Look, picking a side in a 4X game usually comes down to "do I want to shoot things or buy things?" But Amplitude Studios didn't really play it that way. When you look at the Endless Space 2 factions, you aren't just picking a stat modifier; you’re choosing an entirely different way to break the game. Most players jump in, pick the United Empire because they look like the "standard" humans, and then get absolutely rolled by a neighbor who understands how the Cravers actually function. It’s frustrating. It’s also what makes the game great.
The learning curve here isn't a slope; it's a cliff face. If you don’t understand the asymmetric design of these civilizations, you’re basically playing blindfolded.
The United Empire is a Trap for Beginners
Everyone starts here. It makes sense. You see Zelevas, you see industrial aesthetics, and you think "okay, I know how to play humans." But the United Empire is actually one of the most flexible, late-game powerhouses if you stop treating them like a generic sci-fi trope. Their main gimmick is Influence. While other factions use Influence to pass laws or flip systems, the Empire can literally buy their way through the tech tree.
It’s weird.
Instead of waiting twenty turns for a high-tier research project to finish, you just dump Influence into it. Boom. Done. This creates a terrifying snowball effect where, if you manage your economy right, you can outpace "smarter" factions like the Sophons just by being rich and loud. Plus, you have the option to pivot. Through the quest line, you can turn into the Mezari (science focused) or the Sheredyn (military focused). Most people ignore this. Don’t. Choosing your late-game identity is the difference between winning a supremacy victory and just petering out in the mid-game.
Why the Horatio Are Terrifying (and Gross)
If you haven't played the Horatio, you’re missing out on the peak narcissism of the Endless universe. Horatio was a trillionaire who found ancient cloning tech and decided the galaxy would be better if everyone was him.
The gameplay reflects this.
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You aren't just growing a population; you’re "splicing." You find other minor factions, you absorb them, and then you permanently add their DNA traits to your own. Early game? You're weak. You’re slow. Your ships are expensive. But by turn 150? Your "Horatio" pops have the combined bonuses of five different alien races. They become super-units. It’s honestly one of the most satisfying "tall" playstyles in any 4X game. Just remember that if you don't hunt down minor factions early, you’ll never get the momentum you need to survive a Vodyani leeching party.
The Vodyani and the Art of Not Owning Planets
The Vodyani don't live on planets. They live in Arks. This is usually the part where new players get confused and quit their first Vodyani run.
Instead of colonizing a world, you park a giant cathedral-ship in orbit. You "own" every planet in that system instantly. It’s incredibly efficient but relies on a single resource: Essence. You have to literally harvest the souls of other factions to grow. If you’re playing the Vodyani and you’re trying to be peaceful, you’re doing it wrong. You are a space vampire. You need to park your leeches over a neighbor’s planet and suck them dry. If you aren't being a jerk, you aren't winning.
Dealing with the Cravers
You can't talk about Endless Space 2 factions without mentioning the locusts in the room. The Cravers are the game’s "aggro" clock. They have a mechanic called Depletion. They get massive bonuses to production on a planet, but they slowly eat the planet’s resources until it’s a dead husk.
They have to keep moving. They have to keep conquering.
If a Craver player stops fighting, their economy collapses. This makes them the ultimate "win fast or die" faction. If you see them as a neighbor, you can't play the long game. You have to break their momentum early or accept that by turn 80, they’ll have an industrial output you can’t possibly match. They are the only faction that starts with "Extreme Foremen," meaning they treat their own population like dirt to get results. It's brutal.
The Sophons and the Science of Being Fragile
The Sophons are the "glass cannon" of the galaxy. They get a massive research bonus to any technology that hasn't been discovered by other factions yet. This encourages you to be a pioneer.
- Pros: You will always have better guns.
- Cons: Your hulls are made of paper.
I’ve seen Sophon players get cocky because they’re three tiers ahead in the tech tree, only to get wiped out by a Lumeris fleet that's ten times larger. Tech doesn't matter if you can't build ships fast enough to replace the ones that explode. If you play Sophons, you have to use your tech lead to secure alliances or defensive chokepoints immediately.
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The Unfallen: Playing a Different Game Entirely
The Unfallen are sentient trees. They don't use ships to colonize. They use "vines." You literally have to extend a physical connection from your home system to the next. It’s slow. It’s methodical.
It’s also incredibly hard to stop once it starts.
Because their territory is connected by these vines, they get massive bonuses to defense and stability. They’re the ultimate "pacifist" faction, but a pacifist with a very big stick. If you're playing against them, you have to cut the vines. If you let them root themselves in your backyard, you’re never getting them out. Their Influence pressure is legendary, and they can often flip systems without firing a single shot.
The Riftborn and the Problem with Time
The Riftborn are arguably the strongest faction in the hands of a pro. They come from another dimension (the Corridors) and they hate our "messy" organic reality. They don't grow population naturally. You have to build them with Industry.
This is huge.
It means your growth isn't tied to food. You can settle a barren, frozen rock that would kill any other faction, and as long as it has decent Industry, your population will skyrocket. They also manipulate time. They can place singularities on systems to speed up their own production or slow down an enemy's fleet. It’s broken. Honestly, in high-level multiplayer, Riftborn are often the first faction banned because their early-game expansion is just too consistent.
The Lumeris: Dust is Everything
The Lumeris don't care about colonization ships. They buy planets. Literally. You click a button, pay some Dust (money), and the planet is yours. This makes them the masters of the "forward settle." You can snatch a prime system right out from under an opponent's nose before they even get a scout there.
But there’s a catch.
Their power is tied to the galactic economy. If the market crashes or if you get blockaded, your ability to expand vanishes. You have to play the diplomatic game. You need trade subsidiaries. You need to be everyone’s "friend" while slowly buying the galaxy out from under them. It’s a corporate takeover on a galactic scale.
Avoiding Common Mistakes with Your Faction
One of the biggest issues I see is players trying to play every faction the same way. You cannot play the Umbral Choir like you play the Hissho.
The Umbral Choir (from the Penumbra DLC) stays hidden on a single "special" node and hacks the galaxy. If you try to play them wide, you fail. The Hissho, on the other hand, rely on "Keii" (honor). If you aren't fighting, your Keii drops, and your empire falls apart. You have to lean into the specific gimmick of your chosen Endless Space 2 factions.
Don't try to be a jack-of-all-trades. If your faction is good at hacking, hack everything. If they’re good at eating people, eat everyone. The game is designed around these extremes.
Strategic Next Steps for Your Next Campaign
If you want to actually get good at this game, stop playing on "Normal" difficulty with the United Empire. It teaches you bad habits.
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- Try a "No-Food" Run: Pick the Riftborn. It forces you to rethink how you manage your planetary build queues because you'll realize just how much Industry matters over everything else.
- Learn the Hacking Mesh: If you have the DLC, play as the Umbral Choir for ten turns just to see how the "Invisibility" and "Sanctuaries" work. Even if you hate them, you need to know how they’re stealing your tech.
- The Luxury Resource Pivot: Check your starting luxury resources. If you have something like Transvine or Jadonyx, your strategy should shift immediately to accommodate those specific bonuses.
- Watch the Population Screen: This is what separates the pros. Don't just let your population grow randomly. Use the "Spaceport" to move specific alien types to planets where their bonuses actually work. Put the guys with +Industry on the lava planets. Put the scientists on the cold ones. It sounds basic, but it’s the difference between a turn 200 win and a turn 300 slog.
The galaxy in Endless Space 2 is crowded, and it's usually out to get you. Whether you’re a sentient tree, a time-bending robot, or just a guy named Horatio who really likes his own face, the key is leaning into the absurdity of your faction's mechanics. Go break the game. That’s what it’s there for.