SpellForce: Conquest of Eo Gameplay Overview
Feb. 3, 2023SpellForce: Conquest of Eo Gameplay Overview
SpellForce: Conquest of Eo Gameplay Overview– In this SpellForce: Conquest of Eo article, I’ll talk about whether or not the new single-player Turn-Based Strategy, Tactical RPG is worth your time and money. If you’re one of those players who have dabbled in the likes of Heroes of Might and Magic as well as Age of Wonders, then you’ll find the gameplay experience nostalgic due to the multiple features you’ll instantly recognize. SpellForce: Conquest of Eo draws inspiration from these exciting fantasy titles from conquering the lands beyond to destroying enemies using spells and hordes of units. If you’re interested to know more about the game’s unique gameplay and combat elements, then this article is for you!
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SpellForce: Conquest of Eo is set in the world of SpellForce where the player’s goal is to become the best mage in Eo by growing their power and influence. As someone who has recently inherited their master’s Magical Tower, you’ll be managing resources to research and learn new spells, hire units to forge large and strong armies, defend against ambitious wizards, and progress further by growing your skillset. Can you expand your reach and dominate over the creatures that are equally yearning for glory?
Combat-wise, SpellForce is similar in structure to Age of Wonders 3. Aside from battling it out in a hex-based grid, common armies are comprised of 6 units per stack whereas Heroes and Apprentices are solo combatants. In every turn, you have 3 Action Points, which you can then use to attack, move, and defend yourself well by activating Guard. The skills your minions have also depend on their expertise and classification or race so if they’re a Human Crossbowman, for example, they will be able to shoot arrows from a distance but will need to reload in the next turn to use the Crossbow once again. Strategically placing and moving allies on the board is essential, otherwise, you might end up losing high-leveled units, which happens more often than you’d think.
In SpellForce: Conquest of Eo, you’ll be able to choose from 3 classes such as the Alchemist, Necromancer, and Artificer. Alchemists are your typical brewers who utilize different resources to cook food and make potions to survive longer as well as create bombs, which they can then throw to inflict status effects and deal massive elemental damage in combat. Meanwhile, Necromancers are masters of death who sacrifices and cannibalizes their units to gain an advantage in numbers by raising hordes of ghouls. And then lastly, you have the Artificers who are proficient in crafting Glyphs and unique Artifacts to provide units with various enhancements.
Now the spells you cast are heavily influenced by your class. For instance, if you’re an Artificer, you can use Blessing to make sure that your allies will always deal the maximum damage possible. Additionally, unlike skills, they can only be used outside of combat. They require a bit of pre-planning. To learn more spells, you’ll need to spend research points via the Grimoire.
On the other hand, regular skills are those that are inherent to the creature or unit that uses up Action Points whereas special skills are fairly stronger and require Focus to be activated. Focus is another resource that can only be consumed in combat and is replenished after every encounter. What’s more, is that every time your unit, Hero, or Apprentice levels up, you’ll be able to choose the skills that would make the most sense for them. But similar to Heroes of Might and Magic 3, there’s no way for you to respec this so you need to choose carefully.
SpellForce: Conquest of Eo gives players enough agency to decide how they wish to tackle combat. Here, you’re first given the choice to hit Auto-Resolve, proceed to the battlefield, or abort the mission altogether. This choice is then influenced by the outcome the game predicts, that is, if you’ll be able to tip the scales completely in your favor. In such cases, it’s probably best to just auto-resolve the encounter since you won’t lose any of your units.
Or if the game thinks you’re evenly matched or you’re at a disadvantage, then you can jump in and take matters into your own hands. In some instances, when your combined Unit Power is lower than that of the enemy’s then it’s fair to simply back out of the fight at the moment because there’s a very slim chance to come out of it victorious. Because of this “Combat Preview”, you remain efficient by saving time to pick your battles rather than beating your enemies to a pulp even when it’s not necessary.
In terms of actual encounters, SpellForce’s combat is tactical, immersive, and randomly generated even against the same types of opponents, making encounters exciting for veterans and newcomers alike. They may or may not have Battle Enchantments or modifiers to up the ante in these fights. Regardless, however, proper positioning of units will help determine whether or not your allies will make it out alive. For instance, ranged combatants will receive a 50% penalty if they’re too far away from their targets so you’ll want to move them forward at a sufficient distance to ignore this disadvantage without making them too vulnerable to taking damage.
What makes this movement execution effective in the game is the implementation of distinct colored hexes on the ground. Since you only have 3 Action Points per stack, you’ll want to maximize the distance they travel without sacrificing the damage they’d deal or their ability to defend themselves. And this is made easier with the introduction of colored hexes, much like in Age of Wonders 3. For instance, moving toward the blue border will only cost 1 AP as opposed to stepping into the yellow territory, which will use up 2 APs.
Another essential feature of combat in SpellForce is maneuvering. So if you’ve surrounded your enemies with at least 2 stacks of units, you essentially flank them to deal greater damage. And you even get to retaliate when you’re attacked in the melee range. But it’s important to remember that this also has its drawbacks. Retaliation also consumes Action Points, so hitting back too many times can prevent units from acting when their turn eventually comes.
Unlike regular hirelings, Heroes and Apprentices can equip special Artifacts like Weapons and Armor. They even have special skills available only to them and they don’t die in combat. So if your Apprentice gets killed, they’ll only need to rest at the Lodge for a couple of days to become a fully-functioning individual once again.
Domain Management in SpellForce: Conquest of Eo pretty much works similarly to Heroes of Might and Magic 3’s mechanics where you hire units by spending resources like gold and build structures to provide you with different skills. They also have a consistent upkeep value so hiring too many would be detrimental to your coffers. In one instance, I was prompted to sell my items before the day ended just to earn gold, otherwise, my units would leave me. Alternatively, it was also possible to cast the Transmutation Spell to convert Mana to gold.
In the game, you’ll also need to upgrade your Tower by constructing rooms and increasing your Mastery level. Doing so will add more floors as well as raise the maximum capacity of your Apprentices, who can then build Lodges to extend the range of your Domain. These Lodges are subject to destruction by opposing factions and bandits but they can’t be repaired, instead, they need to be rebuilt.
Your magical aura or Domain is important because it impacts the volume of resources you automatically generate on a daily basis together with the buffs your units receive. The wider your Domain, the more resources you gather due to the locations you end up owning, making it feasible to raise the number of troops you maintain quite easily. Should a location be ‘conflicted’, meaning an enemy owns this, then you need to defeat them to claim it as your own. Additionally, if you drop by any of the locations you’ve conquered, you gain perks such as being able to regenerate 100% of your HP.
Unlike in Heroes of Might and Magic, the moment your Tower gets defeated by an enemy, you lose the game. You won’t be given a week to conquer at least 1 town to survive. What’s more, is that it takes time to build rooms and recover from your wounds. This is another reason why day-to-day activities are exciting because you never know what’s going to happen. In some cases, you may even be ambushed when all of your units are far away from the Tower or a Lodge.
Like spells, crafting is based on the class you choose. The important thing is for you to at least have a Catalyst or Ore and Ingredients to reach a specific Threshold. Filling up 3 nodes of a single Threshold by combining Essences will yield a result such as another Ghoul, potion, or Glyph. These recipes are discovered from exploration and completing quests or adventures.
Now one of the features of SpellForce: Conquest of Eo that’s unique is the Allfire Flow. This is a way to distribute resources accordingly such as Mana, Research, and Mastery in order to progress in each of these areas depending on what you need the most. For instance, if you intend to cast powerful spells that’ll use up a lot of Mana in preparation for a challenging encounter, then you’ll want to place as many points into it instead. The yield value can easily be controlled by moving the golden indicator around the Allfire Flow’s triangle.
Going on a series of adventures in SpellForce is a great way to get acquainted with multiple cities and come across different factions. Before starting the game, you’re given the option to select a location based on the resources they have and the types of enemies you’ll encounter. These locations like the Alluvyan and Draycott are depicted beautifully showing how refined the game is. The art style is brimming with life and color from the forest shrouds to towns consisting of houses so concentrated that it has become uninhabitable. Apart from the stunning visuals, there’s also the serene music except when combat has begun. Although I would’ve hoped for more variety in this regard.
Completing quests in certain regions increases your reputation with corresponding factions. As a result, you gain access to various features cities have to offer such as shops, crafting ingredients, and soldiers whom you can hire. Forging good relationships with them will also grant room blueprints, which can be accessed in the Grimoire. But if you choose to antagonize them, they will definitely not give up without a fight. Additionally, Faction Promotions or events change weekly such as gaining 100% Mana from the Allfire Flow on top of random campaigns that pop out here and there.
Finally, it’s worth remembering that similar to Heroes of Might and Magic, you can split your unit stacks to create ideal armies in order to fight against specific creatures. Both Heroes and Apprentices gain extra slots as well but you can’t have them in a single stack.
SpellForce: Conquest of Eo is a Turn-Based Strategy, Tactical RPG that’s a love letter to classic titles of the same genre. Not only does it effectively streamline mechanics such as researching and mastering spells as well as crafting but it also introduces new features that integrate well with the gameplay mechanics. Exploring and conquering towns and cities is a major driving force to successfully manage your own Tower and develop your skills as a mage.
In terms of the skills’ UI, however, I do wish that there was a separate tab for the unit’s race, buffs, and abilities because of how messy it can appear, especially for characters that have significantly leveled up and progressed. Despite this, SpellForce’s strengths lie in its in-depth combat design, variations in playstyles per class, and the amount of detail placed into exploration, making players like myself keep coming back for more. I certainly can’t wait to see what’s in store in the next couple of months when it comes to potential DLCs!
If you’re interested to play a spiritual successor of Heroes of Might and Magic and Age of Wonders, then SpellForce: Conquest of Eo may just be the game you’re looking for. Be sure to use the links below to support the channel!
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Reiku
Writer at Fextralife. I enjoy playing RPGs, narrative-driven games, and platformers. Outside of gaming, I like watching meaningful movies and reading sci-fi and dystopian books.
