While I love the Civilization games dearly, Firaxis has always struggled to differentiate its factions beyond the surface level. I’m therefore eager for the arrival of Endless Legend 2, the long-awaited sequel to Amplitude Studios’ 2014 4X game. Much like its predecessor, EL2 focuses on a smaller pool of much more distinctive playable empires, ensuring that every one feels entirely unique from the others. With Civ 7 still yet to find its footing as we approach the Endless Legend 2 launch, Amplitude reveals its latest addition, and it gives a new name to my personal top pick from the original.
The Last Lords are the Endless Legend 2 incarnation of the first game’s Broken Lords; formerly proud nobles and knights, an ancient curse has reduced them to spirits trapped in hollow suits of armor. They’re beings of pure Dust, the world’s primary resource and currency, and therefore don’t consume food or grow their population organically like other factions do. Instead, you must spend your precious Dust to create new units. It’s a challenging but rewarding mechanic that won my heart in Endless Legend, which remains among our best 4X games to this day.
Following the mass exodus to the new ocean planet of Saiadha, where Endless Legend 2 takes place, only small numbers of the Last Lords have awoken from their interstellar hibernation. The environment is a far cry from Auriga’s Dust-rich desert, making them vulnerable in the early game, but as the waters start to recede it will open up opportunities to awaken more of your slumbering companions and become an endgame powerhouse.
The benefit of this process is that, with enough Dust, you can effectively create units instantly, and they’re tremendously resilient, healing whenever other units die in close proximity to them. The Last Lords have the ability to establish special estates in minor faction cities and either tax them, exploit the population as workforce, or drain them of their very essence to fuel the resurrection of your people.
In its ultimate form, this allows you to turn entire villages into Soul Repositories, used to revive the Last Lords’ most powerful units, the Primordials. Joining them in battle are their iconic Dust Bishops, quite possibly the first game’s most potent support unit, and Dust Lords mounted upon giant, flying beasts capable of swooping in and unleashing widespread devastation. I’m certainly glad to see them making a return, even if it’s becoming increasingly difficult to choose which faction I want to start with.
Endless Legend 2 releases Thursday August 7 via Steam Early Access. You can wishlist it now if you want to be notified when it arrives.
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