Introduction

The genre of Rts is a popular franchise within the gaming industry, it can be played casually with friends
in addition to being a highly competitive environment. The typical format for this genre is that the
camera view is top down, you own a main base location, and you manage resources to achieve a win
condition; First team to this win condition wins the game. The most recognized rts games are Age of
Empires, Command & Conquer and Heart of Iron.

To help define Rts (Real Time Strategy), it is a format of multiplayer game where players are must build
to defeat each other in real time while controlling base and population. Not every Rts is made with this
exact formula, you may find one that doesn’t have a population and you instead use a resource purely.
Regardless of this you will be able to identify one as they look similar at quick inspection.

Now, the genre has had its many changes throughout the years and many games these days have
varying differences in order to stand out amongst the hundreds of other games before it. Within these
changes there has been the development of what I will refer to as the “Clan System”, the point of this is
that each player gets to pick a side that gives them certain benefits and occasionally flaws. This is a
consistent part of Rts games and is by far one of the most popular mechanics. This is a mechanic I enjoy
about one game.

Northgard

Northgard is a rts game that is based on the Norse Mythology. Its runs in this order, you select a clan,
you begin with a standard set of resources, and you must build structures that generate the resources in
an effective way to not waste resources. The game has you claim territories to progress and gain access
to all your resources, this is since each territory can only have a certain amount of buildings making it
clear that you should progress. During your first few games you typically will be focusing on a way to
sustain yourself instead of winning so you can find a good pattern. The consistency of the games is
typically similar, allowing you to make a decent pattern that allows you to progress from the beginning
stage quickly.

Within the game there are many win conditions, the ones are, Domination (destroying the enemy), Lore
(Achieving the fourth blessing through the lore resource), Fame (Attaining 1200 fame, owning 12
territories and having an altar of kings), trade (having 2000 commercial influence). Each clan works to
achieve these in different ways, some better than others.

Clans

Let's get into the clans, they are largely different to one another and will guarantee you a unique
experience from the other clans. When it comes to clans you will see that they are especially good at
one factor and in turn bad at something almost equally. To explain what I mean I will demonstrate it by
showing a few of the clans I have played.
Kraken

The Kraken clan is a military based clan that thrives in coastal zones and uses a unique resource called
“Wyrd” to grant blessings that benefit the clan. The clan has the advantages of being able to fish on the
coasts, create Valkyries, summon enemies to the enemy shores and generally is a brutal clan. They also
gain a level of foresight allowing them to see the next event long before anyone else. In exchange for
these benefits, they absolutely cannot create longship docks, the non-coastal zones are more expensive
and less beneficial to have. This clan is unable to win via Trade but absolutely thrives in domination.

Horse

This clan is immensely powerful overall. They have two war Chiefs that can mine and forge faster than
regular units without requiring a mine. The clan rushes all resources with absolute ease and generally
has a solution for every problem. Your people are unhappy? Well, the lore skill “Quality of life” will solve
that for you. Do your people want better houses? Great then you can have your war Chiefs gather stone
for about a minute and that’s solved. You want your war Chiefs to improve? Have them make the Clan
Relic faster than anyone else can. I genuinely believe this clan can win any victory condition it pleases if
it prioritizes it.

Eagle

The Clan of the Eagle are scavengers who are excellent at scouting the map and finding camps/ buried
cache’s which can be scrapped for resources. They also have hawks which appear in boneyards created
by the units. These hawks provide healing to your units and grant small benefits to your military. The
clan itself isn't very strong but it does its job well to take the remains from battles that were nearby and
overall being the underdog. I would say they are effective at winning through means other than
domination

I will now get some interviews from two people who play the clans and the reasons behind them.
Potentially the clans they would like to play in the future

To conclude, the clan systems within each RTS game have the potential to change the experience to a
point where it may as well be another game all together. Within Northgard this is especially shown in
the vast number of clans that all seek their own way of winning.

Though the genre itself is ever expanding and I look forward to seeing what comes next