Coast of the Vampires
Unlike most of the Aristocracy of the Night, some of its specimens settled far from Sylvania, the region most corrupted by the presence of Vampires. Some, having reached the shores of the New World, preferred to raid the treasures of the indigenous peoples rather than found a nation, using the ocean to stock up on bodies to be reanimated with their magic. These pirates, protagonists of the most brutal stories told under their breath in every tavern, recognize the primacy of the vampire captain Luthor Harkon, self-proclaimed King of the Pirates.
The crews of the pirate factions of the Vampire Coast are made up of very few units of zombie sailors perished in the abyss, who with macabre experience rule pieces of imperial artillery stolen from boarded vessels and terrible sea creatures summoned with necromancy.
Strategy in the Campaign
Characteristic traits of the faction:
- Infamy:
Each pirate faction is led by a fleet captain, whose infamous deeds are known in every port of the New and Old World.
Each faction on the Vampire Coast is given a score of infamy influenced by various actions carried out during the campaign (including razing settlements and killing prisoners), and according to this it is placed in a special ranking.
In this ranking there are three types of captains: the legendary lords of the playable factions, the three keepers of a verse of the seafaring song, and other lords of some mixed armies of pirates.
The keepers are identified by a special icon and a teal band on the emblem of their faction. When the player's infamy score surpasses that of one of the keepers, this character will appear on the map commanding an army to wage war on us. Once defeated, we will get one of the infamous stanzas.
Other factions of mixed pirate armies are marked with a blue band on their crest. Such factions have limited diplomatic options and will never travel to the mainland, even when at war with their neighbors, and at most attack armies at sea or coastal settlements. When a player faction on the Vampire Coast defeats one of these lesser pirate armies, they gain one of the pieces of eight, which is the ability to recruit a special unit through the Regiments of Fame mechanic.
- Seafaring song:
In the endless sea crossings the pirates entertain themselves with choral songs that regulate the rhythm of the tasks, and the undead crews are no exception, although their songs are permeated by dark magic.
Each defeated keeper will yield one of the three terrifying verses of the sea chant, which will unlock an army spell for the whole faction, which will bring bonuses in melee defense and cooldown capacity. The stanzas obtained are visible in a special panel in the campaign interface.
Achieving all three stanzas is one of the campaign's victory conditions.
- Pirate Lairs:
Every self-respecting pirate needs a safe harbor where to drop anchor to hide the spoils of their raids and reorganize the fleet before the next raid.
Factions on the Vampire Coast can establish a pirate lair in any coastal settlement under the control of another faction. The pirate's den behaves like a real settlement, visible only to its owner and hidden even from the eyes of the faction that hosts it. This lair, with a structure similar to that of the Wood Elf outposts, allows the construction of a few chains of buildings and is destroyed only if the host settlement is razed to the ground.
Pirate lairs can be created through the action of a hero Vampire Fleet Captain or after a military victory (as a possible choice in the post-battle panel).
- Treasure hunt:
Needless to say, every pirate yearns to find precious treasures whose location is deduced from a map, often far from clear.
During the campaign, treasure maps are found, shown in a special panel. They consist of a vague indication on the campaign map of where a treasure is hidden and a puzzle to help identify its location. Once the alleged treasure site has been identified, a faction character must be sent to excavate.
All characters in the faction have the Dig for Treasure action, which can be activated at any location on the mainland of the campaign map. If the location in which you are digging is really that of the treasure, you will get an item or a certain amount of money.
- Special Faction Rules:
Extra powder
All units with artillery fire have the extra powder attribute which increases all damage types by 30% as long as the unit has at least 80% ammo.
Legendary vessels
Only the legendary lords of the Vampire Coast have the ability to develop buildings within their army like any horde faction.
Army Mode:
- Marching
- Ambush
- raid
- Camp
- Dig for the treasure (see Treasure Hunt)
Recruitment Mode:
- Local
- Summoning the Dead:
With this mode you can immediately recruit some units of your faction in any province. The units available for this recruitment depend on the amount of soldiers fallen in previous battles that have been fought since the beginning of the campaign in the province where you are stationed with the army; the more casualties during the campaign, the more units the higher their quality will be.
Settlement conquest mode:
- Occupies
- Loot
- Raze to the ground
- Establish Pirate's Lair (only on coastal settlements)
Initial game phase
The troops initially available will be weak and very short-lived. Even compared to the other factions of the undead, you will have to make constant use of the resuscitation of the dead, to bring all available soldiers back into your ranks after the toughest battles. Control of your home region will not be easily at hand, and you may lose control of your settlements more than once.
A good strategy can be to bet a lot on the progression of your legendary lord, certainly solid enough to balance the weakness of the rest of the lineup. Undoubtedly units to rely on will be bloated corpses, innovative and self-destructive single troops, difficult to use but capable of detonating an entire, more expensive enemy unit with them.
Development
As soon as you have a minimum of funds set aside, you will have to send your hero vampire captains to explore all the main marine capitals (Lothern of the High Elves, Naggarond of the Dark Elves, etc.) to establish a lair in order to produce wealth. This structure will not easily cease to exist and will produce increasing income with the development of the host city, supporting your campaign with the stability that this faction sadly lacks.
When the revenues allow it, at least one army must be improved with the recruitment of the first pieces of artillery useful for the combat of the neighboring cities, which must be conquered only if in condition to be defended, otherwise only plundered for gold and experience.
Final phase
The final phase of the Vampire Coast campaign is not characterized by a scenario in which you play only in attack, like other more traditional factions. Even a highly developed army can be arrested by a Pyrrhic victory and the factions that have acquired a continental size will be able to invade it on multiple fronts, creating serious damage before being defeated.
In general, it is advisable never to lose sight of the achievement of the objectives of the campaign by preceding the conquest of large territorial expanses, and to try not to make too many enemies unnecessarily.
The monsters summoned from the depths of the abyss will come to their aid, Marcescent Leviathans in the first place, to support the columns of zombie sailors during the marches to victory.
Battle Tactics
Strengths:
- Economical and expendable infantry
- Discrete missile and artillery infantry units
- Discrete knowledge of magic
- Great monstrous options
Weaknesses:
- Composition of the troops on the whole very yielding
- Too few armored infantry units
- Underdeveloped economy
Use the Vampire Coast
An army at the beginning of the campaign will be able to count on very few strengths, such as the ability of the zombies not to go routing and the presence of missile or explosive units. Based on the troops at your disposal, you must exploit the scenario to your advantage to implement various and most advantageous guerrilla tactics. Your general is undoubtedly a strength when you do not have elite troops, but his departure can quickly lead the troops to crumble.
A fully developed army, on the other hand, is much less aggressive and can face a battle with more traditional methods: the presence of several pieces of artillery, always highly recommended, allows the deployment to take refuge in a position of tactical advantage and to fire on enemy lines in approach. Your front line, made up largely of terrible and heavily armored creatures of the abyss, can really engage some points of the battlefield for a long time, while firearms cannonade on soldiers engaged in melee. Don't be afraid of friendly fire - most undead are expendable, and a giant leviathan wouldn't take the area damage of a mortar.
Take on the Vampire Coast
When meeting an army from the Vampire Coast on the battlefield, the first thing to do should be to carefully observe the quality of the troops that compose it.
A basic army, made up of zombie troops and their own general, is only an obstacle to unprepared or incomplete armies. A frontal charge against the undead often results in a decisive victory, net of some losses per unit of bombers or Bloated Corpses. If you notice the presence of the latter, it will not be difficult to neutralize them by targeting them with the shot from a distance or with the skills of some characters. If there were even light hand-to-hand cavalry, victory would be a matter of time.
A more advanced level army offers a different degree of challenge. First, artillery always constitutes a slowdown and discourages a front march against the opponent. A simple encirclement of fast or flying units to disarm the heavier guns can also prove profitable. The gigantic Leviathans must be engaged, as far as possible, on their own terms, without weakening or removing the units destined to do damage for too long. The remaining troops of zombies, even if armored, are not much of a complication, and can be dealt with by your own infantry without any noteworthy care.
In the chaos of battle, like in a game of chess, it may happen that you are able to get hold of the enemy general, which defeat can turn the tide of the battle causing a cascade of discipline collapse with consequent crumbling of your own gloomy opponents.
Best Units
- Swollen corpse
This rather atypical single unit is unmatched by other races, and it influences somewhat the lineup of the army facing it. How it works is simple: when this monster takes damage or comes in contact with enemy troops, it detonates in a powerful blast of enough range to wipe out an entire opposing unit. It is therefore necessary to make it reach the point of the desired deployment without suffering damage, otherwise its sacrifice would be completely in vain.
It is necessary to pay close attention to the fact that the explosion - whether voluntary or not - of this unit causes friendly fire, so its mere presence in the middle of its lines can eliminate large quantities of its soldiers without producing any useful effect.
- Carronate and Mortars
The traditional artillery pool available from the faction is a weakened version of the Empire's basic artillery, although it does have the extra powder trait as mentioned. Being soon available and all in all inexpensive units, they are great additions to most lineups.
- Abyssal Guard
Abyssal Guards are the only non-monstrous heavy infantry option, and are available in both a two-ax variant and a halberd variant (useful against large enemies). While they have good statistics overall, they have a fairly low number of entities. To mitigate this weakness are their Thirst abilities, which allow you to regenerate health points when the unit is engaged in close combat (similar to what happens with Regeneration, which however is always active), and Fury, which increases offensive statistics as long as their discipline is high.
Compared to other heavy units of the undead factions, such as the Vampire Counts' Cairn Guards, this unit is more heavily targeted at dealing heavy damage and is less durable, characteristics of engaging units already decimated by artillery.
- Colossus Necrofex
One might think that a faction based on its own fleet may be handicapped to some extent by fighting on land, at least until their ships stand on their own feet and carry the guns "in person" to the battlefield.
This single unit is a giant with artillery fire. Compared to other hybrid giants from other factions (such as the terrifying Beastmen Cigor and the monumental Tomb Kings Bone Giant) he has a precise and piercing shot, and while he doesn't have much health he has more armor and is more defensive than to break through enemy lines. He can also fire on the go and upon his death free a platoon of zombie sailors.
- Rotting Leviathan
Spearhead of the faction's roster of monsters, the mighty Rotting Leviathan is an incredibly tough giant monster with excellent specs in both attack and melee defense. The damage it deals is piercing and increased by a bonus against infantry. Its imposing armor and its resistance to all types of charges make it an often insurmountable obstacle even for armed cavalry against large units and most of the heroes. This horror of the abyss is also ridden by a stage from which a small handful of zombie arquebusiers shoot with piercing firearms.
Go to previous article Focus 5: Tomb King
