Update 4.0 arrives tomorrow (Aug 31st), bringing with it not just many improvements to Total War: WARHAMMER III but also a bunch of new content to sink your vortex-warped tentacles into.
Here are some of the highlights:
The Changeling, Yuan Bo, and Mother Ostankya arrive in Shadows of Change!
Let Tzeentch take the wheel with The Blue Scribes, scattering spells across the battlefield with only the hand of fate to guide them.
Take it to your foes with our newest free Legendary Hero for Tzeentch, Aekold Helbrass.
Control your destiny like never before with additional difficulty options and sweeping AI improvements across both the campaign map and battles.
Show off your skills with 32 new achievements for every existing race within the WARHAMMER trilogy.
Get yourself a cup of tea, make yourself comfortable, and dive into the full patch notes:
"'Ang on there, gov'nor," you might be saying, especially if you're a ravishing cockney lady or gent. "Why have we got the Patch Notes today if the patch itself ain't out 'til tomorra?" To which our reply would likely be "well spotted!", with a tip of the hat.
We're aiming to bring you the Patch Notes a day ahead of the release of every update from now on, as it's something that lots of you have asked for. And it makes sense, because it's nice to know what's coming before it's depositing itself on your hard drive.
Update 4.1 is already cooking nicely and we'll have plenty to show you when that rolls around in due course. In the meantime, prepare to jump into Update 4.0, play around with the new difficulty settings and AI behaviours, earn some achievements and cause a great deal of mischief in Shadows of Change.
From everyone on the Total War team, thank you for all your support - not only in the build-up to this release, but over the many years we've been on this journey together. We know it can be a rocky road sometimes, but it's having you with us that makes it all worthwhile.
As the throne we write this from starts to feel mighty rickety... decayed, perhaps... we'll wrap things up and see you on the battlefield!
â The Total War Team
â IMPORTANT
If you experience any issues after downloading the update, please take a moment to Verify the integrity of the game files first to ensure there were no issues when downloading. A step-by-step guide can be found in this article.
If the issues persist, please visit our support site for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.
𧹠MOD WARNING
Please note that user-generated mods may have compatibility issues with new game updates. If you are encountering performance or stability issues following a release, is recommended that you disable any mods you're running. If you continue to experience issues, please visit our support site for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.
For the latest news and announcements, don't forget to visit our official social channels.
Total War: WARHAMMER III â 4.0 Developer Update #4: AI & Kislev Improvements
TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER III
4.0 DEV UPDATE #4: AI & KISLEV IMPROVEMENTS
Greetings!
Welcome back to the last developer update for 4.0 before it drops on the 31st of August. Last time we looked at some of the changes coming to Grand Cathay in Update 4.0, and today weâre going to take a quick look at Kislev and some upcoming AI changes!
Now for something that influences the game as a whole. In our first update we touched upon new changes to the difficulty of the AI, of which there are more awaiting you in Update 4.0. This week, however, we'll discuss some of the sweeping changes coming to the AI in WARHAMMER III, in our continued efforts to make them more engaging to play against, while decreasing their bias against the player, making them more effective in the right places, and increasing their likelihood of making honest mistakes that can be capitalised upon. The full extent of this will be covered in the Update 4.0 patch notes, but until then, here's a sneak peek.
What are we doing?
The AI often deals in diplomacy against those that are out of its range, which can make them ineffective as they create deals that they cannot benefit from, or make threats against those that donât threaten them. The distance at which the AI engages in diplomacy has been halved, which should reduce this issue considerably. The overall distance scaling, as in, which targets the AI focuses on as a whole, has also been increased to make them prioritise nearer foes.
Speaking of those warmongering AIâs, they will now be less likely to declare war when they themselves are in a bad situation, which should reduce the overall number of feeble war declarations.
Next, the player is often considered to be the main threat to the AI in any campaign â and why wouldnât you be, youâre a master of strategy â but this has led to a lot of bias against the player as a result. To combat this, the AI will now take longer to identify who the main threat is, meaning they wonât target the player so soon, assuming the player is excelling on the campaign map. AIâs will also suffer a greater negative impact based on how many wars theyâre in, further cutting down on unnecessary bloodshed.
Plus, the AI is receiving general improvements to make them more potent, they will now have faith in their own garrisons more to prevent retreats (garrisons are also being buffed in 4.0), and they are more willing to defend their final settlement until their dying breath, meaning they wonât try to escape and require you to chase them around just to finish them off.
KISLEV - DEVOTION
In our internal play tests, we noticed that it was difficult for Kislev to take the fight to Chaos. When playing as Kislev, attacks from Chaos were frequent enough, but the Chaotic climate was enough to discourage the player from going into the Chaos Wastes at all. And, because Shadows of Change contains an update to Kislev, it made sense to update the feature now.
What are we doing?
Weâve added a new commandment to Katarin, Kostaltyn and Boris Ursus that is only available in the Chaos Wastes (i.e., all settlements that have the Chaotic climate.)
The commandment nullifies the climate penalties, but comes with a Devotion cost whilst it is active. As a result of this, we also made Devotion able to go into the negatives, so if left unchecked, it can be harder to restore after the fact.
This gives the player a reason to take the fight to Chaos, but comes with a risk, where they must keep fighting Chaos to earn Devotion to counteract the costs.
TOOLTIP IMPROVEMENTS
We were very pleased with both the implementation of the new sticky tooltip system in WARHAMMER III, as well as the responses it prompted. So, weâre continuing to iterate upon it.
What are we doing?
In Update 4.0, weâre adding the option to make Sticky Tooltips follow your mouse like standard tooltips do, which will be achieved by disabling the default 'Pin to element' checkbox in the Game Settings.
Plus, it will be possible for players to set-up a bind that instantly sticks a tooltip when pressed. Finally, you can now turn off the stick delay entirely by unchecking 'Auto Stick' in Game Settings. The only way you will be able to stick tooltips to inspect them in this mode will be to use the 'Stick Tooltip' shortcut.
Weâre doing this so that you can have even more control over your UI in WARHAMMER III, and to avoid any potential frustration when Tooltips donât act as you expect them to, as they serve as a very useful tool for new, returning, and veteran players alike.
Another update arriving in 4.0 will be a rework to many of the base Innate Traits present in WARHAMMER III that lag behind the other races in the game, including Grand Cathay, Kislev, Tzeentch, Nurgle, and others. The full details will be available when the 4.0 Patch Notes arrive in a few days.
And that wraps up this weekâs developer update! Update 4.0 is just around the corner, with Shadows of Change dropping alongside it, and we canât wait for you to get your hands on it.
Let us know how youâre feeling about these over on our social channels below, and weâll see you on the battlefield!
âThe Total War Team
For the latest news and announcements, don't forget to visit our official social channels.
This week we're shining the spotlight on Mother Ostankya - the guardian of Kislev who draws her power from the woodlands, fens, and oblasts, holding those who stray into her lands terminally accountable. đ§ââď¸
Total War: WARHAMMER III â 4.0 Developer Update #3: Grand Cathay
TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER III
4.0 DEV UPDATE #3: GRAND CATHAY
Greetings!
Welcome back to another developer update. Last time we looked at some of the changes coming to Tzeentch in Update 4.0, and today weâre going to be delving into the changes you can expect for Grand Cathay, outside of their chunky additions arriving in Shadows of Change.
Letâs not waste any time, and see what the developers have cooked up.
GRAND CATHAY - HARMONY
We noted that the primary strategy amongst the community is to keep recruiting characters to maintain the balance of Harmony, with harmony mostly being a reactive thought process to tech completion or random events. We generally liked the interaction with buildings as a controllable state, so weâd like to scope it in and emphasize this aspect. Shadows of Change contains an update to Cathay, so it made sense to update the feature now, as well as the rest mentioned in this update.
What are we doing?
We are moving Harmony from a faction-based resource to a province-based resource.
This means that each province the player controls has its own Harmony value.
Harmony is now only influenced by the buildings within the settlements of that province; characters and technologies do not factor in.
Players are now encouraged to specialise a province in either Yin or Yang, or keep the province balanced â each is valid and has its own benefits, with Yin and Yang providing more transient benefits that eventually give way for a province to rest in harmony, once it is well developed and far away from threats.
We believe this fixes the more tedious aspects of balancing Harmony and puts a stronger emphasis on building composition.
Below is what you can expect the feature to look like in-game.
GRAND CATHAY - IVORY ROAD
In our internal playtests, we noticed that when attacking caravans belonging to Cathay, the loot gained was huge. (Under the hood, it was the regular amount of loot multiplied by a very large modifier.)
This meant that the early game economy for some factions could be very skewed if the player intentionally went out of their way to attack caravans entering their territory.
What are we doing?
Now, when attacking a caravan, the loot will be the regular amount of loot from the standard battle, plus whatever cargo the caravan is carrying.
We are also making the cargo visible above the caravan in the 3D UI, so the player will be able to make an informed decision about whether to attack or not.
The new UI element of how caravans can now be sussed out is visible below. â
GRAND CATHAY - WU XING COMPASS
With Yuan Bo being our first Cathay Lord who has a start outside of Grand Cathay, we had to take a look at how we handle the compass feature.
Yuan Bo additionally has a large focus on the compass itself, with his Immortal Empires campaign being about globetrotting the Lustrian shores and constructing Astromantic Relays. We wanted to handle the long-term irrelevancy of the feature both for him and all Cathay factions that stick their toes outside their core provinces.
What are we doing?
The compass effects will now apply to all regions controlled by Cathayan factions, rather than the regions within Cathay itself.
Weâve also tweaked some of the effects provided by the compass directions in order to make them more useful and less situational.
(We donât have a sneak peek for this one, but keep your eyes peeled, as itâll be here very soon!)
THE GRAND MAGISTRATE LORD TYPE
With the addition of the Celestial General, we knew the Lord Magistrates tenuous hold on his position as âfuriously battling for his right to recruitedâ was only going to get shakier.
What are we doing?
So, as part of this update, weâve done an intensive overhaul to the Magistrates Skill tree, with benefits suited to leading from the back (bravely!) giving a variety of targeted buffs actives in battle and a reshuffled blue line that frontloads powerful skills, like Lightning Strike.
While the new Celestial General takes to the field to fight alongside his men, the Magistrate is best suited deploying buffs from his floating balloon and a variety of passive but powerful modifiers to the army as a whole.
And thatâs all for this week! All of the above changes will be arriving in Update 4.0, have been thoroughly playtested and received positive feedback!
As always, we want to keep these short and precise, so let us know how youâre feeling about these over on our social channels below, and weâll see you on the battlefield!
âThe Total War Team
For the latest news and announcements, don't forget to visit our official social channels.
This week we turn our attention to Cathay's Jade Dragon, Yuan Bo - ruler of Central Cathay, leader of the Celestial Court, and master manipulator! đ
Total War: WARHAMMER III â 4.0 Developer Update #2: Tzeentch
TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER III
4.0 DEV UPDATE #2: TZEENTCH
Greetings!
Weâre coming hot off the announcement of Shadows of Change, arriving August 31st, to bring you another developer update! Last time we looked at the changes coming to Immortal Empires in Update 4.0, and today weâre examining two further changes you can expect for Tzeentch in that very same update, beyond their Shadows of Change additions.
In our internal playtests, we noticed that some of the Changing of the Ways actions were not as useful as they otherwise could be, with some actions being considerably less potent than others, and a handful were never being used at all.
As Shadows of Change contains an update to Tzeentch, it made sense to update the feature now!
What are we doing?
âHalt Factionâ has been changed to âHalt Army,â and as the name would suggest, it targets a single army. We felt that Halt Faction was too strong as is, and so we believe this tweak will help bring it in-line with the other Changing of the Ways actions.
âForce Rebellionâ now also damages the walls of the targeted settlement, hopefully giving the rebellion an easier time when attacking the settlement to make the action more potent.
Weâre also addIng a couple of new actions, too:
âBorrow Timeâ â this action replenishes an armyâs movement range.
âForce Peaceâ â this action forces peace between two factions that are at war.
To account for this, weâve removed two actions that were not working as intended, or rarely seeing play:
âGive War Co-ordination Targetâ â we felt this was too unreliable, so itâs gone.
âShow Faction Intentionsâ â we felt that this, on the other hand, wasnât particularly useful as an action, so itâs been scrapped.
Where are we at?
These changes are in game and are currently being playtested. Feedback so far has been positive!
WINDS OF MAGIC MANIPULATION
During internal play tests, we felt that when changing the Winds of Magic strength in a province, it wasnât clear what benefits this was actually providing to the player, and as Tzeentch is getting a big boost in Shadows of Change, now is the perfect time to address it.
What are we doing?
When changing the strength of the Winds of Magic in a province, the effects that become active are now clearly shown. This could, for example, be a building effect that increases in potency.
Weâve also made it clearer how much the player can change the strength level. For example, after decreasing one area, another area can be increased, and this has now been made much clearer.
Where are we at?
These changes are in game and have been playtested to positive responses. â
And thatâs all for this week!
Weâre keeping these short and snappy, so keep your eyes peeled for the next update in the near future.
Let us know how youâre feeling about these over on our social channels below, and weâll see you on the battlefield!
âThe Total War Team
For the latest news and announcements, don't forget to visit our official social channels.
Shadows of Change Gameplay Showcase - The Changeling
"What is the worth of mortal life without a little chaos?"
Greetings, mortals!
It's time to get your first look at the Changeling in action in our latest gameplay showcase - let the game begin! đ
Keep an eye on our socials over the next few weeks as we share more about Shadows of Change before it's launch on August 31st, and be sure to join the official Total War Discord server to join the discussion with other Total War fans!
See you on the battlefield!
âThe Total War Team
For the latest news and announcements, don't forget to visit our official social channels.
Shadows of Change hits Total War: WARHAMMER III on August 31st!
CHANGE IS COMING...
Four new legends approach that will turn the world of Total War: WARHAMMER III on its head! With them comes new units, new campaign mechanics never seen before in Total War, plus much more that will be be revealed in the coming weeks.
Shadows of Change will arrive in Total War: WARHAMMER III as part of Update 4.0 on August 31st! You can pre-order Shadows of Change here and, for a limited time, enjoy 10% off the launch price!
Following the new format we announced back in March, included in Shadows of Change are three Legendary Lords - The Changeling (Tzeentch), the Jade Dragon Yuan Bo (Grand Cathay) and Mother Ostankya (Kislev) - along with Legendary Hero The Blue Scribes (Tzeentch). We can't wait for you to get your hands on them and put them to good use - and by good, we of course mean very naughty and bad.
Take a moment to feast your eyes on the announcement trailer below:
Today, weâre kicking off our Legendary Lord love-letter bonanza by digging into Tzeentchâs latest conniving customer, The Changeling. For those looking to throw the rulebook out the window, this trickster boasts a campaign unlike any other!
We'll be back with closer looks at Yuan Bo and Mother Ostankya very soon, so be sure to keep your eyes glued to the Total War social channels over the coming weeks!
Until then, see you on the battlefield!
âThe Total War Team
For the latest news and announcements, don't forget to visit our official social channels.
