Endless Legend 2 Guide | Every Faction's Winning Secret

Every faction in Endless Legend 2 has a rule that changes how you should build cities, raise armies, or expand territory. Winning with all eight factions means working with those special mechanics instead of following the same plan every campaign. The Kin of Sheredyn benefit from tightly packed districts, while the Necrophage grow stronger through fighting. The Sandshapers need to change the ground beneath their settlements just to produce Food.

Check Diplomacy, Villages, and Army Health First

Your actions toward another empire affect its long-term opinion of you. Repeated attacks create a reputation for bullying, and repeatedly razing its territory makes matters worse. Minor Factions also offer different opportunities. Villages belonging to The Consortium are attractive for their superior battle spoils; Ochlings multiply quickly but are relatively weak, and Gorog units can be strong despite their higher costs.

Also, do not treat the displayed army power number as a substitute for examining Health. An injured force may appear as threatening as an undamaged one.

Kin of Sheredyn: Build a Powerful Capital

The Kin of Sheredyn work best when you develop a strong, compact capital rather than spread your cities too thinly. They can upgrade districts to level three, but reaching that level requires six neighboring districts. Keeps help surrounding districts level up faster, so they belong near areas you intend to develop heavily.

Each district level adds Fortification. Fortification in your capital increases Strength of Our Zeal, which unlocks Holy Commandments and access to The Chosen, the Kin's huge war constructs. New cities are costly for the Kin, making a smaller number of well-developed settlements especially attractive. Their powerful Divine population can lose Approval when mixed with other population types in the same work category, so watch assignments and use Councilors who can reduce that penalty.

Order of Zelevas: Conquer More Territory

The Order of Zelevas turns the Kin's defensive idea into constant expansion. Instead of increasing its faction gauge through capital Fortification, the Order raises its Loyalty gauge by controlling more territories. Even land that appears poor can help fill it. At its highest level, the gauge removes the City Cap, allowing expansion without the normal limit.

Its economy must support continuous warfare. Units are recruited instantly using Dust rather than Industry, and constructing a Keep grants a free cavalry unit. Battle spoils help fund reinforcements, but you still need a reserve. Losing an army with little Dust available can halt the campaign because replacements cannot be bought. Build an economy capable of refilling that reserve before committing everything to another attack.

Necrophage: Turn Every Battle into Growth

The Necrophage are designed to keep fighting. Their wars are always justified, and victorious battles generate Larva for the swarm. The main restriction is that the faction controls only one city. Armies compensate through fast travel across their territory and Deep Burrows, allowing that single center to support a broad military presence.

Devour the Land lets an army consume a tile for resources, and Feedholes increase the rewards. Avoid consuming tiles inside another empire's borders unless you are prepared for the diplomatic consequences. In your city, position districts around the Matriarch's Eye, which raises the level of neighboring districts. Growing to 50 Necrophage population also removes Dust upkeep from non-Hero units, making population growth valuable even for a faction focused on war.

Severed Claws: Enslave Villages and Chain Attacks

The Severed Claws lose the Necrophage's regular Larva generation. Instead, they gain forces by destroying Minor Faction villages. Each destroyed village grants a unit of that faction in your capital. Rebuilding the settlement supplies Minor Faction population as well, which is particularly important because that population does not grow normally.

The Severed Claws also lack the Matriarch's Eye, so develop districts around villages instead. In combat, every unit that destroys an enemy can attack again during the same turn. Focus your opening attacks on wounded targets. One carefully chosen elimination can create the second attack needed to finish another enemy and keep the offensive moving.

Aspects: Spread Coral and Control Diplomacy

The Aspects' Coral Chorus turns expansion into a network-building task. Planting Coral Spores is free, and coral spreads across connected tiles. It can spread particularly well near water and villages, so prioritize lakeshores, coasts, and village routes. Foundations built on coral cost less Influence, connected villages become easier to pacify, and the faction benefits from additional Protectorate slots. The risk is that coral cut off from its source dies, so protect the connections rather than scattering isolated patches.

Assimilation is free for the Aspects, and mixing population types gives their own population more opportunities to generate Influence. When an empire becomes threatening, Force Peace can help protect an existing lead. Against an AI-controlled Aspects empire, diplomatic contact and Treaties are safer than simply ignoring its growing network.

Last Lords: Make Dust Replace Food

The Last Lords do not rely on Food for population. They buy new Last Lords with Dust, and their people consume Dust instead. Their soldiers also do not regenerate Health naturally. Dust Healing lets you restore them instantly, but only in friendly territory. Fight close enough to your borders to recover between engagements and keep a financial reserve rather than spending everything on recruitment.

Minor Faction population is another resource. Sacrifice for the Realm turns every two sacrificed Minor Faction population into a new Last Lord. Soul Repositories produce Primordial Last Lords, whose bonuses improve ordinary Last Lords working in the same category. Avoid expecting easy diplomacy: these rulers dislike some forms of sharing, and their opinions change slowly.

Tahuks: Strengthen the Holy Oculum

The Tahuks build their research economy around mountain Observatories. These structures generate Science, extend vision, and provide Food during Monsoon. Establish access to Mountains early so later buildings can contribute across your territory. Stellar Astronomy increases the Science produced by Observatories based on the level of your Holy Oculum, making improvements to that central district more valuable as your network grows.

The Holy Oculum also powers special actions, some affected by choices in the faction's main quest. In battle, your ranged-heavy forces are safer at choke points where enemies cannot surround them easily. Do not assume successive festivals automatically become more expensive; an older description of that mechanic was corrected.

Sandshapers: Create the Land You Need

The Sandshapers can harvest Food from Sand, but natural Sand does not supply the map at the beginning. First find the ancient Ruins visible to the faction, then plan settlements close enough to exploit the tiles around them. Restore a Ruin and use Wish of Awakening to change nearby terrain into Sand. Without that conversion, an otherwise promising city may struggle to feed its population.

Water causes another problem. Tiles beside rivers and lakes cannot provide normal basic yields for the faction, and Sandshapers cannot construct bridges. Research access to dams early, because drying riverbeds lets you use land that would otherwise remain unproductive. Monsoon makes construction more expensive, so use that season for scouting or fighting and move quickly after Tidefall reveals new areas through the fog.

In battle, Stone Stance deals eight Defense-ignoring damage to every adjacent enemy at the end of your turn. End movements beside multiple targets whenever you can survive their retaliation. Later, hostile Wishes and teleportation to restored Ruins can help bring armies into enemy territory for a decisive attack.

Every faction wins more reliably when you build around its defining mechanic: Fortification, conquest, combat growth, village exploitation, coral, Dust, Observatories, or Sand.

FAQ

Q. Which faction is easiest for a first campaign in Endless Legend 2?

A. The Kin of Sheredyn are a good starting choice because their compact city-building plan supports strong defenses and steadily unlocks military options.

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

A. Yes. Both are Rogue Factions included with the base game, with their own gameplay mechanics, leaders, and faction quests.

Q. Why are Sandshaper cities running out of Food?

A. Check whether the city can exploit Sand tiles created by a restored Ruin. Ordinary terrain does not provide Food, and river- or lake-adjacent tiles can prevent yields.