Endless Legend 2 Guide | All 8 Factions Explained

The eight factions in Endless Legend 2 play differently enough that the same expansion plan will not work for all of them. Some want a small number of fortified cities, while others need constant warfare, Dust, friendly Minor Factions, or specially prepared terrain. Choosing the right faction comes down to how you prefer to manage your economy and armies.

Kin of Sheredyn: Build Tall and Defend

The Kin of Sheredyn are a straightforward choice when you want strong cities and a disciplined military. They produce Industry efficiently, can upgrade certain Districts further than other factions, and build more development into each city. 

Their City Cap is lower, so the plan is to create fewer but stronger cities instead of spreading settlements everywhere.

Their defining advantage comes from Fortification. Building stronger defenses increases the Strength of Our Zeal gauge and unlocks Holy Commandments, active powers that help your army. The Chosen are especially tough units that extend how you can use those abilities. You can cast certain powers in friendly territory or around a Chosen, allowing a prepared defensive army to threaten enemies beyond a city wall.

The drawback is limited Influence production. The Kin also lack the Forum District, making territorial expansion harder to maintain. In battle, keep shield-bearing troops beside each other to benefit from defensive adjacency bonuses rather than sending them into isolated fights.

Order of Zelevas: Push Forward With Dust

The Order of Zelevas is a Rogue Faction descended from the Kin of Sheredyn, but it encourages nearly the opposite approach. Its special gauge grows when you claim more Territories, not when you strengthen the Capital's defenses. Taking land unlocks its powers, so you need to expand rather than remain behind walls.

The Order generates Dust well, and every regular unit is recruited instantly using Dust instead of Industry. Winning battles also generates Influence, giving you another reason to fight. Building Keeps also grants cavalry, encouraging you to strengthen your forward settlements.

Spend all your Dust on development, and you may be unable to replace lost troops. Keep money in reserve, claim new ground regularly, and choose battles that preserve your expansion momentum.

Last Lords: Run Your Empire on Dust

The Last Lords depend on Dust more completely than any other faction. They do not grow their own Population through Food. Instead, you spend Dust to create Population, allowing sudden growth when your treasury is full. Their units also cannot heal naturally. Dust Healing restores them directly inside friendly territory, making money essential to military survival as well as city development.

You can sacrifice Minor Faction Population to produce new Last Lords. However, your own Population working in certain jobs lowers Approval, so plan ways to keep settlements happy. Primordial Last Lords provide powerful economic bonuses, especially when assigned alongside ordinary Last Lords, and can turn an established city into a strong source of income.

Your main challenge is choosing where to spend Dust first. Do not buy so much Population that there is nothing left to heal a damaged army.

Necrophage: Fight to Grow the Swarm

The Necrophage are built around aggression and have little use for ordinary diplomacy. They can control only one city, but attach numerous Territories to it and use Burrows to move armies around their territory.

Every battle won creates Larva that can reinforce or expand the swarm. This makes regular combat part of your recruitment plan. Corpses are another key resource, gained through the main settlement and military success, and are needed to develop Necrophage forces.

Their Population is versatile because it must cover many jobs without the normal benefit of recruiting a wide range of friendly Minor Factions. Focus on winnable battles, maintain access to enemy armies, and strengthen your one settlement rather than chasing a peaceful Protectorate strategy.

Severed Claws: Take Units From Villages

The Severed Claws are the Necrophage's Rogue counterpart. They also emphasize a large single-city empire, but instead of producing new Larva through victories, they take what they need from Minor Factions. Destroying a village generates a unit of that Minor Faction in your Capital. Rebuilding a captured village brings new Population into your empire.

This makes nearby villages your first expansion targets. Their Population also adds job capacity, allowing them to support an unusually crowded city, but foreign Population does not grow normally on its own.

Do not expect a stable Protectorate network like the Aspects. You gain strength by conquering and rebuilding villages, then incorporating whatever people and soldiers they provide. In battle, destroying an enemy lets the attacking unit attack again that turn, so finish weaker targets first to keep your assault moving.

Aspects: Win Through Coral and Influence

The Aspects favor diplomacy and relationships with Minor Factions. They spread Coral across the landscape, building connected networks that improve territory and help with expansion. Influence supports this strategy, while the ability to assimilate Minor Factions without paying Influence makes Protectorates especially attractive.

They begin with extra Protectorate slots, so you can maintain several Minor Faction relationships early. Each offers different benefits and potentially useful troops. Harmonized helps their units when defending, but stronger military options often come from Minor Faction recruitment.

Their main economic weakness is Dust production. They can eventually use Influence for some Buyouts, reducing that pressure, but you still need to plan the economy carefully. Expand Coral connections, secure villages, and use diplomacy to avoid battles your own troops may struggle to win.

Tahuks: Research and Control the Holy Oculum

The Tahuks are the most obvious choice for a Science-focused campaign. They build Observatories on Mountains, producing Science during clear conditions and Food during Monsoon. Mountain Territories are therefore useful even if their other yields are mediocre. Spreading Observatories gives you a research network that supports rapid technological progress.

The Holy Oculum uses Science to activate special powers. These powers can be strong, but repeated use may create more Called, a special Tahuk Population that needs careful management. Their Festivals can also consume Population and hurt Approval, so avoid activating everything without checking the cost.

The Tahuks do not have the same severe city-building restrictions as the Necrophage or Last Lords. Their armies favor ranged combat, so keep opponents away from your vulnerable shooters.

Sandshapers: Restore Ruins and Create Sand

The Sandshapers are a slow-starting faction whose economy depends on changing the world. They need Food, but they can collect it from Sand rather than normal fertile terrain. Sand is not naturally available, so you must find ancient Ruins, restore them, and use Wish of Awakening to transform the surrounding ground.

They suffer around water, particularly during Monsoon, and cannot develop exactly like other factions. Their early turns require more attention to Food than usual. Once restored Ruins and Sand become widespread, however, their Population can grow, and their economy starts improving quickly. The more Territories you reclaim, the more opportunities you have to use the powerful abilities linked to those Ruins.

Take useful land, restore Ruins as expansion continues, and build around the Sand that feeds your people rather than expecting ordinary terrain to support them.

The easiest way to choose among all eight factions is to match their main strength to your preferred style: defense, conquest, Dust, warfare, village control, diplomacy, research, or terraforming.

FAQ

Q. Which faction is best for beginners in Endless Legend 2?

A. The Kin of Sheredyn are a good first choice because their Industry, Fortification, and compact city development support a clear defensive strategy.

Q. Are the Order of Zelevas and Severed Claws separate factions?

A. Yes. They are playable Rogue Factions with different traits and mechanics from the Kin of Sheredyn and Necrophage. Both are included in the base game.

Q. Which faction is best for a Science-focused campaign?

A. The Tahuks specialize in Science through Mountain Observatories and the Holy Oculum, although using Holy Oculum powers means spending Science that could otherwise fund research.

Q. Why do the Last Lords not grow with Food?

A. Their Knightly Husks Affinity replaces Food-based Population growth with Dust purchases. Save enough Dust for military healing as well.