Today is a big day, especially for those who enjoy playing multiplayer with friends (or enemies). Simultaneous battles are finally here, letting everyone do battle at the same time! Matches will be faster and more dynamic, making for a smoother experience.
Update 1.5 brings more than just this major feature. It also introduces improved random maps, skill caps for Wielders, along with a range of adventure and balance improvements. More refinements are on the way, but for now, this post focuses on the highlights. Those who enjoy a deep dive into the details will find a full changelog linked at the bottom.
But let’s dive into those highlights like a well-armored frog dives into combat.
So very, very eager!
Let’s start with the big one: Sim-Battles! What is it, and how will it change your game? Since the early days of Early Access, players have asked for a way to fight separate battles at the same time. The goal was to make multiplayer less about waiting for your turn and more about strategy and skill.
At first, this seemed too complex to implement with limited resources, so it was set aside. But it was never forgotten. This winter, our developers took another look and found a solution. After testing last month, Sim-Battles is now ready for public release, you might call it a Christmas miracle!
Are there any limits on how many battles can happen at once? None that we have found. So now is the perfect time to jump back in and enjoy a faster, smoother multiplayer experience.
It’s time to build your forces, dig up those buildings, and conquer your enemies!
And what about those skill caps? The skill system in Songs of Conquest has never been front and center. It was not included in the codex, and we preferred to let players discover its depths through gameplay. Now, we are making some changes to this covert system. Certain skills will have level caps, meaning higher-tier skills will unlock at specific levels.
This change ensures there is no single correct way to level your Wielders. It encourages more varied builds and strategic choices. It was also a community suggestion that was too clever to pass up.
He’s such an archer, our little Peradine!
We have also introduced a more structured approach to randomness in our random maps. The goal is to create a more balanced and polished experience that better reflects our handcrafted Conquest maps. Resources will be a bit scarcer, and the maps themselves will be more visually appealing, with added elevation, beautiful forest and lake combinations, and greater variety in treasures and pickups. For those who prefer the old style with more abundant resources, we are soon adding a "legacy" mode that keeps random maps closer to their original form.
Beyond these major updates, there are plenty of bug fixes and smaller improvements. One of our favorites is a slight adjustment to neutral hostile growth rates. Sometimes, the smallest tweaks make the biggest difference.
With the ongoing spring sale, this is the perfect opportunity for both new and returning players to jump into Songs of Conquest. There is a lot more happening for our little pixel game this spring. We will be back soon with more news about Roots and other exciting things, such as the imminent release of the mobile version!
A while back, we promised news, and today we deliver! Our next faction has taken root, literally. We’re excited to launch the Roots store page, giving you a first glimpse of what’s to come. Over the next few months, we’ll share more in a series of devlogs covering everything from troops and lore to biomes and abilities.
The Roots is our second faction DLC, bringing sentient vines, walking mushrooms, and the reanimated husks of fallen foes to the battlefield. If that sounds like your kind of army, be sure to wishlist it by clicking the banner below!
But who, or rather what, are the strange creatures the Vanir call Roots? Deep in the dark Wyldwood of the Bleak East, an ancient, sentient colony of flora, fungus, and the bones of lost heroes thrives. Led by the enigmatic Tree Mothers, the Roots seek to expand their domain and, above all else, survive.
Unlike our other factions, the Roots do not consist of individuals with their own ambitions. They share a single mind, a collective consciousness that drives their relentless push to spread the Wyldwoods. Where Barya and Arleon are built on personal will and strategy, the Roots are bound by purpose—an unstoppable force of nature.
Sentient buildings, and dangerous creatures, they are all tools for a unified purpose.
The Roots understand that to lead their forces and communicate with other factions, they need intermediaries, and voices for the Tree Mothers. To fulfill this need, they create Vessels, repurposed corpses of the fallen, and given just a sliver of their former mind and essence.
The process is not perfect. The vast majority do not survive intact, their wills shattered by the transformation. These broken vessels, little more than husks of bone and vine-bound flesh, become mindless tools, sent into battle as relentless, undying servants of the cause.
I think this Arleon reconnaissance patrol might regret venturing into the Wyldwood.
More ancient than any other faction, the Roots are strange and twisted. Where did they come from? Why did they leave their former home, and why are they now mostly found in the Bleak East? Why does the dangerous Vildra hate them so much? Some of these questions, and perhaps more, will be answered in the two story-driven challenge maps that explore their past.
There will also be five Conquest maps, designed to introduce the new units, showcase how the faction plays, and bring their dark, swamp-infested biome to life. We’ll cover more about that in a future Devlog as it’s still a work in progress, but expect new map entities, dense shadowed forests, and plenty of creeping vines.
We can’t wait to see what you will create with all your new cartography toys!
It’s hard not to throw more fungi-dropping details at you, but the truth is that Roots is still a work in progress, even though production is going great! We see no issues sticking to our plan and expect to release the dark forests of the Roots this summer.
Now, before we continue, we want to acknowledge a mistake. When we released Vanir, we followed Valve’s recommended regional pricing, which we hadn’t done when we launched the base game. This led to an odd situation where the Vanir DLC cost more than what was reasonable in some countries. This wasn’t our intention, but rather an honest mistake on our end, and we understand why it felt frustrating.
We’ve taken your feedback to heart and are making changes. This time, we’re manually adjusting prices when we release Roots, ensuring a fairer approach. We’ve also corrected the mistake with Vanir, and price adjustments should roll out for the affected regions soon. Thank you for your patience and for keeping us accountable.
But back to Roots!
We can’t wait to share more about our newest faction in the coming months. Expect Devlogs covering unit rosters, giant creeps, tactics, essence, and new features. Stay tuned, and don’t forget to wishlist Roots now!
/Anders and everyone at Lavapotion
Sim-Battle testing and Random map Improvements!
Greetings Wielders!
It’s still officially January, which means we can get away with saying things like, “Hope the start of 2025 has been great for you!” For us at Lavapotion, the past few weeks have been about getting back into the swing of things and planning the year ahead. Looking at our roadmap, we’re happy to say it’s still solid. There are a few TBDs that we’ll have more to share about soon, but one thing is certain—2025 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Songs of Conquest!
Click on it to make it bigger, a nifty trick!
And before we get to what lies ahead, let’s take a look at what we just did. We released a new faction! The Vanir hit the shores of Aerbor, and judging by the stats, you liked it. Our Viking and Nordic folklore-inspired addition to Songs of Conquest sold above expectations. Of course, despite all the playtesting, some things might still need fine-tuning. That’s part of the process and the joy of making something new. We want to say thank you for your support, your love for our new units, and the appreciation you’ve shown us.
You’ve so far recruited over 1.6 million of these stabby little ravens, well done!
But let’s look ahead. One of the most frequent requests since early access has been Sim Battles or simultaneous battles. We already released Sim Turns, but only one battle can happen at a time, which slows down multiplayer games.
One of our developers, Niklas, spent his Christmas working on it, and we’re proud to say that it's now ready for testing. It’s not fully done yet, but it’s close. There might still be a few small hiccups, but internal playtesting has been very promising (and fun). Now, we’re opening it up on the Public Test Realm right now, for everyone to enjoy, and if you find bugs, let us know by using our in-game bug report tool.
It’s right there in the game properties, sim-battles, just a few clicks away!
We plan to test this for about a month before rolling out a major update to improve Songs of Conquest for everyone. We promised multiplayer updates on our Roadmap, and this is a big one. But that’s not all we’ve been working on. We’ve also made improvements to our random maps—most notably, they now have elevation, something they didn’t have before! It’s more than just a visual upgrade, though that part matters too. We’ve also tweaked the gameplay in ways we think you’ll enjoy. We made sure that not just the terrain is more varied but that pick-ups, buildings, and artifacts are more varied.
It might be random, but its’ definitely planned!
All these random map changes and more, besides go live on PTR together with the sim-battle feature. This really is the biggest change to our Random Map Generator in a long time and our goal is to make them feel random but a lot more true to the beautiful game that we want to show and more similar in both look and feel to the maps that we created for Conquest maps.
More hills, more water! You should get in there and enjoy the randomness!
And of course, we have to mention Roots, Q2’s star and the main focus of the team right now. Roots will be our second faction DLC, introducing the strange creatures and beings of the Wyld forests in the Bleak East. Ancient, mysterious swamp-dwelling beasts, skeletons held together by roots, and living buildings. It’s going to be wild.
But there’s much more to say, and we’ll be sharing those details in a series of devlogs, starting with the launch of the Roots Steam page, which is just around the corner. Suffice it to say, that 2025 is shaping up to be quite a year, and we haven’t even covered everything yet. There will be console updates, a secret project we’ve been keeping under wraps, and much more. So stay tuned!
For now, jump into that Public Test Realm, try Sim-battles with a friend, and surprise them with your latest Vanir strategy. One that, for some reason, just involves a lot of pigs. What are you most looking forward to? Have any questions for the team? This is the perfect place to ask, we’re always happy to chat.
Thank you,
Anders & the Lavapotion team
Hotfix 1.4.13
Fixed broken/missing weather effects
Fixed Thigh Boots artifact not giving its gold income
Fixed tooltips lingering on screen when using gamepad
Hotfix 1.4.12
Fixed memory related crash to desktop issues
Fixed Chain Lightning effect being applied to the wrong targets
Fixed gamepad zoom level being reset every End Turn
Fixed ranged attacks triggered by Challenge ability not causing shooting troops to reload
Fixed yet another edge case issue with artifact trading causing AI softlock
Tweaked bloom values to counter the brightness of Vanir's snow biome during night
Fixed leaf particles being drawn to certain other special effects
Fixed gamepad lobby tooltips not updating properly when changing settings (and likely a bunch of similar issues)
Added Ranged troop status to Grym
Fixed Vanir Bracers not giving their bonus
Fixed Cauldron map entity movement buff being stackable
Repositioned a blocker in Steadfast map to allow access to a pile of stone
Slightly changed the terrain in Dividing Fjords to allow access to a sack of gold
Prevent loading of saves from “future” versions of the game (applicable when reverting to older versions of the game, such as our “console crossplay” beta)
Hotfix 1.4.11
Fixed issue with artifact trading causing AI softlock
Fixed rare edge case in "hunker down" behaviour causing AI softlock
Fixed not being able to re-join your Vanir team when loading online saves when the host doesn't own the Vanir DLC
Fixed Old Sword and Throwing Axe artifacts not giving their Offence bonuses
Fixed Bjorn not using the Shifter skill pool
Fixed sliders not refreshing properly in troop drafting menus when upgrading units before drafting them
Fixed Huskarls not switching to sword if throwing their spears because of a Skinshifter Challenge
Post-battle menu will no longer show information about enemy's Serimnaans returning to their recruitment pools
Make check mark behaviour for Challenge maps be consistent with Conquest maps and only show up after a win has been registered for that map (rather than just having started it at least once)
Minor balance fix for Clash in The Marsh map
Minor visual fix for Fardeeds Isle map
Translation fixes
Thank you for 2024!
As the year comes to a close, we at Lavapotion are trading our office shoes for snow boots and our morning coffee for something a little sweeter. It’s a time for reflection, a chance to reflect on 2024. This year has been filled with success, change, and challenges. What would life be without a bit of variation, right?
But as we wrap up the year, one emotion stands above the rest: pride. We’re proud to have released Songs of Conquest, sharing our game with the world. We’re grateful for our amazing community, whose support, love, and feedback have helped us make the game even better. We’re thrilled to have launched Songs of Conquest on consoles, allowing players to enjoy the game from the comfort of their couches like never before. And just now, we’ve capped off the year with the hugely successful release of our first Faction DLC, The Vanir.
Not bad for some silly little vikings!
As the holidays approach, things will slow down a bit at Lavapotion, but rest assured—we’ll be back in action come January! That’s when work resumes on our next faction, Roots, alongside exciting updates for multiplayer, more balance tweaks, and a few other surprises we’ve been quietly working on. Suffice it to say, 2025 is shaping up to be an exciting year, and we can’t wait to have you along for the ride.
There is no better way to stay connected and informed than our newsletter, and if you need more incentive why you should sign up for it, we are giving away some holiday gifts to some of our lucky subscribers, so join in and get a chance for some extra joy! The lucky winners will be contacted i January, when we are back from vacations!
Click the image above to sign up for our newsletter! (Also, Is it pure coincidence that one of the Vanir Wielders have such a jolly appearance?)
And speaking of holiday cheer, the Steam Winter Sale is in full swing! What better way to embrace the season’s coziness than with a friendly, family-style Hot-Seat strategy game? Whether it’s your grandmother, your dog, or anyone else looking to dive into some pixelated warfare and magic, now’s the perfect time—Songs of Conquest is a whopping 66% off right now!
Cozy darkness, and then a good game.
And with that, we wish you a happy season, regardless how you spend it. We’ll be back before you know it!
/Everyone at Lavapotion
RASCals the lot of them
Hotfix 1.4.10
Fixed missing random faction icon in player lobby
Fixed artifact-swapping edge case where AI would getting stuck in endless trading of artifacts
Fixed exception stemming from special effects trying to play on objects that have been destroyed
Fixed exception on Steam Deck where it was trying to use a graphics quality setting that no longer exist
Fixed Wielder sheet not updating artifact set bonuses
Fixed that Vanir DLC menu could cause an exception when being closed by using the ESC key
Speculative fix for issue with banners on towns that the player has not seen yet
Speculative fix for random crash to desktop
Updated Blind Hatred spell description
Updated Go East map with fix for impassable road and misc visual issues
Winter is coming!
Big update and the Vanir DLC arrives!
Our new faction DLC is now officially released along with a large free update to the base game! Creating the Vanir has been an incredible journey, and we believe we’ve crafted something truly special. New, thrilling, and above all, fun! If you’ve been following our devlogs, you already know a little about the process, but there’s so much more to discover.
But today isn’t just about Nordic folklore, fantasy Vikings, and glorious raids. Every DLC launch is also a chance for us at Lavapotion to enhance the base game, ensuring that Songs of Conquest keeps evolving—even for players who might not pick up the DLC. Why? Because the base game is a labor of love for us, and we want to make right by our loyal audience. And speaking of loyal players, congratulations to sir_magnaram who won a key to access Vanir early by signing up for our newsletter, happy raiding! So, before smashing down the gates and diving into all the exciting Vanir details, let’s talk about the improvements that come with this update for everyone.
Yes, the “smashing down gate” thing was a bit forced, but I’ve been sitting on this GIF for weeks.
Your feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticism since our launch last spring have been invaluable. While we couldn’t implement everything, this update brings meaningful changes inspired by your input. And don’t worry, there’s plenty more balance tweaking and features planned for next year.
In this update, we’ve adjusted starting armies, updated the research trees for all factions, and rebalanced several units to keep battles engaging and competitive. For a full breakdown of the changes, we highly recommend diving into the full patch notes—there’s a lot to explore!
Don’t worry, even the dusty old Barony of Loth isn’t forgotten, all factions get a little bit of love with this update!
One major update is the introduction of Artifact Sets! These are themed collections of new and existing artifacts that grow in power as you equip more pieces from the same set. We think Artifact Sets brings a lot of fun, especially for players who enjoy crafting their own thematic maps. They add flair, variation, and, most importantly, raw power. And this is just the beginning—we’re already planning to expand with more sets and artifacts in the future to keep things fresh and exciting.
Some sets are small yet impactful like the Marsh Provides—a Rana-themed set of four artifacts. With each additional piece equipped, you gain extra Essence, and a full set offers a truly powerful edge!
Then there’s the Throat-Cutter Set, perfect for those who appreciate a bit of rogue flair. Collect the full set of five artifacts, and a Cutthroat unit will join each turn. It’s as practical as it is dashing!
With a complete set, those Cut-throats will flock to you: So leave a troop slot open!
And just because you didn’t pick up the Vanir DLC doesn’t mean you won’t encounter the new Vanir troops on the battlefield. We’ve added them as enemies on several of our previously released Conquest maps, and if you’re diving into a random map, don’t be surprised if you face the Vanir sooner rather than later.
We’ve also added a brand-new map: Barren Frontier. This Conquest map is designed to introduce you to the Vanir faction, setting the stage for battles in the snow-covered lands of the Bleak East. It’s the perfect opportunity to face off against our new faction and get a feel for their combat style.
As you see, there are many reasons to update Songs of Conquest and explore everything this latest patch has to offer! But now, let’s talk more about the new DLC!
It's an amazing feeling to still be learning new things, even after so many years of development. Designing our new faction has been an adventure in itself, but it also made us see our base game in a whole new light.
At the core of it all, our focus has been simple: make something fun. And we think we’ve succeeded. Have your raven-like Korphans leap onto enemy walls? That’s a damn treat. Watching your witch-like Nornor get hit with Blind Hatred, only to start stabbing your own troops from across the battlefield? Pure chaos—and pure fun!
We’re also incredibly proud of the new biomes. Crafting snow-covered trees, jagged mountains, and windswept plains felt cozy, even if it was harder than you'd think (despite just having to look out the window). Now, we can’t wait to see what you do with them. Somehow, our community map makers always manage to outshine us, impressing us with their creativity and the maps they bring to life.
Cold and filled with Trolls and scary horses, It feels just like home (for us Swedes anyhow!)
The units of any faction are vital! They’re your source of Essence, the foundation of your strategy, and the ones who will either die or conquer, based on your tactical brilliance. The Vanir and their Vildra allies bring a unique flavor to the battlefield, drawing deeply from folklore and Old Norse tales.
The Vanir are a resilient people, descended from ragtag settlers and former Baryan debtors. Combined with the enigmatic and forest-dwelling Vildra, they offer a truly unique and memorable playstyle. I mean who wouldn’t love to have a troll chuck a big old stone at your enemies?
Let the troll without sin cast the first stone?
We could say more, but as the saying goes, a screenshot (or a GIF!) is worth a thousand words. We hope you enjoy playing with our new faction as much as we enjoyed creating it, and we can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments! As the year winds down, Lavapotion will be a bit quieter over the coming weeks. We'll be retreating into the dark Swedish woods, donning chainmail, and crafting straw goats (don’t ask). But we wish you a wonderful December, and rest assured—before you know it, we’ll be back with more news, updates, and exciting plans for the future. This is just the beginning. Great deeds await!
/Everyone at Lavapotion
Play Vanir before everyone else!
Greetings Wielders!
The launch of Vanir is closing in and we are excited to announce that one lucky player will get the chance to play 24 hours before the actual release! All you need to do is to sign up for our newsletter and you’ll take part in the contest to win an early key for the DLC!
Click the image above to sign up for the newsletter!
But, regardless of if you win or not, you’ll still get a whole bunch of cool stuff. When you sign up for the newsletter you will get follow-up emails that give you additional freebies, like a high-resolution world map, an unreleased soundtrack song, desktop wallpapers, and a mystery video from the weird world of the Lavapotion dev team!
If you win, we will send you an email with the DLC code 24 hours before the official release on Tuesday the 17th of December. We wish you all the best of luck and hope to see you on the icy shores of Bleak East next week!
So very, very eager! 
It’s time to build your forces, dig up those buildings, and conquer your enemies!
He’s such an archer, our little Peradine! 
