Most of the time Pioneers of Pagonia is content to throw two enemy unit types at you: Bandits and Thieves. They're both a pain in the butt, and on their own are more than enough to make the settlement-construction process a challenge. There are two other enemies you'll also run into, however, and they are of the... 'supernatural' side of things.
This guide will teach you how to deal with Spectres and Werewolves in Pioneers of Pagonia. Both foes are a pain in the butt, arguably above and beyond Bandits and Thieves, and require an extra level of prep to foil.
Spectres
Ghostly apparitions than haunt the fertile lands of Pagonia, Spectres are a terrifying foe that is nigh-invincible against most of your units. A badly-placed nest of Spectres can ruin your units if you aren't micromanaging things, and should be dealt with immediately.
Spectres spawn near Broken Tombs, typically a ways away from your base. For the most part they remain near the Broken Tombs, though every now and then a few will invite themselves to your settlement to scare some folks. Whenever a Spectre encounters a unit that cannot deal with it the Spectre will frighten that unit into dropping their gear - and, by extension, their job. In other words, Spectres reduce every unit back to Carrier status, wasting the items you needed to equip on them.
There are only two units you can use to stop Spectres, as everyone else will run away. We'll get to that below, as one of them can also deal with the next threat.
Werewolves
Humans transformed into beasts by means unknown, Werewolves are potentially the most dangerous enemy you can encounter in Pioneers of Pagonia, if you handle them improperly. No other foe can replicate itself, and Werewolves reproduce at blinding speeds if you try to send armies their way.
Appearing near Moon Glens, Werewolves remain near their dens at all times, and will only wander away if a unit gets too close. If the Pioneer is a non-combat unit - or if a combat unit loses in a fight to one of these creatures - the Werewolf will bite them, sending the unit to the Moon Glen. A few seconds later the Pioneer will transform into a Werewolf, joining the pack. Most units are not great at defeating Werewolves, so if you try to attack a Moon Glen with a group of Soldiers you'll likely just be adding more Werewolves to your problem.
There is only one 'easy' way to defeat Werewolves, and it requires a fair amount of preparation. Fortunately, dealing with Werewolves is similar to dealing with Spectres.
Handling Spectres and Werewolves
The units you need to handle Spectres and Werewolves are trained at the Adventurer's Guild. A building that won't fully reveal its potential until you've found some precious resources, the Adventurer's Guild can train two types of units:
- Rangers. In addition to catching Thieves, Rangers ignore the fear effect of Spectres, and can fight them normally. Requires a Torch and Light Armor.
- Fearnaughts. Made for fighting the supernatural, Fearnaughts also ignore the fear effect of Spectres. More importantly, though, Fearnaughts receive a huge bonus when battling Werewolves, and can carve through large crowds of them with relative ease. Requires a Silver Sword and Light Armor.
You can also make more powerful forms of both units - the Skilled Ranger and the Heroic Fearnaught - with items made at an Artisan Blacksmith.
Spectres and Werewolves need to be quarantined from your units until you're ready to deal with them. Otherwise you're going to lose a lot of progress as your Pioneers bungle into danger. This is bad enough with Spectres, but with Werewolves you're actively making the problem worse if you don't take steps to stay away from Moon Glens.
Here are some things you can do to smooth the process:
- Check every notification that one of your units has found an enemy camp. Usually this will be a Bandit or Thief Camp, but occasionally you'll receive notice of a Broken Tomb or a Moon Glen.
- Once you've discovered either base type, steer your Explorers and Guards well away from the spot. Send Explorers somewhere else to poke around, and tell your Guards to expand borders elsewhere. In extreme cases you many want to shut off your supply of Border Stones from Stone Masons altogether, or even deactivate your Guard Tower / Garrisons.
- Deactivate or demolish any buildings near these bases that may send units out to harvest resources. You'd be surprised (and annoyed) to see how often your Pioneers steer themselves into trouble when they're doing their jobs.
- Immediately start looking for a source of Silver Ore. Deposits of Silver show up among heaps of rocks, like other metals, and you won't need a ton of it. Hopefully you've already found a supply, and can set up a Silver Hut and start mining. Even if you don't need it to handle Werewolves, Silver Ore can be minted into Silver Coins at a Mint, and stored at a Treasury for a combat bonus.
Once you have units and are ready to rock, set up a Guard Tower / Garrison near the enemy den and empty it of all units except Rangers and Fearnaughts (or, when fighting Werewolves, just Fearnaughts). Depending on the size of the enemy forces you may be good with ten units, or you may need a full twenty-five. Either way, send them on patrol straight to the Broken Tomb or Moon Glen and watch your enemies get slaughtered. Success!