How Endless Legend 2 Raises the Tide on Turn-Based Strategy Games

Endless Legend 2 is a fantasy turn-based technique sport, and the subsequent title from Amplitude Studios who beforehand made Humankind and Endless Area. At launch it would function 5 asymmetrical factions, tactical battles, a number of victory sorts (together with seven totally different variations of the narrative victory situation), and numerous hours of replayability as gamers discover and conquer Saiadha, a mysterious oceanic paradise going by way of cataclysmic change. Like the studios’ earlier works, Endless Legend 2 represents a definitive step ahead in the technique style by way of brand-new mechanics, akin to Tidefall.

A Tidal Downside

Endless Legend 2 represents a particular type of technique sport you’ll have seen earlier than that generally goes by one other identify, 4X video games, a phrase coined some time in the past to speak about the early Civilization titles. The 4 Xs signify distinct pillars: Discover, Develop, Exploit, and Exterminate.

Today, the style has advanced past this moniker — however that first section, discover, stays a core design pillar of any technique sport. It’s the half that always struggles past the early parts of a marketing campaign and that is certainly one of the causes the Tidefall mechanic emerged in Endless Legend 2. It represents a momentous occasion in-game the place the oceans recede, revealing new lands, alternatives, and risks.

“Based mostly on the a long time of suggestions Amplitude has collected since their first 4X sport, we’ve discovered that gamers typically discover the exploration section to be the most enjoyable,” says Endless Legend 2’s Sport Director Derek Paxton. “They’d play for some time, then get bored when the full map is revealed and all the territory is claimed. At this level your choices are to change to both a full-on warmonger, or keep inside your borders and take a look at taking part in ‘tall’.”

“We needed to unravel this by revealing new land as the sport went on. Introducing new exploration phases and new alternatives to assert territory and develop. The largest a part of that is Tidefall, which might make strategic chokepoint cities out of date or flip secure cities in your backlines into uncovered targets as new land bridges are fashioned to different islands and empires.”

Whereas there’s much less land to discover to start with, beginning in a smaller space does provide you with loads of room to develop, discover, and alter to your faction’s strengths and weaknesses in a comparatively secure atmosphere. As soon as the first Tidefall occurs, the map opens up, altering the strategic panorama completely.

This alteration brings about new challenges – by no means thoughts that different main empires might need entry to your lands now, however the atmosphere additionally will get extra harmful. Fortresses guarded by NPC armies will want conquering, and after the third Tidefall occasion, menacing Doomwraiths will emerge from the planet’s depths, endangering areas you’ll have beforehand thought secure.

Driving the Waves

Disrupting the state of the sport and participant momentum isn’t one thing that must be executed evenly, or too often. The Tidefall mechanic has gone by way of a number of iterations when it comes to influence and frequency, however by way of in depth testing Amplitude appears like they’ve discovered a very good candy spot.

“We began with eight Tidefalls and slowly lowered them as we went by way of playtesting,” says Paxton. “The extra we had, the much less land every revealed. We opted to go for fewer with greater impacts as an alternative of extra frequent with smaller results. When Tidefall occurred, we needed the sport to vary.”

There are actually three Tidefall occasions per sport, and the size between them will differ relying on the map measurement. On common settings, it’s between 40 – 50 turns. However it’s not nearly pacing — the broader influence of Tidefalls was additionally examined carefully.

“We even thought-about having the expertise eras tied to Tidefall or having Tidefall be damaging (if the oceans got here again, for instance). However in the finish, we determined to maintain it solely as a reward as a result of it wasn’t enjoyable to spend money on constructing an empire, simply to have one thing outdoors of the participant’s management set again their progress”.

“The one remnant of that concept that continues to be is that every one tiles adjoining to water (oceans, lakes, or rivers) get a meals bonus. As Tidefall happens, the oceans go away and the rivers dry up, eradicating these bonuses. So coastal or river cities accustomed to those bonuses for development will lose them.”

(*2*)

This feeds into two of the different pillars – Develop and Exploit. Whereas the penalties of Tidefalls gained’t be sport breaking, they are going to add simply sufficient pressure to your marketing campaign that you’ll want to plan round this finally, usually by increasing outward and looking for new or higher sources of development in your empire.

Turning the Tide

So long as you respect the Tidefall, it may be deliberate for and a few of the chaos that comes with the receding oceans will be managed. You’ll know, for instance, {that a} coastal metropolis at the begin of a sport gained’t stay as such, and that far-off island can be accessible finally. There are different issues to bear in mind as effectively:

“On the Strategic map it’s good to maintain an eye fixed on areas of the fog of conflict which can be golden,” says Paxton. “We name this the ‘Haze’ and it signifies that that is the fringe of unrevealed lands that Tidefall has uncovered, and the place new risks can come from.”

“Additionally, if gamers have river cities which can be counting on the meals bonuses from the river, constructing a Dam will make sure that the river stays after Tidefall. Or you’ll be able to construct a Dam for a river that flows into your enemy’s lands and deprive them of their meals bonuses with out ready for Tidefall to occur.”

The world of Saiadha is ready – there are different factions to subdue, and a thriller that lies in the coronary heart of the world to unravel. Whichever approach you select to method the sport, be sure to put together for Tidefall.

Endless Legend 2 (Sport Preview) releases for Xbox on PC, PC Sport Go, and Sport Go Final on September 22, 2025.