Many Total War games give players the ability to unite a large section of the map by seizing a royal or imperial crown, andTotal War: Pharaohcontinues this tradition. This time around, there are two thrones for players to pursue; the titular Pharaoh of Egypt in the south, and the Great King of the Hittites in the north.
While conquering territory is certainly a big part of making your bid to rule over a Bronze Age empire, there are other ways to prove your Legitimacy, including scheming at court and protecting your realm from outside invaders. Becoming the ruler of your chosen kingdom is a major objective in the game, so here’s everything you need to know in order to make it happen!
Royal Traditions
To rule over Egypt or Hatti, you’ll need to be a member of the appropriateRoyal Tradition. Royal Traditions are unlocked a few turns into the game, and can be joined by any character that controls Sacred Land in either country. A character can only belong to one Royal Tradition, and the choice is permanent for the remainder of the campaign.
Amenmesse and Suppiluliuma start as members of the Egyptian and Hittite Court, respectively, and as such are automatically locked into their Royal Traditions.
Legitimacy
Once you’ve joined a Royal Tradition, you’ll see yourLegitimacyscore indicated by a sun icon on the right sideof the resource barat the top of the screen. This represents how fit you are to rule in the eyes of the nobility and the priesthood.
Your primary source of Legitimacy isholding Sacred Landsof your Royal Tradition. This means controlling land in Egypt or Hatti proper, either directly or through vassals. Conquering land outside of the traditional borders of your kingdomwill not increase your Legitimacy.
You also gain Legitimacy byholding a Court Position. While at court, you cansteal Legitimacy from other membersthrough the Discredit plot.
Lastly, you’ll gain a small amount of Legitimacyeach time you win a battle.The larger and more decisive the battle, the more Legitimacy you’ll gain, though it will rarely be more than one or two points.
Legitimacy gained from battlesdecays at a rate of one point per turn, so you need tokeep fighting and winning battlesin order to maintain Legitimacy in this way. Luckily, between the Sea Peoples, rebels, and tribal raiders, you’ll never be short of enemies to fight!
Civil Wars
The only way to become the Pharaoh or Great King is towin a Civil War.Any character whose Legitimacy isclose to that of the current rulercan start a Civil War, and one will start automatically if the current ruler’s faction is destroyed.
Egypt always has a Civil War early in the game - around Turn 22 - triggered by the death of Pharaoh Merneptah, if a player hasn’t already started one on their own.
Once a Civil War has started, any Pretenders automatically go to war with the ruler’s faction, if any. However, Pretendersdo not automatically go to war with one another.
A character with enough Legitimacy to become a Pretender canjoin the Civil War at any timefrom the Power Of The Crown screen. Civil Wars last around ten turns by default, but the timer increaseseach time a Pretender declares their intention.
When the Civil War countdown ends, the character with themost Legitimacy takes the crown.There is a long cooldown before another Civil War can be declared, so if you don’t win the first one, use that time to prepare before trying again.
Power Of The Crown
Once you’ve become the Pharaoh or Great King, you’ll have access to several powerful abilities. As your Legitimacy increases, you’ll be able togain or upgrade further powers.You get two Powers at 150 Legitimacy, then an additional slot each at230, 320, and 400 Legitimacy.
Each of the five Powers can only be taken once, and the higher the slot you place it in, the more effective the Power will be. The only way to remove a Power is tomove it to a higher tier.Powers can never be downgraded. This means that once you have all five slots filled, they’re set in stone for the rest of your reign!
Forced Annexation
All Powers Of The Crown except Court Presence have a cooldown; the higher the tier, the longer the cooldown.
Regalia: Crowns And Weapons
The Pharaoh, Great King, and any Pretenders to those titles get access tounique equipment. Members of the Egyptian Royal Tradition can wear one of five available Crowns, which have theirown Ancillary slot on the character screen. Members of the Hittite Royal Tradition can equip one of three powerful weapons, blessed by the gods.
Only a faction leader can equip Regalia items; you’re able to’t hand out the others to the Generals in your service, even if you aren’t using them!
