Objectives are used to give the player a goal to complete next in their game. Objectives are missions that you can complete to receive a reward. In the sandbox, objectives are randomly generated based on the settings you choose. The tutorial uses objectives to introduce the player to the gameplay mechanics and controls. In historical campaigns (such as "Pyrrhus of Epirus"), the objectives are designed to introduce gameplay mechanics and to recreate the events of a particular military campaign.
To see your objectives, press the ‘L’ key or use the little box-shaped link on the right side of the screen. Checking the box next to any objective in the log will add it to the tracker on the right side of the screen. Note: The tracker is for convenience. An objective will be completed whether or not it is being tracked.
Common objective types include:
- capturing cities,
- defeating certain units,
- gathering resources,
- raiding farms, etc.
Common rewards include:
- gold,
- special units,
- generals,
- experience, etc.
In cases where the reward is a resource, it is divided up equally between all of your cities or units that can receive it. In the campaigns it is common to have the completion of one objective unlock a new objective.
All objectives are designed so that it is (usually) impossible to fail them completely. Even if your units are defeated you can always recruit new units and try again. However, in a historical campaign, failing certain objectives can actually lead to a game-over, though this is rare and usually only in the early game. An example would be the Pyrrhus campaign, if Pyrrhus is defeated before the player has captured Taras, since he doesn't yet have a home city and it counts as him "dying".
A small subset of objectives are flagged as hegemony objectives. Hegemony objectives are marked with the hegemony shield in the objective log.