A Total War Saga: TROY Mixes Myth With Truth Next Year

Creative Assembly is ready to share details of the next A Total War Saga: TROY, set to release next year and immersing players in the Trojan War.


Published: September 19, 2019 11:00 AM /

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Troy: A Total War Saga

The Total War Saga series has seen two entries, one new game and one retroactively added to the series, and now Creative Assembly is ready to share details of the next: A Total War Saga: TROY. Total War Saga is intended to zoom in one area of the world or conflict, and that's exactly what Troy is doing, immersing players in the Trojan War. A Total War Saga: TROY releases next year.

The Trojan War is something just about everyone has at least some passing familiarity with. Everyone knows about the infamous Trojan Horse. Troy is all about immersing us into that Bronze Age world and coming to love (or hate) the heroes and characters in that big story. Also, of course, involving ourselves in big decisions that will change the fates of the many factions in the conflict.

As a Total War Saga game, Troy is smaller that a mainline Total War game, but really only in the sense of scope. Instead of a map spanning continents, Troy takes place in the Aegean Sea. That doesn't mean the map is small by any means, we just get a more detailed look at the lands around the Aegean Sea. The map size is comparable to Total War Warhammer's Mortal Empires, for example. So it's definitely not small.

Troy also marks the first game being developed by Creative Assembly Sofia. Sofia has been part of Creative Assembly since March 2017 but have only worked on DLC for Rome II so far. So, Troy is a big deal for them, as they're the main team behind the game. More than having their own game, Troy means a lot to the developers who have grown up in the areas these tales take place in. Sofia isn't too far from where Troy supposedly was, and they're very excited to bring their history into Total War.

A Total War Saga: TROY Blends Myth and Truth

Troy wants to explore the many mythical stories, creatures, and people of the time period. The mythical nature of this period is probably best seen using the Trojan War as well, as that was thought to be mythical for quite some time. Even more many scholars didn't think the city of Troy as Homer described existed until the late 19th century, so this is the perfect backdrop to mix truth and myth.

Even though Troy uses the same engine as Total War: Warhammer II, don't expect to Zeus to take the field and throw thunderbolts at your enemies. Instead, Troy wants to explore the theories behind why some myths came to be.

The most famous one, of course, is the Trojan Horse. Was there actually a massive wooden horse let into Troy? Very likely not. However, there are a ton of different theories about what the event was that contributed to Troy being breached in the Trojan War. The developers said Troy will feature the Trojan Horse in a few ways, using those theories for what it could mean in the game.

A Total War Saga: TROY, image of the not mythical creature, the Minotaur in Troy is still a force to be reckoned with.
While not the mythical creature, the Minotaur in Troy is still a force to be reckoned with.
 

The most interesting is a theory that a catastrophic earthquake crumbled the walls of Troy, allowing enemy forces inside. The Greek god Poseidon is associated with earthquakes, and one prominent symbol for Poseidon is a horse. Events like this can happen in Troy, greatly affecting the walls of cities you may control.

There are plenty of mythological creatures referenced that will make an appearance too. Just like with the Trojan Horse, things like centaur, the Minotaur, and other creatures. Centaur in-game will simply be archers that are very adept horseman. The Minotaur is a single unit—a very large man wearing a bull's head, who can of course charge into enemies.

So, no spell slinging like in Total War: Warhammer, but you'll definitely engage with mythical creatures, events, and even heroes.

Total War Saga: Troy Features Many Legendary Heroes

Names like Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, and more will be littered throughout Troy. In fact, many of the heroes of the time period are used to base the main eight factions of the game. The heroes are what much of the game is based around, and as such there will be a lot of different equipment for them, and dueling similar to Total War: Three Kingdoms will appear here as well.

Factions have many mechanics that are based around the character of a particular hero. Take Achilles for example. He is without a doubt considered the best warrior of the time period, but he has his flaws, too. One of them is his temper. Actions by friend or foe can lead to diplomatic and trade penalties. However, as a way to offset this some, Achilles'settlements will generate more resources as the people attempt to keep his rage in check.

total war saga troy achilles hector duel

For another example, Hector has some unique mechanics as well that tie directly into his character. Known for his extreme loyalty, Hector must try to impress his father to gain more of Priam's Benevolence. The more Hector completes a set of tasks, the more benevolence he will have. Hector may represent the faction of Troy, but he won't have the city until he has shown Priam he's worthy.

There are many more heroes from this war, each rich with character. Factions they represent will be directly affected by that too, but we don't have details on others yet, so keep an eye out for details. If you weren't familiar with the heroes, characters, and story of the Trojan War before, Troy is aiming to change that.

Bringing the Bronze Age Alive

Total War Saga: Troy is attempting to make the game a good representation of the Mediterranean at the height of the Bronze Age. With that, there are of course limitations with what was available at the time. For Creative Assembly Sofia, this has of course created some challenges in many areas, particularly unit variety but also in making certain challenges, like taking a city, not too difficult.

In Troy, be prepared to see a lot of spears. The main weapon of warfare at the time, this fact created quite the design challenge for Creative Assembly Sofia.Expect to see a lot of variety in the many different infantry available to the time period, particularly the spearman. Much of that will be tied to the faction's identity. For example, Hector is more about big shields and defense, so his units will reflect that too. On the flip side, Achilles' units will be much more mobile.

Because there is so much infantry in Troy using the same weaponry, Creative Assembly Sofia has added a lot of animations so the fights don't all look identical. The spear animations have seen a lot of additions. In the same vein, there will be a lot more visual variety among the units to avoid too much of that sameyness.

Additionally, there were not a lot of horses in the lands around and in the Aegean Sea, so cavalry will be quite rare to come across. There definitely are cavalry units in the game, but they'll be expensive to have and keep.

 

total war saga troy battle

Lots and lots of spears.

In the Bronze Age, there was not a lot of siege machinery to go around. You're not really going to blow up or break down the intimidating walls of a city. There's a reason there's a myth like the Trojan Horse behind why Troy was breached as people throughout history have tried to rationalize its fall.

Beyond ladders to climb up the walls, the developers haven't expanded on what tools you'll get to deal with besieging a city. Hopefully they're not wanting you to wait around ten years to get inside, or waiting on an earthquake to damage some walls enough to get in. Expect to hear more on that in the future.

 

total war saga troy campaign map

Note the pottery-inspired skybox.

Total War Saga: Troy has a unique mechanic to the Total War series in its currency. Usually, you just pile up gold or some equivalent of it to pay for everything. In Troy, you have to engage in the barter system and juggle five currencies: food, wood, stone, bronze, and gold. All of the different regions will be rich or poor in them, so trading—or conquering if you want—will play a big role.

Food and wood are the base resources for the early units and structures, which then moves on to stone, then bronze. Gold is unique in that it is extremely valuable in trade due to its rarity. The most valuable units and structures will take gold as well.

Total War Saga: Troy Has a Place for the Gods Too

In Homer's stories, the Greek gods played a big role in the Trojan War. They were depicted as extremely human, with irrational desires and swinging emotions. So, they of course have to play some role in Total War Saga: Troy as well.

Here, your faction can devote themselves to one of the gods to gain their favor. Gaining favor may take resources, time, or specific actions. Each god has different benefits they provide as well. For example, Poseidon will offer naval bonuses and Ares will give warfare bonuses. You're not limited to worshiping just one god either, but devoting time to one god could anger the others, leading to a loss in their favor.

 

total war saga troy mount olympus

Of course, Mount Olympus has to make an appearance.

Just like the mythological creatures, though, the gods aren't actually intervening in Troy. Instead, it's the people's belief that the gods are involving themselves that give them these bonuses. So, that blend of truth behind the myth continues as a core theme of the game.


Since A Total War Saga: Troy is set to come out next year, with no date or window yet, there's still a lot to be done on the game. That means there's still a lot more to learn as well. Everything is shaping up to make Troy look very promising, and the new ideas they're testing out here are interesting deviations from the standard formula. Expect to hear more in the coming months.

What do you think of A Total War Saga: Troy? What are you most looking forward to learning more about? Let us know in the comments below!

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Andrew Otton
| Editor in Chief

Andrew is the Editor in Chief at TechRaptor. Conned into a love of gaming by Nintendo at a young age, Andrew has been chasing the dragon spawned by Super… More about Andrew

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Learn more about A Total War Saga: TROY
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SEGA
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PC
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