Soldiers are AI controlled minions that appear in the campaign, dominion, and skirmish mode.
Appearance
There are soldiers for all three factions and are identifiable by the unified design of their helmets, body armor, and shield.
- Viking soldiers do not have visible armor, but may be wearing chainmail under their clothing. Wearing spangenhelm helmets, their beards cover their mouths. They wield round shields and Carolingian swords.
- Knight soldiers wear brigandine over chainmail, along with sallet helmets. their chainmill covers their mouths. They wield heater shields and arming swords.
- Samurai soldiers wear tosei-gusoku (armor made of horizontal plates), kabuto helmets and mempo. They wield te-date shields and katanas.
Keep in mind that these changes are purely aesthetic. All soldiers behave the same way.
Soldiers are noticeably dwarfs in comparison to the Heroes of each faction, with even the smallest of Heroes (ie. Peacekeeper, Nobushi) standing a bit taller than the Soldiers. This may be justified by the fact that after the cataclysm, there was a lack of access to resources, thus only the strongest or fortunate (Heroes and Captains) were properly nourished, while others such as Soldiers were left without the means necessary to hold a physique like the others.
Combat
As purely AI controlled units, Soldiers have a set function in each of the game modes. In non-Dominion games, they occupy a certain point of the map together with a Captain. Whereas in Dominion, they collective charge from either sides towards the center point objective, Point B (on The Shard, this is Point C), beginning an endless stalemate that only ends when one team wins and the other team's Soldiers retreat.
While it is not possible to lock onto them when in Guard mode, Heroes will automatically run up to nearby Soldiers when outside Guard mode, able to slay them in a single move. Light Attacks take out a Soldier at a time, whereas Heavy Attacks are more likely to take out multiple Soldiers with one swing; both do not cost much energy, although attacking while Exhausted will cause the Hero to attack slowly and only one unit at a time. Zone Attacks are typically the most effective in taking out a crowd of Soldiers, but consume a chunk of Stamina. The speed at which Heroes perform these attacks differ between Heroes.
Even if they cannot be targeted in Guard mode, a Hero can still guard-break them or block their attacks. This allows Heroes to push them around or defend against them as they would when fighting other Heroes.
While soldiers are not dangerous in and of themselves, they can cause a multitude of problems for Heroes. While allied Soldiers will move out of your way, enemy soldiers will not. This can hinder a Hero when a player tries to cross the map, or trap them when trying to dodge an enemy's attack or escape from them.
Dominion
Soldiers are crucial in Dominion, as they are the moving force in one of the three point objectives, Point C for the Shard and Point B for every other map. While equal numbers of Soldiers will spawn at each side of the map and also in the middle at the start of a Match, when one team gains control of the center objective, the opposing team will spawn a larger group of soldiers. This will drive off the current holders of the point, eventually reinstating the stalemate if no Heroes intervene.
On certain maps, pairs of dueling Soldiers will appear at certain points of the map at the start of the match. While Heroes can choose to intervene on these duels, the Soldiers will eventually resolve with one side winning before returning to the skirmish happening at the center point.
Trivia
- While there are female voices for soldiers, there are no female models for soldiers.
- However, this may be because the Soldiers' armor hides any and all distinguishing features, although less believable for the Viking Soldiers who all have beards.
- If they are killed via being pushed off a cliff they will begin a dying animation and bleed slightly before falling defeated.
- If you push around a Soldier for long enough, they will "die". This is because the game possibly thinks the soldier is stuck, deciding to despawn the Soldier to then respawn them at their original location.