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SpellForce: Conquest Of Eo is a deep, complex game. There's a lot going on at any given time, so it's easy for new players to become overwhelmed - especially once the Circle starts getting more aggressive. No two campaigns are quite the same, and you're constantly on the move, so a level of adaptability is necessary in order to succeed.

Related: SpellForce: Conquest Of Eo - Custom Mage Guide

These tips are designed to help new players learn what to prioritize and how to overcome the odds. No matter what sort of Mage you choose to play, or where you place your tower, we'll help you get started.

Mining And Harvesting Provides XP

rewards for extracting sky iron

The best way to level up your units is through combat, but sometimes the risk just isn't worth it. This is especially true for new Apprentices who might not have an army to lead just yet. In the meantime, you can place combat units in the same stack as workers to let them slowly gain experience from extracting resources.

Most units can gain the ability to mine and harvest as they level up. Generally, it's better to choose a combat ability for your fighting units, but teaching your reserves to farm can put them to use while they aren't fighting, and help keep them in fighting shape.

City Alliances Are Essential

the capital city of sevenkeeps, with an apprentice lodge

You don't build any of your own settlements in Conquest Of Eo. Instead, you need to foster good relations with the established towns and cities scattered across the map. Doing so allows you to purchase items, hire troops, and eventually get permanent upgrades for your tower.

Each city has different benefits to offer. It's always worth maximizing your reputation with every city within walking distance of your domain, but the following settlements are essential allies:

City

Key Benefits

Sevenkeeps

  • Recruit Keeper Cavalry from your tower.
  • Gain access to the Seat Of Kings Landmark.

Lyraine

  • Unlocks Human Barracks

Windholme

  • Unlocks Dwarf Barracks

Orgash

  • Unlocks Orc Barracks

Bastion

  • Unlocks Might Amplifier

Audale

  • Unlocks Warrior's Hall

Most Inns provide a small amount of reputation per turn with the nearest city while within your domain - build Apprentice Lodges near them to unlock new bonuses without having to complete quests!

Save Ingredients For Room Upgrades

an aria pool is constructed in the alembic chamber

In general, once you unlock the ability to upgrade rooms in your tower you can consider the early game to be over. Each room has one or more slots for add-ons, and your choices will sometimes be affected by your class. These upgrades provide powerful bonuses, so you'll want to get them up and running as soon as you can afford to do so.

Room upgrades are some of the most complex crafting recipes in the game, so you'll need high-tier ingredients to get the best ones. It's worth holding onto rare and valuable ingredients so that you can get permanent enhancements to your economy, troop quality, tower defenses, and more!

Related: The Best Units In Master Of Magic

Wars Are Inevitable

a player army is threatened by hokan and uram

The Mages of the Circle are extremely powerful adversaries, and new players will (rightly) shy away from starting a conflict with any of them. Even if you accept any quests given by your neighbors and are careful to avoid stepping on toes, your standing with the Circle always deteriorates over time. As your Mastery level increases, every Circle Mage on the map will like you less and less, until they decide to put you in your place.

Aggressive members of the Circle, notably the diabolist Uram the Red, will attempt to provoke you by stealing your Allfire Nodes or trespassing in your domain even while you're at peace. The end result is that in the end, you'll always end up at war with the Circle. Don't fret too much about trying to prevent the inevitable.

That said, you'll be in a much better position if you can limit your wars to one or two at a time. When a Circle Mage decides they've had enough of you, find and destroy their tower as quickly as you can. It will be exceptionally well-defended, so you may need to sacrifice several stacks of units in rapid succession, but once the tower falls that Mage won't bother you for the rest of the game (though their troops will remain on the map as neutral mobs until defeated).

Even The Circle Has Limits

an apprentice lodge in the Norgate foothills

This is something of a corollary to the above tip. Each campaign has four of the ten possible Circle Mages present on the map. They may be powerful, but they can't be everywhere at once. After you've located their towers (or at the very least their borders) you can relocate to an area of the map far from the Circle and build your power base there. This will usually be in the mountains to the north or the islands in the southeast.

The Circle will still attempt to impede you, but their armies will take longer to get to you, giving you more room to breathe. The less time you spend fending off attacks means more time for expansion and growth, putting you in a strong position to counterattack when the time is right.

Buffs Win Battles

human soldiers defend a mountain pass against an undead titan

The surest way to turn a fight to your advantage is a liberal application of spells beforehand. Buffing your own units and debuffing the enemy before swords are drawn can and will turn a defeat into a victory. Even a cheap spell like Corrode is better than nothing!

As your Grimoire expands, you'll be able to prepare your armies for specific fights. For example, if you're going into battle against the undead or demons, casting Holy Weapon on every unit in a stack dramatically increases the damage you'll deal.

While you can't cast spells mid-combat, you still have access to powerful effects through consumables (especially as the Alchemist). Any unit can use consumables, so put them to good use - they aren't doing anything just sitting in your inventory, after all!

Only Autoresolve If Victory Is Guaranteed

Jonath wins a critical battle against the New Purity

As with similar games, Conquest Of Eo gives you the option to autoresolve combat instead of manually fighting each battle. It gives you a rough estimate of whether you'll win, and how many of your troops will be left afterward, to inform your decision.

In almost all cases, you'll get a better overall result from a manual battle than an automatic one. The difference is significant - clever use of unit abilities and items, plus your own tactical skills, can change a decisive defeat into a heroic victory. The more important the battle, the more reason you have to fight manually!

Next: SpellForce: Conquest Of Eo - Complete Necromancy Guide