The Tactics of War Beginner Tips and Tricks - Strategy Guide

The Tactics of War by Hede and IK is a historical battle strategy game where players hire units, arrange an army, and either control a hero directly or observe battles through a tactics-style view.

This guide covers first-battle fundamentals. It does not include unit tier lists, exact army builds, historical battle walkthroughs, hero builds, or current balance claims.

A note on status: this guide is beginner-scoped, but The Tactics of War is listed as Early Access with very negative community reception. Use these tips as basic orientation, not as confirmation of current balance quality.

Essential Tips

1. Learn the Two Battle Views

The game supports both direct hero control and a tactics-oriented approach.

Try both before deciding how to play. Direct control teaches danger, while tactics mode helps you study positioning.

2. Spend on a Balanced Army

A single unit type can leave obvious gaps.

Recruit enough variety to cover front-line pressure, ranged support, and flexible responses.

3. Place Units With a Purpose

The pre-battle phase is where many mistakes start.

Avoid random lines. Put durable units where contact is likely and keep vulnerable units away from immediate pressure.

4. Watch the Enemy Counter

the interface shows an enemy unit counter.

Use it to read battle state, then place units around the pressure it shows.

5. Restart to Test, Not to Repeat

Battle restarts are useful learning tools.

Change one part of your plan each attempt so you can tell what actually improved.

6. Do Not Overcommit the Hero

Direct control can tempt beginners into bad fights.

The hero is useful, but charging ahead can split attention away from army command.

7. Treat Recent Updates as Version-Sensitive

recent updates mention unit selling and ranged accuracy changes.

Check the current build before investing heavily in economy tricks or unit-performance assumptions.

8. Ignore Tier Lists Until You Understand Roles

Unit ranking without context is fragile.

Learn what each unit is meant to do before chasing a “best” answer.

Strategy Tips

1. Anchor the front line: Put tougher units where enemies will first collide.
2. Keep ranged units protected: Damage output matters only if they survive.
3. Use restarts for experiments: Test one formation change at a time.
4. Switch views deliberately: Do not let direct control hide the wider field.
5. Build around the battle objective: A historical scenario may reward different positioning than a generic fight.

Resource Management

1. Unit budget: Spend across roles instead of maxing one type.
2. Battlefield space: Leave room for ranged units and fallback positions.
3. Hero attention: Direct control costs strategic awareness.
4. Retries: Use each restart to answer a specific question.

Hidden Mechanics

Mechanic	What It Does	How to Use
Pre-battle placement	Decides where units start the fight	Plan contact points before combat begins
Hero control	Lets you influence fights directly	Use it when tactical view alone is not enough
Unit selling	May allow economy correction in current builds	Confirm before building around it
Ranged accuracy changes	May affect rifleman and cannon value	Confirm current balance before making tier assumptions

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating Early Access balance as stable.
• Sending the hero forward while ignoring the army.
• Restarting with the same failed formation.
• Building an army with no role diversity.

Summary

Beginners should focus on formation basics before advanced builds: learn both views, recruit across roles, place units intentionally, and use restarts to test changes. The Tactics of War is version-sensitive, so save specific unit rankings and mission routes for a focused guide.