PAX: Wargroove 2 finds a new groove in its roguelike Conquest mode

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Wargroove is back with its sequel Wargroove 2, a surprise follow-up that returns to the tile-based tactics. And while it’s hitting many of the same notes as its predecessor, we got to go hands-on with its new spin on turn-based warfare: the Conquest mode.

The Conquest mode is one of Wargroove 2‘s big new features. It’s a roguelike approach to battles that follows a familiar structure if you’ve ever played other styles of roguelike. Yet for all the familiarity of this concept, it wound up being a pretty refreshing take on the turn-by-turn fights of Wargroove.

Starting out my demo at PAX East 2023, I was given the main Commander Nadia. Wielding a flamethrower and able to make fire rain from the sky, I was already in a good spot. But I’d need some more forces to have a real army going.

Three choices were given to me for my starting forces. I could pick a weak group, made up of dogs and soldiers, that came with a significant sum of gold. Or I could go the other way, getting very little seed money but a strong foundation of units. I chose the middle option, giving me some decent units and gold. In retrospect, I could have benefitted from being a little more confident in either approach.

From here, a map stretched out, laying out potential routes through a series of challenges. Some icons, with swords and skulls, clearly indicated battles ahead. Others, with question marks, were possible events. Again, this will be immediately legible if you’ve played something like Slay the Spire. It’s a node-based map progression where you often have to make choices about which route to take at various forks.

What the roguelike mode emphasized for me was the value of each unit. I’ll freely admit that I’m probably too carefree with my units