Total War Saga: Troy – Campaign progression
Tips when playing as Hector
As soon as you start your Total War Saga: Troy campaign as Hector, go ahead and propose defensive alliances with Paris, Aeneas, and Sarpedon. You’ll have a positive diplomatic evaluation so you can milk them for all they’re worth via barter deals. You can also barter (or gift) Ilion Imbrasos and Ilion Hyrtacidae to nudge them closer to a defensive alliance.
Heck, you can even propose non-aggression pacts (NAPs) with the Greek lords so you can obtain resources from them. How’s that for ahistorical?
Once you’ve defeated Makaria’s army and captured the nearby settlement, initiate a hecatomb sacrifice for Athena to level-up her cult ranking. Then, pray to her to get promoted units and an extra recruitment slot next turn.
Go ahead and churn out a full stack and take over Makaria’s territory in Lesbos province. Do keep in mind that Priam will give you missions from time to time lasting for a few turns. These will also net you benevolence or Priam Points upon completion.
The problem is that these missions might not align with your expansion or the current state of the game. For instance, I had to reload my save a few times because Priam kept telling me to defeat Methymna (a minor faction) — which Hector already has a NAP with at the start of Total War Saga: Troy‘s campaign.
Note: The island of Lesbos has harpies (ranged units) that can be recruited via a special building. You can learn more about these units in our mythological creatures and epic agents guide.
Now, because an option for the Priam’s Heir mechanic is gaining favor with Apollo, you could actually build a temple to the god in your capital. Use the bonuses to churn out a few priestesses and have them farm favor with Apollo (or with other deities that you’ve dedicated a temple to in other settlements).
Combining this with the aforementioned Assuwan League mechanic (and generosity rewards from your allies), you could get lots of high-level agents as you’re progressing through Total War Saga: Troy‘s campaign.
Note: You can learn more about “playing the religion game” in our Divine Will guide.
Hector’s epic missions
Not only do these epic missions nudge Hector closer to a Homeric Victory in Total War Saga: Troy, but they’ll also provide you with more Priam’s Heir points. As mentioned in our beginner’s guide, I’m still unsure as to how or when these epic missions trigger.
Remember that certain epic missions have requirements that need to be fulfilled. Others, meanwhile, are automatic and they offer you a dilemma/choice to gain certain buffs.
| Epic Mission | Requirement | Additional Notes |
| Troy’s Stalwart Guardian | Reach “Friends of Ilios” Assuwan League rank. | This requirement should be done within the first turn already if you’ve proposed alliances with Paris, Aeneas, and Sarpedon. However, the mission itself takes a long time before it pops up. |
| The Shields of Phrygia | Control Adrastea province. | I’m not sure when this epic mission is issued for you, but in my case it was on turn 16 (several turns after completing Troy’s Stalwart Guardian). |
| Priam’s Favored Son | Have 150 Priam’s Benevolence (Priam Points). | It just shows you that Eric Bana is cooler than Orlando Bloom. |
| Brothers In Arms | Have an alliance with your brother. | An odd requirement that pops so late (roughly turn 35) considering that we could do this already within the first turn. |
| Joy In Dark Times | This is automatic and it’s an event about the birth of Astynax, Hector’s son. | N/A |
| A Death Foretold | This is also automatic. “The first Danaan to die on Trojan lands augurs the Achaean host entire.” | You can choose to slay Protesilaus or let him live for certain buffs. |
| The Island of Snakes | Have control of Ophioussa province. | This is the group of islands directly west of Paris’ location (assuming he took out the minor factions during his progress and you confederated with him already). |
| Sarpedon of Lycia | Have an alliance with Sarpedon. | Again, this is something you could easily do within the first turn. |
| Tidings from Aegyptus | This is an automatic event. | Choose to have your sister Lysimache marry an Egyptian prince or decline the offer. |
| Omen of War | This is an automatic event. | It’s an omen from Zeus signalling the coming war – which you’re probably already in the middle of in your Total War Saga: Troy campaign. In my case, I was already rampaging across Greece. |
| Dueling Fates | Make sure Phthia (Achilles’ faction) is either destroyed or confederated. | Funnily enough, Phthia/Achilles got confederated… by Odysseus (who ended up becoming Hector’s antagonist in my Total War Saga: Troy campaign). |
| The Mightiest Warrior | This is an automatic event. | Choose to kill or spare Achilles. This occurs roughly 10 turns after Dueling Fates. |
Total War Saga: Troy is available via the Epic Games Store. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
