ENDLESS Legend 2 heroes
ENDLESS Legend 2 heroes are named commanders who start with each major, pick up traits, take a Notable companion, and can sit a Council governor seat. Steam says recruited heroes grow over time, build relationships that grant boons, and carry equipment useful in and out of battle. Five starters have published names: Polemephon for Aspects, Uwe Rach for Kin of Sheredyn, Duke Unwin Weybridge for Last Lords, Talak Emburu for Tahuks, and Plays-with-Fire for Necrophage. Sandshapers pick Dreamers, Seekers, or Conquerors as a path; Amplitude has not published a starter hero name for that major.
Starting heroes on the 1.0 majors
Polemephon, the Steadfast opens Aspects as an Infantry Archer. Companion trait Power Couple pays 20 Influence on kill. Governor trait Colonizer pays +10 Influence per Protectorates. That kit matches the coral diplomat: you want villages assimilated, and you want Influence to keep buying them. Rock Paper Shotgun's Aspects preview is the press trail for the Chorus gestalt; Polemephon is the named body on the map.
Uwe Rach opens Kin of Sheredyn as an Infantry Archer. Companion Heart of Steel adds +10 Capture Point on Capture actions. Governor Working Capital adds +15 Industry on Capital. PC Gamer's Kin feature puts General Shaparenko in the field as the faction's military face; Uwe is the starting hero the community table attaches to the same side. Capture points and capital Industry are the turtle-builder translation of that lore.
Duke Unwin Weybridge opens Last Lords as an Infantry Warrior. Companion Zest for Life adds +40 Health on Hero. Governor Haggler reduces specialization cost on units by 30 percent. That is the Dust economy in hero form: stay alive without Food, cheapen the elite line, keep walking. Talak Emburu opens Tahuks as a Ranged Caster with Zealous Instructor (+20 percent XP on non-hero units) and Mercury Rising (+5 Dust per Observatory), which is the Oculum science engine with a Dust rider. Plays-with-Fire opens Necrophage as a Flying Warrior with Possessive Impulse on the Swarm and Public Surgeon regeneration in allied territory.
Council seats, Notables, and companions
Council is a governor layer, not a second map. The starting-hero table lists a governor trait on each named commander; parking Uwe on the capital is a concrete Industry decision, parking Polemephon is an Influence-per-protectorate decision. Iron Games techs and the mercenary market add more heroes after the start, according to the Hooded Horse beginner material. You are not stuck with one name for 200 turns.
Notables are the companion side. Village notables such as Chiolite or Nidar live on the minor factions list. Haven companions and friendship boons are the Steam line about relationships. Power Couple, Heart of Steel, Zest for Life, Zealous Instructor, and Possessive Impulse are the five companion traits on the starter table. Each one is a number you can plan a war around: Influence on kill, capture points, hero health, army XP, and swarm combat stats.
Order of Zelevas and Severed Claws inherit Kin and Necrophage cores and do not ship extra named starters beside Uwe Rach and Plays-with-Fire. Sandshapers pick Dreamers, Seekers, or Conquerors as a path. Custom factions mix populations and can recruit from the same mercenary pool.
When to keep a hero in the field
Steam says a trained, armed commander can turn the tide of entire wars. That is the field job: walk with the army, fire the active, collect the companion kill bonus. The Council job is the opposite: sit still, apply the governor trait, let the army run with a different leader. You can swap, but you cannot be in both chairs on the same turn in any useful sense. Kin players often want Uwe on the capital until the wall network is built, then in the field for captures. Aspects often want Polemephon collecting Influence kills while coral spreads.
Equipment and traits accrue on the person, not the faction. A hero you ignore for 80 turns is a wasted unique kit. The 59-achievement list includes faction gates and combat tricks (drowning, baiting a Doomwraith) that are easier with the right commander on the stack. Plays-with-Fire's flying warrior kit is the Necrophage answer to drowning and river fights. Talak's ranged caster kit is the Tahuk answer to illuminating targets for the Oculum army.
For the eight playable sides these heroes belong to, use factions. For the villages that supply extra notables, use minor factions. For the first-hour decision of which starter to live with, use the beginner's guide.
Swapping field and Council without wasting a kit
A useful rhythm on Kin is twenty turns of Uwe on the capital, then a capture campaign once the wall exists. Aspects can leave Polemephon in the field the whole opening because Influence on kill funds the next village. Last Lords often keep Duke Unwin on the stack because Zest for Life is a health pool they cannot grow with Food. Tahuks can park Talak as a governor once two observatories exist, then re-field him for a science-backed war. Necrophage want Plays-with-Fire on every drowning-risk fight and can leave Public Surgeon at home only when the swarm is already huge.
Mercenary-market heroes and Iron Games techs add names after the start. Put the new commander on trash armies so the starter can keep the unique companion trait. Do not overwrite a Power Couple or Heart of Steel kit by parking that hero forever on a Council seat that a generic governor could hold. The Council wants the governor number; the field wants the companion number.
If you play Order of Zelevas, treat Uwe's kit as borrowed Kin tech, not a unique rogue starter. Severed Claws borrow Plays-with-Fire. Sandshapers still lack a published starter name, so recruit from the mercenary pool early and pick the Dreamer, Seeker, or Conqueror path with that in mind. Custom factions should decide before turn one whether the Council seat or the field active matters more, then mix populations that feed that choice.
| Name | Faction | Role | Hook | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polemephon, the Steadfast | Aspects | Infantry Archer | Power Couple — 20 Influence on kill | Colonizer — +10 Influence per Protectorates |
| Uwe Rach | Kin of Sheredyn | Infantry Archer | Heart of Steel — +10 Capture Point on Capture actions | Working Capital — +15 Industry on Capital |
| Duke Unwin Weybridge | Last Lords | Infantry Warrior | Zest for Life — +40 Health on Hero | Haggler — -30% Specialization Cost on Unit |
| Talak Emburu | Tahuks | Ranged Caster | Zealous Instructor — +20% XP on non-Hero units | Mercury Rising — +5 Dust per Observatory |
| Plays-with-Fire | Necrophage | Flying Warrior | Possessive Impulse — +25 Health and +5 Damage on Swarm | Public Surgeon — regeneration in allied territory |
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