Welcome to my achievement guide for Empire: Total War! I hope my guide helps you in obtaining all the achievements for this game. I have divided the singleplayer achievements in this guide into "playthroughs." Each section has a list of achievements you should get in that playthrough. This format may make looking for a specific achievement more difficult, so please use Ctrl+F to find any specific achievement you wish. I have lumped all the multiplayer achievements together, however.

Also thanks to Burn for the image collage!

Here are translated versions of this guide. If you want to translate this guide into another language feel free to contact me.

Russian / русский :
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=611499570

French / français :
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=852518545

The Road to Independence Campaign should be the first thing you do. It is relatively short and basically acts as a tutorial for the main game.

American Hero
Complete the Road to Independence campaigns freeing the American colonists from British rule!

This should be the first achievement you aim for. You won't receive any of the difficulty achievements for finishing this campaign, so you might as well play on easy. Once you have finished the final chaper of this campaign, the achievement will unlock.

Master of the Americas
Conquer or control all the provinces and regions in the Americas at the same time.


I unlocked this during Chapter II of this campaign. I conquered as many regions as I could and the achievement unlocked. This might have been patched since I did this so if this doesn't work you can try playing in Chapter Iv (where you basically play the main campaign as the United States) or in the Grand Campaign. Simply conquer all the regions on the map before finishing your final objective and then end your turn and this achievement will unlock.

Only Obeying Orders
Ensure that thirty missions, regardless of detail or type, are successfully brought to a conclusion.

This achievement is best obtained on Chapter II of this campaign. MIA SAN MIA has already created a guide detailing the strategy to get this achievement. You can view it here:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=122789049

Observe Diplomatice Niceties
Use diplomatic threats to good effect by making gains from five separate negotiations


This achievement is also best obtained on Chapter II of this campaign. Quemical has already created a guide detailing the strategy to get this achievement. You can view it here:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=121537790

This section contains the achievements you should gain on your first playthrough of the main campaign. For this playthrough I recommend using a European power. I used Prussia, but all the factions are good choices. You will be focusing on conquering all of Europe and India as well as getting some other miscellaneous achievements. I recommend playing on easiest difficulty.

Founding Father
Take one region by conquest, somewhere in the world


Self-explanatory. You should have obtained this during your playthrough of the Road to Independence Campaign.

Expansionist Power
Capture ten regions, anywhere in the world.


Self-explanatory. You may have obtained this during your playthrough of the Road to Indepence Campaign.

A New Rome
Demonstrate outstanding ability, and capture one hundred regions.


Self-Explanatory. You will aim to get this during your main playthrough.

Accomplished Strategist
Complete the main campaign game on the easy difficulty setting.


You will unlock this once you complete the victory conditions in your main playthrough on the easiest difficulty setting.

Maharajah of the Indies
Have mastery over all the provinces and regions in India at the same time.


Capture every region in India to unlock this achievement. (They must be under your personal control, protectorates do not count.)

Emperor of Europe
Subdue and hold all the provinces and regions in Europe at the same time.


Capture every region in Europe to unlock this achievement. (They must be under your personal control, protectorates do not count.)

Polymath
Have your natural philosophers and scientists research all the technologies available to your nation.

To unlock this, you must obtain every technology in the game. Once your tech tree is completely researched this will unlock. It does not matter by which means you obtain tech. You can trade for it or steal it or research it yourself. I recommend combining this achievement with "The Efforts of Others."

Another option is if you own the Warpath Campaign DLC, you can play that and potentially get this achievement much quicker. The technology tree in the Warpath Campaign is smaller, allowing you to max it out faster. Credit to Steam user "ETW general" for bringing this to my attention.

The Efforts of Others
Successfully steal five technologies researched by other nations.


If you send one of your Gentlemen to another nations school, they have the ability to try and steal a technology. Send out all of your Gentlemen to other schools and keep attempting to steal technology. If your Gentleman dies, another one will spawn in a few turns to take his place so do not worry. Just keep sending them out until you get this achievement.
Be warned, you can only steal tech that the other nation has researched and you have not. If you get too high in the tech tree it may not be possible for you to steal any tech from another nation. I recommend going for this achievement as soon as possible.

Affairs of Honour
Use your duellists to kill twenty men on the "field of honour"


After you obtain "The Efforts of Others" you should immediately send out your Gentlemen to duel with other nation's Gentlemen. It's basically the same as assassinating, except there is no repercussions and you can only duel with other Gentlemen. You can track your progress towards this achievement in the mulitplayer statistics menu. If you don't finish this achievement by the time you win the game and conquer all the regions, do not worry. This does not have to be done in a single campaign. It carries over through multiple playthroughs.

Assassin!
Use your assassins to kill, in unlooked-for fashion, twenty men who hinder your plans.


This simply means to kill 20 agents that belong to other nations with your assassins. They don't all have to be from the same nation and you dont have to be at war with the nation either. However, i don't recommend assassinating an agent from a nation you aren't at war with as it may cause that nation to declare war on you. You can track your progress towards this achievement in the multiplayer statistics menu. If you don't finish this achievement by the time you win the game and conquer all the regions, do not worry. This does not have to be done in a single campaign. It carries over through multiple playthroughs.

Veteran Strategist
Complete the main campaign game on the medium difficulty setting.


It should be noted that to obtain this achievement you can play on either Normal or Hard difficulty. The battle difficulty does not matter. If you want things as easy as possible put the battle difficulty on easy and the campaign difficulty on normal. To take advantage of the easy battle difficulty, play out all your battles on the battle map, do not auto-resolve. You can play as any European faction you wish. If you want to combine this achievement with "Perfidious Beast" then I recommend you play as Great Britain.

Perfidious Beast
Use treachery to best effect by turning against at least five allied nations and attacking them.

Your best bet for this achievement is Great Britain. They start the game with 5 allies (4 true allies and a protectorate.) If you backstab an ally, the chance of one of your current allies betraying you or just breaking your alliance increases. Because of this I recommend that you betray all 5 allies on the same turn.
Steam user "Meneldil" has confirmed that you don't need to attack the allies, just declare war on all 5 allies and then end the turn and the achievement will unlock. You can then reload your previous save and continue your game so you can get the "Veteran Strategist" achievement if you wish.

Strategic Genius
Complete the main campaign game on the hard difficulty setting.


This is the most difficult achievement in the game. Contrary to the achievement description, you actually have to play on Very Hard campaign difficulty in order to unlock this. However, the battle difficulty does not matter. Do yourself a favor and set that to easy. Also, be sure to set the campaign length to "short." You don't want to have to play any longer than needed.

I found the best faction to play as was The Maratha Confederacy. Throughout the whole game you only have to worry about the Mughals. Your first priority should be building up your economy like normal and getting an alliance with Mysore and Portugal if you can. You'll also want to get a trade agreement with as many European factions as possible and try to get an alliance with one of the powerful European factions as well. Mysore is your more important ally, do whatever you can to appease them. Here is a map detailing what your basic strategy should be:



Your first army (the red arrows) starts in the forest north east of Satara. Immediately send them to capture Hyderabad. They will then move along your eastern coast to take Cuttak and Bengal and finally inland to capture Hindustan.

Your second army (the blue arrows) starts in Satara. Immediately send them to take the region north of Satara and then on to take Ahmedabad and the two regions north east of it. While you are capturing these cities, you should be building a third army (purple arrows) in Satara and Hyderabad. Send that army to take the region north of Hyderabad.

Each army should be generally composed of around 8 line infantry, 4 cavalry, and 2 artillery units. You can change this up slightly if you wish. Remember you will be hurting for money so getting expensive units isn't really worth it. Once you have captured all the regions listed, send one or two armies to the north west to finish off the Mughals and create a defense line against Persia. Do not attack Persia, we don't want any more conflict than we need.

Send your third army (and another army if you want) down to deal with Goa and Mysore. Sometimes Mysore will attack and capture Goa, this will make things a bit more difficult. If Goa is still controlled by the Portugese, you should only need one army. Take Goa first, then Mysore. If both regions are controlled by Mysore, you should use two armies and capture both regions on the same turn.

There is no reason to bother with Ceylon as it is not a victory condition. One important thing to do is to keep a sizable garrision at all your major coastal cities (Satara, Bengal, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad.) Both times i won using this strategy I was attacked by a European power from the sea. Once France landed at Satara, and another time Great Britain landed at Bengal. Once you have control of all the regions needed for victory, just sit tight and wait for the final year to come. Don't attack anyone, be defensive. Save often and remember to play your battles out on the battle map and you should be fine. Good luck!

*Some users have said the achievement failed to unlock when finishing their campaign. Restarting the game a few times and/or replaying the final turn seems to fix this issue.

Most of these achievements can be obtained by playing against the AI. You cannot unlock these in singleplayer skirmish battles. To play a multiplayer battle with AI follow these directions:
1: Click "Multiplayer" on the main screen
2: Click "Total War Online"
3: On the tabs, click "Battle List"
4: On the bottom of the screen, click "Host Battle"
5: Choose the type of battle you want
6: Choose the stats for the battle. Be sure to put a password for your game, then click host on the bottom of the screen
7: Now you should be on the army set up page. Click the "add AI" button which I highlighted in the below screenshot.



Raw Recruit
War sir, is a terrifying experience! Take part in a multiplayer battle.


Simply play a battle in Multiplayer. This can be ranked, unranked, quick battle, or even against the AI.

Drumbeat to Victory
Draw the sword and march onwards: complete one quick battle.


Simply play a quick battle, it does not matter whether you win or lose. This cannot be obtained against the AI. Nobody really plays quick battles anymore so the chances of finding one on a normal day are slim. I recommend finding a friend or playing during a time when the game is on sale. To play a quick battle: From the main screen click "Multiplayer", then "Total War Online", now you will be on a screen where you can play a quick battle. Your best bet is a Quick Land Battle.

Whiff of Grapeshot
Gain some experience of combat: complete one ranked battle.


You should unlock this when you unlock the previous achievement "Drumbeat to Victory." This cannot be obtained against the AI. It does not matter whether you win or lose the battle.

Blooded
Demonstrate your sense of duty and honour: complete ten multi-player battles.


Complete 10 multiplayer battles. This can be obtained against the AI but there is no reason to specifically go for this achievement. You will earn this while going for other achievements.

"l337 Guard"
Achieve victory in ten multiplayer battles, cutting a bloody path to greatness through your enemies' plans.

Win 10 multiplayer battles. This can be obtained against the AI but there is no reason to specifically go for this achievement. You will earn this while going for other achievements.

Grand Tactician
Win ten classic multi-player battles.


This can be obtained against the AI. Play and win 10 different land battles. Thanks to Tjomsling and Stevonian for confirming this works against the AI.

The "Chevaux de Frise"
Defend, sir, defend! Win ten multi-player siege battles when commanding the defenders of a fortress.

This can be obtained against the AI. Play and win 10 multiplayer siege games while you defend. To make this quick, give the AI one unit of militia and give yourself 5 or more cavalry. Charge out of your fort and kill the enemy unit and then repeat until you have the achievement.

Into the Breach!
Attack! Attack! Attack! Win ten multi-player siege battles when commanding a besieging army.

This can be obtained against the AI. Play and win 10 multiplayer siege games while you attack. To make this quick, give the AI one unit of militia and give yourself 5 cavalry and 5 cannons. Use your cannons to quickly destroy the walls and then rush in with your cavalry and destroy the enemy unit inside. Repeat until you get the achievement.

Command of the Ocean
As a commanding admiral, win ten multi-player naval battles.


This can be obtained against the AI. Play and win 10 multiplayer naval battles. To make this quick, give the AI a single sloop or brig and give yourself 5 First Rates. Send them to attack and repeat until you have the achievement.

Marshal's Baton
Achieve victory in fifty multiplayer battles, dashing your enemies' hopes in pieces in the process!

This can be obtained against the AI. If you've done all the previous achievements before this one, you should only need 10 or so more victories. If you need more victories you can create a land battle and give the AI a single unit of militia and give yourself 5 cavalry. Charge and repeat until the achievement unlocks. You can view your progress towards this achievement in the Multiplayer Player Stats screen.

These achievements will take you the longest time by far. I spent 20-30 hours trying to obtain these.

Bloody Madman
Carve a bloody path to victory: kill a hundred thousand enemies!

Tyrant and Ogre
Bring terror to the hearts of men: kill half a million enemies!

Conqueror of All
Be hailed as a true conqueror: kill a million enemies!


Only kills made on the battle map count towards these achievements. If you auto-resolve a battle, those kills will not be counted! Also, additional kills made after you end a battle will not count! For instance, when you play a battle and then all the enemies rout, you have a chance to continue the battle or end the battle. If you end the battle, you will still get a few additional kills on your kill tally for the battle, but those kills will not be counted towards this achievement. You have to click "continue" and then proceed to get the kills yourself in order for them to count towards this achievement.

The fastest way to get these achievements is to make the unit size as big as it can go. Then create a singleplayer skirmish game with you playing as Poland and the AI as Maratha. Give the AI as many mob units as you can and give yourself as many Winged Hussars as you can. When the battle starts, charge across and kill as many of the enemy units as you can. They will rout quickly so you can then chase them down for easy kills.

Mods do not affect achievements, so you can use mods to increase the size of your units even further if you want. I used Darthmod to make my unit size a bit larger. However, too many units may cause you to lag so you have to find a healthy balance that your computer can handle. This is easily the most boring and time consuming of the achievements.

Thank you for using my guide! I hope it has helped you in your quest to get all the achievements in Empire: Total War! If you have any questions, comments, or corrections, please feel free to let me know!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=306297603 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=374720758 http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=695953430