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The Rana frog-people are the underdogs in Songs Of Conquest. They've suffered at the hands of humans for generations, and the appearance of Wielders among their people has given them the power to fight back at last. A culture of hunters and beast-tamers, the Rana excel at lightning-fast attacks and forcing the enemy into unfavorable conditions.

Related: The Best Frogs In Video Games

Most Rana units can't take a hit, so winning with these froggy fighters means using Creation spells to slow the enemy's advance before unleashing the fury of the Marsh on them in an overwhelming assault. Play aggressively, and there will be few armies that can stand in your way.

Songs Of Conquest is in early access at the time of this writing. The contents of this guide may change alongside the game's development process.

Rana Units

sages adult crawlers protectors rana troops

The Rana deploy a mix of anthropomorphic frogs and lizards in battle alongside vicious swamp predators trained for combat. While their ranged capabilities are limited, as a whole the faction is capable of dealing considerable damage in melee, provided they make the first strike.

In the late game, as long as their economy can support such an investment, the Rana are capable of deploying Dragons, the game's most powerful unit.

Unit

Recruited From

Upgrades To

Upgrade Ability

Essence

Notes

Hunters

  • Lean-To

  • Storm Guards

  • Can gain +30 Defense instead of attacking.
  • Enemies cannot make opportunity attacks against Storm Guards.

  • 1x Creation
  • 1x Destruction

  • High Initiative.
  • Fragile, but deals heavy damage in large numbers.

Shamans

  • Shaman Tent

  • Sages

  • Can grant adjacent units +5 to Melee Offense, Ranged Offense, and Initiative.

  • 1x Creation
  • 1x Arcana

  • Deals moderate damage at range.
  • Inflict poison on targets.

Guards

  • Mud Hut

  • Protectors

  • Can grant adjacent units +25 Defense (in addition to the Protectors' passive bonus).

  • 1x Creation

  • Slow but durable.
  • Useful for protecting Shamans.

Ravagers

  • Beast Corral

  • Riders Of The Swamp

  • Can delay their turn until later in the round.
  • Produces an additional Destruction Essence each turn.

  • 1x Destruction

  • Fast, hard-hitting melee unit.
  • Gains +10 Melee Offense for each tile it moves before attacking.

Crawlers

  • Mud Hut

  • Adult Crawlers

  • Can delay their turn until later in the round.

  • 1x Destruction

  • Slower but sturdier than Ravagers with similar damage output.
  • Reduces the Defense and Initiative of adjacent enemies by ten each.

Tremors

  • Beast Corral

  • None

  • N/A

  • 1x Creation
  • 1x Destruction

  • Support unit with decent combat capability.
  • Reduces the Defense and Initiative of adjacent enemies by ten each.
  • Can roar to reduce all enemies' Defense by ten and Initiative by five.

Chelun

  • Chelun Sanctuary

  • Chelun Elders

  • Produces an additional Creation Essence each turn.
  • Can produce double Essence instead of attacking.

  • 1x Creation
  • 1x Arcana

  • Slow but formidable on both attack and defense.
  • Resistant to ranged attacks.

Eth'dra

  • Smoldering Cave

  • Dragons

  • See below.

  • 1x Arcana

  • Powerful ranged unit.
  • Can set overwatch, firing on the first enemy to enter Deadly Range.

Dragons

  • Smoldering Cave

  • Elder Dragons

  • Massively increased stats.
  • Produces one additional Destruction Essence each turn.

  • 2x Arcana

  • Legendary melee unit.
  • Buffs all adjacent allies and debuffs all adjacent enemies.
  • Melee attacks also affect the unit behind the target (friend or foe)

Related: Songs Of Conquest: Arleon Strategy Guide

Rana Strategy

tremors sages riders of the swamp knights horned ones

Depending on your starting Wielder, your starting army with the Rana will eventually be built around either Ravagers or Crawlers. These mid-tier units will be your primary damage dealers, and once you've unlocked them you'll want to upgrade them as soon as possible for the Wait ability. In the meantime, build up large forces of Hunter and Shamans to fight enemies near your city and level up your Wielder.

Ravagers are generally the more economical option over Crawlers as they have fewer requirements to unlock. Go with Crawlers if you're planning a ranged-heavy army with lots of Shamans and Ethdra, who will need Guards to protect them. Otherwise, build a Beast Corral and start training Ravagers.

When battle is joined, wait in your deployment zone and let the enemy come to you. Once they're within charge range, rush their front line with everything you have. Unlocking the Wait ability on your Riders and Adult Crawlers lets them charge at the end of a round, then attack again almost immediately at the start of the next round, potentially eliminating two enemy units right away.

If your opponent is using a ranged-heavy army (which is likely if you're facing Arleon or Barya), advance just to the edge of their range on the first round. An AI opponent will likely move closer to take their shots, suffering a damage debuff for moving and leaving their troops vulnerable to next turn's charge. If you overextend yourself and a unit is in trouble, a defensive spell such as Mist or Ethereal Scales can keep them alive until you extract them.

Rana Wielders

rasc the first rider cheekham stormcaller

With a handful of exceptions, Rana Wielders play to their faction's strengths by focusing on speed and attack power. The few who buck this trend, like T'Chyra and P'Cha, allow modifications to the standard Rana play style useful in countering enemy builds.

Wielder

Starting Stats

Starting Troops

Starting Skill

Specialization

Recommended Units

Cheekham Stormcaller

  • Offense 5
  • Defense 5
  • Movement 13
  • Vision 8
  • Command 3

  • 10x Hunters
  • 10x Hunters

  • Combat Training

  • Hunters and Storm Guards under Cheekham's command deal an additional point of damage.

  • Hunters
  • Guards
  • Crawlers

Itchamo, Marsh Seer

  • Offense 10
  • Defense 5
  • Movement 12
  • Vision 7
  • Command 3

  • 7x Shamans
  • 4x Guards

  • Destruction

  • Itchamo produces one additional Destruction Essence at the beginning of each combat round.

  • Hunters
  • Crawlers
  • Ravagers
  • Hunters

M'Sugna, Who Sees Beyond

  • Offense 5
  • Defense 10
  • Movement 12
  • Vision 7
  • Command 3

  • 3x Tremors

  • Creation

  • M'Sugna's spells deal forty percent more damage.

  • Hunters
  • Shamans
  • Ravagers
  • Dragons

P'Cha, The Hermit

  • Offense 0
  • Defense 15
  • Movement 12
  • Vision 7
  • Command 3

  • 2x Chelun
  • 3x Shamans

  • Magic Resistance

  • Units under P'Cha's command take forty percent less damage from spells.

  • Shamans
  • Guards
  • Chelun
  • Eth'dra

R'Lac, Rage Of Rana

  • Offense 15
  • Defense 0
  • Movement 12
  • Vision 7
  • Command 3

  • 11x Hunters
  • 4x Guards

  • Combat Training

  • Rana troops under R'Lac's command gain twenty additional Melee and Ranged Offense.
  • This refers to troops of the Rana species (as opposed to the faction's Beasts), listed under "Status."

  • Hunters
  • Shamans
  • Ravagers
  • Eth'dra

Rasc The First Rider

  • Offense 5
  • Defense 0
  • Movement 14
  • Vision 8
  • Command 3

  • 2x Riders Of The Swamp
  • 6x Hunters

  • Melee

  • Ravagers and Riders Of The Swamp under Rasc's command get one additional space of movement per turn.

  • Hunters
  • Shamans
  • Ravagers
  • Tremors

Rik-Tap, Marsh Bulwark

  • Offense 0
  • Defense 15
  • Movement 12
  • Vision 7
  • Command 3

  • 7x Guards
  • 4x Hunters

  • Guard

  • Units under Rik-Tap's command take fifteen percent less damage from ranged attacks.

  • Hunters
  • Guards
  • Crawlers
  • Chelun

Sla-Kin, Scholar Of Rana

  • Offense 5
  • Defense 10
  • Movement 12
  • Vision 7
  • Command 3

  • 2x Eth'dra

  • Learning

  • Ranged units under Sla-Kin's command can shoot one tile farther.

  • Shamans
  • Guards
  • Crawlers
  • Eth'dra

T'Chyra, Dragon's Blood

  • Offense 10
  • Defense 5
  • Movement 12
  • Vision 7
  • Command 3

  • 1x Eth'dra
  • 7x Shamans

  • Arcana

  • T'Chyra produces one additional Arcana Essence at the beginning of each combat round.

  • Hunters
  • Ravagers
  • Tremors
  • Dragons

Related: Games That Let You Play As A Dragon

songs of conquest late game rana settlement

As stated earlier, your first decision will be whether you plan to build around Ravagers or Crawlers. Mud Huts require Wood, while Beast Corrals require Stone, so your first resource building - Diggers or Gatherers - should be selected based on that need. Your second building should be a Lean-To, since Hunters require large numbers to be effective.

After you've added more building sites, a Shaman's Tent is a good next step as it will provide your army with much-needed ranged attacks. After that, fill the medium slot with a Mud Hut or Beast Corral according to your overall plan.

Going for Dragons is an expensive proposition, and you should only consider it if you expect the game to go long. Two-player duel maps will likely be over before you get a chance to use your prized fire-breathers, so you're better off spending your resources on upgrades for your regular troops. If there are multiple opponents on the map to contend with, though, what better way to proclaim your dominance than with a horde of Elder Dragons?

Next: How Does Magic Work In Songs Of Conquest?