Total War : Warhammer 3 - Thrones of Decay Launch Trailer 4/9/24

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**Del Mingus**

So far it looks very much a step in the right direction for the Shadow of Change update, but maybe not enough to make it feel like its worth £20 to me.

Still I can see now it can be picked up for around £16 on sale and I think I'd be more willing to buy for that amount.

Hopefully with the update they wont turn around and reverse the amount the DLC is going on sale for a few months.

Might wait and see what the rest of the update contains before I decide to buy though.

I guess Thrones of Decay will be the make or break point for continued support.

I hope it'll be a success as after all these years and culmination of the trilogy, it'd be shame for it to just fizzle out.

**Not Online!!!**

Overread wrote:
I'm not sure what you mean?

That the map isn't more cluttered/detailed than it was in the past?

Or that some people saying "army appeared from nowhere" isn't the result of them simply not spotting it in all the detail on the map.

I'm not saying armies don't ambush or appear out of the fog of war and such - those things 100% do happen. As do things like Seraphon and Ork summoned armies. I was simply noting that some of the "army appeared from nowhere" could be the result of people glancing at the very busy design of the map and not seeing an army standing there.

The first sentence is wrong.
It is demonstrably untrue from a tactical mechanical point of view due to the limitations of the engines post medieval.

Overread wrote:
Honestly when I play old Medieval 2 I think the only thing I really feel missing from the modern games is the simpler map view. Warhammer 1 really started the ball rolling for CA with VERY pretty maps, but they got so chock full of pretty things that you lose the ability to read information from them.

This one to be precisce. Formations and unit entities being due to mechanical limitations of the kill moves and statification far less prevalent or borderline actually missing as an tactical mechanic, with formation buttons adding in singular stats instead of actually making the formation work.

F.e. square formations work in etw and ntw even when the square is actually broken, due to the stat boost conveyed to the line infantry. Even worse, RTW 2 testudos.

**Overread**

And I don't have space to have 3Kingdoms installed right now.

But yeah whilst the amount of information might be similar, the rendering style and display is vastly different. The old style the only high detail points are specific elements of clear information about a province and the game to the player. Warhammer has other things going on.
There's that shrine thing in the bottom right which isn't anything; there's a mine in the right side which belongs to a dwarf owned settlement which is apparently an iron mine; but the Vampire settlement also has a gold mine somewhere.

There's also the boarders - the original ones are very clear very simple lines on the map; Warhammer they are wriggling and writhing all over the place.

Again I'm not arguing that there's more actual gameplay information going on; but that the presentation and style of map drawing and how they've displayed it has changed from one that was insanely super clear to one that isn't quite as clear at a quick glance. There's a lot more contextual details going on; a lot more busy details and a lot more details that don't actually mean anything gameplay wise happening.

by all means the new maps are very pretty and they look neat - but the information is no way near as clearly displayed to the player as in Medieval 2

**Grey Templar**

Indeed. I kinda wish they had a toggle option to have a cleaner world map so you could actually see stuff.

And just stop putting a bunch of pointless terrain that only blocks movement everywhere, so you are funneled into only using certain paths. Both on the campaign map and in actual battles. I should be able to maneuver units inside settlements and on the battlefields freely even at maximum unit sizes.

Whats really dumb is that would be easier than paying people to design random garbage to throw down all over the maps everywhere that just looks pretty but is in the way.

**Overread**

Don't get me wrong, I do love the detail they've put into the map - its a beauty and I love some of the small details that they add to bring the world more alive. I just wish they were more present as things within regions in the game as information and parts of the game itself.

That said I do agree also that a cleaner overview map option would be nice to have. Something that's purely there for "this is GAME information" and cuts out the pretties a bit so that you can focus on the key facts.

For maps I can agree, there are fewer open area maps in this edition. Then again I think that having more constrained map design does lead to some more creative approaches and more encouragement to break up armies and try different approaches instead of "its all in one spot".

Heck I know a lot of people weren't happy with the "tiny" cities compared to previous titles; but part of me was happy to see it. A good many old TW games had city siege maps that were VAST and yet your army was hardly taking up a corner of the map. Which kind of resulted in you attacking one or two tiny spots and all the action were there and the rest of the map was basically empty barring perhaps a group of cavalry going on a VERY long run around the winding city to attack from the rear somewhere.

I feel like the multi-stage large maps of Warhammer 3 are perhaps a sweet spot where there's enough variety and layers and map to fight over without it being so huge that its overwhelming. The "side game" of resources and towers I'm 50-50 on. It's neither a deal breaker for me nor is it really a huge feature I feel really engaged wtih. I think in part because it feels like something more suited to a Warcraft level of game and control rathre than a TW where you are already pulled in a lot of attention directions at once anyway

**Not Online!!!**

But that would mean that they'd have to reimplement a generative map rather than the 3 /4 per region currently

**nels1031**

Tzeentch additions in Shadows of Change 2 : Son of Shadows of Change :

https://www.totalwar.com/blog/wh3-soc-update-tzeentch/

Hi everyone,

Before I get into the details on the new additions for Tzeentch, I wanted to talk to you about the release date and where we are as of today. The team are still working flat out to finish things up and we found a few things at the start of this week that we need to address before handing things over to you.

I’m really pleased to say that the team is making great progress through these last few changes and we are still on track to release to you later this month, but the release won’t be this week (which we had originally been trying really hard to hit). I’ll be back later this week with more information on the extra characters and units coming to Kislev, as well as to update you further on the release plans.

Before we dive straight into things, if you haven’t read the last blog entry which focused on Grand Cathay, you can do so here.

Right, onto the fun stuff!

TZEENTCH ADDITIONS
Listening to your feedback on characters and units which you have shared with us since the release of Shadows of Change, we have focused on improving the melee offering at Tzeentch’s disposal for their Lords and Heroes. Tzeentch armies have always heavily leaned on magic but we understand having those hard-hitting frontline generals and heroes are important in balancing out your armies. This is exactly what we have added to the roster for you in the form of the Chaos Lord of Tzeentch and the Exalted Hero of Tzeentch. We have also taken the opportunity to add a further two new units into the DLC for Tzeentch, which I’ll cover below.

To broaden the connection between Tzeentch and the Beastmen which we first established with the introduction of the Tzaangors in the DLC’s original release, we are now adding Centigors of Tzeentch. Having additional Chaos aligned Beastmen in the Tzeentch roster is something that we always wanted in order to best represent the various forms of Chaos, and the Centigors of Tzeentch will pack quite the bestial punch on the field of battle for you.

We also heard your feedback on the appearance of our Tzaangors in game and your expectations of them having beaks. To be clear, in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles universe, Tzaangors don’t have beaks. Instead, they much more closely resemble the appearance of a classic Gor from the Beastmen roster, which have a brutal and bestial look with teeth and jaw rather than an avian (bird)-like appearance. Rather than being a separate, offshoot species of Beastmen, they are instead Gor who have sworn allegiance to the Lord of Change.

Our second addition comes in the form of the Daemonic flying Changebringers, a classic Tzeentch unit from the Storm of Chaos book released way back in 2004. These Flamers ride Discs of Tzeentch into battle, making them a fast and fearsome opponent. As with all the additions, I’ll cover them in greater detail below.

So, let’s get to it!

CHAOS LORD OF TZEENTCH (LORD)
Having created a variety of Marked characters and units with the release of Champions of Chaos for the Warriors of Chaos to field, we really wanted to come back and flesh out some of the missing cast, giving you the options to create the ultimate Chaos army that you have always wanted.

So just like with those mentioned units, the Chaos Lord of Tzeentch will be available for both Tzeentch and the Warriors of Chaos races.

“Those few who succeed upon the twisting path of Tzeentch become the most otherworldly of all Chaos Champions. They are blessed with both exceptional warrior skills and the arcane powers of the Lord of Magic. This deadly combination makes them cunning leaders and lethal warriors who command their armies with uncanny presence.

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
The Chaos Lord of Tzeentch is built for combat. Carrying his trusty halberd it makes him adept at fighting monsters and larger creatures. He can certainly go toe to toe with some of the biggest foes the Warhammer world has to offer. He’s also great at holding his ground through the use of his Expert Charge Defence and Charge Reflection passive abilities.

Marked by Tzeentch – A master of the mind, the Chaos Lord of Tzeentch benefits from the Mark of Tzeentch, which grants him magical attacks and a barrier by default.
The True Power – Armed with a heavy suit of Chaos armour, a towering shield and a magical Halberd, the Chaos Lord of Tzeentch is a defensive juggernaut who excels in fighting large targets, especially when mounted on a Disc of Tzeentch (essentially becoming a character-level Doom Knight).
Disciple of Tzeentch – As a powerful tyrant and fearsome leader, the Chaos Lord of Tzeentch inspires his followers and emboldens their resolve. By using the ”Change or Die!” ability (which is a Tzeentchian twist on “Stand or Die!”), he can improve the Leadership and Damage Resistance of nearby friendly troops. He also makes use of the “Paragon of Change” ability, which recharges the barrier of nearby allies.
Mounts

Chaos Steed, Chaos Chariot & Disc of Tzeentch
Available to:

Tzeentch & Warriors of Chaos
EXALTED HERO OF TZEENTCH (HERO)
When we started the process of finding a suitable model to best represent this character, we knew we wanted to do something a little different and special. So, we went back, really far back into the Warhammer archives looking at the various depictions Tzeentch’s champions have taken the form of.

Needing to be a melee focused character one model really stood out, which I’m lucky to say I even have in my collection (and really need to paint); the Tzeentch Champion with two swords from the early 90’s.

“The Exalted Heroes of Tzeentch are ostensibly the most bizarre and macabre of the Lord of Change’s mortal servants. Their armour is typically Tzeentchian, inlaid with bands of gold and bluish-silver and assembled from strangely curving components, but it is the God of Magic’s generous gift of two extra heads that sets His Exalted Heroes apart from others on the battlefield. It is a change that irrevocably affects the mind, splitting a Hero’s mortal personality into three conniving extremes. With eyes sealed shut, the central head jeers the whims of the two other personalities dwelling in the leering cyclopean heads on either side. Yet with a singular will, the creature swings its weapon with Tzeentch-imbued strength.”

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
The Exalted Hero is a melee specialist, using his magical attacks and high weapon strength to get into the thick of the action. He is armed with a mighty halberd to be in keeping with the rest of our Tzeentch roster, rather the dual swords that this character takes inspiration from in its miniature form. He has solid melee defence that will sustain him long into the fight. Just like his Lord counterpart, he is adept at taking a charge with Expert Charge Defence and Charge Reflection passive abilities.

Marked of Tzeentch – The Exalted Hero of Tzeentch benefits from the mark of Tzeentch, which grants him magical attacks and a barrier by default.
Anti-Large Specialist – The Exalted Hero of Tzeentch carries a Magical Halberd, which allows him to reliably duel monstrous infantry.
Opportunist – Always scheming and seeking a path to greater glory, the Exalted Hero of Tzeentch takes command if the lord is slain, bolstering the leadership of the army as he assumes command.
Mounts

Chaos Steed, Chaos Chariot & Disc of Tzeentch
Available to:

Tzeentch & Warriors of Chaos
CENTIGORS OF TZEENTCH (UNIT)
As mentioned earlier, our thoughts here were to expand on the connection Chaos has across its many followers, and in this case, Tzeentch. Using the Chaos Marks system, we opted for the Centigors to provide bestial cavalry to add versatility to what is normally quite a missile and magic heavy focused army.

Like with the Tzaangors, these creatures have been developed based on the setting of Warhammer Fantasy Battles. So, no beaks or other things that you might associate with Tzeentch in Age of Sigmar, in keeping our content true to the source material. Just like the Tzaangors this unit will be available to both Tzeentch and Beastmen races to play with and the team and I have plans for how we can improve the offering of further Chaos Marked Beastmen for you in the future.

“Beastmen are creatures of pure Chaos, and so tend to exalt all four Ruinous Powers equally. However, sometimes a she-gor spawns a whelp that is clearly a chosen one of the Changer of Ways, its fur patterned with the Mark of Tzeentch, or its horns curling to form His unholy symbol. These Centigors are as bitter and spiteful as their non-Tzeentchian kin, with a stronger resentment for their own clumsy, awkward nature, and harbouring a deep jealousy of creatures whose minds and bodies are better matched. This feeds their arcane rage and makes them much more dangerous – having been touched by Tzeentch, this is likely no coincidence.”

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
A fast and hard-hitting unit, the Centigors of Tzeentch carry great weapons offering armour piercing power to take on tougher opponents. Carrying the Mark of Tzeentch grants them magical attacks and barrier.

Unholy Combination – Combining the Mark of Tzeentch with the Centigor statline makes for a fast, vanguard-deploying, barrier-attuned bestial cavalry unit that benefits from standard Beastmen abilities such as Rowdy and Primal Fury.
Great Weapons – The Centigors of Tzeentch wield armour piercing Great Axes, which have been magically imbued, making this an effective unit when up against Daemons and Ethereal units.
Arcane Charge – Initially introduced with the Tzaangors, this ability has also been adopted by the Centigors, offering more synergy with Tzeentchian spellcasters.
Available to:

Tzeentch & Beastmen
CHANGEBRINGERS (UNIT)
Last but by no means least are the Changebringers, a unit of Flamers which fly across the battlefield on Discs of Tzeentch. These horrors will help Tzeentch quickly reach their enemies in battle and keep the pressure on from above.

“Flamers are capable of a fair turn of speed, expelling gaseous ichor through the fungoid ‘skirt’ at their base to bound and leap across the ground with considerable mischievous gusto. A Flamer uses its blazing limbs to hurl bolts of magical flame at the foe. This is not fire in its truest sense, but a roiling cloud of Chaos energy. It does not burn, but warps reality. A Flamer’s victim might briefly feel invigorated, before collapsing into a writhing puddle of flesh.”

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
A step up from your normal Flamers of Tzeentch, Changebringers have the manoeuvrability, speed and agility to be able to fly across the battlefield, whilst ignoring the terrain and any penalties they may cause. But, if need be, their increased charge bonus will help them with making the first move.

Shock and Awe – Changebringers are one of the ultimate expression of the chaotic nature of Tzeentch. Flamers of Tzeentch (which are comparatively slow and lumbering units) take to the skies, benefitting from greatly increased manoeuvrability.
Death from Above – Changebringers can rain down Tzeentchian fire from above, making them one of the best flying missile units in the game.
Flamers of Tzeentch – Being Flamers of Tzeentch at their core, the Changebringers benefit from the usual hallmarks of this unit. Armour Piercing, Flaming Attacks and Warpflame are all present; however, due their newfound mobility, Changebringers don’t have quite as much of a barrier when compared to their ground-based kin.
Available to:

Tzeentch & Daemons of Chaos
⬥ ⬥ ⬥

Thanks for reading, and I’ll be back later this week with my final blog on the great nation of Kislev and the new characters and units they’ll be receiving as part of Patch 4.2.

—Rich Aldridge (Game Director) & the Total War: WARHAMMER Team

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Love the look of the Tzeentch Hero.

Weird line to take on the Tzaangors and how they look, but I guess that's a trademark/licensing issue, since the ill-fated AoS RTS game has "proper" Tzaangors.

Centigors of Tzeentch could be interesting, but the roster seems to already have that niche covered.

Changebringers sound devastating, but they are pretty short ranged from what I remember.

Kislev later this week!

**Voss**

Weird line to take on the Tzaangors and how they look, but I guess that's a trademark/licensing issue, since the ill-fated AoS RTS game has "proper" Tzaangors.

I doubt it has anything to do with Realms of Ruin. They're pushing real hard that this is GW giving them a hard NO and there's nothing they can do about it.

Given that its entirely in keeping with the 'no mixing product lines' between 40k and HH & AoS and TOW, that seems pretty believable.

There's just enough between the lines that they're not officially blaming GW, but I'm curious what the relationship is like. Given everything going with CA and Sega, someone might have decided once TW3 goes out of active service (however many DLCs that is), the relationship is done.

**Overread**

Considering that TW Warhamer is one of the big reasons GW can do Old World I'd be shocked if GW wanted to end the relationship. It's brought both GW and CA buckets of money and its GW's current best video game title.

Don't forget Dawn of War (the once poster child of 40K video games) is now a title marred in the mud with Dawn of War 3; meanwhile Space Marine 2 still isn't out yet.

Most of their other games are smaller developer firms producing low to decent quality games. The Age of Sigmar RTS game Realms of Ruin meanwhile is sitting there looking very pretty and running well but just being unfun to play and unsatisfying as an RTS (and I'd argue a huge part of that is them trying to build an RTS game for consoles which honestly I've never really seen that work for any kind of traditional RTS game)

Gw are drawing some big lines between their AoS and Old World designs and I think part of that is trying to ensure that they have distinct markets for them and that the two don't bleed together which would likely make it a nightmare for GW's forecasting of sales and product direction and so forth. Honestly its a bold move of theirs way beyond what they did with Horus Heresy; to have two games of the same genre and design ethos and factions side by side at once.

So yes they likely are wanting both games to evolve designs down different pathways and that includes imposing those policies on their 3rd party creators.

It might even work out well for CA in the end IF they continue working with GW. It will mean CA can step into creating an Age of Sigmar game with distinct designs and so forth.

**nels1031**

https://www.totalwar.com/blog/wh3-soc-update-kislev/

Kislev is up. And Feb 22 patch release date!

Spoiler:

Hi all, I’m back with the final update on the unit additions we’re bringing to Shadows of Change.

Hopefully you’re all up to date with the changes that are coming to Grand Cathay and Tzeentch as a part of Patch 4.2. But if you missed anything you can check out those updates below:

Before I get into all the details about what to expect with Kislev, I’m excited to confirm that Patch 4.2 will launch on Thursday, February 22.

As I alluded to in our last blog on Tzeentch, the team have been working hard to get this exciting new content into your hands and we can’t wait to hear what you think. Next week, we’re thrilled to say that Black Library author David Guymer is back with a brand new short story on the Witch of Kislev, and on Wednesday, we’ll be publishing the full Patch Notes for Patch 4.2 so that you can get caught up on what to expect when this all new content drops for Shadows of Change.

Let’s get to it!

KISLEV 8TH EDITION LORE & IP
If like me you’ve grown up with Warhammer and been a long-time fan, seeing Kislev given new characters and units at the launch of Total War: WARHAMMER III was a special moment. Likewise with the additions of Mother Ostankya, Hag Witches and other units in Shadows of Change.

This new, uncharted ground for the faction, was one that we worked closely with Games Workshop on, from before the release of Total War: WARHAMMER III and through the development of Shadows of Change. Games Workshop took us through their various designs, concepts, and deep dives into the new and updated lore that they had created for Kislev.

Like with many things in life, this meant some ‘out with the old and in with the new’. Mother Ostankya is a good example of this. She is Kislev’s only true Hag Mother in the new and current lore that our game is based on. She is very much her own unique character, with her own motives, desires, magical items and history. This is why you see her charge into battle atop her sled, pulled by the Things in the Woods with her cauldron, rather than more direct references to real world mythology. This new take, like with all the other additions to Kislev, is what makes them exciting and brings them in line with the other races in 8th Edition and Games Workshop lore.

The same is true of other parts of past Kislev lore. The distinct Ungol and Gospodar split within Kislev is something that is no longer at the forefront of Kislevite lore, instead taking a back seat to allow us to tell new stories with the faction. There are still nods to this – the horse archers already in the game, for example – but there won’t be more implemented into our game now or moving forwards.

You can think of Kislev in a similar way to the books and resources that we use from Games Workshop in making our game. We focus on the newest army books (8th Edition or as close to as possible) and miniatures, rather than adding things from the early editions, RPG books, old miniatures or peripheral novels and supplements that no longer embody the core nature of the character, race, environment, etc. By doing this, we ensure that we’re showing you the most authentic version of the Warhammer world possible!

I hope this explains much more of our thinking, how we go about things and how we look to best represent the most current version of the lore in our game. So now let’s get to it and run you through the changes that are coming to Kislev as part of Patch 4.2.

KISLEV ADDITIONS
I think I need to first address the elephant in the room when it comes to Kislev and the content that was offered at the launch of Shadows of Change and what wasn’t, the lack of a new spell lore for Mother Ostankya and the omission of Hag Mothers as a generic lord type.

I’ll start with the spell lore that we’re adding to Patch 4.2 for both Mother Ostankya and her Hag Witches to make full use of. “The Lore of the Hag” will be comprised of six new spells and a lore attribute focused on both hexing enemy units and overcasting to bless your own. I’ll go into more detail on what each spell does in the section below.

Coming back to the Hag Mothers now, as previously mentioned there is only one “Hag Mother” in the current lore of Kislev as told by Games Workshop and this is Mother Ostankya herself. This lore is very new as is Mother Ostankya herself in the IP, so I want to inform you as best as I can to share with you who she is, how she aids Kislev and why there are no other Hag Mothers in the lore or our game.

Mother Ostankya is a character of great importance to many Kislevites acting as a guardian of the land in times of great peril, but also to be wary of and not cross to avoid her wrath. It is her magic that is wielded in battle both by herself and her Hag Witches and her unstoppable force that brings both man and nature to fight for her cause and that of Kislev’s. With the exception of Mother Ostankya herself, the few other Hags of Kislev are not generals – they have no interest in leading armies themselves! Instead, they help enact Mother Ostankya’s will through aiding Kislev’s other leaders and their forces.

With this new lore in mind and staying as close and true to it, we needed to look for other Generic Lord option for Kislev to field instead of Hag Mothers and I think we came up with a good option thanks to Games Workshop’s help and guidance; the Druzhina.

More on him later. Let’s first take a look at the Lore of the Hag as I promised you and show you what fun new tricks Mother Ostankya has at her disposal.

LORE OF THE HAG (SPELL LORE)
Available to both Mother Ostankya and Hag Witches, “The Lore of the Hag” features six new spells and a new lore attribute. The spell lore is focused primarily on disrupting and hexing enemy units, but with a twist, as when overcasting these spells, they become augments that you can use on your own forces! This compliments Mother Ostankya’s campaign mechanics of curses and blessings to provide more ways to play with this unique character in battle.

“The Hag Witches draw from the power from the woodlands, fens and oblasts of Kislev, holding those who stray into them terminally accountable. Incantations and curses take shape to summon forth the spirit-magic of the land, blessing the Kislevites who fight for it and cursing those who may see it harmed.”

LORE ATTRIBUTE
FATE OF INTERLOPERS – AREA OF HEXES
“Those trespassing upon this ground soon find their fate is completely sealed; their end decided.”

Fate of Interlopers activates every time a lore of the Hag spell is cast. It provides a debuff to enemy units whilst buffing your own troops simultaneously.
Curse – Minor decrease of Leadership
Blessing – Increases Spell Resistance

SPELLS

THE FORBIDDEN FENS

“The Hag beseeches ethereal forces deep underground to seep upwards and hamper the progress of her enemies, draining all momentum from them.”

Curse – The Forbidden Fens
Area of Hexes – Negatively affects enemies Speed, Charge Speed and Vigour.
Blessing – Whispers in the Woods
Areas of Augments – Positively affects allied Speed, Charge Speed, Vigour, whilst granting Strider & Unspottable.

WITCHBREW

‘The Hag’s cauldron erupts in a bubbling crescendo, splashing its contents – and the Motherland’s boundless wrath – all over her hopeless enemies.”

Curse – Witchbrew
Breath – Damages units in its path and applies the poison contact effect.
Blessing – Witchbroth
Breath – Damages units in its path applies a contact effect to friendly units, which heals them, boosts their Vigour and making them Immune to Enemy Contact Effects.

CURSE OF THE ANCIENT WITCH

“A hooded figure summoned by the Hag whispers words of terror, both mortal and immortal, to those who should never, ever have gone wandering in the woods…”

Curse – Curse of the Ancient Witch
Hex – Negatively affects enemies Missile Block Chance, Armour and will spread to nearby enemies within the spells spread range.
Blessing – Blessing of the Ancient Witch
Augment – Imbues Magical Attacks, positively enhances Armour-Piercing Missile Damage, Base Missile Damage & Reload Skill.

VENGEANCE OF SPIRITS

“The Hag channels a malevolent spirit into an enemy’s soul to saturate their being and gradually tear them to bloody, miniscule shreds from the inside out.”

Curse – Vengeance of Spirits
Area of Direct Damage – Damages enemies within the radius and applies the “Silence” attribute which stops affected units from being able to use abilities or cast spells.
Blessing – Omen of Spirits
Area of Augments – Enhances the flow of Winds of Magic in favour of yours or allies spellcasters, dealing damage in the process.

CURSED CAULDRON

“Conjured up from the Hag’s cauldron, spectral missiles shoot upwards to rain carnage down upon the foe.”

Curse – Cursed Cauldron
Vortex – A static central vortex fires out projectiles that spawn smaller moving vortexes upon impact.
Blessing – Blessed Cauldron
Vortex – The same as the above, but this vortex no longer harms friendly units that are caught in the area of effect.

MALEDICTION OF MADNESS

“A sudden rush of nightmarish visions floods the victim’s psyche, driving them to a fleeting madness that debilitates even the hardiest warrior.”

Curse – Malediction of Madness
Hex – Negatively affects enemies Base Weapon Damage, Armour-Piercing Weapon Damage, Melee Attack and inflicts Rampage!
Blessing – Incantation of Mania
Augment – Increases Base Weapon Damage, Armour-Piercing Weapon Damage, Melee Attack and inflicts Rampage!
DRUZHINA (LORD)
The Druzhina is a character steeped in Kislev lore, a lesser noble that lives beyond the walls of Kislev’s great cities and tends to his own lands and his people. Ever ready to serve the Tzar or Tzarina, the Druzhina are well connected to the nature that surrounds them and bring with them to war items that have been handed down generation by generation.

They will act as a great addition to Kislev’s roster, bridging the gap that we had between the Boyars and that of Mother Ostankya in who could lead her armies.

“Druzhina are drawn from minor Kislevite nobility, and consist of landowning men of sufficient means that they can afford a horse, armour and weapons with which to defend the Motherland when called upon by the Tzar. As is befitting of members of the establishment, Druzhina have disdain for city-dwellers, and are keen on preserving the rural hierarchy that provides their power and status, but are also self-sufficient, resourceful and have a healthy attitude to the very real likelihood they will be killed during military service. The Druzhina’s main weapon of choice is the Great Axe – very nasty, when swung with conviction! – yet they also carry a bow.”

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
Despite being a faction of Hybrid units, Kislev has lacked a truly Hybrid lord-type character to sit in between the melee-focused Boyar and the magic-focused Ice Witch. The Druzhina subscribes to this playstyle by supporting missile lines with his abilities, whilst holding his own in melee with a powerful armour piercing great weapon.

Hybrid – The Druzhina is able to deal significant single target damage with his bow and able to deal armour-piercing damage with his axe in melee
Missile Unit Enhancement – Units near to the Druzhina will benefit from increased missile stats
Ammo Replenishment – The Druzhina is only unit in the Kislev roster that can replenish used up ammunition for friendly units, making him an effect support character for Kislevite missile lines
Mounts

Warhorse
THE GOLDEN KNIGHT, NARYSKA LEYSA (LEGENDARY HERO)
Balancing out the Legendary Heroes on offer in Shadows of Change, meant us looking for a character to join Kislev’s ranks.

The Golden Knight is the champion of the Ice Queen. This is an honorary rank bestowed to the greatest warrior among the Druzhina (or occasionally in history, Boyars or even the common soldiery). Naryska is the daughter of the previous golden Knight, who died at the side of Tsar Boris. As a girl, Naryska learned swordcraft from her father, honing her skills as a warrior from the finest in the realm. Though she was derided by her peers, she stood forward as a candidate as the Guardian of the Tsarina when the Druzhina elected her father’s successor.

Naryska is tall and powerfully built, the physical equal of any mighty warrior. But her greatest attribute is her determination. Such is her drive, that she trains longer and more intensely than any other… and in battle she fights with a fury born of stubborn pride. In Kislev she is unmatched in combat.

Every Golden Knight is consecrated by the Cult of Ursun, and so Naryska bears both religious ornamentation and the favour of the Ice Court. In this way she unifies the divided church and state.

“The Queen of Kislev’s champion is known as “The Golden Knight”, an honorary rank bestowed upon the finest warrior from among the ranks of the Druzhina, although Boyars or even the common soldiery have, on occasion, risen to the position. The current incumbent is Naryska Leysa, daughter of the previous Golden Knight, who was killed in battle at Tzar Boris’ side. In spite of fierce opposition from her peers, Naryska was promoted to champion on merit, for she is easily the physical equal of any man and twice as determined, having learned swordcraft from the finest practitioners in the land. On the battlefield, she is a whirlwind of furious attacks born of her stubborn, prideful nature, and unmatched in single combat.”

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
The Golden Knight is a heavily armoured guardian hero with a focus on protecting friendly characters and buffing the resolve of her comrades nearby. Wearing a full suit of armour and wielding the powerful magical sword, Urson’s Claw, she is a bulwark which many a foe will have difficulty overcoming.

Bodyguard – The Golden Knight is an exceptional protector, using her defensive abilities and stats to increase the durability of nearby friendly lords/heroes
Inspiration – The more damage sustained by the Golden Knight, the more determined surrounding friendly units become to fight on
Duellist – The Golden Knights durability and powerful sword allows her to go toe-to-toe with melee lords/heroes
Mounts

Warhorse
KISLEVITE WARRIORS (UNIT)
We’ve come to better understand that not every unit in the DLC needs to be a centrepiece monster and headed in the other direction with this new unit plugging a much needed lower tier infantry gap.

The Kislevite Warriors armed with their halberds are Tier 1 troops that are decent at withstanding a charge and bound by their blood will fight to the bitter end for Kislev.

We’ve taken inspiration in their design from older Mordheim miniatures, just like the Druzhina in creating something with a much closer feel and look to the land and woods that Mother Ostankya protects.

“The grim and hardy appearance of these men of the Oblast tell tales of a lifetime of endurance. Nothing matters more to Kislevite Warriors than the defence of the Motherland against the insidious forces of the Ruinous Powers and the preservation of a way of life stretching back many centuries – tasks they undertake with grim determination and armed with razor-sharp halberds. They are deeply religious, cherishing the traditional Kislevite gods, but chiefly Ursun, the Bear-God, from whom they surely draw their strength in combat. Such men are also extremely loyal to the Tzar and his family, whom they consider to be important symbols of Kislev just as much as Father Bear himself.”

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
Kislevite Warriors are halberd-wielding infantry that occupy a low price point within the Kislev roster. Because they don’t pay the tax of being a hybrid unit, Kislevite Warriors have more entities than a standard Kislivite infantry unit, which makes them an effective meat shield for the rest of your army.

Cheap – Kislevite Warriors are the cheapest true melee unit of the Kislev roster, making them a great pick in the early game
Anti-Large – Kislevite Warriors wield halberds which are great at combating monstrous infantry such as Trolls
Front Line Troops – With more entities than any other Kislev infantry unit, the Kislevite Warriors serve as a decent screen for your missile infantry.
FROST WYRM (UNIT & MOUNT)
You may recognise this name if you have ever ventured into Norsca or played a campaign of theirs. Now called a Chaos Frost Dragon the Norscan unit is very different to Kislev’s true Frost Wyrm. A hulking flightless beast, deadly in combat with its massive fanged jaws, scything claws and a vicious lashing tail.

The Frost Wyrm acts as both an individual unit, or a mount for Katarin or her Ice Witches.

“Frost Wyrms are creatures of magic who primarily roost in the Crags of Shargun. Swift and sinuous, who sleep away the warmest parts of the year in hibernation, venturing out onto the oblast to hunt prey when the weather is at its coldest. Their natural prey are the wandering herbivorous beasts which are easily devoured whole by an adult Frost Wyrm In times of famine they have been known to consume Chaos beasts too, taking savage delight in chomping down a Troll or Minotaur when the need arises.

Beings of Ice Magic, Frost Wyrms are naturally aligned to the witches of the Ice Court. In desperation an Ice Witch will travel to the Crags and beseech the slumbering Wyrms for aid and it is not unknown for a Frost Wyrm to answer their calls in times of coldest winter. The Ice Queen’s power is such that winter travels where she does – and no Frost Wyrm would ever refuse her.”

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
The Frost Wyrm is a deadly mid-tier Monster which can move its way across the battlefield relatively quickly for a monster of its size. With the top end of the roster getting particularly crowded, the Frost Wyrm’s power level is comparable to that of a Dark Elf War Hydra or the Stegadon of the Lizardmen. This enables it to really stand out on its own as a unique pick when compared to the Elemental Bear or Incarnate Elemental of Beasts.

Fast – The Frost Wyrm is a fast for a creature of its size, which enables it to manoeuvre into position quicker than most
Frostbite – The Frost Wyrm utilises the Frostbite contact effect, slowing enemies that it attacks
Mount – Katarin and Ice Witches may use the Frost Wyrm as a Mount
Mount for:

Katarin, Ice Witch
ICE COURT SLED (MOUNT – FREELC)
I can’t tell you how pleased the team are to be finally realising the Ice Court Sled in game for you all. It’s been on our wishlist like many of yours for some time since the launch of Total War: WARHAMMER III. Katarin will now rightly be able to nip across the snow-covered plains, hills and mountains of her lands.

Note: Players will only need Total War: WARHAMMER III to access this piece of free content. Ownership of the Shadows of Change DLC is not required.

“The Ice Court’s reinforced sled is drawn by mighty steeds with breath like the winter wind, and whose flanks shimmer with glittering ice crystals.”

GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW
Like the Wind – Pulled by six of the finest steeds that Kislev has to offer, the Ice Court Sled is the quickest way for Katarin to move around the battlefield.
Indomitable – The momentum of the sled allows it to push through enemy infantry lines with ease, making it an effective unit for disrupting and confusing enemy formations
Ice Guard Crew – Two members of the Ice Guard fire their bows from the sled, allowing it to also be used as a missile chariot in a pinch.

Mount for Katarin
⬥ ⬥ ⬥

I hope you enjoyed learning about all the new characters, units and spells coming to Kislev, as I have an added treat for you lore lovers out there next week that I touched on at the start of this blog. We have once again partnered with Black Library novelist David Guymer to bring you a wonderful dark tale “Things in the Wood”, taking a closer look at Mother Ostankya and the kingdom of Kislev. Total War Account holders, please keep your eyes peeled for news in your inbox from Monday.

So, now you’ve heard all about all the new additions, the team wanted to gather together the content in its entirety to show you just what the Shadows of Change offering looks like now in comparison to launch.

(Slide the bar to see before and after)

That’s it for now, thank you for your ongoing support and feedback. The team and I are super excited for the future and will be talking to you more on what’s next in the not too distance future for Total War: WARHAMMER III.

For Sigmar!

—Rich Aldridge (Game Director) & the Total War: WAHAMMER Team

**nels1031**

Patch Notes are out , its a pretty big boy, so just gonna post the link :

https://www.totalwar.com/blog/tww3-update-420/

One notable thing in the patch notes:

Spoiler:

**Overread**

The Bloom changes are particularly welcome!

**nels1031**

Hey folks,

With the full reveal of Thrones of Decay starting next week and continuing through April, I wanted to talk with you all about some pricing changes that we’re making for this DLC that we thought would be good to share ahead of our usual reveal business.

Before we get to that, let me quickly say thank you for the reception you gave to our updated Shadows of Change.

When we first launched, we got it wrong, but you gave us the chance to help address that and all of us across Total War were grateful for how warmly you embraced the new content that we added. We hope that decisions like this help to demonstrate our commitment to improving the relationship that we share with you, and we appreciate that actions continue to speak louder than words.

You may have seen the news from SEGA last week of potential changes happening to our teams here at Creative Assembly. No matter the outcome of these changes we will still be a team who love making content for Total War: WARHAMMER III and we hope that continues to shine as we move forward with the project with even more all-new content.

Onto the news we have for you today. We are making a one-time change to the way in which we’ll release Thrones of Decay, and all of us felt that we should talk about that openly with you all before we kick things off.

As announced last year, Thrones of Decay welcomes all-new content for the Empire, Dwarfs and Nurgle, and we’re happy to reveal that each faction's new content will be available to purchase either as a bundle, or on an individual basis i.e. if you only want to play as the Empire, you can buy this section of the DLC as a standalone purchase rather than having to buy everything, allowing you to pick and choose what you want to play. Here's how it'll work:

Thrones of Decay will be available to buy as a complete bundle at a discounted rate of $22.92/£19.10/€22.92.
Each individual pack will be available to purchase for $8.99/£7.49/€8.99 per pack.
If you purchase the packs individually on Steam, you’ll receive a 15% discount on the remaining packs when you complete your collection.

Back when we got started with production on Thrones of Decay close to a year ago, we had envisioned shipping this as one big package just like we did with Shadows of Change, and after talking with many of you these past few months we recognise that these large sized, higher priced packs aren’t always what you’re looking for. So, we’ve decided to do something different just for Thrones, and used this extra time to help show that we were listening to what you had to say.

This is a new approach for us, and something that we’ll have plenty to learn about as we do it, but we think it’s the right approach and something that we feel we can do in response to the pricing changes that we brought in late last year. Giving you more choices about the ways in which you can access all-new content is important to us, and we’re keen to listen in on the conversations that will rise from the back of this news.

We’re already deep into pre-production on our future DLC post-Thrones of Decay, and the current intent is to avoid creating something quite so big in scope so that we can help to keep both the value, and the price right for you.

Speaking of the future, we’ve also been hard at work these last few months re-aligning our vision of what’s yet to come for WARHAMMER III, and as promised back in December, we’ll be back to chat more with you all about where we go next a little while after we launch Thrones of Decay.

In the meantime, we’re looking forward to revealing this new DLC for you next week, and keen to listen in on what you have to say about today's news. Please do join us over on the Total War Discord, or the Total War Forums to share your thoughts - we always appreciate it when you do!

Thanks for reading, we’ll be back early next week with more.

Adam Freeman
Head of Community – Total War

**Eumerin**

*runs some quick calculations*

So with the 15% discount on the additional race packs, the total comes out to a little over $24.

**Overread**

It's a neat update for those who don't want it all in one go or who want all the armies updated. Certainly helps lessen the sting of the big price point for those customers.

Hopefully it has a positive reaction from people

**nels1031**

There is a to unpack here.

**Overread**

Carmine dragons - land ships - FREAKING DWARF AIRSHIPS - that huge FW Nurgle beast that eats things (forgotten its name) and loads more bits

REALLY exciting looking expansion. I know the landships and larger airships have been popular mod content for ages so its great to see them appearing.

**GrosseSax**

While I'll certainly be purchasing this DLC, I'm most looking forward to whats in the free 5.0 QoL patch - particularly mechanic overhauls for the Empire, and hopefully something involving Ogre camp changes (horde please).

**Not Online!!!**

It disgusts me that you lot forgive them so easily once more.

**Mr Morden**

Overread wrote:
Carmine dragons - land ships - FREAKING DWARF AIRSHIPS - that huge FW Nurgle beast that eats things (forgotten its name) and loads more bits

REALLY exciting looking expansion. I know the landships and larger airships have been popular mod content for ages so its great to see them appearing.

Toad-Dragon

Lots of great stuff here - Elspeth and Theodore (hoping for at least some fun Emmanuelle references) - cool Dwarfs as well

All good

**Overread**

Not Online!!! wrote:
It disgusts me that you lot forgive them so easily once more.

Hate leads to anger - Anger leads to pain - Pain leads to suffering - Suffering leads to Dead Jedi Children!!

Also I never hated them in the first place to have to forgive them to start with. They've made 3 massive games and a freaking massive amount of races, factions, dlc and content the like of which I suspect we will not see for an extremely long time for a real game battle game of this level of visual quality and style. Even the recent AoS game pales in comparison to what CA have pulled off.

Also if a firm makes a mistake; then makes steps toward correcting issues within that mistake why should I keep hating them?

**nels1031**

Not Online!!! wrote:
It disgusts me that you lot forgive them so easily once more.

LOL

**Mr Morden**

Not Online!!! wrote:
It disgusts me that you lot forgive them so easily once more.

I will buy it if its worth it - as I did with the revised version of Shadows....

Its the same as people still buying Cyberpunk which had much worse occasions of actual lying and misinformation by CD project team - the game has mostly been fixed o even if its not what they pretended it was = its now -- apparently a good enough game and worth the price.

Hating companies does very little - looking at products to see if they are worth it is much more effective.

Also the entire DLC is about the same price as one character model from GW - or less....

**Not Online!!!**

Overread wrote:
Not Online!!! wrote:
It disgusts me that you lot forgive them so easily once more.

Hate leads to anger - Anger leads to pain - Pain leads to suffering - Suffering leads to Dead Jedi Children!!

Also I never hated them in the first place to have to forgive them to start with. They've made 3 massive games and a freaking massive amount of races, factions, dlc and content the like of which I suspect we will not see for an extremely long time for a real game battle game of this level of visual quality and style. Even the recent AoS game pales in comparison to what CA have pulled off.

Also if a firm makes a mistake; then makes steps toward correcting issues within that mistake why should I keep hating them?

They made 3 times the same game. Let's not pretend otherwise, it's the same gakky engine with the same gakky issues since BEFORE they started to make WHTW. They just sold it to you 3 times, what in the past would've been called expansion packs.
At massivly inflated prices. We still have neither an apology for their attempted censorship on the steam forums nor for the behaviour in the past in regards to RTW2 or ETW. It's not "one mistake" it's a whole series with CA at this stage and whenever the community was up in arms the company improved again... somewhat. but this is hardly an improvement.

Mr Morden wrote:
Not Online!!! wrote:
It disgusts me that you lot forgive them so easily once more.

I will buy it if its worth it - as I did with the revised version of Shadows....

Its the same as people still buying Cyberpunk which had much worse occasions of actual lying and misinformation by CD project team - the game has mostly been fixed o even if its not what they pretended it was = its now -- apparently a good enough game and worth the price.

Hating companies does very little - looking at products to see if they are worth it is much more effective.

Also the entire DLC is about the same price as one character model from GW - or less....

When you have comparable buissness practices to GW that should be enough of a red flag. And sure they were nice enough to make it splitable so that you can avoid some aspects of the DLC. But content wise? The price is still massivle inflated for the single faction add ons even just internally.

And hatred is too strong a word to describe my stance torwards CA. I just disrespect them for the disrespect shown torwards their custommer base.

**Overread**

I recall the Starcraft Expansion pack

I got 6 new units (2 for each faction) and a new campaign for 3 factions (with cinematics) for half the price of the original game.

Most other RTS games maxed out an expansion with perhaps 1 full new faction if you were lucky and again at half price of the original.

So I'll happily take a £40 (fullprice) game that comes with multiple brand new factions.

Yes its "the same game 3 times" but its an entirely new campaign map; WAY WAY more factions than you'd get with 1 expansion pack (even at the height of the golden age). In fact chances are if we paid £15 per faction it would end up costing more!

So yeah I'm still happy.

The only thing I wish they'd have put some work into was a compressed global map mode. Far fewer provinces and perhaps only 1 of each main faction race appearing on it. Just so you could get that "ruled the world" feeling but with a much smaller grand campaign experience.
Though running on SSD and with their updates they've at the very least made the turn wait times super short compared to what they were

**Mr Morden**

Not Online!!! wrote:
Overread wrote:
Not Online!!! wrote:
It disgusts me that you lot forgive them so easily once more.

Hate leads to anger - Anger leads to pain - Pain leads to suffering - Suffering leads to Dead Jedi Children!!

Also I never hated them in the first place to have to forgive them to start with. They've made 3 massive games and a freaking massive amount of races, factions, dlc and content the like of which I suspect we will not see for an extremely long time for a real game battle game of this level of visual quality and style. Even the recent AoS game pales in comparison to what CA have pulled off.

Also if a firm makes a mistake; then makes steps toward correcting issues within that mistake why should I keep hating them?

They made 3 times the same game. Let's not pretend otherwise, it's the same gakky engine with the same gakky issues since BEFORE they started to make WHTW. They just sold it to you 3 times, what in the past would've been called expansion packs.
At massivly inflated prices. We still have neither an apology for their attempted censorship on the steam forums nor for the behaviour in the past in regards to RTW2 or ETW. It's not "one mistake" it's a whole series with CA at this stage and whenever the community was up in arms the company improved again... somewhat. but this is hardly an improvement.

Mr Morden wrote:
Not Online!!! wrote:
It disgusts me that you lot forgive them so easily once more.

I will buy it if its worth it - as I did with the revised version of Shadows....

Its the same as people still buying Cyberpunk which had much worse occasions of actual lying and misinformation by CD project team - the game has mostly been fixed o even if its not what they pretended it was = its now -- apparently a good enough game and worth the price.

Hating companies does very little - looking at products to see if they are worth it is much more effective.

Also the entire DLC is about the same price as one character model from GW - or less....

When you have comparable buissness practices to GW that should be enough of a red flag. And sure they were nice enough to make it splitable so that you can avoid some aspects of the DLC. But content wise? The price is still massivle inflated for the single faction add ons even just internally.

And hatred is too strong a word to describe my stance torwards CA. I just disrespect them for the disrespect shown torwards their custommer base.

Seem to be pretty standard for a computer games company and def not as bad as some... The question is do you want the product and is it a fair price for you?

For me its reasonable but others will differ and I have much bigger things to worry about in real life.

**Apple fox**

That trailer is quite hype, make me want to play.
Need more game time I do, but it always surprised me they didn’t get together with GW for an Age of sigmar version.

**Overread**

Apple fox wrote:
That trailer is quite hype, make me want to play.
Need more game time I do, but it always surprised me they didn’t get together with GW for an Age of sigmar version.

Honestly considering that the Old World one has done so well (even with the 3rd version wobbles) I'd be really surprised if they don't do another big game.

Now they could do 40K or AoS with the TW engine pretty well. That said it might be a long game - CA might want to focus on historicals and there's always a chance that they might feel they've done enough fantasy that they could do their own or find a new licence to use instead.

**Eumerin**

No doubt CA has long-term plans. But first it needs to survive whatever cuts are forced upon it by Sega. And during the backlash that occurred during the lead-up to the previous DLC, it sounds as if even with Warhammer, CA might be skating on thin ice.

**nels1031**

Tamurkhan starts just south of Archaon and north of Kholek in Zanbaijan province on the Immortal Empires campaign map.