The battle of Agincourt is famous for the effect the terrain had upon the outcome of the battle, with the French knights being defeated while slogging through the mud against the English longbowmen. Terrain has always been important in warfare, and many a battle has been decided by where it was fought.

While the tactical battles haven’t been revealed yet, I thought it would be interesting with a little discussion on the terrain itself. Having played the splendid new beta for a while, it got me thinking how terrain could effect a battle. The swamp monster, Skag (I think), is a good example of this, what if the Skag would be able to move faster or stay hidden under the waters of the swamp when fighting a tactical battle within such terrain. Total war used to have cavalry become significantly weaker when within a forest or if forced to charge uphill, while I expect basic terrain bonuses, I hope, with the rich environment and creatures that will exist in Elemental, that we will see terrain become important.

One advantage of this is when defending, a potentially weaker defender could stave off an attacker through his clever use of the terrain. Staying in the forests or hills instead of facing that army of knights on the open plains for example.

I also noticed the ability to fortify your position in the beta, while I didn’t try this out, I can think of some great opportunities when it comes to fortifying your position. Digging trenches, putting up stakes, placing out burning oil, and building barricades could give a defender a fighting chance against a more powerful opponent.

So I guess my question is, to what extent do you wish to see terrain have an effect on the battle, and should the defender be given any advantages in terms of perhaps choosing between a few different random battlefields or choosing where he gets to set up his troops?