Space Marine 2’s launch might have brought Warhammer 40k to the fore in the world of videogames, but the iconic setting’s classic fantasy counterpart is still very much active, and no more so than in Total War Warhammer 3. Hot off the heels of its recent patch 5.2, developer Creative Assembly has more details on what the future holds for one of the best strategy games on PC. There’s lots to look forward to in TWW3 patch 6.0 and the next round of DLC, including some fun systems to capture the essence of its new legendary lords.
Following the success of its previous developer update, where the team announced its upcoming Immortal Empires DLC, senior community manager Steve Coleman once again sits down with senior game director Rich Aldridge, lead designer Sean Macdonald, and design director Mitch Heastie from the Total War Warhammer 3 team. Coleman notes that this video was recorded prior to the launch of patch 5.2, with the focus being on what patch 6.0 and the future holds for one of the most ambitious and beloved Warhammer strategy games.
The next DLC is set to introduce three new legendary lords – Gorbad Ironclaw, Skulltaker, and Golgfag Maneater – along with updates to their corresponding factions. “We are way, way, way into our production pipeline,” Aldridge teases. “It’s a beautiful masterpiece that is filled with problems,” Macdonald laughs, “so we’ll playtest it, iron out those kinks and fix all of the bugs – we’re just shifting into that phase now. This is the most crucial stage to get the best product.”
Gorbad Ironclaw, Macdonald explains, is all about ‘Da Plan,’ his strategy to pull together the various Orcs and Goblins at his disposal to create unique strategies. This can play in on the battlefield, such as sending out Goblins arrow-gatherers to replenish your archers’ supplies, or on the strategy map, where you might opt to focus on wolf riders for better raiding. “Experiment with your army and what units you bring and that can have battle and campaign interactions to make him quite different.”
One of the new units at his disposal is the Savage Orc Shaman. This addition also encouraged the team to give some love to older legendary lord Wurrzag da Great Green Prophet. “We’ve moved him from the Badlands down to the Southland Jungles to pay homage to his origin in the eighth edition lore, and we’re working on a little nod to his connection with Gork and Mork and the Savage Orc tribe,” Macdonald reveals.
With Golgfag Maneater of the Ogre Kingdoms, the team has worked to build “the first proper mercenary faction in Warhammer 3.” This plays out through a new feature called Golgfag’s Contracts that allow you to work for other factions. You can take on their wars and bring down their enemies, earning yourself “a nice, big, juicy payday.” Even better, the grudges borne by your enemies will be directed more at the faction that hired you.
“It’s not Golgfag’s fault that he’s doing a good job,” Macdonald says with a shrug. Indeed, if you’re successful enough you might find that the very group you’ve just put into the ground turns around and offers you a payday to walk back in the other direction and return the favor in kind to your previous employer. Joining him on the Ogre roster are the Yhetees – giant creatures that boast a passive frost aura that can debuff enemies
Finally, we have the mighty U’Zhul the Skulltaker, Khorne’s champion, the Blooded Wanderer and Slayer of Kings. If you’re not already familiar with him you can probably surmise that his whole thing is taking skulls – specifically those of noted champions. “We are trying to capture that in-game,” Macdonald explains. “When he defeats characters in the campaign, he will claim a portion of their strength, which he can then use to imbue his cloak of skulls.” You’ll be eager to set off on a dramatic headhunting journey, then.
Alongside him, Aldridge says the team has been exploring its options for Khorne, which didn’t have as many spaces for new lords, although he notes that another is coming in the future. “To fill that gap, what we’re doing with Khorne is that we’re going to give you two legendary heroes rather than just one.” The first of these is Scyla Anfingrimm, a giant, brutish Chaos Spawn eager to unleash his rage upon your foes.
The second new legendary hero is Skarr Bloodwrath, a near-immortal Skullreaper champion. “Skarr is not an eighth edition character per se, he comes from the end times,” Aldridge notes, but explains, “It made sense when we looked at Khorne and how we can get the best, most exciting characters into the pack.” He adds that the reasons behind CA’s decision to go with Skarr will become clearer when it discloses more of the content that’s coming.
While this all sounds very exciting, the team also takes a moment to dig into some of the smaller interim patches, which Heastie says it wants to make bigger, fuller, and more player-led. “We’ve got a massive amount of content now – we won’t necessarily always have the capability to do exactly what people are asking for,” he remarks, saying that the focus will be more on campaign features and smaller reworks rather than content like brand-new lords.
Among the priorities right now are Bretonnia and the Green Knight, updates for Kislev, a rebalance and upgrade for the ancillary system, and a further implementation of Chaos invasions. “We really do want to be player-led,” Heastie says, “so plans might change depending on what it is people want. Trust that even if you’re giving feedback and not seeing it directly actioned straight away, it is reaching us. It’s being seen.”
“There are other ideas about weapon variants and stuff like that,” Aldridge adds, “that’s the sort of thing that we’re aiming for at the moment. Whereas characters like Egrimm [van Horstmann, Chaos Sorcerer and Champion of Tzeentch] – I know people are after him – he’d be better suited to a DLC in the future. If there is a faction you were hoping Mitch might have mentioned but didn’t, don’t worry. We’ve got a bunch of other plans and DLC and things still to do.”
While we wait on more news about exactly when we’ll see patch 6.0 and the next Total War Warhammer 3 DLC, there are lots more of the best Warhammer games to keep you busy.
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