Here you'll find basic descriptions for the new factions found in SOD. Each has different strengths and weaknesses and offer a different gaming style.
Empire of Antaria:
- heavily-armored infantrymen with two-handed swords
- javelin-throwers for ranged support / shield coverage
- light-medium cavalrymen with swords/lances (similar to Mercenary Horsemen)
- Noble/Faith troops: heavy infantry with two-handed weapons
Antaria has THE BEST heavy infantry in the whole game, but they lack both archers and proper cavalry. Also their infantry, while super-armored, have no shields. Javelinmen are nice in the field but suck in sieges. If you pick Antarians, you almost certainly need to hire some ranged mercenaries, but beside that they are a fairly user-friendly faction. Their heavy infantry can kill off practically anything.
Antarian Noble/Faith troops are complete killing machines, clad in superb armor and swinging around two-handed weapons. Their weaponry may vary depending on religion though.
Kingdom of Aden:
- Medium-heavy cavalry with lances/swords/maces
- Lightly protected archers
- Light infantry with swords and shields
- Noble/Faith troops: heavy melee cavalry (most have lances in their arsenal)
Aden has some of the best cavalry, rivalling with Swadia. Their infantry and archers are not really good but very cheap and easy to amass. Aden can access quality melee cavalry earlier than any other faction. Back up their cavalry with archers and you can pretty much win most matches with ease.
Adenian Noble/Faith troops are heavily armored cavalrymen, THE BEST cavalry in the whole game. Most of them have access to lances, other pieces of weaponry can vary depending on religion.
Republic of Marina:
- moderately strong polearm-bearing infantry
- heavily armored crossbowmen with shield/sword for melee
- sucky Scout Cavalry
- Noble/Faith troops: heavy 'mixed' infantry
Marina is similar to the Rhodoks but has a significant difference. Their infantry have better armors, but at the same time use two-handed polearms and as such have no shields. But Marinan infantry is very easy to afford and gather in large numbers. Also, their polearms can do wonders in sieges ("lengthy" advantage !), and they do fairly well against cavalry in formations. You may want to consider hiring some shield-bearing mercenaries and/or cavalry, though.
Marinan Noble/Faith troops are heavily armed and armored, and use crossbows as their ranged weapon. Their melee weapon depends on the religion they have chosen.
(Note: if you choose "Natural Philosophy" as religion, Marinan Faith troops will spawn with firearms !)
Villianese Duchy:
- medium melee infantry with shields and sabers
- very good longbowmen
- sucky Scout Cavalry
- Noble/Faith troops: heavy ranged units (mostly bowmen with 2-handed weapons for melee)
The Villianese have very powerful archers. They have slightly slower rate of fire than Vaegir archers but shoot further. Masses of Villianese longbowmen work wonders against any enemy, especially when you station them on high ground (be wary against Khergits though). Villianese infantry are good vs. archers and provide good defense against ranged attacks, but won't win battles alone. Let them station before the longbowmen and they will be fine. You may wish to hire cavalry mercenaries, but that's not a necessity.
Villianese Noble/Faith troops are decently armored, and save for an exception (see Note) always use bows. They are THE BEST ranged troops in the game, their melee weaponry may vary from religion to religion though.
(Note: if you had chosen "Natural Philosophy" as religion, Villianese Faith troops will spawn with firearms !)
Zerrikanian Sultanate:
- medium melee cavalry with maces, chance for throwing weapon
- medium horse archers with sabers/maces for melee
- light-medium infantry with axes
- weak foot archers
- Faith/Noble troops: heavy ranged cavalry (either throwing weapon or bow)
The Zerrikanians are the most colorful faction but not the toughest. Their infantrymen and foot archers are weak, albeit cheap. I suggest using their cavalry, both melee fighters and horse archers in combination. Zerrikanian melee cavalrymen are stronger than Khergits but weaker than knights of other factions. You should also consider that since a lot of Zerrikan horsemen use blunt weapons, you'll get a big load of prisoners which you can hire into your army or sell for profit, which can help compensate their "weaknesses".
Zerrikanian Noble/Faith troops are ranged cavalry fighters; they have respectable armor, but aren't as tough in melee as, say, Adenian Nobles/Faith troops would be. They compensate with their ranged capabilities well though. They are THE BEST ranged cavalry in the game, but probably the weakest among the Noble/Faith troops.
(Note: if you choos "Natural Philosophy" as religion, Zerrikanian Faith troops will spawn with firearms !)
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Imperial Legion*:
- mid-heavy infantry with moderate armor, big shields, spears/swords, chance for throwing javelins
- mid-heavy cavalry, good armor, has shields + sabers/lances
- medium crossbowmen, only top tier has shields, otherwise uses swords in melee
- Noble troops: 1 type of heavy infantry, 1 type of heavy cavalry, 1 type of heavy ranged infantry (see below)
Imperial Mercenaries:
- Sons of Deer; mid-heavy horse archer, good armor and skill, uses swords and shields in melee
- Bastard Brothers; heavy melee infantry, uses either two-handed or 'bastardly' (either 1- or 2-handed) swords, maces and axes plus various shields
The Imperial Legion relies mostly on its infantry. They have decent armor for their level and lower-tier troops often spawn with javelins, while top-tier troops are pure melee. Legion infantry have big shields, so archers won't work against them (except in great numbers of course). Imperial crossbowmen are quite weak in comparison; they have similar armors as melee troops but no shields and don't fire as fast as archers would, leaving them exposed. Legion cavalry is good, but not exceptional (Adenian/Swadian cavalry is better).
Imperial Noble troops are practically empowered versions of the regular troops:
Akolouthoses are heavily armored melee troops with the strongest shields avaible in game, and use spears and axes.
Praetorians are well-armored crossbowmen, in melee they shift to swords and shield and are fairly skilled.
Hospitaliers are heavy melee cavalry with shield and lance/saber in hand.
The Imperial Legion also has two unique groups of mercenaries: the Sons of Deer and the Bastard Brothers.
Sons of Deer are very tough cavalry archers, they are fast and quite well-armored compared to other cavalry archers, making them durable even in melee combat. They are not quite dangerous in melee though, just annoying.
Bastard Brothers are heavily armored assault footmen fighting mostly with 2-handed or 'bastardly' weapons. Their equipment can be quite random, but their armor is always good. And since they have 'bastardly' weapons, their shield-bearers will switch to 2-handed mode if you shatter the shield, dealing out more damage.
*(Make note that the Imperial Legion can NOT be normally picked as a starter faction (unless Computica programmed it differently for a test version, of course...). As such you can only get their troops via prisoner-collecting.)
Empire of Antaria:
- heavily-armored infantrymen with two-handed swords
- javelin-throwers for ranged support / shield coverage
- light-medium cavalrymen with swords/lances (similar to Mercenary Horsemen)
- Noble/Faith troops: heavy infantry with two-handed weapons
Antaria has THE BEST heavy infantry in the whole game, but they lack both archers and proper cavalry. Also their infantry, while super-armored, have no shields. Javelinmen are nice in the field but suck in sieges. If you pick Antarians, you almost certainly need to hire some ranged mercenaries, but beside that they are a fairly user-friendly faction. Their heavy infantry can kill off practically anything.
Antarian Noble/Faith troops are complete killing machines, clad in superb armor and swinging around two-handed weapons. Their weaponry may vary depending on religion though.
Kingdom of Aden:
- Medium-heavy cavalry with lances/swords/maces
- Lightly protected archers
- Light infantry with swords and shields
- Noble/Faith troops: heavy melee cavalry (most have lances in their arsenal)
Aden has some of the best cavalry, rivalling with Swadia. Their infantry and archers are not really good but very cheap and easy to amass. Aden can access quality melee cavalry earlier than any other faction. Back up their cavalry with archers and you can pretty much win most matches with ease.
Adenian Noble/Faith troops are heavily armored cavalrymen, THE BEST cavalry in the whole game. Most of them have access to lances, other pieces of weaponry can vary depending on religion.
Republic of Marina:
- moderately strong polearm-bearing infantry
- heavily armored crossbowmen with shield/sword for melee
- sucky Scout Cavalry
- Noble/Faith troops: heavy 'mixed' infantry
Marina is similar to the Rhodoks but has a significant difference. Their infantry have better armors, but at the same time use two-handed polearms and as such have no shields. But Marinan infantry is very easy to afford and gather in large numbers. Also, their polearms can do wonders in sieges ("lengthy" advantage !), and they do fairly well against cavalry in formations. You may want to consider hiring some shield-bearing mercenaries and/or cavalry, though.
Marinan Noble/Faith troops are heavily armed and armored, and use crossbows as their ranged weapon. Their melee weapon depends on the religion they have chosen.
(Note: if you choose "Natural Philosophy" as religion, Marinan Faith troops will spawn with firearms !)
Villianese Duchy:
- medium melee infantry with shields and sabers
- very good longbowmen
- sucky Scout Cavalry
- Noble/Faith troops: heavy ranged units (mostly bowmen with 2-handed weapons for melee)
The Villianese have very powerful archers. They have slightly slower rate of fire than Vaegir archers but shoot further. Masses of Villianese longbowmen work wonders against any enemy, especially when you station them on high ground (be wary against Khergits though). Villianese infantry are good vs. archers and provide good defense against ranged attacks, but won't win battles alone. Let them station before the longbowmen and they will be fine. You may wish to hire cavalry mercenaries, but that's not a necessity.
Villianese Noble/Faith troops are decently armored, and save for an exception (see Note) always use bows. They are THE BEST ranged troops in the game, their melee weaponry may vary from religion to religion though.
(Note: if you had chosen "Natural Philosophy" as religion, Villianese Faith troops will spawn with firearms !)
Zerrikanian Sultanate:
- medium melee cavalry with maces, chance for throwing weapon
- medium horse archers with sabers/maces for melee
- light-medium infantry with axes
- weak foot archers
- Faith/Noble troops: heavy ranged cavalry (either throwing weapon or bow)
The Zerrikanians are the most colorful faction but not the toughest. Their infantrymen and foot archers are weak, albeit cheap. I suggest using their cavalry, both melee fighters and horse archers in combination. Zerrikanian melee cavalrymen are stronger than Khergits but weaker than knights of other factions. You should also consider that since a lot of Zerrikan horsemen use blunt weapons, you'll get a big load of prisoners which you can hire into your army or sell for profit, which can help compensate their "weaknesses".
Zerrikanian Noble/Faith troops are ranged cavalry fighters; they have respectable armor, but aren't as tough in melee as, say, Adenian Nobles/Faith troops would be. They compensate with their ranged capabilities well though. They are THE BEST ranged cavalry in the game, but probably the weakest among the Noble/Faith troops.
(Note: if you choos "Natural Philosophy" as religion, Zerrikanian Faith troops will spawn with firearms !)
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Imperial Legion*:
- mid-heavy infantry with moderate armor, big shields, spears/swords, chance for throwing javelins
- mid-heavy cavalry, good armor, has shields + sabers/lances
- medium crossbowmen, only top tier has shields, otherwise uses swords in melee
- Noble troops: 1 type of heavy infantry, 1 type of heavy cavalry, 1 type of heavy ranged infantry (see below)
Imperial Mercenaries:
- Sons of Deer; mid-heavy horse archer, good armor and skill, uses swords and shields in melee
- Bastard Brothers; heavy melee infantry, uses either two-handed or 'bastardly' (either 1- or 2-handed) swords, maces and axes plus various shields
The Imperial Legion relies mostly on its infantry. They have decent armor for their level and lower-tier troops often spawn with javelins, while top-tier troops are pure melee. Legion infantry have big shields, so archers won't work against them (except in great numbers of course). Imperial crossbowmen are quite weak in comparison; they have similar armors as melee troops but no shields and don't fire as fast as archers would, leaving them exposed. Legion cavalry is good, but not exceptional (Adenian/Swadian cavalry is better).
Imperial Noble troops are practically empowered versions of the regular troops:
Akolouthoses are heavily armored melee troops with the strongest shields avaible in game, and use spears and axes.
Praetorians are well-armored crossbowmen, in melee they shift to swords and shield and are fairly skilled.
Hospitaliers are heavy melee cavalry with shield and lance/saber in hand.
The Imperial Legion also has two unique groups of mercenaries: the Sons of Deer and the Bastard Brothers.
Sons of Deer are very tough cavalry archers, they are fast and quite well-armored compared to other cavalry archers, making them durable even in melee combat. They are not quite dangerous in melee though, just annoying.
Bastard Brothers are heavily armored assault footmen fighting mostly with 2-handed or 'bastardly' weapons. Their equipment can be quite random, but their armor is always good. And since they have 'bastardly' weapons, their shield-bearers will switch to 2-handed mode if you shatter the shield, dealing out more damage.
*(Make note that the Imperial Legion can NOT be normally picked as a starter faction (unless Computica programmed it differently for a test version, of course...). As such you can only get their troops via prisoner-collecting.)