Greetings, emperors!

Last time I introduced the two-axis combat system and the two new values, Shock Value (SV) and Resolve (RSV). Today I want to go into detail on how the physical axis has changed, because armour is getting a significant upgrade in the new system.

Right now, Armour Value (AV) does only one thing: it sits in the denominator of the Combat Value formula. Once MV overcomes it, its job is done. In the new system, AV does three separate things.

First, it still contributes to the Combat Value calculation as before, so nothing changes there.

Second, the receiving army’s average AV now absorbs a portion of incoming physical damage before it reaches individual troops. Standard infantry, with an average AV of around 11, absorbs roughly 17.5% of incoming damage at army level. Heavy Infantry, with much higher AV, absorbs considerably more. Archers, with low AV, absorb very little. This happens before damage is even distributed to individual units.

Third, when damage does reach individual troop types, each troop type applies its own AV as a personal absorption layer on top. Heavy Infantry takes fewer casualties per round than basic Infantry even when receiving the same number of hits, simply because they are better armoured. In practice, a well-armoured army is significantly more durable than the raw troop counts suggest.

Another change is how the Combat Value translates into damage. The current system uses a blunt approach: if your CV drops below 1.0 you take a flat 20% damage penalty. In the new system this becomes a smooth, continuous multiplier. At CV 1.0 there is no change. As your CV falls below 1.0 damage falls progressively. As it rises above 1.0 damage increases progressively. The formula looks like this:

multiplier = 0.5 + (CV × 0.5), capped between 0.4 and 1.5

So a CV of 0.5 gives a multiplier of 0.75, meaning you deal 25% less damage. A CV of 2.0 gives a multiplier of 1.5, meaning you deal 50% more damage. It scales smoothly rather than jumping at an arbitrary threshold.

The morale axis works differently. Rather than using combined totals, the morale Combat Value uses averages per troop. The reason for this is important. Imagine 200 heavy cavalry facing 1,000 infantry. If we used combined SV totals, the cavalry’s shock value would be swamped by the sheer number of infantry. The maths would say the cavalry is not particularly frightening. That’s wrong. Using averages instead gives the cavalry’s charge its proper psychological weight, regardless of how many infantry are on the other side. The formula is simply:

moraleCV = average SV of attacking army / average RSV of defending army

In the current system the losing side always drains 6 organisation per round and the winning side drains 3, regardless of what is actually happening on the battlefield. In the new system these base values are preserved, but they are multiplied by the moraleCV of the opponent. At moraleCV 1.0 everything is identical to today. Below 1.0 the attacker applies very little psychological pressure. Above 1.0 it rises quickly, and at moraleCV 2.0 the organisation drain on the losing side is nearly doubled.

To give you a concrete example: 300 cavalry charging 500 infantry. The cavalry’s average SV is 16, the infantry’s average RSV is 8, giving a moraleCV of 2.0. The infantry lose around 9 organisation per round from shock alone. They route at roughly round 11, with around 350 survivors still alive but completely broken. In the current system the cavalry charge would produce the same organisation drain as any other engagement. Now it feels like what it is, a terrifying, battle-defining moment.

In my next post I’ll tell you about one of the changes I’m most excited about, how settlements now have their own organisation value, and what this means for sieges.

Cheers!