In Evil Genius 2: World Domination you'll once again try to take over the world, in the long-awaited sequel to 2004's Evil Genius. This building and management game sees you play as one of four different geniuses; Max, Red Ivan, Zalika, or Emma, as you build an evil lair containing your very own doomsday device.

However, every Evil Genius needs some loyal henchmen to do their dirty work for them. Recruiting your first henchman is easy enough but the process of finding more gets difficult, fast. Here's everything you need to know about recruiting henchmen in Evil Genius 2.

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Updated August 3, 2021 By Helen Ashcroft: As Evil Genius 2 continues to expand with new playable content, including new henchmen, we're updated this guide to include more information about recruiting individual henchmen. We'll take a look at the benefits each henchman offers so you can decide which is the best for your playstyle and which quests you'll need to look out for to gain their loyalty.

How To Recuit Your First Henchman In Evil Genius 2

The hardest decision you'll face when recruiting your first henchman is which one to choose. As soon as you've got the basics of your lair built in Max's campaign you'll be offered a choice of four side quests. These will allow you to recruit one of four Henchmen. All these quests are simple to complete and just require you to locate your chosen target and bring them in.

You can choose from The Son - Eli Barracuda Jnr, Your Computer - Iris, The Swordsman - Jubei or The Fan - Janet Bombe. The choice is a case of playstyle preference but Jubei and Eli are solid options for beginners or anyone who is unsure. All henchmen are useful but you can have up to five overall, so focusing on muscle over science as your first choice is often more beneficial.

This is because muscle is often hard to come by in the early game and you'll need to progress quite far before yuou can unlock more Henchmen. For this reason we recommend Eli, for his high vitality, regeneration ability and powerful pistol, or Jubei for his incredible damage and teleport ability.

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How To Recruit More Henchmen In Evil Genius 2 With Side Stories

To recruit extra henchmen you'll need to take on side stories relating to different Crime Lords around the world. The first wave of these will appear in the objectives menu after you have completed the main story up to the point where your Genius has their own Inner Sanctum. This is because both Genius and Henchmen will regenerate stats here.

Side stories are smaller quest chains that unlock specific elements of the game. Minion types, heists, and henchmen are all related to side quests. This means that you'll want to wait until there's a slight lull in the main story to start recruiting.

Note: You can only do one side story at a time, and your main campaign will also have compulsory side stories to complete.

The first level of side story for henchmen can be unlocked early on but often there will be a follow up, or even two, that will require you to have acquired your doomsday device before they unlock.

Once you've completed all the side stories related to a Crime Lord, they'll become another Henchman in your lair and you can have up to five at once. To make it easier to decide which Henchmen are the best we've added the stats and abilities of all the Evil Genius 2 Henchmen into this table so they can be compared.

Requirements For Henchmen Recruitment In Evil Genius 2

Each Henchman has a different requirement in order to be recruited. Some are mutually exclusive, some are unlocked later and others are linked to DLC. Here we take a look at the requirements for each one.

How To Recruit Carl Cafard

In order to unlock Carl's quest chain you will need to complete the Declaration of Independence Loot side quest, and have Spin Doctors unlocked. Doing this will unlock the Fool's Gold quest.

Carl Cafard's quest chain will not be available if Clara Jones is recruited.

You will need to proceed further in the main story to unlock the second quest, Body Snatcher. This is then followed by the Appraising Cafard mission in which Carl will be recruited to your cause.

How To Recruit Clara Jones

Clara Jones' side missions are Inconspicious Consumption, Knowledge is Power and Recruit Clara Jones. She cannot be recuited alongside Carl Cafard but her missions appear at the same point in the game.

How To Unlock Doomhilda

Doomhilda's first recruitment quest, The Barrage of Figaro, is unlocked once your Genius has an inner sanctum and that part of the story quest is complete. You'll then unlock the second part, A Little Fight Music, after you've finished the socialite quests. Once the second mission is done the third, The Magic Brute, is immediately unlocked and will recruit Doomhilda.

How To Recruit Dr. Magnolia Ming

Dr. Ming's quests show up with the second batch of Henchman quests, after you've progressed as far as unlocking your Doomsday device. The first is called Going Green and this is followed by Poisin' Ivy and finally Steal Magnolia's.

How To Recruit Eli Barracuda Jnr.

Eli's quests unlock early on, as soon as you have an Inner Sanctum. You'll need to complete The Man With The SIlver Gun and then follow this up by completing With An Iron Fish and The Book Of Eli once your Doomsday Device is unlocked and that second round of quests opens up.

How To Recruit Espectro

Espectro's first mission, Giving Up the Ghost, is unlocked upon completion of the tutorial but we don't recommend completing it straight away. This is because Espectro is incredibly powerful and you'll have to defeat him in order to recruit him. Since his stats are significantly higher than any starting Henchman, and he can clone himself, you'll want some well trained guards on hand.

Once you're ready then you'll need to defeat hin to unlock his unique quest chain. There are four quests here and each one involves another Henchman:

• The Feasting Shark - Sir Daniel
• Up In Arms - Full Metal Jackie
• Vox Pop - Eli Barracuda Jnr.
• Bombe's Away - Janet Bombe

Note: If Janet or Eli are already recruited, their side-story relating to Espectro will be skipped. If either or both are not recruited you'll also need to do their introduction quests before they lead into the Espectro quests.

After this, you'll need to make sure your Doomsday Device is unlocked as you'll need it for the Ghost of a Chance quest. This is followed by Crossing Over, which unlocks Espectro as a Henchman as well as giving you access to CABAL skins for Eli, Daniel, Janet and Jackie.

How To Recruit Fugu Furukawa

Fuga requires another simple recruitment process that opens up once you hit the Doomsday Device unlock point. Her recruitment missions are Death Mote, Hail To The Chef and finally Fugu State, which also opens up some new schemes.

How To Recruit Full Metal Jackie

This questchain appears in the late game, after Quantum Chemists are unlocked. You'll need to complete Heavy Metal Queen, followed by Arms Race and finally Eighteen With A Bullet.

Her final quest involves Eli, Jubei, Sir Daniel and Dr. Ming. It was bugged out if you had recruited any of these minions but as of 1.3 it now just skips their part in the quest, similarly to Espectro's side quests.

How To Recuit Incendio

Incendio is another Henchman whose initial quest Ace Up The Sleeve, unlocks in the first wave of Henchman quests. Once this is complete you'll need to progress a little further to unlock Unwanted Guests and then finally Fire in the Hole, which recruits Incendio.

How To Recruit Iris

If Iris isn't recruited initially you'll want to look out for the I Roboticist quest in the inital Henchman quests. This will be followed later in the story with I Spy With My Cybernetically Enhanced Eye, and finally When You Cut Me, Do I Not Lubricate? Completing all three quests will unlock Iris as a henchman.

How To Recruit Janet Bombe

Janet can be recruited easily at the start of the game or in the first wave of Henchman quests by choosing Technical Difficulties. This is followed by Tech Trouble 2, Electric Boogaloo, and finally, Hack The Janet. All three need to be completed for Janet to be recruited.

How To Recruit Jubei

If Jubei isn't recruited initially keep an eye out for Strike Like The Wind. This is followed by Wind Wars: The Wind Strikes Back and finally, There's No School Like New School. Completing these will bring Jubei to your lair

How To Recruit Pyro

Pyro is part of the Team Fortress 2 - Pyro Pack which is free DLC. You'll need to download it and then enable it in your game when you start your save after installing.

You first need to complete the side story Join the Blu/Red Team. Your choice here will affect Pyro's skin later. Once this is complete you'll get a quest called Meet The Pyro. This recruits him as a henchman.

How To Recruit Sir Daniel

His quest shows up in the second wave and is called Who Hunts The Hunter? The follow up is If You Hunt Him, He Will Come and finally The Other Most Dangerous Game.

If you want to recruit Sir Daniel then we advise that you do not take on any super agents before completing his quest chain, as the final mission requires him to defeat them.

Tips For Recruiting Henchmen In Evil Genius 2

It's worth noting that the side quests for Crime Lords are very difficult in places. Each one is unique but they all involve a storyline that will antagonize a Crime Lord before you come to a resolution.

This means you can expect chaos including fires and fights. You'll need to make sure you have a decent-sized lair, a good amount of gold, and probably at least 100 or so minions. You'll also need to make sure you can handle a reasonable threat, be it with traps, force, or a combination of the two.

• You cannot over-prepare for henchmen recruitment

This is because side stories cannot be abandoned and due to the nature of the Crime Lord's tales, you don't want to have to stop mid-quest-chain leaving an annoyed Crime Lord generating a lot of heat onto you. Not to mention the fact that you can only currently take on one side quest at once so an unfinished recruitment campaign will also hinder your main storyline progression.

Here are a few quick tips to ensure your recruitment process is as swift as possible.

• The fact henchman recruitment involves both conflict and chaos is one reason why having a muscle henchman as a first choice can really help.
• Missions cost money and minions so make sure you have a good supply of both. You don't want your lair to fall apart because all the specialists went on missions at the same time as Agents came calling.
• Make sure you can deal with other threats quickly. You don't want an angry Crime Lord on your doorstep while you're still dealing with a previous threat.
• Keep an eye on your heat. These quests will generate large amounts of heat, so make sure you keep your other networks in check to avoid a mass lockdown.
• Save before you start. Since you can't abandon the quest it's worthwhile having a marked save before you begin, so if you find it too overwhelming you won't lose your entire lair.

There are many henchmen available in the game and exploring what each one does and the skills they have is part of the fun. Just make sure you're ready to face the consequences, as these quests are often the first true test of if your Genius has what it takes to succeed.

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