Welcome to the first Kingmakers Dev Blog, a behind-the-scenes look at some of the amazing work the dev team at Redemption Road Games has been up to.
For our first blog, we’re kicking things off with the allies you’ll be in command of - your units. Diving into the top-down strategy gameplay of Kingmakers massive medieval battlefield. So buckle up and let’s begin!
Unit Types
When Early Access hits, you'll have six medieval troop types to recruit, which include: Swordsmen, Spearmen, Cavalry, Archers, Berserkers, and Men-at-arms. Most of which will be upgradeable up to two or three tiers to improve their proficiency. For example; regular Archers can be upgraded to Longbowmen who cause extra armor-ruining ranged damage. There’s also a full skill tree system that enhances units even further, but more on that later.
Troops are just the beginning.
You’ll also have access to siege weapons like Trebuchets, Ballistas and the Archer Towers to place strategically. And let’s not forget, you’re a time-traveling mercenary. That means you can call in modern emplacements, such as gatling turrets, by tossing tactical grenades that drop them directly onto the battlefield, shredding medieval armor. However, keep note these turrets aren’t invincible, enemies can destroy them and they’re treated as deployable units, so place smart.
Unit Strengths, Weaknesses, and Battlefield Roles
Every troop in Kingmakers have unique roles, bringing their own strength, weaknesses and behaviors on the battlefield. Think of it like rock-paper-scissors, if the scissors were a bow and arrow, and the rock rode a horse. Let’s break it down:
Swordsmen gain defensive bonuses when positioned near other units, especially Archers.
Spearmen are effective against Cavalry. They can slow or knock riders off horses on impact.
Cavalry are fast and brutal, great for smashing through lines or flanking to reach Archers.
Archers are powerful against lightly armored units like Spearmen and Axemen but vulnerable to melee troops.
Berserkers wield axes and can enter a rage mode to deal high burst damage.
Men-at-arms are heavily armored macemen and act as the tanks. They can temporarily boost their defense to hold the line in heavy assaults.
Since you’re sided with the underdogs, you’ll be outnumbered and need to plan ahead. That means mixing and matching your troops and getting them into position before facing the enemy. Some examples of our personal favorite combos are; massed Archers protected by Swordsmen, great for efficiently leveling a village or outpost. Cavalry charges are also really satisfying to watch overwhelm and scatter your enemy. We also like combining Macemen and Axemen for a tight flanking wedge or crushing from the sides in a pincer move. But that’s just a couple examples of possibilities. We’re excited to see what kind of army combination you’ll be creating.
Unit Upgrades and Survival
Circling back to the skill tree, you can upgrade units through the skill tree by using holy relics collected during gameplay. The skill tree isn’t tied to individual units, it includes branches that enhance various troop types and unlock new abilities, like the Berserkers going into rage mode or the Men-at-arms getting extra tanky with a defense boost.
As for keeping your army alive, you can throw tactical grenades that can heal units mid-fight, but in order to bring back those defeated, you’ll need to place down a hospital and bring the remaining survivors to it. Hospitals can revive fallen members and restore the full squad, so long as they’re only partially wiped out, if the entire troop is gone, then you’ll need to recruit a new one.
Command and Control
Total War was a big inspiration for some of Kingmakers’ battlefield systems, but where their units behave as a single blob, our units are fully individual and AI-driven, more like what you’d see in Mount & Blade.
In Kingmakers, you can seamlessly switch between top-down strategy and third-person combat at any time. In top-down, you’ll have full RTS-style control like in Total War or StarCraft in bird’s-eye view and a deep range camera zooming. We’re also exploring the idea of third-person commanding, where you’d run with an "honor guard" that follows your lead, but it won’t be in for Early Access.
Morale, Fear, and Prisoners
Enemy troops will have their own officers. When taking down an enemy officer, that troop’s morale will drop significantly, sometimes forcing a full-on retreat. There’s also a localized fear system; if enemies witness you blowing up another soldier, they might panic and flee.
You can also capture officers using taser-based weapons to take them alive back to your prison and decide their fate. While you cannot convert enemy officers into an ally, you can choose to either ransom them for money, torture them for more resources or execute them for permanent morale boosts for your troops.
Your own troops won’t have an officer because that role falls on you. And with that, you can unlock abilities that boost allied morale, either by staying close or tossing down support grenades.
Now, we’ve seen your questions as to how do these medieval troops feel about witnessing a gun-wielding demon from the future. And we’d love to add reactions like soldiers screaming “It’s a demon!”. But right now, it’s a stretch goal for post–Early Access. For now, the fear system already brings that immersive behavior on the battlefield.
You’ll also notice civilians such as peasants and nobles roam your growing stronghold and while they’re not part of any troop under your command, they do react when getting attacked. If confronted by enemy troops, they’ll either run and take cover in buildings or try to fight back, which will more likely end poorly as they are very weak. On that note, noblemen can also appear in missions where you can escort them or raid their convoys.
Enemy Officers and Armors
About those enemy officers we mentioned, there’s a lot more than one type and some don’t mess around, no matter how intimidating you are. Each comes with their own troop and fighting style. For example, the Shielded Pikemen march forward with their shields raised and throw spears at you, while the Warhammer brutes hit wide areas with big swings. There are even suicide bombers to watch out for, but we won’t spoil everything just yet and let you find out the fun way when you meet them ingame.
Not all enemies wear the same armor, you’ll encounter armor tiers ranging from steel to hardened steel to gold titanium alloy, which is both stronger and lighter than steel. That means not all of your bullets will have an easy time taking down all enemy types, because every caliber comes with realistic penetration values, so where you aim matters too. Light calibers, for example, will struggle against even basic armor, while the mid-to-heavy calibers can pierce hardened or titanium alloy. Shotguns also have different gauges with varying impact. But the elite officers will be wearing the best tier armor, so aim smart and prepare for a challenge.
Officers are designed to feel like cinematic mini-boss encounters. They’ve got complex AI, heavy loot, and unique abilities tailored to challenge you directly. It’s a sharp contrast between you mowing down troops of soldiers with your modern firepower (or vehicle).
Behind the Scenes: Challenging Troop
One of the biggest challenges in our development when it came to units was the Cavalry. Balancing their AI (especially in multiplayer) was tough. While charging through crowds, horses have to also respond to being shot or losing a rider, and behave independently if dismounted.
Looking Ahead
There are so many things we want to add to Kingmakers; the possibilities feel endless, and that's exactly why we’re launching in Early Access first.
Post-Early Access, we want to add new factions such as the Scottish or French, have epic castle sieges, deeper troop officer systems, and maybe even a PvP mode. Helicopters and planes for you to pilot are also something we’d love to have and while that’s not unit-related, we could dive more into your arsenal and vehicles in a future dev blog!
Mod support is in the works too and we can’t wait to see what creative chaos you will come up with it.
Thanks for your support!
That concludes our first Kingmakers dev blog!
We hope you enjoyed this deep dive into units and Kingmaker's strategy gameplay. We have so much more to share, so if you found this interesting, let us know what topic you want us to cover next in the comments, and we’ll post more of these on a regular as we get ready for early access launch on October 8th.
Until then, join the Discord and come hangout with us!
- The Kingmakers Team