Olden Era Temple Faction Guide: The S-Tier Army That Wins on Fundamentals

Temple doesn’t have a gimmick, and that’s exactly why it’s good. While other factions hinge on one trick — a swarm mechanic, a snowball skill, a flashy opener — Temple just does every part of the game at a high level and lets that compound. In the current Early Access build it sits in S tier, and once you play a few maps with it you understand why. This guide covers the faction skill, the full roster, the heroes worth knowing, and how to actually pilot the Sun Church.

A reminder up top: this is the Early Access build as of late May 2026, and Unfrozen is patching balance regularly. The roster and the broad strokes are stable, but specific values shift, so check the in-game card for exact numbers.

Who Temple Is

Temple is the Sun Church faction — humans, holy theme, native to grassland (so no movement penalty on grass and +1 Initiative there). The identity is balance plus buffs. You get a clean spread of melee and ranged units, strong supporting magic and abilities, and a faction skill that rewards staying in the fight. There’s no part of the game Temple is bad at, which makes it forgiving and consistent in a way the trickier factions aren’t.

The Faction Skill: Righteousness

Righteousness is the engine, and it’s beautifully simple. Whenever an allied creature dies or scores a kill, your hero gains stats. That means every fight makes your hero stronger as it unfolds, and since your hero’s Attack and Defense pile directly onto every stack in your army, a buffed hero lifts the whole force.

The strategic read here is that Righteousness rewards grinding fights out rather than ending them in one swing. Big, drawn-out battles where bodies are dropping on both sides feed your hero the most. You’re not punished for attrition the way other factions are — Temple turns it into fuel. Over a long map, this snowballs your hero into a monster.

The Roster, Tier 1 to Tier 7

Temple’s lineup covers every role cleanly:

• Tier 1 — Swordsman. Your sturdy melee backbone. Cheap, reliable, the wall your shooters stand behind.
• Tier 2 — Crossbowman. Early ranged output, and early ranged output wins early fights. Prioritize getting these online.
• Tier 3 — Griffin. A flier that ignores terrain and reaches into the enemy backline to harass shooters. Great for breaking up an enemy formation.
• Tier 4 — Lightweaver. A support caster that buffs your allies. This is where Temple’s “buff army” identity really kicks in — Lightweavers make everything around them hit harder and survive longer.
• Tier 5 — Cavalry. Hard-charging melee that hits with momentum. Your main melee damage as you move up the tiers.
• Tier 6 — Inquisitor. A heavy mixed threat that pulls real weight in the mid-to-late army.
• Tier 7 — Angel. The capstone. A powerful, high-impact unit that anchors a finished Temple army.

Notice the shape: you’ve got a tank (Swordsman), early range (Crossbowman), backline disruption (Griffin), a dedicated buffer (Lightweaver), charging melee (Cavalry), and two heavy hitters on top. No gaps. That completeness is the whole pitch.

Remember that most of these have two upgrade branches — one usually favoring damage, the other initiative or speed — and you can switch freely in town. Tune per matchup rather than committing blindly.

Heroes Worth Knowing: Zenith

The standout opener is Zenith, who starts with Lightweavers in the army. Opening with your tier-4 buffer already in hand is a strong tempo lead — you get the buff engine running far earlier than normal, which means stronger early fights and a smoother climb. If you want the most forgiving Temple start, Zenith is the pick.

More broadly, when you’re leveling any Temple hero, lean into the skills that amplify your buffs and your ranged output, and don’t fight the Righteousness flow — anything that keeps your hero in the thick of long fights pays off double.

How to Actually Play Temple

The Early Game Is About Range, Not Aggression

Temple’s first week is not an aggression window. The plan is to establish ranged output (get those Crossbowmen flowing), bank Law Points toward Faction Laws, and survive without losing your key stacks. You’re setting up an engine, not racing to punch the AI. Play patient.

Stand Behind Your Wall and Shoot

The bread-and-butter Temple formation is Swordsmen up front holding the line, Crossbowmen behind them firing, Griffins peeling off to harass enemy shooters. Let the enemy come to you, soak the charge on your wall, and out-damage them at range. Use split-stack retaliation baiting (CTRL + click to peel a single creature) to neutralize enemy counterattacks before your real stacks commit.

Lean Into the Buff Stack

Once Lightweavers come online, Temple changes character. Buffed Swordsmen and Cavalry hit and tank well above their stat lines, and a buffed Angel is brutal. Build your army around keeping the buffer alive and protected — it’s the multiplier on everything else.

Let Righteousness Cook

Don’t be shy about grinding fights out. The longer and bloodier the battle, the more your hero gains from Righteousness, and a fat-statted hero makes your next fight easier too. Temple is the rare faction where a hard-fought win leaves you stronger than a clean one.

Why “Basic and Solid” Is Actually Elite Here

It’s tempting to dismiss a faction with no gimmick as boring or weak. In Olden Era it’s the opposite. The game is decided by fundamentals — positioning, range, morale, retaliation baiting, hero growth — and Temple does all of them well with no glaring weakness to exploit. There’s no economy trap like Grove’s, no aggression dependency like Hive’s, no learning wall like Schism’s. You just play the game properly and Temple rewards you for it.

That’s why it’s S tier, and why it’s one of the two factions I point new players toward. Master Temple and you’ve mastered the core of Olden Era. Everything else is variation on top.