Looks like a Gentleman

Looks like a Gentleman, Acts like a Gentleman, Has the Heart of an Assassin

By Cauchpotato

Gentleman. They’re a new edition to the Total War series, and so an aspect of the game some of us are still learning to use to its full potential. What has changed in Empire with agents is there are fewer agents, and some do the job of several from previous titles. For example, a rake in Empire does the same job as a spy and assassin from other Total Wars; whereas there is no longer a diplomat (We all praise The Creative Assembly for relieving us of that complication).

The Gentleman has several different abilities, many of them new to us. The first is they speed up technology research, and can steal research from other faction’s research buildings. This is very useful for someone who wants to upgrade their cities and armies quickly. To use this to the maximum effect, it is best to have one or two gentlemen in all your research buildings, and your best scholars in your main research building for those big technologies that take ages. The smaller universities can research the earlier technologies quickly, and when you get to the larger ones, start grouping your Gentlemen in one or two universities. Stealing technologies should only be done by an experienced Gentleman on small techs, otherwise it’s pointless.

The other Ability is challenging other Gentleman and rakes to duels of honour. To maximise the chance of a successful duel, always challenge agents with less skill than yours. If it is your agent that has been challenged, choose the weapon your agent is best with. A duel has three outcomes; the attacker dies, the defender dies, or both live. Remember, be content with your agent living. Just because you failed to kill an enemy agent, doesn’t mean the next turn they will succeed in killing yours. More often than not, gentlemen don’t go out of their way to duel someone. The best thing about duels is they don’t affect your relations with that faction.

Gentlemen are a new and fantastic addition to the Total War series and I have no doubt they will have a larger role to play in up coming titles. We look forward to their next appearance with keen enthusiasm.