Conquest Guide

This minigame has been rated as Low Risk. See the minigames page for a definition of high and low risk.

 

Overview

Introduction
Conquest is a turn-based strategy game available at the Void Knights' Outpost. This minigame pits players against one another in 1v1 matches of wit (with gameplay similar to Chess); each player is offered command of a variety of new recruits for the Void Knights, and the recruits are sent into training battles in order to prepare them for the ongoing war with the Void monsters. Skilled commanders will be rewarded by the Void Knights with Commendations and increased Conquest ranking.

Note: A Combat Level of 40+ is required to access the Void Knights' Outpost and take part in the Conquest minigame.

Getting There
This minigame is held at the Conquest Training Facility, located in the Void Knights' Outpost. The Outpost itself can only be reached by taking a ship from Port Sarim; a Squire of the Void Knights is stationed at the southern dock of the Port, and he offers to transport any interested players free-of-charge. An Explorer's Ring 3 (Cabbage Teleport) or charged Amulet of Glory (Draynor Teleport) can be useful in travelling to Port Sarim.

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Tutorial

The Void Knight in charge of the Facility, Captain Ethar, can guide players through a tutorial of the Conquest minigame. The tutorial gives a brief overview of the game, and demonstrates how to play through a practice session with a NPC. Completing the tutorial is not mandatory in order to play Conquest, but doing so is very helpful to newcomers.

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Recruiting a Squad

Before starting a game of Conquest, it is recommended to speak with Knight Dorian (found by Captain Ethar on the ground floor of the Facility) and select whichever Void Knight recruits you wish to command as part of your squad. The recruits serve as gamepieces in each Conquest match, and they come in a variety of differing combat types, so care is needed in making the selection. A great deal of the strategy involved in Conquest revolves around players' troop selections, since a poorly-composed squad can make all the difference between winning and losing.

Note:: If you start a game without organising your squad, you will be forced to use the default selection provided by the minigame.

The troops available for selection are divided into 7 different categories, according to their combat capabilites and other attributes (as explained in the tutorial). Players may choose up to 10 troops of any type to include in their squad, however, a certain restriction applies.

The "Squad Resources", seen in the picture above, is that restriction. Every player participating in the Conquest minigame is limited to 1000 Resources, and it is with these Resources that you "buy" troops; the costs of troops vary, depending on the type (anywhere from a mere 25 Resources for a Scout to 200 for a Champion). Players cannot exceed the limit of 1000 Resources while buying troops, so keep this in mind when creating your squad.

The different types of troops can be seen here:

List of Troops

Troop Attributes:

• Movement - Number of squares a troop can move in one turn.
• Damage - Amount of damage a troop deals when attacking.
• Health - Amount of damage a troop can endure before dying.
• Range - Distance, in squares, from which a troop can attack.
• Cost - Amount of Squad Resources required in order to purchase a troop.

As shown in the table above, each type of troop is unique and comes with its own strengths and weakenesses. Experienced players will typically seek to balance these by forming a squad of complementary troops (i.e. selecting a mixture troops specialising in short-, middle-, and long-ranged combat).

Once you've settled on your squad's composition, you should take the time to speak with Knight Dorian again and decide how you want to organise your newly-created squad.

Of course, should you choose not to, the minigame will organise your troops in default positions, so it's better to decide for yourself. Simply click and drag your troops to the desired starting positions, and do so in whichever manner best suits your strategy. When you're satisfied with the squad formation, click "Accept" to save the formation and continue on.

Note: You cannot move one of your troops through another, so take that into consideration before crowding your squad together.

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Selecting Commands

"Commands" are special abilities which can be used on the battlefield to either support your own troops or hinder the actions of your opponent's. There are 9 different Commands, and you can select up to 4 to take with you into battle. However, similarly to troops, Commands require that you first purchase them with Conquest Resources. This means, unfortunately, that you may have to downgrade or even sacrifice some of your troops if you wish to also use Commands during your matches; there is no second supply of Resources to buy Commands with, so you'll have to dedicate Resources from your original supply of 1000.

If you're interested in buying one or more Command(s), talk to Knight Dorian and switch tabs from "Select Troops" to "Select Commands" on the Squad Selection screen.

Despite the costs, investing in Commands is generally worthwhile. Players without any will almost always be at a severe disavantage, so incorporating the use of certain Commands into your strategy is practically a necessity if you wish to remain competitive. Of course, some Commands may be of more benefit to you than others, so consider the differences before deciding which to use.

A list of Commands and their effects can be viewed below:

List of Commands

Command Effects:

• Cooldown - Number of turns which must pass before the Command can be used.
• Cost - Amount of both the Resources required to buy the Command and the Command Points needed to use the Command in a match.

To prevent the overuse of Commands, a cooldown period must pass each time one is used; the exact number of turns required varies between the different Commands. However, even if the cooldown period has passed, players cannot use their Commands unless they have a sufficient number of Command Points.

At the start of each of their turns, players receive 25 Command Points. In addition to this, defeating enemy troops will also yield Command Points equal to their cost in Squad Resources (e.g. defeating an Archer would award the player 100 Points, while defeating a Champion would award 200). Because of this, highly aggressive, offensive strategies are often the most effective, since defeating enemy troops allows for the more frequent use of Commands.

Note: You cannot use Chastise on your opponents character if it is the last character on their team left.

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Starting a Game

After you've finished organising your squad and selecting Commands, you'll be ready to start a game of Conquest! Climb down the stairs by Captain Ethar to enter the Conquest Training Facility, where the minigame matches are held.

Since you've already taken care of the preparations, you can start a match whenever you're ready. Walk through the northern green barrier if you want to play a game as soon as possible; it leads to the Auto-Matching Chamber, which will automatically pair you with someone else in the Chamber. Entering the southern red chamber, on the other hand, will take you to the Challenge Chamber. There, you can choose your opponent for yourself and additionally opt to play either a "Regular" or "Staked" match with them. Like it sounds, a regular match is played simply for fun, while a staked match allows for you and your opponent to bet GP or items on the outcome of the match.

Note: Standard trade restrictions apply to "Staked" matches.

Once you and your opponent have agreed to the match, you'll simply have to decide on a timit-limit for each turn (anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes per) before the game officially begins.

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Playing Conquest

The main objective in the Conquest minigame is to defeat your opponent's squad before he or she can defeat yours. Aside from this, you will also win if your opponent logs out during the match and you accept the victory (although you can wait to see if they log back in and continue playing from there). The only other way to end the match is to offer a truce, which would end the game in a tie if both sides agree to it.

When the match starts, your troops will appear on a large, checkered board (measuring 20x20 squares) in the formation you designated earlier, and your opponent's troops will be situated at the other end of the board. The game will then generate a random coin flip to determine who goes first, and the rest will be up to you.

Note: If you aren't aware, you can adjust your view of the playing board by pressing the arrow keys on your keyboard and by moving your cursor across the game screen; clicking a point on the minimap works as well. It is also useful to remember that you can view the "details/attributes" (e.g. health, movement, range, etc...) of each troop on the board by right-clicking them.

If you completed the tutorial, you'll remember that each of your turns consists of a progression of 4 "phases" (unless you decide to end a phase or your turn early). These are the Selection, Movement, Combat, and Rally phases. They are displayed prominently on the minigame interface, as shown above.

The Selection Phase
This is the first phase of the turn. Because Conquest only allows for one troop to be moved every turn, this phase is dedicated to the selection of that troop; choose wisely, since you won't be able to change your mind after this phase ends. When you "select" a troop, it will be highlighted on the board as an indication of this.

The Movement Phase
This is the second phase of the turn. Here, you'll have the opportunity to move the troop you selected in the first phase, but only so far as its "Movement" attribute allows. The troop's range of possible movement is limited to the expanse of blue squares which appear during this phase; you will not be able to move to any unmarked square, so keep that in mind.

The Combat Phase
This is the third phase of the turn. After you've moved your troop, you'll be able to attack any of your opponent's troops, so long as they're within range (as determined by your troop's "Range" attribute). You can only attack once during this phase, so try to target an enemy you can kill immediately. Note that if you attack and fail to kill an enemy, it will be able to retaliate against you (assuming it's in range), causing for your troop to take damage and possibly die.

The Rally Phase
This is the fourth and final phase of the turn. You can no longer move any of your troops or attack the enemy at this point, so this phase primarily serves as preparation; before you end your turn, you can use the remaining time during the Rally phase to consider your plans for next turn.

Command Usage
Commands (the special battlefield effects) can be activated at any time during your turn if the cooldown periods have passed and you have enough Command Points. Also, while you can't use them on your opponent's turn, that doesn't prevent you (for example) from activating a surprise Command during your Rally phase and having the effect last throughout their turn, regardless.

After ending your turn, your opponent will follow suit and attempt to target your troops. This will continue, of course, until one of you defeats the other's entire squad. At that point, the match will come to an end, and the rewards for the game will be distributed accordingly.

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Rewards

Players who manage to skillfully command their squads in defeating their opponents will be rewarded with Void Knight Commendations and an increased Conquest Ranking.

The Commendations are the same as those awarded by the Pest Control minigame, and can be used to purchase a variety of rewards from any Void Knight in the Outpost (see below). The Ranking, on the other hand, reflects players' relative skill in the Conquest minigame; everyone starts with a Ranking of 1000, but that number will either increase or decrease accordingly as they win or lose their Conquest matches.

The number of Commendations and the increase in Ranking a player receives upon winning a match is ultimately dependant on the Ranking of their opponent (e.g. the higher the Ranking of your opponent, the greater number of Commendations/increase in your own Ranking you'll receive should you win). Similarly, should you lose to an opponent of lower Ranking than yourself, your Ranking will decrease by a greater amount; however, it should be noted that you will not lose any Commendations if you lose in a match (only Ranking).

Note: Players who attain a Conquest Ranking of 1250+ will be listed in the Official Hiscores.

The following rewards can be bought from any Void Knight in exchange for Commendations:

Additional Notes:

• A maximum of 500 Commendations can be collected, so it is advised that you spend your Commendations if you reach that amount.
• The Void Knight Deflector can only be purchased after attaining a Conquest Ranking of 1250 (or higher) and costs 150 Commendations once it's been unlocked.
• The amount of experience gained through the use of Commendations is relative to the level of the chosen skill. Please refer to our Pest Control Calculator and Planner for more information on this.

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Credits

Original Guide by: Rien Adelric

Special thanks to: Shelby_Polo

Thanks to: goh_joel, Jaffy1, reapistplz, Speedyshel, X3EN

Last updated by: Saradomin_Mage

Last updated on: 22-Nov-2011