Stronghold: Warlords News

After tens of thousands of you have downloaded and tested the Stronghold: Warlords demo we're now ready to close out the Festival with one final community stream! Watch as we test our might against the medieval odds in the game's 'Free Build' sandbox mode, demonstrating how this classic game mode interfaces with new mechanics and features. Watch as we build, defend, set things on fire and quickly put those fires out over the course of an hour long stream.



Showing off one of the game's larger maps for the first time, initially we'll be walking you through the various stages of castle construction. Building out your industry and defences to get your castle economy moving and well protected enemy attack or challenging events. Next we'll take players through the new 'warlords' system and how that will work in Free Build, before finally (hopefully) withstanding waves of enemy invasion as we put our castle design to the test!



Free Build mode will be available in Stronghold: Warlords at launch, complete with different maps to choose from and difficulty settings for AI invasions. In addition there will be 30 single player missions, skirmish mode and multiplayer all available at launch on September 29th.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFPj57jx1R8
We have just released nearly an hour of fresh Stronghold: Warlords gameplay in the form of a full Free Build scenario play-though! Once again spotlighting our unique ‘Free Build’ sandbox mode, revealed last week as part of The Escapist Indie Showcase, here players are asked to construct their dream stronghold. Once built they can test their creation against increasingly challenging infantry invasions, siege weapons, difficulty settings and medieval 'events'.



Watch as Firefly's own Aaron Hayden takes us through the basics of Free Build, how this classic mode will interact with the new 'warlords' system and other Warlords gameplay fundamentals. Designed as a special game mode within Stronghold: Warlords, Free Build is essentially as difficult as you make it. Players who simply want to build to their hearts content are free to do so, while those who wish to create the tightest and most strategically sound citadel can test their theories with wave upon wave of AI invasions.



Playable until Monday 22nd June as part of the Steam Game Festival, Stronghold: Warlords was recently announced for a Steam release on September 29th. The game will launch with a full single-player campaign, bonus economic campaign, free build, custom skirmish and mutliplayer modes.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dei0FvLynuo
We are pleased to announce that Stronghold: Warlords will include the series' classic ‘Free Build’ game mode, allowing players to put their stronghold to the test with AI invasions. In Free Build players design a castle with near unlimited resources, customise its defences and finally launch wave after wave of invasions, putting their creation to the test.



Free Build is designed to be played in many different ways. A selection of large open maps to choose from, each with picturesque scenery and monuments, will allow players the option to simply build to their heart’s content if they desire. As in the main campaign, skirmish mode and multiplayer the titular Warlords mechanic can also be used to help build their dream citadel, sending key resources and providing buffs to their castle economy.



Invasions will come with a host of options, including a selection of unique siege armies to throw at your castle walls. Test your mettle against everything from squads of tribesmen and stealthy ninja to battalions of cavalry and armoured legions with powerful siege weapons. The challenge can be further modified with invasion difficulty settings and the ability to add random events such as peasant revolts, moth infestations and deadly roaming tigers. Players will also be able to create custom Free Build maps, adding their own events, invasions and warlords to capture.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-OJ3EwsT50

Set to launch almost two decades since development started on the original Stronghold, our release date and new co-op mode were revealed exclusively as part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming event in a new multiplayer trailer!

At launch Stronghold: Warlords will include full multiplayer functionality, support for AI opponents and a unique co-op mode allowing two players to work together building, defending and besieging from the same castle. Multiplayer will include the ability to play in teams with friends and against the AI, but also the option to control a single castle cooperatively. Players in co-op can choose to handle the economy from the start or build up an army and focus on their military. During a siege one player could control defensive units like Fire Lancers and Archers, while the other triggers castle traps and puts out the inevitable fires!



Multiplayer will also feature the game’s new Warlord mechanic, with smaller AI powered castles dotted around the battlefield that can be conquered through force or diplomacy. Once captured players can team up with these characters, all of whom have their own unique archetype and abilities, to outnumber and encircle rival players. Upgrading them to unlock more powerful castles, armies and perks, Warlords can be used to boost your economy or crush opponents entirely with a decisive pincer movement.



The September 29th release date will be a worldwide simultaneous digital release on Steam. The game will be playable across multiplayer using Steam, as well as launching with full Steam Workshop support. This will allow the Stronghold community to create recreations of historic citadels, and upload custom maps and scenarios from day one.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/

Cast Your Vote on Discord - https://discord.gg/u3ms8MK

You herd correctly! Our new competition asks players to vote on one of four ill-fated animals to be used as the game's fourth trebuchet ammo type. Voting through the official Stronghold Discord, players will be able to decide which of the four deceased creatures can be used to spread disease in enemy castles when Stronghold: Warlords launches later this year.



Sometimes high walls, food and clean water just aren’t enough to survive a siege. Throughout history many a Lord has foolishly turtled up, believing they have the supplies to outlast their enemy’s military resources and patience. That is of course until they hear the distant sound of a trebuchet loading up and firing a different type of ammunition. Is it a horse? Is it a water buffalo? You decide!



Real medieval sieges could take months, with besiegers launching all manner of objects over enemy walls with the aim of spreading disease and panic. Our in-game spin on this siege strategy involves launching one of four departed animals over enemy walls and into their castle. Creating a temporary cloud of disease upon impact, the chosen animal type will affect the size and spread of disease within the enemy castle. Players will have to keep their soldiers and peasants well away from the affected area, with disease able to damage units and even shut down parts of their castle economy.



While Stronghold has always allowed for some manner of diseased, deceased animal to be flung at your enemies, until now they were limited to European and a few Middle Eastern creatures. With Warlords however the series has broadened its horizons to include water buffalo, a hoarse horse, former caged tigers, and the bactrian camels of Mongolia. Players can vote on their preferred animal ammo type by joining the official Stronghold Discord server and reacting to the trebuchet vote post in the #announcements channel.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/907650/Stronghold_Warlords/