, they are also vulnerable to pikemen, who will simply spear the riders if they get too close. That’s why, before starting a battle in the real-time strategy game, you have to think carefully about how you mix your units if you want to balance out the strengths and weaknesses of your soldiers.
Rewards of War and Upgrades in Total War: Arena
After a battle in the real-time strategy game Total War: Arena you can collect your reward. Because every commander and every unit gains experience in battles and can then be improved. To this end, Total War: Arena offers a very detailed research tree with which upgrades such as combat power and new troops can be unlocked so that you can start the fight even better equipped in the next multiplayer games. In addition to experience, you also earn gold and silver, which are necessary for upgrading. Not all improvements are available to you right from the start, but you have to unlock them gradually, which can sometimes take a while if you only want to play the online game for free.
Purchased Favor – Premium Offers
On the battlefield, it is not uncommon for you to face opponents who can make your life difficult with clever tactics or improved troops. To ensure equal opportunities, the game offers you premium content that you can buy for real money. This content includes, for example, special units, new skills for your commanders or an upgrade for your account. This upgrade will give you more gold and more experience when you go into battle.
To ensure that players do not gain an unfair advantage over those who only play the online game for free simply by paying real money, the premium content is only available for a certain time and is not available to you indefinitely. If you want to continue to use the benefits after the purchase period has expired, you will have to pay real money again in the premium shop of the multiplayer game Total War: Arena.
Conclusion on the strategy game Total War: Arena
Total War: Arena is a real-time strategy game that combines massive battles with comparatively simpler controls and customization. You have many choices and can improve your units within the online game as you wish and use them in different constellations. It is an advantage if you have already played a game in the “Total War” series or are familiar with multiplayer games, but even as a beginner you can quickly get used to the gameplay. In addition, there are no overpowering combinations or advantages in the strategy game, so even a beginner can defeat a more experienced opponent in real time with a little luck and the right strategy. In each round the cards are reshuffled and a strategy that worked yesterday can fail in the next battle. The gods of war are fickle and in Total War: Arena, victory and defeat are close.