Songs of Conquest: How many Factions are in the game? Songs of Conquest guide, tips

On this page of the Songs of Conquest game guide, you'll find information about the factions and their amount.

Last update: 29 May 2024

In Songs of Conquest, there are 4 factions to choose from - Arleon, Barony of Loth, Rana, and Barya. On this page of our guide, we explain the basics of controlling each faction and show what races may be recruited for armies of each faction. Moreover, we prepared a faction ranking that will try to help you choose the best one.

• List of all factions
• Tier list of factions
• Arleon
• Rana
• Barony of Loth
• Barya

List of all factions

In version 1.0 of Songs of Conquest, there are 4 playable factions - each with its own story campaign (4 missions per campaign) and playable in all other modes of the game. The available factions are:

1. Arleon - the remnants of a former empire. This faction combines traditional human units (knights, foot soldiers, archers, etc.) and creatures with an affinity for magic (fae and faun-like creatures).
2. Rana - an association of various creatures living in the swamp. The faction encompasses a variety of units - from birds, frogmen, up to dragons.
3. Barony of Loth - a dying land that decided to turn to dark rituals to regain its former glory. The units of this faction mainly consist of undead accompanied by various cultists and necromancers.
4. Barya - a nation of entrepreneuring humans. When controlling this faction, you will employ units equipped with firearms or even cannons.

Tier list of factions

Picking one best faction is not as easy as it seems. The factions are generally well balanced, though of course each is played differently following their unique units, buildings, and Wielders and different types of Essences that they employ. First, we recommend completing all story campaigns - each faction has one dedicated to it. They are long and quite challenging (especially in later missions) so you can get to know each faction and learn the basics of controlling it.

The usefulness of the given faction may depend on the chosen gameplay mode (whether you play against AI or live players) and the size of the map. Some factions will do better on smaller maps, where lower tier units are more important. Other factions will benefit from large maps where there is enough time to unlock and recruit strong elite troops.

1. In our opinion, Barony of Loth is the best faction - it can field strong armies the fastest, and even lower-tier units have a use in late game. Moreover, their choice of spells can turn the tide of many battles.
2. In second place we place the Rana faction, whose strong point are good Wielders. Unfortunately, Rana units are weak and have an advantage only in certain, specific situations. However, they can field Dragons - the most powerful units in the game that work really well on large maps.
3. The third place is taken ex aequo by Barya and Arleon factions. They are not noticeably weaker or more difficult to play than the two previous ones, but they do not have as many distinct advantages. They are also factions that will work better on small maps.

Arleon

1. This is the faction that you get to try out first in the campaign mode (by default). Arleon's campaign is the easiest among the campaigns. Its two first missions can be played leisurely, as initial enemy Wielders do not travel the map freely in them. Only in missions 3 and 4 do you have to watch out for enemy Wielders, defend your own cities and capture enemy Towns and settlements.
2. Arleon units consist of races such as humans and Fae. When choosing a Wielder, you can easily choose the race which he will represent. However, for example, when playing a human hero, you can freely recruit fae to your armies.
3. Noteworthy Arleon units include Rangers (ranged attack in each turn) and Knights (suitable to protecting ranged units and can use charges to attack enemies in melee range). In case of Fae, we have Fey Nobles that have powerful ranged attacks.
4. Both races can be mixed within the same army, but this unfortunately has some drawbacks. Human units generate Order Essence, while Fae Chaos Essence. Also, remember that Arleon Wielder specializations may apply to only one of the races and then the units of the remaining race won't receive the bonus. In such situations, it is often better to field armies which units only consist of only one race.
5. The most important starting building of Arleon is barracks, and if you don't have the needed Stone for it, search for resource nodes in the vicinity or (a better idea) a mine. To further develop the Barracks, you're going to need a lumber mill, but this is a valuable upgrade - you'll receive access to 2 different types of units. When choosing a more advanced building, consider Fae Grove or a Castle. When it comes to research buildings, the best results will come from starting with a Grand Armory.

Rana

1. By default, the game suggests that Rana campaign should be played as the second. It is more demanding than Arleon campaign, and already in the first mission of the campaign, you have to escape from a very powerful Wielder of the enemy faction.
2. The Rana faction mainly employs beasts resembling various variants of overgrown toads. This may help when choosing a Wielder, as in opposition to other factions, Rana units are only of one race.
3. Among the noteworthy units of Rana we have Dragons and Elder Dragons, who aside from their high statistics can move efficiently around the battlefield and attack while staying one tile away. Moreover, we have Burrowers, who travel below the ground with the intent to jump out suddenly right next to enemy units.
4. When your army consists of low tier units, make sure to prioritize attack and try to minimize losses among your units. You can also deliberately wait for enemy armies to approach to be the attacking side as often as possible. The main variants of Essences used by Rana Wielders are Creation and Arcana.
5. At the early stages of a scenario, consider building a Mud Hut that will give you access to 2 different types of units (and eventually upgraded versions of them). If you're short on resources, look for mines nearby and (if you have the space) build Gatherers and Diggers buildings. Leave the Smoldering Cave building for the final moments of the scenario where dragons come to be useful. You can leave out this step on smaller maps where the victory is achieved earlier.

Barony of Loth

1. This faction's campaign is proposed as the third in line. The campaign can prove to be quite challenging - you won't have a lot of time to get acquainted with the unique units and buildings of this faction.
2. The Barony of Loth mainly employs undead units to fill their ranks, but there are some human units here. Wielders of this faction can be either human or undead. In this case, the choice of race doesn't affect anything negatively so you may have an undead hero accompanied by human units.
3. Barony of Loth's noteworthy units are, among others, Toxicologists (ranged units without penalty for movement before performing an attack) and in the case of undead, Spectres and very powerful Legions (in upgraded version, can additionally improve defense and magic resistance of allied units). An interesting fact is that by winning battles against human armies, you may receive additional undead units. These are not strong, but can be used as cannon fodder (similarly to rats).
4. The armies of Loth may include both humans and undead, but some Wielders have specializations that apply only to one of the races. In such situations, the other race has to do without. Your Wielders should focus on casting spells using Arcana and Destruction Essences.
5. When it comes to buildings, you should start by mass producing weak units - these may come from Rat Warren or Crypt. If you lack resources, look for them near Towns (mines would serve best). Some advanced buildings may require certain common buildings, such as a lumber mill. If you have a larger Build Site available, build a Summoning Circle so you can recruit Legions.

Barya

1. Barya's campaign is not fourth in line by mistake - expect the biggest challenge. A foretaste of what awaits you may already find in the first mission of this faction, in which the main character almost immediately has to fight a rather challenging skirmish against another Wielder.
2. Barya units come from races like humans and harima - the latter is reminiscent of goblins, albeit, in this universe, they are much more intelligent. Your Wielders, of course, have complete freedom to mix units, and e.g. when playing a human Wielder, you don't have to go without harima units.
3. Among noteworthy units of Barya we have Pikeneers (not that strong, but can attack while remaining one tile away), Dreaths (their advantage is the ability to counterattack after being attacked) and Hellbreaths (large, slow cannons).
4. The Specializations of Barya Wielders may provide bonuses to a specific race or certain type of unit (Nimander). It is worth considering these bonuses and adjusting the composition of the army accordingly. Focus on using Order and Destructions Essences.
5. In the initial stage of the gameplay, start with erecting Mercenary Quarters so you have access to two different types of units. Wood is needed for this building, so look for resource nodes or a mine. Make sure to build a Dreath Den as soon as possible. In case of Barya, you can gain a lot by upgrading buildings and research - as the situation allows, build a Merchants Guild and/or a Foundry.