Greetings, emperors!

Last time I introduced engineers as a new troop type focused on construction rather than combat. Today I want to show you what that actually means in practice, because the difference in project times is quite dramatic.

Let’s take a construction project that normally takes 800 cycles to complete. Here is how long it takes depending on how many engineers your army has:

An army with no engineers at all, just soldiers, takes 800 cycles. That is twice the normal time. Your soldiers are capable builders, but they are not specialists. An army with just 100 engineers immediately drops that to 400 cycles, the base speed. Already you have halved the construction time simply by including a small contingent of engineers. Push to 200 engineers and you are down to 380 cycles. At 300 engineers it is 360, at 400 it is 340, and with 500 or more engineers the project completes in 320 cycles. Beyond 500 engineers there is no further benefit, the efficiency cap has been reached.

To put that in perspective: the same project that takes a soldiers-only army 800 cycles is done in 320 cycles by a well-staffed pioneer army. That is a 60% reduction in construction time. For a long campaign of building outposts, improving terrain and founding new settlements, that difference adds up enormously over the course of a game.

Keep in mind that existing bonuses stack on top of the engineer multiplier as well. If your general has the Architect trait and you have researched Construction technology, your pioneer army becomes even more efficient. A fully optimised pioneer army can complete that same 400-cycle project in around 230 cycles. A soldiers-only army with no bonuses at all takes 800. That gap is the reward for investing properly in the construction side of your empire.

Engineers also consume support equipment during construction projects, just like any other troops in your army. A pioneer army that is constantly building will burn through support equipment faster than a war army sitting in garrison, so keep an eye on your supply lines when running long construction campaigns.

One final thing worth noting: to start a construction project, your army has always needed at least 100 basic infantry. With this update that requirement changes. You now need at least 100 basic infantry OR at least 100 engineers. This means a dedicated pioneer army built around engineers with only a cavalry escort for protection can start projects without needing a large infantry contingent. Much more flexible.

The figures I’ve mentioned above may be adjusted during playtesting, but they should give you a good feel for how engineers are designed to work.

Next week I’m going to start looking at something I’m very excited about, the changes to the combat system! There are some significant improvements coming that I think you are going to love. Stay tuned!

Cheers!