Spellforce: Conquest of Eo by Owned by Gravity is a deep turn-based strategy game that is a bit hard to describe and plays much differently than most games in the genre. To help kick off your first run, here are ten tips I have after over 300 hours spent with Spellforce: Conquest of Eo.
1) Start the game at Goldenfields with the Alchemist or Artificer. The Necromancer and the other starting areas don’t showcase the game as well and should be saved for later play-throughs.
Goldenfields is categorized as the “easy start” for good reason. It is easier to get started here than it is in the other regions, but that does not mean it is boring or uninteresting. Instead, it is one of the most flexible starting areas and has the most possibilities of where to go and what to do. So even players that prefer starting on higher difficulties should still choose Goldenfields as their first region.
All three of the mage types are interesting, but the Necromancer is less able to interact with certain subsystems than the Alchemist and, to a lesser extent, the Artificer. The Alchemist and the Artificer really give the best introduction to the game.
2) Try to keep your initial goblins alive as long as possible.
The initial starting units are generally not very strong and, depending on the starting area, will quickly and easily be outmatched. However, they do have a very handy trait that makes them economically unmatched in the early game: the “Follower” trait. This means they require no maintenance. The hard part is keeping them alive. They are weak and will frequently be pushed in front of enemy unit stacks in order to keep archers and other back liners alive. They can easily be replaced by just recruiting more goblins. However, none of the new goblins will have the Follower trait, which means each and everyone will end up being a drain on income that can be avoided as long as the Follower goblins remain alive!
3) Every stack should have a healer, and goblin shamans, with the right upgrades, can serve that role well all the way through the end game.
Units do not heal completely after a fight, and the base healing rate for units per day is not great. This can be patched up with upgrades, and I usually do so, but it is even better to get a unit with the Healer trait or in-battle healing capabilities. The exact units used will vary depending on the game’s start and how it develops, but an option that is available from the earliest part of the game is the goblin shaman. While it has the same weaknesses as other goblins, it has the advantage of improving other goblins if they are in the same stack and doesn’t have the same scaling issues as goblin archers and warriors. While they are fragile, they can pick up some very strong abilities that turn them into healing powerhouses and they are one of the few starting units that can be useful well into the late game.
4) Try to build a tower room that provides units before moving out of the starting area to avoid awkward situations.
Many of the starting regions feature a nearby city that has a relationship reward that provides a room that allows units to be trained in the tower. Being able to replace units from the tower will save a lot of money and it is likely that, by the time the tower is ready to be moved out of the initial region, it will be important to recruit Tier 2 units to replace dying or overly weak Tier 1 units. This issue can be temporarily avoided by finding the right unit camps (orc or human camps are decent), but getting a unit room in the tower makes this unnecessary and will save a lot of stress later.
5) Rooting is the best status effect in the early game and can win fights that would otherwise be impossible.
Spellforce: Conquest of Eo has a variety of solid status effects but none of them really compare to Rooting in the early game. While not all enemy units are vulnerable to it (especially look out for enemies with elemental resistance) it is an excellent way to defeat enemies that would normally wipe the floor with an army. Being able to lock down an enemy bruiser while more vulnerable enemies are killed can be the difference between victory and defeat. I usually put my Immobilization/rooting gear on my apprentices if I find it, and it is one of the first things I try to craft when playing an Artificer.
6) Need gold? Go to the northern mountains and use an apprentice to claim one or more mines.
When transitioning armies from Tier 1 units to Tier 2 units and increasing the total number of stacks, it is not uncommon to start struggling with finances. While there are some other gold sources and even mines in other parts of the map, the mountains on the northern side are particularly dense with them. Some of these mine defenders are… challenging, so it is wise to be judicious about which ones to seize. Regardless, it is very much worth it to send at least one apprentice stack to the north in order to deal with any monetary issues.
7) Always try to spend the early game holding a construction site. You’ll need it sooner than you think.
The construction site appears to have limited value because of its finite uses as well as the fact that it does not provide any money itself. However, the tower quest that upgrades the capabilities of tower rooms requires that a construction site be somewhere in the player’s domain. It is very easy to simply never put a construction site in the domain or use it briefly and move away from it later. But it is essential to get the tower quest reward that comes from the construction site and, by the time it opens up, it is quite possible the tower will be too far away from any of the construction sites needed for the quest. So, claim a construction site early and keep it claimed until this quest is completed.
8) Try to have extra stacks ready for the second apprentice and hero.
The first recruited apprentice comes with their own stack of follower units. Unfortunately, the second apprentice and hero units, which appear not too long after the first, do not have any followers. Getting a stack ready to go fetch the second apprentice when proficiency level 10 is reached or being ready for the arrival of the hero after turn 40, can keep the forward momentum going and is likely to pay off through faster resource exploitation and development of overall power level. Going bankrupt while doing this helps nobody, but maintaining enough gold income to pay for two or three stacks is generally good practice and will pay off in the long run.
9) Do not anger the Circle Mages before they can be handled.
While most players will eventually build army stacks that are strong enough to handle anything the Circle mages throw at them, it is possible to get on the Circle mages’ bad side and lose the game as a result. In general, it is worth doing any quests that they give, avoiding entering their territory, and refraining from attacking their army stacks. In the event there is a particularly hostile Circle mage threatening your borders or attacking held locations, it may actually be most wise to just relocate. It is not mandatory to be in any specific part of the map and, if it is not possible to handle the heat a Circle mage is bringing, simply relocate until the time is right to bring them bloody, magical revenge.
10) Spellforce: Conquest of Eo is a modern masterpiece, in my humble opinion. Enjoy the ride!
While I beta-tested Spellforce: Conquest of Eo, there was no guarantee that I would like it or even play it for the amount of time I did. What pushed me to do so was the sheer quality of the game and the way it riffs on and innovates the strategy genre. I feel that, on the whole, the 4X genre has gotten a bit stale and Conquest of Eo has done an excellent job of shaking things up. It is both fun and refreshing and even with over 300 hours of play. I expect to have a lot more fun with the game in the future as well.
One of the ways to extend the experience and enjoyment of the game is by simply avoiding doing everything in a single run. While technically it is possible to play until exploring the entire map, discovering every site, and making friends with every city, this is unnecessary. The victory conditions are set as they are for a reason, and by finding the best and most fun ways to accomplish them, it is possible to extend the game’s fun for a long time to come.
WE HOPE THIS HELPS YOU AS YOU VENTURE INTO THE WORLD OF SPELLFORCE: CONQUEST OF EO.
Ready? Set. eXplore!
Again, just because it doesn’t do anything for you doesn’t mean that many others don’t see a lot of value here. Many in our community on our Discord and many others on our various channels are really enjoying this game.
We provided many, many different previews of this game and went as far as doing a guided tour with the director of Conquest of Eo to show people just what the game is about.
We’re not trying to trick anyone or bait and switch anyone and the implications you’re making seem really off base.
We did everything we could to show potential buyers what this game was. If you don’t like it, and you want blame us, then so be it.
Good luck to you. We wish you the best in your journey for the next 4X game that tickles your fancy. Just don’t complain when they’re all doing the same thing because “fans” like you can’t enjoy games that try new things.
And finally, I’ll say that you’re looking right past some other changes and mechanics that DO push things forward, like the constant need for further exploration, which lengthens the eXploration phase, the crafting, which is a bit chunky, sure, but does feel fun, and a few other things.
But we’ll save our breath. Take care and consider using all that angst for something a bit more constructive, like an eXpostion on where you’d like to see the 4X genre go.
Thank you for your reply. I tend to be passionate about 4X games, as those are the ones that were part of my growing up and formative years. Overall, I am not optimistic about the genre, as I feel as it peaked. For example, Civ IV was the last one with adult descriptions (“allies” instead of “friends”), and Civ VI was the first game in the series bugged enough to make me actually stop playing it (Civ IV total conversion mods were much more stable). It’s second DLC also made the game worse than before (something that Endless Space 1 and 2 did as well, as Stellaris also with its latest Unity patch).
I’d like the genre to go back to its roots and consolidate the basics, and stop piling more and more gimmicks on top of its core. Consider endless re-balancing of Stellaris and Galactic Civilizations 3 or the absolute failure of Humankind (a game I bought on pre-order breaking my own rules and I later hated deeply as its gimmicky, “innovative” mechanics were a complete mess that made later eras completely unfun to play).
It’s not that we “fans” like me can’t enjoy games that try new things. Sometimes the new things don’t work (Humankind was a great example, as it was largely unplayable). Progress for the sake of progress is as much of a travesty as standing in place. The genre exists for a reason – sure it can blend some things from other games (heck you could throw a full visual novel into the game, vide Sunrider which was a VN/space combat tactical game for example), but some basics of 4X must remain if it will appeal to a fan like me. Yes, I am a fan, playing thousands of hours of almost every 4X series. And lastly, if I was too harsh in my words and sentences, I do freely apologize. You are doing a good work and as I said before, I should have watched the gameplay videos you provided more closely.
I find myself largely in agreement with your assessment of the current state of 4x.
Totally agree
I also wanted to know the answer to this! I thought I was doing well but suddenly on week 11 or so I found myself facing stacks of 6/7 units all level 5+ and I was losing most of my units in battles. I couldn’t keep up with the neutral stacks after that because I was bringing level 1 tier 1&2 units to battle against level 5+ tier 2&3. Had to abandon that game…
No, I don’t. I don’t have a time to maintain one.
I’ve got about 80 hours into this one so far. It really is a massive innovation on the 4X (or approximately 4X) genre! Highly recommended!
So its usually a good ideia to rush tower levels. I was doing it so fucking wrong. Thank you! 🙂
It steadily increases over time and has nothing to do with your power level.
Hi! I was trying to figure out how the enemies power work. Is it based by the week/Day and increases in a constant way or is it based by the power of your stacks or the level of your tower?
Thanks!!
Yes it’s a 4X hybrid where expanding is limited but has exploration is extended and I’m really loving it. This is exactly what the genre needs. Not every 4X game needs to be following the same formula and there should be experimentation with new ideas. I really don’t get the people who want all their games to be exactly the same.
Yes, we must have been paid off because we enjoy a game! The ever-present accusations of being a shill or getting paid just because we like something you don’t like are unoriginal and also, more importantly, completely untrue
Make your own 4X site! We’d love to see more. Plus, you’ll get to see how being excited about a game will inevitably get you called a shill!
I appreciate your passion for the 4x genre, and calling out this obvious payoff. Do you have a website?
Anyone know how i can heal units with No Regeneration?
The healing-spell on the first grimoire-page works on units that don’t regenerate health naturally as well, so you can use that one.
Also some undead can consume corpses (in battle) to heal. But as I haven’t played necromancer yet I don’t know whether that applies to all undead
Thank you
Most cities have them after you get high enough reputation with them! If you want to join the discord we have a channel just for this game and plenty of people happy to answer questions!
Can someone please tell me how i hire workers?
We’re so glad we could help you make an informed decision! And we’re even more happy that you’re having fun with Spellforce! We’re having a lot of fun, too!
We have a podcast special coming out tomorrow, so keep an eye out!
I almost didn’t get this game, but you guys played a role in convincing me otherwise and now I’m having a blast with it. So thanks for covering it so thoroughly!
Hopefully it does well enough that the devs can continue supporting it with additional content. There is a lot of potential for more classes, units, items, spells, quests, factions, even a map expansion.
eXplore, yes. It certainly fulfills that. eXplot: yes. eXterminate: yes.
eXpand: debatable. You have one starting tower with limited reach (and improving your Mastery so far only expanded the domain a bit). Lodges are tied to your apprentice number (1:1 so far), are non-upgradeable, and the constant drain on resources forces you to move and be nomadic. I think the only permanent thing is the nodes. By design, I am unable to have any “country border”, and the expanding options are very limited.
I say it’s “debatable” since I personally consider permanence one of the staples of 4X, and I can grant here that it’s not necessarily the absolute requirement (vide ocean cities in Civ: Beyond Earth which were actually moveable at top speed rate of 1 tile/turn). Still, you could cover the map in Beyond Earth if you wanted to, while here there are hard limits, compounded with the fact that lodges are just claim points. Just like Disciples 2 rods which took control of terrain. So this actually makes Disciples 2 more of a 4X game than this one.
Let’s quickly compare. Disciples 2 had a comparable main base building (branching buildings), 4 factions (5 in Rise of Elves DLC) with branching units of up to 5 tiers (3 here), infinite leveling (though without special perks), more simplistic tactical combat (very simplistic in fact, here points go to Spellforce, which uses almost identical system as Age of Wonders 3 which I personally like), more complex hero system, conquerable and upgradeable minor cities, campaigns (multiple), and ability to play custom maps. In fact, it had much more 4X building capacity than this game (while the combat was much more simple).
Okay, I can grant you that it is technically a 4X on the ground of that we have technically some amount of expansion (you can expand the domain a few squares – so far as I’ve seen, you can up the number of lodges, and you can get nodes). It is very very barebones still. If it is the future of 4X, then no, I am absolutely not liking the direction.
PS: I think that I would like it better if it was treated more as a strategy/RPG game (which the developer calls it like, there is no 4X tag on Steam on its page!) than a 4X.
It’s not a traditional 4X game, but it certainly contains each X and should be technically classified as a 4X.
eXplore: Even with a single pre-defined map, there is lots of random placement and even hours into the game you’re still exploring new corners of the map constantly.
eXpand: Sure you don’t have settlements on the map, but you are expanding the reach of your domain throughout the course of the game via nodes, lodges, and tower upgrades. I’d also consider improved city reputation as part of the expansion phase since you’ll be buying a lot of your units from the cities as you get friendlier with them.
eXploit: I’d say the limited resources and slowly draining the map means you’re more focused on the exploit phase than most 4X games where you just build improvements and never think about that tile again. The only other game to make the exploit phase this interesting was At the Gates(which actually has a lot of similarities with this game).
eXterminate: You’ll be fighting a lot! Both against neutrals on the map and ultimately against the circle mages who act more like your traditional 4X components.
“The game clearly takes some inspiration from the venerated Master of Magic, but it takes that inspiration in all new directions, clearly pushing the genre forward”
“SpellForce: Conquest of Eo is an adventure, RPG, 4X, and tactical hybrid that might actually pull off that crazy amalgamation of genres.”
Those are both citations from other articles on your site. As a fan of 4X and strategy games (playing them since 1995, I played practically everything on the market, including total conversion mods for Civ IV), I have taken to browse your site for recommendations of upcoming releases. If not for you, I wouldn’t have known about Spellforce: Conquest of Eo. Not that it is your fault I bought that, as I clearly didn’t take time to watch the gameplay videos more closely and that’s on me. The big city screenshot on https://explorminate.co/spellforce-conquest-of-eo-gameplay-2/ tickled my fancy and I thought I could actually build one like this (I love big fantasy cities). Well, that’s my stupidity (it even reads “Alpha”). But I would expect something like this out of 4X hybrid…
The game, from the 2.6 hours I played (and sadly past refund point) is not “pushing the genre forward” as it is a very limiting clone of Sorcerer King and Thea, with combat from Age of Wonders 3 / Planetfall (not much Planetfall as the unit hit percentages are automatic). The only one single thing this game is really doing that’s innovative and something that I never seen before, is resource locations steadily decaying. I don’t remember such mechanics in 4X games (maybe except Sword of the Stars), it is something taken out of RTS that I admit is interesting. Especially coupled with ability to move your domain. I grant the game that.
Otherwise, this is Thea. Even Sorcerer King had more 4X flesh here. At least I could actually build and develop cities there, even if the “assymetric 4X” aspect made it playable exactly once for me. I played the entirety of Spellforce 1 with all DLCs, I remember the great unit roster that was available. What I started with was goblins. When I read that the goblins are apparently the standard starting unit I actually laughed. Here we have a big fantasy world with so much lore (I especially liked the rune concept from Spellforce 1 to summon entire races and heroes, it worked very well and provided for much diversity of units) and we all start with goblins. Please. You say Master of Magic was disappointing (my favorite game ever since it was released, played it then and I played the old version now and the new flawed as well). Sure, Master of Magic the new is flawed in many ways, but it is still a game with 100 times more variety and freedom than this.
My personal pet peeve is now
?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1 combined with “4X hybrid”. I guess it’s both my stupidity (oh I can be very stupid indeed) and developer clickbait that combined to make me an impression that it is a magnificent city builder.
This game pushes nothing new, instead of limiting your choices and basicallly being a stripped down version of everything: diluted cRPG elements (heroes that have additional equipment slots) but which is ultimately defeated with bad levelling system. Yes, something that Elemental: War of Magic started with, and Fallen Enchantress boggled into, until they fixed it in Legendary Heroes, namely randomized level rewards. This never works well. Choice of 2 traits which can range from nonsensically underpowered to useless to semi-useful. The auto-combat is atrocious, as the comparison of stack strengths waries widely. I had 2 times numerical advantage that said “horrible losses”. Then why even compare and calculate stack strenghts? The city building is laughable – only the tower and lodges so far. Tower that is your base in XCOM but with less mechanics. Combat which is almost entirely taken from Age of Wonders 3 (3 APs, flanking, zones of control, etc.) but is more limited (Focus system, no “free actions”, no spellcasting during combat (!!! – a huge omission in a fantasy strategy)).
All this game does is to offer a blend of toned-down systems that other games do better. I for example disliked Endless Legend’s combat (which I find extremely lackluster) but I admired its incredible city building potential (though I blame it for promoting districts and provinces which are often overused nowadays). Spellforce: Conquest of Eo is unique in a sense that it is a game that does nothing well.
First, we’ve never said it was a true 4X game. Second, we’ve never reviewed it. Lastly, games and our feelings towards them are completely subjective. You’re entitled to your opinion and we’re sorry you don’t like it, but providing ten tips for a game that a few of us here at eXplorminate are enjoying hardly counts as a review.
That’s not a 4X game at all. “Keep your starting goblins alive”, for Emperor’s sake. I bought it and am not very pleased at all. I need to take your reviews with grain of salt.
So glad to hear that in every regard!!
Amazing read thank you for this, Rob’s video version was also a great watch! 💛
Bought the game largely due to the high praise from Explorminate and I am loving it, thank you all so much for the coverage.
Well that was a very good read!
I am buying the game today 🙂