Guns of Glory on PC: Combat Guide - Pt. 2
On the previous occasion, we talked about some general tips to increase your odds of success when attacking or defending in Guns of Glory. You can read the First Part of the Combat Guide here. However, we only talked about the different types and tiers of units, and how the boosts can increase your attack and defense, as well as the most common places in which you can acquire these boosts.
Still, the question remains: How are damage and combat results calculated in Guns of Glory? Why do some units perish, even when I vastly outnumber my enemy in both forces and power?
Well, in this article, we’ll attempt to explore the intricacies of the battle system in Guns of Glory, and explain the math behind each battle, so that you can learn how the game calculates victories, defeats, and losses for both sides.
Understanding Attributes
There are 3 attributes that are most important when it comes to calculating results in Guns of Glory: Attack, Defense, and Health.
Simply put, the difference between the attack of one player, and the defense of the other will determine that damage that is done to both parties. The damage, in turn, is used to determine the losses that both sides suffer, depending on their health. These numbers are, sadly, not as straightforward as we’re making them sound. Furthermore, the developers have not revealed the exact formula through which the game calculates these numbers. Nevertheless, it is evident that it has something to do with what we just mentioned; the clash between the attacker’s offensive attribute and the receiving player’s defenses will, in great part, determine the outcome of the battle.
However, while there are occasions where a player might have better attributes than your attacking force, due to his boosts, you could still out-fight by playing intelligently. This is where your network of spies and allies can be used to your advantage. By keeping an eye on the opponent, you could determine when he has sent his main force out to battle, either against a beast, or to raid another player. Now, while most good players will never leave their cities unguarded, the fact that they sent a detachment could definitely weaken their standing, leaving them open to attacks. Even if he has better boosts than you, you could simply make up for your lower strength with more numbers. In other words, what you lack in boosts, you can make up for with more troops.
In theory, no matter how large the gap is between both players, the weaker one can always compensate with more numbers.
Damage Done and Damage Received
There are several factors not related to the attributes and upgrades of your units, which can dramatically alter the battle report. Boosts, for example, are one of these factors, which essentially act as another layer in battle, and which can affect the outcomes of a fight, regardless of the strength, attributes, or numbers of armies of both players.
Offensive boosts essentially serve as additional troops for the attacking player, which add to their attack value and help to widen the gap between his strength, and the opponent’s defense. The opposite is true for defensive boosts, as these items bolster the player’s defensive prowess and help him steel himself against your attacks. The same happens when you use your own boosts in anticipation of an enemy attack.
In some cases where the boosts of a defender are dramatically higher than that of the attacker (more than 100% difference), there may be cases where the attacker’s offense is canceled out completely. For this reason, understanding the Damage Done and Damage Received attributes, as well as properly using boosts, will become essential skills for succeeding in the game later on.
Boosting Your Damage Done and Damage Received Values
There are many ways through which you can increase your Damage Done and Damage Received attributes, such as through glory levels, lord equipment, airship abilities, creation skills, and through the Guard building.
- Glory Levels: Once you upgrade a building to level 15, you can begin increasing its glory level to obtain important benefits. Some of these upgrades can directly increase the combat prowess of your troops. Your lookout tower, for example, grants a boost to the attack of your distance troops, while upgrading your embassy, forge, and trap factory also contributes towards the strength of your cavalry, infantry, and overall damage, respectively. Conversely, by working on the glory levels of your trade station, munition exchange, wall, and warehouse, you can decrease the damage received by distance troops, cavalry troops, infantry troops, and overall army damage, respectively.
- Lord Equipment: There are certain pieces of equipment that can be crafted at the forge, and which can grant important bonuses to the damage done by your units, and to the damage your army receives from enemy attacks. The Orange Combat set is relatively easy to craft and provides an 18% reduction to the damage received from cavalry, distance, and artillery units, coupled with a 12% reduction from overall army damage. The best set in the game, the Demon Hunter set, gives a whopping 30% damage reduction from all unit types, on top of a 50% army damage reduction, while also boosting the attack of the player’s troops by 30%, coupled with a 50% increase to his army damage.
- Airship Abilities: Customizing and upgrading your airship is a great way to buff your damage and damage reduction. The Distance Devastation ability, for example, increases the damage your distance troops do against the other three types of units. Meanwhile, the three Cavalry Cannon abilities achieve the same effect, but with cavalry units instead of distance troops. Finally, the three infantry cover skills provide protection from infantry damage to your cavalry, distance, and artillery units.
- Guard: Once you reach castle level 10, you will gain access to the guard building which allows you to hire and assign characters that bestow boosts to your city. The 5-star purple Gustavus Adolphus, for example, grants infantry damage received a buff to all the units stationed in your city.
The Damage Done and Damage Received boosts are paramount to mounting a good attack and defense, respectively. These buffs are so powerful that, in the right hands, they could effectively negate an incoming attack regardless of the number of units that are stationed in your estate. By properly harnessing these boosts, you can effectively become both a killing machine, as well as an impregnable fortress in your own right.
We hope you find the tips in this guide useful. Do let us know what you think in the comments section.
