Noblemen 1896 is a unique strategy action game that sees the player taking on the United Corporation all throughout the USA. Being a huge fan of the game, I thought I’d gather a list of strategies and tips that you may need to keep your nobleman alive and destroy the enemy.
Tip #1 – Your Nobleman and officers
The constant in all of your armies will be you and your officers, so gear them up accordingly. Make sure you are wearing the best armor and have the best officers by your side. It may be tempting to horde armor and officers ‘just in case’, but by doing this you are depriving your nobleman and officers of their potential. Make sure to sort through your spare armor and officers and decommission and dismantle as necessary to acquire exp for your best armor and officers. It is useless having too many spares, especially when it comes to armor. You’ll be surprised to see how much stronger your armor and officers will become if you scrap all your spares to level them up!
Tip #2 – Giving orders
The commanding view is one of my favorite features of Noblemen 1896. As soon as the battle begins, I would strongly advise you to take a look at the command view, by tapping the top left button. In doing so, you have full control over your army. Generally, I would give each of my units a target off-the-bat, to instantly try and sway the battle a way I want. This way, armor-busting units will have armored targets, and anti-infantry units will have infantry targets. It is imperative to use your army to its full strength and advantages, to avoid units getting unnecessarily wiped out.
Also, if you tend to put yourself out and try and storm the enemy like me, then you will want to assign a bodyguard. I usually rely on an officer to follow and protect me, so I can more confidently commit to my daredevil stratagems. It doesn’t always have to be an officer. If they are needed elsewhere, simply getting anyone to protect you is better than no one having your back.
However, don’t just think about yourself. Your units are vital to your success, so make sure melee units have an adequate cover fire, such as a sniper unit or Gatling gun protecting, but not necessarily following them. Your officers are also great soldiers to rely on when you need someone to protect a vulnerable or damaged unit. Also, check the commander’s view during battle frequently. It will show you where the enemy is (which is more useful for those playing on hard difficulty) and will allow you to get cover fire or reroute valuable units to where they are needed.
Purely for fun, I tend to play skirmish battles purely from a commanding view, and let my Nobleman run on autopilot. This allows me to practice giving orders and adapting to very unique situations. It also provides a fun new lens to see the game through.
Tip #3 – How to deal with armored units
Armored units in Noblemen 1896 will be the bane of your existence on the battlefield. A couple of units of shock troopers (armored soldiers carrying shotguns) could easily destroy a whole army if you are not prepared. You cannot be always prepared for an armored-infantry corps, especially when a freshly-baked batch comes storming over in the same enemy turn. What can be done, however, is your own actions on the battlefield and contingencies for the wider map.
In battle, try to engage armored units in melee combat. When your bullets won’t work, the surely pure muscle will, right? This tactic requires you to be adequately supported, and for you to catch an armored unit either on their own or at least unsupported. If the armored units are bundled together, then there are still ways of safely engaging in melee.
In command mode, get most – if not all – of your units to rain fire upon the enemy units surrounding your target. This will pin the others down, so they can’t get up and shoot at you whilst you attack your target. Your target will most likely run away before you can finish them off. Do not chase them, just target another armored unit. If they are getting pinned, then order your units to target the armored enemies that fled, so they can’t recuperate and fight back. This is a difficult balancing act, and you won’t be able to suppress all of the enemies. What this will do, however, is weaken them, and hopefully take some units out. Sometimes defeat is an inevitability, so all you can do is whittle them down as much as you can, or hold the line and wait for a stalemate.
Tip #4 – How to deal with vehicles
Vehicles can be tackled in the same vein as armored units, and in my experience are actually easier to tackle. When approaching to engage in melee, keep a zigzag pattern to throw their shots off, as they can be damaging. You don’t need to worry too much about pinning all the surrounding units, as they are usually somewhat isolated and quick to beat down anyway, perfect for hit and runs.
But don’t let this tempt you too much, you still need to be careful. If you go running through the field, smiting vehicles as you see fit, the enemy could easily reorganize to focus on you. And when you have a whole army bearing down on you, you will die.
Tip #5 – Strategies for the field
Here is a list of general strategies to make sure every battle in Noblemen 1896 is a success:
- Get in on the action as much as you can, your soldiers need you!
- Never stay in the open, your enemy will target you and will destroy you.
- Try flanking maneuvers and strike from behind if possible, a disorientated enemy is a weak enemy.
- Always keep your melee units protected, ideally by an officer.
- Don’t be afraid to send your officers into the thick of battle, that’s where they perform best.
- Try to target tough and dangerous units yourself, and leave the enemy officers and Nobleman to your officers.
- Take out enemy melee units as soon as possible, you don’t want to be locked in combat when you are needed elsewhere.
- Focus your aim – soldiers and vehicles are accurately modeled, so aim for the head and aim for possible engines, wheels, crew, or any unarmoured part if necessary.
Tip #6 – Strategies for the map
Here is a list of general strategies for the battle map, to best your opponent in Noblemen 1896:
- Stuck between healing an army or making a new one? Make a new one. The only cause for healing an existing army is if they are in a prime or strategic location and if they are a powerful and expensive army.
- Make an infantry corps dart around the map and collect the chests in the later stages of the campaign to ensure maximum spoils.
- Head for strategic locations as soon as possible, the Earthshaker cannon will be the main factor in your success.
- Try not to leave a strategic point undefended, the enemy will target it immediately.
- Try to cut off enemy supply from a depot deep in their lines. All depots connected to that one will be deactivated and will cause a serious blow.
- Don’t let enemy armies linger, try to destroy them.
- Don’t worry too much about saving up for stronger armies. Efficient play from your part will ensure victory against any enemy.
- Keep a close eye on enemy resources during their turn, you can preemptively prepare for a potential army on their next turn, and can plan accordingly.
- Keep one anti-armor unit stocked up and waiting at your HQ, to pounce on any armored units that the enemy produces.
There you have it, my top tips for an efficient and successful game of Noblemen 1896. I have been playing the game for a while and stick to these strategies that have allowed me a huge success/defeat ratio. Any of your personal tactics for the game? Pop them into the comments below. Interested in checking out Noblemen 1896? You can find it on Google Play and the App Store. More of a fan of idle/tycoon games? You can check out my tips for Overcrowded Tycoon.
Also Read: Top 10 Best City Builder Games For Android and iOS
