Endless Legend 2 Beginner Guide — Saiadha Essentials

TL;DR

• Prioritize Food and Industry early: population drives workers, and Industry finishes builds every turn.
• Start with Kin of Sheredyn or The Aspects; avoid The Necrophage and The Last Lords as beginners.
• Scout during Monsoons and save Influence for Tidefalls — new land is often worth aggressive claims.
• Specialize heroes: governors for cities, generals for armies. Use compact district layouts to avoid approval penalties.

What You Need to Know First

Prerequisites

• Recommended difficulty: Novice or Explorer.
• Map size: Large or Huge for breathing room.
• Map type: Pangea to avoid early naval headaches.
• Scout 3-5 turns before founding the capital to trigger the Prepared Settlement buff.

Quick requirements table

The FIDSI system (core resources)

Why these matter: Food creates citizens who generate everything else. Industry is a turn-limited resource — don’t let it overflow. Dust is your emergency button. Influence is the currency of opportunity when Tidefalls dump new land on the map.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Campaign setup and first 5 turns

   1. Pick Kin of Sheredyn or The Aspects for your first few games. Avoid The Necrophage and The Last Lords until you understand asymmetric mechanics.
   2. Pick Novice/Explorer, Large/ Huge, Pangea. Move your scout and spend 3-5 turns exploring to stack the Prepared Settlement buff before founding your capital.
   3. Found the capital on a region with multiple anomalies and several Food + Industry tiles clustered together.

2. Early economy (turns 1–40)

   1. Prioritize Food and Industry. More citizens = more workers = exponential gains.
   2. Queue production so Industry never caps. Industry disappears at the end of turn; plan builds accordingly.
   3. Use Dust to rush critical buildings only — you're buying time, not a permanent solution.

3. Districts and population management

   1. Each new district costs 10 approval — manage approval or your city will stall.
   2. Build compact geometric clusters so districts reach level 2 (surrounded by 3–4 neighbors) and remove the approval penalty.

   District layout examples

   Item	Effect	Where to Get
   Compact cluster	Districts upgrade to level 2 faster, approval penalty removed	City construction planning
   Sprawling chain	Causes persistent approval penalties	Poor layout choices

4. Tidefalls and Monsoons: what to do

   1. Monsoons spawn collectible resources and reduce vision — use them to scout potential Tidefall spots.
   2. Three Tidefalls per game will expose new land. Save Influence to claim fresh regions immediately.
   3. Build infrastructure that works without coastal bonuses; your waterfront could become plains overnight.

5. Combat and heroes

   1. Manual resolve on tactical hex maps — position > button-mashing. High ground for ranged, forests for cover.
   2. Build balanced armies: melees soak, ranged dishes damage. Focus fire to remove threats.
   3. Specialize heroes: governors for city economy, generals for combat. Don’t make hybrids.

   Army composition table

   Item	Effect	Where to Get
   Melee units	Frontline, soak damage	Unit recruitment buildings
   Ranged units	Damage output, benefit from high ground	Unit recruitment buildings
   Hero (General)	Leads armies, battle skills	Recruited from city or quests
   Hero (Governor)	City bonuses, FIDSI boosts	Recruited for city management

6. Minor factions and long-term goals

   1. Pacify villages by bribery, quests, or conquest. Assimilate for empire-wide bonuses and unique population types.
   2. Keep multiple victory paths open early. If someone races Science, consider military options.

Victory overview

• Expansion: control 80% of regions.
• Economic: massive Dust generation.
• Scientific: research the final-era techs first.
• Narrative: complete faction quests and interact with the awakening god.
• Diplomatic & Score: alternatives depending on map and opponents.

Wrap-up: treat Tidefalls as opportunities, not punishments. The map changes — be ready to pivot.

Pro Tips

• Stack a governor in the capital early to unlock FIDSI synergies; a well-chosen governor multiplies every other decision you make.
• When scouting Monsoons, mark likely Tidefall seams on the map — first settlers on new land net the best minor faction villages.
• Use the marketplace and Dust as a bridge. Buying an extra resource early is often better than a prolonged tech detour.
• If you see an opponent leaning Scientific, raid their labs early or force tech trades — delaying them is often cheaper than beating them later.
• Design district geometry like a puzzle: aim for 2–3 clusters that each enable multiple level 2 districts rather than a long chain.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Founding the capital too quickly and missing the Prepared Settlement buff (don’t found on turn 1 unless you have a good reason).
• Building sprawling district lines that rack up approval penalties instead of compact clusters that auto-upgrade.
• Treating Tidefalls as an annoyance—failing to save Influence and get first claims on newly revealed land.
• Making hybrid heroes that neither govern well nor fight effectively; specialization wins every time.