I really enjoy his format and would be very interested on your take on vampire counts since they seem to be very controversial with some loving them and others hating them
My empire campaigns always see middenland overrun with orcs, stirland / averland overrun with vampires, hochland obliterated by festus, and ostermark picked apart by a combination of things. And not by turn 50. I mean like turn 5. It's crazy and wasn't always like that. Immortal Empires gets crazy as Empire and the biggest casualty will be your imperial authority.
Honestly thrones of decay has kinda fixed this problem with nuln being a new legendary faction they can normally keep the vampires at bay until you can dedicate a force to killing them. Normally my campaign is dealing with the succession than the beast men and black tar tribe after I set up a defense around my ports I can move on to the now vampire and green skin ridden Bretonian wastes. During this I just use one army to fend off any sea invaders and use the send aid imperial authority to held hockland take out Festus.
I personally really like Huntsmen generals as a "secondary" lord, that accompanies another main army. He buffs their ranged untis, works very well with different sorceres types and and generally brings some huge anti-large to the table. Disclaimer though: I am far from a pro player, and do generally not play for maximum effinciency. I am more of the "I like this unit, hence I'll try to find a way to get some use out of it"-type.
I'm going to agree with this person. While the Huntsman General has a lot of archer-specific buffs I keep a lot of them for buffing ranged units in general since I'm so ranged focused as the empire. Those ranged buffs are no joke.
I've found the Nurgle is the biggest threat to the Empire factions in early game. They can hold their own suprisingly well against the Vampires sometimes, though that is entirely random. Festus will just obliterate everyone around him if he isn't stopped fast. He's also tough to wipe out since he has a mountain fortress. So when you can only afford one army, it's tough to destroy his army, replenish the losses, then take the fortress before he builds another one.
This is very true. My advice is to deal with other threats in the opening turns and get handgunners when possible. Festus' army is slow and even just 3 units of Handgunners will help shut his army down without much harm done!
@@ElvenPlotArmourI just marched a 3 separate armies up to his capital because he was causing so many issues and auto resolve is still saying he'll spank me despite me literally wiping him and his army 3 times recently already. His recruit speed is bs
@@Funko777 His armoured units perform well with autoresolve. I wouldn't take him on unless I have 4-6 handgunners in the army to drop them. His units are better trained and equiped otherwise.
Yeah, I finally did it by sheer luck. I marched up A/R won just barley against the beast men and then barley won against Festus by turn 15ish. I didn't want either to get too strong but it felt like it was more rng than my skill with those two. Surprisingly the Karl Franz campaign has been waaay easier after that. It's crazy the beginner campaign is so hard right off the bat
@@Funko777 Yeah it's pretty tough for beginners since there's two major threats that don't start out in visual range, so you don't know right away they are threats. There's also the issue of having to master the dumb faction politics system.
@@willhelmcarter6226the 16/17th century arquebuses they used were heavy asf and usually needed an aiming stick thing so a bayonet wasn’t feasible for those
Because the guns of the time period would not be a good fit for a bayonet. Bayonets work best on long and light rifles making them effectively a spear. The crude handguns that they have are I think too bulky for anyone historically to bother with bayonets. Better to have each gunner carry a sword as a side arm
I've been playing this game for many hours, but your videos always give me some ideas of strategies and tactics and make my next campaign a bit mire fun when trying them in practice.
There's some inaccuracies about Imperial Authority in this video that I think are really important: 1) Reinstating a dead elector count gives you +2 imperial authority, so you're actually gaining net +1 authority by reviving the dead elector count, -and this isn't including the +1 authority you earn for each other settlement returned to the count.- (
Hey thanks for taking the time to explain so well. The devs tweaked Imperial Authority recently and it's getting another shakeup soon, most likely! Cheers for the comment.
@@ElvenPlotArmour No probs! Also, I was wrong about return individual settlements. You get IA when you use a dilemma to give a settlement back, but giving a settlement to an elector after conquering it only gives fealty and diplo relations, but getting high fealty and refusing confederation is also a way to get IA!
Really feels like you kicked up the production in this one! Great content!! I'm fighting my way to sealing my first book as Volkmar right now 🍻 (my second ever Empire campaign despite clocking thousands of hours across all 3 games)
Given the popularity I felt the need to get this one right. Had to rework it a lot to get make it managable given how much there was to cover so your comment is great to hear. Good luck with Volkmar, I think him and Karl are the most fun
In my current Balthazar campain, Karl Franz has evolved into such a beast that conquered half of Bretonnia, Averlorn and is now expanding to the east together with Katarin, that I honestly just confederate him last and prefer him being a true Sigma(r) chad ally.
Perhaps you should add in the Empire weakness is that The Empire got the slowest movement on the Campaign map, i mean no special stance like "use the underway" make Travel so slow. Its great guide, Thnks!
Lovely video, nice overview of the faction! Also appreciate you doing the whole guide without leaning into any healing. Personally I never leave Reikland without a Jade wizard or two in my back pocket :D
@@ElvenPlotArmour I really wish empire had caster lords, that way I could pack both net and dwellers below in on army without feeling like I was wasting a wizard by doubling up! Net is, as you said, amazing for shooting armies... but dwellers have saved me in soooo many "unwinable" battles.
I know it's been awhile... could you do a Lizardmen video? I know they have a lot of lords to cover... but I've been struggling against these new Dwarf and Empire units. - Cheers, Taur.
Hey mate, there will be a season of Lizardmen videos - I feel quite sure they're going to get a rework in one of the next DLC's and I I'll make a Complete Mastery for the faction and some lord videos off the back of that. For now, Skins - only use javelins. Saurus - only rock the spear + shields if possible. Have at least 2 heroes and don't overboard on big dinos too early! 4 monsters early is enough! Many lizard players go doomstack way too early when their infatnry are quite strong and efficient when fielded right.
@ElvenPlotArmour I'll try it. I'm usually okay stomping om whatever comes my way, but them Dwarfs are something else. I'd like to see what formations you'd use as well. Cheers, Friend.
A high-ranking Huntsman general plus a Lore of Fire Wizard in a stack built around Huntsmen and infantry can be stupidly effective for its cost right into the lategame. Popping the Lore of Fire passive plus the Huntsman Generals' oil flask and hail of fire will cause those Huntsmen to just absolutely *MELT* even the biggest monsters. Great against factions that spam out monsters and monstrous infantry in the lategame. Ogres are just completely screwed by that lineup, especially if the infantry line is made of Halbediers. Absolutely great call on getting the infantry research early. Empire missile and artillery units already have more than enough firepower to deal with early and mid-game battles, and the infantry research options all immensely help the frontliners to hold on while the rest of the army dishes out the damage. Getting those extra 15 armor on all the state troops in particular actually means they can last for a while against Orcs, Saurus Warriors or similar tough early-game infantry. Though, the very first thing to research in any Empire campaign is Tithe Rebates. that extra growth and public order is just too good early on. I do think you're overlooking Lore of Shadows for the magic choices. Cheap direct damage hex that also slows the target for your missile units, two effective stat hexes and a buff that can swing around melees and two of the biggest Delete Blob spells in the game.
Really enjoyed this post. I'm more partial to the Griffin lord or Priest but you're absolutely correct that you can get some great synergy and hard counter any large units, which can create some genuine pain for the Empire in the late game. Upgrading infantry is very key in WH3. Quite simply you gain excellent value from these units for a large percentage of the campaign. Level 50 lords now means there's usually no real downside in investing in the early game any more. A few people have pointed out lore of shadows, which I agree is in the top most reliable lores. I push fire due to the vampire menace but with more daemons incoming there's increased argument to get some shadow on the field!
I love playing as the empire, but the imperial authority really screws me over sometimes, some campaigns I'm lucky in getting a lot of dilemmas that allow me to increase it, but sometimes they are too few and far between and I'm left stuck in the negative for the remainder of the campaign
I've found you can get into the negative quickly but it's nowhere near as punishing as long as you don't resurrect electors only to have them fold immediately after haha. Regardless, this campaign is always fun.
I confederated Nordland, thinking I was ready. Immediately had three chaos warrior factions declare war on me as well as their Norscan vassals + the World Walkers. Quite unsure what to do with the empire secessionists and Khazara in the beginning.
Quickly unite your starting province (Reikland) then look to take Marrienburg - don't worry about the other settlement in that province, it'll draw too much attention. You can have the chance to take out Khaz or even quickly snipe out the vampires and gift it to Brettonia in these early turns. Get Handgunners before taking on Festus and protect your counts as Vlad starts to expand. Good luck general!
@@ElvenPlotArmour Made it a habit to wipe the secessionist army, then go back to Aldorf recruit two units of swordsmen, and then run into the middle of Middenland, which baits Khaz into attacking you on Very Hard Campaign/Battle difficulty (it might help to be in march stance as beastmen love that). Makes for an a lot stronger Middenland that can actually fight the orcs, and occasionally wipe them with help from Marienburg and/or Nordland. Marienburg also seems to get attacked by the vampires around when I have unified Altdorf, and usually take Marienburg (with casualties and somehow holes in the wall (very convenient)).
It's a shame Imperial Authority gets screwed over so fast with festus being there now, counts get killed off before you have a chance to even get open borders causing a downward spiral of negative IA. I feel like the AI factions should auto give a decision to the emperor upon an external force declaring war, if he joins them he potentially gains IA but if he doesn't then he risks losing if they are wiped out.
It's not so bad anymore, you now get a few elector's dying before you lose any Authority now, because it was BS before. Rushing Festus is no longer the right strat (I personally don't believe it wise). The campaign player really well now, just wipe the threats and stay friendly with the Wood Elves and Dwarfs and the Empire is yours!
Would you recommend allying the 2 wood Elves in the Empire as Gelt/Franz instead of conquering them? Especially Gelt since magical forests are uninhabitable to him. I'm not really sure when it's a good idea to conquer land or ally the people who already own it
If you can get wood elf allies, do it! They sit statically so they will get dragged into your wars and never the reverse. So long as you don't threaten or disrespect them they won't let you down. Honestly, if you just focus on killing evil factions when you're a good faction your campaign will lead you in the right direction. Attacking a good faction just because they're near you without reading the bigger picture is pretty much the only really big mistake you can get here.
@@ElvenPlotArmour That isn't always practical though. I find I often just run out of evil factions in my path, and this isn't the game where you can just sit around waiting for them to expand in your direction. Also that damn Kislev faction keeps taking territory I need to win the campaign, so you basically have to fight them. That really sucks cause usually they are always on good diplomatic terms with Empire, even without you trying to make them good.
New player here, struggling big time with the Empire. Would you suggest skipping the growth tech and going straight for the infantry ones on the opening turns?
Don't worry about growth buffs in WH3, except in your starting province, and even then it's not essential. Boosting growth was a WH2 strategy, anyone promoting it simply hasn't played WH3 properly (shots fired). The Empire's weaving house is the building you should build in every province at Tier 1. This will fund your armies which will be needed around the Kingdom. Remember, your goal is to eliminate the evil in your lands rather than just painting the map - that will happen almost automatically later on. In your Capital (Reikland) build Gunpowder to get handgunners in front of some shielded spearmen (see my Empire Formations guide on how to set this up). Build the Priest Building, hire your 2 priests and feel free to knock it down again in the early game as it doesn't do much else for now. Work out the borders of your Empire, remember Tier 3 Garrison adds towers and units, making defenses far more potent. For Research, go for the Infantry Upgrades, then the Missile Upgrades - there's 3 in each that are really good. Empire don't need much else other than Miliatary from their tech tree. Get a couple of Reiksguard for Karl Franz, but only him imho, Crossbows then handgunners will do most of your damage. Have 1-2 Mortars to get through the early game, then move towards the formations setup in the video - You'll smash it my friend! Good luck! Sigma be with you!
I got WH3 of a sale not to long ago and i recently started up an Empire campaign and i noticed an intresting Faction effect on Karl Franz, Diplomatic immunity from trespassing in Empire regions. I played a fair but of WH2 and my main issue with the Empires Imperial authority system was the fact that the AI could screw your entire campaign by not letting u help them defend there lands as they downright refuced to allow access when down to there last settlement and staring down 4 full stacks of vamps. Was that Diplomatic immunity in WH2 at some point and i just missed it or was that changed for Karl Franz in WH3?
@@ElvenPlotArmour previously they didn't get the upkeep reduction & some other skill line buffs. I'll check it out tho volkmar is my current fav empire lord just cause it gives me goals all the way into the late game.
“I’d argue the Elector Counts system is a strength.” Oh I’m sorry could you repeat that? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of being at -6 Imperial Authority because ever elector outside of Nordland is dead and its turn 20.
Yeah, it can be rough but they put a buffer on the first count failing to minimise this. I think the intro the changeling is almost a tipping point that really hurts the Empire. The upcoming rework will no doubt address all of this :)
@@ElvenPlotArmour The Empire needs it badly. There are entirely too many Legendary Lords just bull rushing the Elector Counts at the moment. You’ve got Kazrak, Festus, Drycha, and Vlad/Isabella perfectly spaced to wipe out their own respective corners before Wolfric/Throgg and Skrag head in to clean up.
@@ElvenPlotArmour no worries, will keep an eye out for it. Whatever you think is best. Keen to see your approach. I’m working on increasing my difficulty level and I’m struggling a bit as it increases.
Perhaps they're too close to the enemy? Also, check "fire at will" is on and have guard mode on (stops them chasing after units). Most importantly, turn skirmish mode off so they don't retreat when pressed.
i know this is 1 year ago but my god chaos never invade the empire only festus but then if your smart and get rid of him your fighting mostly vampire wood elfs maybe dwarfs bretonnian or civil war
great vid, but fyi, the replenishment doesn't stack, same hero like two warrior priest or two different hero that does the same thing, example: noble and handmaiden doesn't stack.
Replenishment caps out at 30% (I think) so it doesn't keep going, but last I checked, 2 low level priests will bolster and combine up to this point. Definitely keen to know if this has changed!
ok so i was able to check with Isabelle campaign since she get the vampire hero early and i looked how much hp (5042) a damaged Vauglf would heal over a turn. we also have the friendly territory background replenishment of 907. with 1st hero the replenishment number goes up to 1567 and if you attached the 2nd hero, the number stayed the same, (5,042 +1567=6609) with 1st hero with a skill point in replenishment the number goes up to 1814, (5,042+1814=6,856) with 1st hero with a skill point in replenishment up to 1814 and then if you attached a 2nd hero without a skill in replenishment the number goes back down to 1567, (5,042+1567=6609) so not only the two hero doesn't stack but if you put a hero with lower lvl of replenishment it will overwrite the higher lvl one...
@@solegrave Mate, thanks so much for testing that out. I'll do some testing of my own when I get a chance but that could mean the last time a "rule" is applied by joining a hero, that's the one that takes effect. This would make it consistent with other abilities like "Increase campaign movement" but in that case it opens the argument of "Why do army buffs stack the same bonus?" Personally I'd be down for only 1 of each rule but they need to give all the races at least 3 heroes to make this a means of balancing armies rather than just punishing races with less options. Something to look into!
Do you need to have lord for every empire province, to be able to use special items and units? Or can I rotate lords in province just to get unit when it is off colldown to hire?
IIRC you can rotate once per turn and you'll be able to rotate the weapon freely - Rotating the lord shouldn't restart the timer for the unique unit unless you lose the actual capital settlement.
@@Razi5131 Understood. Having fewer, meaningful lords is certainly the safest bet, and building them up with a strong army. The biggest beginner mistakes are typically losing and retaking territory (repeatedly) and not making their primary army a powerhouse with high level characters
I like Empire but vanilla Empire can be a pain sometimes. Which is why I like mods so much since it can spice things up. Empire mods like Guns of the Empire and Sigmar's Heirs really improves things and it can be funny to see vast armies be reduced to mincemeat from artillery and ammunition raining down upon them. Any remaining survivors can only crash into my frontline and be quickly cut down. Also mods like Your New Empire (Overhaul) keeps the campaign interesting by giving you various dilemmas and mechanics to explore.
I zucc at this game but this is just sad that around turn 80 i get 8 full stack enemy army at my bum and all my AI allies do is die 1 by 1. Frustrating asf also on normal ...bruh
Try having a couple of really strong armies with high level characters to boot. Don't let your heroes die, get them past level 20. If a border is risky, build Tier 3 walls on minor settlements. Lastly, consider keeping your allies alive if nearby and limit wars where possible... hope that abstract advice did something lol
Man is the empire still the most popular race? I guess people really like the role playing aspect of it. Everything seems so bland. I never have enough patience for the imperial authority system. Whenever I have weak neighbors, I attack them. Anyway great vid as always! Appreciate the content
Yeah, CA officially confirmed Karl as No1 still. I can see why, the campaign is simply never bland and stays exciting for longer than many others. They're military is difficult to cheese/spam so a degree of engagement is required to play them well. They get to interact with most races, good or evil too. Some races appeal to some and not others, hopefully the next one does for you! Cheers for the support.
I feel like I always come back to the empire because I love the role-playing aspect of their position. Like, destroying the world is the powers of chaos is fun and all, but defending against countless threats as a ragtag coalition of humanity? That just speaks to me.
There will be eventually, I intend to cover all races but I'm trying to up the bar on these forms of guides but it takes a tonne of time and research, hence why I tend to focus on a faction at a time (so I don't make incomplete guides with gaping holes) so I'm sorry, I don't have one yet but please feel free to join my Discord. There's some amazing specialists on there that can offer you the advice to a quality much more recent than I can offer! Cheers for watching anyway.
@@ElvenPlotArmour Hey thanks for the reply. I appreciate it. I hope it didn't come off as shitty. I liked the video, and was hoping there was more out there of this high caliber of quality. Good shit mate, I'll look for the Discord link
@@ElvenPlotArmour yee i get rekted. My halaparts lines get rekted ,festus cav and big monsters just walk through my meele linek to eat range xD its hard when ai just go for only range.
@@vojteskaaaaaa6 Check out my formation guide for empire to get some ideas, they require a lot of synergies to make them work, but it's incredbily rewarding! I believe in you! :)
I've always thought the Empire is too complicated and too much micro management to enjoy playing. Both outside the battlefield and inside. This is why I mainly play Khorne. You just slaughter everything with Melee units and go to the next town, no diplomacy, no friends, no trading, no special ranged or special units/tactics to keep an eye on. You select your whole army, you right click the enemy and you win 99% of the time. Khorne baby.
![ULTIMATE Karl Franz 2/2: 10 PERFECT TURNS to Dominate the Empire [Total Warhammer 3 Campaign Guide]](/img/n.gif)
Did you enjoy this campaign mastery? Which do you want to see next?
I'd like to see woodelves, they are so different from the other races
Tomb Kings! I think many people like this race (Settra).
@@chunchunmaru5128 Here you go: th-cam.com/video/Buob-sA09CQ/w-d-xo.html I have a tier list too!
I really enjoy his format and would be very interested on your take on vampire counts since they seem to be very controversial with some loving them and others hating them
I agree with Tomb Kings
My empire campaigns always see middenland overrun with orcs, stirland / averland overrun with vampires, hochland obliterated by festus, and ostermark picked apart by a combination of things.
And not by turn 50. I mean like turn 5. It's crazy and wasn't always like that. Immortal Empires gets crazy as Empire and the biggest casualty will be your imperial authority.
I get the exact same every time. And then a full stack of beastmen at Altdorf
This campaign has certainly gotten tougher. I'll release a guide in the next week. Will be interested to see how it goes compared to post DLC!
Don't forget Belakor and Wulfric making a B line for Eilheart the moment they detect you
@@botep5529 New guide is out now.... yeah a lot has changed!🤣
Honestly thrones of decay has kinda fixed this problem with nuln being a new legendary faction they can normally keep the vampires at bay until you can dedicate a force to killing them. Normally my campaign is dealing with the succession than the beast men and black tar tribe after I set up a defense around my ports I can move on to the now vampire and green skin ridden Bretonian wastes. During this I just use one army to fend off any sea invaders and use the send aid imperial authority to held hockland take out Festus.
I personally really like Huntsmen generals as a "secondary" lord, that accompanies another main army. He buffs their ranged untis, works very well with different sorceres types and and generally brings some huge anti-large to the table.
Disclaimer though: I am far from a pro player, and do generally not play for maximum effinciency. I am more of the "I like this unit, hence I'll try to find a way to get some use out of it"-type.
Appreciate you sharing your setups!
I'm going to agree with this person. While the Huntsman General has a lot of archer-specific buffs I keep a lot of them for buffing ranged units in general since I'm so ranged focused as the empire. Those ranged buffs are no joke.
I've found the Nurgle is the biggest threat to the Empire factions in early game. They can hold their own suprisingly well against the Vampires sometimes, though that is entirely random. Festus will just obliterate everyone around him if he isn't stopped fast. He's also tough to wipe out since he has a mountain fortress. So when you can only afford one army, it's tough to destroy his army, replenish the losses, then take the fortress before he builds another one.
This is very true. My advice is to deal with other threats in the opening turns and get handgunners when possible. Festus' army is slow and even just 3 units of Handgunners will help shut his army down without much harm done!
@@ElvenPlotArmourI just marched a 3 separate armies up to his capital because he was causing so many issues and auto resolve is still saying he'll spank me despite me literally wiping him and his army 3 times recently already. His recruit speed is bs
@@Funko777 His armoured units perform well with autoresolve. I wouldn't take him on unless I have 4-6 handgunners in the army to drop them. His units are better trained and equiped otherwise.
Yeah, I finally did it by sheer luck. I marched up A/R won just barley against the beast men and then barley won against Festus by turn 15ish. I didn't want either to get too strong but it felt like it was more rng than my skill with those two. Surprisingly the Karl Franz campaign has been waaay easier after that. It's crazy the beginner campaign is so hard right off the bat
@@Funko777 Yeah it's pretty tough for beginners since there's two major threats that don't start out in visual range, so you don't know right away they are threats. There's also the issue of having to master the dumb faction politics system.
The Nation calls!
The biggest crime in total Warhammer is that the empire hasn't figured out the extremely advanced technology that is the bayonet
You jest, but the time period of the empire's loosely based off of didn't have the bayonet either. It's hard to represent Pike and shot with no pike
I always wonder that. They have steam tanks; why not bayonets also?
@@willhelmcarter6226the 16/17th century arquebuses they used were heavy asf and usually needed an aiming stick thing so a bayonet wasn’t feasible for those
Because the guns of the time period would not be a good fit for a bayonet.
Bayonets work best on long and light rifles making them effectively a spear.
The crude handguns that they have are I think too bulky for anyone historically to bother with bayonets. Better to have each gunner carry a sword as a side arm
Meanwhile Kislev Streltsi casually put Great Axe on their gun. 😅
I've been playing this game for many hours, but your videos always give me some ideas of strategies and tactics and make my next campaign a bit mire fun when trying them in practice.
Good luck and happy hunting!
There's some inaccuracies about Imperial Authority in this video that I think are really important:
1) Reinstating a dead elector count gives you +2 imperial authority, so you're actually gaining net +1 authority by reviving the dead elector count, -and this isn't including the +1 authority you earn for each other settlement returned to the count.- (
Hey thanks for taking the time to explain so well. The devs tweaked Imperial Authority recently and it's getting another shakeup soon, most likely!
Cheers for the comment.
@@ElvenPlotArmour No probs! Also, I was wrong about return individual settlements. You get IA when you use a dilemma to give a settlement back, but giving a settlement to an elector after conquering it only gives fealty and diplo relations, but getting high fealty and refusing confederation is also a way to get IA!
Really feels like you kicked up the production in this one! Great content!! I'm fighting my way to sealing my first book as Volkmar right now 🍻 (my second ever Empire campaign despite clocking thousands of hours across all 3 games)
Given the popularity I felt the need to get this one right. Had to rework it a lot to get make it managable given how much there was to cover so your comment is great to hear.
Good luck with Volkmar, I think him and Karl are the most fun
In my current Balthazar campain, Karl Franz has evolved into such a beast that conquered half of Bretonnia, Averlorn and is now expanding to the east together with Katarin, that I honestly just confederate him last and prefer him being a true Sigma(r) chad ally.
Perhaps you should add in the Empire weakness is that The Empire got the slowest movement on the Campaign map, i mean no special stance like "use the underway" make Travel so slow.
Its great guide, Thnks!
I thoroughly enjoy the production value on this video.
Appreciate mate, the effort certainly went in :)
Very good job, mate. Keep going!
Cheers for the support!
Lovely video, nice overview of the faction! Also appreciate you doing the whole guide without leaning into any healing. Personally I never leave Reikland without a Jade wizard or two in my back pocket :D
Thanks mate. Life is still mentioned as an excellent lore, as I'm sure you're all too aware!
As long as I roll Light, Life or Fire I'm stoked!
@@ElvenPlotArmour I really wish empire had caster lords, that way I could pack both net and dwellers below in on army without feeling like I was wasting a wizard by doubling up! Net is, as you said, amazing for shooting armies... but dwellers have saved me in soooo many "unwinable" battles.
@@Fastwinstondoom I tend to rock a single caster in each army, though a second one as a Beast mage at least gets the Griffin!
I know it's been awhile... could you do a Lizardmen video? I know they have a lot of lords to cover... but I've been struggling against these new Dwarf and Empire units.
- Cheers, Taur.
Hey mate, there will be a season of Lizardmen videos - I feel quite sure they're going to get a rework in one of the next DLC's and I I'll make a Complete Mastery for the faction and some lord videos off the back of that. For now, Skins - only use javelins. Saurus - only rock the spear + shields if possible.
Have at least 2 heroes and don't overboard on big dinos too early! 4 monsters early is enough!
Many lizard players go doomstack way too early when their infatnry are quite strong and efficient when fielded right.
@ElvenPlotArmour I'll try it. I'm usually okay stomping om whatever comes my way, but them Dwarfs are something else. I'd like to see what formations you'd use as well.
Cheers, Friend.
A high-ranking Huntsman general plus a Lore of Fire Wizard in a stack built around Huntsmen and infantry can be stupidly effective for its cost right into the lategame. Popping the Lore of Fire passive plus the Huntsman Generals' oil flask and hail of fire will cause those Huntsmen to just absolutely *MELT* even the biggest monsters. Great against factions that spam out monsters and monstrous infantry in the lategame. Ogres are just completely screwed by that lineup, especially if the infantry line is made of Halbediers.
Absolutely great call on getting the infantry research early. Empire missile and artillery units already have more than enough firepower to deal with early and mid-game battles, and the infantry research options all immensely help the frontliners to hold on while the rest of the army dishes out the damage. Getting those extra 15 armor on all the state troops in particular actually means they can last for a while against Orcs, Saurus Warriors or similar tough early-game infantry. Though, the very first thing to research in any Empire campaign is Tithe Rebates. that extra growth and public order is just too good early on.
I do think you're overlooking Lore of Shadows for the magic choices. Cheap direct damage hex that also slows the target for your missile units, two effective stat hexes and a buff that can swing around melees and two of the biggest Delete Blob spells in the game.
Really enjoyed this post. I'm more partial to the Griffin lord or Priest but you're absolutely correct that you can get some great synergy and hard counter any large units, which can create some genuine pain for the Empire in the late game.
Upgrading infantry is very key in WH3. Quite simply you gain excellent value from these units for a large percentage of the campaign. Level 50 lords now means there's usually no real downside in investing in the early game any more.
A few people have pointed out lore of shadows, which I agree is in the top most reliable lores. I push fire due to the vampire menace but with more daemons incoming there's increased argument to get some shadow on the field!
your videos are awesome! I've been playing Empire the last two weeks , making sure to revisit your content.
Thanks mate. Still a couple of Empire videos to come before we wrap up, just taking a break for Chaos Dwarf early access. We'll be back!
Amazing video and worth the wait!!!
you never cease to amaze
Your videos are very well done my guy.
Was important to get this one right so thanks for saying so!
I love playing as the empire, but the imperial authority really screws me over sometimes, some campaigns I'm lucky in getting a lot of dilemmas that allow me to increase it, but sometimes they are too few and far between and I'm left stuck in the negative for the remainder of the campaign
I've found you can get into the negative quickly but it's nowhere near as punishing as long as you don't resurrect electors only to have them fold immediately after haha. Regardless, this campaign is always fun.
I confederated Nordland, thinking I was ready. Immediately had three chaos warrior factions declare war on me as well as their Norscan vassals + the World Walkers.
Quite unsure what to do with the empire secessionists and Khazara in the beginning.
Quickly unite your starting province (Reikland) then look to take Marrienburg - don't worry about the other settlement in that province, it'll draw too much attention. You can have the chance to take out Khaz or even quickly snipe out the vampires and gift it to Brettonia in these early turns. Get Handgunners before taking on Festus and protect your counts as Vlad starts to expand. Good luck general!
@@ElvenPlotArmour Made it a habit to wipe the secessionist army, then go back to Aldorf recruit two units of swordsmen, and then run into the middle of Middenland, which baits Khaz into attacking you on Very Hard Campaign/Battle difficulty (it might help to be in march stance as beastmen love that). Makes for an a lot stronger Middenland that can actually fight the orcs, and occasionally wipe them with help from Marienburg and/or Nordland.
Marienburg also seems to get attacked by the vampires around when I have unified Altdorf, and usually take Marienburg (with casualties and somehow holes in the wall (very convenient)).
It's a shame Imperial Authority gets screwed over so fast with festus being there now, counts get killed off before you have a chance to even get open borders causing a downward spiral of negative IA. I feel like the AI factions should auto give a decision to the emperor upon an external force declaring war, if he joins them he potentially gains IA but if he doesn't then he risks losing if they are wiped out.
It's not so bad anymore, you now get a few elector's dying before you lose any Authority now, because it was BS before. Rushing Festus is no longer the right strat (I personally don't believe it wise). The campaign player really well now, just wipe the threats and stay friendly with the Wood Elves and Dwarfs and the Empire is yours!
Franz may have the hammer, but Balthasar got that goldenboi rizz
I recommend playing the campaign with the following mod Empire tech tree expansion
I think the tech tree will get a few more techs with the upcoming content drop. I don't mind the technologies, I'd just like more of them.
By Sigmar, Yes!
always have to like an EPA guide
Summon the elector counts!!
Would you recommend allying the 2 wood Elves in the Empire as Gelt/Franz instead of conquering them? Especially Gelt since magical forests are uninhabitable to him. I'm not really sure when it's a good idea to conquer land or ally the people who already own it
If you can get wood elf allies, do it! They sit statically so they will get dragged into your wars and never the reverse. So long as you don't threaten or disrespect them they won't let you down. Honestly, if you just focus on killing evil factions when you're a good faction your campaign will lead you in the right direction. Attacking a good faction just because they're near you without reading the bigger picture is pretty much the only really big mistake you can get here.
@@ElvenPlotArmour That isn't always practical though. I find I often just run out of evil factions in my path, and this isn't the game where you can just sit around waiting for them to expand in your direction. Also that damn Kislev faction keeps taking territory I need to win the campaign, so you basically have to fight them. That really sucks cause usually they are always on good diplomatic terms with Empire, even without you trying to make them good.
@@TheStapleGunKidyou can win by being military allies with them in the controlled territory I guess
New player here, struggling big time with the Empire. Would you suggest skipping the growth tech and going straight for the infantry ones on the opening turns?
Don't worry about growth buffs in WH3, except in your starting province, and even then it's not essential.
Boosting growth was a WH2 strategy, anyone promoting it simply hasn't played WH3 properly (shots fired). The Empire's weaving house is the building you should build in every province at Tier 1. This will fund your armies which will be needed around the Kingdom. Remember, your goal is to eliminate the evil in your lands rather than just painting the map - that will happen almost automatically later on. In your Capital (Reikland) build Gunpowder to get handgunners in front of some shielded spearmen (see my Empire Formations guide on how to set this up). Build the Priest Building, hire your 2 priests and feel free to knock it down again in the early game as it doesn't do much else for now. Work out the borders of your Empire, remember Tier 3 Garrison adds towers and units, making defenses far more potent.
For Research, go for the Infantry Upgrades, then the Missile Upgrades - there's 3 in each that are really good. Empire don't need much else other than Miliatary from their tech tree. Get a couple of Reiksguard for Karl Franz, but only him imho, Crossbows then handgunners will do most of your damage. Have 1-2 Mortars to get through the early game, then move towards the formations setup in the video - You'll smash it my friend! Good luck! Sigma be with you!
I got WH3 of a sale not to long ago and i recently started up an Empire campaign and i noticed an intresting Faction effect on Karl Franz, Diplomatic immunity from trespassing in Empire regions. I played a fair but of WH2 and my main issue with the Empires Imperial authority system was the fact that the AI could screw your entire campaign by not letting u help them defend there lands as they downright refuced to allow access when down to there last settlement and staring down 4 full stacks of vamps. Was that Diplomatic immunity in WH2 at some point and i just missed it or was that changed for Karl Franz in WH3?
Did they finally fix the state troops not getting lord skill buffs? Carroburg great swords weren’t getting Franzs great sword benefits etc.
They definitely get skill point buffs now. I always have 4 Reiksguard (flanks) and 2 Carroburgs on the front of Karl's army now :)
@@ElvenPlotArmour previously they didn't get the upkeep reduction & some other skill line buffs. I'll check it out tho volkmar is my current fav empire lord just cause it gives me goals all the way into the late game.
Great stuff...thanks pal...
No problem 👍 Thanks mate!
Perhaps... I am now ready to actually play my favourite faction more than 40 turns? Sheesh
Do it ! Good luck!
@@ElvenPlotArmour thanks! And good work on the video!
Exactly how to them play . You must be the command
Lord Franz rules all. We are all mere mortals who follow as best we can.
GOTREK??? The Elector count of Ostermark????
Wow wow wow
wow
New DEI Policy passed: 1 in every 7 electors must be a non-Human :)
@@ElvenPlotArmour New DEI Policies are Tight!
@@martind5653 Super easy. Barely an inconvenience.
@@ElvenPlotArmour More like super convenient, barely hard
“I’d argue the Elector Counts system is a strength.”
Oh I’m sorry could you repeat that? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of being at -6 Imperial Authority because ever elector outside of Nordland is dead and its turn 20.
Yeah, it can be rough but they put a buffer on the first count failing to minimise this. I think the intro the changeling is almost a tipping point that really hurts the Empire. The upcoming rework will no doubt address all of this :)
@@ElvenPlotArmour The Empire needs it badly. There are entirely too many Legendary Lords just bull rushing the Elector Counts at the moment. You’ve got Kazrak, Festus, Drycha, and Vlad/Isabella perfectly spaced to wipe out their own respective corners before Wolfric/Throgg and Skrag head in to clean up.
I cant seem to find the video on the perfect opening turns for the Empire. Its mentioned it the end of the video, but cant see it on the channel.
Sorry mate, I didn't get to film it in time! I'm wondering if I should hold off until Thrones of Decay or remake it now. You have a preference?
@@ElvenPlotArmour no worries, will keep an eye out for it. Whatever you think is best. Keen to see your approach. I’m working on increasing my difficulty level and I’m struggling a bit as it increases.
How are you supposed to use the hell’s form rockets when ever u use then they don’t do anything ????
Perhaps they're too close to the enemy? Also, check "fire at will" is on and have guard mode on (stops them chasing after units). Most importantly, turn skirmish mode off so they don't retreat when pressed.
I think at least in wh2 the shield spearmen mixed with rifle men and some arty creates a force that can resist many forces
i know this is 1 year ago but my god chaos never invade the empire only festus but then if your smart and get rid of him your fighting mostly vampire wood elfs maybe dwarfs bretonnian or civil war
great vid, but fyi, the replenishment doesn't stack, same hero like two warrior priest or two different hero that does the same thing, example: noble and handmaiden doesn't stack.
Replenishment caps out at 30% (I think) so it doesn't keep going, but last I checked, 2 low level priests will bolster and combine up to this point.
Definitely keen to know if this has changed!
I will double check that 🧐
ok so i was able to check with Isabelle campaign since she get the vampire hero early and i looked how much hp (5042) a damaged Vauglf would heal over a turn.
we also have the friendly territory background replenishment of 907.
with 1st hero the replenishment number goes up to 1567 and if you attached the 2nd hero, the number stayed the same, (5,042 +1567=6609)
with 1st hero with a skill point in replenishment the number goes up to 1814, (5,042+1814=6,856)
with 1st hero with a skill point in replenishment up to 1814 and then if you attached a 2nd hero without a skill in replenishment the number goes back down to 1567, (5,042+1567=6609)
so not only the two hero doesn't stack but if you put a hero with lower lvl of replenishment it will overwrite the higher lvl one...
@@solegrave Mate, thanks so much for testing that out. I'll do some testing of my own when I get a chance but that could mean the last time a "rule" is applied by joining a hero, that's the one that takes effect. This would make it consistent with other abilities like "Increase campaign movement" but in that case it opens the argument of "Why do army buffs stack the same bonus?" Personally I'd be down for only 1 of each rule but they need to give all the races at least 3 heroes to make this a means of balancing armies rather than just punishing races with less options. Something to look into!
Do you need to have lord for every empire province, to be able to use special items and units? Or can I rotate lords in province just to get unit when it is off colldown to hire?
IIRC you can rotate once per turn and you'll be able to rotate the weapon freely - Rotating the lord shouldn't restart the timer for the unique unit unless you lose the actual capital settlement.
@@ElvenPlotArmour ok,thank you. My problem is that having so many lords increases army upkeep too much.
@@Razi5131 Understood. Having fewer, meaningful lords is certainly the safest bet, and building them up with a strong army. The biggest beginner mistakes are typically losing and retaking territory (repeatedly) and not making their primary army a powerhouse with high level characters
I like Empire but vanilla Empire can be a pain sometimes. Which is why I like mods so much since it can spice things up. Empire mods like Guns of the Empire and Sigmar's Heirs really improves things and it can be funny to see vast armies be reduced to mincemeat from artillery and ammunition raining down upon them. Any remaining survivors can only crash into my frontline and be quickly cut down.
Also mods like Your New Empire (Overhaul) keeps the campaign interesting by giving you various dilemmas and mechanics to explore.
Great choices! We have some more Empire DLC coming in a couple of months so hopefully that helps too!
@@ElvenPlotArmour That would be cool.
Did I miss commenting for the algorithim? Leme fix that.🎉
Is there an updated Lokir guide?
Not yet, will certainly get to him!
Time is chaotic and short this very minute!
I zucc at this game but this is just sad that around turn 80 i get 8 full stack enemy army at my bum and all my AI allies do is die 1 by 1. Frustrating asf also on normal ...bruh
Try having a couple of really strong armies with high level characters to boot. Don't let your heroes die, get them past level 20. If a border is risky, build Tier 3 walls on minor settlements. Lastly, consider keeping your allies alive if nearby and limit wars where possible... hope that abstract advice did something lol
Man is the empire still the most popular race? I guess people really like the role playing aspect of it. Everything seems so bland. I never have enough patience for the imperial authority system. Whenever I have weak neighbors, I attack them. Anyway great vid as always! Appreciate the content
Yeah, CA officially confirmed Karl as No1 still. I can see why, the campaign is simply never bland and stays exciting for longer than many others. They're military is difficult to cheese/spam so a degree of engagement is required to play them well. They get to interact with most races, good or evil too. Some races appeal to some and not others, hopefully the next one does for you! Cheers for the support.
I feel like I always come back to the empire because I love the role-playing aspect of their position. Like, destroying the world is the powers of chaos is fun and all, but defending against countless threats as a ragtag coalition of humanity? That just speaks to me.
Is there a resource similar to this for the zombie dudes?
There will be eventually, I intend to cover all races but I'm trying to up the bar on these forms of guides but it takes a tonne of time and research, hence why I tend to focus on a faction at a time (so I don't make incomplete guides with gaping holes) so I'm sorry, I don't have one yet but please feel free to join my Discord. There's some amazing specialists on there that can offer you the advice to a quality much more recent than I can offer! Cheers for watching anyway.
@@ElvenPlotArmour Hey thanks for the reply. I appreciate it. I hope it didn't come off as shitty. I liked the video, and was hoping there was more out there of this high caliber of quality. Good shit mate, I'll look for the Discord link
I like empire style ,but on very hard campaign and model to be Harder its hard vs wh 3 chaos units
Definitely. The armoured troops are a rough counter to early empire. I recommend getting 4-6 handgunners before taking on Festus for this reason.
@@ElvenPlotArmour yee i get rekted. My halaparts lines get rekted ,festus cav and big monsters just walk through my meele linek to eat range xD its hard when ai just go for only range.
@@vojteskaaaaaa6 Check out my formation guide for empire to get some ideas, they require a lot of synergies to make them work, but it's incredbily rewarding! I believe in you! :)
I've always thought the Empire is too complicated and too much micro management to enjoy playing. Both outside the battlefield and inside.
This is why I mainly play Khorne. You just slaughter everything with Melee units and go to the next town, no diplomacy, no friends, no trading, no special ranged or special units/tactics to keep an eye on. You select your whole army, you right click the enemy and you win 99% of the time. Khorne baby.
Top 10 way to play as The Empire
Top 1: Don't play as The Empire
So many amazing races, not all of them are for everyone. I personally love playing Empire. Where does your heart lie?
@@ElvenPlotArmour I am an Empire main in Warhammer 2 but now the situation have change, they do need a buff
@@shogunarki1139 I'd like to see more buffs in their character skills. I think more auras would do nicely!
good video but it aint no manfredd guide
Hahaha we'll get there my friend!
@@ElvenPlotArmour you been saying that for months
iam starting to not believe you
ngl im kinda pissed you gotta spend $150+ on DLC and previous games just to play every race in this already $60 game
Yeah it's rough. At least they offer Immortal Empires for free now. It's hard to believe that was behind a pay wall originally...
i thought it was still behind a pay wall given it was when i got the game a week ago @@ElvenPlotArmour
im talking about the empire faction
portugal
Comment for the algorithm gods
They accept and thank you for this sacrifice