Total War Saga: Troy Memnon guide – Campaign bonuses and victory conditions
Son of Tithonus and Eos:
- +10% campaign movement range (own army).
- -5% construction costs of horde buildings (own army).
Total War Victory:
- Defeat your first antagonist faction.
- Raze 80 different settlements (razing the same settlement twice won’t count towards the tally).
- Raze Sparta, Thebes, Ithaca, and Knossos.
Homeric Victory:
- Complete all 13 epic missions.
- Raze Mycenae and Pteleon.
- Unlock all six Pharaoh’s Servant territories.
Unique mechanic: Pharaoh’s Servant
Memnon in Total War Saga: Troy leads a horde faction. This means you can only sack or raze settlements (and razing provides a ton of resources). Moreover, none of your armies can reinforce one another. Instead, you’ll have to rely on the Pharaoh’s Servant mechanic to create doomstacks.
The panel shows you the different territories that can be unlocked by constructing specific buildings or researching certain techs. These selections will add units to your recruitment pool and they can be spawned instantly. You’re creating stacks out of thin air, and you won’t need to worry about Administration caps, too. Just be reminded that units still have upkeep costs.
Note: Territories have their own cooldowns. Those that have stronger units have a longer cooldown upon activation.
| Pharaoh’s Servant Territory | Unlocked Units | Resource Cost | Requirements |
| Egypt – Sais | 1x Egyptian Slingers and 2x Nefru Infantry | 2,000 food and 175 wood | Unlocked by default |
| Egypt – Memphis | 1x Manfyt Infantry, 1x Chariot Runners, and 1x Light Seneny Chariots | 7,000 food and 850 wood | Hero’s Retinue building |
| Egypt – Thebes | 1x Seneny Chariots, 1x Nakhtu-Aa Infantry, and 1x Egyptian Archers | 10,000 food and 400 wood | Route to the Upper Kingdom royal decree/tech |
| Aethiopia – Kerma | 1x Aethiopian Javelinmen, 1x Aethiopian Archers, and 1x Irtjet Staff Bearers | 1,500 food and 3,000 wood | Unlocked by default |
| Aethiopia – Napata | 2x Aethiopian Tribesmen, 1x Aethiopian Hunters, and 1x Aethiopian Spearmen | 500 food and 820 wood | Unlocked by default |
| Aethiopia – Yeha | 1x Archers of Wawat and 1x Medjai Warriors | 5,000 wood and 200 gold | Army of Greater Aethiopia royal decree/tech |
| Canaan – Megiddo | 1x Hupshu and 1x Philistine Swordsmen | 300 wood and 1,800 bronze | Canaanite Brothers royal decree/tech |
| Canaan – Ugarit | 1x Maryannu and 1x Henkhu Guards | 3,500 bronze and 100 gold | Ugarit Companions building |
| Susa – Susa | 1x Sherden Warriors and 1x Elamite Stoneslingers | 1,000 wood and 350 gold | Tithonus’ Companions royal decree/tech |
Unique mechanic: Resourceful Strategist Camp Followers
Memnon’s other unique mechanic in Total War Saga: Troy is called Resourceful Strategist, which allows you to select Camp Followers that are tied to individual armies. They present you with numerous buffs and new actions. The downside is that Memnon can’t recruit normal agents (just epic variants).
Note: Most Camp Followers provide passive buffs. Those that provide additional actions/functions have a button that you’ll see in the pre-battle match-up screen.
| Territory | Camp Follower and Effect | Cost | Requirements |
| Egypt | Egyptian Healer +5% unrestricted casualty replenishment; +3% hero replenishment rate | 2,000 food | Unlocked by default |
| Egyptian Assassin Can hurt enemy leader for half their HP | 80 gold to obtain; 40 gold per action | ||
| Memphis Scribe +100 experience per turn for all units | +100 experience per turn for all units | Route to the Upper Kingdom royal decree/tech | |
| Egyptian Cook -10% upkeep costs | -10% upkeep costs | ||
| Lotus Merchant Disables defense towers when besieging a settlement | 155 gold to obtain; 80 gold per action | ||
| Aethiopia | Aethiopian Dancers +3 horde growth | 3,500 food | Unlocked by default |
| Outrider Scout Reveals all enemy units when fighting a battle | 40 gold to obtain; 20 gold per action | ||
| Aethiopian Runner +8% campaign movement range | 2,500 food | Army of Greater Aethiopia royal decree/tech | |
| Aethiopian Musician +10% morale | 50 gold | ||
| Servant of the Divine +1 favor per turn depending on the religious shrine built by the horde army | 6,000 food | ||
| Canaan | Shipwright +10% campaign movement at sea | 1,000 wood | Unlocked by default |
| Canaan Guards -20% agent success chance vs. this hero/hero’s army | 500 bronze | Canaanite Brothers royal decree/tech | |
| Canaan Infiltrator -2 turns siege holdout time (minimum 1 turn) | 80 gold | ||
| Master Tactician Forces a defending army to sally out when besieging a minor settlement | 800 bronze to obtain; 400 bronze per action | ||
| Susa | Rumormonger -5% morale of all enemy units in region | 1,000 food | Unlocked by default |
| Skirmish Party -20% campaign movement range for enemy armies in region | 100 gold | Tithonus’ Companions royal decree/tech | |
| Marauders +20% treasures looted after battle; increases chance to steal spoils (i.e., items) | 80 gold | ||
| Disguised Trader Can cause all enemy units to be tired once a battle starts | 6,000 food to obtain; 2,500 food per action |
Additional tips when playing as Memnon in Total War Saga: Troy
First, be sure to check Divine Will, Royal Decree techs, and leader skills. There are some unique changes here not just because Memnon leads a horde faction in Total War Saga: Troy, but also due to the Pharaoh’s Servant and Camp Followers mechanics. For instance, some of Memnon’s skills reduce the upkeep or boost the capabilities of units from a specific Pharaoh’s Servant territory, while others lower the costs of Camp Follower pre-battle actions.
As for generic heroes/leaders, Memnon is unable to recruit Defender types. However, be sure to look out for the Warlord – Mentor variant.
The Warlord – Mentor hero can get Master Ambusher at level 5. This gives a +15% chance to evade ambushes, as well as a +20% chance to successfully ambush unwary foes.
Speaking of ambushes, this is primarily how you’ll expand, or burn the world, rather, as Memnon. Build up Memnon’s main army first. Then, start spending some of your resources to add Pharaoh’s Servant units to your recruitment pool. When you’re ready, you can spawn a second army next to him (as long as you’re not engaged in a siege or sailing the seas). You can instantly fill this army with new units (combine this with Divine Will prayers to increase their ranks from the get-go).
One army can lay siege to a settlement, switch to encamp stance, or activate raiding stance. This is to draw out any hostiles in the area. Your other army will prepare an ambush while this goes on, ensuring that you can get those easy wins.
Possible issues you can encounter as Memnon in Total War Saga: Troy
As mentioned in our DLC feature article, I did experience some odd moments while playing as Memnon in Total War Saga: Troy. Firstly, there’s an epic mission that requires you to give gold to Sarpedon (so far so good). Unfortunately, dozens of turns later, Sarpedon will declare war on you for no reason. He’s the only Trojan leader who did this even without provocation. Because you’re a horde faction and you’re likely steamrolling the Greeks, you probably won’t meet him in battle. But, it can be a very odd occurrence.
Secondly, one of the Homeric Victory conditions requires you to raze Pteleon in Pththia (Achilles’ capital). There’s a chance that Achilles gets confederated by another Greek leader (which is fine since that technically wipes out his faction). However, his city might end up under the control of a Trojan ally. Assuming you’ve already completed the other requirements, you can just DOW this ally and take the reputation hit. Once you’ve razed Pteleon, you’ll achieve the Homeric Victory.
Furthermore, do try to avoid going for a Total War Victory. There’s a good chance that all your razing will cause at least one Greek faction to colonize those ruins (i.e., someone you’re not at war with early on like Odysseus). Because of this, Odysseus’ power base turns him into your antagonist. It’ll lead to a situation where you’re just trying to reconquer the territories that you’ve previously destroyed.
Memnon presents a fairly engaging Total War Saga: Troy campaign. His unique mechanics and features are definitely interesting. Although his armies can’t reinforce one another, he has the right tools to get the job done. With your instantly-filled stacks and a focus on ambushing opponents, you’ll turn all of Greece into a ruined landscape.
Note: In any case, you can learn more about Memnon’s Total War Saga: Troy campaign in our epic missions guide.
The Total War Saga: Troy – Rhesus & Memnon DLC is available via Steam and the Epic Games Store. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
Published: Dec 14, 2021 10:10 am