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 and in their visual identity, with deeper distinctions planned for early access.
The Three Factions
Alliance | People Name | Identity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Ancients | Mirrish | Established imperial-style alliance | Spawn at Ancient Town Centers with their distinct heraldry. |
Remnants | Novan | Reformist counterpart to the Ancients | Spawn at Remnant Town Centers, with their own armour and shield aesthetics. |
Pagans | Aranic | Third faction added during pre-alpha | Joined the war loop in March 2025; currently shares structures and equipment with the older alliances, with unique gameplay elements planned for early access. |
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 mid-April 2026, fifteen wars have completed under that ruleset. The Pagans' shorter record reflects their later addition to the lineup.
Faction | Wins | Stalemates | Defeats |
|---|---|---|---|
Ancients (Mirrish) | 9 | 2 | 4 |
Remnants (Novan) | 3 | 2 | 10 |
Pagans (Aranic) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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 are also faction-specific.
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.