Hector’s unique campaign mechanics
Assuwan League
The Assuwan League mechanic has six tiers and ranking up is based on the number of settlements controlled by defensive and military allies. You’ll gain campaign/faction-wide effects as you increase your Assuwan League rank and successive tiers will retain (and boost) the effects of the previous one.
Here they are:
| Assuwan League Rank | Controlled Regions | Effect |
| Ilios | Less than 4 | None |
| Friends of Ilios | 4 to 9 | +10 morale when defending |
| Pact of Strength | 10 to 19 | +8% campaign movement range |
| Growing League | 20 to 39 | -5% recruitment cost for sword units |
| Mighty Alliance | 40 to 59 | -10% upkeep cost for all units |
| Assuwa | 60 or more | Boosts previous tier’s effects |
Much later in your Total War Saga: Troy campaign, you’ll get the effects from the Assuwa tier if you’ve been playing the diplo game effectively:
Don’t forget that crushing the enemy factions that both you and your defensive/military allies are at war with will cause them to show “gratitude” and give you “gifts of generosity.” What are these? Well, these are usually agents that spawn in your capital.
You can also use this conjunction with tips from our Divine Will guide and mythological creatures/epic agents guide. For instance, upgrading a Temple of Apollo in your capital plus boosting the deity’s cult tier gives you higher-level agents when you recruit them.
Because of the gratitude/agent gifts mechanic, you could end up with high-level spies, envoys, or priestesses given for free by your allies. Oh, and you can even go beyond the “maximum of three agents for each type” limit.
Priam’s Heir
In Total War Saga: Troy, Hector can forge friendships, but he also has to be wary of his own brother Paris. The haughty and snobbish prince who kidnapped Helen and started this damn war in the first place is vying with him to become Priam’s Heir.
The Priam’s Heir mechanic is one of the coolest features not just in Total War Saga: Troy, but also in the entire Creative Assembly Total War portfolio. You can complete certain tasks or tallies to increase your “benevolence” in Priam’s eyes — let’s just call these “Priam Points.” You’re racing against Orlando Bloom who’s also completing some requirements and earning Priam Points.
You may not declare war on Troy (Priam’s faction), but you can DOW your brother’s faction instead. It’ll lower your Priam Points significantly, though.
Alternatively, you can seek to undermine your brother by deducting 10 points from his progress. This can be done if:
- Your brother has 300 more gold than you do.
- Your brother is wounded and you’re not.
- Both you and your brother are in the same region and you’re at a higher level.
In any case, here are examples of Priam’s Heir tasks:
| Conquest | Domestics | Other |
| Defeat the Achaeans: Earn points for defeating Achaean heroes or faction leaders in battle. Lose points if you’re defeated by them. | Ensure Population Happiness: +10 for each province producing 400 food or more per turn. +10 for each province with 20 or more happiness. | Fulfill Your Destiny: +10 for each epic mission you complete. |
| Raze Achaean Settlements: +2 for razing Achaean-owned settlements. +50 for razing Mycenae. | Build Magnificent Settlements: Earn points for upgrading your main settlement building from tier 3 to 5. | Prove Your Generosity: +1 per 50 gold you gift to Priam/Troy. Only exchanges where you don’t ask for anything in return will count. |
| Conquer the Aegean: +5 for each owned region in the Aegean Sea. | Gain Apollo’s Favor: +1 for every 5 favor with Apollo | Demonstrate Diplomatic Acumen: +10 for each faction that has 100 diplomatic relations. |
| Support Your Brother: Earn points for beating a common enemy of both you and Paris; more points if you destroy the faction outright. Lose points if you declare war on your brother. | Strengthen Your Armies: Earn points for armies with a full stack. | Foster Agent Excellence: Earn points for high-level agents. |
Whenever you reach point thresholds of 100, 200, and 300, Priam will reward you with a free general that has a higher level. The first brother to reach these thresholds will gain the reward, locking out the other sibling from receiving them.
Note: For each threshold that you reach, two of the task groups will be locked as well. These are the two that have the highest number of points accumulated. For instance, if you got a lot of points from “Support Your Brother” and “Prove Your Generosity” to reach the 100-point threshold, then these options will no longer award points as you try to climb to the 200-point threshold. You’ve gotta focus on other means.
In any case, at 400 points, Priam will finally consider you as his true heir. You’ll automatically confederate with Troy/Priam’s faction and Paris’ faction, netting all the territory in the process. Be ready for confederation because many of Troy’s units are very expensive. You’ll suffer a huge hit to your income due to the food and bronze upkeep.
But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves, are we? Let’s go ahead and look at how Hector’s Total War Saga: Troy campaign progression and epic missions first.
