An updated, spruced up new edition of Conquest of Elysium 3. The essential gameplay is very similar (identical) but the new battle system is a fantastic addtion. There's other new things, but there very specific...they all make the game a little nicer to play. If you like Illwinter's stuff you probably have already bought it. If your not familar, and like fantasy strategy games, I whole heartedly reccomend starting with Conquest of Elysium 4.

One of the things that Conquest of Elysium 3 did so well was making each faction feel unique to play. Conquest of Elysium 4 nails this too. A good way to illustrate this is to explain the different resources that factions need to collect and spend. All factions need gold and iron, collected from farms, towns and mines. Different factions require different components to cast their faction specific spells and special abilities. The demonologist, for example, needs blood from blood sacrifices (obtained from the unlucky town inhabitants), whereas the necromancer needs Hands of Glory (which are the pickled left hands of those hanged until death – collected from gallows and cemeteries), druids need herbs and troll shamans need fungi (both of which can be found in forests and jungles). Each faction needs towns and mines, but different factions will hunt out different sites of interest for their components. Druids will patrol up and down forests (being invisible to other factions while in them), controlling as much of the foliage as they can. Trolls don’t need the foliage of trees to get their mushrooms, so they can set the druids’ much-needed forests on fire. Demonologists will ignore the forests on the hunt for more towns while Necromancers will search out grisly gallows and cemeteries. The druids will flit through the trees, conducting their animal summoning rituals in secrecy while the other factions march around the forests in search of different goals. That is unless they don’t decide to set the forests on fire to clear the druids out.

The special abilities and spells of the factions also help to create the sense of uniqueness. The Druid will command a massive horde of summoned animals bolstered by bare-chested warriors and slingers – all with the ability to be invisible when surrounded by trees. The Troll King has the ability to not only regenerate, but to single-handedly pulverize small armies, his recruitable goblins die extremely easily though. The Troll King is also always joined by a Troll Mum, a troll shaman unhappy with her son’s ability at waging war. The Necromancer can summon large numbers of the undead for almost free, the only cost being to his sanity. Necromancers are able to cheaply amass a huge number of troops but will often refuse to move for a turn due to bouts of insanity. Conquest of Elysium 4 does an amazing job of translating the lore and personality of a faction into unique ways of playing the game.

The new battle system illustrates the clashes between these factions much better than the previous edition of the game. Rather than a black void, units now fight on a terrain appropriate square graphed map. Grass, rocks, snow, caves, and walled fortifications are represented. Units themselves are viewed from the top down and will move with respect to the other units and terrain conditions around them. Like the previous edition, the player has no direct control over their units. When a fight starts, the units are on autopilot, moving and fighting their way across the battle field. The only control the player has as a general is to decide which units are given to what movable commander. The system is elegant and refreshingly straightforward once you get used to it.

(Parts of this Steam Review are taken from my review here: http://www.hbhud.com/2015/11/17/review-of-conquest-of-elysium-4/ )

An updated, spruced up new edition of Conquest of Elysium 3. The essential gameplay is very similar (identical) but the new battle system is a fantastic addtion. There's other new things, but there very specific...they all make the game a little nicer to play. If you like Illwinter's stuff you probably have already bought it. If your not familar, and like fantasy strategy games, I whole heartedly reccomend starting with Conquest of Elysium 4. One of the things that Conquest of Elysium 3 did so well was making each faction feel unique to play. Conquest of Elysium 4 nails this too. A good way to illustrate this is to explain the different resources that factions need to collect and spend. All factions need gold and iron, collected from farms, towns and mines. Different factions require different components to cast their faction specific spells and special abilities. The demonologist, for example, needs blood from blood sacrifices (obtained from the unlucky town inhabitants), whereas the necromancer needs Hands of Glory (which are the pickled left hands of those hanged until death – collected from gallows and cemeteries), druids need herbs and troll shamans need fungi (both of which can be found in forests and jungles). Each faction needs towns and mines, but different factions will hunt out different sites of interest for their components. Druids will patrol up and down forests (being invisible to other factions while in them), controlling as much of the foliage as they can. Trolls don’t need the foliage of trees to get their mushrooms, so they can set the druids’ much-needed forests on fire. Demonologists will ignore the forests on the hunt for more towns while Necromancers will search out grisly gallows and cemeteries. The druids will flit through the trees, conducting their animal summoning rituals in secrecy while the other factions march around the forests in search of different goals. That is unless they don’t decide to set the forests on fire to clear the druids out. The special abilities and spells of the factions also help to create the sense of uniqueness. The Druid will command a massive horde of summoned animals bolstered by bare-chested warriors and slingers – all with the ability to be invisible when surrounded by trees. The Troll King has the ability to not only regenerate, but to single-handedly pulverize small armies, his recruitable goblins die extremely easily though. The Troll King is also always joined by a Troll Mum, a troll shaman unhappy with her son’s ability at waging war. The Necromancer can summon large numbers of the undead for almost free, the only cost being to his sanity. Necromancers are able to cheaply amass a huge number of troops but will often refuse to move for a turn due to bouts of insanity. Conquest of Elysium 4 does an amazing job of translating the lore and personality of a faction into unique ways of playing the game. The new battle system illustrates the clashes between these factions much better than the previous edition of the game. Rather than a black void, units now fight on a terrain appropriate square graphed map. Grass, rocks, snow, caves, and walled fortifications are represented. Units themselves are viewed from the top down and will move with respect to the other units and terrain conditions around them. Like the previous edition, the player has no direct control over their units. When a fight starts, the units are on autopilot, moving and fighting their way across the battle field. The only control the player has as a general is to decide which units are given to what movable commander. The system is elegant and refreshingly straightforward once you get used to it. (Parts of this Steam Review are taken from my review here: http://www.hbhud.com/2015/11/17/review-of-conquest-of-elysium-4/ )