Controversial Total War Warhammer 3 DLC Shadows of Change is getting a free update with new heroes, lords, and units, as developer Creative Assembly admits the expansion pack “didn’t give you enough new characters and units to play with at the original release.” Slammed at launch for a higher price point than past DLC despite offering slightly less than those previous iterations, Shadows of Change will now get an upgrade. CA says this will represent a new format as it looks to make “many more [pieces of] DLC,” and that even players without the pack will get some new, free content when TWW3 update 4.2 arrives.
The launch of the Total War Warhammer 3 Shadows of Change pack was met with a lot of criticism for its price point, leading to an extensive discussion about the Total War price increase. Since then, Creative Assembly has backpedalled somewhat on these moves, dropping the price of Total War Pharaoh and promising to repair a fractured relationship with many longstanding fans of its strategy games.
Speaking to Shadows of Change in his latest blog, game director Richard Aldridge says, “We believe we can put this right for you. We know that you, our community, are as passionate about the game as we are, and we’re pleased to say that many of your suggestions are being enacted upon.” He does caveat, however, that “not all ideas and requests are possible.”
The chart above shows what players can expect from Shadows of Change in Total War Warhammer 3 update 4.2. You’ll get two additional legendary heroes, two more lords, two heroes, six units, one magic lore, and an additional ‘FREELC’ character. That final part refers to a character that will be available for free to all players regardless of whether or not they own Shadows of Change; they’ll join the pack’s first free addition, Aekold Helbrass.
The first of these legendary heroes is Saytang the Watcher, Sentinel of the Heavens, the first-ever legendary hero for Grand Cathay. Joining the DLC’s legendary lord Yuan Bo, Saytang is a colossal bowman that jumps between mountain peaks to defend its empire. We also get a look at a new Grand Cathay hero, the Gate Master of the Celestial Cities, and two monsters and monstrous mounts, the Great Moon Bird and Celestial Lion.
“We still plan to make much more DLC for Total War Warhammer 3,” Aldridge explains, “with some of them like Thrones of Decay following the same premise and composition as Shadows of Change where we will add to and develop three existing races from across the Warhammer world.”
As for when to expect patch 4.2, Aldridge says “the team is still working flat out to have everything ready for release, but we want to be up-front with you that there is a chance that our intended date could shift slightly. It’s important to all of us here that we get patch 4.2 right for you, so we won’t rush it out before it’s ready. As it stands today we’re on track to release in the middle of the month, but this could shift closer to the end of February depending on how the remaining work goes.
“I hope that everything I’ve mentioned above looks much more in line with your own expectations from the DLC,” Aldridge adds, “as we move to significantly bridge the gap to our past products like Chaos Dwarfs in what we will offer moving forwards, starting with Shadows of Change.”
Need a rundown of the best Total War Warhammer 3 DLC so far? We’ve got just that, along with our pick of the best Total War Warhammer 3 mods to upgrade your game to a whole new level.
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