DTX Studios: Wiki launch content: written from the game's code, data and story bible (Tools/wiki/content)

2026-10-13T21:13:46Z

Wiki launch content: written from the game's code, data and story bible (Tools/wiki/content)

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:AI difficulty}}
Computer opponents in ''Dawn of Embers'' come in six '''difficulty tiers'''. Every tier runs the same AI: what changes is how early it attacks, how large and how organised its attacks are, how strong its economy is, how quickly it reacts, and how hard it goes after [[Pillars]].

== Choosing a difficulty ==
* The lobby has a difficulty setting for the computer opponents, and each computer seat can be given its own tier. The default is '''Normal'''.
* The tiers are '''Very Easy''', '''Easy''', '''Normal''', '''Hard''', '''Very Hard''' and '''Brutal'''.
* In the demo, the hardest tier available is '''Normal'''. Hard, Very Hard and Brutal are greyed out in the lobby.

== The tiers at a glance ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier !! First attack !! How it attacks !! Army !! Economy
|-
| '''Very Easy''' || Not before '''20 to 30 minutes''' || Small waves, units arriving one by one || At most 8 soldiers || Banks 60% of what it gathers
|-
| '''Easy''' || Not before '''15 to 20 minutes''' || Small waves, units arriving one by one || At most 14 soldiers || Banks 80% of what it gathers
|-
| '''Normal''' || Not before '''10 to 15 minutes''' || Waves march together as a group || No limit || Normal
|-
| '''Hard''' || Not before '''5 minutes''' || Small, frequent waves that keep coming || No limit || Banks 15% extra
|-
| '''Very Hard''' || Not before '''2½ minutes''' || A rush, then steady waves || No limit || Banks 35% extra
|-
| '''Brutal''' || As soon as its first wave is ready || Large, heavy waves || No limit || Banks 75% extra
|}
* '''First attack''' is the earliest moment the AI may send an attack wave. It still has to have the army for one. On Very Easy, Easy and Normal the exact time is picked at random inside the window at the start of the match, so it cannot be learned by heart. The same map seed and seat always give the same time.
* '''Economy''' is a bonus or handicap on every load the AI's workers bring home. It does not change how fast they work. From Hard up, the AI gets more out of every trip than a human player does.
* '''Army''' counts every non-villager unit, siege engines included.
* Before its first attack, and between waves, the AI still '''defends its own base''' when it is attacked.

== In more detail ==
=== Attack waves ===
An AI keeps a '''home guard''' and gathers the rest of its soldiers into waves. A wave leaves when enough soldiers are free; each later wave waits for a few more than the last.
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier !! Home guard !! First wave leaves at !! Each later wave
|-
| Very Easy || 1 || 3 soldiers || +1
|-
| Easy || 2 || 4 soldiers || +2
|-
| Normal || 4 || 6 soldiers || +3
|-
| Hard || 4 || 5 soldiers || +1
|-
| Very Hard || 5 || 6 soldiers || +2
|-
| Brutal || 10 || 12 soldiers || +6
|}
* '''Very Easy''' and '''Easy''' send each unit off on its own, so a wave arrives strung out and fights as it arrives.
* From '''Normal''' up, a wave of 4 or more units marches '''as a group''' and arrives together.
* Hard's small growth is what keeps its pressure on: its waves are small enough to fend off, but they keep coming.
* Brutal is not a faster Very Hard: it waits for a much bigger army before each push, so its waves come less often but hit much harder.

=== Army make-up ===
Every tier aims for the same rough mix: mostly infantry, then ranged units, with some cavalry and siege. The tiers differ in how strictly they follow it:
* '''Very Easy''' trains whatever it likes, at random.
* Each tier above follows the mix more closely. '''Brutal''' always trains whatever its army is shortest of.

=== Economy and building ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier !! Villagers it aims for !! Buildings under construction at once !! Builders per site
|-
| Very Easy || 8 || 2 || 1
|-
| Easy || 12 || 2 || 2
|-
| Normal || 20 || 2 || 3
|-
| Hard || 26 || 3 || 4
|-
| Very Hard || 32 || 4 || 5
|-
| Brutal || 40 || 5 || 6
|}
* The AI always keeps some spare housing so it is not blocked by its population limit.
* Once it has as many villagers as its tier aims for, an AI that can afford one of its buildings twice over builds another copy of it. A rich AI therefore keeps adding buildings.

=== Reaction speed ===
The AI thinks in steps. Higher tiers think more often, so they notice an attack, a free worker or a chance to build sooner.
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier !! Very Easy !! Easy !! Normal !! Hard !! Very Hard !! Brutal
|-
| Seconds between decisions || 4 || 3 || 1.5 || 1 || 0.75 || 0.5
|}

=== Callings and Disciplines ===
Every computer opponent picks a [[Callings|Calling]] and spends all 20 [[Disciplines|Discipline]] points at the start of a skirmish. The Calling suits the kind of army the AI likes to build.
* '''Very Easy''' and '''Easy''' always make the same choice.
* '''Normal''' picks one of a few set plans, chosen by the map seed.
* '''Hard''' picks with a preference for the plans that suit its army.
* '''Very Hard''' and '''Brutal''' do the same, then shift up to 3 points between Disciplines, so their builds are not always identical.
The same map seed and seat always produce the same choice. Computer opponents in story missions do not pick.

== Pillars ==
How hard the AI goes after [[Pillars]] depends on its tier.
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier !! Finds a Pillar !! Sends mages !! Fights over it
|-
| Very Easy || Never: it ignores Pillars || No || No
|-
| Easy || Only near its own base || No || No
|-
| Normal || In a wider area around its base || Up to 10, from a mage building it already has || No
|-
| Hard || Anywhere on the map || 10 || Yes, with half its free army
|-
| Very Hard || Anywhere on the map || 12 || Yes, with 60% of its free army
|-
| Brutal || Anywhere on the map || 14 || Yes, with 70% of its free army
|}
* Any tier that looks for Pillars also learns of one when its mages or soldiers come within about 30 metres of it.
* From '''Hard''' up, the AI '''prepares before the Pillar appears''': it starts training mages, and builds a [[Magic|mage]] training building if it has none, so that its mages are ready when the stone rises.
* The AI gives up on a Pillar it can no longer charge in time.
* "Fights over it" means the AI sends soldiers to kill the enemy mages charging the stone.

== What the AI knows ==
* The AI does '''not''' have to scout to find you. It picks its attack targets from everything within a very large distance of its base, which covers the whole map on every map size. '''Very Hard''' and '''Brutal''' have no limit at all.
* The AI may place buildings on ground it has never explored. See [[Fog of war]].

== Resigning ==
A computer opponent that has lost all means of fighting back, while an enemy army still stands, resigns after about half a minute. See [[Victory conditions#Computer opponents|Victory conditions]].

== Not in the game ==
* There is '''no adaptive difficulty''' that adjusts to how you play.
* The AI does not get extra starting units or resources on any tier: its bonus comes only from what its workers bring home.
* A '''strategic advisor''' for the hardest tiers exists as a setting in the game's data but does nothing yet.

AI difficulty - Revision history

DTX Studios: Wiki launch content: written from the game's code, data and story bible (Tools/wiki/content)