Comparison with Warcraft III and Starcraft

Major differences

 * Underground mode
 * Unit leveling
 * Control supergroups

Underground mode
Essentially each map has an underground portion to it, which can be entered through specific entry points like caves and abandoned towers. The underground can be cave-like or dungeon-like. Some units can help with drilling a passageway into the underground (Miners).

Gameplay differences

 * Game can be described as Starcraft in a fantasy setting.
 * The three races are as follows: Empire are your humans (with some elven additions), Fallen are a zerg-undead hybrid and Beastmen are kind of like orcs.
 * Starcraft-like gameplay: max supply is 200, ladder maps don't have neutral creeps, and even ramps leading up to the base can be blocked with buildings.
 * There are 3 main resource types (gold, wood, gems) in Armies of Exigo as opposed to 2 in Warcraft III and Starcraft.
 * Hero units are only available in the campaign; they are not resurrectable and do not level up.
 * Units generally move slower (and there are several upgrades to speed them up).
 * More nuanced damage/armor system with lots of damage types (swing, bash, pike, pierce, fire, etc).
 * No passive healing, with the only exception of Fallen units when they are on "corrupted" ground.
 * You need only a few workers on wood (2-4), while in regards to gems it depends on the "techiness" of units you aim to produce. So gems are like vespene gas.
 * The supply taken by a unit is similar to Warcraft III, however the supply cap is twice as large (200 > 100). Therefore, the number of units involved in battles is higher than in Warcraft III but lower than in Starcraft.
 * High-tier units are considerably more expensive than in Warcraft III.
 * Most units generally take longer build times compared to their counterparts from Warcraft III.
 * In many respects Exigo is the middleground between Starcraft and Warcraft gameplay (eg. unit HP/unit numbers).
 * Factions are likely not that well balanced due to the limited support the game has received after launch.

Some specific features of the three races

 * The only faction to have tier upgrades (t1/t2/t3) is the Empire (as is the Zerg in Starcraft).
 * Relatively cheap and fast tier upgrades for Empire (Town Hall --> Stone Keep --> Castle)
 * Human barracks can be upgraded to produce 2 units at once (or even research two upgrades at the same time).
 * Empire have the best healing options - the Priest unit with heal and resurrect spells.
 * Empire units get auras upon reaching level 3 and level 5.
 * Human temple acts as a scaled down "healing fountain" for units stationed nearby.
 * Some human buildings can house units - for example Peasants can take shelter in a Town Hall when attacked.
 * Some spells - such as Litany for Priests - affect all of allied units on the map. Litany requires to be sustained by 3 Priests and slowly drains their mana.
 * The deformed ground (the "blight" on which Fallen buildings may be summoned) is spread by a special structure called a Deformer, not so much by the Fallen buildings themselves.
 * Fallen workers are beefier and more productive than their undead counterparts (Acolytes), and can even grab and immobilize small enemy units. However, they are more expensive and take a whopping 32 seconds to build.
 * Similar to Warcraft III, the Fallen have 2 "worker" units - grubs and summoners, with the latter used to construct buildings and provide supply.
 * Beastmen can resurrect their units in Revive Altar, which is useful to bring the high-level units lost in battle.
 * Beastmen can heal their units by sacrificing one of their own with the help of witches.

Miscellaneous

 * Forests are not as dense as in Warcraft III and are sometimes even traversible, although this may not be obvious.

Controlling units

 * Can't add units to a control group with Shift+, such as Shift+1 (this might be an annoyance to Warcraft veterans)
 * Tab does not switch between different unit types within a selection of multiple units (instead it switches to the underground portion of the map)

Improvements over Warcraft III

 * Pathfinding is slightly better -- when you order a unit to go through the ranks of your other units, they will disperse slightly to give that unit space to move (useful to withdraw wounded units from battle)
 * Can have 15 units in a control group (with only 12 in Warcraft III), and virtually unlimited numbers in supergroups
 * Can move camera around by holding down the mouse wheel
 * Neutral buildings can be garrisoned to gain specific bonuses, such as additional income, map vision or powerful spells
 * Units that are healed by a Priest within a selection are highlighted by flashing a unit's portrait
 * Double clicking workers yields different selections depending on what the worker's "occupation" is (collecting wood/building/being idle/etc)

Grunt - Warrior
Wyvern - Wind Rider

Tauren - Ogre

Crypt Fiend - Hive Spitter

Archer - Elf Ranger