Find the perfect army for your playstyle in Total War: Warhammer 3 with this guide that breaks down what makes each faction unique.
The world of Total War: Warhammer 3 is full of different factions and races to play, and that number gets even more daunting when you count all the factions from the previous entries in the series. The game’s base campaign focuses on 9 different playable races, but once you dive into the Mortal Empires mode, this number goes all the way up to a staggering 24.
If you’re curious as to which factions are available in each game in the Total Warhammer series, here’s an overview of each of them, including their strengths, battle playstyles, and the various lords that serve under them.
The Empire (Total War: Warhammer 1)
The Empire is your standard human faction that draws inspiration from Renaissance-era Germany and Austria. Its armies are equipped with conventional weaponry such as swords, spears, and crossbows, though it is also supported by gunpowder-based and steampunk-esque equipment like muskets, cannons, rocket launchers, tanks, and gyrocopters.
The power of Imperial armies comes from the combination of its many divisions, making it the perfect faction for players who enjoy a combined arms approach to warfare. Their war machines and heavy cavalry are especially effective on the battlefield.
Dwarfs (Total War: Warhammer 1)
The Dwarfs combine might and superior technology to crush their enemies. They are experts at holding the line with heavy infantry and bombarding targets with powerful guns. Since they don’t have any form of cavalry, Dwarven armies tend to be on the slow side, but since they have such powerful ranged weapons, enemies will often be forced to come to them instead. Players who like heavy weapons and defensive turtle playstyles will have a lot to love about the Dwarfs in Total Warhammer.
Greenskins (Total War: Warhammer 1)
The Greenskin hordes overwhelm their enemies with huge numbers of poorly-disciplined everything, from measly Goblins to buff Black Orcs, spider riders, trolls, and shamans. They have a surprisingly wide variety of units that allow for an even more surprising array of strategies. Do you want to steamroll armies using big Orcs? Sure! But why do just that when you can also send in giant spiders, mages, and bomb-strapped wingsuit goblins fired from giant slingshots too?
As battles go on, Greenskin armies get to use the Waaagh! army ability, which sends every single friendly unit into a frenzy that increases their combat stats. If you want to stomp your enemies into the ground with brute force and shenanigans, then the Greenskins are for you.
Vampire Counts (Total War: Warhammer 1)
Instead of regular soldiers, the Vampire Counts fill their ranks with various kinds of undead, from skeleton warriors to zombies, vampire bats, vampire bat ogres, scythe-wielding ghosts, and more. Monsters do not retreat when they run out of Leadership. Instead, they begin to Crumble — when Vampire Count units start losing, they will gradually turn into dust.
The strongest part of a Vampire Count army is its Lord. Vampire Lords are melee experts who also wield devastating magic, but if you’d much rather rely on your ghouls to do the fighting for you, then maybe a Master Necromancer is more your speed.
Warriors of Chaos (Total War: Warhammer 1,2, & 3)
The Warriors of Chaos faction throws all tactics and strategy to the wind. They win through the overwhelming brute force of their heavy infantry, wide selection of monsters, and powerful Lords. Even their light Marauder meat shield units are strong combatants.
There’s not much to think about when playing a Warriors of Chaos army on the battlefield. Send everything into the enemy and watch them destroy everything. When playing a campaign, you often won’t need to fight any battles at all, as you’re very likely to get Decisive Victories just by auto-battling.
Beastmen (Total War: Warhammer 1)
Beastmen herds are full of glass cannon units that hit hard and break quickly. A well-executed ambush can quickly tear an opposing army to shreds, but if the fight drags on for too long, then you’ll likely see your beastfolk running with their tails tucked between their legs.
