Syndicate | Factions in Age of Wonders Planetfall Age of Wonders Planetfall guide, tips

Syndicate, one of the factions available in Age of Wonders: Planetfall, is probably the most unique and, without a doubt, the most difficult to learn. Their style of play centers around achieving their goals through diplomacy. However, they are also efficient in combat thanks to units slaved by their technology. In this section, you will learn the features of the Syndicate faction, which technologies are worth unlocking as soon as possible and read a few tips related to the gameplay of this faction.

• Syndicate - features
• Technologies worth unlocking as soon as possible
• Tips

Syndicate - features

Syndicate faction stands out from the others due to the following features:

1. Uses of two types of weapons- Arc and Psi weapons. Thanks to them, the units mainly deal Arc and Psi damage.
2. The ability to use slaves in combat which are immune to morality loss.
3. Excellent opportunities to hide and many options for covert operations.

Syndicate units deal two types of damage. These are Arc and Psi damage. The first can hurt multiple targets simultaneously and inflict the stun effect. The second type of damage works great against heavily armored targets - they bypass any armor. Most of these attacks are also able to inflict various negative effects on the enemy, weakening them even more.

Syndicate faction has a predisposition to a game centered around diplomacy.

The most important feature of the Syndicate faction is the ability to use Indentured in combat. Thanks to Cerebral Control Collars, this faction is able to turn biological and non-Syndicate cyborg units into slaves. These units are more resistant to psi effects and aren't affected by low morale penalties. This allows you to turn the units received during the mission that doesn't belong to the Syndicate faction into additional, brainless troops that can serve as cannon fodder.

It is worth noting that the Syndicate faction performs worse in combat than other factions, especially during the first few turns when more technologically advanced units haven't been unlocked yet. While playing as this faction, you should focus on diplomacy and use a variety of covert operations to weaken the enemy units or the entire faction.

Technologies worth unlocking as soon as possible

Preventative Control technology should be researched as soon as possible.

While playing as the Syndicate, you should get the following technologies:

1. Preventative Control from the Faction Tech tree. The most important research - unlock it as soon as you can. It unlocks Cerebral Control Collars that can be used on enemy units to turn them into slaves. This technology is an absolute must-have.
2. Cerebral Submission from the Faction Tech tree. Unlocks the Subjugator unit, which can try to take control of the enemy unit - if it succeeds, the unit at the end of the battle will turn into a slave and join the player's faction. In addition, Subjugator can resurrect one dead squad of slaves.
3. Diplomatic Niceties from the Doctrine Tech tree - unlocks Noble Diplomats, thanks to which you will receive 1 influence point and 15 energy points each turn for every faction with which you are in peaceful relations. Given that this faction's style of play should focus on diplomacy, this doctrine will bring you a lot of extra influence and energy points.
4. Frontier Facilities from the Economy Tech tree - unlocks the Colonizer unit and two very useful doctrines that can be activated during the next turns.

Tips

The Subjugator unit works perfectly with groups of slaves.

Below you can check a few tips on how to play as this faction:

1. The starting units of this faction aren't as effective in combat as those of other factions. Therefore, it is better to avoid battles.
2. While playing as this faction, focus on diplomacy and covert operations. Diplomatic actions are easy to perform thanks to the large pool of influence points collected by this faction. Also, the available number of covert operations will help you weaken enemy units and entire colonies.
3. Preventative Control from the Faction Tech tree should be researched as soon as possible. Thanks to Cerebral Control Collars, you will be able to turn organic and cyborg units into slaves that you can use in battle.
4. Diplomatic Niceties technology from the Doctrine Tech tree unlocks Noble Diplomats doctrine, which should be activated first during a game. Thanks to it, you will get a whole bunch of influence and energy points.
5. Indentured work perfectly with the Subjugator unit. This unit can take control of an enemy unit by turning it into another slave unit at the end of the turn. More importantly, it is able to bring the fallen slaves back to life - if one of your armies uses them, the Subjugator must also be in it.