Total War: WARHAMMER III – Thrones of Decay DLC Review – Lords, Factions, and More Strategic Choices 

Embrace deranged conflict and decay as Total War: WARHAMMER III introduced its sixth DLC “Thrones of Decay” with new Legendary Lords making their grand entrance into the real-time tactics game. This DLC pack introduces iconic characters from wider Warhammer Fantasy mythos into Total War: WARHAMMER III, namely Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord, Elspeth von Draken, and Malakai Makaisson.

Thrones of Decay DLC for Total War: WARHAMMER III, can be bought in its entirety or separately into 3 different factions, with its new content usable in both the Realm of Chaos and Immortal Empires campaigns. After spending my time with the DLC, it feels that the Nurgle faction gets the less impressive update, while Dwarf gains a significant boost.

As mentioned, the Thrones of Decay DLC pack brings in new Legendary Lords, 3 of them in total, to Total War: WARHAMMER III. They are Tamurkhan, the Maggot Lord and Champion of Nurgle; Elspeth von Draken, a powerful Amethyst Wizard and the “Dark Lady of Nuln”; and Malakai Makaisson, an infamous Dwarf Slayer and engineer. Not only did the DLC introduce these larger-than-life new Lords, but also new units to play around with. 

Malakai Makisson and the Dwarves 

Starting with the dwarves, which has always been a pretty powerful faction in the Warhammer series – best known for their sturdy troops and excellent engineering skills. This DLC introduces a powerful new toy for the Dwarves – the Thunderbarge.

There are two types of Thunderbarges, one regular blue one, and the other special orange-colored one called the “Spirit of Grungni”. The orange is special for a reason, as it can be summoned directly by Malakai, the new lord. It is not even a fair comparison between the regular one and Malakai’s Thunderbarge as the Dwarven lord’s Thunderbarge’s damage output is roughly equivalent to the combat power of two regular ones.

On the battlefield, Malakai’s Thunderbarge is truly impressive – armed with shooters whose attacks are relentless within range, effective against clustered enemies. Furthermore, it’s even equipped with bombardiers for more firepower. It does not stop there, Malakai’s Thunderbarge also has a bomb bay that drops large quantities of bombs automatically. Do you think that’s all? Malakai’s Thunderbarge also comes with a cannon of utter devastation.

We are not ending yet, because if you just so happen to encounter a tough situation, you can use the “Spear of Grungni” skill – which hurls a massive harpoon at the enemy and deals a stupidly high amount of damage, particularly useful against large units. Oh, did I mention it? The Thunderbarge flies, so the terrain is not an obstacle. Truly an ultimate artillery. 

While I kept praising the awesomeness of Malakai’s Thunderbarge, it is not exactly invincible. This is a strategy game after all, so you still need to be careful on how you approach combat. This is especially true when Dwarves prefer slow and steady gameplay as their economy starts out slow. That said, Malakai’s airship changes things up by giving the Dwarves a level of mobility they don’t usually have.

Seriously, the Thunderbarges are awesome and if you love playing Dwarves, they are undoubtedly an amazing asset to your tactics.

Elspeth von Draken and the Empire 

For Elspeth’s addition, she brings along two new mechanics to the Empire faction – the Imperial Gunnery School and Gardens of Morr. There’s also a special resource called “Schematics”, which can be used in the Imperial Gunnery School to upgrade 8 types of artillery and missile units, such as the likes of great cannons, gunnery infantry, and mortars, among others. Upgrades come in various effects, including boosted missile strength, higher ammunition count, and other buff. 

The Imperial Gunnery School is divided into 4 tiers. In the first tier, players can only upgrade each unit to the first level, and they must unlock the subsequent upgrades by advancing through the stages. Unlocking the tiers is simple, only requiring players to fulfill specific conditions. For example, in the first tier, players would have to complete 3 upgrades at the Imperial Gunnery School, build a Firearms Academy, and maintain a total of 3 units of Handgunners to enter the second stage. 

Completing upgrades in the second stage then unlocks the “Amethyst Armoury”, granting you access to more units. Moreover, players can gain some extra rewards, such as reduced recruitment costs, powerful magic shots, and added explosion range and damage. Don’t overlook the bonus that increases explosion range and damage! A fully upgraded Helstorm Rocket Battery can devastate enemy forces, making it a formidable asset on the battlefield. 

Compared to the Dwarf faction, the Empire focuses more on battlefield formations and strategy, with an emphasis on boom boom firepower. The early availability of great cannons and Helstorm Rocket Batteries highlights this. These artillery pieces are undoubtedly powerful but note that their projects have a very flat trajectory, so strategic positioning is important to get the full use of them and suppress enemy advances.

Now onto the new Gardens of Morr mechanic, which allows players to build up to 5 of them in friendly or neutral settlements known to Elspeth. Building a garden is instantaneous, but there is a 5-second cooldown condition after each build. Surprisingly, the garden itself can be built with special buildings, with 3 options. Amethyst College is the first, allowing you to recruit Amethyst Wizards to your army.

The second is the Temple of Morr, granting you access to the Knights of Moor Elector Count State Troops, while the last is the Militia of Morr – opening up powerful garrison units like Halberdiers, Handgunners, and Knights of the Black Rose as recruits. Let’s just say that the Gardens of Morr are powerful buildings for the early game, especially in giving you access to a strong army fast. 

Tamurkhan and the Nurgle

Moving on to the grotesque Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord and the Nurgle faction. In the game’s 5.0 version update, the Nurgle plague mechanism received a redesign to revitalize the faction.

Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord is particularly outstanding. He has two forms – a normal walking form and a mounted form. Once players reach level 15, they will gain access to Tamurkhan’s exclusive mount, the Toad Dragon – Bubebolos. This Nurgle Lord has a unique mechanic in addition to the plague mechanic, which is the “Tamurkhan’s Chieftains”, requiring reaching 7 Domiannce to unlock. 

Once unlocked, Kayzk the Befloud, the first follow, will join the fray as a new legendary hero to fight alongside the Maggot Lord. Further complicating things is the “Chieftain Fealty” segment, viewable in Tamurkhan’s Chieftains.

The Chieftain Fealty section not only allows players to activate the Chieftain’s Abilities but also grants them a way to add their units to your recruitment pool. Chieftain Fealty is divided into 4 levels: Pledged, Aligned, Committed, and Devoted, and it can be increased by taking actions they approve of, including but not limited to attacking settlements, razing cities, and eliminating opposing factions. 

The playability of the Tamurkhan’s Chieftains’ mechanic is quite high, with a total of 6 chieftains, each having 4 fealty levels – it can take quite some to fully upgrade each one. Therefore, it is recommended to choose a chieftain based on their trait and units. 

Verdict

All in all, Thrones of Decay is a very impressive DLC pack, with various new elements added to spice up the strategic gameplay in Total War: WARHAMMER III.

The Empire and Dwarf have experienced a decline in power as of late, especially with new factions arriving and pushing them into disadvantageous positions. Thankfully, Thrones of Decay mended that weakness and strengthened them, giving them new grounds to fight.

Through the new mechanics, Dwarf gets the most fun tool of them all, with Thunderbarge giving great mobility to an otherwise slow faction, putting an end to being the bully victim in war. Meanwhile, Empire also gets some of the fun with Elspeth’s two new mechanics, providing early firepower. As for Nurgle, while I personally feel their performance is slightly lacking, Tamurkhan’s new mechanic, “Tamurkhan’s Chieftains,” is quite enjoyable nonetheless. 

The “Thrones of Decay” DLC is now available for Total War: WARHAMMER III on all platforms.

Total War: Warhammer 3

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Creative Assembly

Release Date: 2022-02-17

Microsoft Windows, Steam

The cataclysmic conclusion to the Total War: WARHAMMER trilogy is coming. Rally your forces and step into the Realm of Chaos, a dimension of mind-bending horror where the very fate of the world will be decided. Will you conquer your Daemons… or command them?

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