ENDLESS™ Legend 2 News

[p]ENDLESS Legend 2 is a turn-based strategy game where you build an empire in a fantasy world going through cataclysmic change. Explore the world, found cities, lead armies, recruit heroes, go on quests, and ally or go to war with other empires as you struggle first to survive, then conquer Saiadha.

It is a sequel to the award-winning ENDLESS Legend but provides a new world to explore, new challenges to face and new factions to play as and against. It also has a really cool soundtrack. [/p]

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ENDLESS Legend 2 includes some mechanics from role playing games. You have heroes, equipment and quests. The heroes level up and gain new skills and abilities. They talk to you and each other. But it is not a role-playing game.

Likewise, the game includes tactical battles, but it is not a wargame. These battles are designed to be resolved in a few minutes, so the player’s focus remains on the goals of their empire. It also doesn’t include naval units because the oceans disappear as the game goes on. 

Specifically, regarding Early Access, this is not the final version of the game. During Early Access we will work with the community to improve balance, AI, UI and other aspects of the game. 

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Early Access is our opportunity to work with the community to see what they like and don’t like. It allows us to take risks and try things. This will make the game better with every update. Amplitude’s philosophy is that games are better when the community is involved in the development process. Early Access is a big part of that, and that work continues even after release.

During Early Access players are invited to discuss the game on Amplifiers (our community hub) and discord. They can also contribute and vote on ideas and changes they would like to see in the game.

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Early Access includes five playable factions: the defensive minded Kin of Sheredyn, the diplomatic Aspects, the economic powerhouse Last Lords, the mad scientist Tahuk and the warmongering Necrophage. Each has their own perspective, mechanics and story to experience.

It includes the full game with nine different ways to win: by crushing all your enemies in war, winning by score or one of seven different narrative victories. There are hundreds of quests to attempt, items to discover and characters to meet in a world that is randomly created for each game and modified by the receding oceans of Tidefall as the game goes on. 

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One of the first things you will see during Early Access is the addition of Multiplayer so players can play online with their friends (but sorry, no Hotseat support). We will also be adding the ability to create custom factions, and support for Steam Deck as well as a sixth playable faction. Community feedback will continue to play a key role in shaping the game, your thoughts and suggestions truly help guide what comes next.

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In many ways, this is the biggest moment in the game’s development. This is the moment that the public is able to experience the full game. The time we have been planning and working on for years. It’s exciting and terrifying. In the game there is a moment during Monsoon, the storms are raging, but you know that Tidefall is almost here, new lands are about to be revealed. That’s where we are right now. 

We understand that ENDLESS Legend sets a high bar. On a personal level I came to Amplitude because I loved ENDLESS Legend and wanted to work on this game. Being able to work with the amazingly talented people here is a thrill, and I’m constantly impressed with their passion and the passion of the community around this game. 

Thank you for joining us. It’s almost time to play. 


Derek Paxton, 
Game Director of ENDLESS Legend 2 

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Last month we released the Demo and everyone had the chance to get in and play a small slice of the game. It was great to see so many players becoming Necrophage food… I mean having fun.
[/p][p]Some of you have found exploits during the Demo. One player even completed the tech tree. Which would be a victory condition if the Demo included the narrative victories. Thankfully, he was kind enough to share his save and we have addressed the balance issues that led to it (but I’m sure he will find more). [/p][p][/p][p]Everyone who played for at least 2 hours was asked to fill out a survey. We ask a lot of questions (thank you to everyone who replied), but there are 2 questions in particular that we use to evaluate if we are ready for EA, “How satisfied are you with the game?” and “Would you recommend the game?”. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Armed with positive results from the Demo, and a long list of improvements we have made since the Demo went out, we are ready to move forward toward Early Access. [/p][p]There is so much more to experience in the Early Access version of the game. You will encounter doomwraiths, the narrative victory conditions and a few more surprises. Of course, the Kin of Sheredyn and the Aspects remain playable, and we are adding the Necrophage, Last Lords and our science-loving crazed cultists, the Tahuk. We can’t wait to get your impressions. [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]​[/p][p]Early Access is not the final version of the game – instead it is a chance for us to work with the community. We test features, replace them and add content. The game will be fully playable and fun, but balance and AI will improve throughout. We will try things, some of which will work, and some won’t. We expect each update of the game to improve. And we have seen that with each Insiders build, with the Demo, from the Demo to EA, and we will continue that all the way to 1.0 and beyond. [/p][p]
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Even after an Insider’s program with thousands of players, we had more players on the first day of the demo than in the entire development of ENDLESS Legend 2. It was great to see some parts of the game resonating well with you, and the parts players were critical of. This helps us prioritize our next steps. [/p][p][/p][h2]Strengths [/h2][p][/p]

1. [p]Tidefall > This was a core element of the game, and we were happy to see it having a real impact and providing a special experience on Saiadha. The pacing and amount of Monsoon’s and Tidefalls went through a lot of iteration during development (there were once 8 small tidefalls during the game and they were so frequent you started ignoring them), so it was good to see it working out well (at least for the first 90 turns). 
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2. [p]Faction Asymmetry > This is always a focus of Amplitude, and it is the same here. We don’t expect every player to love every faction, the fact that players develop strong preference for and against different factions tells us the asymmetry is working. Players appreciated that in the two playable factions in the Demo, and we are excited to share more.
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3. [p]Art and Sound > The world, characters, animations, vfx all helped create a beautiful world to explore. The sound design, from the minor faction’s little jingles to the sounds of the storm and the amazing music were also well received and enjoyed. [/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h2]Weaknesses [/h2][p][/p]

1. [p]Main Screen UI > The bulk of the critical feedback received was around the UI. A quarter of reviews mentioned UI and only 30% of those comments were positive. In reading all your feedback we realize it’s not as simple as making a few changes and we are looking at something larger. There are instances where we displayed the wrong or not enough information. There were UI and text bugs to fix and we think more is needed here, which will take some time.
   
   We are working on concepts to update the main game screen, and will be sharing designs with you to show our direction and get your feedback.  
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2. [p]City Flow/UI > There are issues understanding the decisions in the city screen. Adjacency, leveling districts, managing population, and having clear decisions on what to build next were all muddy. This is more than just a UI issue and we are also looking at it as a flow issue and considering things like having Districts work like improvements (so you can just select one from the build list instead of needing to click a tile in the world first). This will take time to change and won’t be in the initial Early Access, but we will be sharing concepts with you to get feedback.
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3. [p]Writing > One of the goals of the game is to get the player closer to the world, both in art and writing. Because of that, there is a lot more writing in ENDLESS Legend 2 than in the first game, and some of it is between characters. We want heroes to feel personal and deep. They may be members of your council, have their own friends and enemies, and they talk directly to you and each other. But this additional granularity also came with issues. For Early Access we have updated the presentation of the dialog, we are cutting lines and events to focus on only the best and most suitable. In some cases, the wrong character would say something, or a character it didn’t make sense for, which we are fixing.
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4. [p]Terrain Readability > Even though the world is beautiful, it was difficult for many players to tell what was important or what was going on. We have made changes to attempt to address this for EA by making foundations more clear (so it’s more obvious that something can be built there), fixed bugs causing blurry graphics, exposed more graphical options to players to adjust to your preferences, reduced the saturation of the terrain slightly, made Grid Lines more visible, made yield icons more readable, and reduced the size of some terrain vegetation that was so large and bright it was easy to confuse with an Anomaly. It’s a difficult balance between providing a lush, detailed world where you can see the leaves blow in the wind during monsoon, and still not have to strain or be confused when trying to see information you need to play.
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[p][/p][p][/p][p]​We have more coming. An unannounced faction, multiplayer, custom factions, etc. But we are waiting before laying out a more specific roadmap. First, we want to get you into Early Access. The feedback from that will guide everything that comes after. [/p][p][/p][p]But first, we need to get you all in and playing. We are excited to have you explore Saiadha and hear your feedback. Welcome to ENDLESS Legend 2. [/p][p][/p][p]Derek Paxton, 
Game Director of ENDLESS Legend 2 [/p]

[p]It’s less than a week until you can finally get your hands on Endless Legend 2, and we’re excited for you to experience it and to hear what you think about it! But there are a few things we’d like you to know before you dive in and start playing. [/p][p] [/p][p]First, let’s take a look at the expected hardware requirements for Endless Legend 2: [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Now, there are some questions that we’ve been asked many times in the last few months, so we compiled the answers to these questions here so you can find them easily. If we notice any other recurring questions, we’ll update this FAQ. [/p][p][/p][h2]FAQ [/h2][h3]How many playable factions will be in the game? [/h3][p]We are starting Early Access with five playable factions, and will be adding a sixth in the coming months. [/p][p]The currently available factions are: [/p]

• [p]Kin of Sheredyn [/p]
• [p]Necrophage[/p]
• [p]Last Lords [/p]
• [p]Aspects [/p]
• [p]Tahuks [/p]

[p] [/p][h3]Will the game have multiplayer? [/h3][p]Yes, but the multiplayer will not be available at the start Early Access. We want to take more time to work on it and will release it in an update within the coming months. [/p][p] [/p][h3]What feedback did you get on the Demo, and how will your address it? [/h3][p]We will talk about this in a few days, when our game director Derek Paxton will release a blog about the “State of the Game.” [/p][p] [/p][h3]What are your plans for Early Access? [/h3][p]We will talk about our plans for Early Access a few days after release, because we want to take your feedback into account for those plans. [/p][p] [/p][h3]I’ve explored my whole island. Where can I find ships and other naval technologies? [/h3][p]Endless Legend 2 does not feature any naval technologies or gameplay, as periodically the sea levels will drop to reveal new land and new connections between players. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game be available on Steam Deck? [/h3][p]We’d like to support Steam Deck, but this won’t be ready at the start of Early Access. The game does run on Steam Deck but will need more work to be properly verified. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game have controller support? [/h3][p]Yes, we want to support using a gamepad on PC, but we cannot say yet when this would be available. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Can we get an option for properly sequential turns? [/h3][p]While we understand the request for this option, unfortunately no. The simultaneous turn structure is too deeply part of EL2 to easily change it. We will however take steps to alleviate frustrations with the AI interrupting your actions. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game have hotseat multiplayer? [/h3][p]Unfortunately no. As explained above, adding the sequential turns necessary for this style of multiplayer is not feasible. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will there be an in-game encyclopedia? [/h3][p]We don’t have plans to add an encyclopedia in game. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game use Denuvo? [/h3][p]No, we are not planning to use Denuvo. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Will the game support modding? [/h3][p]We would like to support modding, but the extent of the modding capabilities has not been decided yet. [/p][p] [/p][h3]How much will the game cost? Can I pre-order? [/h3][p]There will be no pre-orders, and the price will be revealed at Early Access launch. [/p]

[p]​Hey everyone, [/p][p] [/p][p]Thank you to everybody who tried the demo and took the time to share your thoughts with us. Since putting ENDLESS Legend 2 in your hands (from Insiders players to demo participants), we’ve received tons of input, and we will continue to improve the game based on your feedback in the coming days and weeks. [/p][p][/p][p]
Derek, our Game Director, will soon share a ‘State of the Game’ update, where he’ll go over what we learned from the Demo and Insiders program and walk you through the next steps on the road to Early Access. [/p][p] [/p][p]
The Demo will stay open until release 🎉[/p][p]
We’re happy with how the Demo went, so we’ve decided to keep it open until Early Access begins on September 22nd. This way, anyone discovering the game over the next few days will still get a chance to jump in and provide feedback 🤗. [/p][p][/p][p]Here is a nice infographic that gathers some stats from the Demo 👇 [/p][p]
[/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]There will be plenty of information during the week, so brace yourself for this adventure until release 🤣[/p][p]Have a nice day![/p]

[p]Hey everyone, [/p][p] [/p][p]It’s time we take a look at the final faction that will join our roster for the launch of Early Access, another group native to Saiadha: The Tahuks. [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]Lore [/h2][p]The Tahuks are devout followers of the Endless, venerating them through a peculiar mix of faith and technology. They hope their devotion will bring back the Sages, and watch the stars for signs of their return. [/p][p]But the change the Tidefalls bring to Saiadha may upset the delicate balance of power in their ruling council, and change the way they see their faith in the Endless and their technology. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Visual Inspiration [/h2][p]The Tahuks blend lizard and amphibian traits, giving them a rugged, powerful look. Their architecture is inspired by ancient South American designs, featuring massive stone structures with precise geometric lines that recall Aztec and Maya pyramids. [/p][p]Mechanical elements like wooden gears and clockwork devices are integrated into their buildings, reflecting their attempts to understand and replicate the advanced technology left by the Endless, a civilization they revere but don’t fully grasp. [/p][p]Their clothing is practical yet detailed, with layered robes that combine utility and ceremonial significance. Earthy tones, deep blues, and metallic accents dominate their color palette, tying their aesthetic to nature and tradition. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p] [/p][h2]Gameplay [/h2][p]The Tahuks are the “Science Faction” of Endless Legend 2, but we wanted to wanted to give you more than just “faction that researches faster than others.” While they certainly generate a bit more science than other factions, they also have new ways to use it, charging powerful Holy Oculum Actions. Add the religious aspect of their society on top of this, and you get a quite different experience than our previous scientific factions. [/p][p] [/p][p]Our game designers told us this about working on the Tahuks: [/p]

[p]The Tahuks were a tough nut to crack: How to create a science faction who isn't JUST going to unlock the whole tech tree turn 5? We thought giving them a cool science sink who help in that matter and that's how the Holy Oculum Actions were born. The real challenge was that we saw BIG right off the bat : 3 actions for each path, unlockable throughout the game, so 9 super cool super powers, isn't that awesome?? It turned out the whole production was against it, UX wondering how they could fit that in the HUD, Gameplay programmers claiming this was double the work they were doing on other factions, etc. But since we're a stubborn bunch, we gave our beloved blue folks a lot more. [/p][p]At Amplitude, we always try to twist archetype. For instance, the Lords are honorable knights with lowly people-feeding instincts. Hence the Tahuks, our "mad-lad scientists" became plagued with a heavy institutional theocracy. Scientists with strong religious beliefs. They became these chaotic yet touching little folks, riddled with esoterism and cutting edge technology. We've build their whole faction around the idea that, because they are so contradictory, they cannot manage to do one or the other properly. Every time they attempt to do something, it backfires and they have to face consequences. Their Empire Powers are powerful, but each use will bring some drawbacks. [/p][p]Another fun fact about them was that, as a religious faction, they were to have a huge emphasis on population so we tried to give them a fanatic population with negative yields. It did not go well and we reverted that almost immediately after introducing it. Sometimes, it feels like balancing the faction is part of the gameplay itself : it is so hard to give them a good scientific gameplay that goes hand in hand with a good religion-oriented one! We hope you will experience this dilemma too and you will be as fond as we are of our air-headed engineers ! [/p][p][/p]

[p] [/p][carousel][/carousel][p][/p][h3]Faction Affinity: Blessed by the Sages [/h3][p]In their quest for knowledge and worship of the Endless, the Tahuks have access to two unique buildings. Their armies can construct Observatories on mountains, which will help you generate Science and can be upgraded to Approval-boosting Libraries or the Sacred Flame defensive emplacements. They can also build a single Holy Oculum in one of their cities, a venerated structure that plays a key role in their gameplay. [/p][p]Finishing the Holy Oculum will unlock the Holy Oculum Actions, powerful active abilities that you charge by diverting some of your Science generation to them. The effects of these abilities range from upgrading Observatories with additional yields to turning an entire region into glass to further your research. However, the effectiveness of some abilities will vary depending on which forces in the Assembly you favor during the main quest, so choose wisely to strengthen your position. [/p][p]The Holy Oculum Abilities may also create or interact with the Called, a unique type of Tahuk population. Whether you keep them in your cities or send them away to other empires as Missionaries, how to handle the Called will be an important part of your strategy. [/p][p] [/p][h2]Military [/h2][p]Thanks to their intricate technology, the Tahuk military has access to more ranged units than other factions. This makes them deadly in the right hands but vulnerable to being trapped in melee. [/p][p] [/p][h3]Battle Affinity: Illuminated Foes [/h3][p]Attacks from Tahuk units will “Illuminate” their target, giving the next attack against them a bonus effect: Additional damage for ranged attackers, or a damage-absorbing shield for melee attackers. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Initiates are a ranged scout unit with keen awareness of their surroundings, allowing them to see through many obstacles on the strategic map. [/p]

• [p]As True Guides, they can help your armies move quickly across the map. [/p]
• [p]Vigil Masters on the other hand are competent skirmishers. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Devotees are the only melee unit in the Tahuk’s military, and they specialize in slowing down the enemy with their attacks. [/p]

• [p]Zealots are especially skilled at taking up defensive positions and holding the line. [/p]
• [p]Lightbringers can pin down isolated targets and finish them easily. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Relic Keepers offer ranged support that will weaken any enemy they hit. [/p]

• [p]Divine Protectors will strengthen nearby allies as they attack. [/p]
• [p]Divine Smiters will make their targets even more feeble and leave them vulnerable to critical hits from other units. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Wrath Bearers are powerful ranged units, outranging most other units in the game. [/p]

• [p]Specializing in Devastating Wrath will let them destroy priority targets as they ignore defense and leave their target vulnerable. [/p]
• [p]The Fire of the Gods is more suited to dealing with hordes, applying its damage in an area of effect and weakening its targets. [/p]

[p] [/p][h2]Soundtrack [/h2][p]Of course, no faction would be complete without their accompanying theme. Arnaud even incorporated the clockwork elements of the Tahuks into this piece, and we think he did a stellar job! [/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p][/p]