Land Warfare in Rulers of the Sea is conducted as a commander. A gamer is in the field as an officer of a Company of 50 soldiers and moves along with them while issuing orders. In the 18th century land warfare was centered around muskets, bayonets, melee weapons and formations. The strategic choices an officer has in the field depend on training, drilling and equipment. For every tactic of an enemy there is a good countermove, but only if the soldiers have the appropriate skills to carry them out. It is not possible to train all existing skills, tactics and formations to the highest degree in a full training schedule, so officers need to choose their own preferred tactics and hope they counter the tactics of enemies well.
Being ready for battle requires recruiting soldiers, managing them, equipping them, training and drilling them and practicing tactical skills. The common Companies are Militia or Line Infantry, but there are also elite and specialized Companies such as Light Infantry, Guard Infantry and Marines that deploy different tactics. Most battles will be won by good preparation.
Gamers can commit their Companies to local engagements to increase their battle skills. The Army Board will plan and schedule Campaigns and Sieges to which whole Regiments will be ordered to attend.
Campaign and Siege battles are organized on a strategic map that is commanded by two gamers of opposing sides. These strategic commanders need to have a minimum rank of Colonel. Other gamers commit themselves and their Company to the engagement when they arrive at the location of the battle. They are then placed and moved on the map by the commander. Once the commander pitches a Company against an enemy Company, they are loaded into a PvP or PvE Company VS Company battle. If a gamer wins such a battle, they can be moved on the map again and be committed to a next battle as long as their Company is still fit to fight.
In Campaign Battles strategic commanders have a limited number of Artillery and Cavalry assists they can add to an individual battle they commit a Company to. In the field this means that a Company will be subjected to AI Cavalry or Artillery fire while they are approaching the enemy Company. This will inflict more losses and force them into specific formations.
Enemy ports can only be conquered by a Siege, and Siege battles can only be planned within 24 hours after the Navy has successfully reduced the port defences. A port can be defended by walls, cannons, AI controlled Militia Companies and enemy Army gamers. For each 10.000 citizens of a port, 1 AI Militia Company is defending it. To conquer large ports requires a massive effort as every defending Company needs to be defeated. An attacking Company needs to scale and hold a segment of wall for as long as they can, which will be a brutal affair.
