Endless Legend 2 Guide | How to Play the Severed Claws

The Severed Claws in Endless Legend 2 can build an enormous empire without founding a second city. The difficulty is getting that city working properly. Your own population creates job slots, conquered villages provide workers and soldiers, and an early mistake with Approval can cause serious problems. Start by placing your Capital beside a Minor Faction village, then use steady conquest and careful Population assignments to turn the hive into an economic powerhouse.

Settle Near a Minor Faction Village

The Severed Claws have the Exploitation trait, which makes a pacified village count as two Districts when checking adjacent District levels. This changes where you should settle. Ideally, place your City Hall directly beside a village with enough clear ground to build on both sides. 

Two properly placed Districts and the village can provide the four adjacency points needed to raise the City Hall to level two, increasing its production early.

If Mountains, water, or Resource deposits block the circle, settle one tile away instead. Your first two Districts can still level each other when both benefit from the village's extra adjacency. Repeat this planning whenever you place a Burrow in another Territory. None of these bonuses work until the village has been pacified.

Conquer Villages to Recruit Free Units

You must attack Minor Faction villages to pacify them. The Severed Claws cannot use the ordinary peaceful approaches at the start. Each conquered village grants a free unit belonging to that Minor Faction, allowing you to establish several armies without producing every soldier yourself. These units are not equally strong, so use them to support a reliable core rather than expecting every reward to become your best fighter.

Feeders are particularly useful because Feast on the Dead restores them to full Health after a kill. Spitters provide ranged support, and Necrodrones can fill gaps in your forces. Prime Predation lets a unit attack again after killing an enemy, although it cannot move before that additional attack. Soften several targets with Spitters, then let a Feeder finish one, heal, and strike another enemy within reach. This is how you win successive encounters without spending turns recovering.

Research Food and Industry First

Begin constructing Sanctity of Nature in your Capital while researching Civil Order. The early Food and Industry boosts work well together. Research Workshop next to unlock the Works District, and place one or two Works where they will quickly reach level two. After that, take Currency for the Merchant's House and the extra Dust needed to support your growing number of armies.

Research Materials Science for the Geodesic Dome, then acquire Common Rights for additional Influence. Heart of Glassteel is also valuable because it enables early Glassteel and the Scrap Mill. The Scrap Mill increases Industry from pacified villages, including further bonuses based on their District levels. More villages now mean stronger production, not just more troops.

During Era 2, prioritize Food, Approval, Influence, and Science improvements. Labor Camps are especially helpful for strengthening Communal Habitations. Keep upgrading your own troops and the Minor Faction units you intend to use. From Era 3 onward, focus on buildings that improve Population yields and Extractors, because one improvement in your only city can benefit the entire empire.

Repair Villages and Manage Population

Conquering is only half the job. Repair each captured village after you claim its Territory. Doing so adds two Minor Faction Population to your city. Unlike your native Population, these workers do not grow naturally, but they also do not consume Food. Your own population does need Food and is especially important because it provides slots for those acquired workers.

Do not assign everyone to Industry automatically. You need Food for native growth, Dust for upkeep, Science for research, and enough Influence to keep expanding. Examine each Minor Faction's strengths before assigning its Population. Recheck the assignments every few turns, especially after rebuilding several villages at once.

If the game places your native Population into Destitute because there are too few usable positions, the resulting shortage can spiral. Your Population may be unable to provide the jobs required to fix the problem. Keep free capacity available before another big wave of village repairs, and watch Approval as foreign Population arrives.

Expand Through Burrows and Nests

Place Burrows in useful nearby Territories even before you can afford to develop them into Nests. They provide a fast-travel network: armies can enter one Burrow and emerge from another instead of spending many turns marching across your empire. This lets your forces protect a huge Territory despite having only one proper city.

Turn Burrows into Nests when your Influence allows, and position their development around villages to benefit from Exploitation. Keep conquering villages, repairing them, and bringing their Population into the Capital. The first Faction Quest asks you to acquire six non-native Population, which you can obtain from three repaired villages. Its New Masters reward removes village rebuilding costs, making every further conquest much easier to exploit.

Use Councilors, Deeds, and Population Bonuses

Your first Councilor can provide extra Dust from Citizens and Artisans, but be mindful of the Approval penalty. A later Councilor with Joyful Communion becomes more valuable once your city reaches Jubilant. Do not choose Council bonuses only for their immediate effect; a city with dozens of workers can turn small per-Population bonuses into major gains.

Grow your native Population to unlock Flesh Grafter. This Improvement rewards the jobs occupied by your Population, supporting Food, Industry, and Science. Also check Deeds during expansion. Bringer of Symmetry rewards a large Population with extra Industry, while Bringer of Peace benefits your wide network of pacified villages. Some Deeds are competitions against other empires, so claim their rewards before a rival does.

Build the False Eye for Approval

The third chapter of the Severed Claws Faction Quest unlocks the False Eye after you defeat the required armies. You can only construct one, so position it carefully. It counts as four adjacent Districts for leveling purposes, allowing neighboring Districts to upgrade immediately. It also produces Influence as its own level rises.

A particularly useful arrangement places the False Eye among Communal Habitations. Each adjacent habitation provides an Approval bonus, helping lift your giant city toward Happy or Jubilant. This matters more than usual because the entire economy is concentrated in that single settlement. Raising Approval improves Food and Industry at the same time, and Joyful Communion can add another bonus once Jubilant status is reached.

Choose a Victory That Matches Your Growth

As the campaign progresses, choose the main-quest options that support your actual strategy. Beast Slayer helps if you intend to fight Doomwraith armies. The Gatherer option improves Industry from Population, while Peaceful Minds rewards a large number of pacified villages with Influence. Research-focused bonuses are also strong because your Capital contains so many workers.

The Master victory route fits territorial conquest and battles against Doomwraiths. Impress can work through pacified villages and advanced technologies, while Worship benefits from the huge Population and Industry available in one city. Pick a route and stay with it rather than changing objectives late.

The Severed Claws become powerful by conquering and repairing villages, organizing their Population, using Burrows for mobility, and turning the False Eye into the center of a productive single-city empire.

FAQ

Q. Can the Severed Claws build more than one city?

A. No. They operate from a single city, but you can attach more Territories through Burrows and Nests.

Q. How do you get more Minor Faction Population?

A. Destroy a Minor Faction village, claim its Territory, and rebuild the village. Each repaired village provides additional Population.

Q. Why are my Districts not leveling up near villages?

A. Exploitation works with pacified villages. Defeat the village first, then place Districts in positions that use its extra adjacency.

Q. Why is my city becoming rebellious?

A. Rapid Population growth and certain Council bonuses can reduce Approval. Watch job capacity, add Approval improvements, and use Communal Habitations around the False Eye later.