STAR WARS Empire at War: Gold Pack – The Legitimacy System of EAWX’s Thrawn’s Revenge

Basic Guide to the Mechanics behind the Imperial Legitimacy System.

Introduction

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As a mod for one of the best RTS games ever created, Thrawn’s Revenge enhances and improves upon the formula of vanilla Empire at War. It spans the rise of the New Republic and the Imperial factions vying for whatever remains of the old Galactic Empire.

Compared to Fall of the Republic, the battlelines reflect chaotic turmoil of the post-Endor years, as numerous factions vie for control of the entire galaxy. Two notable features distinguish Thrawn’s Revenge from its Clone Wars-era counterpart: the Boarding mechanic and the Legitimacy System.

This guide was written for long-time players familiar with the Legitimacy System from Thrawn’s Revenge. It is based on my past and current experiences with the Legitimacy System across multiple Galactic Conquest playthroughs. All playthroughs were played on v3.3 and on the Full Galaxy map.

Legitimacy Points

On a standard Full Galaxy map in Galactic Conquest, there are five Imperial factions on the Galactic View. The Imperial Remnants occupy the center, Pentastar Alignment to the north, Zsinj’s Empire to the north northeast, Greater Maldrood to the east, and Eriadu Authority to the south.

All five begin with a Faction Leader(s), 25 Legitimacy Points and a set number of Planets under their control. With the curious exception of Zsinj’s Empire, the Imperial factions will have a Faction Capital Building on specific planets.

Over the course of gameplay, the factions can gain or lose Legitimacy Points through the following actions:

• Controlling Coruscant → +10
• Controlling Carida → +5
• Controlling Kuat → +5
• Controlling Bastion → +3
• Controlling Eriadu → +3
• Conquering a Planet → +1
• Losing a Planet → -1
• Death of a Hero → -1
• Death of a Warlord → -5
• Death of a Faction Leader → -5
• Living Rival Warlord Factions → -10

Faction Integration

When an Imperial faction has lost their Faction Leader and Warlords, lost their Faction Capital, and control no more than three planets, its remaining Units and Heroes will join the Imperial faction with the highest Legitimacy Points.

The Imperial faction that integrates another faction into its ranks will also be rewarded with the ability to create a new Unit. Land Unit in the case of Imperial Remnants, space Units for Eriadu Authority, Pentastar Alignment, and Greater Maldrood.

The number of integrated Imperial factions is what determines which of them will establish the Dark Empire. As Imperial Remnants, two Imperial factions need to be integrated. The others only need to integrate either the Imperial Remnants or two other Imperial factions.

Hero Groups Tiers

It is through gaining Legitimacy Points that the Imperial factions receive a new Hero or a set of Heroes from a five-tier roster of obtainable Hero Groups. The Imperial factions will always get their first Hero Groups from those found in Tier 5. The next Hero Group will come from Tier 4, followed by Tier 3, then Tier 2 and finally one Hero from Tier 1. Once an Imperial faction obtains a Tier 1 Hero, any new Hero Groups will be randomly selected from the remaining ones from Tiers 5 through 2.

Most Heroes feature unique Traits and Leadership Skills that affect gameplay in Galactic View or during Tactical Battles on Land and/or Space. The latter determines Unit Health, Shields, Damage, Speed, and how much the Fog of War (FOW) will be revealed. Although some Traits can affect those in a Tactical Battle, others impact the Galactic View like providing additional Credits, reducing Unit and Building production time and costs, or revealing the enemy Units and Buildings garrisoned on nearby planets.

A handful of Heroes obtained through the Legitimacy System will have the Warlord Trait. If those Heroes are still active, an Imperial faction cannot surrender despite losing its Faction Capital and controlling no more than three planets on Galactic View. Tier 1 Heroes possess the Warlord Trait, which probably explains why no Imperial faction can obtain a second Tier 1 Hero.

Observations and Limitations

There are some caveats to the Legitimacy System that deserve mention. Everything here is derived from personal experiences with the Legitimacy System across separate v3.3 playthroughs on Full Galaxy maps.

• A lot of the fun which could be had from playing the mod is diminished by having to save-scum to obtain the desired Hero Groups or prevent AI-controlled Imperial factions from acquiring those with the Warlord Trait. The latter is a viable strategy if the player has the patience to save-scum.
• Eliminating Heroes and conquering Planets of Imperial factions tend to increase the probability of obtaining new Hero Groups. Killed Heroes merely increase the chances for new Hero Groups to become available, but conquering Planets will always be what causes this event to occur.
• It is uncertain if receiving certain Tier 5 Hero Groups affects the probability of obtaining specific Hero Groups. More playtesting is needed to confirm this observation.
• It is unclear why and how the Legitimacy System tends to confer multiple Hero Groups. On one playthrough, I randomly gained three Hero Groups by integrating an Imperial faction.
• AI-controlled Imperial factions do not automatically receive Hero Groups when they meet the proper conditions. Like a player-controlled Imperial faction, they too must purchase them as well. The problem with this approach is that the AI will not always do so. It is unclear to what extent this is affected by overall Unit Capacity, Unit Upkeep, available Credits, and Income on Galactic View.
• Any Hero Groups not purchased by an AI-controlled Imperial faction will not be inherited by a player-controlled Imperial faction or another AI-controlled Imperial faction.
• Two buildable Units are tied to the Tier 2 Hero Groups “Storm Commandos” and “Tagge House.” They can become unobtainable in certain playthroughs.
• Is it possible for a single Imperial faction to obtain all the Legitimacy System rewards in a single playthrough? I have had one playthrough where the Imperial factions and I (as Imperial Remnants) were able to obtain thirty of the forty possible Hero Groups. Out of those thirty Hero Groups, nearly half of them were mine.

In retrospect, the Legitimacy System is a fascinating gameplay mechanic on its own merits. It is not a perfect system by any means, because it does have its flaws, but it has its own upsides compared to how Heroes are handled in Fall of the Republic. It still fulfills its purpose in depicting the power struggles among the Imperials from a lore perspective. From a purely gameplay perspective, the Legitimacy System gives Thrawn’s Revenge plenty of replay value because every playthrough is bound to feature different sets of Hero Groups.

Legitimacy System Rewards

The following is the roster of Legitimacy System Rewards as they appear in-game. I recreated the list by including the names of the Hero Group as listed whenever a player-controlled Imperial faction meets the prerequisite conditions. There are Four Tier 1, seven Tier 2, ten Tier 3, ten Tier 4, and nine Tier 5 Hero Groups. Of the nine Tier 5 Hero Groups, only one is exclusive to a specific Imperial faction.

Assuming the player started a Full Galaxy playthrough as Zsinj’s Empire, there is a potential nine Tier 5 Hero Groups that they could obtain. However, in most of my playthroughs, they oftentimes get their faction-specific Zann Consortium Group first before receiving another Hero Group. They might receive their Tier 4 or they may receive a second Tier 5 Hero Group.

For the other Imperial factions, the Legitimacy System could reward them with any one of the thirty-nine Hero Groups among the five Tiers. Some factions may end up with more Hero Groups than others and end up obtaining the Tier 1 Hero Groups. Only Zsinj’s Empire has the potential to receive all Hero Groups over the course of a single playthrough.

Note that I am not including any of the Heroes that could be obtained by capturing certain planets or any of the minor Imperial Heroes outside of the five main Imperial factions. Those are faction-specific Heroes which can only be acquired by capturing specific planets or, in the case of Imperial Remnants, choosing one of the two branching options in Era 1.

Tier 1: Legitimacy Rewards

Drommel’s Group

• Gaen Drommel (Executor)

Grunger’s Group

• Josef Grunger (Executor)

Gronn’s Group

• Gronn (Mandator-III)

Dangor’s Group

• Ars Dangor (Vengeance)

Tier 2: Legitimacy Rewards

Tierfon Sector Group

• Tzenkens (Praetor-II)

Lambda Sector Group

• Par Lankin (Allegiance)
• Serdif Tount (B5 Juggernaut)
• Victor Grieves (ISB Agent)
• Rodin Baem (Spy)

Elrood Sector Group

• Tanda Pryl (ISD-I Refit)
• Akal Zed (Modified ISD-II)
• Villis Andal (Economic)

Sector 5 (“Deep Core Group”)

• Malfkla Yzu (Communications Battlecruiser)
• Cinzero Gann (A6)
• Foga Brill (Treaded Neutron Torch)

Storm Commandos Group

• Weir (Storm Commando)
• Victor Strang (Storm Commando)
• Irlyn Resk (Shadowhawk)
• Buildable Unit: Storm Commandos

Tagge House Group

• Ulric Tagge (Tagge BC)
• Buildable Unit: Tagge BC

Tapani Sector Group

• Edric Darius (Torpedo Sphere)
• Shep Jion (Chariot)
• Tessala Corvae (1-H Tank)
• Bal Jaset (Economic)

Tier 3: Legitimacy Rewards

Dolis 3 Group

• Gatecrashers Squad
• Chik Apla (Royal Guard)
• Anlys Takkar (Spy)
• Derran Takkar (Economic)

Goroth Prime Group

• Val DeGoort (ISD-I)
• Anderton Kloff (AT-AT)

Lumiya’s Group

• Lumiya (Nebulon-B/Sith)
• Bethrogg (ISD-II)

Ord Radama

• Wellam Adarios (Dominator)
• Xantus (AT-ST)
• Ellor Orgaal (Economic)

Raveen’s Group

• Raveen (ISD-I)

Rayter Sector Group

• Sahreel (ISD-I Refit)
• Rayter Sector: Nile Owen (Economic)

Restuss Group

• Grot (Acclamator-I)
• Exov (Stormtrooper)
• Okto (Storm Commando)
• Roth (Stormtrooper)

Sellasas Group

• Kedler (Secutor)
• Sellasas: Jedselk (PX-4)
• Sellasas: Amara Jedselk (A9)

Trax Sector Group

• Heggel (ISD-I)
• Resner (VSD-II)

Wessex Family Group

• Lira Wessex (ISD-I)
• Denn Wessex (Venator)

Tier 4: Legitimacy Rewards

Arda-1 Group

• Narell Balrekk (Stormtrooper)
• Vorrel (AT-AT)
• Malau Jocaos (Intel)

Commenor Sector Group

• Iolan Gendarr (ISD-I)
• Commenor: Arndall Lott (AT-AT)

Minos Cluster Cluster

• Babel Torsch (Tector)
• Cha Raas (Spy)

Naboo Group

• Quarsh Panaka (ISD-II)
• Jenn Smeel (Storm Commando)

Nivers’ Group

• Nigel Nivers (AT-AT)

Nishr Group

• Vin Kollis (AT-TE)

Prentioch’s Dominion Group

• Utoxx Prentioch (ISD-II)
• Dyrra (Scout Trooper)

Pulsar Group

• Dor Reder (Tector)
• Niclara Varnillian (Quasar)

Trans-Nebular Sector

• VeNiste (TR-MB)
• Gal Brello (Economic)

Vogel 7 Group

• Trommer (ISD-II)
• Lynch Hauser (A9)

Tier 5: Legitimacy Rewards

Antemeridian Sector Group

• Larm (Carrack)
• Tol Getelles (Economic)

Delurin’s Group

• Delurin (Dragon)

Garos Sector Group

• Zakar (Bantha-II Skiff)
• Carner (AT-ST)

Rhamalai Group

• Naem Yrros (SA-5)
• Vedder (Field Commander)

Starlyte Station Group

• Brezzic Marr (Stormtrooper)
• Starlyte Station: Arissa Fawn (PX-4)

Sil’Lume Group

• Sebastian Parnell (Super Transport XI Bulk Cruiser)

Stormtroopers Group

• TX-5532 (Stormtrooper)
• Mak Tennar (Stormtrooper)

Tatooine Group

• Terro (Stormtrooper)
• Kosh (Field Commander)

Zann Consortium Group [Exclusive to Zsinj’s Empire]

• Tyber Zann (Modified Aggressor SD/Modified Interceptor Frigate/Infantry)
• Jerid Sykes (Keldabe)
• Urai Fen (Infantry)