While in the Goblin Faction Reveal, Part 1 we looked at Goblin society, physiology, weapons and armor, this time we're taking a closer look at the Goblin units you'll face on the battlefield.
The actual update to the game will come together with an extensive changelog later this week!
Goblin Skirmisher
Goblin Skirmishers are the various types of melee infantry that Goblins employ. They are armed with a melee weapon of Goblin design – pikes, spears, falchions, long knives -, may carry a shield or throwing net, and often have spiked bolas as a secondary weapon to use from range should the opportunity present itself. They’re relatively poor at charging the enemy but quite competent in delaying an enemy charge and holding the line for Goblin Ambushers to pick the enemy off one by one.
Goblin Ambusher
Goblin Ambushers are dedicated ranged troops armed with bows of goblin design and wear light camouflage armor that offers little protection but makes them hard to spot from a distance. Presumably because of their experience in fighting heavily armored Orcs, they’re trained to target weak spots in their opponent’s armor for increased direct damage. Their arrow tips are coated in poison which makes vision get blurry and moving in a coordinated fashion take a monumental effort. The effect of poison slowly diminishes with each turn after getting hit.
Goblin Wolfrider
Goblins breed large wolves for war to use as mounts for their feared Wolfrider regiments. Wolfriders are faster than any infantry on the battlefield and can also move quickly through difficult terrain. This makes them them ideal to circle around a static battle line and attack archers and other lightly armed troops with from the rear, with the wolf supporting its rider by snapping its jaws at the enemy. Thanks to their swift mounts the Wolfriders are hard to pin in close combat and may break off attacks when the odds turn against them or a better target presents itself.
On hitting a Wolfrider unit, either the rider or the wolf may be hit, and they may be killed independently from each other. Killing just the wolf may leave a Goblin Skirmisher to continue fighting on foot, while killing the rider will have you face a frenzied wolf no longer kept in check by its rider.
Goblin Overseer
Goblin Overseers are veterans and members of a higher caste mandated by a Goblin council to lead and oversee a regiment of Goblins in performing a task. They’re clearly recognizable as being in charge due to their ornate armor and helmet, and they carry long whips with which they can whip the common Goblin to perform better, and to get fleeing Goblins back into line.
Because Goblins are drafted into service, the Overseer plays an important part in keeping everything together. Should he fall, Goblins are much more likely to fall into disarray, rout and flee the battlefield instead of soldiering on.
Goblin Shaman
Goblin Shamans are members of a small and secretive caste whose members seemingly possess otherworldly powers. Those powers are no less mysterious and inexplicable to the average Goblin than they are to a human witnessing them, and the nature of their power is a jealously guarded secret. In Goblin society, Shamans are often consulted as oracles, healers and experts on poison, and although not part of the political caste, hold tremendous power of influence.
In battle, Goblin Shamans support their troops by commanding nature itself. They have been witnessed to make vile roots grow from the ground in an instant to hold people in place, and to send a swarm of a thousand black flies onto their opponents. Up personal, however, they are but frail old Goblins with no real weapon.