Endless Legend 2 Guide | How to Play Necrophage

The Necrophage in Endless Legend 2 grows through constant expansion, winning battles, and feeding their single enormous city. They cannot build a normal collection of cities, and they turn outsiders into resources instead of welcoming new population types. The Severed Claws instead capture Minor Faction units and population rather than producing Larva after victories. Expansion, Corpse spending, and defense are central to both factions.

Understand the Necrophage's One-City Empire

The Necrophage control one city, but they can attach many territories to it. Rather than founding another city, you spread a network of Burrows and turn them into Nests. Each territory contributes resources to the capital. 

However, everything you construct passes through the capital's single construction queue. Other empires can complete projects in several cities at once. Maintain high Industry and enough Dust for Buyouts so a long queue does not slow every improvement and unit you need.

The faction also uses only Necrophage population. Other population types do not become permanent workers in your hive. This removes many of the mixed-population bonuses other factions enjoy, making your own population growth and faction improvements especially important.

Expand With Burrows and Nests

Send an army into promising territory and create a Burrow. A Burrow gives your empire a position on the map and access to its underground movement network, but it does not claim the surrounding territory by itself. Evolve it into a Nest to claim and automatically attach that territory to your capital. This takes Dust to establish the Burrow and Influence to complete the expansion, so build both income streams early.

The network is also your answer to long travel distances. Your forces can move rapidly between connected underground access points, allowing one army to respond to attacks on opposite sides of a sprawling empire. Place Nests with transportation and defense in mind, not simply wherever the next empty area appears.

Win Battles to Generate Larva

The Necrophage rewards fighting even before you are ready to invade another major empire. Each battle victory produces a Larva, giving your forces a steady supply of reinforcements. Hunt vulnerable roaming armies and Minor Faction targets when the fights are favorable. One successful engagement can lead to another as your total number of available units increases.

A Larva is flexible because it can evolve into several specialized troops. Keep some in their starting form for scouting and reserve duties, then develop the ones you need for a serious battle. Evolving them requires resources and increases the cost of maintaining your developed army. The advantage is that evolution can happen while traveling, so your force can change its composition without returning to the capital.

Spend Corpses Where They Matter

Corpses support military development, population growth, and important Necrophage structures. That creates a constant choice. Spend everything on evolving units and the capital develops slowly; spend everything on districts, and you may lack the army needed to secure more territory. Keep a reserve for either sudden military pressure or a valuable upgrade.

Research Corrosive Saliva to unlock Devour the Land and Feedholes. Devour the Land strips a tile for an immediate resource payout, and Feedholes improve that action's yield while supporting Food production. Avoid consuming useful tiles without considering what you would lose in future turns. Additional territory and later technologies also provide ways to keep Corpses coming in when battles are scarce.

Strengthen the Capital's Districts

Your main city has to perform the work of an entire empire. Develop districts close enough to support one another, especially around Matriarch's Eye. Unlike ordinary factions, the Necrophage can level nearby districts through this special district's adjacency. A compact, upgraded core produces more value than scattering expensive structures across vulnerable border territories.

Use Matriarch's Tail to support defense. These defensive structures can make attackers pay for crossing your developed territory, buying time for reinforcements to arrive through the Burrow network. The goal is not to fortify every remote Nest equally. Keep your richest buildings and strongest defensive arrangements closer to the capital, where losing them would be harder for an enemy to accomplish.

Balance Influence, Industry, and Science

Influence has two competing uses: taking additional territories and building Foundations within the territory you already control. Early on, prioritize claims that offer Strategic Resources, favorable routes, or a barrier against rivals. Once you hold a large collection of territories, it may be more profitable to stop claiming marginal land and develop stronger district clusters instead.

Science also deserves deliberate attention. Your faction generates an impressive military snowball, but it does not automatically receive equally strong research bonuses. Build research infrastructure and keep upgrading your fighting units so they do not fall behind technologically. If your capital's production queue is crowded, Buyouts help finish necessary projects while you focus Industry elsewhere.

Delay Major Wars Until the Swarm Is Ready

The Necrophage can pursue aggressive wars without the same diplomatic restrictions that restrain other factions, and warfare can support their Approval. That does not mean attacking the first major empire you meet is wise. Spend the opening stage fighting manageable enemies, claiming useful territory, and collecting Larva. Defend the capital before marching into hostile land.

A wide empire makes tempting targets at its edges. Treat outer Nests as a buffer when necessary and avoid constructing your most costly districts on borders you cannot hold. After assembling a dependable force, launch a major war with reinforcements and underground routes already prepared.

Switch to the Severed Claws' Village Strategy

The Severed Claws share the single-city structure and Burrow network, but their army growth works differently. They do not gain Larva from winning battles. Instead, destroying a Minor Faction village grants a unit belonging to that faction at your capital. You can still recruit your own Necrophage-derived troops, but your extra units depend on which Minor Factions happen to inhabit the surrounding map.

Look for territories with several villages. Destroy villages before a rival pacifies them, because a village already pacified by another empire cannot serve the same conquest plan. You should also consider the type of unit each village supplies. This faction's army changes considerably depending on the settlements you find.

Rebuild Villages to Grow Your Population

After taking a village, rebuild it under your expanding territory to acquire Minor Faction population. Unlike the standard Necrophage, the Severed Claws can use these different population types and their bonuses. Their enslaved Minor Faction population does not reproduce naturally, however, so rebuilding more villages is essential to continued growth.

Your own Severed Claws population grows and helps create additional population slots. Larger populations also make district development cheaper through the faction's population-related traits. Since the Severed Claws cannot rely on Matriarch's Eye, organize districts around villages instead. Village rebuilding also supports your economy.

Use the Severed Claws' Extra Attack

Severed Claws units can attack again during the same turn after destroying an enemy unit. Use this by damaging several opponents before committing a stronger attacker to finish one. An easy first kill can create the opening for a second attack. Protect units from counterattacks while arranging these eliminations, especially when facing a better-equipped enemy army.

Their access to Minor Faction units makes them adaptable, but their advanced specializations require later research. Early troops may remain basic for a while. Lean on tactical positioning and the variety of captured units rather than expecting immediate upgrades. This approach favors a developing economy alongside regular, carefully chosen battles.

The Necrophage thrive by turning victories into Larva and new territory into one powerful city, while the Severed Claws grow by conquering villages and rebuilding them for soldiers and population.

FAQ

Q. Can the Necrophage create more than one city?

A. No. They maintain a single city and expand its reach by evolving Burrows into Nests, which attach additional territories to the capital.

Q. Does a Burrow automatically claim its territory?

A. No. The territory is claimed when you evolve the Burrow into a Nest. Burrows are also useful for moving armies through the underground network.

Q. How do the Severed Claws recruit Minor Faction units?

A. Destroy a Minor Faction village to receive a unit of that faction at your capital. Rebuilding the village also lets you gain its population.

Q. Do the Severed Claws gain Larva after battles?

A. No. Unlike the Necrophage, they rely on constructed troops and units gained through village destruction rather than Larva rewards from every victory.