Morale

The content below needs to be updated as it may not accurately represent what's currently in-game.

Morale is used to estimate a unit's will to fight. If morale gets low enough, a unit will be hesitant to act, might retreat from the enemy, or even disband altogether.

There are three distinct morale states a unit can be in:

1. Unaffected: The unit is fully functional and can act normally.
2. Wavering: The unit is hesitant to act and loses trust in its leadership, highly reducing its combat effectiveness. Its accuracy and action point total was reduced by 20%.
3. Fleeing: The unit is in full retreat as it sees its current position as untenable and attempts to save itself from destruction. The unit can not be controlled anymore and will move as far away from any enemy as possible. If a unit suffered too many losses and is fleeing, it might disband, instantly removing it from the battlefield and counting it as eliminated.

Each unit's dynamic maximum morale value is calculated as its maximum discipline. This maximum morale value is a snapshot at the beginning of combat, so changes to discipline during combat do not change the morale total.

1. If the morale is reduced below 33% of its dynamic max value the unit becomes wavering.
2. If the morale is reduced to 0 or below, the unit will flee.
3. If the morale is reduced to 0 AND the unit is under 33% total health, it might disband (non-player units only; player units will never disband).

What Affects Morale?

Various factors and events reduce or increase morale during combat.

Most importantly, the max morale changes dynamically with the squad's hit point total. For example, a squad at 50% of its initial hitpoint total will have its max morale reduced to 50%.

Remember that the wavering status requires a unit to be under 33% of its dynamic maximum morale value. For example, a unit with 100 max morale that lost 40% of its hit points sits at a dynamic max morale value of 60. It will be wavering when morale drops below 20 (rounded) meaning it can only lose 40 morale pointsbefore that happens. While at full strength, it would have to be below 33 to waver, that is a total of 67 morale points it can lose for the same condition.

Morale recovers at 33% of the dynamic max morale per turn. This will lead to most units rallying after one turn of retreating.

Additionally, morale can be influenced positively or negatively by various morale events.

Currently, there are the following events in the game.

Note: This may change during development.

• Taking Damage. Getting hit and losing health reduces morale.
• Element Lost. Losing an element in its squad reduces a unit's morale.
• Ally Routing. A nearby friendly unit fleeing will reduce the morale of other units. This scales with distance.
• Ally Destroyed. A friendly unit getting destroyed reduces morale. This scales with distance.
• Morale Attack. This general event reduces morale and is usually connected to an attack. This might be an especially gruesome or even more sinister weapon, like a flamethrower.
• Objective Failed. Failing one of multiple mission objectives reduces morale.
• Element Destroyed. Destroying an element in an enemy unit raises morale.
• Vehicle Defect Inflicted. Inflicting a defect on an enemy vehicle raises morale.
• Enemy Destroyed. Destroying a whole enemy unit or vehicle raises morale.
• Objective Completed. Completing one of the multiple mission objectives increases morale.

Using Morale in MENACE

With all of the above, it becomes evident that keeping your morale up and the enemy's morale down is crucial in MENACE. Enemies with lower discipline are prone to suffer from mass routs once multiple units are destroyed quickly. To make sure the enemy suffers the most, it makes sense to use a “shock and awe” approach.

The more units get destroyed or routed quickly, the heavier the morale will suffer. As morale regenerates quickly, many units do not waver or flee when being slowly ground down over many turns but turn tail when they see their buddies get obliterated all around them instantly.

It could also make sense to whittle enemy units over time to reduce their max morale and then hit the weakened forces with everything you have to seal the deal.

Some enemies, on the other hand, might not be affected by morale at all and will not waver or flee. They will require a whole different tactic to be defeated.

[1] Diary #13 - Discipline and Morale