Field battles

From Warpedia

A massive field battle in Total War: Three Kingdoms.

Field battles are a type of battle in the Total War series. Field battles, as the name suggests, are battles fought in a large, open space where two or more armies meet to clash. It is the most commonly fought type of battle in the franchise, making up the vast majority of engagements. Field battles are usually fought in a wide array of environments throughout the Total War series, ranging from forested areas to grass plains, from hilly terrain to flat savannahs. They differ from other types of battles in that all available options are present to be used by the player, unlike battles such as sieges where specific tactics must be used to achieve victory, or bridge battles where the side that holds the chokepoint usually wins. Field battles carry with them an array of options, all of them different due to weather, environment or the army composition. The tide of a battle can change depending on the location a field battle is fought in, with forested areas offering places to hide, and large hills a place for an army to encamp, raining death upon their enemy as they attempt to climb their way towards them.

Field battles can also vary in type. Bridge battles, while technically a field battle, will possess a river dividing the map, connected only a bridge and, in later Total War titles, shallow banks. Sally out battles are a type of mix between siege and field battle where the siege defender may sally out from their settlement to attack the besieger outside the walls, creating a field battle within a siege. Field battles continue to evolve as the series progresses, with new types opening up more varied battlefields, and remain the staple of Total War combat to this day.

In the games[edit | edit source]

Shogun: Total War[edit | edit source]