Zatikon Game Guide

We have just published a new Zatikon Game Guide with videos to help players get the hang of the game, check it out:


http://www.chroniclogic.com/zat_guide.htm

Zatikon Update

We have been working all summer on a major Zatikon update which is now live. We are just working out a few kinks and making some balance changes. We are also working on some interface changes as well. Check out the new units, relics, single player and co-op changes as well as all the new art!

Writing the Zatikon Guide....

Hey Zatikon players,

I thought I would drop in and let you know of the progress of the promised guide, and what the task of writing it entailed. It sounds boring (and yes some of it was), but it was also a lot of fun.
Lunaria was kind enough to allow me to use his guide, but I felt that for an official guide, more needed to be written; I wanted to provide a comprehensive guide that answered a new player's every question, while still being enjoyable to read for intermediate (and maybe advanced) players.

The task of outlining how the menu and basic gameplay worked was fairly simple. Lunaria had done most of it, but I mostly just edited his work and added a bit more onto it. The real challenge began when I started to delve into the units and describing them. Since I am a predominantly random player, I have experience playing with or against all of the units and if I didn't have a clue how to use certain units, I quickly got one from playing against top players such as Mongolian. Nonetheless it was still difficult to write descriptions for units that don't see much play, such as the Captain or write descriptions about units that had just come out, such as the Supplicant or the Abbey. With that said, I made a huge effort to go into detail with units such as the Acolyte and the Scout who appear fairly straightforward, but allow for interesting strategical possibilities.

The part I enjoyed most about the guide was helping to create videos for uses of units and unit combos. After employing almost all of the mentioned tactics and playing agaisnt them numerous times, I definitely had a lot to say about them. The videos include a description of the units and combos, and shows actual footage of how to use them. My tasks included recording the gameplay and writing the script and after the assembled videos come back to me, I will be doing a voiceover for them. I hope you enjoy reading the guide and watching the videos as much as I enjoyed putting them together (hopefully more :D ).

Coming Soon: Zatikon Comprehensive Guide!

New to Zatikon? If so, have you wondered how the damage of poison works or how the acolyte's shield spell works? Are you having trouble figuring out how to use a certain unit? If so then look no farther for answers, because a comprehensive Zatikon guide is nearing completion!

The guide is packed with information for new and experienced players alike, featuring tutorials on how to navigate through the menus and chat windows of Zatikon to more advanced ones discussing special abilities and unit combinations. In the units section of the guide, you will find a picture of every unit organized by class with a description of the unit which gives a rundown on its strengths, weaknesses and abilities, and also gives some ideas on what units work well with it and how it is generally used.

The best part is there are also 2 videos in the works that will be embedded into the guide. The first video will be oriented to newer players who may have questions on basic gameplay concepts. The second video will be geared towards more adept players, and discusses using the classes and showcases some awesome unit combos in action.

The Zatikon Underdog: The Captain

Special Abilities: Coordinate Type: Skill

Whenever this unit performs an attack, all allies able to attack will also attack the same target. These additional attacks do not cost commands, but do use the individual units actions and skills or spells. In coop or 2 vs 2 mode, units from an allied player are unaffected.


Welcome to THE UNDERDOG! The past week(s) focused on a more noble side of Zatikon, as The Diabolist has less friends than imagined since he didn't receive a single comment! Our charismatic captain is much more likable, often compared to the likes of Captain Jack Sparrow, Gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius, Robin Hood, Joan of Arc, and Jason of the Argonauts. With his ability to lead the mislead, we find a captain goes perfectly with any band of misfits.


With leadership comes efficiency. Loners will unite to act together under the same command, and this translates literally in Zatikon play. While the captain himself is a fierce warrior, a cross between a bowman with three attacks and an archer with more mobility and life, his ability to use one command and have several pieces all attack makes any battle he is in a slaughter fest.


His major weakness is simply getting other pieces in position to follow orders. Like a middle school gym teacher, it's not so easy to get a group of barbarians and berserkers into a straight line! For this reason, the captain really likes to work with any piece with a range of more than one square.


Pikemen, bowmen, shamans, archers, fire archers, longbowmen, confessors, and, of course, fellow captains all work well under his command. Still, there is one lost soul which under the right leadership shines the brightest: The Fanatic!


With a range of two and the ability to re-position enemy pieces, a few fanatics can bring a werewolf, dragon or paladin within range of multiple attacks unleashed under the single command of a captain!


While captains and fanatics make for a medium-ranged army full of attacks every turn, their armor level is sacrificed for speed. Not to mention the fanatics simply don't have an attention span of more than a few seconds, so this army likes to head full steam on to that castle by turn 3! Thus, 2 generals start out the positioning, using up 300 points, and letting the entire army deploy the first turn.


Here's what it looks like so far:


2 generals

2 captains

3 fanatics

and...

1 Abbey!


With the Abbey, those fanatics start out like scouts with a range of 2, and able to move pieces back into the range of the captains for certain death. The healing ability is rarely useful, as attacked units don't often survive, but the forgiveness vs confessors can save the day! Variations can utilized the Abby more, adding a paladin at the front, or even 5 fanatics to start instead of 3.


After the Abbey, we're left with 150 points. This is probably best used with an archer to shower long range with coordinated Captain attacks. Other potentials include a Confessor if 50 points are freed up, a Paladin in the front ranks, or even a Templar 3rd option that the fanatics bring enemies to for a kill and constant heal.


With the Archer, the first 2 turn set up is simple: Turn 1 deploy both Generals, Abbey, 3 fanatics, 2 Captains at the castle corners, and Archer right in the middle. Next turn move the Captains to the corners, Archer next to one of them, and a fanatic as needed to provide pressure. After that its an onslaught as the opponents are pulled into range. Mages with 5 range can be attacked by Captains and Archer, and anything within 4 or 5 can be brought forward by a single fanatic for the beat down.


For co-op or 2 vs 2, any partner adding an Armory makes this army double the danger. Fanatics with 4 power and 2 armor combined with similar captains that can be healed when not killed makes for unusually fast games.


Is the Captain really an Underdog at all? There's no reason that he should be unpopular, and he certainly isn't a weak piece or over priced. Still, just like Maximus and my 7th grade gym teacher Mr. Sullivan, he has to deal with a group of savages, and for this he deserves to be cheered for!

The ZATIKON UNDERDOG: The Diabolist

Special abilities: Makes inorganic ghosts that are immune to spells and stun enemies. Destroys an enemy, or ally, within 4 spaces by exploding, causing 4 damage in all surrounding squares. Can sacrifice an unit to gain two souls to use for it's spells.

Welcome back to THE UNDERDOG! The past week of Zatikon play brought out the nature of an underdog so loathed that even the other pieces won't play with him: The Diabolist! Don't be fooled by his power, deep down the Diabolist is nothing but a glorified sycophant, desperate to be liked by Warlocks and Necromancers, but lacking the coolness to hang. Simply put, the Diabolist has no friends. Why? He kills them all.


So who is able to fight alongside this temperamental snob of death? To start, lowly tacticians seem to be his favorite pushover. Maybe they look up to his superior intellect? Maybe the are traitors to another army? Maybe they want to die?


There is one "friend" to the Diabolist, but only in the sense that someone who kills his friends would define "friendship". The lonely Channeler. See, the Channeler is not a team player; he's just a ball hog. Just like the Diabolist growing up, when things didn't go his way he took his toys back and went home. "Warning: does not play well with others"- Mrs. Burntwitch, grade 1. In this behavior, the Diabolist and Channeler are best friends, so it's not a problem for the Diabolist if his friend the Channeler wants to use ALL seven actions EVERY turn.


But really, with a bunch tacticians and two almost unlikely friends, who else wants to join this? Who would be willing to face an Abjurer, Wizard, Warlock or Dragon with this as backup! Answer: no one of course, but there are plenty willing to get away from them as fast as possible. Horsemen, Cavalry, even Elephants; anything to get the heck away from the Diabolists mood swings.


Finally, let's not forget the Quartermaster. With a battle at hand, this guys wants nothing more but to pony-up on that donkey and fight fire-breathing dragons then have to have another bowl of soup thrown in his face with "next time I will explode you" haunting his sleep.


So, let's go over... Turn 1, deploy Quartermaster, Diabolist, and Channeler. Turn 2, deploy Tactician, Sacrifice Tactician and gain 3 actions, move Channeler and deploy Cavalry, then deploy second Cavalry and Tactician. ... Boom! That's how it's done son! Save the one last Rider in reserve, just to capture the castle in case Diabolist has to blow up his friend, and the rest.


Against the computer, maybe up to level 40 or so, blasting pieces with a blitzkrieg of Channeler and Cavalry seems to give you an advantage. If the Diabolist allows the Channeler to live long enough to be within range of the enemy Gateguard, a saved up release of energy (that's what she said) is usually enough to kill him with an added Cavalry attack.


Diabolist has a name for player vs player: Sacrifice. Channeler takes down 3 guys to be killed next turn? Perfect move. Attack with Cavalry, kill a piece, explode Cavalry to kill another. Perfect move. More ghosts. Let the Quartermaster or Tactician take the castle, or blow them up next to the Gateguard for the diabolist to walk in.


Sometimes the Diabolist tags along with a Warlock or Necromancer. Really, it's no act of pity, as the Warlock and Necromancer always seem to out survive the Diabolist. White Wizards avoid him altogether, although the Magus can be helpful with feeding spirits of will o' the wisps. War Elephants have had their place, even two of them deployed second turn can be threatening, but Diabolist is usually a bit too happy to let them die.


You might not want to hang out with him in real life, or even in a chat room, or even play Zatikon against him, but the Diabolist isn't so bad if you're in control. Just don't try to change him. Sure, ghosts are nice, throw 'em out there at any opportunity, and sometimes it's possible to resist killing your own guys. Still, when the smoke clears, and body parts are identified, there's no doubt the Diabolist will still have no friends.

Army: Enchanter + Archer + Priest

This is an army that I came up with when I started Zatikon. While the strategy involved with playing this army is fairly straightforward, it is nonetheless a solid army that can handle a variety of situations, and also works well in 2v2 or coop.


While some may think that the enchanter is the star of this army, the archer is really the keystone here. In order to play aggressively, it is best to protect the archer with your acolyte and shield maiden, and boost the archers damage by 1 with the enchanter right off the bat.
I generally use the archer to take out targets of opportunity and push up the map, and I use the enchanter to keep my opponents melee units at bay and make sure my archer does not get overwhelmed. I keep my priest slightly behind my enchanter to act as another safeguard against swarms of melee units. It is also worth mentioning to keep your acolyte and shield maiden close to each other, so that the acolyte can heal the maiden when she takes damage.

The short run objective of this army is to boost your archers damage, and push across the board as quickly as your enchanter will allow. The quicker you advance with your buffed and powered up archer or "power archer" the lesser the likelihood that your opponent will be able to find an answer for it. If you can push your opponent's army 1 or 2 ranks away from his castle, you are in an extremely good position.

The middle to late game for this army is somewhat of a dice roll. Armies that are heavy in the use of horsemen pose a significant threat, because their mobility allows them to spread out rapidly and nullify the area of effect stun that your enchanter has. On top of that, their high damage and ability to strike at multiple pieces can overwhelm or circumvent that protection that your acolyte and maiden offer. Other casters, especially ones that stun are a big threat, because they can nullify your archer.

In a late game standoff, continue to power your archer up and look for a way to bring your enchanter up to break the stalemate. Move your shield maiden and acolyte with your archer, enchant and priest to allow you to shift protection to the pieces who are being threatened. Just remember, the longer this army is on the board, the more your opponent can position his pieces and get them set up for a crippling attack. Also, another interesting tactic is to buff the priest with the acolyte and shield maiden and aggressively use your enchanter to try to land a stun. Then bring your priest up and convert those units; even if you do not have the commands to effectively utilize them, you have "1 shotted" your opponents units, and they have to waste time dealing with their own pieces as well.

Army's Strengths:
-Fairly rapid to deploy
-Very strong initial push
-Straightforward
-Handles a variety of situations well

Army's Weaknesses:
-Since it relies on a powered up archer for damage, it is extremely vulnerable to getting overwhelmed
-Scouts and Rogues can cause huge problems for this army
-Priest offers only a soft counter to threatening melee units
-Lack of commands