Unit Promotions

“The raw recruit sees the enemy. The veteran sees the terrain, the angle, the moment.”

Promotions are permanent upgrades earned by military units through combat experience. Each promotion enhances a unit’s capabilities, transforming raw recruits into hardened veterans. A fully promoted unit is dramatically more effective than its base stats suggest, and managing your experienced units – keeping them alive, choosing the right promotions, and deploying them effectively – is a key skill in Annhexation.

Earning Experience

Units gain experience points (XP) through combat:

Experience is capped at 30 XP. Once a unit reaches 30 XP, it cannot gain more, though it retains its existing promotions.

Barracks

Cities with a Barracks building (30 production, requires Bronze Working) grant +1 starting XP to all units produced there. This gives newly trained units a head start toward their first promotion.

A unit produced in a city with a Barracks starts with 1 XP, meaning it only needs 4 more XP (two combats) to reach the first promotion threshold.

XP from Combat

Both attackers and defenders gain XP from combat. Even a unit that takes damage and retreats has gained 2 XP from the engagement. Ranged units that bombard melee defenders gain XP, but the melee defender does not gain XP from being bombarded by ranged attacks (the bombardment is one-sided).

Promotion Thresholds

Promotions are earned at cumulative XP thresholds. The promotion slot unlocks when the unit has enough experience; you then choose which promotion to apply.

A maximum of 3 promotions can be earned. Once all 3 slots are filled, the unit is fully promoted.

Available Promotions

Combat I

The bread-and-butter promotion. +10% attack is applied multiplicatively to the unit’s base attack strength, stacking with all other modifiers. Combat I is almost always the correct first promotion for any offensive unit.

Combat II

A direct continuation of Combat I. With both promotions, a unit has +20% attack (multiplicative). Combat I + Combat II is the most reliable promotion path for general-purpose combat units.

March

March grants additional movement, allowing a unit to cover more ground per turn. This is particularly valuable for fast units (Knights, Tanks) that benefit from extra tactical mobility, and for units that need to cross difficult terrain more efficiently.

Blitz

Blitz is the most powerful offensive promotion in the game. Normally, a unit can attack only once per turn. With Blitz, the unit can attack twice, provided it has movement remaining after the first attack. This effectively doubles the unit’s damage output.

Blitz is devastating on Knights and Tanks, which have high movement and can attack, advance, and attack again in a single turn. A Blitz Tank with 28 attack striking twice can single-handedly cripple an enemy force.

Note: After the first attack, the unit retains its movement remaining. After the second attack (or any attack without remaining Blitz attacks), movement is set to 0.

Siege

Siege provides a +50% attack bonus against enemy units defending inside cities. This stacks with the inherent siege bonus that Catapults, Cannons, and Artillery already receive (+50%), giving a siege unit with the Siege promotion a total of +100% vs city defenders.

Siege is the best promotion for dedicated city-assault units. A Cannon with Combat I and Siege promotion is a city-breaking machine.

Choosing Promotions

The best promotion depends on the unit’s role:

Front-Line Melee (Warrior, Swordsman, Musketman, Rifleman)

Recommended: Combat I –> Combat II –> Blitz

These units fight in every engagement. The attack bonuses from Combat I and II help them win more fights and take less damage. Blitz at the 3rd slot (30 XP) is a reward for keeping the unit alive through extensive combat.

Cavalry (Horseman, Knight, Tank)

Recommended: Combat I –> Blitz –> Combat II

Fast units benefit enormously from Blitz. A Knight with 3 movement and Blitz can attack, advance into the defender’s hex, and attack a second target in the same turn. Getting Blitz at the 2nd slot (15 XP) maximises the time the unit has this powerful ability.

Ranged Units (Archer, Longbowman, Catapult, Cannon, Artillery)

Recommended: Combat I –> Combat II –> Siege

Ranged units rarely need Blitz (they cannot advance after killing a defender, reducing Blitz’s value). Combat I and II increase their damage output, and Siege makes them devastatingly effective at cracking fortified cities.

Siege Units (Catapult, Cannon, Artillery)

Recommended: Combat I –> Siege –> Combat II

Siege units exist to attack cities. Getting the Siege promotion at the 2nd slot doubles their anti-city bonus to +100%. Combined with their ranged attack (no retaliation from melee defenders), promoted siege units can rapidly dismantle city defences.

Defensive Units (Spearman, Pikeman)

Recommended: Combat I –> Combat II –> March

Defensive units rarely attack cities, so Siege is wasted. Combat bonuses improve their already strong defence, and March helps them reposition between defensive positions.

Unit Upgrading

Separate from promotions, units can be upgraded to a more advanced type when the required technology and resources are available. Upgrading requires:

• The Currency technology (unlocks the upgrade action).
• The upgrade’s required technology (e.g., Iron Working for Warrior –> Swordsman).
• Any required resources (e.g., Iron for Swordsman).
• Sufficient gold for the upgrade cost.
• The unit must be in friendly territory.
• The unit must have movement remaining.

Upgrade Paths

Promotions and health are retained through upgrades. A veteran Warrior with Combat I and 75 HP becomes a veteran Swordsman with Combat I and 75 HP. This makes upgrading experienced units far more valuable than training fresh replacements.

Strategic Tips

1. Keep your veterans alive. A promoted unit is worth far more than a fresh one. Pull damaged veterans back from the front line and let them heal rather than risking their destruction.

2. Build Barracks in production cities. The +1 starting XP means units are only 4 XP from their first promotion. Two combats and they have Combat I.

3. Upgrade, do not replace. An experienced Warrior upgraded to a Swordsman retains all its promotions and XP. Training a new Swordsman from scratch starts at 0 XP (or 1 with Barracks). Always prefer upgrading.

4. Blitz on cavalry is devastating. A Blitz Knight or Tank can attack twice per turn, potentially destroying two enemy units. This is the single most dangerous unit configuration in the game.

5. Siege promotion on siege units is multiplicative. The inherent +50% and the promotion +50% combine to +100% vs city defenders. A promoted Cannon attacking a city defender deals double damage compared to an unpromoted one attacking open field.

6. XP from barbarians counts. Use barbarian encounters to train your units in the early game. A few barbarian fights can give your Warriors enough XP for Combat I before the real wars begin.