Total War: Warhammer has had quite a few expansions, DLCs and updates, all of which have added content or improved the quality of the game. Now, with the Norsca faction about to be added and Total War: Warhammer II on the horizon, Creative Assembly isn’t done updating the base game. After listening to fan feedback over the last few months, a massive overhaul update will be taking place. Total War: Warhammer The Foundation Update will add new bonuses, change out skill trees for Legendary Lords, tweak starting positions and more. All of these changes are designed to help balance the game and improve players’ experiences. So, let’s dive in to what’s new, it’s quite a lengthy list of changes. (Note, italicized paragraphs are direct quotes from the official website.)
Here are the changes being implemented in Total War: Warhammer The Foundation Update:
The Norscan Incursion
The Norsca Race Pack is here and Norsca is being added as an AI-controlled faction, regardless of whether you have purchased the pack or not. If you pre-order Total War: Warhammer II or purchase it within the first week of release, you’ll get the race pack for free. If not, you can purchase it separately on Steam.
A Birthday Gift!
Creative Assembly’s 30th birthday is coming up very soon and as a ‘birthday gift’ to players, 30 new Regiments of Renown are available to download for free. You’ll just need a free Total War Access account, which you can sign up for here.
Chinese Translation
Both Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese options are coming to Total War: Warhammer and will be present in Total War: Warhammer II at launch.
Warriors of Chaos: Design Changes
To improve the Warriors of Chaos gameplay experience, we’ve made a number balance and design changes to the way they work. Broadly speaking, you’ll now find it easier to vassalise the Norscan tribes, and maintain a greater sense of momentum in your crusades of destruction across the Old World.
- Added extra Legendary Lord Campaign Effects to Archaon, Kholek and Sigvald (see New Campaign Effects heading below)
- Chaos technology categories now provide replenishment bonuses
- Awakened tribes will now become your vassals instead of allies
- Vassals of Chaos now provide their master with a small amount of income
- Vassals from Awakened tribes have personalities that make them much more loyal
- Chaos Encampments reduce unit upkeep by a greater amount – maxed out Hordes can now in many cases become self-sustaining
- Reworked post-battle occupation options – Chaos can now “Raze” or “Loot & Raze”, providing growth and replenishment or Chaos favour respectively
- Reworked infighting: only unruly Marauder units suffer from infighting; higher tier Chaos Warrior units no longer do
- Defeating a Norscan faction leader will make them highly susceptible to becoming your vassal
- New Skill Trees for Archaon, Kholek and Sigvald (see Legendary Lords: New Skill Trees heading below)
Empire: Starting Position Overhaul
We’ve heard a lot of talk regarding how much weaker the Empire is, relative to its chances of success at the game’s launch. To combat this, when the Empire is under AI control, it now begins play with full ownership of the province initially controlled by the Empire Seccesionists AI faction, comprising the settlements of Helmgart, Eilhart and Grunberg.
Along with Altdorf herself, this gives the Empire a full province, meaning more stable and profitable base to work from and, coupled with new Skill Trees and Campaign Effects for Karl Franz and Balthasar Gelt, this should give them a greater fighting chance. We’ll be interested to hear how this change affects your games, so keep us posted in all the usual places.
Wood Elves: New Followers
After an exhaustive (and perilous!) search of Athel Loren turned up nothing, we’ve finally unearthed a clutch of new Followers for Orion, Durthu and their loyal Lords. The tricksy knaves were holidaying in Parravon all along…
- Dryad Spy
- Royal Standard Bearer
- Hunting Hound
- Young Stag
- Hawk Companion
- Elder Scout
- Eternal Guard Commander
- Vaul’s Anvil Smith
- Wardancer Drummer
- Forest Spirit
Legendary Lords: New Campaign Effects
Many Legendary Lords have gained new permanent Campaign Effects.
Karl Franz increases the recruitment level of new lords by 2.
Volkmar The Grim increases the chance of magical items drops for his faction.
Thorgrim Grudgebearer increases the XP of newly recruited Hammerers.
Ungrim Ironfist increases the speed of all forces factionwide by 10%.
Grimgor Ironhide’s forces don’t lose Fightiness while in enemy territory.
Azhag The Slaughterer increases the Research Rate of his faction.
Archaon The Everchosen suffers a diplomatic negative with all factions.
Kholek Suneater’s army suffers an increased chance of being ambushed.
Sigvald The Magnificent has a diplomatic bonus with Norscan tribes.
Khazrak One-Eye increases the Charge Bonus of Bestigor Herds.
Malagor The Dark Omen gains a diplomatic bonus with other Beastmen Warherds.
Mannfred Von Carstein increases the XP of newly recruited Grave Guard and Black Knights.
Legendary Lords: New Skill Trees
Older Legendary Lords have now been enhanced with unique new lore-inspired skills trees, bringing improvements to a whole variety of campaign and battle factors.
Karl Franz
The Prince of Altdorf himself now has an even greater variety of unit, army and personal buffs, making him a more effective leader overall.
Balthasar Gelt
The Supreme Patriarch now brings heavier technological and magical support for his army, and his Imperial Pegasus is now called Quicksilver.
Ungrim Ironfist
The Slayer King now gets further combat buffs. The more combat damage he sustains, the deadlier he becomes, with two optional upgrades to his Deathblow augment, making it either Determined, or Extremely Daring. The player may only choose one!
Thorgrim Grudgebearer
The saturnine steward of the Dammaz Kron is now an even greater leader in both campaign and battle.
Heinrich Kemmler
Sylvania’s Lichemaster Lord now has a skill tree entirely devoted to improving Krell. Plus, Master Necromancer Lords serving Kemmler are also more adept at leading their putrid hordes.
Grimgor Ironhide
Grimgorz got an’ ‘ole lot’ ‘ARDER, an makes da best boyz EVEN BETTAAAAAAAH!!!
Azhag The Slaughterer
The Greenskins’ crowned sorcerer gains a new range of campaign and low-tier unit buffs, improvements to his command of the Winds of Magic, and Regeneration. Azhag also benefits from a revised starting army composition, gaining Orc Boar Boy Big’Uns, Orc Big’Uns and Trolls.
Archaon The Everchosen
As the Everchosen marshals his twisted forces agains the Old World, he brings new improvements to core units, Lords and Heroes in the roster.
Sigvald The Magnificent
If looks could kill… Sigvald’s vanity swells ever further, bringing unexpected benefits to his troops and stirring enmity in other Chaos Lords!
Kholek Suneater
Kholek becomes more monstrous still, and imbues earth-shaking ferocity in his Dragon Ogres and Dragon Ogre Shaggoths.
Balance Changes
- Dragon Ogre Shaggoth
+ 50 Armour - Kholek
+ 30 Armour - Minotaurs
– 100 Recruitment Cost - Minotaurs (Shields)
– 100 Recruitment Cost - Minotaurs (Great Weapons)
– 100 Recruitment Cost - Crypt Horrors
+ 100 Recruitment Cost - Terrorgheist
– 200 Recruitment Cost - Forest Dragon
– 300 Recruitment Cost - Dwarf Cannon
+ 38 Bonus vs Large
Reduced Calibration Area (more accurate) - Dwarf Bolt Thrower
+ 24 Bonus vs Large
Bug Fixes
- MPC quest chain blockers: in co-op campaigns, players can now head straight to a quest battle and not get caught up in missions that can’t be completed, which previously blocked them from completing the quest.
- Fixed some Bretonnia Knight textures patterns, which appeared mostly black on High Texture Quality Settings.
- Fixed a skinning issues with the medallion around the Beastmen Giant’s neck.
- Fixed a rare crash/floating point exception when loading into a Grand Campaign as Karl Franz.
- Improved Wood Elves Hawk Riders animations while in melee combat with enemy infantry (reduced slowdown).
- Fixed a bug where the Paladin hero could lose his shield during an attack animation when mounted on a Warhorse.
- When the Bestigor Herd are in melee combat, their axes will no longer become misaligned with their hands between attacking and turning.
- Improved how the Royal Pegasus Knights are holding their lances when zoomed in.
- Improved the idle animation when the General of the Empire is on the Hippogryph mount.
- Chaos Sorcerers will no longer be able to cast Searing Doom twice in quick succession.
- Wider Ploughs technology in Bretonnia will now correctly reduce the construction cost of Infrastructure buildings.
- AI Vampire Counts are no longer able to recruit Regiments of Renown when the player is the Von Carstein faction.
- When a quest appears which requires the player to embed a Hero, the player can now use the Unit Exchange system to embed the Hero.
- Rebels are now more likely to occupy settlements.
- Fixed the paint buttons in multiplayer coop campaign.
- When ordering Archaon to cast a Fireball at an out-of-range unit, he will now move into range then fire.
- Minor smoke effects/haze will no longer appear black at the edges of siege maps, as experienced by a few users.
- Under-Morking no longer automatically leads to over-Gorking, and vice-versa.
- The waxing or waning of Morrslieb may affect this.
- Or it may not.
Characters
- Archaon: Added Frenzy, +10 Physical Resistance.
- Sigvald: +5 defence, +5 morale.
- Sigvald: also increased health by +4%
- Grimgor Ironhide: +5 charge bonus, increased health by +5%
- Prophetess: -150 cost.
- Fay Enchantress: +150 cost.
- Wyvern mounts: added poison attacks.
- Regiments of Renown: 10 cooldown period after the RoR has been killed or disbanded before they can be recruited again
Abilities
- Earth Blood & Upgraded: Halved duration to 7 and 14, reduced casting cost to 6 and 11 respectively
- Raise Dead & Upgraded: Increased cooldown to 19.
- Reikland Runefang: Re-designed to be an AoE attack and leadership buff.
- Icon of Devotion: Leadership increase reduced to +12.
- Mist of the Lady: Added an ‘engaged in melee’ condition flag.
- Wrath of Manann: Should deal more damage to targets as detonation forces have been adjusted.
- Cloak of Isha: Added small healing effect.
Well, we’ve finally reached the bottom. Creative Assembly is going nuts with the changes, so hopefully this means players have a better experience all around.
