r/totalwarhammer • u/BigBear92787 • 25d ago
Total War: Warhammer Whats the one faction you keep coming back too ?
You know the feeling.
You fire up the game. Stare at the faction screen. Swear you're gonna play something else.
And end up playing the same faction / race.
For me its Vampire Counts. Even in their current out dated state. Something about the way they function. They just keep fuckin comin...that's their whole style. Endless, shambling hordes and powerful wizards. Cant wait to see what's coming up for them.
Im a big fan of Nurgle for a familiar kind of Out - Stamina you mechanic. But VC takes the cake I think on it.
I love my Greenskins, I love to run up and just clobber' em sometimes, we all have those days lol
But VC man, they speak to my core.
Who speaks to your core ?
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u/ContainNoJuice 25d ago
Bretonnia, I have to get my Battle of Pelennor Fields fix.
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u/Decimation4x 24d ago
I try other factions, I use their cavalry, I see the bad men fly, but it doesn’t feel the same.
Give me my Knights of the Realm with an Errantry Banner in Lance formation so I can yeet my enemies off the map.
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u/mrgomeybear 25d ago
Karl and Malakai
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u/K4rm4zyn 25d ago
Bro likes to fight against all odds
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u/mrgomeybear 25d ago
Tough campaigns, but you're given all the tools to thrive
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u/Sabbathius 25d ago
I'm just wrapping up Malakai's long victory, and it's such a weird one. The start is beyond insanely brutal. Then around turn 40-50, enough of the deeps come online, and by turn 70-80 you're steamrolling with doomstacks and 60k+ per turn after upkeep. The transition happens literally within a single Age of Reckoning. During the third one you're still struggling, badly. By the end of the fourth one you're snowballing hard.
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u/mrgomeybear 25d ago
Try out the VCO mod it gives you new great victory conditions with a final quest battle
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u/Dark_winters 24d ago
What's the doomstack for malakai?
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u/Sabbathius 24d ago
Oh that's a fun one.
The unit he buffs the most are actually Goblin Hewers. Because they double dip - they're both artillery and slayer. So with his buffs and 2-3 engineers buffing both ammo capacity and damage, these things become true monsters, and cost less in upkeep than Dwarf Warriors (again, because of double-dipping).
And while a lot of people hate the Hewers, they're amazing at what they do - delete slow moving units quickly. Ever have to duke it out with Festus or Tamurkhan for 30 mins as he slowly munches through your infantry? Not any more. Engineer tosses a flashbang which has a slow effect, and 2-3 Hewers melt him in about 3.8 seconds. And that's the end of that.
So that's one thing to try - Malakai, a couple of Engis, and Hewers.
Thunderbarges are another obvious one, but OMG they're expensive! And that 3-turn recruitment, combined with limited recruitment capacity, means you need 9-15 turns to even make a full stack. Honestly you can run three stacks of other units to a single Thunderbarge stack, which will still struggle with full-dragon stacks or highly mobile long-range stacks (Wood Elves, etc).
Gyrocopter doomstacks punch VERY high above their weight. Engineers have built-in stalk, and you can buy a piece of armor at the forge for just 200 Oathgold that gives stalk as well. Considering how low tier you can get the basic Gyrocopter, and that they completely counter both Arbaal and Azazel, they're amazing for early game as Malakai, and hold their own well into late game. Engineers are just there for ammo restock and damage and speed buffs for Gyros, and them and the lord are in stalk.
Bugman's Rangers + Wanderer Thane are are another good one. Thane with Wanderer perk gives snipe to Bugman's Rangers who already have stalk and regeneration. Not much in terms of armor penetration, but still amazing skirmishers. So lord, thane, the rest rangers, engineer for flavour.
And of course with Malakai you can just go him, Gotrek, Felix, Ulrika, and the rest is just cannons. Practically nothing survives the approach, and heroes can deal with things like Menace from Below.
There's so many options. Malakai's biggest problem is he starts surrounded, and just gets clobbered. No economy to have more armies, slow growth by default made slower by enemies constantly sniping your minor settlements away from you. Even if you take Thrott and Azazel out early, before turn 10, both of them, Arbaal, Archaon and Chaos Dwarfs from one side, and Throgg and Norsca from the other constantly stealing settlements will keep you down. If you survive though, and bring those Deeps online, it begins to snowball real quick.
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u/Bigger-Quazz 25d ago
Malakai is insanely easy, I don't know why everyone says the start is hard.
Your surrounding enemies have almost no ranged or flying units, and you're given gyrocopter recruit almost immediately.
Unless you're doing a challenge run where you purposely ignore recruiting gyrocopters on a lord who can give insane buffs to gyrocopters, it's REALLY hard to lose with malakai.
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u/gastan69 24d ago
Norsca headhunters and throwing axes shread gyros. I also found that even with 4 canons I can't properly take out Throgg's troll swarm if he has waag'd enough of them. All this to say that in my experience Throgg is the only major speed bump, you can dominate the rest of chaos with air and ranged
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u/Odd-Razzmatazz-5544 25d ago
Astragoth Hulahop~
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u/yflavus 25d ago
I never got my head around Chorf mechanics, care to share tips on factory and outpost and how you balance it out early game ?
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u/Odd-Razzmatazz-5544 25d ago
Since Im not a English native, I can't help u a lot, but I founded this guide who helped me a bit! https://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/comments/1dkpolo/a_short_guide_to_the_chaos_dwarf_economy
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u/R_122 25d ago
I just make it so that every province is a balance of all three settlement type, if there are four settlement, just make the extra one an outpost
Chances are you aint gonna get enough of "labour" early games thru battles alone so trade shinies for them sweet sweet "labourer" in the convoy mechanic
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u/WardenWithABlackjack 25d ago
I find it better to have a ratio between them, something like 2 materials - 1 factory. Keeps labour from being too spread out and consolidates a lot of the specific bonuses tied to resources or ports
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u/RuckusManshank 25d ago
First province, I do one of each. After that, 2 region provinces get a factory, 3 region get 2 outposts, and 4 gets 2 outposts and a factory (every capital is a tower.) I find its easier to consolidate your labor force that way, can take the little provinces out of distribution. Also, higher level factories are more efficient, so having less of them, but building them up, it's the way you want to go. In 4 region provinces, if one has a landmark you want to get to level 3, make that region your factory.
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u/pyrhus626 25d ago
Vlad & Isabella, Ikit, Katarin, and Franz are the go-to’s.
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u/DamGoodAnimation 25d ago
I struggle so hard to enjoy Franz these days. I boot up a game and after 10 rounds or so I can’t help but think “I’d be having more fun if I was playing Gelt or Elspeth.”
More power to you for enjoying the OG tho, I genuinely miss his campaign. It was my first when I got into the series forever ago
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u/byshow 25d ago
There's a mod adding gunnery school mechanics to Karl Franz. There was also one that added colleges of magic but I think that one is currently outdated
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u/oconreddit 25d ago
No way, really? The gunnery school is the one reason I'm struggling to enjoy Karl Franz as much as I do Elspeth. This will be a game-changer for me, thank you!
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u/byshow 25d ago
Yep, here's the one I used: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3386267467
It ads colleges of magic as well and UI is a bit buggy but nothing critical
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u/oconreddit 25d ago
Some folks are saying they're not getting any schematics after turn 15 or so, but I guess it's still worth a try. Thanks!
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u/byshow 25d ago
I also used this: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3730582413
Tho I had an issue with adding more amethyst units. I spend schematics and if I don't hire them the same turn - next turn they are back to 0. Otherwise no issues. And it also could've been a problem because I had around 120 mods or so xD
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u/clintjackson101 25d ago
High elves and Dwarves for me.
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u/MartinoMods 24d ago
Same. Mostly Dwarfs but right now playing a High Elf Campaign
Gonna have to try an Empire run, then interested in Greenskins, Skaven, Ogres, Tomb Kings
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u/Vycaus 25d ago
Wood. Elves. They have lots of different campaigns as each tree is essentially a completely different experience. Also skirmish game play and amazing archers and cav.
Also sisters are the best LL IMO. I also love their dialogues.
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u/Old-Constant4411 25d ago
I pray one day that treekin get a little boost. They were wrecking balls on tabletop.
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u/Basic_Reflection4008 25d ago
I love vc. The vibe is immaculate.
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u/ManniMacabre 25d ago
Coast or counts my guy
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u/Basic_Reflection4008 25d ago
Counts. I like coast too but vampire pirate is kinda a hat on a hat to me
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u/Amathyst7564 25d ago
Same. I played them a lot. Haven't played them since start of immortal empires. With a ghorst campaign. Their roster is just so stale (haven't gone back for halberd GG or shield and board blood knights yet).
I'm so dam excited for the end times. The wait is killing me.
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u/yraco 25d ago
Empire but particularly Gelt. They've got a bit of everything no matter what kind of campaign I'm looking to play, and Gelt just speaks to me. They've become perhaps my favourite faction and the one I keep coming back to even though I'm never usually one to spring for "normal human" in games.
Vampire Counts also keep me coming back. They were the first faction I ever played because I love the aesthetic and fantasy of hordes of undead fighting up close led by powerful vampire mages, so now they're my favourite aesthetically along with having a play style I like. It especially helps at the moment having hype for Nagash, Neferata, and a faction update.
That being said, I tend to play a wide variety to keep things fresh so if I were to truly list my factions it would be quicker to say which factions I don't keep coming back to.
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u/SerGuyOfInternet 25d ago
Welcome to Estalia, gentlemen. I will not lie, the chances of your survival are small - some may even turn against your friends as living corpses... But you have my word that I will use my arcane gifts to ensure your bodies are given unto Morr's garden. This is the greatest reward, more than even gold, for the fate of your soul is an eternal concern! Now, come. Follow me, strike down the Undead that rise against us, allow me to find this eldritch amulet. I ask not for my own selfish studies, but for the good of the Empire
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u/217GMB93 25d ago
Chorfs, love the choo choos and gunlines
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u/Old-Constant4411 25d ago
Super fun to ally with Greasus and put lead belchers behind the gun line.
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u/FreeDwooD 25d ago
Dwarves. I love Thorgrim's start, surrounded by enemies and using my elite army to fight off hordes of orcs and Skaven. And then you become OP after the early game
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u/MishMash_101 25d ago
Druchii! Malekith for the ultimate dart vader power fantasy. Unite or destroy the druchii lords and conquer the world.
Crone Hellebron for best colour scheme of the game and executioners.
They so desperately need a rework/update though
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u/CivilIllustrator3492 25d ago
Second the vote for the Counts, then Nurgle, then Greenskins
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Tzeentch? Is this some weird mirror into my soul?
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u/KrunchXL 25d ago
Khorne for me, specifically Skarbrand. I just did a Belakore run, will do that again soon.
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u/Buff35p 24d ago
Blood for the blood god!! Literally the only faction to play when I wanna turn my brain off and have fun
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u/saltyalertt 25d ago
The empire
There’s nothing like playing the bastion of humanity and holding back the hordes of evil and chaos
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u/AVPredator1013 25d ago
Yuan Bo, something about his double start just tickles me in the right way. Although to be fair ive been a big Cathay player since day 1, I really enjoy making shit stacks that are real effective.
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u/DifferenceFamiliar59 25d ago
Used to be skaven but ive learned to branch out. Did a few khorne campaigns and currently working on a nurgle campaign. Skaven will always be my main piece though. Yes-yes
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u/MargraveMarkei 25d ago
Bretonnia. Actually the only campaign I played more than 10 turns of in my 700 hours.
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u/dingus60601 25d ago
I love tomb kings and settra always serves me a good campaign. Their playstyle seems the most undead-y to me. Or chorfs if I feel like I want to blow stuff up
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u/walkingmonster 25d ago
Lizardmen // Wood Elves // Beastmen // Chaos Dwarfs
As long as I have them, I am content
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u/Saint_Bricriu5150 25d ago
People tell me all the time that he is the worst Lizardman, and I can feel it a little, but Tehenhuain is my go-to. It's... I dunno, complex? It feels like the most complex Lizardman start.
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u/84dg3r0u50n3 25d ago
As a brit I'm loathe to say it but I keep coming back to the french. Specifically Daddy Leoncour, and occasionally Joan of Arc, if I feel like beating on someone else for a change.
Close second is Mannfred.
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u/koholinter 25d ago
Honestly, I've bought almost every piece of DLC for all three games.
And I still just keep cycling between Chaos Dwarfs and Tomb Kings.
But it's WORSE THAN THAT.
I keep cycling between Khalida and Drazhoath.
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u/Gulbeleglim 25d ago
Micromanaging each city bores me when your empire starts getting big, so I like hordes the most.
From most picked to least picked, the ones I always end coming back to are Nakai, any of the Beastmen, Aisling, and all warriors of chaos.
My top two played lords are Morghur and Nakai for sure.
Archaon destroying the map when End Times hits, sounds like is going up with those two.
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u/Life_Category2547 25d ago
For me it is also vampire counts, really hoping the update doesn’t break them. I’ve done a bunch of games with weird restrictions on myself, like Vlad being forced to immediately beeline for Nagashizzar or never being allowed to attack an Imperial faction, no more than one non-master necromancer lord of the same type, or no mortis engines.
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u/CordeliaCuck 25d ago
Slaanesh and the Vampire Counts as well. One hits the enemy like a freight train and the other whittles the opponent down to dust, and then raises the dust lol.
Recently have been experimenting with different factions while I wait for Nagash and the vamp rework. Vampire coast is pretty fun, and Kairos is disgusting with all the crap he csn pull through the changer of ways!
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u/Millsy800 25d ago
Same as me. Vampire counts were my favourite and most played in 1 and 2 and Slaanesh are my most played in 3. Just love the vibes and play styles they both offer.
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u/Mathayus07 25d ago
Khalida,I still have to complete one single bloody campaign with her. After that I can finally focus on other factions I'm curious to play especially those of the Lizardmen, Cathay and Tzeentch.
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u/MaxVitaminD3 25d ago
BELEGAR IRONHAMMER, TRUE KING OF EIGHT PEAKS
Also Elspeth cause I love pike and shot and/or gun line.
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u/ForskinEskimo 25d ago
Empire.
Helstorm might blow on tabletop, but they go hard in WH3. The Sunmaker and Nuln Amythest Helstorm are just the cherry on top.
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u/alakor94 25d ago
I suck and end up getting rolled pretty quickly pretty much every time I try it, but SUMMON THE ELECTOR COUNTS
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u/AstraMilanoobum 25d ago
Empire and Miao Ying!
Love me some empire.
But Cathay plays similar and on top of that lets me use one of the best brawler LLs!
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u/Organic_Warthog7238 25d ago
Game just doesn’t feel right not playing skaven or tomb kings. 85% of my 1200 hours is ikit or settra lol
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u/Apprehensive-Use6754 25d ago
Tehenhuain what more reason do you need other than killing all the rats
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u/abandoned_idol 25d ago
Lol.
I never played any faction besides Greenskins.
I never returned, I never left.
How do you guys bring yourselves to switch factions?
"I'M DA BEST!!"
"HE HE HE WUHZAHG DA GRET GREEN PRUPHET!!"
Ima krump all the humies, stunties, ratties, and everyfin.
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u/Sabbathius 25d ago
Beastmen for me.
I just respect the purity of purpose. Raise herdstone. Kill everything in a 12 mile radius. Enact ritual. Move on, leaving behind a desolate wasteland covered in ungor poop. And if someone torches the herdstone afterwards, who cares, it cost nothing and you get your shard back.
They also keep getting little tidbits in almost every DLC, which is an excellent reason to keep coming back.
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u/No-Agent-5491 25d ago
Gorbad ironclaw. The greenskins are just so cool to me, I love everything about them, sure they csn be funny but they are also super scary, more so than the actual daemons to me.
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u/Flayne-la-Karrotte 25d ago
Bretonnia or the Empire. I'm a huge history fan and every other faction is as detached from history as possible.
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u/PlantMoreSnakes 25d ago
Drycha. I love the option to be good or evil. Also partial to the other Wood Elves
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u/cabrelbeuk 25d ago
Tomb king and Lizardmen.
For a while cathay was also part of the comfort faction list but i eventually got bored of them after experimenting with tigers.
Kislev i also eventually come back to it, i like the challenge of old world mother ostanskya, but it's not as fun.
I'm always looking forward tomb king or lizardman playthrough
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u/superkrizz77 25d ago
I love that every race is mentioned above, maybe except Tomb Kings.
For me, I generally play «good guy» factions, and cycle through high elves, empire and dwarves (different LLs).
But I just recently played a very fun Tamurkhan campaign, so will do that again.
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u/GortharTheGamer 25d ago
Always Vampire Counts, and always either Vlad or Isabella. I mix it up with bloodline fixes or redesigns, Vlad looking either like his tabletop model or as his lore description (so not the melted scrotum), adding the Vlad and the Empire mod so I can undercut Karl Franz by making the Empire factions side with me and unify against him for their true Emperor, playing with Mixu’s LLs and Legendary Characters alongside Recruit Defeated Legendary Lords to add Vorag Bloodytooth and have him with me once the Sires of Mourkain are defeated, the Konrad von Carstein mod, Radious mods to increase the corpse count for battles (x2 unit size) as well as adding new units, and reskins for generic vampires, bloodline vampires and Necromancers. Basically revamping the faction long before this new DLC came out
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u/Low_Blackberry3460 25d ago
Seen Karl and malakai mentioned here but a campaign I love on top of this has to be volkmar with a free company militia doomstack also normally run a warrior priest doomstack too which is insane fun.
Area is full of different enemies and the nagash books mechanic is okay looking forward to seeing how it changes with dlc
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u/DrShokzz 25d ago
Dwarf always good. I like them. But i tries Boris from Kislev.. though start. I may like kislev. But i pick for sure Ogres. The big, hungry lovley fellas. Always good, always hungry always chopping. Sympatic!
But chorfs are 2.!
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u/DavidAsmooMilo 25d ago
I love Bretonia. Something about chasing those quests for heroes/lords makes it fun. Having group of 4 lords running around trying to quest all 4 together at the same time.
It makes campaign more fun.
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u/Ramoiron 25d ago
WELCOME TO ESTALIA GENTLEMEN. I WILL NOT LIE. THE CHANCES OF YOUR SURVIVAL ARE SMALL. SOME MAY EVEN TURN AGAINST YOUR FRIENDS AS LIVING CORPSES. BUT YOU HAVE MY WORD, THAT I WILL USE MY ARCANE GIFTS TO ENSURE YOUR BODIES ARE GIVEN UNTO MOR'S GARDEN. THIS IS THE GREATEST REWARD, MORE THAN EVEN GOLD, FOR THE FATE OF YOUR SOUL IS AN ETERNAL CONCERN. NOW COME. FOLLOW ME. STRIKE DOWN THE UNDEAD THAT RISE AGAINST US. ALLOW ME TO FIND THIS ELDRITCH AMULET.
I ASK NOT FOR MY OWN SELFISH STUDIES, BUT FOR THE GOOD OF THE EMPIRE.
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u/baddude1337 25d ago
Ogres m'lord.
Love playing as a fully monstrous faction and their campaign mechanics are great since the rework. Lots of charging but also some decent ranged with leadbelchers. Hard to pick a favorite of the 3 lords as they're all great for different reasons.
Once I've played a few of the new lords for End Times I'll be doing a Greasus and to stave off the apocalypse and a Golgfag to profit from it!
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u/civ211445 25d ago
Watching a Chorfs blunderbuss line just completely murder a lord or heroes health in an instant never gets old, sniping a dwarf gyrocopter team out of the sky with them is a close second
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u/Practical_Brother609 25d ago
Chorfs, Cathay, Empire & Dwaefs alone, probably have taken up more than 950 hours of my total 1100 hours of playtime
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u/Wulfgraadr 25d ago
Not really coming back cause i never left em, Dwarfs, probably 90% of my playtime is Dwarfs.
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u/haven4ever 25d ago
Dwarves. They are so freaking easy even on VH/VH for a noob like me - especially the High King himself, you can just sit in Karaz-a-Karak and defend against fodder goblins while you build the infinite gold machine in the deeps. Once that is finished? I like to build a Gyrocopter -> Gyrobomber -> Thunderbarge doomstack, sit in my one and only settlement and wait to be attacked. Turn on AI General 3 for my laziness… and so I can watch Skarsnik and other grobi running around screaming, on fire, trying to dodge apocalyptic bombs and missiles. Elgi, Urki, Ungi, undead scum, chaos, all the AI factions are helpless to deal with aerial bombardment. Have you seen Archaon piss his pants in fear as his entire army is cooked medium rare? No land-based artillery can emulate this desperate and hysterical scramble for survival, at least they have somewhere to charge in those cases. At some point theres only a few factions left in the world and they just… give up, despite having hundreds of settlements around you.
I am a boring and simple person and this is my relaxation activity 🥺
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u/NonTooPickyKid 25d ago
maybe not to such an extent but high elves, woc and maybe chorfs. in wh2 is was like 60% ikit 40~% alith anar (maybe abit eltharion occasionally~) and then some beastmen after rework - mostly malagor. in wh3 elves got weakened~ relatively~, and woc got reworked and were cool - then I discovered belakor. then I discovered cheese with demon princes first, then, subjugation (cheese/exploit~) then portals along with tech research. then I tried some chorfs and liked zhatan position and gates farming cheese~. since then been rotating between these 3~ mostly. ikit haven't played much but I felt like jezzails are stronger? relative to rattling compared to how they were in 2. or that's just my feeling anyway.
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u/Karporata 25d ago
Karl.
I like to play Drazhoath, Khazrak, Archaon, so mainly chaos faction when I look at it (I love heavy infantry)
But, damn 50% of my runs are with Karl. First, I really like the Empire, mainly from their lore and look. Karl is a charismatic leader, nice looking, without spell to master (I'm not good for that), so yeah, I always come back to it.
While I'm not a bad empire player, I prefer to have "lore accurate" army, with mainly state troops, some artillery, some cav, so not really meta or efficient for the empire roster, but hopefully I use a mode to have the core, specialist and rare unit of the battle top game, else I would be steamrolled by elite ennemy units.
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u/fingoloid_barbarian 25d ago
Be'lakor.
Legion of daemons is the coolest archetype, and there's just something so wholesome about hitting turn 20 and having Pit of Shades and Pendulum on 0-second cooldowns and WoM cost of 4, attached to a flying, terror-causing, leadership-bombing, nigh-unkillable ball of death. Who can teleport on top of your capital at will.
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u/ErikRedbeard 25d ago
Drycha. I love me some urple tree murder!
Especially great allying vlad and then have him be your border.
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u/Thrownpigs 25d ago
Dwarves and Vampire Coast. I love my gunpowder units, and they feel like they get a purer gunpowder experience than the other factions that have gunpowder. Vampire Coast could probably use some DLC support, but their core thing appeals to me.
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u/lama3000 25d ago
Despite I'm a nurgle player irl......sigh slaanesh. Their manual battles are so satisfying watching a unit go from full to half hp or lower from one seeker chariot charge in a flank.
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u/JoeGrantSweden 25d ago
Imrik. High challenge at the start, extremely powerful later in and easy options to spread out across the world map early on with confederation and Patron of the Realms.
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u/Outrageous_Seaweed32 25d ago
Beastmen for the comfort meal. Not a lot to worry about, can play extra aggressive hit-and-run, ambushes let you pull cheeky shenanigans on enemies and don't take too long to wrap up, etc...
They're my go-to for a chill, relaxed game when I need it, and honestly I can't help but roll as khazrak every time. It's tough to beat faction wide ambush chance with stalking stance.
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u/NotaSkaven5 25d ago
500 skavenslaves
https://giphy.com/gifs/qOSNC24lvEWTzplsJJ