Total War: ATTILA Controls and Settings#
Two-Mode Controls Overview#
The controls of Total War: ATTILA are strictly split into two layers with completely different logic, and many newcomers struggle precisely while switching back and forth between them.
- The strategic layer (campaign map): turn-based. You pick armies, cities, and diplomatic targets, issue orders, then advance the turn — time does not flow in real time. The core actions are “select, issue orders, end turn.”
- The tactical layer (real-time battle): once you are attacked or start a battle yourself, the battlefield switches to real time and both sides act simultaneously. The core actions are “box-select, group, pause to command, issue attack and defense orders.” Only here does micro-management come into play.
Because the game is a keyboard-and-mouse real-time strategy title, there is no official gamepad mapping; the whole control scheme centers on the right mouse button as the command key, with the keyboard in support. The layers below describe the default controls layer by layer (every key can be remapped in settings; this page describes the defaults).
Campaign Map Controls (Strategic Layer)#
Camera Controls#
| Control | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pan the camera | WASD or arrow keys; mouse moved to the screen edge | Move the camera across the campaign map |
| Zoom | Mouse wheel | Zoom in for city detail, out for the full strategic picture |
| Rotate / tilt the view | Hold and drag the middle mouse button | Adjust the viewing angle to see past coastline and mountain obstructions |
| Snap the camera to an army | Double-click the army / pick it in the army list | Jump straight to the currently selected force’s position |
Selecting Units and Armies#
| Control | Notes |
|---|---|
| Left-click | Selects one army or city and opens its stat panel |
| Left-click drag box | Box-selects multiple armies within the drawn area on the campaign map at once |
| Shift add / remove | Hold Shift and click to add or remove a target from the current selection |
Issuing Orders (Right-Click Is the Core)#
Across the entire campaign map, the right mouse button plays the “act” role:
| Right-Click Target | Behavior |
|---|---|
| A patch of open ground | Sends the selected army there with automatic pathing (sea travel and river crossings are highlighted along the route) |
| An enemy army / city | Declares war and enters the battle (manual or auto-resolve, your choice) |
| A friendly army | Merges the two armies (requires free capacity and both in the same province) |
| A city / port | Opens that city’s buildings, population, and garrison screens |
Time Control and Groups#
| Control | Notes |
|---|---|
| Spacebar | Pauses campaign-map time so you can plan routes for several armies at leisure |
| Number keys | Select a grouped army (1 to 9) |
| Ctrl + number key | Saves the currently selected army into that numbered group |
| Why grouping pays | Late game with a dozen or more legions, jumping between numbered groups beats panning across the map to find them |
Common Panels#
| Panel | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Army panel | Review the selected army’s supplies, garrison, general, and unit roster; reinforce or swap units |
| Family panel | Manage family member appointments, the heir, and title assignments |
| Construction panel | Build and upgrade buildings in cities; adjust tax and food rates |
| Diplomacy panel | Negotiate with factions, sign treaties, arrange marriages, or gauge faction threats |
| Technology tree | Spend research points to unlock military / civil / administrative technologies |
Battle Map Controls (Real-Time Battle Layer)#
Once a real-time battle starts, control shifts from “point and click” to “commanding groups.” The right-click remains the core.
Selecting and Box-Selecting Units#
| Control | Notes |
|---|---|
| Left-click | Selects a single unit |
| Left-click hold and drag | Box-selects every unit inside the drawn box — the standard way to grab the whole army at once |
| Shift add / remove | Fine-tune the current selection |
| Double-click a unit | Quickly selects all units of the same type (for example, every archer unit) |
Attack and Defense Orders (Right-Click)#
| Right-Click Target | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Open ground | Moves the selected units to the point in their current formation; the path preview flags terrain effects |
| An enemy unit | Orders an attack; the unit chases and engages automatically |
| Right-click drag | While setting the move destination, controls how the unit spreads out, so it engages facing a specific direction |
Pause and Battle Speed#
| Control | Notes |
|---|---|
| Spacebar | Pauses the battle so you can give each of several units orders calmly; press again to resume |
| Battle speed toggle | Switches between normal and fast — handy when watching a fight play out |
| Why pause-commanding matters | Total War micro-management lives on “pause — order — resume,” and it is the key gap between new and veteran players |
Groups and Follow#
| Control | Notes |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + number key | Groups the selected units together |
| Number key | Selects the whole group at once, so cavalry and archers can each do their job |
| Follow command | Makes one unit follow another to keep the formation intact |
Charges and Fatigue#
Cavalry and some infantry gain a charge bonus when they launch a charge. A charge only pays off if it is pulled back in time — once a unit is bogged down in a long melee, the charge bonus fades and the unit slides into fatigue. Judging whether a cavalry unit should charge at all, and when to pull it out for a fresh charge, is the core feel of battle control in this game.
Control Decisions Unique to This Game#
This section covers the control decisions that set ATTILA apart from other games.
Manual Battle or Auto-Resolve#
When you engage an enemy army, the pre-battle screen lets you choose manual battle or auto-resolve. Auto-resolve shows an estimated odds-and-casualties bar, but its math on unit counters, terrain, and general skills is conservative, and it usually costs you more than fighting by hand.
| Criterion | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Even odds and your units are countered | Fight manually, using pause-commanding to break the enemy piecemeal |
| Overwhelming superiority and you’re defending a city | Auto-resolve is acceptable |
| Auto-resolve predicts ugly casualties | Spend the extra time on a manual battle for lower losses |
Flanking and Rear Attacks#
Total War battles have real consequences at the “facing” level — where a unit stands and which way it points. Being struck on the flank or rear sharply weakens counterattacks and morale. The common trick is a right-click drag to swing a cavalry unit around to the enemy’s flank or rear while frontal infantry pins them in place, “sandwiching” the enemy line. This is fundamentally different from a head-on stat contest, and it is where manual fighting actually pays.
Siege Command#
When besieging a city, siege equipment such as siege towers and battering rams must be pushed by units to reach the walls. The flow: first select the units pushing the engines and let them advance, then suppress the defenders on the walls with ranged units, and send the infantry up the towers or ladders afterward. Take it in two steps — suppress first, then go up the walls — so your infantry isn’t shredded standing at the ladders.
Withdrawing to Preserve Your Army#
Against an enemy you simply cannot beat, rather than fighting on into a rout, choose withdraw before the battle or order a retreat mid-fight to preserve that army’s roster. The fighting power lost with a wiped full legion, plus the cost of rebuilding it, usually far exceeds the price of one step back.
Settings Explained#
Battle Difficulty and Campaign Difficulty#
The game splits difficulty into two independent options: campaign difficulty and battle difficulty. Campaign difficulty affects the economy, diplomacy, and AI expansion tendencies; battle difficulty affects how the AI commands on the battlefield. New players should lower campaign difficulty first to protect their development and keep battle difficulty at normal while learning the ropes.
Unit Size#
Unit size controls how many soldiers each unit contains (and therefore each army’s total strength). It is both a performance and a balance setting: larger sizes look spectacular but push the simulation much harder. It does not change unit counters — only the overall scale.
Key Bindings and Camera Settings#
The game lets you remap nearly every key in settings and also adjust camera sensitivity, camera distance, and more to fit different player habits. If the default rotation method feels awkward, the camera-related options are the first thing worth changing.
Graphics and Performance (Trade Off Sensibly)#
The sheer number of soldiers on the battlefield is the main source of performance pressure. If you hit stutter, lower the options tied to “unit model count/detail” first rather than dropping resolution across the board. Lowering unit size also relieves the load noticeably.
Practical Control Tips#
- Group by unit type: put melee infantry in one group, archers in another, cavalry in a third. Jumping between numbered groups beats hunting units across the screen.
- Pausing is free micro-management: every pause is a chance to hand fresh orders to each of your units at zero cost. Don’t rush to resume in a stalemate — use the pause to rearrange your lines.
- Finish your charges: once cavalry lands in the enemy line, don’t leave it there — right-click it out and around before the charge bonus expires and charge again, stacking shock after shock.
- Shoot first, retreat after: let archers deliver a volley, then right-click them back behind the infantry line before the enemy closes in, saving them from being tied up in melee.
- Don’t rearrange formations mid-engagement: dragging units into new positions while a line is committed breaks their facing and throws away the charge advantage — a losing trade.