Of all of the games coming out in 2022, Total War: Warhammer 3 had to be one of the most highly anticipated one—particularly among strategy fans and people who love the lore behind the Warhammer IP. However, when it debuted, it was a less-than-stellar release, plagued with bugs and other issues.
But to Creative Assembly’s credit, they managed to turn things around starting with the game titled Total War: Warhammer 3: DLC Champions of Chaos. The DLC brings four new legendary Lords and a total of forty-nine different units to the battlefield.
The four demonic lords, Festus the Leechlord, Vilitch the Curseling, Azazel the Prince of Damnation, and Valkia the Bloody, each lead new sub-factions of the Warriors of Chaos onto the Realms of Chaos campaign map to win favor and glory. Each of these four mighty champions seeks the city of Zanbaijin, an eternal battleground filled with thousands of trapped souls. Their goal is to claim it in the name of their gods and advance their ends in the Great Game.
In Champions of Chaos, the four Lords each seek to build up their territory and raise powerful armies of demon-blessed units. They do this by forcing other factions to be their vassals, receiving Gifts of Chaos from their gods, upgrading their experienced units into more powerful forms, and receiving unique benefits depending on which god they follow.
However, unlike other Total War: Warhammer factions, each of these four lords have access to features that cannot be used by the others. They are favored by one of the four Chaos gods, giving them the units, specializations, abilities, and mechanics of those gods’ daemonic factions in the base game.
For example, Valkia has access to Khorne’s warrior daemons and his Bloodletting, while Vilitch has Tzeentch’s Changing of the Ways and daemonic tricksters, and so on. Each lord plays similarly to their god-specific faction, but with shared similarities between them.
Additionally, each of the Champions of Chaos factions has specific strengths and weaknesses, and each has an effective campaign that requires understanding these strengths and using them to your advantage.
For instance, Azazel, as the champion of Slaanesh, is focused on speed and micromanagement, with Devastating Flanker and the Mark of Slaanesh allowing his troops to quickly flank and surround enemies, crashing into weak points again and again.
Meanwhile, Festus brings Nurgle’s poisonous, grinding combat to the battlefield and he can quickly recover after battles. Villitch has Tzeentch’s devastating ranged attackers, with fragile melee units supported by replenishing barrier hit-points that can make them surprisingly durable if used right.
Khorne’s champion, Valkia, rewards bloodshed on the battlefield, with units that grow stronger after they have killed a certain number of enemy models, and thus should target weak, vulnerable enemies first.
However, all these differences are on top of the strong core of the Warriors of Chaos.
The greatest changes in Champions of Chaos, however, are off the battlefield. In a typical Total War: Warhammer III campaign, armies need to stop to recruit newer, more powerful units as they become available, slowing down the overall speed of destruction.
Additionally, the Warband mechanic in Champions of Chaos allows for experienced units to be immediately promoted for only a small expenditure of favor. Chaos Marauders can become Chaos Warriors, and Chaos Warriors can become Chosen.
All of these factors allow the player to keep up the pace, fighting enemy armies and razing cities as their armies grow alongside their lords. The culmination of this is the Path to Glory, where base Lords and Heroes can ascend as Daemon Princes of the gods, giving them more power on the battlefield and stronger abilities trees to level up with.
Overall, the Total War: Warhammer 3: Champions of Chaos DLC brings a wave of fury and destruction to Total War: Warhammer III not unlike the Daemons of Chaos faction. The merging of the Warriors of Chaos faction with the factions of Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Slaanesh allows for flexible and robust gameplay that lets the player excel in one area without falling behind in the others. It’s a must-buy for Total War: Warhammer 3 fans.
So, get those gaming PCs ready for action!
The Total War: Warhammer 3: Champions of Chaos DLC is available on PC.
Score: 9/10