Whether you want to bring ruin to the world or save it from destruction, Total War: Warhammer III's latest DLC delivers on the ultimate power fantasy.
It has now been over a decade since the Total War: Warhammer trilogy began in May 2016, and after two more titles and countless DLCs, it was inevitable that the series would reach the End Times. No, this is not the end of the series by any means, as developer Creative Assembly have already confirmed.
In the context of the Warhammer Fantasy tabletop game, the End Times was the cataclysmic event that served as the ending for the setting. After a titanic war, the forces of Chaos emerged victorious and the world was destroyed–paving the way for Age of Sigmar to take the mantle of Warhammer's fantasy tabletop franchise.
Adapting such a colossal event is Creative Assembly's most ambitious project for Total War: Warhammer III yet, and it shows in the sheer amount of new content this latest DLC is bringing to the game.
Lords of the End Times adds some of the most-anticipated Legendary Lords to the game: Boris Todbringer of the Empire, Thanquol of the Skaven, the Glottkin of the Warriors of Chaos, and Nagash the Supreme Lord of Undeath himself leading the new Undead Legions as a new distinct race with access to all Undead units. Neferata of the Vampire Counts is also being added as a Free-LC Legendary Lord.
Of course, the aforementioned Legendary Lords come with their own suite of new units, Legendary Heroes, Lord and Hero characters, and campaign mechanics. Massive reworks to the Vampire Counts, Archaon the Everchosen, Endgame Scenarios, and Victory Conditions.
This is the one DLC that Creative Assembly really needed to get things right, and I can confidently say that they have pulled it off. While there are still some issues plaguing the game, the Lords of the End Times DLC makes Total War: Warhammer III feel as close to complete as it can get.
The Lords bringing the End Times
The forces of Nurgle, the Chaos God of Decay, were at the forefront of Chaos' campaign to destroy the world during the End Times. And leading the Grandfather's shambling hordes were the Glottkin, three brothers marked by Nurgle before their birth and sworn to plunge the Empire into plague and ruin.
In the Lords of the End Times, the three Glottkin trio are depicted as one model, with scythe-wielding Otto and sorcerous Ethrac riding atop the shoulders of their monstrous brother Ghurk. The Glottkin have the most Nurgle-flavoured (yuck) campaign among the Warriors of Chaos, as they use Souls to spread the Grandfather's gifts through Gardens of Corruption and empower their units and characters with Rituals and Blessings. If you want to spearhead the forces of Chaos as they destroy the world just like in the actual End Times, the Glottkin fill that role nicely.
Then there's Grey Seer Thanquol, the Great Horned Rat's silliest soldier. He can get access to his trusty Stormfiend companion, Boneripper, as a mount. And speaking of Stormfiends, all six melee and ranged variants of those monstrosities will bolster the Skaven forces. But those aren't the biggest additions to the rat-men's unit roster, as all four variants of the dreaded Verminlords are available to lead the Skaven's ascent to dominance. From the lowly Pusbags to the greatest of Verminlords in Skreech Verminking himself, Lords of the End Times finally allows players to field their dream Skaven army.
Thanquol's campaign may just be the most Skaven-y yet, as you scheme your way to conquest and hijack the Under-Empire's plans to bring the surface world to its knees. But just like any scheme concocted by Thanquol, success is as just as likely as failure–especially when a certain Dwarf and his Bard companion are involved. And that's just how anything involving Thanquol should be, his schemes and plots getting sabotaged by others or by himself is only typical–for the Great Horned Rat's chosen will always fail upwards.
Meanwhile, Boris Todbringer is less of a Lord helping to bring about the End Times, and more so one of those desperately defending against it. The Elector Count of Middenland becomes a full-fledged Legendary Lord as part of the DLC and gets a glow-up too, now sporting a glorious new beard and voice acting from the Yogscast's Tom. The Empire's already strong unit roster also gets some long-awaited reinforcements in the form of the Teutogen Guard, Knights Panther, and the Celestial Hurricanum, among others.
Boris Todbringer's campaign is by far the simplest one of the four Legendary Lords being added in the DLC, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. The Elector Count of Middenland focuses on the defense of his realm and the Empire as a whole, as he scours the threat of countless Beastmen hordes leading up to a climactic battle against his archnemesis Khazrak One-Eye. Engaging in battles also earns Boris Todbringer Fervor, which he can use to upgrade the Great Temple of Ulric to give bonuses that bolster his forces.
Whether you play as Boris Todbringer himself, or confederate him when you play as Emperor Karl Franz for the nth time, the Elector Count of Middenland will be a stalwart defender as the End Times come for the forces of Order.
Neferata arrives with a much-needed rework for the Vampire Counts
Neferata, first of all Vampires, is also being added as a free-LC Legendary Lord, alongside a comprehensive rework for the Vampire Counts factions alongside the release of the Lords of the End Times.
As the exiled ruler of Lahmia and the Queen of Mysteries, Neferata focuses on subterfuge to advance her cause and affect the events of the whole world from the shadows. Neferata exerts her influence through her ‘Web of Power’ mechanic, which requires the player to use heroes in various schemes while balancing a ‘Concealment’ level to ensure their plots remain unknown to its victims. She can also establish Vampire Covens to generate a new 'Manipulation' resource for use in her Web of Power.
But for as big of an addition Neferata is, the arrival of a much-needed rework for the Vampire Counts as a whole is a much more impactful change that make those factions feel more dynamic.
‘Raise Dead’ is now their primary way of recruiting units, with all but their baseline units now having unit caps that can be increased by constructing military buildings. Gone are the days of the Vampire Counts using Raise Dead to pull full 20-stacks out of nowhere or gain access to high-tier units in the first 20 turns of a campaign.
In line with the changes to Raise Dead, Vampire Counts also gain access to two new resources: ‘Corpses’ and ‘Blood.’ Corpses are a provincial-level resource generated when units are killed in a province, and are required in order to recruit low-tier units. Meanwhile, Blood is used to recruit the more powerful units in the Vampire Counts roster and is primarily gained through buildings that convert Corpses to Blood.
Vampire Lords are now also being given a more appropriate and pre-eminent position within their factions. Instead of just simply recruiting them like most other Lords, players must first find a Vampire Lair in settlements scattered all across the world before one can become available. While you will have the option of getting a new Vampire Lord as soon as you find a Lair, you can also invest in its development to get a stronger Vampire Lord of the bloodline of your choosing once you choose to finally awaken them.
Vampire Counts players also gain access to a more flavourful method of Confederating other Vampire Count factions. Instead of just doing it through the diplomacy screen, players must first complete a set of bespoke tasks and pay a hefty cost in both Corpses and Blood. They will only get the Legendary Lord, however, as any territories they control at the time of Confederation will instead be given over to an independent Vampire Counts faction.
Given how strong the Vampire Counts Legendary Lords can be, this new Confederation mechanic allows players to still collect the other Legendary Lords while preventing you from snowballing out of control. The Vampire Counts can still be strong when played well, but their progression is now more organic and challenging for the player.
SUCH IS THE POWER OF NAGASH
You might have noticed that I've avoided mentioning a certain Supreme Lord of Undeath until now, and that is because Nagash deserves his own section. Such is the power of Nagash.
Nagash is hands-down the most powerful spellcaster in the game, with innate access to the Lore of Undeath and additional spells from the Lore of Light, Death, Vampires and Nehekhara if he is able to acquire his lost books (more on those later). You would be wise to not think of him as a frail bag of bones that can only cast spells however, as Nagash can also become a fearsome melee fighter once he equips his legendary armour and weapons. With enough levels and his complete array of equipment, Nagash can be a one-man doomstack.
But that's not to say that the Supreme Lord of Undeath cannot command a mighty army, as he has access to all units from the Vampire Counts, Tomb Kings, and Vampire Coast roster. Of course, Nagash also brings with him new and powerful Undead units, chief among them the flying Morghasts and the colossal Khemric Titan. You can have a frontline of stalwart Tomb Guard supported by the mighty constructs of the Tomb Kings and the undead artillery and gunpowder units of the Vampire Coast. Woe betide any living army facing Nagash's Undead Legions.
To support Nagash's armies, players will have to carefully manage their provinces by constructing Pirate Coves in coastal settlements, and either Burial Chambers or Mausoleums in inland settlements. But the most important settlements for the Undead Legions of Nagash are Necropolises, which generate Necromantic Energy from each region in its province and from those in every province bordering it. That Necromantic Energy can then be used to increase unit caps and allow Nagash to empower himself and his forces through the Black Pyramid.
As if all the stuff I've mentioned above weren't enough, Nagash can also subjugate Legendary Lords and Heroes from various Undead factions and have them serve as his Mortarchs. These include the Legendary Lords Arkhan the Black, Neferata, Luthor Harkon, Vlad Von Carstein, and Mannfred Von Carstein, as well as the Legendary Heroes Dieter Helsnicht, Walach Harkon and Krell, plus The Nameless as a unique Follower. Each Mortarch will have their own unique unlock conditions, and it will take a long time before players can get them all, but it only adds to the fantasy of amassing a nigh-unstoppable army of the Undead.
Oh yeah, remember the Books of Nagash? Nagash can recover his lost books from the various armies and settlements around the world to grant himself extra spells from the lores of Light, Vampires, Death and Nehekhara. Other factions will also have more options to play around with these dusty old tomes, either taking their power for themselves or sealing them away in their settlements to prevent them from falling to the wrong hands.
Put simply, Nagash provides arguably the best power fantasy experience in the game befitting the Supreme Lord of Undeath. Say it with me now everyone: Such is the power of Nagash.
With the End Times come a new and improved endgame
Nagash isn't the only option available for players looking to experience how it feels to destroy a world, however. It is the End Times, after all, so Creative Assembly didn't forget about THE Lord of the End Times: Archaon the Everchosen.
Archaon can now lead a proper Chaos Invasion, one of the three new endgame scenarios being added alongside the DLC. All of Chaos unite under his banner, and the Everchosen himself becomes nigh-invulnerable (in the form of a 100% Ward Save) thanks to the blessing of all four Chaos Gods. If you want to save the world, you must first defeat the other Chaos Invasion armies and topple five invasion fortresses to weaken Archaon enough for him to be defeated in a climactic battle.
But if you fancy bringing about the doom of the world yourself, then you can play as Archaon and be the endgame for everyone else. Players will have the option to crown Archaon as the Lord of the End Times and lead all of Chaos to destroy the world once they complete his Short Victory objective.
The two other endgame scenarios feature Nagash and the Skaven, respectively. With Nagash forcing the players into a race against time as he begins a ritual and starts moving his Black Pyramid to Nagashizzar. Failure means the entire world is turned into a realm of Undeath. Players must defeat the Mortarchs and other Undead forces before facing Nagash in a final battle before his ritual is completed.
Meanwhile, the Skaven endgame scenario sees the true Vermintide unleashed upon the world. The Skaven no longer conceal their settlements and will send endless waves of armies to conquer the surface world. Players must defend against millions of rat-men and gather information on what they're scheming before they can stop it.
With those new endgame scenarios being added, the previous ones have been turned into ‘Crisis Scenarios’ meant to provide a challenge in the mid game. If you're one of those players whose playthroughs end after 60 turns once they have snowballed out of control, the game's revamped endgame will keep you playing for much longer.
But for all the big content updates in Lords of the End Times, it's the smaller but still impactful additions that really make the game feel that much more complete.
The first one players will see will be the new campaign map flybys when they start an Immortal Empires campaign, making the start of a new playthrough more flavourful. Victory conditions are also being overhauled, with unique Short Victory conditions being added for each Legendary Lord while Long Victory conditions are largely shared across races.
Cinematics and narrative-focused menus and pop-ups are also being added, most apparent in the new endgame scenarios, that help to add a much-needed sense of immersion in the campaign map.
Now would be as good a time as any for those new to the series to finally take the plunge, as Lords of the End Times makes Total War: Warhammer III feel as close to complete as it can get. Longtime players would also find plenty to sink their teeth into, as the DLC and all the other stuff that comes with it deliver a fresh experience.
I, for one, have already planned out on saving the world from all of the new endgame scenarios as Emperor Karl Franz. Summon the Elector Counts!
