Anvil Empires is built around three player alliances who share the same world and compete to satisfy a victory condition. Each alliance has both an out-of-game name (used in menus and matchmaking) and an in-world people name. At the time of the most recent pre-alpha test, the alliances differed mainly in spawn location, faction-specific superior shields, and faction-specific clothing pieces, with deeper distinctions planned for early access.
The Three Factions
Alliance | People Name | Identity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Ancients | Mirrish | Indigenous to Calligo, zealous defenders of ancestral land | Blue heraldry; venerate gods including Sigor and Scade. Spawn at Ancient Town Centers. |
Remnants | Novan | Survivors of a collapsed empire seeking restoration | Red and crimson heraldry; framed as indelible. Spawn at Remnant Town Centers. |
Pagans | Aranic | Seafaring invaders sailed north from the southern Aranic isles | Gold and orange heraldry; framed as dauntless. Joined the war loop in March 2025 and were selectable again in the most recent test, with unique gameplay elements still planned for early access. |
The studio has begun moving the in-game wording from alliance to empire. The MS 67 build renamed the alliance chat channel to Empire Chat, and the official reference material now presents the three groups as player-selectable empires rather than alliances. The three names themselves are unchanged, and the terms are used interchangeably for now; this article keeps faction and alliance as descriptive terms while the rename settles.
Choosing a Faction
Players pick an alliance during character setup. Once selected, the avatar spawns at that faction's set of Town Centers on the world map. Within an alliance, players may form temporary cooperative arrangements with other alliances during a war, but the win condition is always tracked per faction. See the Getting Started guide for the spawn-and-claim flow.
War Record
The studio tracks every full war played since alliance victory conditions were introduced in early 2025. As of early August 2026, eighteen wars have been played to a conclusion under that ruleset, and a nineteenth begins on 17 August 2026. The most recent completed war, War 18, ran from 21 to 28 July 2026 and was ended by the Ancients on the religious path, although a developer notice during the test acknowledged that the religious condition was not working as intended for that war. The Pagans' shorter record reflects their later addition to the lineup.
Faction | Military | Cultural | Religious | Total Victories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ancients (Mirrish) | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
Remnants (Novan) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
Pagans (Aranic) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
The table counts victory conditions triggered across the eighteen concluded wars, not wars won, so a single war that ends with two conditions satisfied contributes to two rows. Each empire also has a different number of wars available to it: the Pagans have only been selectable in a handful of tests, and the cultural and religious paths were not enabled in every early war. Records reflect competitive pre-alpha tests only and may shift sharply with each new test as balance changes land. Treat the table as a snapshot of pre-alpha wars rather than a long-term competitive ladder.
Faction Differences in Pre-Alpha
Aesthetics: Each faction has unique heraldry and armour finishes; superior shields and faction-specific clothing pieces are also faction-aligned.
Spawn locations: Each alliance starts at its own set of Town Centers, scattered across different regions of the map.
Gameplay parity: Most weapons, armour pieces, and structures are currently identical across factions; this is a known pre-alpha state and the studio plans deeper faction-unique systems before early access.
The Aranic Pagans
The Pagans are the seafaring faction, framed in lore as invaders who sailed north from the southern Aranic isles to claim Calligo. The most recent development update fleshed out their identity ahead of an upcoming test: the colony of Harodiga is ruled by Queen Pyri together with the Pagan Prince Isa. Their fleets are marked by distinctive green sails, and their soldiers wear loose, lightweight garb cut from colourful, patterned fabric rather than the heavier dress of the other alliances.
These details are aesthetic and narrative. As with the other alliances, the studio has stated that faction-unique gameplay systems for the Pagans are still planned for early access; in the current pre-alpha the alliances differ mainly in heraldry, clothing, superior shields, and spawn location.
Related Pages
Victory Conditions
Calligo