Total War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition: Complete Guide

A campaign and battlefield guide for Total War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition: which campaign to start with, how the campaign economy and attrition work, how to fight line battles with infantry, cavalry and artillery, and what the Definitive Edition DLC adds.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the May 2023 game patch (cannon audio fix, 32+ thread CPU crash fix). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

Start with the Italian Campaign. It is the most focused of the story campaigns and teaches the systems on a small map.
Turns are two weeks, not six months. Movement, building and replenishment all feel faster than in Empire: Total War.
Replenishment is automatic in friendly territory. Pull battered armies back into your own regions instead of disbanding them.
Attrition is real. Extreme heat and snow kill troops over time. Plan winter and desert moves carefully.
Your faction's star commander doesn't die. Each faction has one notable commander (Napoleon for France) who can only be wounded; he is sent back to your capital instead of dying. Ordinary generals can still be killed.
Infantry lines win battles; cavalry decides them; artillery softens them. Use all three together.
Form square against cavalry. Line infantry caught by cavalry in line formation, especially from the flank, will break.
Protect your general. He provides morale and command abilities; losing him can cause a rout.
Don't autoresolve close fights. Manual battles let you win lopsided victories autoresolve would call losses (and vice versa for easy fights).

Campaigns at a Glance

Campaign	Period	Playable as	Notes
Italian Campaign	1796–1797	France (Napoleon)	Best starting point; compact map
Egypt Campaign	1798	France (Napoleon)	Desert attrition matters; an achievement also exists for winning it as the Ottomans
Mastery of Europe	Main grand campaign	France	The full European conquest
Campaigns of the Coalition	Grand campaign	Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria	Play against Napoleonic France
Peninsular Campaign (DLC)	1811–1814	France, Great Britain, Spain	Separate Iberian map with 32 controllable regions and Guerrilla units

Achievements reward winning the Italian, Egypt and Europe campaigns on easy, on medium "within historic time", and on hard, so it is worth watching the turn limit on medium if you're hunting achievements. There are also achievements for winning the Europe campaign as each Coalition power and for winning the Peninsular Campaign as each of its three factions.

Definitive Edition Content

The Definitive Edition includes all DLC and feature updates since release:

The Peninsular Campaign: separate campaign on the Iberian Peninsula (1811–1814) with 32 controllable regions and new Guerrilla units.
Coalition Battle Pack: adds the Battle of Friedland as a historical battle.
Heroes of the Napoleonic Wars and Imperial Eagle Pack: together add over 20 legendary and elite units.

If you owned the base game before the Definitive Edition upgrade in November 2018, you got this DLC free.

Peninsular Campaign faction feel

Faction	Playstyle
France	Hold down resistance and convert regions to your political alignment
Great Britain	Few starting regions but steady income from abroad; liberate regions back to Spain in return for Guerrilla aid
Spain	Small starting position but permanent access to Guerrillas for battlefield harassment

Campaign Map Fundamentals

Economy

Taxes fund everything, but high taxes cost public order. Watch your approval rating (100% approval is an achievement, "The People's Crown").
Trade is a major source of income. Protect trade routes and ports; "The Merchant's Navy Medal of Gratitude" asks for 8,000 per turn in trade.
Buildings: prioritize economic buildings in your core regions and military buildings in a few frontline recruitment hubs, not everywhere.
Research: technology improves your economy, infantry drill, and artillery. Research drill upgrades early for better infantry firing.

Armies, movement and attrition

Supply and attrition: armies in snowy or desert regions can lose soldiers every turn. Stay in friendly territory or towns where possible during winter.
Replenishment happens in friendly territory; keep armies near your borders to refill between offensives.
Forced marches get you somewhere faster at a cost; use them to catch retreating armies or reinforce threatened towns.
Generals gain skill levels. Having three generals at full skill in one campaign is an achievement.

Diplomacy

Alliances and protectorates are powerful. The achievements ask for six allies at once and ten protectorates.
Don't declare war on everyone at once unless you're deliberately going for "The Medallion of the Imperial Psychopath".
Good relations with major powers can buy time to finish one enemy before the next.

Agents

Agents can sabotage, spy and assassinate ("The Hand-and-Dagger on Black Chain" asks for 15 assassinations).
Agents can also challenge each other to sword or pistol duels; there are achievements for winning 10 of each.
Keep an agent near your armies to see enemy stacks before you commit.

Battlefield Tactics

Unit roles

Type	Role	Counter
Line infantry	Main battle line, volley fire	Artillery, flanking cavalry
Light infantry / skirmishers	Screening, harassment, loose formation	Cavalry, close-range volleys
Grenadiers / elite infantry	Anchor the line, win firefights and melee	Artillery, massed fire
Heavy cavalry	Decisive charges into flanks and rear	Infantry squares, spears/bayonets from the front
Light cavalry	Chasing routers, killing artillery, scouting	Heavy cavalry
Foot artillery	Long-range bombardment	Cavalry raids
Horse artillery	Mobile fire support	Cavalry raids

Infantry

Stay in line to maximize muskets firing. Make sure your line faces the enemy squarely.
Fire at effective range. Opening too early wastes volleys; your first volley at close range is devastating.
Hold fire when advancing, then fire together.
Bayonet charges finish shaken infantry; don't charge fresh lines.
Form square when cavalry is threatening a unit you can't cover.
Use buildings and walls for cover, but don't let a unit get trapped.

Cavalry

Charge flanks and rear, never the front of a ready line.
Pull out after the charge (don't let cavalry get stuck in a grinding melee).
Hunt artillery with light cavalry.
Chase routing units to turn a victory into a crushing one.

Artillery

Roundshot at long range against lines and columns.
Canister at close range against units closing in.
Protect your guns with infantry or cavalry; they are helpless in melee.
Target enemy artillery early if it's outgunning you.

Morale

Battles are won by breaking morale, not killing every man. Flanking, general proximity, casualties and artillery fire all affect morale. Keep your general near the center of the line (but out of volley range) and use his abilities to steady wavering units.

Naval Battles

Ships of the line are the backbone; frigates and smaller ships screen and chase.
Get the wind and cross the enemy's T to rake their ships.
Board crippled ships to capture them (5 in one battle is an achievement).
Naval battles in the campaign can be decisive for trade.

Multiplayer

The game supports MP land and naval battles and multiplayer campaigns. As of April 2023, the integrated in-game chat was removed from Napoleon and other legacy Total War titles; Creative Assembly recommends the official Total War Discord or third-party voice chat.

Performance and Technical Fixes

April 2023 update: fixed crashes on 12th-generation Intel CPUs, improved performance on modern hardware, and removed integrated chat.
May 2023 patch: fixed cannon firing sounds not playing and crashes on CPUs with more than 32 logical processors.
If you had workarounds (affinity tricks, compatibility modes) from older guides, try removing them first; they may no longer be needed.

Mods

Napoleon has a long-running community modding scene, mostly battle/AI overhauls and multiplayer realism mods, found on ModDB and the TWCenter forums (the official unit editor was never released publicly). Mods built before the 2023 performance updates may need updated versions, so check each mod's page for compatibility, follow its own installation instructions, and back up your game files first.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Marching through winter far from friendly territory. Attrition melts armies.
Charging cavalry into the front of a line or square.
Firing too early.
Leaving artillery unprotected.
Building everything everywhere. Specialize regions.
Over-taxing and triggering unrest.
Autoresolving close battles.
Ignoring the navy until the enemy blockades your ports.

Advanced Tips

Anchor one flank on terrain (a river, forest or buildings) so the enemy can only flank one side.
Use skirmishers to bait enemy volleys and cavalry charges.
Hold cavalry in reserve until the enemy commits.
Concentrate artillery instead of spreading guns thinly.
Counter-battery early if you're outgunned.
Fight on your terms: attack when your army is at full strength, defend in towns during winter.
For historic-time achievements, plan aggressively from turn one and avoid wasteful sieges.

FAQ

Which campaign should I start with? The Italian Campaign. It's smaller and tells a focused story.

Can I play as Britain or Russia? Yes, in the Campaigns of the Coalition, alongside Prussia and Austria. Britain and Spain are also playable in the Peninsular Campaign.

Is the DLC included? Yes, the Definitive Edition includes all DLC.

Does Napoleon die in battle? No. Each faction's notable commander, Napoleon included, is wounded rather than killed and is sent back to the faction's capital. Regular generals can die.

Why was chat removed? Creative Assembly removed integrated chat from legacy titles in April 2023, citing the difficulty of supporting and moderating dated chat systems.

Is it still being updated? Only occasional technical patches; the last was in May 2023. Creative Assembly's current focus includes new projects announced at the December 2025 25th Anniversary Showcase, such as Total War: MEDIEVAL III in pre-production.

Sources

Total War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition - Steam store
Total War: NAPOLEON achievements - Steam
Napoleon: Total War - Wikipedia
Official Steam announcements: "Small update to Total War: NAPOLEON" (April 2023), "Total War: NAPOLEON Game Patch" (May 2023), Definitive Edition upgrade (November 2018), 25th Anniversary Showcase (December 2025)