---
title: "Songs of Conquest: Strategy Guide"
game: "Songs of Conquest"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/songs-of-conquest"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Builds", "Achievements"]
summary: "A strategy guide to Lavapotion's turn-based fantasy game: how Wielders, troops and Essence-powered spells work, economy and town-building rules of thumb, notes on all seven factions (including the Yulan DLC), the…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/songs-of-conquest-strategy-guide-ad1bc666"
published: "2026-09-27T21:17:40.367Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T21:17:40.367Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# Songs of Conquest: Strategy Guide

A strategy guide to Lavapotion's turn-based fantasy game: how Wielders, troops and Essence-powered spells work, economy and town-building rules of thumb, notes on all seven factions (including the Yulan DLC), the campaign/DLC map, and common mistakes.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of hotfix 1.10.4 (16 June 2026) with the Yulan DLC; a major Wielder rework update is in public testing. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.*

## Quick Start

1. **Wielders are your heroes.** They lead armies, cast spells and gain skills as they level. Your main Wielder is the most important unit you own.
2. **Essence powers spells.** Troops generate Essence in battle; your Wielder spends it on spells. Army composition decides which spells you can cast.
3. **Command limits your army.** Wielder stats include Offense, Defense, Command and Spell Power; Command governs how big your troop stacks can be.
4. **Build your economy first week.** Gold, Wood and Stone come from mines and settlements; rare resources gate your best buildings and units.
5. **Pick up everything on the map.** Resource piles, chests and shrines early snowball your first weeks.
6. **Plan your town plots.** Settlements have limited building plots. Decide which troop lines you want before filling them.
7. **Research matters.** Settlements research upgrades; prioritize economy and your core troops.
8. **Scout before attacking.** Hover over neutral armies to judge their strength; avoid fights that cost your best troops.
9. **Secondary Wielders are for logistics.** Use a second Wielder to carry troops and grab resources while your main army fights.
10. **Start with the campaign.** It teaches each faction's mechanics gradually.

## Factions at a Glance

| Faction | Source | Identity |
|---|---|---|
| Arleon | Base game | Knights of a broken empire plus magical Faey creatures; solid, defensive infantry lines such as Footmen and Shields of Order |
| Rana | Base game | Swamp tribes united by a mysterious Wielder |
| Barony of Loth | Base game | Necromancer cultists and scholars who raise Oathbound legions |
| Barya | Base game | Mercenaries and inventors: coin, gunpowder and tinkerer tech |
| Vanir | DLC (17 December 2024) | Raiders descended from Barya and Arleon settlers, allied with Vildra creatures |
| Roots | DLC (June 2025) | A sentient colony of flora, fungus and bones; adjacency-based Symbiosis mechanics |
| Yulan | DLC (4 June 2026) | Three ancient houses — Li, Sheng and Xuan — choosing between Order, Arcana and Creation Essence |

Faction notes:

- **Arleon** is the classic beginner faction: sturdy melee lines protect ranged units. The upcoming rework makes Wielder Cecilia add Front Line Fighter to Footmen and Shields of Order.
- **Loth** trades in undead attrition. The **Rise Eternal** Tale DLC (March 2026) adds the undead Wielder Kastus Maal, whose Call the Faithful skill summons Risen units, plus new research, buildings, artifacts and skills.
- **Barya** leans on firearms and cash; manage gold carefully.
- **Rana** rewards careful positioning in swampy fights.
- **Roots** units generate shared Essence when adjacent (Symbiosis), so formation matters more than for other factions.
- **Yulan**'s Essence choice changes building appearance, units and upgrade paths; many troops have multiple upgrade paths, and it has more unique units than earlier DLC factions. Its three-map campaign, Three Houses, follows House Sheng and the Wielder Shun.

## Core Mechanics

### Wielders

| Stat | What it does |
|---|---|
| Offense | Boosts your troops' damage |
| Defense | Reduces damage your troops take |
| Command | Increases troop stack sizes |
| Spell Power | Strengthens spells |
| Specialization | Each Wielder's unique bonus, often tied to specific units or spells |

- Wielders gain experience from battles and exploration. On level-up you choose skills; plan around your faction's strengths.
- Artifacts equip into slots and give bonuses; some belong to sets.
- A secondary Wielder can hold troops for reinforcement and ferry resources.

### Essence and spells

- Each troop type produces specific Essence types each round in battle (for example Order, Creation, Arcana and Chaos). The unit card shows what each troop gives.
- Spells cost Essence of specific types. If your army does not produce the right Essence, you cannot cast the spell.
- Build armies that produce the Essence your key spells need.

### Combat

- Turn-based on a hex battlefield. Units act in initiative order.
- Ranged troops are powerful; protect them with melee units and use **Zone of Control** to block enemies from reaching them.
- Flying and large units interact with positioning and zones differently; read unit ability descriptions.
- Sieges add walls and towers; bring units that can deal with them.

### Economy and towns

- **Resources:** Gold, Wood and Stone are the common resources, and basic buildings such as barracks upgrade with just Wood and Stone. Scarcer special resources, from their own mines, gate the top-tier buildings and troops. Hover over a building's cost to see exactly which ones it needs, and grab those mines first.
- **Mines and settlements** produce resources each turn; capture and hold them.
- **Building plots** in settlements come in different sizes and limit what you can build. Plan which troop buildings you really need.
- **Research** in settlements unlocks upgrades and improvements.

## Opening Build Order (Skirmish/Conquest)

A general-purpose plan; adjust per faction.

1. **Turn 1:** Build your first troop building and hire what you can. Send your main Wielder to clear the nearest weak neutrals and grab resource piles.
2. **Turns 2–5:** Build economy (gold income) and a second troop building. Hire a secondary Wielder to collect resources and flag mines.
3. **Week 2:** Upgrade core troop buildings; add your first ranged unit line if you have not already.
4. **Week 2–3:** Capture nearby mines, especially for rare resources.
5. **Week 3+:** Push for top-tier troops or a strong mid-tier army; attack the enemy's weak points.

Rules of thumb:

- **Don't stockpile resources**; spend them on troops and buildings.
- **Protect your main Wielder's army.** Losing it sets you back weeks.
- **Use secondary Wielders** to clear small fights and pick up resources.

## Army Composition

- **Front line:** melee units to block and hold Zone of Control.
- **Ranged:** your main damage dealers.
- **Flyers/fast units:** to hit enemy ranged units.
- **Essence planning:** include units that generate the Essence your spells need.

## Campaigns and DLC

| Content | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base campaigns | Four choral campaigns | Each has its own song, with new verses unlocked as you complete missions |
| Vanir | Faction DLC | Adds the Vanir faction |
| Roots | Faction DLC | Adds the Roots faction |
| Rise Eternal | Tale DLC | Four connected maps following Kastus Maal (Loth) |
| Yulan | Faction DLC | Yulan faction, nine Wielders, five Conquest maps, three-map campaign Three Houses |
| Map editor | Built-in | Create and share maps with scripting and dialogue |

As of patch 1.10.4, the maps Good Neighbours, Bad Neighbours and The Ancient Valley can be played with any faction.

## Release and Update Timeline

| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 20 May 2024 | Full release (1.0) on Steam, after Early Access |
| 17 Dec 2024 | Vanir faction DLC |
| 17 Jun 2025 | Roots faction DLC |
| 5 Mar 2026 | Rise Eternal Tale DLC (Kastus Maal, Loth) |
| 4 Jun 2026 | Yulan faction DLC, the largest faction expansion so far |
| 16 Jun 2026 | Hotfix 1.10.4: three maps opened to any faction, Yulan campaign fixes, Roots Pulses and Hearts now get ranged bonuses |
| 7 Aug 2026 | Lavapotion says it has no new big DLCs planned for now |
| 17 Sep 2026 | Wielder rework update opened for public testing |
| 5 Nov 2026 | Spin-off Wielders of the Essence releases |

## Achievement Plan

There are 75 Steam achievements. The global rates on the Steam page show most players never get past the first campaign, so here's an efficient order:

**1. Natural progress (campaigns and levels)**
- Wielder level milestones: Adept (8), Veteran (16), Master (24), Grand Master (32). Keep one main Wielder alive through a long Conquest map and these come naturally.
- One achievement per base campaign (Arleon, Rana, Loth, Barya on any difficulty), plus Rise Eternal and Three Houses for the DLC tales.
- "Dressed For Success": fill every artifact slot on one Wielder.

**2. Tactical one-offs (set them up on purpose in a skirmish)**
- "Humiliation": win before the enemy gets a turn. Pick a weak neutral and bring overwhelming ranged units.
- "Double/Multi/Ultra Kill" and "Killing Spree": win 2, 3, 4 and then 6 battles on the same turn with one Wielder. Clear a line of weak neutrals with a strong army.
- "Expert Essence Employment": win without making an attack, using only spells.
- "Trojan Horse": teleport troops onto or behind town walls during a siege.
- "Versatile Wielder": cast every spell over any number of games. Track it as you go, because it's easy to miss a few.
- Spell- and trait-specific ones name what they need: Chain Lightning, Blind Hatred, Dimensional Door, Acid Cloud, Apocalypse, Breath of the Phoenix, Repel into Explosive Fungi, Mother's Embrace.

**3. Faction mastery (the grind)**
- Win 25 non-campaign games with each faction. With seven factions, that's the long tail of the list.
- Yulan house purity: win using only house Li, only Sheng or only Xuan Wielders and troops.
- "Steadfast": win as Vanir without buying a Vildra troop.
- "Core Kernel of Essence": as Roots, buy all available Essence research.
- "Zounds like a Loth": have 1,000 Risen in Kastus Maal's army (Rise Eternal).

**4. Hardest**
- Finish the last map of each campaign on **Overwhelming** difficulty (well under 1% of players have done it).
- "Die by the Sword/Bow/Staff": kill 100,000 enemies with melee, ranged and magic damage respectively. These build up over your whole playtime.
- "Full House": win a battle with every official Wielder. The list grows with each DLC.

## What's Next (September 2026)

- A **major update** is in public testing (opt in through the game's Properties on Steam). It reworks Wielders with new specializations and starting unit lineups.
- Lavapotion said in August 2026 it is **not announcing new big DLCs** for now and will focus on improving existing content.
- The spin-off **Wielders of the Essence** (an incremental base-building bullet heaven) releases on 5 November 2026.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Building everything** instead of focusing on core troop lines.
- **Ignoring Essence** when choosing troops, then being unable to cast your spells.
- **Leaving ranged units unprotected.**
- **Fighting strong neutrals too early** and losing your best stacks.
- **Only having one Wielder.** Logistics win games.
- **Neglecting special-resource mines** that gate top-tier units.
- **Ignoring Zone of Control and retaliation.** Walking a troop into an enemy's zone or attacking into a strong retaliation can wipe a stack (there's even an achievement for dying to a Quick retaliation).
- **Leaving towns undefended.** Enemy Wielders can occupy, raze or convert your towns and settlements. Retake them quickly, before you lose buildings or research.

## Advanced Tips

- **Chain Wielders:** pass troops between Wielders to extend reach.
- **Use terrain and Zone of Control** to funnel enemies.
- **Focus fire** priority targets (enemy ranged, high-damage units).
- **Plan level-up skills** around your Specialization and faction.
- **Save before big fights** in single-player.
- **Hotseat and co-op:** most maps support single-player, co-op and multiplayer, locally or online.

## FAQ

**How many factions are there?**
Seven: four base factions plus Vanir, Roots and Yulan (DLC).

**What is the newest DLC?**
Yulan, released 4 June 2026.

**Is there a new update coming?**
Yes. A major update reworking Wielders is in public testing.

**Can I play co-op?**
Yes, most maps support co-op, multiplayer, hotseat and single-player.

**What is Rise Eternal?**
A Tale DLC with four connected maps about the undead Wielder Kastus Maal.

**Which faction is best for beginners?**
Arleon is the most straightforward; Barya is a good second choice.

**What is the hardest difficulty?**
Overwhelming. Beating the last map of each campaign on it is among the rarest achievements.

**How do I join the Wielder rework test?**
Right-click Songs of Conquest in your Steam Library, open Properties, and follow the instructions there. Lavapotion's Discord can help if you get stuck.

## Sources

- [Steam store page — Songs of Conquest](https://store.steampowered.com/app/867210/Songs_of_Conquest/)
- [Steam news — Songs of Conquest (Yulan, Rise Eternal, hotfix 1.10.4, September 2026 update post)](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/867210)
- [Official site — Songs of Conquest](https://songsofconquest.com/)
- [Wikipedia — Songs of Conquest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Conquest)
- [Steam achievements — Songs of Conquest](https://steamcommunity.com/stats/867210/achievements)