- Anvil Empires clans form around keeps, where players meet, group up, and get recruited.
- Keeps offer safety: walls, public forges, high-tier crafting stations, and a marketplace, but charge a silver tax.
- Solo homesteads let clan-averse players specialize in one resource and trade with nearby settlements.
- Group estates multiply output when friends split roles: farming, smithing, hunting, and trading.
- Early access is expected soon, so building clan contacts in the official Discord now pays off.
How Clans and Communities Form in Anvil Empires
While Anvil Empires is advertised as a chaotic, persistent war game with factions fighting over territory, clan life is far more flexible than pure combat. Keeps are the social heart of the game: they are where other players meet, form small groups, or get recruited into larger clans. For new players, settling inside a keep is the most reliable entry point into organized play; for veterans, keeps serve as coordination hubs for attacks and defense.
Video Highlights:
- Keeps let players claim small homesteads inside protected city walls
- Group homesteads work like small-scale Foxhole-style facilities
- Solo players can specialize in mining, lumber, hunting, fishing, or farming
- Player-driven marketplaces reward clans that dominate a specific resource
- Early access is expected soon; pre-alpha testing is open via the official Discord
Keeps double as recruitment hubs. If you want to join an established clan, spend time at a keep's marketplace and public forges — active groups consistently recruit crafters and gatherers there.
Where Your Clan Should Settle: Three Options
Clan organization in Anvil Empires starts with a settlement decision. Each of the three main living arrangements shapes how your group operates, trades, and defends itself.
| Settlement Type | Safety | Customization | Best For | Key Drawback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo homestead | Low (open world) | Fully customizable | Lone specialists, traders | Exposed to raids |
| Group estate | Medium (walls possible) | Fully customizable | Friends, coordinated production | Needs defense setup |
| Keep homestead | High (city walls) | Restricted | New players, community life | Silver tax, limited space |
Solo Homestead
- Total creative freedom, no blueprint required
- Specialize in one resource for clear identity
- Trade with neighboring homesteads
Group Estate
- Role-based efficiency: farming, smithing, hunting
- Scale into Foxhole-style production facilities
- Build walls and defenses for supplies
Keep Living
- Free access to high-tier stations and forges
- Marketplace for resource trading
- Silver tax and close neighbors
Keep residency costs silver. Your clan must gather or craft regularly to maintain plots inside the walls. Budget clan labor accordingly before relocating everyone into a keep.
Step-by-Step: Building a Clan from Scratch
Establish a Keep Presence
Claim small homesteads inside a keep's walls. Use the safety, public forges, and marketplace to stockpile starting resources while recruiting passersby.
Assign Economic Roles
Split members into specializations: miners and blacksmiths forging tools and weapons, lumberjacks processing timber, hunters supplying meat and leather armor, farmers growing crops and breeding horses.
Expand to a Group Estate
Once roles are defined, move core production to a customizable open-field estate. Build walls and defenses to protect hard-earned stockpiles from raids.
Dominate a Resource Market
Focus the clan on one resource category and trade surplus through the marketplace. Scattered regional resources should make market control even more valuable at full map launch.
Feed the Faction War Effort
Convert clan economy into frontline supply: weapons, armor, food, and horses for soldiers heading to war, securing your clan's strategic value.
Groups that start inside keeps and expand outward combine early safety with long-term creative control — the most reliable growth path observed so far.
Clan Role Specializations Compared
Efficient Anvil Empires clans assign members to focused roles rather than having everyone do everything. Specializing gives a homestead a clear identity and purpose.
| Role | Gathering | Production | Clan Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miner/Blacksmith | Stone, ore | Tools and weapons | Arms the frontline |
| Lumberjack | Trees | Processed lumber | Expansion, trade goods |
| Hunter | Wild game (bow) | Meat, leather armor | Low-tier frontline gear |
| Fisher | Rivers, lakes, oceans | Food stock | Sustains garrisons |
| Farmer/Rancher | Crops, animals | Food, bred horses | Mounts for soldiers |
Engage nearby homesteads early and trade resources back and forth. Inter-settlement trade builds the relationships that later grow into alliances and larger clans.
Anvil Empires vs. Foxhole: What Clan Players Should Expect
Players coming from Foxhole should adjust expectations before organizing a clan. Both games share persistent war, but Anvil Empires leans heavily into survival mechanics, personal homesteads, resource gathering, and player-driven marketplaces, creating a slower, more immersed style of play.
| Aspect | Foxhole | Anvil Empires |
|---|---|---|
| Pacing | Fast, combat-focused | Slower, survival-driven |
| Economy | Logistics-focused | Player-driven marketplaces |
| Housing | Minimal | Homesteads and keeps |
| Clan feel | Military regiments | Settler communities with war roles |
Developers have stated Anvil Empires is expected to enter early access soon. Join the official Discord and sign up for pre-alpha testing to get early hands-on clan-building experience before launch.
Clan Readiness Checklist
Before Launch, Your Clan Should:
- Recruit core members through keep marketplaces
- Assign at least three economic specializations
- Stockpile silver for potential keep taxes
- Establish trade contacts with neighboring homesteads
- Join the official Discord and register for pre-alpha testing
Q: How do I join Anvil Empires clans as a new player?
Head to a keep. Keeps are where players meet, form small groups, and get recruited into larger clans. Living inside the walls also gives you access to high-tier crafting stations, public forges, and the marketplace while you learn the game.
Q: Do Anvil Empires clans have to live inside keeps?
No. Keeps offer safety and convenience but restrict customization and charge a silver tax. Many groups eventually move out to open-field group estates where they can build custom walls, defenses, and larger production facilities.
Q: What is the best clan role for a small group?
Assign one member each to farming, smithing, and hunting or trading. This role split creates efficient growth, and groups can scale up production dramatically once multiple players contribute.
Q: Is Anvil Empires clan life similar to Foxhole regiments?
Only partially. Both feature persistent war, but Anvil Empires emphasizes survival mechanics, personal homesteads, resource gathering, and player-driven markets, resulting in slower, more immersive gameplay than Foxhole's combat-focused pacing.