The battlefields in Gales of Nayeli are much more than simple grids with units on them. A wide variety of terrain, each with various beneficial or harmful effects, can be found throughout the game, and knowing how to position units and limit the positioning opportunities of enemies is a crucial element to both longer-term strategy and immediate tactical decisions. Here are some examples of a few types of terrain and its various uses in battle.
Most types of Forest tiles, as well as terrain elements that play a similar role in non-forest biomes, give assorted defensive bonuses to the units who occupy them, but some possess more unique properties. Gale Leaves are one such tile: these grant a unit 2 extra movement when their next turn starts if they end their turn on a Gale Leaves tile, giving the beneficiary a drastic boost in mobility to assist in flanking opportunities or cross-map traversal. However, keep in mind that enemies can benefit from this as well, so keep track of where Gale Leaves are on the map to avoid unpleasant surprises!
There are a number of contexts where certain tiles pose risks to everyone involved, though intrepid tacticians can do their best to take advantage of the opportunities these provide to them.
One such sort of tile includes Desert tiles, which reduces the Fire Defense and Avoid of most units who end their turn on it…but only during the day, because at night, instead of increased vulnerability to Fire, units suffer penalties to Ice Defense instead! After all, deserts are sweltering hot during the day, but numbingly cold once the sun goes down. Clever players can take advantage of these increased elemental weaknesses to deal extra damage with the appropriate elemental attacks, but be wary that enemies will be likely to try employing the very same tactics as well!
Another such tile type is Ice, which liberally takes up space on battlefields in cold or polar regions. Ice makes for great makeshift bridges over otherwise-impassable bodies of water…but, as anyone who has tried to ski can attest, is hardly a stable surface to stand on, much less fight atop of. Units suffer from reduced Avoid when battling on Ice, and this penalty is even more crippling for armored units. Luring enemies onto Ice can make them less likely to dodge your attacks, but take care to not put your units in compromising positions when trying to do so!
Some terrain grant specific bonuses to some units! One such terrain type is the Watch Tower, which grants specific bonuses in battle for Archers and Mages, but require one action to mount. Taking control of Watch Towers in scenarios where enemies are headed your way is key to making your long range units shine in battle.
Finally, there are also traps, switches and other mechanical contraptions which enable various shortcuts or tactical advantages. Experiment with your surroundings to find alternate paths to victory.
These are just a small selection of some of the terrain characteristics that pepper the battlefields all across Gales of Nayeli. Whether they’re damage-dealing or debuffing traps, runes that boost elemental damage, or teleportation devices that send units clear across the map, taking careful note of the opportunities afforded to you by the environment to bolster your allies or cripple your enemies will be key to securing victory, especially since enemies will be just as keen to exploit them as you are!
See you tomorrow with more daily updates leading up to the Kickstarter Campaign!
David