The Necrophage Faction

This guide discusses the Necrophage faction: what makes it unique, what its strengths are, which strategies and technologies and traits synergize well with one another, and generally how to succeed well with them.

The Necrophage

Necrophages are best played as aggressive expansionists. They have a focus on expanding easily and cheaply, converting slain enemies and pacified villages to food production, tech that lowers building and unit costs, and units that attack directly and inflate their numbers. Think of them as Endless Legend's zerg race. If you happen to own Dungeon of the Endless, you'll note that the forager and necrodrone units are two of the kinds that relentlessly attack you every wave.

Empire

City Expansion

Necrophages (henceforth called Necros) can more easily expand their cities as compared to other races. They only require 1 population to build another district, as compared to the normal 2, and the production costs for building new districts is half that of every other faction. Therefore, Necros can have cities twice the size of their opponents for the same cost, which is an enormous advantage. This, coupled with food production gained from conquest, makes it much easier to expand new cities, thereby potentially getting more FIDSI faster than other races.

Dust and Wealth

Necros have all the standard production technologies of most other races, and don't have any traits or abilities involving it. However, they have technologies geared toward purchasing things outright, and cheaper. Specifically, the “Prisoners, Slaves, and Volunteers” tech reduces buyout costs of buildings and units by 25%, and the Cannon Fodder tech makes military upkeep and hero upkeep 50% and 20% cheaper, respectively. Because of this, if a player specifically focuses on making one or two cities huge dust producers, they can afford to build more improvements faster, hire more heroes, and hire or keep larger armies. This also has great synergy with trade routes and their bonuses, given this faction's expansion potential. You wouldn't think of a zerg race having much to do with wealth production, but working the Dust angle with Necros can make you an unstoppable force.

Food

Necros operate uniquely with food production. Their trait “Agriculturally Challenged” subtracts one food points from each terrain cell with food on it. This is quite the handicap, but it's compensated for in three different areas: battles, pacified villages, and Necro heroes.

For every 8 units slain in battle, the Necros gain one “Recycled” stockpile to be used from the Empire screen. Each activation boosts one city's food production by 120 for one turn. This matters little to any city with a larger population (maybe 6 or 7 or so), but is invaluable to early settlements. It's advised that each stockpile is used as soon as it is gained on a city with low population. They cannot be sold on the market, and they can be stacked on the same city. This essentially translates to “try to kill as many things as you can early on.”

Necros also have an ability called “Cull the Herd.” This adds +2 food production per worker per pacified village on the city in the region of that village. For example, let's say I have a city with 2 food workers, at the standard amount of +4 food per worker. Those two workers are producing 8 food for my city. However, there's a hostile village nearby. I go and conquer it, and then rebuild it. This does three things:

• it gives me +1 population
  
• a food production boost
  
• more cadavers for my food stockpile

Because of Cull the Herd, those two workers I have in food production are now producing 12, because the base value is now +6 per worker. If I decide to use the extra population from the village to work food, it then becomes 18. I just more than doubled my food production with the rebuilding of one village. If I were to conquer a second one and add that, the base value would then become +8 per worker, and those three food workers I now have would be producing 24 food. Obviously, conquering villages is very important to the Necros.

Finally, Necro heroes, in their Faction skill tree, have several skills dedicated to boosting food production. Leveling a hero this way in your capital (you get one for free early in your quest line) combined with other food bonuses is a great way to establish a massive capital with huge population numbers. Keep in mind this hero can be reassigned (and probably should be) to smaller, lower population cities once the population of your capital has reached sufficient numbers (in your opinion).

Happiness

Necros have the standard happiness techs most other factions have: sewer systems, that entertainment thing or whatever it is (yeah, I know, can't really see them going to a circus unless it involved chucking horrified captives through hoops of fire), etc. However, they do have a Demanding Gods tech, which allows you to sacrifice one of your population to give that city a +30 approval boost for a limited time (not during siege). This ability has great synergy with all the aforementioned food production strategies, although it balances itself out: the larger the population, the longer the duration of the bonus, but it's more difficult to replace that population. The smaller the population, the shorter the bonus duration, but it's easier to replace your sacrificial lamb.

Diplomacy

Necros have a unique approach to diplomacy: forget it. If it moves and it's not a Necro, it's food.

To their credit, there are diplomacy options, but are restricted mainly to praising, warning, closing borders, and war. No trade or peaceful options exist. The most "diplomatic" a Necro player can be is following a hands-off approach.

If you're planning on winning by any means other than conquest, however, this isn't the most ideal faction. Achieving several of the other winning conditions is certainly possible with the Necrophage, but it likely won't be the fastest. Bigger armies are better (always, really, regardless of faction).

Armies

Heroes

Necro heroes, as previously stated, make great governors for cities if you wish to boost their food production and growth rate, making them versatile for assigning from one city to the next. They also make competent generals that focus on boosting the health and defense of themselves and their troops. Unlike some other factions' heroes that hang back for support roles or ranged attacks, Necros' ones are best suited at the front lines. Generally, their health and defense is substantially padded, and have great initiative. With the right trinkets added, their overall attack and damage can be boosted, synergizing well with their focus on buffing their armies. Heroes for this faction are most certainly “lead my legions into battle” types.

They do actually have several skills in the Faction skill tree that focus on passive healing and regeneration, which Necros are the best at; however, they're scattered in among food production boost skills, so it's not terribly efficient or necessarily better to go that route as opposed to filling in the Class tree.

If you elect to hire any heroes NOT of this faction, ensure that they are in armies in which no units can spread disease, or ensure that the hero is immune to disease themselves.

Units

Necro armies focus on large numbers of units that are easily replaced. Foragers generally do not cost much, and their spreading of Disease is a huge boon to your battles. Necrodrones cost more and are a bit more fragile, but do more damage and have great maneuverability. Giving Necrodrones a High Ground boost via equipment is a wise thing to do, as they can scale elevation easily. Proliferators are monstrosities that are meant to be held at the rear, infesting enemies with their ranged Parasitism attack.

Foragers should be at the front of the battle, with your hero. They're the most easily replaced, and properly outfitted are quite formidable. Spreading disease and acting as a wall of pawns to defend your Proliferator(s) is what they're best for. Necrodrones should be located at the flanks. Positioning them behind your front line of Foragers restricts their movement, which is what their best use hinges upon. Drones should be used to cover large distance quickly, gain high ground, and attack from the sides, retreating just as quickly if things get dicey. Finally, you should have one Proliferator for each army, but a maximum of two. They don't do much damage and they don't move too well, but their attacks infest targets for 5 turns. If such targets are killed before those turns pass (easy to do, since battles are only 6 turns long) you will gain a vanilla, non-upgradeable Forager at the end of the battle, for each infested enemy slain.

These basic Foragers can gain levels and act as easy cannon fodder for other battles. If your parasitism-created Foragers cause your army to surpass its unit cap, the upkeep cost for that army will be colossal. One game, I discovered I had one army with an upkeep of over 100 dust per turn, because I had exceeded the unit cap, as I had 10/6. Once I removed the four basic units, the cost of the army was reduced to 17.

Early Game Strategy

Endless Legend is about being flexible, so there are no hard and fast rules.

That said, there are things to keep in mind when playing Necros early game:

1. Try to settle your first city quickly. This sounds obvious but it can be difficult if it doesn't have the right conditions. Try not to found your capital any later than turn 4 or 5, or 6 at the absolute latest.
   
2. When the game first starts, separate your settler from the hero and 2 foragers. This allows twice the scouting in the same time for a proper city placement.
   
3. Do NOT split up your army more than that to scout even more territory. Aside from making you even weaker, the dust costs of having 3 or 4 'armies' will make you bankrupt by turn 3 or 4. Split the settler from the group and that's it.
   
4. Establish your capital in the closest area with the most condensed food + industry production bonuses (or boni if you prefer that spelling). Food and industry are the most important things for your first city. Science and dust are good and helpful, but if you have a capital with a crappy industry and/or food production right out of the gate when you first establish it, you're going to be handicapped for a good couple dozen turns at the bare minimum. Green and orange are gods.
   
5. First priority is to research and build the Mill Foundry and whatever that Seed repository is. Mill Foundry comes first. Industry production rules everything else.
   
6. Try to get Ka-Rhiss as early as conveniently possible, meaning do your quest missions. Heroes are expensive, and it takes time to research the Merc Market and amass the dust to hire one. Ka-Rhiss can be obtained early and for free, and can be used for either combat or governing.
   
7. Your second city should focus on industry or dust production, and preferably in an area with at least 2 villages. Cull the Herd is very important for the Necros; settling in an area with less than 2 villages can hurt you pretty badly.
   
8. Attack what you can as early as you can as long as you know you have a decent chance of winning, and make sure you manually control the battle. Auto-resolve battles can be all over the place, and early on you want to make sure you're micromanaging what few troops you have. You need those stockpiles of food from battles to jumpstart your new cities.
   
9. Technology research should be focused on industry and food first, military and dust second. Without the first two you will flounder, that's obvious. There's no point focusing on military, however, if you don't have the wealth to support it. Dust and Military are generally only things I worry about after my second region is claimed. Science is an afterthought. Make sure that military research includes better weapons and gear.
   
10. Early-mid game, you must use the proliferator. If you're against competent opponents, it replenishes your army reserves. If you have plenty of troops, it's a powerful source of income (a single early game parasite-born Forager can be sold for ~250 Dust, which is a huge advantage).
    
11. Do not keep more troops in one army than the maximum cap, or it will destroy your Dust income.

[Doctor G]

how to win this game, gold focus, settle by enemy, spam build troops, swarm. Win. Delete boring game with voodoo music

[Basilisk]

I would suggest to follow Jojo's guide instead, one of the best EL players and he made a big guide for most factions and in general.

[Kacz]

Should I bother with adding armor to troops or just leave them armor-less?

[Xoel]

I feel I have to metion the fact that if your hero is a high enough level it reduces the upkeep of an army to 0. I had any arm that was 20/6 with 0 dust cost per turn

[HobbyCathartic]

More meat for the table!

[noodle]

Sweet guide, thanks!

[Bossie]

Solid guide.

[Col. Hathi]

@Heart Of Ice, Significantly so, yes. Surrounding a district with 4 others will upgrade it, effectively removing any previous penalties and boosting your FIDS and happiness.

[「Heart of Ice」]

Surrounding a district or your city with other districts will buff it, right?

[Lost in the Sauce]

Look up food and circuses, it does not refer to a big top, it actualy refers to the gladatorial arena, the primary entertainment when the phrase was coined. it comes from the latin "panem et circenses" (bread and Circuses) from a satirist named Juvenal and made famous by Julias Ceasar essentialy refers to the neccesities to control an empire. we came to call the big top a circus because it was a freak show featuring dangerous situations as the main event. You're embarrassing me. otherwise great guide you did well!