Creative Assembly released Attila on 17 February 2015 and set the Grand Campaign in 395 AD, the year Theodosius died and the Roman Empire split permanently in two. Ten factions are playable in the base Grand Campaign, and the Western Roman Empire opens with more provinces than it can garrison, more armies than it can pay and a treasury already sliding. A cooling climate drives fertility down across the north while the Huns arrive from the east. This is the Total War where burning your own city is frequently the right decision.
Combat in Total War: ATTILA rewards knowledge over reflexes. Understanding how each mechanic works (and how they interact) is what turns a struggling player into a dominant one. New here? Start with our beginner's guide for the basics.
Core Combat Mechanics
1. Razing, sacking and occupying settlements
Capturing a settlement gives three answers. Occupation keeps the buildings and inherits the public order problem, sacking takes the money and leaves the settlement intact, and razing burns it into a ruin any faction can later colonise. Playing the Western Roman Empire you will raze provinces you own, denying the Huns anything to capture, which is a decision no earlier Total War asked you to make.
Why it matters: This is the foundation of all combat. Everything else builds on this.
2. The migration and horde mechanic
Migratory factions including the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals and Alans can abandon their settlements entirely and travel as hordes carrying their population inside their armies. A horde builds camp structures within the army, recruits while moving and can settle again wherever it takes a region. The Huns are the extreme case, since they cannot hold permanent settlements at all and are built to keep moving.
Why it matters: The most underrated mechanic. Players who master this early have a massive advantage.
3. Climate cooling and fertility
The campaign models a cooling period across its hundred year span. Fertility drops in northern provinces as turns pass, food output falls with it, and factions in Scandinavia and Germania are pushed south by conditions rather than by armies. A Danish or Geatish economy planned around turn 1 fertility will quietly starve somewhere around turn 80.
Why it matters: Unlocks a new layer of gameplay depth once understood.
4. Sanitation, squalor and plague
Every building adds squalor and sanitation buildings subtract it. Let the balance tip and plague appears, then spreads along trade routes and with moving armies, cutting growth and public order across an entire province. Armies carry infection, so a besieging force can lose a campaign to a disease it picked up two provinces earlier.
Why it matters: The tactical edge that separates average players from advanced ones.
5. The family tree, gravitas and civil war
Settled factions run a family tree where gravitas is the political currency. Generals accumulate it through office and victory, and if one family accumulates too much relative to yours the result is civil war. The politics panel lists adoption, marriage and rather less diplomatic options for managing a rival who has become too successful.
Why it matters: The endgame optimization mechanic. Small improvements here compound into massive gains.
How These Mechanics Combine
Understanding how mechanics interact is where real optimization happens:
Razing, sacking and occupying settlements + The migration and horde mechanic
Capturing a settlement gives three answers. When combined with The migration and horde mechanic, migratory factions including the visigoths, ostrogoths, vandals and alans can abandon their settlements entirely and travel as hordes carrying their population inside their armies. This combination is the core of every effective build.
Climate cooling and fertility + Sanitation, squalor and plague
The campaign models a cooling period across its hundred year span. Paired with Sanitation, squalor and plague, every building adds squalor and sanitation buildings subtract it. This is why the tier list favors builds that leverage both.
The family tree, gravitas and civil war as a Multiplier
Settled factions run a family tree where gravitas is the political currency. Generals accumulate it through office and victory, and if one family accumulates too much relative to yours the result is civil war. The politics panel lists adoption, marriage and rather less diplomatic options for managing a rival who has become too successful. This system amplifies everything else. The better your The family tree, gravitas and civil war optimization, the more your other mechanics pay off.
Combat by Build
Each build approaches combat differently:
Western Roman Empire (A-Tier)
Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Legio Comitatenses Primary mechanic: Razing, sacking and occupying settlements
Western Roman Empire offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.
Eastern Roman Empire (A-Tier)
Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Limitanei Primary mechanic: The migration and horde mechanic
Eastern Roman Empire offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.
Sassanid Empire (A-Tier)
Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Plumbatarii Primary mechanic: Climate cooling and fertility
Sassanid Empire offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.
Huns (A-Tier)
Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Scholae Palatinae Primary mechanic: Sanitation, squalor and plague
Huns offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.
Visigoths (A-Tier)
Combat approach: Balanced combat style. Key equipment: Carriage Ballistae Primary mechanic: The family tree, gravitas and civil war
Visigoths offers a solid combat experience. Full setup in our builds guide.
Advanced Combat Techniques
Damage Optimization
- Match your equipment to your build's stat priorities
- Exploit Razing, sacking and occupying settlements for maximum damage windows
- Chain The migration and horde mechanic and Climate cooling and fertility for combo damage
- Use Sanitation, squalor and plague to create openings
Survivability
- Learn enemy patterns before committing to attacks
- Ten factions are playable in the base Grand Campaign: Western Roman Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, Sassanid Empire, Huns, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Alans, Franks and Saxons. Everything else on the playable list comes from a culture pack, so check what you actually own before planning a Langobard campaign.
- Position using Razing, sacking and occupying settlements to control spacing
- Save defensive options for guaranteed survival, not comfort
Boss Combat
Bosses test your understanding of every mechanic. See our boss guide for fight-specific strategies.
- Phase awareness: Most bosses change behavior at health thresholds
- Patience over aggression: One extra hit per opening beats dying to greed
- Build preparation: Swap gear and equipment for specific fights when needed
Common Combat Mistakes
- Button mashing: Committed attacks have recovery frames. Mashing locks you into animations.
- Ignoring The migration and horde mechanic: This mechanic exists for a reason. Players who use it take significantly less damage.
- Wrong equipment for the situation: Check our weapons guide for situational picks.
- Not learning from deaths: Every death teaches something. If you don't know why you died, you'll die the same way again.
- Overcommitting: Trading hits works in Roma but will get you killed in Ctesiphon.
More Total War: ATTILA Guides
- Total War: ATTILA Total War: ATTILA Overview
- Total War: ATTILA Best Builds
- Total War: ATTILA Tier List
- Total War: ATTILA Walkthrough
- Total War: ATTILA Beginner's Guide
- Total War: ATTILA Tips & Tricks
- Total War: ATTILA Weapons Guide
- Total War: ATTILA Boss Guide
- Total War: ATTILA Maps & Locations
- Total War: ATTILA Crafting Guide
- Total War: ATTILA Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Total War: ATTILA, check out these related guides:
- Sid Meier's Civilization V Combat Guide: strategy game with similar mechanics
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord Combat Guide: strategy game with similar mechanics
- RimWorld Combat Guide: strategy game with similar mechanics
