Total War: Warhammer III - Should You Play It? Is it Worth it
Mar. 9, 2023Total War: Warhammer III – Should You Play It? Is it Worth it
Total War: Warhammer III Should You Play It? Is it Worth it?– In this Total War: Warhammer III article, I’m going to mainly talk about the game’s mechanics and features to help you decide if this gargantuan RTS is what you’ve been looking for. Regardless of whether or not you’re new to the genre, learning the ropes won’t be as daunting as the previous iterations of the series since there’s a dedicated Lost God Prologue Campaign to guide players accordingly. So if you’re interested in diving into the nuances of Total War: Warhammer III, and you want to know more about its trial period and future offers, then this article is for you!
Total War: Warhammer III’s main campaign is set in the Realm of Chaos. Here, the Bear-God Ursun was imprisoned by the Daemon Prince, Be’lakor to steal his power. With the help of an advisor, your goal is to get to Ursun before he becomes a distant memory of the past. Can you defeat traitors and control your empire until you reach the Bear-God?
What will make players spend hundreds of hours in this title is the amount of content and distinct gameplay features every faction brings to the table. For instance, choosing the Grand Cathay Race will have you restore Harmony by balancing Yin and Yang whether you’re researching new technologies or upgrading buildings. Comparatively, if you were to select Khorne, the goal will be to bathe in the skulls of your enemies by constantly engaging in wars to effectively improve your army. Total War: Warhammer III is a free-for-all type of game, which provides you with the necessary tools to make tough decisions and to fully immerse yourself into the world of Warhammer.
Combat-wise, you’ll be declaring wars and raiding structures to dominate and grow your empire. Rather than a hex-based grid, you’ll be commanding multiple armies with the help of Lords and Heroes. These armies can then be grouped accordingly based on the strategies you wish to execute. Additionally, instead of using Action Points, large-scale battles are executed in real-time so you can pause, play, and hit fast forward if you find the default pace too slow.
In Total War: Warhammer III, there are 3 campaign modes to choose from. You have The Lost God, The Realm of Chaos, and Immortal Empires. As mentioned previously, The Lost God is specifically created for players who are either new to the Total War: Warhammer universe or for those who need a refresher. The entire tutorial takes about 3-5 hours to finish and is a great stepping point into Warhammer III since the basics of every functionality are explained in detail. This mode also serves as a decent prologue to the main story. However, in The Lost God, you won’t be able to choose another race, instead, you’ll be part of the Kislev Expedition.
Hopping onto the story-driven base game or The Realm of Chaos, you can now pick from any of the 9 factions including the Daemons of Chaos, Kislev, and Khorne, to name a few. It’s worth noting that each of them consists of backstories and mechanics, which are distinct from one another, making for an enriching experience every time.
If you’re interested in playing the factions not included in the base game, then these can be bought separately via DLCs. For instance, if the Vampire Coast sounds appealing, then you’re going to have to purchase Warhammer II’s Curse Of The Vampire DLC, not Warhammer II itself.
Another recent Total War: Warhammer III DLC is The Champions of Chaos, which lets you choose 4 new Lords from the Warriors of Chaos Race. There’s Valkia the Bloody representing Khorne so she thrives on Bloodletting or the (almost) endless slaughter of hapless victims to gain the blessings of the Blood God. And then you have Festus the Leechlord, a doctor who has pledged his allegiance with one of the most infamous Chaos Gods, Nurgle himself. Together with his units, you’ll primarily poison foes and spread corruption.
Total War: Warhammer III features large-scale battles that can take about 30 minutes to finish depending on the difficulty, the armies you’ve raised, and the strategies you’ve utilized. The game features one of the most engaging combat encounters because of its depth and complexity coupled with the tactics you need to execute to wipe out your enemies without mercy. You basically have total control over how you wish to lead your troops into victory.
Right from the start, you’ll be grouping units together so they move at a similar pace, identifying their initial and optimal positions, and seeking out terrains where to gain the advantage. For instance, they can hide in the forest to momentarily conceal themselves and then attack the enemy from behind. This maneuver is also going to be very useful when flanking in order to catch them off-guard.
Moreover, you’ll be recruiting different unit types due to the unique strengths they possess. For example, the cavalry moves faster to engage enemies right away, even those hidden in specific terrains, but they’re weak against spearmen who excel in charging at larger targets. With the help of the Unit Details Panel, you’ll quickly see their strengths, weaknesses, and stats to make necessary choices, especially when the encounter becomes more challenging. But you need to be careful. If your units become too exhausted to fight, they can flee from combat, thereby decreasing your chances of winning.
Since Total War: Warhammer III is an RTS, you can pause the battle to regroup while still issuing orders. These will then be executed the moment you hit the play button. Additionally, you can refer to the bar located next to the timer to give you an indication of the tide of combat – whether you’re on your way to victory or not.
Next, you must be cautious when it comes to enhancing the abilities and spells of your Lords and Heroes because these considerably determine how well they perform in combat. In The Lost God, you can activate Yuri’s Ursun’s Roar to inspire melee allies through his leadership, thereby increasing the power of their respective attacks. Note that once you invest points into certain abilities and you exit the Skills Menu, you won’t be able to reverse the changes anymore.
In some cases, you can Auto-Resolve battles, especially if the Battle Result says that your victory is imminent, thereby allowing you to save time. Although when choosing this option, you don’t have control over the number of units you may potentially use since the predicted number of casualties isn’t precise. This feature is also applicable if you intend to siege settlements to fight for control over them. But the difference with siege encounters is you need to first avail special equipment to then raid the structure and its units over time. Once they’ve been weakened, you can now engage in battle either through Auto-Resolve or manually fighting on the field.
In addition to the immersive combat experience, Total War: Warhammer III equally delivers when it comes to Settlement Management. This includes recruiting units, Lords, and Heroes together with upgrading buildings to boost their defenses against invaders and to increase the types of soldiers that become available to you. You’ll also need to invest your research points into certain technologies. Doing so will improve your recruitment rank, leadership, and capabilities of units in battle.
In some cases, waging war isn’t always the ideal option, especially since a lot of your resources, money, and units will be quickly depleted. As such, you’ll need to form diplomatic relations with other factions. You or they can offer a peace treaty, agree on a non-aggression pact, and even form a Military Alliance to request support in the event of war. Not only can you avoid the cost of war, but you’ll also have allies who will protect you in the event of an invasion.
Should a treaty be broken by you, however, you’ll potentially antagonize several factions all at once. However, note that being diplomatic won’t always be advantageous. Instead, it’ll always depend on the faction you’ve chosen. If you’re an Exile of Khorne, then opting to engage in war more frequently will yield better results in terms of growing your forces.
After performing all the activities during your turn, you’ll need to press the hourglass to wait for the factions in the campaign to do theirs. Additionally, you’ll need to address events that happen around the world. In one Grand Cathay campaign, for example, I had to choose what to do with a Box of Delights presented by an Alchemist. I could either increase the Yin or Yang, slay the Alchemist, or simply continue on with my life where I chose the latter. There are a lot of these events, which will pop up randomly and so it’ll be up to you to make the right decisions.
In connection with Settlement Management, you can group armies together depending on the number of Lords and Heroes you have and the settlements or provinces you’ll be conquering and managing along the way. To make matters better, Total War: Warhammer III’s visuals are stunning, thereby encouraging you to explore the ends of the world. They’re even thematic to the faction you’ve chosen. So for the Exiles of Khorne, you can expect to see darker colors and a somber environment raging with fire, hatred, and anger whereas the Grand Cathay’s province depicts a rather serene and well-lit atmosphere consisting of vast fields of green.
Regardless of the campaign mode you’ve chosen, you’re given a series of Missions in the form of quests. Completing them will improve your relations with factions, possibly allowing you to form alliances. If you were to finish all of the quests listed under Victory Conditions, you’ll win the campaign. This is a bit different for Immortal Empires where you can choose the specific condition you intend to complete whether it’s the Short, Long, or Domination Campaign Victory. Doing so will involve destroying factions, invading and controlling settlements, or even sacking numerous provinces but again, the choice is entirely up to you.
For those who are interested in dipping their toes into the RTS genre or are fans of the Warhammer Fantasy universe, I encourage you to give Total War: Warhammer III a try. By the time this video has been released, a trial period on Steam will have started. Thefree weekend will run from March 9 to 13 at 8 PM CET. This would be the perfect time to try out the title with zero commitment because the base game alone should already provide you with dozens of hours of content.
For veterans of Total War: Warhammer I and II, there’s also a treat for you! If you wish to play Warhammer III for longer periods of time,you can purchase it at a 33% discountfrom March 9 until March 23 at 8 PM CET.
Total War: Warhammer III provides the ultimate experience for Warhammer Fantasy and RTS newcomers and tabletop fans alike. From commanding multiple armies to maintaining control over the provinces you govern, it’s simply impossible to run out of things to do in this nuanced game.
Although there are a few bugs such as stutters and rare crashes when certain choices are made in events, these aren’t deal-breakers given Warhammer III’s strengths. Battles, which take time to understand and master, are incredibly immersive and players are given the freedom to make important decisions that can radically affect their factions. Certainly, a lot of thought has been placed into creating a universe, which closely mimics the brutality and nature of the Warhammer universe. I can’t wait to see what the Forge of the Chaos Dwarves DLC has to offer!
If you want to get into the Total War: Warhammer series, then Warhammer III is the best game to pick because of its beginner-friendly tutorials and streamlined gameplay mechanics. Be sure to use the links below to support the channel!Total War: Warhammer III Free Trial.
Reiku
Writer at Fextralife. I enjoy playing RPGs, narrative-driven games, and platformers. Outside of gaming, I like watching meaningful movies and reading sci-fi and dystopian books.
