Total War: WARHAMMER + DLC

You know, in the tabletop Warhammer Fantasy, the main thing is not even the battles, but the process itself. It’s all about love for detail and unhurried creativity. Buy a box of miniatures of Bretonnian knights, carefully assemble, prime, start painting, trying not to deviate from the lore and not to screw up anything. And to hell with these battles! Let the fighters stand proudly on the shelf and look askance at guests who whisper behind their backs: “Wow, he’s twenty-seven, and he plays soldiers.”

Previously, when hearing “Warhammer” and “Total War” in the same sentence, everyone thought about mods. Almost every part of the series received modifications in the spirit of fantasy: the Imperials kneaded the Skaven, the Orcs fought the Elves – repainting and nothing more. That’s why they were afraid that Total War: Warhammer would turn out to be just Rome 2 in a mask, with magic instead of catapults.

But the fears turned out to be in vain. Yes, it’s still recognizable Total War — the developers didn’t break the series’ foundations and didn’t repeat the mistakes of Rome 2. No revolution. But that’s what makes it all work. Instead of chaos — smart, targeted changes. Each one in its place.

Total War: WARHAMMER Free Steam Account

Will a seasoned commander who chased heretics across Europe and conquered the treasures of the East figure out what’s going on? He will understand from the very first minutes. Before him is a new but promising Empire. Cities are springing up like mushrooms after rain: mines are being built, taverns are opening, fields are being sown, and military infrastructure is appearing. Generals are not just showing off in gold – they are useful, capturing lands and repelling invasions. It seems like a classic of the genre. But the game makes it clear from the very first steps: everything is not quite as it used to be.

It all starts with choosing a faction. And here is the first surprise: instead of dozens of nations, there are only four main groups. People of the Empire, seasoned dwarves, green-skinned barbarians, and gloomy vampires. Each has one state, and even with a limited choice of leaders. It seems modest? But this is a deceptive impression. Because the differences between these factions are not just visual or nominal — they are profound. Playing as dwarves or vampires is like playing different games with different logic and rhythm.

The Empire, for example, serves as a kind of standard. This is a faction with a classic management system, developed politics, economy and army. Everything is familiar, everything is clear — if you played the previous Total Wars, you will quickly get the hang of it. But even here there are some peculiarities. In particular, the issuance of titles: a witch hunter with the position of “privy councilor” becomes much more effective, and his actions are cheaper. Think about it: you do not just move the hero around the map — you think through the career path of each valuable character. This adds depth and makes even non-combat characters useful 100%.

Vampires act completely differently. They do not have money as such. Their economy is built on magic — black, dark, stillborn. And this is not just an entourage — it is a currency. Magic is building materials, salaries, and taxes. And also the ability to raise the dead right from the battlefield. Yes, their army is weak in characteristics, but it is restored literally “on the spot”. No need to return to cities, build barracks and wait for reinforcements. The vampire just snaps his fingers – and a fresh portion of skeletons and zombies joins him. Greenskins are a whole other story. They cannot be kept alone. They get bored – and they start cutting each other. Militancy falls, the crowd goes wild. But as soon as the war begins, everything changes: victories, robberies, raids – and a new army is born, led by the cry of WAAAGH! It is important here not just to fight, but to fight actively and effectively. You can’t lose: defeats break the spirit of the horde. And no trade, no civilization – these are orcs, a fight is important to them, not trade agreements. Such game mechanics force you to keep up the pace and not slow down.

Dwarves are the embodiment of perseverance and memory. They have a Book of Grievances. Every crime against the people is recorded there: a destroyed city, a murdered merchant, a bad performance with the participation of the undead – everything will go into the archive. And until the grievances are avenged, discontent grows in the country. The people grumble, discontent grows, and if you ignore the Book for too long, this will lead to real problems: riots, a decline in public order, sabotage. And all this forces the player to deploy separate armies to organize punitive expeditions. Such “revenge mechanics” make the dwarves the most integral and logical faction.

The technologies in the game are also tasteful. Yes, the wording is often familiar: “+5 to attack”, “+10 to morale”, “+20 to mine income”. But the process of their discovery, the path to the result is different for each faction. For some – through magic, for others – through engineering, for others – through military exploits. This adds gameplay depth and emphasizes the uniqueness of each nation. Not everything is perfect. Unified buildings that differ only in icon and name are more of a compromise than an advantage. Orcs suddenly able to conduct diplomacy – strange, although not critical. But all this is drowned in the general feeling of novelty. Total War: Warhammer really feels new. Each faction affects the very foundation of the gameplay: management, logistics, army, economy – everything is tied to unique mechanics.

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Even prisoners are treated differently here. The Imperials behave in the spirit of the old school – diplomatically. Dwarves are tough and straightforward: kill or let go. Vampires? Their methods of “persuasion” turn enemies into new fighters for the army of the dead. And orcs can even roast a prisoner – just for fun. It’s details like these that turn the game from just a new Total War into a truly reimagined experience. This is not just a change of skin on the global map. This is a deep reconstruction of the very essence of the game.

Total War: Warhammer Gameplay Features

On the battlefield, the difference between the factions is immediately noticeable. The Imperials are a classic: orderly ranks, cavalry, infantry – everything according to the regulations. But the dwarves, for example, act completely differently. They have neither cavalry nor spearmen, and they run as if every step is taken through force. This makes them vulnerable in a head-on skirmish with enemy horsemen. But do not rush to write off the bearded men – they have such things in their arsenal that the enemy has never dreamed of: heavy guns, bombers, and – hold on tight! – flamethrowers. All these technical wonders force you to play for them differently: fortify yourself, stand still and take as much equipment as possible into battle. There are factions that cannot be helped at all. For example, some units simply fall apart from ordinary human infantry, not holding out for a couple of rounds. And it was not possible to overwhelm them with numbers.

Vampires aren’t afraid to lose: the dead don’t complain. Skeletons and zombies go into battle, crumble like dust, but against their backdrop, real horrors come out into battle – ghostly wolves, flocks of bats, monstrous ghoul-musclemen… Of all the monsters, these are definitely the ones who got lucky. Although the orcs and goblins also have a rich fauna – but without much creativity. But the goblins don’t demand anything: hire a pack for fifty kopecks – and they’re already running squealing at the enemy. True, a minute later they can just as quickly run back.

But the battles in Total War: Warhammer really come alive thanks to the mages and shamans. There were once fears that magic would simply displace artillery – and in some places that’s what happened. If you want, you can pound the enemy with fireballs, if you want, you can turn your mage into a walking buff that fills the soldiers with courage and armor. Or you can even curse the enemy army so that their armor rots right before your eyes.

The stronger the Wind of Magic blows in the region, the more active the spells are — and the battlefield becomes an arena of fantasy chaos. At the same time, the game has remained itself — it is still Total War, and not some Stronghold Legends or Rise of Nations. Success still depends on how you command: squeeze the enemy in pincers, give the order to the archers in time, aim correctly — then victory is near. But if you throw magic blindly and throw units anywhere — even the coolest spells will not save you.

Commanders now play an important role. They are not just commanders with guards, but real titans. Lords, as they are called in the game, gain levels, learn skills and turn into combat machines. Moreover, the skills are now branched, and each player can choose in which direction to develop their hero:

• Combat branch — increases the personal power of the lord in battles, makes him tenacious and deadly.
• Global branch — increases the efficiency of province management, income and diplomatic influence.
• Army branch — increases the combat characteristics of the entire army, improves morale, movement speed and other parameters.

Assistants have also appeared — as many as six of them, each with its own trick, like equipment in a good RPG.

And this is one of the main reasons to love Total War: Warhammer again. The commander is no longer just a pawn on the chessboard — he is a full-fledged hero, whom you want to pump up, hang artifacts on and lead into battle yourself. If before you were attached to the character in Skyrim or Dragon Age, now — to your lord. And a properly trained, equipped and battle-hardened lord is, if not half of the victory, then definitely its key element. Previously, commanders did not have such influence even in Rome 2 or Attila. And now — this is the basis of the gameplay, which cannot be brushed aside.

Why Total War: Warhammer Removed Politics and Internal Conflicts

From the very beginning, the developers made it clear: complex political intrigue is not about Warhammer. Their focus is on individuals, heroes fighting chaos, not bureaucrats. The logic is generally clear. For the Warhammer Fantasy universe, this really works. But for Total War, it’s a step back. Players have already been accustomed to internal conflicts, cunning hierarchy, betrayals and civil wars right in the midst of power. And then all this was simply cut out. Only the Empire of Sigmar can still hand out titles, but even there there is no room for heirs or a “personnel reserve” – ​​only generals, lords and heroes. That’s it.

• Lords, by the way, are immortal – and this justifies any investment in them.

What instead of internal politics? In the later stages of the game, you will find… “education” of heroes. That is, a series of personal tasks that replace the main plot. In fact, these are special battles with pre-set enemies and conditions. And you won’t be able to complete them with auto-battle – you’ll have to really think. As a reward, you’ll get armor, artifacts, magic things – and yes, it’s worth fighting for. Does this compensate for the cut politics? In some places – yes. But it’s still strange to watch how strategic mechanics are being cleaned out of a global strategy.

And the losses didn’t end there. The taxes, diseases, and unsanitary conditions that impressed us so much in Total War: Attila have disappeared. Corruption and religions have also disappeared. Instead of all this – the corruption of Chaos and vampires. Even food is now just a plus figure: there are farms, there is growth, but there is no hunger. In principle. Okay, the lack of corruption can still be justified – Warhammer does not strive to copy the real economy. But why did hunger disappear? In a gloomy world full of death, disease and cults, shouldn’t there be epidemics and a lack of resources? This isn’t a rainbow fantasy like Might and Magic.

Yes, Total War: Warhammer is still a lively game. But it has taken away important dilemmas – where to build mines so as not to drown the city in mud, or what land to give to arable farming so that neighboring regions don’t die out. Apparently, in this world, the survivors ask themselves completely different questions.

Is the linearity of the Total War: Warhammer campaign a plus or a minus for the player?

The campaign has become much more straightforward: instead of the usual branching paths for the Total War series, the player now has a brightly lit, neon path. Proud bearded dwarves immediately head to the southern wastelands to crush orcs. Vampires first need to restore order at home – and, as a rule, with their fists. The same must be done by orcs and goblins scattered across clans. And the Empire, led by Karl Franz, initially represents a set of disparate principalities that need to be reunited into a great power. But at its core, everything is the same: we start with one town and not the most formidable army. So that you don’t get lost at the very beginning, the game even tells you who to hit first – it highlights the enemy right on the map. Then delicate game design comes into play, which gently but persistently leads the player along the desired route. One of the tools is a system of restrictions on the capture of settlements. People cannot settle where vampires rule, and vice versa. But the green skins feel quite comfortable both in their lairs and in underground dwarven fortresses. True, they, like the dwarves, have a persistent allergy to human cities: you can capture and plunder them, but you can’t live there – no way.

• The dwarves, of course, will not miss the chance to grind a human settlement to pieces, but they will not be able to settle in it – not the same climate, not the same walls.
• The Empire of Sigmar is similar in structure to the Holy Roman Empire, but here it is divided into a set of independent, unrelated principalities.

But it has become easier with armies: their number is now again limited only by your wallet. And to prevent the AI ​​from running around the entire map with tiny remnants of units, the developers strengthened the garrisons. Up to fifteen units can now be stationed in the provincial capital from the very beginning – impressive, right? This reduces the need to keep a bunch of small armies for defense. Plus, each faction has either a convenient mountain range to cover the rear, or a safe position at the edge of the map – like the dwarves. As a result, the campaign feels more focused. Or, to be honest, more linear. The first step is already suggested to you, then forward, beat this enemy and gain a foothold in this gorge. Beginners will benefit from this approach: there is less chance of getting lost in the strategic wilds. But veterans accustomed to freedom of choice may find this focus limiting.

Pros and Cons of Total War: WARHAMMER

Total War decided not to stand still – and rightly so. Instead of delving into familiar worlds again, the developers took a risk and stepped in a new direction. The move into fantasy opened up a lot of possibilities, although in some places it is a pity that the mechanics that used to work well were lost.

Pros

• The change of scenery has clearly benefited the series.
• There are not many factions, but each has a distinct style and mechanics, now they are truly different.
• The leveling of commanders has become more like a full-fledged RPG system.
• Magic in battle is not only spectacular, but also tactically useful.

Cons

• A lot of what worked well in Rome 2 was cut out – it did not fit into the new concept.
• The campaign now feels more straightforward, there is less freedom to maneuver.
• The developers did not dare to make bold innovations – the game is more of an evolution than a revolution.

Total War: WARHAMMER System Requirements

How to play Total War: WARHAMMER for free on Steam via VpeSports

Want to find yourself in the heart of a legendary world where magic meets cold steel and the fate of entire civilizations is decided on the battlefield? Total War: WARHAMMER is not just a strategy game, it is a real fantasy confrontation where you control armies, form alliances, weave intrigues and crush enemies with the power of gods and animal fury. Do you want to capture Altdorf? Or wipe Ulthuan off the map? Everything is possible here – and every decision is yours.

And you know what’s best? You can play absolutely free. We provide a ready-made free steam account with the game installed, so you don’t even need to search or configure anything. Just register on our website, go to your personal account – and in a couple of minutes you will have full access to Total War: WARHAMMER. Everything is official, legal and simple. No extra steps: just log in, load up, and you’re already commanding the army of chaos or fighting for the wood elves.

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The world of WARHAMMER is calling. Take control of an army, build an empire, write your own history – right now, for free, through a ready-made Steam account.