How do you win Solium Infernum? As with most strategy games, there are myriad ways to win, and most all can be thwarted by someone else’s schemes. With that in mind, it’s essential to have a good game plan in mind.
You wouldn’t be playing Solium Infernum if you didn’t want to win, and with the Machiavellian mind of a demon, you can achieve victory by any number of deceitful tactics. Whether you overpower your opponents with brute strength, cheat and lie your way to the throne, or simply claim the city of Pandaemonium for yourself, make sure you’re controlling one of the best Solium Infernum Archfiends, and have plan A and B ready to go in the strategy game. And read our Solium Infernum review to see if and how we won, and which techniques we explored playing as golden-haired fallen angel Andromalius.
Ways to win Solium Infernum
A game of Solium Infernum is over after a set number of turns, when the Conclave chooses the next rightful leader of the underworld. At this point, the game can be won in four ways – or Pandaemonium can fall into chaos.
The voting of the Conclave begins after the following number of turns:
- Shortest – 25 turns
- Very short – 30 turns
- Short – 40 turns
- Medium – 50 turns
- Long – 60 turns
- Very Long – 70 turns
At this point, the voting of the Conclave begins, and the game will end in the number of terms announced at the start of the voting – between six and 13. This doesn’t mean you can only win by vote, though, as there’s still time to conquer Pandaemonium or cheat the system, it just starts your countdown.
Win by Conclave election with Prestige
Arguably the easiest way to win Solium Infernum is by simply getting to the end of the game with the most Prestige – with the end of the game being after the set number of turns above. Hell can’t wait forever for a new leader, after all.
With two or more Archfiends still up and running, and Pandaemonium still standing, the only way for the Conclave to prevent the battle going on forever is to vote for the new leader of the underworld. The election begins at the turn number above, and lasts for between five and 13 turns, meaning the game actually goes on a little longer, and there is still time for you to turn things in your favor – or for your opponents to do the same.
If you plan to win by election, you should keep an eye on your Prestige, as well as your opponents’ Prestige, which can usually be seen at the start of every turn. The only time it cannot is if the Catastrophic Intel Failure event card is played, hiding the Prestige of all Archfiends for three to six turns. Using this information, the best way to stay ahead is to try and take Prestige through combat, taking Places of Power and defeating enemy Legions.
To force combat, start Vendettas with the closest Archfiend to you – either in location or Prestige, preferably both if possible – by demanding gifts, insulting them, or deploying other Diplomatic tactics. If your opponent rejects your offer, you are free to start a Vendetta under your own terms. Here, look a few turns ahead to make sure you can win, tweaking the Vendetta terms to suit. The more risky the terms of the Vendetta, the more Prestige you stand to win.
Naturally, though, you need to be sure you can win your Vendetta, and any other conflict, so use the early game to gather Tribute, and keep an eye on the Bazaar for the best Legions and Praetors to claim as your own. Titans, such as Gorgon or The Beast, are especially valuable in winning battles with ease.
Win by manipulating the Conclave
Another relatively simple method of victory, particularly if you’re more conniving than combatant, is by lying and cheating until the end, eventually manipulating the Conclave into replacing their natural victor with you.
There are two ways to do this, both use a specific Relic, chosen before the start of the game. These relics are:
- Crown of the Kingmaker
- Power Behind the Throne
Both relics require you to choose an enemy to befriend and betray, but also require your victim to win by election – having the most Prestige at the conclusion of the Conclave vote – before transferring that victory over to you. There are two ways in which this gets tricky: one is that you have less control over the win, and the second is that some Rituals, such as Dark Augury, could expose your plan. If you do wish to try this method, concentrate on your Ritual resistance and manipulation skills, and consider choosing Andromalius or Belial as your Archfiend of choice.
Win by conquering Pandaemonium
Conquering Pandaemonium isn’t as difficult as it might seem, you just need to have some pretty strong legions or Titans under your command. You won’t be able to even consider conquering Pandaemonium until late in the game, as the city’s combat stats and HP are incredibly high. However, gather enough Tribute, and get some good luck in the Bazaar, and you might end up with an army strong enough to just walk right into Pandaemonium and take the throne.
For this, we’d recommend holding out for some of the powerful Titans in the Bazaar, such as Gorgon or The Beast. The powerful Legions have incredibly good stats that can actually go toe-to-toe with those of Pandaemonium. However, they might need an upkeep – a fee every turn to keep them going – so make sure you have enough Tribute and enough turns left. Then, send them in.
When you decide to attack Pandaemonium, you are immediately excommunicated, meaning you can no longer win by vote, and all other archfiends will be after you, so make sure the risk is worth it. When you defeat Pandaemonium, five additional turns are added to the end of the game, specifically put in place for other Archfiends to come after you. Hold the city for all five turns, and you win.
Win by eliminating other Archfiends
This is probably the hardest way to win Solium Infernum, even with the fewest number of competitors. The more players, the harder it gets. That said, it’s not impossible to win Solium Infernum by simply taking out your opponents.
Since Archfiends can obtain more and more Legions, Praetors, Titans, and Place of Power throughout the game, there is only one way to completely knock them out of the competition, and that’s by taking down their Stronghold. Each Archfiend’s Stronghold is in a set location throughout the match, and can be defeated in the same way as a Legion of Place of Power – by overpowering their combat stats and draining their HP – but you need to be in a Vendetta with them to even get close. Therefore, to do that with every one of your opponents is tough, and is most doable in a long or very long match. This may also be a method that comes into play more with real opponents, as opposed to AI ones, as you may all be more likely to have a go at each other directly. Just make sure your own Stronghold is protected.
Triumph of the Abyss
The final ending of Solium Infernum, as it were, is the Triumph of the Abyss – though we’re using the term “Triumph” lightly here. This is not a win for anyone, and is incredibly rare, only happening when all surviving Archfiends are Excommunicated. At this point, Hell falls into utter chaos, no one wins, and the board is taken over by Abyss Striders, who stalk the hellish wastelands for the rest of time – we assume.
Now you have many of the tactics available to win Solium Infernum and claim the throne of Hell, but there are of course many complications that might get in your way in the demonic political game. If it all gets a bit much for you, there are some less problematic new PC games just waiting to be played more peacefully.