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Tausret, historically the last Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty, is the only female character inTotal War: Pharaoh. She boasts some of the game’s best resource production and a starting position that gives her access to excellent troops but potential enemies on all sides.
As long as Tausret can survive the early game, she’s well-situated to claim the throne and unite Egypt well in advance of the Sea Peoples' arrival. Overall, she has one of the most satisfying campaigns in Total War: Pharaoh. Get your conquest off to the right start with this guide!
Tausret’s Abilities
Tausret has access tounique production buildingsthat provide percentage-based increases to resource outputs in exchange for a small Happiness penalty. At high levels in specialized Provinces, these structures make her aneconomic juggernaut.
If you really need some extra goods, Tausret can use her Command once per year toimmediately add her current location’s output to your stockpile, effectively doubling that Province’s production for the turn. It’s a nice bonus, but you’re usually better off ignoring the Command to get her passive ability; if Shemsu Hor rolls around, and you haven’t used it, you instead get tohurry construction on several buildings for free. The number of instant builds you get is based on the number of Provinces you control.
Tausret’s most notable feature, though, is her Court Ability. By spending a few hundred Gold, she canreverse any Plot against her, becoming the plotter with her would-be antagonist as the new target. This makes it almost impossible for her to lose Legitimacy through courtly machinations and ensures that her rise to power is uninterrupted.
Getting Started As Tausret
Tausret starts in the city of Yebu in Upper Egypt. After defeating her initial opponent, you’ll have a very strong Province for production, though the Stone and Gold mines in the western settlements can be tricky to defend since they’re in the middle of a large patch of desert.Build a Bronze Tool Facility at Nekhen, and you’ll have at least some production capacity for every resource!
Tausret has to go pretty far afield to get a proper Bronze settlement, so you’ll likely need to trade for it if you want to support higher-tier troops early on.
Situated in a central position and with access to Upper Egypt’s excellent Native Units, Tausret canexpand in any direction.Our recommendation is toprioritize taking the nearby cities of Miam and Waset.Miam is the Cult Centre of Isis, and controlling it will give you lots of Favor with your starting Deity, while holding Waset willlet you equip the Hedjet crownwhen you join the race for the throne, increasing your Legitimacy.
Your ally, Seti, may ask you to join his wars; do so to maintain your alliance, butdon’t bother sending any troops north. Seti can handle himself, and helping him will only make it more likely that he becomes Pharaoh instead of you. Besides, you’ll need your armies to defend your territory once the Libu Invaders arrive and the Civil War begins.
Once you become Pharaoh and need to travel Egypt more broadly, always travel via the Nile when possible.Beloved of Haapiis a low-level Title that increases a General’s movement on water; be sure to equip it the turn before starting a journey along the river!
Amenmesse will be yourprimary competitor for the thronein most campaigns, but unless you really need a specific territory of his, it’s best tomaintain good relations with him.Once you become Pharaoh, you canally or vassalize himto lock down Nubia and Kush without having to do any actual work yourself.
How To Defend Against The Libu Invaders
Tausret’s biggest headache throughout the campaign will be theconstant stream of Libu Invaderscoming in from the Western Desert. They largely ignore desert attrition and environmental penalties, and they become stronger as the Pillars of Civilization fall.
Taking land in the Western Desert is tempting due to the excellent resource deposits there, but the further west you expand, the more vulnerably to the Libu you’ll be. It’s best to havea General dedicated expressly to defending your western settlements, ideally supported by fully-garrisoned Forts near important towns.
Try to recruit a General whose starting stats includeFortitude and Ardor.The former lets himreplenish his losses quicklyto prepare for the next wave of attackers, while the latterincreases his movement on the mapto better intercept Libu armies when they appear. Starting him off withPrudent In Victoryalso increases your chance of getting Ancillaries from defeated Libu armies, who often drop equipment well-suited to desert warfare.
Fill his army with Light Infantry, since anything heavier will suffer considerable attrition in the desert, or make sure that there is always a Shrine of Isis within easy reach, as praying to her lets an army ignore desert attrition for a few turns. The best strategy is tobuild a fully-upgraded Native Recruitment Centerin the Western Desert; this will allow you torecruit Libu units of your own, complete with heat and attrition resistance!
