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Total War: Pharaoh | Amenmesse Faction Guide

by Chris Hyde on October 11, 2023

Amenmesse is one of the Egyptian Factions in Total War: Pharaoh, from Creative Assembly. Read on to discover everything you need to know to master this Faction in the game.

Total War: Pharaoh | Amenmesse Faction Guide

Key Details

Name: Amenmesse

Known As: The Gilded: Son of Merneptah and Viceroy of Kush

Starting Situation: Normal

Court Position: Viceroy of Kush

Description:
Far from honoured by his titles as Viceroy of Kush, Amenmesse stews in bitterness over his perceived exile from Egypt’s court. His position however affords him the gold and resources of Nubia, presenting a steady supply of riches from the numerous gold mines common to the region.

Local Deity: Amun

Native Units

Nubian Recruits (Bronze)
Nubian Hunters (Bronze)
Nubian Bowmen (Bronze)
Kushite Spearmen Recruits (Bronze)
Kushite Archers (Silver)
Nubian Clubmen (Silver)
Kushite Spearmen (Silver)
Nubian Longbowmen (Silver)
Renowned Nubian Longbowmen (Silver)
Renowned Kushite Archers (Silver)

Faction Units

Kushite Archer Militia (Bronze)
Kushite Runners (Bronze)
Nubian Spearmen (Silver)
Nubian Swordsmen (Silver)
Nubian Slingers (Silver)
Nubian Mercenary Bowmen (Silver)
Kushite Royal Guard (Silver)
Nubian Chariots (Silver)
Kushite Chariots (Silver)
Kushite Armoured Archers (Gold)
Ta-Seti Longbowmen (Gold)

Unique Faction Buildings

Kushite Delegate School
The Hidden Rooms
Gold Mine Labour Village

Strengths and Weaknesses of Amenmesse in Total War: Pharaoh

Faction Buildings

More Gold from Mines
Turn Gold into Legitimacy
Unique Buildings lower Influence

Tips
As Amenmesse, your Unique Buildings are skewed towards Gold – getting more of it and trading it for a profit. All of them lower your Influence due to the inherently exploitative relationship you have with your subjects.

Foreign Visitors Buildings increase Workforce and Resource production, but lower Influence. They help with building up your Provinces.

Gold Mine Labour Camps are a unique secondary source of Gold, but they lower Influence. They help with amassing Gold for various purposes.

Gold Markets convert Gold into all other Resources and LEgitimacy. They help strengthen your economy and your royal claim.

Faction Units

Strongest Archers
Good defensive infantry
Weak at charging

Tips
Your roster has the best Bowmen of any faction, available at both middle and higher Tiers. Your infantry can hold the line while you shoot the enemy down and use your Kushite Chariots’ mobility.

Ta-Seti Longbowmen are your most elite archers with incredible Range and Missile Damage. Use them to defeat the enemy before they can reach you.

Nubian Spearmen are a mid-tier Unit that can hold a defensive line. Use them to protect your archers from flanking.

Commands

Gain Legitimacy with Golden Masks
Reduce Gold costs of units and buildings

Tips
You can command your faction to produce Golden Masks – Ancillaries which cost Gold and grant you Legitimacy.

If you wait until Shemsu Hor, Units and Buildings requiring Gold will cost less of it.

Court

Buy Court Actions with Gold
Suggested Position: Viceroy of Kush

Tips
You start with advantage of being the Viceroy of Kush – you have a higher Gold income and you have Kushite Units in Special Recruitment.

You can buy COurt Actions with Gold – as many as you can afford. The price increases with each Court Action bought, persisting until the end of the current turn.

Key Concepts of this Faction

Outposts

You start with a single Outpost: a Shrine of Amun in Kerma.

The Shrine of Amun increases the experience of Units each turn. Pray there to increase experience earned in battle by the army’s Units for a few turns.

Worship Amun

You can construct Shrines for all Egyptian gods more easily.

Shrines of Amun grant more experience per turn to Units in their respective Regions. Use them to train your armies without fighting.
Amun’s Prayer increases the experience earned in battle for all Units in its respective army. The Devoted General’s army gains even more experience from fighting and all its Units have increased Speed in battle.

Native Units

You start in Kush, which shares its Native Unit roster with Nubia. It has two main tribes of Units:

Nubian Units are cheap and decent at holding a defensive line. Use the to protect high value Units that need to stay away from melee.

Kushites are better trained and their bows give them extra range compared to other such Units. Use them to weaken the enemy line before they charge your lines.

Terrain & Weather

In Egypt and the surrounding deserts, Sandstorms and Sweltering heat occur often. Egyptian units commonly wear light or medium armour, giving them swiftness on the battlefield – in difficult Terrain, they can manoeuvre better than their enemies.

Many of them are also resistant to heat, allowing them to ignore penalties from Sweltering Weather.

Titles

Your Titles exchange Gold for campaign and battle bonuses. You can use them to specialise in Nubian or Kushite Units. In campaign, you can improve Gold income and Influence.

Equipment

Your starting Equipment is a Medium Shield and an Axe. Use your Bodyguard Units to break through the ranks of well-armoured Units.

Legitimacy

You start in Kush and own four Sacred Egyptian Lands.

To gain more Legitimacy, expand either North towards Waset along the Nile or to the West towards the rest of Kush – both options offer additional Sacred Egyptian Lands.

The desert to the North holds Bronze and Gold mines, but they grant no Legitimacy.

Ancient Legacy

Choose the Ancient Legacy of Khufu the Builder. Use it to build great Wonders in Upper and Lower Egypt, cementing your claim to be the greatest Pharaoh of the New Kingdom!