Liquidation guide: getting started, understanding the three factions and winning through tactics instead of clicking

If you come to Liquidation expecting to find your StarCraft reflexes, you are going to hit a wall. This RTS does not reward click speed or build orders learned by heart, but the head: placement, terrain, the right unit in the right place. Good news, it is quick to learn, and it is even relaxing once it clicks. Here is what you need to start well, understand the factions and stop losing winnable battles for nothing.

First, change the way you think

The first mistake of a player coming from a macro RTS is wanting to manage everything at light speed. Here, slow down. Liquidation draws on Dawn of War and Warcraft III: victory is decided by positioning, terrain exploitation and army composition, not by the number of workers you produce per second. Take the time to read the battlefield before engaging.

Concretely, a small, well-placed army beats a large, badly engaged one. A group holding cover, flanking the enemy or focusing fire on the right target will do more damage than double the units thrown in a heap into the melee. Keep that in mind every fight: where are my units, where are theirs, and how do I turn that to my advantage.

The three playable factions at launch

Early Access offers three of the four planned factions, each with its own identity. The Twilight Crusade is the fanatical faction, carried by faith and a frontal, determined approach. The Scourge Alliance is the resourceful faction, the one that makes do with what it has and rewards ingenuity. The Legion is the infernal faction, brutal and aggressive. All fight over Quenrium on the dying planet of Veá.

To start, do not scatter yourself: choose a single faction and learn it thoroughly before touching the others. Each demands a different strategic approach, and trying to play them all at once at the beginning is the surest way to master none. Find the one whose style speaks to you, and make it your school.

The tactical fundamentals to master

Positioning is king. Use the terrain and cover to protect your fragile units and expose the opponent's. Flanking the enemy or hitting from behind changes everything, and being surrounded is the worst thing that can happen to you: always keep an escape route in mind and do not let yourself be cornered.

Unit synergy is the other pillar. An army is not a sum of soldiers, it is a whole that must complement itself: units that soak up hits in front, units that deal damage behind, support to hold the line. Learn which units of your faction reinforce each other, and build around those combinations rather than producing whatever you have on hand at random.

Do not sleep on your commander

Each faction has commander abilities, and they are often what tips a close battle. The classic beginner mistake is keeping them "just in case" and finishing the game without having used them. Do not do that. A commander ability dropped at the right moment, on an enemy cluster or to save your troops from a bad spot, is often worth more than an extra squad.

Learn the timing: identify the tipping point of a fight, the one where an ability flips the balance of power, and save it precisely for that instant. Neither too early out of haste, nor too late out of excess caution. It is a reflex that comes with practice, but it is the one that separates a clean win from a frustrating loss.

Where to start, concretely

Do not jump straight into the deep end of PvP, you will get crushed. Start with the campaign, whose first two chapters, meaning six missions, are available at launch: it is the best way to learn the basics gently and discover the units. Then move on to PvE skirmishes against the computer to practise composing and positioning without the pressure of a human opponent.

When you feel comfortable, only then attempt PvP. And keep in mind that Liquidation is an Early Access game: the content will grow, the balance will shift, and a fourth faction as well as the rest of the campaign will arrive by the full version planned for the second half of 2027. This guide will evolve with the game as content and community strategies take shape.

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Guide written from the PC Early Access version.