A Mykara Guide

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Introduction

This is a guide to playing Mykara in ELCP, particularly on Serious and Impossible difficulty, with all DLCs enabled.

First and foremost, the Mykara are highly incentivized to complete their faction quest as quickly as possible: +3x FIDSI production on fungal blooms is such a ridiculously high bonus that upon receiving it the player goes from mediocre FIDSI production to essentially winning the game. Of course the difficult part is in completing the quest—early fungal blooms generally are not too efficient relative to the food cost, and so for the most important phases of the game the player is quite resource-constrained.

Likewise militarily, not only are Mykara's units lackluster, but the fact that they are limited to a single city's worth of production means that they cannot replace losses as easily as other factions. This is further compounded by the AI's production bonuses allowing them to send stack after stack of units at the player. The primary solution to this is Zolya's Blade, an early quest reward that turns the player's starting hero (or any infantry hero) into a one-unit army.

Zolya's Blade and certain other power spikes allow the player to gain an edge against the ticking clock of AI aggression, and with a bit of skill and luck it is possible to leverage these advantages to complete the faction quest. Broadly speaking, the phases of a Mykara campaign are the following:

1. Exploration
2. Survival
3. Consolidation/Expansion

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Exploration

(Era I and early Era II, First Two Eclipse-Winter Cycles, Chapters 1-4 of the Faction Quest)

The usual advice regarding the starting region applies. If one manages to find a good starting area with nice anomalies, or three villages, one's chance of winning increases greatly.

It is important to level up the starting hero as quickly as possible. Unlike the Cultists' conversion cost, the food cost of blooming a village does not increase for a destroyed, as opposed to pacified, village. Thus the Mykara generally want to destroy a village if the quest is not immediately useful—this grants the hero more experience as well. Unfortunately the Mykara hero is somewhat fragile, so one must still play somewhat conservatively until he gains some levels.

One small edge that the Mykara have is that their starting Ipotanes slow down enemies. This means that they can kite units, and with a bit of terrain advantage (cliffs, etc...) a single level 1 Ipotane can even kill some villages by itself over a few turns—particularly villages of Silics and Urces, both of which are good for Mykara to assimilate.

Since Alchemist's Furnace is required as for the first chapter of the faction quest, one should research Alchemist's Furnace as quickly as is reasonable, e.g. immediately after Language Square and Mill Foundry.

Regarding the order of blooms, I find the following to be the most crucial, more or less because they are dictated by the faction quest:

1. Villages in the home region, for the extra population; and additional villages of any faction that one wishes to assimilate.
2. 3 additional extractors for Chapter 1, Part 2 of the faction quest, once Alchemist's Furnace is researched.
3. More villages, to a total of 5, for Chapter 2, Part 1 of the faction quest. (Another small tip here: because villages in the home region are not destroyed if the bloom is removed, in some cases it is advantageous to remove the bloom after this step is completed; e.g. if the tile is already part of the city's exploitation, or if the if the FIDSI yields are simply lackluster. This reduces the food cost of subsequent blooms by a small amount.)

Concurrently one should research Open-Pit Mine and bloom spices if a deposit is discovered. Securing a supply of spices (possibly assimilating Dorgeshi at the same time) greatly increases Mykara's chance of success. The other Era I luxuries are generally not terribly impactful; additionally the halved gathering rate makes them difficult to acquire unless one has multiple deposits or Dorgeshi—thus I often do not prioritize Open-Pit Mine until much later.

Unfortunately Mykara cannot easily reach Era II before the first empire plan without a bit of luck, and furthermore food is a priority because of the blooms required by the faction quest, so I tend to research and build Public Library later than other factions. My build order tends to be:

1. Founder's Memorial
2. Seed Storage
3. Mill Foundry
4. Center for Mineralogy
5. ...

At this point I switch all population over to science to finish the rest of Era I.

Note: I usually don't bother with wonders because AI on higher difficulties will almost certainly build them sooner.

The first eclipse should occur in the later stages of Era I. The gathered dust should ideally be used to hire a second Mykara hero, and the remaining dust should be saved for purchasing Zolya's Blade. Scavenged tier II resources should be saved for a potential Urkan bribe.

A Mykara hero is, bar none, the best governor for Mykara because of the skill Life from the Loam (+1/2/3 Food on Terrain with Food), which applies to all fungal bloom tiles including additional tiles exploited by Mykara watchtowers. The skill is incredibly powerful—3 additional food easily doubles, almost triples Mykara's total food output. With the tile bonus, blooms pay for themselves much more quickly, and blooms that were previously not efficient suddenly become profitable. Thus the Mykara player is heavily incentivised to place the starting hero as a governor in the home city once he reaches level 4.

Note that for balance reasons, the vast majority of +FIDSI on tile effects (e.g. from buildings) do not apply to fungal blooms outside the home region. The main exceptions are certain ELCP-specific Mykara buffs:

• Symbiosis traits (Wild Walkers, Vaulters/Mezari, Broken Lords, Morgawr)
• Custom faction traits (Industry Efficient, e.g.).

One problem, however, is that a Mykara hero is also the best general for the Mykara because of the Free Counter capacity, which synergises perfectly with Zolya's Blade and turns him into a killing machine. Not to mention, Chapter 4 of the faction quest requires the player to defeat some armies with a Mykara general wielding Zolya's Blade.

So really what the player needs is two Mykara heroes. Ideally the following should happen around the same time:

1. The first dust eclipse occurs.
2. Mercenary Market is researched, and the market contains a second Mykara hero.
3. The starting Mykara hero reaches level 4.

In this case the player can safely place the starting Mykara hero as the governor in the capital, then hire the second Mykara hero as a general and level him up in anticipation of Chapter 4 of the faction quest. Unfortunately, being able to hire a second Mykara hero is not at all guaranteed, even after waiting for the market to refresh the hero roster. In this non-ideal case, the Mykara hero should still be used as a governor. Another infantry general may be hired to take advantage of Zolya's Blade, but a Mykara hero is still required eventually.

Era II should be reached around the first winter. With the Mykara hero as governor, the winter food penalty should not be too severe, but dust production will plummet. Also around this time the blooms required for the first two chapters of the faction quest should complete. Regarding which faction to assimilate first, the player is usually limited by which ones are accessible in sufficient numbers, but the following are good:

1. The usual suspects, Urces and Silics, provide excellent economic bonuses along with good frontline units.
2. Bos give a food bonus and another decent frontline unit. Not to mention, getting the "Marathon" quest from a Bos village gives the player a free centaur. Completing the quest is generally not a good idea because of how far the other villages are; rather one should destroy the quest-giving village with a hero and centaur to gain more experience.
3. If the player manages to acquire spices, Dorgeshi become very useful.
4. Eyeless Ones are great if acquired very early on since they reduce the need to expend resources or research time on approval. Likewise the two free Caecators received from "Way of the Initiate" can heal the starting hero, making him nigh invincible during the early game. Completing the quest is optional, however, per the above.
5. Erycis are a notable mention because mobility is always useful.

Era II research priorities are:

1. Imperial Highways: ELCP buffs Era II towers to exploit one more tile (so two tiles total), which makes them the most efficient blooms for generating FIDSI at this point in the game. When coupled with Life from the Loam, the player should now be able to deploy blooms much more quickly than before. Towers which are close to anomalies and/or generate a significant amount of food should be prioritised.
2. Imperial Coinage: To buy hyperium for Zolya's Blade. Additionally as a second source of dust income, since Mykara generally have an excess of titanium and glassteel but are starved on dust.

Ideally the following should happen around the same time:

1. The second dust eclipse occurs.
2. Imperial Coinage is researched.
3. Chapter 3 of the faction quest is completed, which unlocks Zolya's Blade.

Chapter 4 of the faction quest requires the player to defeat several roaming armies; Part 2 additionally requires a Mykara general wielding Zolya's Blade. This is simple if the player managed to hire a second Mykara hero earlier, who with Zolya's Blade equipped can easily solo all the armies. In the worst case the player will need to use their governor, who should be returned to the capital as soon as possible.

With the dust from the eclipses, the following should be purchased:

1. 6 hyperium for Zolya's Blade.
2. 5 Adamantian for Testament of the Urkans, a requirement for Chapter 5 of the faction quest.
3. If the player was forced to purchase another infantry general, then potentially 6 additional hyperium for equipping the general with Zolya's Blade. (A Forgotten general dual-wielding two Zolya's Blades seems insanely powerful here, but I've never gotten that particular combination.)

This is all unfortunately quite expensive. Additional dust should be saved and used to shore up military weaknesses, as described in the following section.

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Survival

(Late Era II, early Era III, Chapters 5-6 of the Faction Quest)

Late Era II and early Era III are perhaps the most difficult parts of a Mykara campaign. During this time the AI begins to encroach upon the player's territory, and an early invasion by an aggressive neighbouring faction, combined with poor RNG outcomes during the early stages (no second Mykara hero, no good minor faction, poor anomalies, e.g.) may even force the player to restart. Simultaneously the player becomes much more resource-constrained, as blooms are at this point are still a poor source of dust and science. Since there are few technologies for generating dust in Eras I-II and the player needs to spend a lot of dust to acquire Zolya's Blade and maintain an army, it is quite easy to run out of dust during this phase. Likewise the AI will rapidly outpace the player in research. During this time it is prudent to keep the majority of the city's population on science, occasionally switching over to industry rush a unit or building.

However, assuming the player survives and manages to tame an Urkan for Chapter 5 of the faction quest, then the path to completing the remaining chapters, and thus achieving victory, becomes much more straightforward. The timing is somewhat tricky—the player wants to claim an Urkan as soon as the first part of Chapter 5 is completed. Unfortunately this is heavily RNG-dependent, as the Urkan may spawn close to the player and want the correct resource, or it may not.

For various reasons, it is actually not bad for the AI to claim the first Urkan:

• It is quite likely that the player will not have completed the first part of Chapter 5 or will not have the not have the required military force or luxuries when the first Urkan appears.
• 6 Urkan upgrades, across all Urkans owned by any player, are required for Chapter 6, Part 1 of the faction quest. It is usually expensive for the player to purchase all the upgrades themselves, but on higher difficulties, if the AI manages to acquire an Urkan, they will upgrade it relatively quickly. Thus the AI is effectively helping the player complete the quest.
• The AI tends to tame the Urkan by attacking it, which leaves it with low health. This means that the Urkan is not a threat; this may also present an opportunity for the player to snipe the Urkan.

Around this time a neighbouring AI will very likely declare war on the player. Because of the massive disparity in production, one is forced to trade efficiently, using whatever dirty tricks are available:

• Zolya's Blade is a game changer on an infantry hero, especially a Mykara one. Wielding it, the hero should have a sufficiently high defence stat to take only 37.5% effective damage. A Mykara's free counter additionally allows him to attack twice each turn. (Conversely Zujajun and Necrophages are annoying to fight against because their plague damage ignores defence.)
• The efficiency of the Blade wielder is multiplied when backed by a healer. As mentioned before, the free Caecators from the Eyeless Ones' pacification quest are amazing if one manages to acquire them. Likewise being able to hunt down Skoros when the quest appears (a hero with Zolya's Blade can kill it by themselves over a few turns), and then rush building it, grants the player a reliable and difficult-to-kill source of healing and crowd control.
  • After ELCP 2.7.0 a Drakken healer also works well. The Eye of the Hurnas accessory now adds 15 flat damage, which translates to 15 additional healing—almost double what most healers can manage at level 1. Previously it was necessary to acquire Wolfbane the Shepherd (RNG again) or another good strategic weapon to make hero healers viable.
• Another very helpful (and quite notorious) quest is A Cursed Bounty. In ELCP the roaming Tetike armies are greatly buffed and will attack the player who completes the quest, usually an AI. Previously the Tetike armies were enough to wipe out factions entirely. Under the right conditions, this gives the player a window of opportunity to attack while the AI is dealing with the Tetikes.
• Opportunities to snipe Urkans and roaming quest guardians are potentially very valuable. The AI will often not be able to kill the guardian or Urkan in the first attempt, but may weaken it enough for the player to steal the reward.
• If the stars align, bribing an Urkan can provide a huge army.
• Since the AI will likely have invaded the player's territory, one can fight the initial battles on the capital and abuse the fortification mechanic. If the player manages to survive the first wave, it usually becomes quite easy to go on the offensive and take an AI city from the AI and acquire a Symbiosis bonus.
• One final quest which may be helpful: Conflict Resolution. Killing the Tetike army unlocks the Watchman's Pelt, which is essentially equivalent to the tier 3 dust cuirass for heroes, but cheaper and available much, much earlier.

Regarding Mykara units:

• Ipotanes are poor to decent—better used as support units than ranged damage dealers. Relative to other ranged units they have a very low attack stat; and while they have the highest defence of all ranged units, they also have the lowest health. Their main benefit is that they require no research; and when equipped with weapons that lower the enemies' attack attribute, they can support an infantry general quite well.
• Gorgons unfortunately seem to die quite easily; I generally do not find them to be worth the research.
• Shamblers have a base attack stat of 10! So they are useless for anything except for being a meat shield. Thankfully their health and defence are quite high. However, since many good economic minor factions also have good frontline units, Shamblers are still usually not worth researching.

In general Mykara seem to depend on their overpowered hero, and Ipotanes and/or good minor faction units.

The following technologies should be prioritised in Era III:

• Highway Outposts to improve towers even further. With ELCP they exploit three additional tiles (so four tiles total, double the number of the Era II towers, and quadruple the number of regular blooms).
• Dust Alchemy and Dust Refinery, to finally stop hemorrhaging dust.
• The two science technologies, since Mykara needs to put workers on science to maintain even a mediocre rate of research.

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Consolidation/Expansion

Assuming the player manages to survive the initial phase of AI aggression and capture an Urkan, then the rest of the campaign is relatively straightforward. Era III technologies greatly alleviate Mykara's economic bottlenecks (dust, science, and bloom FIDSI efficiency) and, when combined with an adequate military presence, should allow the player to snowball from conquest. Notable technologies in later eras:

• Any luxury/strategic extractors
• Any large percentage bonuses (Isolation Sciences, Scientific Specialization, e.g.)
• Borer's Guild (Era IV) and Improved Dust Alchemies (Era V), which unlock buildings granting global production bonuses to strategic and luxury resource extractors, respectively
• Industrial Processing (Era IV) for the National Craftsworks building, which doubles the effect of luxury resources on the capital
• Enlightened Trade (Era V) for further upgraded towers

At this point the player is free to conquer and raze territory, hunt Urkans, play whack-a-mole when neighboring factions expand back into the razed areas, etc.... The remaining chapters of the faction quest are also relatively simple. Once the faction quest is completed and Iron Veins (+3 FIDSI multiplier on blooms) are acquired, Mykara can essentially bloom everything on the map. (And gain one population unit each turn. And produce an 8-unit army each turn. And research a technology each turn. And so on.) Any victory is feasible, but the wonder victory seems the easiest—simply gather enough mithrite and hyperium, move all population to industry, and click "End Turn" a few times.

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Miscellaneous

• The settings used are mostly the same as in Jojo's guide, with the exception that I tend to play on Normal speed instead of Fast. Spread empire starts obviously benefit the Mykara player. I believe that having more anomalies generally benefits Mykara than the AI, but I am not sure. With few players in the game (1-2 opponents), Mykara has an opportunity to simply eliminate everyone once Zolya's Blade is acquired. With more opponents the game will go on for longer, and thus it becomes necessary to actually complete the faction quest.
• With regards to timing on Normal speed, in my latest two Impossible games I fought the AI around turns 45 and 35, completed the faction quest around turn 70, and won with wonder victories on turns 102 and 92. The exact timings each game will of course depend on RNG.
• With proper execution one should be able to almost always win on ELCP Serious. ELCP Impossible, on the other hand, requires some luck with the RNG (space to expand, starting anomalies, Urkans, AI aggression timing, spices, e.g.), and ELCP Endless even more so.

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|| Edit History ||

Edit: Rewritten to prioritize Mykara governor, due to Life From the Loam. Thanks Jojo and Babutz/LeaderEnemyBoss for clarifying that the trait actually affects bloom tiles.

Edit: Obligatory notice, since content aggregators like to steal stuff: I do not consent to having this guide reproduced without my permission. The original Reddit thread is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/EndlessLegend/comments/lnuftx/a_mykara_guide/

Edit (2021-10-19): Added update with Eye of the Hurnas, which makes Drakken healers much more powerful.

Edit (2024-06-03): Fixed some general typos.