Total War: WARHAMMER II – The Silence & The Fury
Creative Assembly / Sega
Total War: Warhammer II has received a massive amount of DLCs since its launch back in 2017 and we’ve finally reached the end of this excellent game’s development cycle. Creative Assembly has chosen to take things out with a big bang as far as Total War: Warhammer II – The Silence & The Fury is concerned, which pits big burly Taurox the Brass Bull of the Beastmen, against little road-runner, Oxyotl of the Lizardmen.
Total War: Warhammer II – The Silence & The Fury DLC is accompanied by a huge update with lots of freebies, such as Thorek Ironbrow (a new Dwarf legendary lord who likes to play with runes), recruitable Ogre Mercenaries, the Great Bray Shaman lord, and a sweet Beastmen rework.
First up is the big brass bully—legends speak of how Taurox spent a year rampaging across the countryside, killing everything in sight. Overcome with exhaustion, he drowned in a river of blood that overflowed from all his kills. Khorne and the other Chaos Gods, who normally ignore the plight of the cruel, mutated Beastmen, took pity on him. He was given a new life and his body became encased in nigh-impenetrable brass armor.
In his campaign, Taurox uses the Momentum and Rampage mechanics (showcasing his capabilities from the lore). As long as Taurox is winning battles, his Momentum increases and allows him to replenish his movement points so he can continue advancing. This builds up Rampage that provides additional bonuses, many of which are well-integrated with the Beastmen rework (more on this later).
Once he gets rolling, Taurox is an absolute blast to play, owing to his ultra-aggressive expansion. He even has a raiding stance that’s akin to forced march while still being able to attack. It’s possible to continue battling and leveling up multiple times in a single turn if you use his mechanics properly and if you can get a bit of luck on your side.
On the other side of the coin is Taurox’s nemesis, Oxyotl, a Chameleon Skink champion of the Lizardmen. While protecting a temple city, Oxyotl was tricked by the Chaos Gods and transported to the Realm of Chaos. However, rather than become corrupted or go mad, Oxyotl proved his resiliency and managed to slink back to the material plane.
In Total War: Warhammer II – The Silence & The Fury, Oxyotl receives what is called Visions of the Old Ones missions. These detail threats that span across the campaign map. Since he’s had experience traversing the realms, he’s able to teleport instantly to where the enemy is and engage them in battle.
By completing these tasks, Oxyotl earns points that give him access to Blessed Spawnings or resources to build Silent Sanctums on any settlement in the game. The Silent Sanctum’s structures provide bonuses like unit buffs and line-of-sight, as well as a means of triggering a random Lizardmen ambush. Even better, certain buildings turn the Silent Sanctum into a fast travel point of sorts.
Oxyotl’s mechanics are pretty fun to exploit. His stealth-based playstyle and skirmish-heavy gameplay emphasize flexibility in tactical match-ups and campaign progression. However, the overall experience isn’t as compelling when compared to Taurox’s “ultra badass killing machine” concept (which really suits the Beastmen imho).
But let’s be frank—the Beastmen’s (finally!) rework has to be the most talked about part of the free update that releases alongside Total War: Warhammer II – The Silence & The Fury. For the longest time, the Beastmen have toiled away in obscurity and were pretty boring to play as. Thankfully, the rework immensely changes the faction.
First off, there’s the addition of Herdstones (mini-settlement building chains) that create Bloodgrounds. These large swaths of land are marked by devastation, as successful bouts and razed settlements add points to the Bloodground itself. Once you’re happy with the points that you’ve earned, simply enact a ritual. You’ll lock down all the ruins that are part of the Bloodgrounds to prevent the AI from colonizing them. Sweet!
So am I impressed by this DLC? The answer is a resounding “hell yeah!” Even with some minor issues, being able to play as Taurox is already a treat. As for Oxyotl, though he paled in comparison, he manages to add the proverbial cherry on top. These two new factions have refreshing mechanics that are sure to keep you engaged. Likewise, the DLC as a whole lets you field new units, lords, heroes such as the Skink Oracle, Feral Troglodon, Doombull, Ghorgon, and Jabberslythe (which probably cost a few Charlemagnes).
SCORE: 8.5/10
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