Stockpiles: how to

This article describes the mechanics of stockpiles in “Endless Legend”. Here you find answers to frequently asked questions like “what are the stockpiles?”, “how can I obtain them?” and so on. Also, here are explained some tricky moments.

Introduction

Having read a lot of messages in various forums and played multiplayer games, I noticed, that many people have no understanding of such important thing in the “Endless Legend” game like stockpiles. They are often considered to be useless, too expansive and so on. The main problem is there is no clear explanation of the mechanics inside the game. So, let’s puzzle it out together!

What is a stockpile?

It is a store of resources. There are three types of it: Food, Industry and Science. Additonally, the Necrophages and their derived custom factions can produce a special recycled stockpile through the faction affinity “Recycling”.

Where can I see my stockpiles?

Go to the “Empire management screen” by clicking on the first game menu or just press <F1>. Your stockpiles are in the “Stockpiles” section. Quite easy.

How can I use it?

Click on the stockpile in the Empire management screen. If it is an Industry or a Food stock, you should choose a city you control, that city’s Industry or Food will be boosted for one turn. If it is a Science stock, when after accepting the confirmation, its effect will be applied on the entire faction for a turn.

Multiple activations don’t stack. Instead, this prolongs the effect for an extra turn. Example: I haven't researched any tech for stockpiles yet and there are 3 stocks, 100 Food per each. I apply them all on my capital. The capital will receive extra 100 Food for the next 3 turns.

The bonuses from stockpiles aren't influenced by usual FIDSI modifiers. Example: The same conditions. I activate a stockpile with 100 Science. My people are Fervent (+30% to Science). As a result, my faction gets exactly 100 Science for a turn.

How can I obtain a stockpile?

Marketplace

The easiest way is to buy it at the interfaction market. You must have “Imperial Coinage” tech from the Era II



Go to the marketplace by clicking on the menu or press <F8>. Choose “Stockpiles” tab. Here you can buy and sell some stockpiles.

Production

The second and the most common way is to produce them. To do it, you have to research technology “Unskilled labor” from the Era III or “Organized labor” from the Era IV. After that your cities may create stockpiles spending Industry.





It is to be mentioned that the second tech partially overlaps the first one. Does it mean, that “Unskilled labor” is generally useless? As you will see below, actually, no.

The Cultists

The Cultists and their derived custom factions have notable and rather cruel methods of obtaining the stockpiles. First, their faction trait “Weapons of the enemy” provides 1 Industry stockpile per citizen of a captured city, which is immediately razed. They same thing happens when a city is taken by privateers.



Second, the Cult can research a technology “Destructive analysis” from Era II, which gives a Science stockpile as well.

The Necrophages

The Necrophages get a recycled stockpile from each eight killed in a battle units, called “cadaver”.



The number of cadavers is showed on the “Empire management screen”.



The recycled stockpile is effectively a food stockpile, which provides fixed 120 Food and can not be upgraded. Also, this kind of stockpiles can be neither bought nor sold.

Shifters

http://store.steampowered.com/app/451050/

In the "Shifters" expantion after the first winter players may receive the Blessing of Auriga "Pearl Hoarding".



After that you may produce stockpiles in your cities by spending Pearls ang Industry as well as normal "pure-Industry" method.

Tempest

http://store.steampowered.com/app/521220/

The "Tempest" expantion represets sea fortresses, which provide some bonuses if a player controls them. Among them there are facilities periodically generating F/I/S stockpiles.

Is it really worth using?

This question appears when a player looks at the quantity of F/I/S, provided by an initial stockpile. He sees a miserable amount and thinks, “WTF?!” Though it is not described inside the game, there are some upgrades for stockpiles. Let’s have a look at them. We consider a normal game speed.

1. If we haven’t researched any technologies yet, we gain 100 F/I/S per stock. Our cities can't produce stocks.
   
2. Unskilled labor (UL) tech from the Era III adds +500 F/I/S per stock. Our cities can produce a stock for 1200 Industry.
   
3. Organized labor (OL) tech from the Era IV adds +1000 F/I/S per stockpile. Our cities can produce a stock for 2500 Industry (even though they did it for 1200 before).

Example 1: We know only UL. It gives 100+500=600 F/I/S for 1200 Industry after researching. Hence we convert 2 Industry into 1 F/I/S.
Example 2: We know both UL and OL. So, it gives 100+500+1000=1600 F/I/S for 2500 Industry. Hence we trade 1.56 Industry for 1 F/I/S. It seems to be more profitable, but keep in mind, that we have to wait twice longer due to increased cost in Industry points.

As soon as we study a tech for better stockpiles, all the stockpiles will be improved for us. Example: Martha has no techs for stockpiles, Kirill has OL (but not UL) and Peter has all possible technologies. They open the Marketplace screen and see a single stock of Food. Martha would get 100 Food from it, Kirill 100+1000=1100 and Peter even 100+500+1000=1600. It’s 16(!) times more than Martha would receive.

Remember, the recycled stockpiles of Necrophages do not scale like that. Instead, they provide fixed 120 Food all game long.

How can I exploit it? (something like a conclusion)

This fact has some interesting consequences.

First, if you obtained some stocks at the beginning of the game from the Marketplace or by the trait of Cultists, do not spend them at once! Later they will bring you much more yield.

Second, produce stocks after researching “Unskilled labor” and consume them after “Organized labor”.

Third, if you intend to gain a Wonder Victory, you’d better store some Industry stocks. Your opponents expect you to build the Temple of the Earth's Core for eons. What a surprise is waiting for them! Just do not forget to research “Organized labor”. The same trick with the Scientific Victory, but much less effectively, due to enormous cost of T6 techs.

At last, you may think, that producing 1600 Industry for 2500 Industry is a bad joke. But this is not the case. The power of I-stocks is in the redistribution of production capacity between your cities. Thus, you may complete a Legendary building or a Guardian rather fast. Also you may enforce development of a new city applying both Food and Industry stocks on it.

Summarizing, we see, that the most profit from this game mechanics receive factions with
a) significant Industry output (e.g. Wild Walkers);
b) or alternative methods of producing stockpiles (e.g. the Cultists).

Thank you for reading this Another Boring Guide! I am waiting for your comments!

[dianor]

@HeliumPrime. Sure, you're welcome.

[HeliumPrime]

@dianor Thank you for sharing this guide, it is well organized. May I have your permission to host this guide on my website?

[ddpaule]

Lol, I think broken lords or factions with high dust production are broken because of stockpiles.
In short you don't need a city that can produce science or industry pass stockpile research, because you can buy stockpiles in market and inject so much research and industry you be winning in all aspects including influence as heroes can be bought with dust as well as anything.
"dust is how we will rule them all!"

[M. Northstar]

Thanks for the guide. Very well explained. I was producing stockpiles by default, since my city development had outpaced my research, so I had nothing but troops to spend my production on. And I was about to research Organized Labor before even producing a single one of them. Phew, close shave

[Szaal]

Thx for the Guide!
Finally someone explain the use of 16 > 25 Industry stockpile well. I never thought I can use stockpiles to inject a newly expanded region

[dianor]

Well, I'd say, that two groups of factions might use stockpiles effectively: the factions with high Industry (like WW) and those, who have alternative source of stockpiles (i.e. Cultists).

The mechanics used to be "all or nothing" as without proper techs stockpile gave too little yield. Now even without these techs you have 100 F/I/S per stock and +500 more after the first winter through the Blessing of Auriga. It's significant amount at the debut of the game.

[dakhla]

@Novalia the biggest issue is that the science requirements for tech at high levels skyrockets to ludicrous amounts, to the point that the bonus from stockpiles barely even contributes. Good and production stockpiles however remain useful throughout.

[Picrasso]

Wow, those numbers! That makes pearls way more powerful than they even were. :o

[dianor]

Actually, stockpiles have been rebalanced. In "Shifters" a new blessing was added in the Altar of Auriga for producing stockpiles for pearls. It may be considered as a new tech preceding "Unskilled labor". So, now these three techs add 100, 500 and 1000 F/I/S per stock.

[Picrasso]

So my precious pearl stacks (cost: 8 pearls, 100 industry) are only worth 25 F/I/S at the start?