How Endless Legend 2 Raises the Tide on Turn-Based Strategy Games
September 11, 2025
How Endless Legend 2 Raises the Tide on Turn-Based Strategy Games
Summary
- Endless Legend 2 (Game Preview) is a turn-based strategy game coming to Xbox on PC, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Ultimate on September 22, 2025.
- The long-awaited sequel to its award-winning predecessor lets you conquer a fantasy world through four distinct pillars: Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate.
- The Tidefall mechanic is developer Amplitude’s answer to game stagnation, working to keep every session feeling fresh.
Endless Legend 2 is a fantasy turn-based strategy game, and the next title from Amplitude Studios who previously made Humankind and Endless Space. At launch it will feature five asymmetrical factions, tactical battles, multiple victory types (including seven different variations of the narrative victory condition), and countless hours of replayability as players explore and conquer Saiadha, a mysterious oceanic paradise going through cataclysmic change. Like the studios’ previous works, Endless Legend 2 represents a definitive step forward in the strategy genre through brand-new mechanics, such as Tidefall.
A Tidal Problem
Endless Legend 2 represents a specific style of strategy game you’ll have seen before that sometimes goes by another name, 4X games, a phrase coined a while ago to talk about the early Civilization titles. The four Xs represent distinct pillars: Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate.
These days, the genre has evolved beyond this moniker — but that first phase, explore, remains a core design pillar of any strategy game. It’s the part that often struggles beyond the early portions of a campaign and this is one of the reasons the Tidefall mechanic emerged in Endless Legend 2. It represents a momentous event in-game where the oceans recede, revealing new lands, opportunities, and dangers.
“Based on the decades of feedback Amplitude has collected since their first 4X game, we’ve found that players often find the exploration phase to be the most fun,” says Endless Legend 2’s Game Director Derek Paxton. “They would play for a while, then get bored when the full map is revealed and all the territory is claimed. At this point your options are to switch to either a full-on warmonger, or stay within your borders and try playing ‘tall’.”
“We wanted to solve this by revealing new land as the game went on. Introducing new exploration phases and new opportunities to claim territory and expand. The biggest part of this is Tidefall, which can make strategic chokepoint cities obsolete or turn safe cities in your backlines into exposed targets as new land bridges are formed to other islands and empires.”
While there’s less land to explore to begin with, starting in a smaller area does give you plenty of room to grow, explore, and adjust to your faction’s strengths and weaknesses in a relatively safe environment. Once the first Tidefall happens, the map opens up, changing the strategic landscape permanently.
This change brings about new challenges – never mind that other major empires might have access to your lands now, but the environment also gets more dangerous. Fortresses guarded by NPC armies will need conquering, and after the third Tidefall event, menacing Doomwraiths will emerge from the planet’s depths, endangering areas you may have previously thought safe.
Riding the Waves
Disrupting the state of the game and player momentum isn’t something that should be done lightly, or too frequently. The Tidefall mechanic has gone through a few iterations in terms of impact and frequency, but through extensive testing Amplitude feels like they’ve found a good sweet spot.
“We started with eight Tidefalls and slowly reduced them as we went through playtesting,” says Paxton. “The more we had, the less land each revealed. We opted to go for fewer with bigger impacts instead of more frequent with smaller effects. When Tidefall happened, we wanted the game to change.”
There are now three Tidefall events per game, and the length between them will vary depending on the map size. On average settings, it’s between 40 – 50 turns. But it’s not just about pacing — the broader impact of Tidefalls was also examined closely.
“We even considered having the technology eras tied to Tidefall or having Tidefall be destructive (if the oceans came back, for example). But in the end, we decided to keep it solely as a reward because it wasn’t fun to invest in building an empire, just to have something outside of the player’s control set back their progress”.
“The only remnant of that idea that remains is that all tiles adjacent to water (oceans, lakes, or rivers) get a food bonus. As Tidefall occurs, the oceans go away and the rivers dry up, removing these bonuses. So coastal or river cities accustomed to these bonuses for growth will lose them.”
This feeds into two of the other pillars – Expand and Exploit. While the consequences of Tidefalls won’t be game breaking, they will add just enough tension to your campaign that you will need to plan around this eventually, typically by expanding outward and searching for new or better sources of growth for your empire.
Turning the Tide
As long as you respect the Tidefall, it can be planned for and some of the chaos that comes with the receding oceans can be managed. You’ll know, for example, that a coastal city at the start of a game won’t remain as such, and that far away island will be accessible eventually. There are other things to keep in mind as well:
“On the Strategic map it’s good to keep an eye on areas of the fog of war that are golden,” says Paxton. “We call this the ‘Haze’ and it indicates that this is the edge of unrevealed lands that Tidefall has exposed, and where new dangers can come from.”
“Also, if players have river cities that are counting on the food bonuses from the river, building a Dam will ensure that the river remains after Tidefall. Or you can build a Dam for a river that flows into your enemy’s lands and deprive them of their food bonuses without waiting for Tidefall to happen.”
The world of Saiadha is waiting – there are other factions to subdue, and a mystery that lies in the heart of the world to unravel. Whichever way you choose to approach the game, make sure you prepare for Tidefall.
Endless Legend 2 (Game Preview) releases for Xbox on PC, PC Game Pass, and Game Pass Ultimate on September 22, 2025.
ENDLESS
Legend 2 (Game Preview)
Hooded Horse
ENDLESS
Legend 2 is a fantasy strategy game where you lead wildly varied factions as they build grand empires and wage planet-spanning wars on an ever-evolving ocean world at the brink of extinction. Cataclysmic events have wrought havoc on the natural order, and the very world will change as time goes on revealing new opportunities for exploration and conquest to the bold and daring. Establish expansive cities to spread your influence and strengthen your economy, raise armies and command troops in turn-based tactical battles to overcome your enemies by force, and push forth into the unknown to uncover the dark secrets that lie at the planet’s core.
LEAD DISPARATE FACTIONS
Whether you command righteous warriors descended from the stars, cursed knights seeking reprieve from their misfortune, or hive-minded beasts that know only how to fight, feed, and propagate, ENDLESS Legend 2 features vastly different factions each driven by their own philosophies, histories, capabilities, and narratives. Each of the factions have unique traits that set them apart from one another whether on the battlefield, in matters of commerce, with regards to empire-building, or in diplomatic affairs – it is up to you to adapt to their strengths and weaknesses and build strategies and distinct playstyles.
– The choice of faction will influence every aspect of the game. Will you prefer to benefit from a constant state of fighting, untethered by the need to justify your wars, spawning additional warriors with each victorious battle to grow endlessly in strength? Will you choose to benefit from cohabitation and cooperation, spreading tendrils of influence throughout the world to build a network of allies, leveraging relationships with the minor factions of the planet to further enrich your empire? Or will you lead a people who feed upon their own kind for sustenance, taking advantage of a unique economy free from the needs of mere mortals? Learn what makes each faction distinct and use it to your advantage whether you’re leading them, or looking to destroy them.
– Military doctrine varies greatly between the factions, providing unique opportunities for a capable commander to gain an advantage over their foe, even when out of combat. Build massive fortifications to defend cities and establish connections to powerful weapon and support systems waiting in orbit as the martial Kin of Sheredyn. Invest in the spread of coral so the spiritualist Aspects are able to support themselves outside of friendly territory. Dot the land with nests and burrows to quickly traverse vast distances and ambush enemies from beneath as the Necrophage hive.
– Either auto-resolve combat or take direct control of individual units within your armies when battle begins, using the surrounding terrain to your advantage as you seek out chokepoints, cover, and the high ground. Apart from having faction-specific units, traits, weapons, and attributes, each faction also features special battlefield abilities that can turn the tide of battle if properly utilized. Where one faction might work best with a patient commander, able to meticulously maneuver troops to secure powerful adjacency bonuses, another might rely on force of numbers and overwhelming strength.
– Recruit heroes and watch them grow over time as they gain new traits to bolster their abilities, build relationships that provide them with various boons, and acquire equipment useful both in and out of battle. Powerful commanders, properly trained and armed, can turn the tide of entire wars when wisely utilized.
REIGN IN AN EVOLVING WORLD
Empires will rise and fall based on their ability to adapt to a changing world. Starting from a single humble city, expand according to your faction's unique strengths and limitations while adapting to the periodic monsoons and tidefalls. Build districts around your cities’ central structures, exploit strategic and luxury resources littered around the world, and develop your technological capabilities and industrial might.
– Cataclysmic tidefalls will expose new opportunities and threats as the oceans recede to unveil new land ripe for expansion. While your existing territory will remain unscathed, the newly revealed terrain from the retreating oceans will open up new avenues of approach for you and your enemies, alongside new resources to exploit and new anomalies to explore. While this can fundamentally change the strategic value of various locations as time goes on, a wise leader will plan for the inevitable – will you prepare to expand into new lands as soon as a tidefall occurs, or focus on shoring up your defenses where you anticipate new landbridges to appear?
– Plan the development of your cities to focus on population growth, industrialization, and commerce, or prioritize their contribution to the sciences, your empire’s influence, and your military might – the choice is yours based on the needs of your burgeoning empire. Establish districts that provide fortifications or further the production of various resources, take advantage of adjacency and terrain bonuses, and pursue technological advancements that allow you to upgrade established districts or unlock entirely new options. Will you patiently seek out ideal locations to establish long-term economic hubs and military strongholds, or will you spread rapidly to secure new lands and increased productivity ahead of your enemies?
– The lands around you are teeming with both opportunity and danger alike. Crush the weaker minor factions littered around the world to pillage their resources, or instead cultivate friendly relations and have them join your growing empire, incorporating their distinctive units and heroes to further strengthen your people. Explore ancient ruins and strange anomalies, braving the dangers of the unknown to enrich your lands and gain powerful artifacts to wield against your enemies.
WRITE YOUR OWN LEGEND
A deep mystery lies buried beneath the surface of this once-tranquil ocean world, where an ancient power stirs in the darkness. Gain dominion over the planet through violent conquest, seek victory through diplomatic and technological advancements, pursue quests and tackle events that can alter the course of a campaign, or empower your sworn heroes to unveil the story of your people – the choice is yours.
Will you be a ruthless conqueror or a cunning builder? A cultivated diplomat or a flesh-eating beast? Will you bring harmony back to the planet, seeking out lost legends and heroes, or will you defy the fate that drives your faction and carve a legend of your own?
Full details on the latest status of the game, how you can give feedback and report issues can be found at https://discord.gg/amplitude.
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