Sovereignty Comprehensive Guide by Manannan

Like the New Player Guide I posted this was not written entirely by myself. It is a collection of several forums threads I organized into what it is now about 3 months ago as a guide for WoT alliance. Credit I believe for the content goes to the Illyriad All-Stars, StormCrow and the Content Team. (Yes I realize this sounds like a bad 70’s pop group.)

There have been many people asking about sovereignty, so I have decided to share my notes with the community. Many thanks to ScottFitz for checking my information before publishing, hopefully I have corrected all errors properly. I know I’ll hear about it soon enough if I haven’t. Due to its size I’ve had to post in several parts… ENJOY

SOVEREIGNTY

WHAT IS IT?

Sovereignty is a game mechanism whereby player cities may stake a claim to territory on the map outside their city. Essentially, you are extending your empire outside the walls of your city, and getting the denizens of these squares to bend to your will, and support your city. Sovereignty is owned by the city that the claiming player claims his or her Sovereignty from.

There are different levels of Sovereignty, each providing additional benefits, options and bonuses to the holding city, player and/or alliance. Players may compete for Sovereignty over a square, either by putting in a competing claim of Sovereignty, or by capturing the city that holds Sovereignty, in which case whatever Sovereignty remains after the Siege is complete is transferred to the capturing player.

WHAT BENEFITS DO I GET FROM SOVEREIGNTY

There are some inherent benefits to Sovereignty:

New Players will not have their first city seeded on a Sovereign square

Existing Players (except the Sovereignty holder) may not settle a new city on a Sovereign square

The Sovereignty holder may build Sovereign Structures on these squares that provide benefits to the owning city (more on these Structures below)

Different levels of Sovereignty on a square also provide defensive benefits to the player (and alliance) that holds Sovereignty.

WHAT SQUARES CAN I CLAIM SOVEREIGNTY ON?

You may claim Sovereignty on any square in the game with the exception of

a) Settled Squares (Squares with Towns on them)

b) the Impassable squares (Loch, Volcanic peak, Fiery mountain, & Canyon).


WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF SOVEREIGNTY?

There are 5 Levels of Sovereignty:

SOVEREIGNTY I

· Only the Sovereign city may settle a new city on the square

· Occupying, Blockading and Sieging (Hostile) Armies receive a 1% Penalty to Defense

· Sovereign Structures Level I may be built

SOVEREIGNTY II

· Only the Sovereign city may settle a new city on the square

· Occupying, Blockading and Sieging (Hostile) Armies receive a 2% Penalty to Defense

· Sovereign Structures Level II may be built

SOVEREIGNTY III

· Only the Sovereign city may settle a new city on the square

· Occupying, Blockading and Sieging (Hostile) Armies receive a 3% Penalty to Defense

· Sovereign Structures Level III may be built

SOVEREIGNTY IV

· Only the Sovereign city may settle a new city on the square

· Occupying, Blockading and Sieging (Hostile) Armies receive a 4% Penalty to Defense

· Sovereign Structures Level IV may be built

SOVEREIGNTY V

· Only the Sovereign city may settle a new city on the square

· Occupying, Blockading and Sieging (Hostile) Armies receive a 5% Penalty to Defense

· Sovereign Structures Level V may be built

WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF CLAIMING SOVEREIGNTY?

I’m glad you asked. Nothing is for free. To claim Sovereignty on a square you have to win the hearts and minds of the NPC residents who reside on that square to work for your cause. In practical terms, this means providing them with Cultural and Scientific values (represented by Research Points) as well as hard, cold cash (represented by Gold). Claiming and maintaining Sovereignty will cost the claiming city an hourly upkeep of Gold and Research Points. This hourly upkeep is modified by two things:

a) The level of Sovereignty you claim, and

b) The distance of the Sovereign square from the claiming city

COST OF SOVEREIGNTY CLAIM

The formula for calculating the costs of a Sovereignty claim is as follows:

10 Research Points (RP) per Hour, and

100 Gold Per Hour

Each number multiplied by Sovereignty Level being claimed

Each number multiplied by Distance from the claiming City

EXAMPLES

Claiming Sovereignty II on the square directly to the North of your City will cost the following:

Distance: 1 Square

Sovereignty Level: 2

Research Points: 10 x 1(Distance) x 2 (Sov lvl) = 20 RP p/hr

Gold Cost: 100 x 1 (Distance) x 2 (Sov lvl) = 200 Gold p/hr

Claiming Sovereignty IV on a square 2 squares North and one square West will cost:

Distance: 2.23 Squares

Sovereignty Level: 4

Research Points: 10 x 2.23 (Distance) x 4(Sov Lvl) = 89.2 RP p/hr (Rounded to 89)

Gold Cost: 100 x 2.23 (Distance) x 4 (Sov Lvl)= 892 Gold p/hr

Before you initiate a new Sovereignty claim or (an upgraded Sovereignty claim) on a square you will be informed of the hourly costs.

HOW DO I INITIATE A SOVEREIGNTY CLAIM?

Well, firstly you’ll need to research some new Skills.

Sovereignty ~ Unlocks the Sovereignty skill tree. This Skill is a pre-requisite for any involvement in Sovereignty.

There are then 5 skills relating to how many Sovereign Squares you may claim from a particular city:

Serfs – Allows up to 3 Sovereign Squares claims per city
Peasants – Allows up to 6 Sovereign Squares claims per city
Thralls – Allows up to 10 Sovereign Squares claims per city
Lieges – Allows up to 15 Sovereign Squares claims per city
Subjects – Allows up to 20 Sovereign Squares claims per city
There are also new skills relating to the Level of Sovereignty you may claim:

Landholding – Allows you to Claim Sovereignty Level I
Tenancy – Allows you to Claim Sovereignty Level II
Fiefdom – Allows you to Claim Sovereignty Level III
Vassalage – Allows you to Claim Sovereignty Level IV
Feudalism – Allows you to Claim Sovereignty Level V

To start a claim for Sovereignty you will need to stamp your authority on a square – and this means sending an army to Occupy the square. The army does not need to remain on the square during the time it takes to claim sovereignty, it just needs to be there for the initial claim or Sovereignty upgrade. However, if you leave the army on the square, the time it takes to claim Sovereignty is halved. To start your claim, simply click on the Occupying Army and select “Claim Sovereignty”.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO CLAIM SOVEREIGNTY?

Sovereignty takes time to claim.

Sov I: 24hrs

Sov II: 48hrs

Sov III: 72hrs

Sov IV: 96hrs

Sov V: 120hrs

These are additive, and you must complete the claim for Sovereignty before you can claim for Sovereignty II. Therefore Sovereignty V will take 15 days to achieve if you are not occupying the square with an army, and 7.5 days to achieve if you are occupying the square with an army.

During this period your Sovereign Claim on the square will slowly increase from 0% to 100%. Once 100% is reached, the square will take on the new Sovereignty level.

HOW CAN I SEE SOVEREIGNTY ON THE MAP?

Mousing over or clicking on a square on the World Map will display information about:

Who owns (or is claiming/competing for) Sovereignty there

What the Sovereignty level is (and progression towards a new level, if appropriate)

What Sovereign Structures have been built there

The “Influence Borders” option on the World Map will also highlight claimed territory.

The developers are looking at putting icons onto Sovereign squares once structures have been built on them.



HOW DO I GIVE UP SOVEREIGNTY/CANCEL A CLAIM?

Go to the New “Sovereignty” tab in your Castle

Select the square you wish to give up sovereignty on from the list

Select “Cancel Claim”

Your Sovereign percentage will begin dropping (from 100% to 0%) instantly.

When it reaches 0%, the Sovereignty level will be lost, and any Sovereign Structures built on the square that relied on the Sovereignty level being in place will be levelled down as well.

NOTE: If either gold or resource points ever drop to zero in that town, ALL SOV claims are immediately rescinded and begin to drop to zero automatically.

HOW DO I COMPETE FOR SOVEREIGNTY WITH ANOTHER PLAYER?

If the player has Sovereignty on the square already you must remove their Sovereignty before you can claim your own. You will need to match the Sovereignty Upkeep amount for that particular Sovereignty level, with – of course – your own Distance modifier applied, so players closer to the Sovereign square claim Sovereignty more cheaply.

In the event of 2 (or more) identical claims for Sovereignty on a square without anyone’s army on the square, the Sovereign ownership % is “blocked” and will remain unchanged.

However, whilst an army from one of the claimants is occupying the square, their claim for Sovereignty will be paramount, and Sovereignty will be lost by the current player instantly.

So, the procedure to sieze Sovereignty is:

Park an army on the square

Initiate your Sovereign counter-claim by clicking on the Army and choosing “Claim Sovereignty”

You will see how much this claim will cost you to compete, if you wish to proceed, select “Claim Sovereignty”

Hold the Square to remove your opponent’s Current Sovereignty Level until the Square returns to being non-Sovereign again. As your opponent’s Sovereignty levels fall, it becomes cheaper to maintain your counter-claim

Re-Initiate your own claim to build your own Sovereignty

WHAT OTHER EFFECTS ARE THERE FOR PLANTING A HOSTILE OR NEUTRAL ARMY ON A SOVEREIGN SQUARE?

We’re also glad you asked. Whilst a Hostile or Neutral Army is in Occupation of a Sovereign Square:

a) The Sovereign Square holder will immediately cease to gain any Sovereign Structure Benefits from that square

b) The Hostile or Neutral Army will siphon off the resources (being generated by a Resource Sovereign Structure) or the resources being pumped in (in the case of a Production Sovereign Structure) – see the post below for more details on Sovereign Structures.

The Army will fill to its carrying capacity, after which the additional resources are simply lost.

So, planting an occupying hostile army on someone else’s Sovereign Square is not only a method of siphoning substantial resources from the owning City, it can also be used to halt or reverse Sovereign claims.

WHAT NOTIFICATIONS DO I GET WHEN MY SOVEREIGN SQUARES ARE AFFECTED?

Players will receive email notifications regarding Sovereignty Claims that involve them, as well as when hostile armies take posession of Sovereign Squares. Because the residents of that Sovereign Square are under your sway, they will also report the player name and town name that the hostile or neutral army belongs to, but they’re not educated enough to make a guess at military numbers – for that you will still need to scout the army’s location.

SOVEREIGNTY STRUCTURES

WHAT ARE THESE?

They are the meat between the resource-buns of the Sovereign sandwich. They allow cities to specialise in different production and support roles. When you have Sovereignty on a Square, you may build a Sovereign Structure on it, providing you have the required skill. These Sovereign Structures may be levelled up, but only to the same level as the underlying Sovereignty you currently hold. You cannot build a Level V Structure on a square that you only hold Sovereignty Level IV at. Once a Sovereign Structure is built, the serfs and peasants who live on the square set to work in the type of Sovereign Structure you built, providing additional benefits to the holding city. You may only build one Sovereign Structure on a Sovereign Square, and if you wish to build a different type, you will have to tear down the current structure first and rebuild from scratch.

Sovereign Structures fall into 2 Main Categories:

Resource Sovereign Structures
Production Sovereign Structures
There are 5 Levels of each Sovereign Structure, indicated as I through V. Taking them in turn:

RESOURCE SOVEREIGN STRUCTURES

These are:

Logging Camp – Bonus to Wood
Earthworks – Bonus to Clay
Mineshaft – Bonus to Iron
Gravel Pit – Bonus to Stone
Farmstead – Bonus to Food
Building one of these Structures provides %age bonuses to resource production in the holding city for the relevant basic resource type.

HOW MUCH BONUS DOES A RESOURCE SOVEREIGN STRUCTURE GIVE?

This depends on the resource distribution of the underlying terrain on which they are built.

The formula is:

[Sovereignty Structure Level] x [Relevant Resource Distribution] x 0.2 = %age Bonus

So, building a Logging Camp I on a square that has 5 wood underlying it will give:

1 x 5 x 0.2 = +1% bonus to Wood Production in the holding city.

On the same square, a Logging Camp V will give +5% bonus to Wood production in the holding city. Building a Logging Camp IV on a square with 7 wood will giv
e +5.6% bonus.

Again, players will be informed of what bonus the Structure will provide before they build the Structure.

WHAT KIND OF BONUS WILL BUILDING A RESOURCE STRUCTURE ON AN NPC SQUARE GIVE?

These Squares have historically always been 0|0|0|0|0 squares (ie zero wood, zero clay etc). They have now been reseeded with semi-random permutations given 25 available ‘plots’ and you can see these permutations on the map now. By semi-random, we mean that certain square types have had a propensity towards a certain resource abundance:

Ancient Forests tend towards Wood
Barrows tend towards Clay
Abandoned Mineshafts tend towards Iron
Standing Stones tend towards Stone
Dolmens tend towards Food
Ruined Towers have a random propensity
So one might find an NPC square with (eg) 20 Food on it, and building a Farming Community V here would provide:

5 x 20 x 0.2 = +20% Food Bonus to the holding city

***NPC squares remain unsettlable to new towns.*** NPC Faction spawns (and NPC resource spawns) on these Sovereign-held NPC squares will continue as usual, and will co-exist peacefully.

WHAT DO RESOURCE STRUCTURES COST TO UPKEEP?

Resource Structures do not cost any additional upkeep, beyond the cost of maintaining Sovereignty on the square (Gold and Research Points).

PRODUCTION SOVEREIGN STRUCTURES

These are:

Cattle Rancher – Bonus to Livestock
Bladesmith – Bonus to Swords
Renderer – Bonus to Leather Armor
Farrier – Bonus to Horses
Bowyer – Bonus to Bows
Poleturner – Bonus to Spears
Bridlemaker – Bonus to Saddles
Plate Forger – Bonus to Plate Armor
Armourer – Bonus to Chainmail Armor
Engineering Yard – Bonus to Siege Blocks
Papermill – Bonus to Books
Brewers’ Yard – Bonus to Beer
Finishing School – Bonus to Diplomatic Units
Training Ground – Bonus to Spearmen Units
Target Range – Bonus to Ranged Units
Military Academy – Bonus to Infantry Units
Jousting Yard – Bonus to Cavalry Units
Assembly Yard – Bonus to Siege Units

These Structures provide bonuses to the speed at which your city produces items and units. The speed increase is an increase to the number of items produced per hour in that city, and it therefore slighty differs from upgrading the underlying building, although the net effect (things get built faster) remains the same. On the production menus for each building in your city you will be given additional information on “Items Produced Per Hour”, and how Sovereign Structures are affecting this number. Please note that we do not currently have Production Structures that increase either Mana, Gold or Research Points – although this may change in the future.

HOW MUCH BONUS DOES A PRODUCTION SOVEREIGN STRUCTURE GIVE?

Depending on the focus taken by the city, the Square Chosen, Sovereignty Level claimed and Structure Level built… “a lot”. Cities can now specialise in production areas – both of secondary resources (Livestock, Swords etc) as well as unit types (Cavalry, Diplomats etc).

All Production Sovereign Structures give an increase to the hourly production speed of the Sovereign Holding town for the Structure’s bonus type, according to the following formula:

( 5 + [Additional Terrain Bonus] ) * [Sovereignty Structure Level]= %age Bonus

Whilst you can build any Production Structure on any Sovereign Square, different Terrain Types give an additional 1%, 2% or 3% bonus to the per Structure Level figure. So instead of the %age Bonus running from 5% to 25% (for Sovereignty Structure I through V), it can also run from 6% to 30%, 7% to 35%, or 8% to 40%.

These Terrain Types and Extra Bonuses are:

Terrain Type – Structure – Production Bonus

Rocky outcrop – Farrier – Horses +3% per lvl

Fertile ground – Farrier – Horses +1% per lvl

Bountiful land – Cattle Rancher – Cattle +3% per lvl

Alluvial plain – Cattle Rancher – Cattle +1% per lvl

Abundant crops – Brewer’s Yard – Beer +3% per lvl

Fertile orchard – Brewer’s Yard – Beer +1% per lvl

Rich Clay Seam – Papermill – Books +3% per lvl

Abundant Clay – Papermill – Books +2% per lvl

Wooded land – Poleturner – Spears +3% per lvl

Light woods – Poleturner – Spears +1% per lvl

Sharp crags – Bladesmith – Swords +3% per lvl

Mountains – Bladesmith – Swords +1% per lvl

Thick Forest – Bowyer – Bows +3% per lvl

Forested hilltop – Bowyer – Bows +1% per lvl

Turned Clay – Bridlemaker – Saddles +2% per lvl

Heavy Clay Seam – Bridlemaker – Saddles +1% per lvl

Clay seam – Renderer – Leather Armour +3%

Exposed Clay – Renderer – Leather Armour +1%

Craggy peaks – Armourer – Chainmail +3% per lvl

Stony ground – Armourer – Chainmail +1% per lvl

Abundant Quarry – Plate Forger – Plate Armour +3%

Lonely peaks – Plate Forger – Plate Armour +1%

Bleak mountains – Finishing School – Diplomats +2% per lvl

Scrubland – Finishing School – Diplomats +1% per lvl

Wooded Glade – Training Ground – Spearmen +2% per lvl

Tundra – Training Ground – Spearmen +1% per lvl

Dense Forest – Target Range – Archers +2% per lvl

Clearing – Target Range – Archers +1% per lvl

Moor &nbsp
; – Military Academy – Swordsmen +1% per lvl

Rich quarry – Military Academy – Swordsmen +2% per lvl

Fertile pasture – Jousting Yard – Cavalry +2% per lvl

Open Plains – Jousting Yard – Cavalry +1% per lvl

Landslip – Assembly Yard – Seige Engines +2%

Wooded Quarry – Assembly Yard – Seige Engines +1%

For anyone interested, these bonuses have been (apparently) allocated to square types based on what makes sense (ie Woods for Bows etc) as well as abundance/scarcity. The higher the bonus, the more scarce the square.

WHAT DO PRODUCTION STRUCTURES COST TO UPKEEP?

Unlike Resource Structures, which simply cost whatever the Sovereignty Claim Cost is, Production Structures cost more. You need to supply these Production Structures with materials from the Sovereignty-holding City to keep them assisting you in building the final product faster. These resource upkeep costs are instantaneous: ie you don’t need to ship them via caravan to the Sovereign Square, they’re debited from your City’s resource income automatically.

These additional resource costs for Production Structures are fixed rate by Structure Level, and do not vary by distance.

Production Level I: 150 of each Wood, Clay, Iron & Stone p/hr

Production Level II: 300 of each Wood, Clay, Iron & Stone p/hr

Production Level III: 600 of each Wood, Clay, Iron & Stone p/hr

Production Level IV: 1200 of each Wood, Clay, Iron & Stone p/hr

Production Level V: 2400 of each Wood, Clay, Iron & Stone p/hr

WHAT SKILLS DO I NEED TO BUILD A SOVEREIGN STRUCTURE?

There are new skills: lots of them. I’m not listing them all here, but there are 5 skills per Structure – one for each Structure Level – and the city that wishes to build the Structure will need to have researched the appropriate skill for that Structure.

These new skills will be underneath the appropriate research type and have the appropriate pre-requisite. As examples:

The 5 skills required to build a Logging Camp V will appear under Carpentry in the City research menu.

The 5 skills required to build a Training Ground will appear under Spear Mastery in the Military research menu.

HOW DO I BUILD OR TEAR DOWN A SOVEREIGN STRUCTURE OF MY OWN?

Go to the Sovereignty submenu in the Holding City’s Castle, and provided you have:

The appropriate skills researched,

Sufficient resources to build,

The appropriate level of Sovereignty on the Square for the level of Structure you are constructing

… you will be able to start the building your Structure here.

Sovereign Structure construction does not appear in your building queue, nor does it take up a building queue slot – as the construction is being built elsewhere by your denizens on the Sovereign Square. You can however see progress towards completion in the Sovereignty submenu.

The cost (and time) to build a Sovereign Structure at a particular level is given on the Sovereignty submenu in the Castle, but broadly follows the appropriate city building pairing (eg):

Logging Camp I – same as Lumberjack at Level 1

Logging Camp II – same as Lumberjack at Level 5

Logging Camp III – same as Lumberjack at Level 10

Logging Camp IV – same as Lumberjack at Level 15

Logging Camp V – same as Lumberjack at Level 20