14 DAY TRIAL // King Arthur II is in many ways similar to the Total War series from The Creative Assembly, mainly when it comes to the real time tactical engagements. But there’s one crucial difference between the two series: in King Arthur II no one ever seems to flee from battle, regardless of whether they are monsters or humans.
I fought rival kings who were eager to take my place as the ruler of a small piece of Britannia and their soldiers, despite working for tyrants focused only on power, were incredibly dedicated to their rulers and were willing to die en masse on the battlefield.
I fought Fomorian monsters, abominations that spawn from the ground and are led by giants that tower over my own heroes and they too laid down their lives rather than simply moving back to their gates in order to move back to the outer realm of their own origins.
It makes little sense for the monsters and almost none for the humans to stay in the field long after it is clear that there’s no chance of winning the battle.
I don’t know exactly why the developers at Neocore Games decided to ignore any sort of morale mechanics for the battles.
They might have thought that there are enough options and features, from hero abilities to global spells and tactics, that the player needs to manage and morale would have been an unneeded distraction.
They might have eliminated it because they thought fleeing men were not appropriate for such a heroic setting as Britannia under King Arthur.
But, unfortunately, it really makes the battles easier than they should be for the player and, in many ways, breaks the immersion.
It will be interesting to see whether an upcoming patch or maybe a player-made mod introduces morale back to the battles of King Arthur II and whether it has a big impact on the gameplay.