Warhammer Total War: Ultimate Guide to the Total War: Warhammer Trilogy (2026 Update)

What Is Warhammer Total War?

Warhammer Total War is the fan shorthand for the trilogy:

• Total War: WARHAMMER (2016)

• Total War: WARHAMMER II (2017)

• Total War: WARHAMMER III (2022, still expanding) Total War

These games combine:

• A turn-based campaign map – build cities, research tech, move armies, negotiate diplomacy. Total War: WARHAMMER Wiki

• Real-time battles – thousands of units fighting at once, including monsters, artillery, flyers, and spellcasters.

Unlike historical Total War titles, Warhammer Total War adds:

• Magic and vortex spells

• Legendary Lords with RPG-style skill trees

• Powerful monsters, demons, dragons, and undead

• Asymmetric factions with wildly different rules

The trilogy is designed to work together: owning more games and DLC unlocks more lords, races, and campaigns inside Total War: WARHAMMER III, especially in Immortal Empires. SEGA Support+1

Total War: Warhammer III & Immortal Empires – The Core in 2025

In 2025, Total War: WARHAMMER III is the main hub of the series and where you should start today. It offers:

• Its own Realm of Chaos campaign

• The giant Immortal Empires mega-campaign

• Regular patches and DLC (like the upcoming Tides of Torment pack) G2G Total War+1

What Is Immortal Empires?

Immortal Empires is the big reason people search for “Warhammer Total War.” It’s a colossal campaign that:

• Combines the maps, races, and Legendary Lords from all three games into one mode SEGA Support+1

• Features 272+ factions, with over 100 playable Legendary Lords on turn 1 Total War: WARHAMMER Wiki

• Supports 1–8 player co-op and versus campaigns Total War

As of a recent update in November 2025, Immortal Empires is being unlocked for all owners of Warhammer I–III via Warhammer III, making it far more accessible than at launch. G2G Total War+1

You access Immortal Empires by launching Total War: WARHAMMER III; it doesn’t appear inside the first two games. G2G Total War

Races and Factions in Warhammer Total War

One of the biggest selling points of Warhammer Total War is its huge roster of races and factions, each with a unique campaign feel. Examples include: Total War: WARHAMMER Wiki+1

• Empire, Bretonnia – “Human” medieval-style factions with knights, guns, and magic

• Dwarfs – Gunlines, artillery, and unbreakable infantry

• High Elves / Dark Elves / Wood Elves – Elite units, strong magic, tricky economy mechanics

• Lizardmen – Dinosaur cavalry, big monsters, geomantic web economy

• Skaven – Undercities, food mechanics, mega-weapons, swarm tactics

• Vampire Counts / Vampire Coast – Undead hordes, crumbling mechanics, no ranged (Counts) vs gunlines of zombie pirates (Coast)

• Greenskins – Orks & Goblins with WAAAGH! mechanics and scrap upgrades

• Chaos Daemons, Warriors of Chaos – Gifts of Chaos, god-aligned gameplay, monstrous armies

• Cathay, Kislev, Ogre Kingdoms, Chaos Dwarfs – Newer Warhammer III races with bespoke campaign systems

Each “race” features multiple Legendary Lords – sub-factions with their own start locations, units, and mechanics. Immortal Empires lets all of these collide on one map, creating endless replayability. Total War: WARHAMMER Wiki+1

Warhammer Total War DLC and 2025 Content

The trilogy is heavily supported by DLC packs:

• Race packs (new playable races, e.g., Ogre Kingdoms, Chaos Dwarfs)

• Lord packs (new Legendary Lords for existing races, plus units and mechanics)

• Campaign packs (self-contained story campaigns and map expansions) Steam Store+1

Tides of Torment & 2025 Roadmap

The latest announced DLC for Total War: Warhammer III is Tides of Torment, releasing December 4, 2025. It adds: G2G Total War+1

• 3 new Legendary Lords:

  • Sea Lord Aislinn (High Elves – Sea Patrol naval horde)

  • Dechala the Denied One (Slaanesh)

  • Sayl the Faithless (Norsca) PC Gamer+1

• New campaign mechanics for each faction (naval horde play, decadence & torment systems, chaos manipulations) PC Gamer+1

• Around 40 new units across these rosters PC Gamer+1

It launches alongside Update 7.0, which brings:

• Overhauls to highlighted factions

• Free content and new mechanics

• A new mod manager and further AI / balance tweaks PC Gamer+1

Immortal Empires and the broader game also continue to receive balance updates, including a recent patch that reworked ~600 magic items, reduced file size by ~27%, and improved load times. PC Gamer

Note: In late 2025, Warhammer 3 has also faced community backlash, review-bombing, and AI issues, which CA has been addressing via hotfixes like 6.3.x and update 7.0. PC Gamer+1

Warhammer Total War for Beginners: Where to Start

If you’re new and your main question is “How do I start with Warhammer Total War?”, here’s a practical path.

1. Start with Total War: Warhammer III

Even if you own all three, Warhammer III is currently the best starting point because:

• It has the most up-to-date mechanics

• The “The Lost God” tutorial campaign is widely praised as the best Total War tutorial to date Steam Community+1

• It’s the gateway to Immortal Empires

2. Play the Realm of Chaos or Tutorial Campaign First

The Realm of Chaos campaign and the dedicated tutorial are designed to: Fextralife+1

• Teach core mechanics (economy, army movement, diplomacy)

• Walk you through basic battle tactics – formations, flanking, magic

• Introduce Legendary Lords and faction-specific systems

3. Move into Immortal Empires Once You’re Comfortable

After a couple of smaller campaigns, jump into Immortal Empires for the “true” Warhammer Total War sandbox:

• Pick a forgiving faction (e.g., Dwarfs, Empire, High Elves, or Kislev) – strong early rosters, decent economy, straightforward mechanics. PC Gamer+1

• Play on Normal or Easy while learning the map, diplomacy, and late-game threats.

Core Strategy Tips for Warhammer Total War

To keep this SEO-friendly but genuinely useful, here are timeless strategy tips that apply across all three games: PC Gamer+1

1. Economy First

   • Prioritize income buildings in safe core provinces.

   • Complete full provinces to unlock commandments (public order, growth, or income buffs).

2. One Strong Army > Two Weak Ones

   • It’s usually better to run one elite doomstack early than multiple half-stacks that lose.

   • Fill it with a mix of front line, ranged, cav/monsters, and 1–2 artillery pieces. gamesear.com

3. Use Hammer-and-Anvil Tactics

   • Let your infantry “anvil” pin enemies in place.

   • Charge them in the rear with cavalry, monsters, or elite units as the “hammer.” gamesear.com+1

4. Synergy Over Brute Force

   • Choose skills and techs that buff the units you use most, not random one-offs.

   • Combine spells, debuffs, and aura buffs for big power spikes in key fights. gamesear.com

5. Diplomacy Is a Weapon

   • Trade, non-aggression pacts, and defensive alliances can secure your flanks. reddit.com

   • Confederation (especially for Elves, Dwarfs, and Empire) can let you unify your race instead of wiping them out. Total War: WARHAMMER Wiki

Is Warhammer Total War Worth It in 2025?

Short answer: yes, if you like deep, replayable strategy games and don’t mind DLC.

Pros in 2025:

• Immortal Empires is enormous and more accessible than ever, uniting all three games into one sandbox. SEGA Support+1

• Regular patches add balance changes, new units, and mechanical overhauls. Total War+1

• New DLC like Tides of Torment continues to add factions and campaign depth. G2G Total War+1

Caveats:

• There have been AI and DLC controversies leading to review-bombing and community drama. PC Gamer

• The full trilogy plus DLC is a significant investment, though frequent sales help.

If you’re starting fresh, a good route is:

1. Grab Total War: WARHAMMER III first.

2. Add I & II later during a sale to unlock more content in Immortal Empires.

3. Only buy DLC for races or lords you actually want to play.

Final Thoughts: Why “Warhammer Total War” Is So Popular

The reason “Warhammer Total War” is such a popular keyword is simple:

• It’s one of the richest fantasy strategy experiences ever made.

• Every campaign tells a different story depending on your faction, neighbors, and choices.

• Between the lore, the battles, the modding scene, and the sheer number of factions, it’s the kind of game you can sink hundreds or thousands of hours into. reddit.com+1

If you’ve ever wanted to command dragons, undead legions, chaos hordes, or shining human empires in a living strategy sandbox, Warhammer Total War is absolutely worth your time—especially now that Immortal Empires has matured into the definitive way to play the trilogy.