Total War: WARHAMMER III - Introducing Festus the Leechlord
Hello Total War: WARHAMMER community! Today we’re revealing the second Legendary Lord joining the Champions of Chaos Lords pack—Festus the Leechlord—coming to Total War: WARHAMMER III on August 23rd.
Doctor Festus is a deranged devotee of Nurgle who pledged a lifetime of service to the Plague God in return for his forbidden knowledge. He goes to war with few intentions beyond furthering his revolting studies of sickness, ailments, and plagues... It is a far better fate to die on the battlefield than to be captured for the doctor’s experiments!
ON THE BATTLEFIELD...
Long forgetting the Hippocratic Oath he so vehemently preached as a mortal, Festus can be found concocting a variety of horrific potions and unleashing Lore of Nurgle spells, both of which allow him to manipulate the battlefield in insidious ways. Whie his Healing Elixirs ability replenishes the hit points of his own combatants, the Harbinger of Pestilence ability instead deals damage to enemy combatants. Yet there’s a catch: both act more like toggleable passive abilities that are mutually exclusive to use (meaning that only one of the two can be active at any one time).
FACTION EFFECTS
Vassals gain poison attacks and spread Nurgle’s corruption
Can brew Plagues
Souls +25 when a plague is spread
LORD EFFECTS
Plague duration: +3 turns (local armies)
Battle healing cap: +25% (Lord’s Army)
UP NEXT
We’ll be sharing an even more in-depth look at Festus in a Let’s Play video coming TOMORROW, so look for that over on the official Total War YouTube channel. Then, keep your eyes peeled for more news about the third Legendary Lord joining the Champions of Chaos next week!
Total War: WARHAMMER III – Immortal Empires Race Updates
Welcome back, Total War: WARHAMMER fans, to another instalment of the Immortal Empires blog series. This week, we’re taking a closer look at some of the most significant race updates you’ll experience come this August, when the Immortal Empires BETA finally arrives—specifically to the Vampire Counts, Lizardmen, Dark Elves, and Norsca.
Before we explore those juicy details, it’s important to recognize that importing races from Total War: WARHAMMER I and II into Immortal Empires is no simple task; it’s *far* more complex than a simple copy and paste from game to game. WARHAMMER III introduced significant updates to the series—in the form of new mechanics, overhauled game systems, and a host of new foes to face—meaning that many races required substantial adaptations to survive in a fresh new world of war and politics. As such, while these updates won’t be quite to the same scale as what you’ll see with the Warriors of Chaos, they will nonetheless evolve their play styles in important (and meaningful) ways.
VAMPIRE COUNTS
Everyone’s favourite bloodsuckers were in a difficult place coming out of WARHAMMER II: mainly relying on a devastating two-punch combo of free skeleton armies and the evisceration of their enemy with Winds of Death. While it was a real power-trip at times, it did eventually get a bit dry… (Bone-dry, you might say.)
On top of that, changes to systems like the Winds of Magic in WARHAMMER III have a heavy impact on the race, so the team spent time enhancing them in ways that help them stay fresh…as fresh as an exhumed corpse can be, at least.
So, the headline: free skeletons are GONE. You’ll still have ways to make them (grave)dirt cheap, but not to the same extent as before. We know this is a big change—one that might disappoint some people—but it not only distorted the Vampire Counts’ gameplay too much, but made much of the roster obsolete, particularly in conjunction with the reduced supply line penalties in WARHAMMER III.
To make up for the loss, we’ve made a whole host of other changes that we hope will more than make amends for it. Here’s a look at some of the key changes:
Across-the-board balance changes to the roster: leadership increases to most units, adjustments to Ethereal units, and the ability to recruit Mournguls (in a Campaign) if you own the Vampire Coast DLC.
Improvements to Raise Dead pools: which now offer better units by default and scale up with Vampiric corruption—making them less reliant on battle sites.
Reshuffle of recruitment buildings, with many units now available earlier and more easily.
Revamped tech tree, skill trees, and Bloodline effects to give the race access to powerful new effects: such as increased healing caps and extra Winds of Magic.
As for individual Lords, we’ve already highlighted some of the changes coming to the undead power couple—Vlad and Isabella Von Carstein—in our Dedicated Factions blog, but don’t worry: Mannfred and the Necromancer Lords will have their time in the sun moon too.
Mannfred Von Carstein has moved to the Southlands where he seeks the unholy Books of Nagash. As the most magically gifted of the Vampire Lords, he has also received increased magic reserves, and his Master of the Black Arts ability now boosts his spell mastery by 25%.
To complement his new starting position in The Haunted Forest, Helman Ghorst now starts the campaign mounted on his Corpse Cart, and can acquire skills that enhance his aura abilities—granting powerful faction-wide buffs to Zombies. If you want to drown the world in rotting flesh while watching from the back of your sweet ride, he’s the Legendary Lord for you!
Not to be outdone by this young upstart, Kemmler has also upped his game. His best bud, Krell, will now be a permanent summon by default, while Kemmler’s skill tree serves to super-charge Krell’s combat stats.
LIZARDMEN
We know that “Lizardmen” and “update” together might generate some excitement, so we’ll get the bad news out of the way first: the Geomantic Web is still pretty much the same—other than a few adjustments to reward you for fulfilling the Great Plan. We fully recognize that it’s ripe for a more substantial update and hope to find an opportunity to do so in the future.
With that said, there’s still a load of other changes coming for our scaly friends…
We’ll start with the humble Skinks! As has long been requested, Tehenhauin now unlocks Regiments of Renown units by levelling up, and will be able to use his sacrificial pyramid to generate extra Blessed Spawning units. His chameleonic comrade, Oxyotl, will be receiving new missions to hunt down and eliminate the new Daemonic enemies who recently arrived on the Immortal Empires map, and his mission durations will now scale with campaign difficulty, making it much harder to thwart Chaos if you choose to player at harder levels.
The stalwart Saurus will also benefit from changes that help them take on the Daemonic hordes in battle! Their innate “Primal Instincts” ability kicks in earlier: granting them greater bonuses and no longer triggering their Rampage. Both Saurus characters also get revamped lord and faction effects to account for this in addition to helping them develop their own play styles. Kroq’gar will focus on creating a coterie of elite Saurus characters—with major buffs for Old-Bloods and Scar-Veterans—while Gor’rok will enjoy new effects that lean into his defensive nature; while his unique rite no longer makes Saurus’ Unbreakable, it now grants them Barrier as well as immunity to hostile weapon effects like poison—a perfect boon for taking on a certain pestilential rodent…!
As the premier magic-wielders of the setting, the Slann—including Lord Kroak—are getting skill tree tweaks to fit the new magic system in WARHAMMER III while gaining access to powerful effects like Barrier and increases to their Winds of Magic capacity. On top of that, Mazdamundi will also receive a whopping +50% range increase to all his spells—befitting for a frog of such continent-shifting power.
Finally, Nakai will enjoy a variety of balance changes: including tech tree updates to boost his economy, as well as new and improved benefits upon constructing Temples to the Old Ones. He’ll also benefit from some of the fundamental improvements to diplomacy that were introduced in WARHAMMER III—notably improving how the AI interacts with vassal factions.
DARK ELVES
Next, let’s turn to the Druchii, who—in addition to being in a prime position to benefit from the new Sea Lanes—have seen big changes to their slaves mechanic.
Previously, this was a feature that resulted in insane late-game economic performance with relatively little interaction from the player. As such, in WARHAMMER III, slaves are now considered a faction-level resource rather than something you stow in a province. Slaves can now be “spent” at numerous buildings to generate income, or invested in three powerful “Slave Diktats” to benefit a specific province.
For a long while, the Druchii have had a…complicated relationship with Chaos, so the influx of Daemonic factions has led to a few notable changes. Morathi now gets unique interactions with Slaanesh corruption and can even recruit Daemonettes, while Malus’ Possession ability now allows for more frequent use of Tz’arkan and interacts differently with the new corruption types.
Last of all, Rakarth can now capture and tame a host of new beasts: including Sabretusks and Feral Bears. (Rakarth even got an in-depth spotlight in our recent Q&A with the development team!)
NORSCA
Let’s talk cold, angry, and primed to raid! Norsca had a somewhat tumultuous entry into the series with their unique ability to construct outposts instead of regular settlements. Built on the foundation of the climate-locked occupations of WARHAMMER I, this design did not make a graceful transition into WARHAMMER II; where it was originally designed to grant them unparalleled flexibility, it instead became their greatest weakness.
So, if you take one thing home when you’re done raiding these shores, it’s the fact that Norsca is now a regular occupation faction—with access to their complete building tree anywhere in the world.
While that is the big one, there are additional smaller changes coming to freshen up the race:
DEVOTION TO THE GODS
Like before, players can dedicate the ruins of their enemies to one of the four Dark Gods in order to gain their favour, but there was always a massive disparity in the rewards given. As such, we’ve evened things out a bit.
Full dedication to the Crow no longer causes a (admittedly mostly impotent) global plague. Rather, you will be joined by Burplesmirk Spewpit, the Exalted Great Unclean One.
Full dedication to the Hound no longer gives you access to The Ice-Forged Legion. Rather, you will be joined by Killgore Slaymaim, An Exalted Hero of Khorne.
All reward characters grant their army an incredibly powerful boon that twists their battle profile to align closer to the Dark God’s ideal forces. For example, Azrik’s forces enjoy access to Barriers, magical weapons, and global Winds of Magic generation benefits.
If you just had the terrifying realization that we didn’t say where the Ice-Forged Legion went, don’t worry; your favourite Hellcannon Battery has become a regular Regiment Of Renown unit that unlocks once you reach the appropriate level.
COMMANDMENTS
Being fully settled and capable of holding complete provinces all over the world, Norsca has a full set of commandments to enact over them and solidify their new holdings.
RESOURCES
Wine, furs, and everything in-between, Norsca can now construct buildings to exploit almost all resources for local or global bonuses.
CAPITAL TARGETS
With new forces of Order come new cities to raze for unique benefits. The Kurgan hordes have never taken Wei-Jin, but perhaps they only lacked a unifying iron fist…?
To tie us off, let’s head off the question on everyone’s minds: no, this is not the “Norsca rework.”
These changes are about freeing Norsca from the shackles of their outposts and giving them a taste of the fresh new powers of the Dark Gods in WARHAMMER III. Like the rest of Immortal Empires, this is just the beginning: the foundation upon which to build and make future tweaks to the different factions.
COMING SOON!
That’s it for now! Check back soon for more updates and Immortal Empires news and be sure to join us on August 23rd to see all the changes for yourself!
Total War: WARHAMMER III - Introducing the Champions of Chaos
Hello, Total War: WARHAMMER fans (or should we call you “Champions” of the WARHAMMER community?)! Today is a very exciting day, as it's not only time to unveil the Champions of Chaos Lords Pack for Total War: WARHAMMER III but announce that it will be releasing on August 23rd alongside Immortal Empires.
Fit for a champion, the game’s first Lords Pack welcomes not two, but FOUR, new Warriors of Chaos Legendary Lords—each of whom will be aligned with one of the four ruinous Chaos Gods. Embark on crusades of destruction with brand-new gameplay features, wreak havoc with a host of new battlefield units, and master the new narrative-driven campaign mechanics that will unearth the fabled path to Zanbaijin.
WHAT'S IN THE PACK?
CAMPAIGN
4 new Legendary Lords
New campaign mechanics
Playable in both the Immortal Empires and Realm of Chaos campaigns (but do not interact with the Ursun storyline)
BATTLE
8 new ‘Marked’ Lord and Hero characters
36 new ‘Marked’ versions of mortal Chaos units
New Chaos Warshrine with four ‘Marked’ variants
4 Regiments of Renown units (one for each Chaos God)
SPOTLIGHT: AZAZEL (THE ECSTATIC LEGIONS)
While we’ll be introducing you to each of the four new Champions of Chaos over the next few weeks, we’re going to get started right away by spotlighting the first Legendary Lord: Azazel, Prince of Damnation!
A prince amongst Daemons, Azazel has been the bane of humanity since time immemorial—his constant acts of devotion and debauchery assuring his high standing in the eyes of Slaanesh. All who know of him dread to face him in battle, for the cost of losing means not only the death of the body, but all the horrific certainty of the soul’s eternal damnation.
Azazel is the Swiss Army Knife of Slaanesh—capable of inflicting hellish causalities in all aspects of battle. In close combat, he has access to the “Temptator” ability: granting a temporary ward save and reflecting any damage upon those who dare attack him. In a support role, he can call upon a range of spells from the Lore of Slaanesh: such as “Phantasmagoria” and “Lash of Slaanesh.”
Plus, he can fly, which grants him a looming position from which to control the flow and tempo of the battlefield.
FACTION EFFECTS
Diplomatic relations +80 with Empire, Kislev, Cathay, and Bretonnia
Vassals gain “Immune to Psychology” and spread corruption
Can Seduce units
Applies and benefits from Seductive Influence and Gifts of Slaanesh
LORD EFFECTS
Passive ability “Domineering Aura”
Seduce Units cost: -20% for Empire, Bretonnia, Kislev, and Cathay units
Seduce Units budgets +25%
THE CHAMPIONS CAMPAIGN
A PROLOGUE
In the ancient city of Zanbaijin, the servants of the Chaos Gods have clashed for millennia. The souls of those who fall in these vicious conflicts are sealed within the Altar of Battle itself, which stands at the heart of The Fallen City.
Ursun's roar has shaken the world and the Altar’s seal has become fragile. The correct ritual will have the power to shatter it completely: leaving the myriad warrior-souls of bygone eras ripe for the claiming.
However, Zanbaijin is not an easy place to reach—even for a Champion of Chaos...
Your Champion must forge their path to Zanbaijin by forcing open the still-healing scars in the world created by Ursun's roar. Only then will you be able to find the Altar of Battle and claim the souls for your patron god.
Will you take up the mantle of a Champion of Chaos? Then slay your enemies, collect their souls, make your way to the ancient city of Zanbaijin, and perform the ritual. When the Altar of Souls is within your grasp, you will change the balance of power between the Chaos Gods forever!
CAMPAIGN MECHANICS
CHAOS GIFTS Winning battles grants you the Souls of your enemies. These Souls can be exchanged for great power and Daemonic reinforcements as the Champions of Chaos dedicate them to their patron god or to the Undivided union of all four gods.
DARK FORTRESSES & VASSALS Occupying a special Dark Fortress region—most often found in the Chaos Wastes and the Norscan homelands—enables the Champion of Chaos to construct a powerful stronghold. By occupying a Dark Fortress in a Norscan homeland capital, you will gain the respective Norscan faction as an eternal vassal for as long as you control their homeland.
WARBANDS Champions of Chaos recruit all their forces instantly—either from local provinces or as units granted via Chaos Gifts.
Your mortal units can ascend the ranks of Chaos: rising from humble Chaos Marauders all the way to Chosen or Chaos Knights. You can also dedicate them to a specific Chaos God by granting them the chosen God’s Mark of Chaos.
PATH TO GLORY Champions of Chaos can spend Souls on their Chaos Lords and Chaos Sorcerer Lords in order to promote them to Daemon Princes.
Your Heroes and Lords can also dedicate themselves to one of the four Chaos Gods: Marking themselves and gaining new strengths from their new alignment.
THE CHAMPIONS ROSTER
Also coming with the Champions of Chaos Lords Pack is a new unit lineup! These new/unique units will be available to the Warriors of Chaos and relevant Chaos God factions in both the Campaign and custom Battles, while a smaller contingent will also be available to the Daemon Prince during his Campaign.
In custom Battles, the four Champions themselves will join in: fighting alongside the Warriors of Chaos and their patron God’s forces.
NEW & UNIQUE UNITS
Here is a quick look at the units joining the roster (not including a large number of units already available in WARHAMMER III):
MARKED LORDS
Chaos Lord of Khorne
Chaos Sorcerer Lord of Nurgle
Chaos Lord of Slaanesh
Chaos Sorcerer Lord of Tzeentch
CHAOS WARSHRINE
Chaos Warshrine (Undivided)
Chaos Warshrine of Khorne
Chaos Warshrine of Nurgle
Chaos Warshrine of Slaanesh
Chaos Warshrine of Tzeentch
MARKED HEROES
Exalted Hero of Khorne
Exalted Hero of Nurgle
Chaos Sorcerer of Slaanesh
Chaos Sorcerer of Tzeentch
MARKED UNITS
Chaos Marauders of Khorne
Chaos Marauders of Khorne (Dual Weapons)
Chaos Marauders of Nurgle
Chaos Marauders of Nurgle (Great Weapons)
Chaos Marauders of Slaanesh
Chaos Marauders of Slaanesh (Hellscourges)
Chaos Marauders of Tzeentch
Chaos Marauders of Tzeentch (Spears)
Chaos Warriors of Nurgle
Chaos Warriors of Slaanesh
Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch
Chosen of Khorne
Chosen of Khorne (Dual Weapons)
Chosen of Nurgle
Chosen of Nurgle (Great Wepons)
Chosen of Slaanesh
Chosen of Slaanesh (Hellscourges)
Chosen of Tzeentch
Chosen of Tzeentch (Halberds)
Forsaken of Khorne
Forsaken of Slaanesh
Marauder Horsemen of Khorne (Throwing Axes)
Marauder Horsemen of Nurgle (Throwing Axes)
Marauder Horsemen of Slaanesh (Javelins)
Marauder Horsemen of Tzeentch (Javelins)
Chaos Knights of Khorne
Chaos Knights of Khorne (Lances)
Chaos Knights of Nurgle
Chaos Knights of Nurgle (Lances)
Chaos Knights of Slaanesh
Chaos Knights of Slaanesh (Lances)
Chaos Knights of Tzeentch (Lances)
Chaos Chariots of Khorne
Chaos Chariots of Nurgle
Chaos Chariots of Slaanesh
Chaos Chariots of Tzeentch
Regiments of Renown (Champions Edition)
In addition to the above forces, four new Regiments of Renown units will be joining the game: each of which aligns to a different Chaos God.
KNIGHTS OF THE BRAZEN THRONE (Skullcrushers of Khorne)
Alignment: KHORNE
These Skullcrushers are outfitted with jet-black armour and dual axes. They gain bonuses to their combat prowess when charging and are a strong counter to infantry units.
BILIOUS THUNDERGUFF (Chaos Giant)
Alignment: NURGLE
Bilious Thunderguff is a Giant that has been tainted by the gifts of Nurgle. Bilious used to experience extreme bouts of indigestion; now, with his newfound gifts, he is now able to channel his trapped wind and harness it against his opponents.
THE SIBILANT SLAUGHTERCADE (Chaos Chariots)
Alignment: SLAANESH
Those Chaos Charioteers who catch the peripheral gaze of the Dark Prince are offered a place within the Sibilant Slaughtercade. Pulled by Steeds of Slaanesh, these maligned Chaos Chariots have a wealth of additional attributes as they thirst for the souls of their enemies.
THE SEVERED CLAW (Aspiring Champions)
Alignment: TZEENTCH
The Severed Claw is a unit of Aspiring Champions aligned to Tzeentch. These fearsome Warriors are protected by a barrier and armed with magically imbued Halberds, making them formidable hunters of larger targets.
OLD WORLD UPDATE: WARRIORS OF CHAOS
Finally, an Old World Update for the Warriors of Chaos will be free to all owners of the Chaos Warriors Race Pack—originally released alongside Total War: WARHAMMER in 2015. This update significantly overhauls how the race plays: gifting them with the brand-new gameplay mechanics available to the Champions of Chaos, above (Chaos Gifts, Dark Fortresses, Warbands, Path to Glory).
A separate Marked Chaos Warriors (free DLC) will also be available for download, further expanding the ranks of your Northern kin. Those units include three Warriors of Chaos variants:
GREAT WEAPONS for Nurgle
HELLSCOURGES for Slaanesh
HALBERDS for Tzeentch
Watch for all of this when Immortal Empires drops on August 23!
UP NEXT
Over the next three weeks, we’ll introduce you to the remaining three Champions joining the Chaos ranks! Look for their reveals alongside their exclusive trailers, in addition to tips and tricks on how to get started with the new Warriors!
Total War: WARHAMMER III - Hotfix 1.3.2
Good day, WARHAMMER III fans! Today’s hotfix comes with a fix for a major issue highlighted by the community following our last game update: a performance problem which scales based on the number of mods being run in the game.
In a recent hotfix, it appears that we inadvertently removed some data that the game was continuing to search for—a search that would end up being run more often as you added mods. While recent changes made this an issue for Steam users, today’s fix should result in small performance gains during Battles on ALL PC platforms where Total War: WARHAMMER III is available!
As always, thanks to the individuals and communities who dug into the issue, provided the details that helped narrow down the problem, and brought it to our attention! Your persistence (and patience) will continue to lead to gains on the performance front, so keep the feedback coming!
See you on the battlefield!
— The Total War Team
📃 HOTFIX 1.3.2
The game will no longer search for files which do not exist and will no longer scale the number of searches based on the number of mods being run by the game.
Total War: WARHAMMER III Immortal Empires Q&A with Richard Aldridge and Mitchell
You asked; we answered! Total War's own Richard Aldridge and Mitchell Heastie sit down to tackle some of the top Immortal Empires questions asked by you, the community. 💬
(Be sure to watch all the way to the end...!)
Total War: WARHAMMER III - Compatibility Hotfix 1.3.1
Hello everyone! Today's hotfix makes behind-the-scenes changes which, while minor, are necessary for us to make following Update 1.3. These should have no impact on your gameplay, cross-platform compatibility, or save games, and we apologize for the inconvenience of a surprise build!
If you do experience any issues, our support team is ready and available to help you work through any issues: 🛠 Contact the SEGA Support Team See you on the battlefield!
— The Total War Team
📃 COMPATIBILITY HOTFIX 1.3.1
Updated several supporting files related to future releases for Total War: WARHAMMER III. (No player-facing changes.)
Total War: WARHAMMER III - Hotfix 1.3.1
In the recent Update 1.3 release, we implemented a change to improve ranged units' ability to fire on their enemies when a friendly squad is positioned between them and their target—even if the ranged units seem to have a clear line of sight (LOS) on the enemy. The change involved treating two overlapping units as a single "combined" unit, which would allow the ranged soldiers to carry out their fire orders more reliably.
Unfortunately, the fix was a bit overzealous... Not only did it address the LOS issue, but it allowed ranged units to stack and fire in a way that largely negates the importance of positioning your troops—a critical mechanic to the depth of the gameplay in Battles.
We are backing out that change in today's hotfix, though we plan to revisit the original issue in the future—so watch for less extreme changes in a future update!
As always, the team is continuing to read through your feedback and take notes to help guide our development, so remember to visit one of our official discussion forums to talk about the changes you want to see:
That's it for now! Keep your eye on our socials for more about Immortal Empires and Update 2.0 coming this August.
See you on the battlefield!
— The Total War Team
📃 HOTFIX 1.3.1
Reverted the following change:
To prevent instances where ranged units hold their fire because a friendly unit is in their line of fire, overlapping units are now considered (by the game as) part of the same unit. This should ensure that ranged units can more consistently carry out firing orders.
Total War: WARHAMMER III – Immortal Empires Dedicated Factions
Welcome back, Total War: WARHAMMER fans, to another instalment of the Immortal Empires blog series. This week, we’re taking a closer look at the changes coming to some of the Legendary Lords in Total War: WARHAMMER III: particularly those who previously shared their factions with other Lords in WARHAMMER I and II, but will now enjoy a force of their own on the Immortal Empires battlefield.
To kick things off, we’d like to introduce you to the one and only Be’Lakor: a key character joining the WARHAMMER III line-up as a fully-playable Legendary Lord.
BE’LAKOR
When talking about immortal beings within the WARHAMMER pantheon, few come close to the power or infamy of the first daemon prince of Chaos: Be’lakor. First introduced to Total War: WARHAMMER III as the moody antagonist of the Realm of Chaos campaign, his liberation from the Chaos God’s shackles left the Legendary Lord free to roam the Mortal Realms alongside the Warriors of Chaos.
As an undivided Daemon Prince, Be’lakor kneels to no specific god; instead, he leverages the power of all four to become a versatile fighting machine bestowed with powerful gifts from each. Those of you who have conquered the Realm of Chaos campaign will already know that he is a behemoth on the battlefield—capable of taking on almost any challenger. He is particularly unique amongst the Warriors of Chaos Legendary Lords in that he has access to the widest selection of Chaos Daemons, allowing him to assemble entire armies of daemonic might without the need for petty mortals.
Within the campaign, Be’lakor begins in the settlement of the Isle of Wight in Albion, where he has but one aim: to embark on a crusade of destruction. While the rest of his campaign mechanics will be revealed alongside the eagerly-anticipated Warriors of Chaos update, here are a couple of his key features to look forward to:
Unholy Manifestations: Like the Daemon factions, Be’lakor has access to four powerful Unholy Manifestations. Each of Be’lakor’s abilities is aligned with one of the four Chaos Gods and can be unlocked by defeating an army aligned with a specific god or through sacrificing Souls (a new resource shared by all Warriors of Chaos). They offer powerful and unique benefits: for example, the Tzeentch-aligned manifestation grants the ability to spawn a unique shadow rift in the local province that Be’lakor’s forces can use to teleport across the mortal plain. In addition, every Unholy Manifestation used grants additional Daemonic reinforcements for his forces.
Be’lakor’s Shadow: Be’lakor has the unholy ability to corrupt those who stand against him. When he defeats a human Lord in battle, he can mark them with Chaos: slowly corrupting their soul and eventually converting them into a Daemon Prince to reinforce the ranks of his army.
Chaos Gifts: Dedication to the Dark Gods (or remaining Undivided) is sacrosanct to the forces of Chaos, and through their battlefield exploits, their warriors are bestowed with unholy gifts. By offering defeated souls to the Gods, Warriors of Chaos can unlock powerful (but limited) rewards which boost their proficiency in battle or grant daemonic reinforcements.
We look forward to sharing more about Be’lakor when he joins the Immortal Empires battlefield, so keep an eye out for more information as August approaches!
DEDICATED FACTIONS
If you’re a veteran of Mortal Empires, you likely know that a few of the iconic Legendary Lords at your disposal currently share factions and starting positions with other Lords, so we’re taking the opportunity to give several of them a role of their own:
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Volkmar the Grim – The Cult of Sigmar: Embarking on a pilgrimage of zealousness by abandoning the petty squabbles of the Elector Counts in favor of sealing away the abominable Books of Nagash, Volkmar now resides in the lower Southlands. Unlike the Tomb Kings and Mannfred Von Carstein, it’s not the books themselves that offer individual effects; rather, the act of sealing books away increases his Zeal, strengthening the boons and power granted to Volkmar.
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Grombrindal – The Ancestral Throng: Known for his hatred of the sadistic Dark Elves following Malekith’s instigation of the War of the Beards, Grombrindal moved to Naggaroth. There, he stages his armies to enact revenge upon the Witch King.
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Helman Ghorst – Caravan of Blue Roses: Ever clinging to the hope of discovering necromancies that could bring his brothers back to life, Helman Ghorst has moved eastwards in order to be closer to the coveted Nagashizzar fortress.
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Vlad and Isabella Von Carstein – Sylvania: Unlike the other Legendary Lords, this power couple will be staying together in undead matrimony, but will be playable within the same campaign. If you choose Vlad as your Legendary Lord, Isabella will be automatically unlocked as a hero and vice versa.
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Sigvald The Magnificent – The Decadent Host: Armed with his disturbing yet angelic beauty, Prince Sigvald is now a force unto himself within the Warriors of Chaos. He reclines in pleasure in the Northwestern Chaos Wastes, and has been bestowed with some tantalizing new features such as the ability to Seduce units, use Seductive Influence, and has access to Slaanesh’s daemonic breed.
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Kholek Suneater – Heralds of the Tempest: The ancient Dragon Ogre now resides north of the Mountains of Mourn, keen to seek out a monolithic settlement for his own dark designs.
UP NEXT!
Next week, we’ll be answering the questions you asked last month in a special interview with the developers; you won’t want to miss it! We’ll also be sharing details about another bit of content coming with Immortal Empires next week, so check back for more as we continue our march to August!
Total War: WARHAMMER III - Update 1.3.0
Happy release day WARHAMMER fans! Welcome to UPDATE 1.3!
Like its predecessors, today's update focuses on fixes and features identified and prioritized by our players in these early months of Total War: WARHAMMER III. While the list of changes is shorter than 1.1 or 1.2, there are still a hefty number of important adjustments to key systems throughout the game, new features to continue expanding the tools in your arsenal, and critical updates as we lay the groundwork for the massive 2.0 update coming in August.
If you're looking for the short list of the most important notes, here's the tl;dr summary of what's coming in 1.3:
Regiments of Renown II introduces a whole new set of elite troops to all seven factions—this time with a focus on mounted units!
Land Battles have joined the ranked matchmaking queue!
Miao Ying can now (properly) use her Eye of the Storm ability in combat
Additional character trait reworks and skill tree updates for the Legendary Lords
Several adjustments to make the Realm of Chaos less punishing or tedious
Much-needed adjustments to how the AI Tzeentch faction utilizes Changing of the Ways
Improvements to the Cathayan Formation Attack ability
Fixes to the Kurgan Warband spawn rates during the Grand Cathay campaign
Numerous improvements to unit responsiveness to orders and movement commands in battle
AI improvements to their battle strategy, as well as fixes to prevent them from abusing skills and abilities
Various fixes for player-reported issues and feedback notes
...and more!
You can read through the full list of changes below, and then take the time to jump in and try them out in the latest build:
The team is already hard at work on Update 2.0, which will bring a load of new features, DLC, and (of course) the debut of the highly anticipated Immortal Empires game mode. We have a load of new information coming your way in the weeks to come, so stay tuned and keep the hype rolling!
HAVE FUN!
We hope you enjoy Update 1.3! Remember to let us know if you encounter any issues and to follow our social channels (below) for more information and news about Total War: WARHAMMER III.
See you on the battlefield!
— The Total War Team
For the latest news and announcements, don't forget to visit our official social channels.
Total War: WARHAMMER III – Immortal Empires Starting Positions (A Prologue)
Hello Total War: WARHAMMER fans! Welcome to the latest instalment of the Immortal Empires blog series. This week, we’ll be focusing on start positions! More notably, we’ll use this opportunity to kick off a gradual reveal over the coming weeks of where each of your favorite races will begin their conquest within the vast and unforgiving landscape of Immortal Empires.
WHAT’S IN A STARTING POSITION?
As war-hardened veterans, you’re (likely) already aware that start positions are more than where your campaign begins; they set the tone for what you experience and the level of difficulty you'll encounter due to a variety of factors: from the number of enemy factions surrounding your settlements to the availability of resources and type of terrain (or corruption) that envelops your land.
While the starting positions for most of our Legendary Lords will be unchanged in Immortal Empires, we’ve altered where 29 factions begin their journey based on a variety of factors.
The key reasons for these changes? While some were made to be more lore-friendly, add racial diversity to certain regions, or to spice up your familiar battles, it's worth remembering that authenticity is key! So, you won’t be seeing any crazy or drastic changes: such as Karl Franz starting in the middle of Lustria-bowl (even if that would be fun to watch...).
A BUSTLING BATTLEFIELD...
There are few better races to kick off this set of reveals than The Empire.
The poster-boys of the original Total War: WARHAMMER, The Empire is the largest and most important Human race in The Old World (don’t tell Kislev) and have been fighting all forms of foul beasts encroaching upon its borders for millennia.
KARL FRANZ: It wouldn‘t be the Empire without an Emperor; Karl Franz continues his ambitions to unite the Elector Counts from the starting settlement of Altdorf.
BALTHASAR GELT: The Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic continues his own fascination with alchemy from the starting settlement of Pfeildorf.
MARKUS WULFHART: Leading his motley crew of warriors known as ‘Wuflhart’s Hunters’, the Huntsmaster continues his expeditions within the dangerous jungles of Lustria, starting in the settlement of The Creeping Jungle.
VOLKMAR THE GRIM: The Grand Theogonist for the Church of Sigmar has abandoned the petty squabbles of the Elector Counts in favor of a zealous crusade within the Southern Realms. His starting settlement will be Sudenberg, where rumor has it that he’s hellbent on finding certain dark artifacts...
To provide context for WARHAMMER III’s starting positions, we should also include the locations of the game’s poster daemons. That’s right: the hellspawn of the Chaos Gods will all enjoy new starting positions in Immortal Empires:
N’KARI: Defeated by the High Elves of Ulthuan long ago, N’kari has returned to the Shrine of Kurnous where he seeks his vengeance after waiting for an eternity.
KAIROS FATEWEAVER: The Oracle of Tzeentch has invaded from the Southern Wastes and conquered the Fortress of Dawn, though his designs are an unknowable as ever.
SKARBRAND: Driven by his endless rage and bloodlust, Skarbrand wages war against the Savage Orcs in the Badlands: collecting and piling their skulls in Deff Gorge.
KU’GATH PLAGUEFATHER: Kugath has sailed from the southern wastes, drawn by the putrid sludge near the mouth of the River Ruin, settling nearby in Dragon Fang Mount within the Dragon Isles.
DAEMON PRINCE: The Daemon Prince moves to the Forest of Decay in the northern Chaos Wastes, allowing him to compete for the ultimate leadership of Chaos.
...JOINED BY FAMILIAR FACES
That’s all the starting positions we’ll be unveiling today, but we’ll be revealing the starting locations of all 86 Legendary Lords on our social channels over the coming weeks. While some of these will have relatively minor (but exciting) changes like The Empire, others will see several factions jumping to entirely new pastures:
Lizardmen
Norsca
Kislev
High Elves
Bretonnia
Grand Cathay
Skaven
Greenskins
Ogre Kingdoms
Beastmen
Tomb Kings
Wood Elves
Vampire Coast
Dwarfs
Dark Elves
Vampire Counts
Warriors of Chaos
UP NEXT!
Next week, we’re offering an inside look at Be’lakor and the other new dedicated factions coming to Immortal Empires! Watch for more news (including the rest of the starting positions) on our social channels, and we’ll see you on the battlefield this August!
