Combining the thrill of fantasy RPGs with the depth of 4X games, THQ Nordic and Owned by Gravity’s SpellForce: Conquest of Eo looks to redefine the four Xs that have come to identify this genre of strategy games. In our previous articles, we have already covered how the game tackles expansion and exploration.
Today, we’re going to look at how SpellForce allows players to exploit its environments for their own tactical gain.
Scour the land
This latest instalment in the series takes players back to the mystical land of Eo, where magic lurks in every nook and cranny. As you travel across the land, building up your power and strengthening your forces, you’ll find countless resources to use for alchemy and other magical arts.
Harvest natural resources from forests, mountains, and rivers, finding ingredients that will help you bend the Allfire to your will. The types of items you can craft will depend on your chosen character class – for example, Necromancers can conjure undead units who are useful in combat, while Alchemists can craft potions and explosives to make fights that bit easier.
Tower of power
The main use for collecting the many resources of Eo is to strengthen your tower – a moving monument of magical sophistication that serves as the focal point of your conquering might. One way to ensure a steady stream of resources is to build a construction site, which will allow you to craft tower upgrades and complete tower quests.
Once you’ve built or taken over a tower, you can start adding rooms which will allow you to perform different tasks to help in your campaign, including lots of useful crafting options. As you expand your domain, you’ll add to your grimoire with new arcane knowledge, which will unlock fresh methods of warfare to use. Discovering artefacts will add new powers to your arsenal, as you uncover the secrets of the Shapers – an extinct race that used to rule over Eo thanks to their incredible control of magic and technology – or claim mythical locations to add their power to your own.
Your tower must be placed within your domain, which is essentially your area of influence. This can be expanded by your minions – which can be grouped together into a ‘stack’ – four or five units that will work together to expand your domain. If you want to make the most of your stack, you can assign an apprentice to lead it. Apprentices are more powerful, hero units, which will grant you more options in the field.
