Quarters

Quarters are the heart of Tribal Trouble. Without this building, you could not gain peons to gather resources for your armies. Quarters can be built by any peon in the same way as other buildings.

Overview
The Quarters main function is to create peons. The more peons are in the quarters, the faster new ones will be created (don't ask how). Selecting a Quarters will bring up three options. At the top a number shows how many peons are in the quarters. There is a picture of a peon, which has a + and a - under it. Click the + to send a peon out and a - to stop a peon from being sent out (they take a second to deploy). Below it is a picture of a stake. Click this and click anywhere on the map to set a rally point for when peons come out. If there is not an armory they will appear outside the quarters if no rally point is placed, otherwise they will automatically go into the armory.

How many quarters should I build?
Im sure some of you are asking how many quarters you should build, that is a great question. However there is no set in stone answer. It all depends on how good your spot is (did you run a long way to get to it), how quick the other players build and how many they are building, and how close you are to the neared enemy. For example: If you are really close to your opponent then you would not want to build 6 quarters because the enemy will likely build four or fewer and kill you before you even have your armory built. If you have a bad spot and ran a lot, you again do not want to build too many quarters so as to be far behind everyone else on the map.

Medium Island
Now on a medium island you are not going to building anymore than four quarters, well I advise that you do not (unless you are the God of tribal trouble and can build five or 6 quarters like a monster) because you will likely be killed before you finish. In my experience (im a really fast builder) three quarters works perfectly. I can build it fast enough to stop a one or two quarters rush and 9/10 times will finish before my opponent given he/she makes three quarters as well. Two quarters is an option, however it is frowned upon by the people who play tribal trouble. It is considered rushing and people are likely to not play with you again if you are labeled a "rusher." Four quarters are a valid choice on medium islands, but then again you need to b awfully quick to pull it off. Anyone who is decent with a two quarters rush will win almost every time against you. However against three quarters (as long as you have resources behind your armory) you should be fine. Any rally rush should be easily dealt with once you beat the first few warriors. Speed and perfection are key in a victory on a medium island.

Large Island
Much different from a medium island, on a large island you have plenty of time for mistakes while building. On a large island you have ample time to build, which is why I build 6 quarters. I am fast enough to build 6 in a little more time than others can build five, but since it is a large map the small time that I am behind does not matter. It is preferred to build four to 6 quarters. More than 6 tends to be tedious and difficult to manage. If there are more than three people in a game played on a large map, any fewer than four quarters is considered rushing and frowned on by the players. On large more quarters is very helpful, seeing as your peons will be running farther to get resources and will most likely die often when your chicken gatherers run through your enemies warriors while they try to take the most direct route to the chicken. More quarters means more peons, which allows for more peons gathering resources and quicker regeneration of peons (having that extra one or two quarters can mean a lot in a game, potentially an additional 100 peons where as five quarters and four quarters wouldn't get that). Then again five and four quarters can be very effective as long they are managed. If you manage five and four quarters like you would 6 quarters then you will likely run out of peons and therefore have no warriors to defend yourself. Choose wisely depending on your spot (how far you ran), how close your nearest enemy is, and how quickly your opponent will build. I find it is a good idea to try to build one more quarter than your nearest enemy does. So that the longer you fight them, the bigger your advantage is.

Hotkeying
Hotkeying is the act of labeling a specific unit to a number. For example: I hotkey my buildings 1,2,3,4,5,6 or 7 depending on how many quarters I build. This allows me to press the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6 or 7 and access that specific building without having to look at it and click on it. This allows you to be watching your enemies base (to see if they are going to try to sneak around and attack you from different directions) and to put more peons into your armory as well as get more warriors out of your armory all without losing the ability to observe your opponent. The best way to block a sneak attack, is to see it coming. It is awful difficult to defend something that you cannot see.

How do I hotkey?
I am sure you are wondering "How do I hotkey? If it is so good and so helpful how do I do it?" Well it is quite simple. Click on the a unit (building, warrior, peon or chieftain) then press and hold ctrl and while holding that press any number 1-10 on the keyboard. Now whenever you press that number (that you hotkeyed for that unit) you will have options specifically for that unit. Personally I use it to keep track of my chieftain as well. That way when I lose track of him I just have to double click the number (I prefer to use 0) and I will go directly to him.

If you double click the number you hotkeyed for a unit, it will bring you directly to that unit. You can hotkey more than one unit. An easy way to keep track of the peons you have building you towers would be to hotkey them. So that whenever you press that number you are in control of those and only those peons. Which makes it easy to have them build more towers quickly.

If you are unfamilier with hotkeying I would advise that you start practicing with it. It is among the skills that make the gap between pro and just normal player. A pro is defined as someone who knows the more inner workings of the game and can manipulate them to their advantage i.e. hotkeying.

Cheiftains


The second button in the Quarters interface is the Cheiftain button. Cheiftains are super warriors that can use powerful magic to kill enemies en masse. These attacks require time to charge however. Clicking this button will start to train a Cheiftain and will stop peon production until the Cheiftain is fully trained. A Cheiftain is trained faster if there are more peons in the quarters. You can only have one Cheiftain at a time. Cheiftains have a health bar, like buildings.

Native Cheiftain
The Native Cheiftain is tall, wears a mask, and looks viscous. He can strike down most enemies with a single blow, and has 2 unique magical attacks. The first attack is the Stinking Stew. Clicking this button while the Cheiftain is selected will cause him to stir a vase he is carrying, unleashing a toxic cloud around him. It does damage your units but, not as much as enemy units. It will not harm buildings. His second attack unleashes a Crackling Cloud that seeks nearby enemy units and buildings. Its lightning strikes anything it goes above. It is useful for attacking heavily defended bases without danger of the Cheiftain dying. It is also weak as when attacking an enemy army will only kill 4-5 men.

Viking Cheiftain
The Viking Cheiftain is a fat, strong viking with a large horn called a Lur. He is very powerful and can take on even the mightiest of forces. His first magical attack is a stunning blow through his Lur called a Terrifying Toot. It stuns all close enemy units for a few seconds, useful for hopeless battles. His second attack is the Ravaging Roar. This attack emits a massive shockwave from his Lur, annihilating anything within close range, and hurting anything that it touches otherwise. It kills your own units though, so use it wisely.