

Stronghold Warlords has been worked on since 2015, after the release of Stronghold Crusader 2.Units from various Asian cultures: Vietnam, Mongolia, China, Japan.Engine platforms that can be attached on walls.New food types: tea, rice, vegetables, meat.New raw materials: saltpeter, gunpowder, silk, tea leaves.Gunpowder-type tower engines, units and traps.Single-player campaigns and multiplayer skirmish.Classic siege units and unit archetypes.Estates (separate from Warlords' estates).Strong walls: a multiplayer option, which makes walls impervious to infantry attacks.The Scribe returns to give remarks once again about events and happenings.When the AI has a very developed castle, he tends to funnel diplomacy more into rank upgrades, however barely using them for attacks. They tend to have a very high preference on capturing any they can lay their hands on, however they use their edicts very conservatively, relegating them mostly to their shipment options and upgrading their defense. When pressured, the AI will prioritize recruiting troops and withdraw all of them to its castle.

Normally, the AI keeps its units at home, with ranged defenders mounting the walls and melee units located at the keep, only to send them out later for raids against warlords and player targets. The AI also manages its troops depending on stance. The AI also recruits troops based on their unit preference, depending on their troop pool and what the situation requires. Each AI is given a rough castle template, inside which buildings are placed in separate quadrants based on their type: weapon production, food production, civilian buildings and other production. While previous incarnations required strict rules in terms of building army groups and build order, now the AI prioritizes construction according to its needs. The AI in Stronghold Warlords got an overhaul in terms of decision making and management.

Warlords can also be upgraded to unlock further edicts and strengthen the potency of available ones. Those under control provide benefits, enabling passive perks and one-time edicts by spending Diplomacy points: trickling small amounts of resources, sending reinforcements, upgrading their castles, or sending out attack groups. Warlord estates are scattered throughout the world map, who can be taken over through militaristic or diplomatic means. Warlords are the successors of the estate system from previous games. Resources and the popularity panel are now permanently shown, and selected units get a dedicated screen showing attack and defense values. The game comes with updated visuals and a redesigned user interface. Players can also engage into a new aspect of battle: diplomacy, which boils down to controlling newfound non-player characters, warlords. Units can be recruited from the barracks or the military academy, with the former requiring equipment for each unit. Players can build various fortifications to protect themselves, as well as industrial buildings to build up supplies and cater to civilian and recruitment needs. Stronghold Warlords is set to play in the vast territories of Eastern Asia, featuring four nations from across history: the Chinese, the Japanese, the Mongols and the Vietnamese.Įmphasis continues to be on the sim aspect of Stronghold, managing castles and building armies, while keeping an eye on the economy and the everyday lives of the townsfolk. 2.2 Popularity and food system redesign.
