Total War Warhammer Orcs
Total War: Warhammer is one of the biggest and best strategy games of the year. With giants, dragons, wizards, and all manner of other wild creatures, it is also the most tactically diverse of the series. As such, it can be extremely challenging. Mar 24, 2015 Orcs Orcs Orcs Orcs Gotta love the green meanies, they are just a fun race! Trying to make my ramblings a little bit more bite sized i figured i would split the episode into a Heroes part and a.
Each faction in Total War: Warhammer is unique, but playing as the Greenskins is an especially strange experience. Greenskins can't trade with anyone, have armies that turn on themselves if they go too long without thumping an enemy and an economy that assumes they're constantly raiding and looting. It forces players to get into character: you are the green Genghis Khan. Greenghis Khan.
When you encounter the Greenskins while playing as other factions they're a constant annoyance, showing up when you're busy at war with someone else to raid your lands and drain your bank account and public order. Then, when you finally turn to attack them, they roll up with a Waaagh! that has Grimgor Ironhide at its head and he's somehow three levels higher than your own best legendary lord. But once you play as the Greenskins their strange behaviour starts to make sense and you'll oddly find yourself sympathising with them. Of course they're raiding, it's just their way. Don't take it personal.
Orcs versus Goblins
Like the Vampire Counts with their hordes of Zombies, the Greenskins spend the early game fielding large armies with lots of expendable troops. Almost every Goblin unit is throwaway, only worth hanging onto until you can afford to replace them with the Orc equivalent–Wolf Riders becoming Boar Boyz, and so on. Goblins do make more accurate archers than Orcs, but they're even more likely to take their short-range bows and run away. While Night Goblins can be fielded with surprise ball-and-chain Fanatics hidden in their ranks to burst out when someone charges them, after that initial surprise you're still left with a pack of rubbish Gobboes standing around being useless. In almost every case, Orcs are better.
Leadership, what's that?
Though Orcs have improved morale over Goblins, they still can't hold a line predictably. Even the elite Troll units break and run a shocking amount of the time. However, this isn't as much of a problem as you might think. Greenskins may rout a lot but they also quickly re-form, and can be turned around and dragged back into the fray again and again. Sometimes during a siege attack your fleeing units will run past defenders right into the besieged settlement so you can capture the city from within once they've rallied, which almost feels like cheating. Leadership-boosting spells and abilities can reduce the amount of cowardice on display, but the fact units will be running and returning is something you just need to get used to. Keep an eye on the edges of the battlefield and think of your troops sheepishly lumbering back into battle as waves of reinforcements.
Stronger, faster, dumber
Leadership will eventually be less of an issue once you replace your standard Orc infantry with sturdy Black Orcs later in the campaign, and Giants will sometimes stick around even at very low health so they can keep bashing a Chaos Lord with a tree trunk for fun. You'll also unlock the exceptions to the general worthlessness of Goblins: the Arachnarok—a giant spider they ride—and Doom Diver Catapults. When it comes to artillery, for once the Gobboes are an improvement over the Orcs, whose Rock Lobbers lack the accuracy, damage potential, and unerring ability to take down flying units the Doom Divers have. Plus, press the insert key while you've got one selected and you can aim that catapult and steer a squealing Doom Diver through the air. I've done badly in battles because I was too busy playing Angry Goblins like this instead of paying attention to my flanks, so be careful not to get too distracted.
What's yours is about to be mine
Raiding serves two purposes for the Greenskins. It's a replacement for trading income, and it's also a way to keep an army's fightiness from deteriorating. When fightiness drops too low animosity kicks in and Greenskins will start suffering from attrition as they beat each other up for want of an actual enemy. Raiding counteracts that, and also allows armies to replenish when they're away from home. It costs half a stack's movement to raid, so keep an eye on that yellow bar showing how much an army has left and you can inch across the Old World making money as you go.
The violence inherent in the system
Keeping fightiness high isn't just a way of avoiding animosity. Once an army tops out its fightiness it attracts a free Waaagh! stack that can either be allowed to follow it around (they take their own turn immediately after yours) or sent off to harass a specified target. Sometimes you'll want to go and have a biff with a neighbour just for the sake of getting a Waaagh! going, so go ahead and pick on the other Orc and Goblin tribes. You'll be swallowing them up eventually and this is a much Orcier way than confederation through diplomacy.
The finky stuff
Just because you'll be fighting a lot doesn't mean you should be expanding continuously. Instead of occupying every hold you take from the Dwarfs or other Greenskins, take those that complete provinces you already hold territory in or that you can afford to defend and build a Boss Tent in as soon as possible. Boss Tents keep public order from deteriorating too much, and later in the campaign will become a useful check on the spread of corruption. You also want to build Piles of Shiny Stuff and upgrade them wherever you can to get extra cash, and when you take holds that have access to resources like gems or gold make sure to construct the relevant mine to take advantage of that. Only bother with the main troop-producing buildings in a province's capital.
The World's Edge Mountains are your friends
After conquering most of the Badlands you'll want to look north. While it's tempting to march through Black Fire Pass and right up the guts of the Empire, there's a better route. Stick to the east and follow the mountains, taking holds as you go. Ignore Zhufbar, which is too close to the Vampire Counts and their spreading corruption, and keep expanding northwards until you can come down out of the mountains at Karak Kadrin. From there the northern Old World will be open to you like a tasty sandwich filling. (The mountains are the bread in this analogy.) Where corruption has spread you can travel in the Underway stance to avoid it entirely, popping above ground to attack and raid. You'll need to defend the mountains against Chaos, but you're well-equipped to do that.
Grimmer than grim
One of the best weapons the Greenskins have against Chaos is their legendary lord, Grimgor Ironhide. Hell, he's one of their best weapons full stop. Save playing as the other lord choice Azhag The Slaughterer for your second campaign–he has to embark on quests before unlocking spells and is very slow, though his diplomatic bonus with the undead could lead to an interesting alliance and at high level becomes a beast. Grimgor on the other hand is fast and tough as nails right out of the gate, and will slap Chaos Lords down hard. His only vulnerability is to hero units with direct-damage abilities, so it's worth giving him any banner or other items you find with magic resistance.
One final piece of advice: don't click on End Battle until you've run down every foe you can. It earns more experience for your units, prevents enemies from returning too quickly, and it's just the Greenskin way.
For more general advice on how to run your Total War: Warhammer campaigns, check out our . Read our to find out more about the gods, nations, and strange magic of the Warhammer world, and the to understand the Greenskins' main rival.
This chapter is focused on the first turns after the start of the campaign. It assumes that you select Grimgor Ironhide as your starting Lord, but if you want to you can pick Azhag the Slaughterer instead. The gameplay itself won't change much when you do so.
First turns
When the campaign starts you will be given your first Lord (the faction leader), as well as the capital of the Death Pass, Black Crag. Start by constructing a new building in the capital - Brawlin' Groundz. Afterwards, send your Lord close to the army located to the south, but don't attack it. Open the recruitment menu and add 3 new units - 3x Orc Boyz. When you end the turn, the enemy army standing nearby should attack you. This encounter is a good chance to learn about the Greenskins army - lead the army to battle on your own. Make good use of the Doom Diver Catapult and harass the enemies from afar until they reach your units.
At the beginning of the second turn take a new ability for your Lord - Route Marcher. Now attack the enemy army that retreated after attacking you - they will have no chances against your units. You should almost always use the option to Eat Captives after a battle - it will replenish your casualties by up to 15%. When the battle ends, unlock a new ability for the Lord - Deff From Below. Afterwards, attack the enemy army once more to finally get rid of it. This will advance your lord to level 4 - spend another ability point into the Deff From Below. As you won't be able to reach Iron Rock, recruit another Lord in the capital and recruit 3 new units there - 3xOrc Boyz. Now you can end the turn.
Start with the second Lord - send him to the southern border of your territory and start recruiting 3 new units. As you now have access to archer units, recruit 3x GoblinArchers. Afterwards, start constructing Cave of Shinies in Black Crag. Finally, send your main Lord to attack Iron Rock. Occupy the settlement and spend another ability point of your Lord - a third point in Deff From Below. A quest - Battle at the Thundering Falls - will now be active, but you can ignore it for now. You can do it whenever you want to - either by going to the quest marker or by opening mission window (by pressing 9) and teleporting to the location. This quest will be described in this chapter. When you're done, end the turn.
At the beginning of the 4th turn send the main lord to the south, towards Valaya'sSorrow. Afterwards, send the second Lord towards the main one and transfer all the recruited units to him. Recruit a new unit (Orc Boyz) for the main Lord (so that at the beginning of the next turn he will have 17/20 units) and two units for the second Lord. End the turn.
When the 5th turn starts send both of your Lords towards Valaya's Sorrow - they should be able to reach it now. Use the main Lord to attack the settlement - the second Lord will come as reinforcements. This will be your most difficult fight thus far. Your second Lord's army will be coming from the north - position all of your forces as close to that position as possible. This will allow your second Lord to join the rest of your army. Position your army in a long, straight line, with two rows of soldiers - the frontline composed of melee units with missile units located directly behind them. Lure the enemy into coming at you by attacking one of the units with the Doom Diver Catapult. You will probably suffer quite some casualties, but in return you will get rid of a large enemy settlement. After the encounter ends select a new ability for your main Lord - Raider. Before you end the turn start upgrading the main building in Iron Rock.
At the beginning of the 6th turn send your second Lord towards Iron Rock - it will take 2 turns for him to get there. Additionally, start recruiting 3 more units for that Lord after moving - 2x Orc Boyz and 1x Goblin Archers. Upgrade the Cave of Shinies in Black Crag to ShinyPit. You will now have your very first Waaagh! at your command - it should be created after the last fight at Valaya's Sorrow. The Waaagh! will accompany your Lord's army and attack the same target, but you can also use it to attack a different settlement. Orders can be issued from a new panel that appeared right next to the portrait of your Lord (after selecting him). Construct a new building at Valaya's Sorrow - Idolz. Finally, order your main Lord to move as close to Karak EightPeaks as possible, but don't attack it yet. End the turn now.
Total War Warhammer Orc Strategy
It should be turn 7 now. Attack Karak Eight Peaks with your main Lord. Normally you wouldn't be able to take it, but thanks to the Waaagh! following the Lord it will be an easy task. You can use the auto-resolve option to end the battle quickly without suffering many casualties. Upgrade Idolz in Valaya's Sorrow to Totem Pole, recruit 3 more units for the second Lord and 3 more for the main Lord and end the turn.
When the turn starts demolish Musta Fieldz located in Iron Rock and start construction of Idolz there. Unlock a new ability for your main Lord - Iron-Hard. Now send your main Lord towards Black Iron Mine and order the Waaagh! to head towards Crooked Fang Fort. Finally, recruit 3 more units for the second Lord and end the turn. Your main Lord should be able to reach Black Iron Mine - attack it and capture the settlement. Construct Idolz in your newly acquired settlement. Afterwards, upgrade Idolz in Iron Rock to Totem Pole. Finally, recruit 3 more units for the second Lord (he should have 15 units at the start of the next turn) and end the turn.
At the start of the 10th turn send your main Lord towards KarakAzul - reaching it should take 2 turns. Recruit 3 additional units for the second Lord and end the turn. The beginning of the next turn is the moment to attack Karak Azul, the capital of this province - your Lord should have no problems with that. After the encounter add a point into the Lightning Strike ability of the Lord. Start constructing Boss' Tent in KarakAzul, the same building in Iron Rock and upgrade the main building in CrookedFangFort. Now end the turn.
Your Waaagh! probably conquered Crooked Fang Fort by now - select Dringorackaz as their next target. Your main Lord should head towards Spitepeak, while your second Lord should still be garrisoned in Iron Rock to stabilize obedience. End the turn. Now order your main Lord to attack Spitepeak and conquer it. This will finally give you a full province - assign Camp Ruckuscommandment for it. Your Lord should now be level 9 - pick the Mob Boss ability. Afterwards, upgrade the main building in Black Iron Mine, construct Pile of Shiny Stuff in Spitepeak and Wolf Den in Karak Azul. End the turn.
Send your main Lord towards Kradtommen - the Waaagh! should follow him there. Refrain from constructing any buildings - you're going to need gold to upgrade the main building in Black Crag. Now end the turn. You will also have control over the second province (your Waaagh! captured Dringorackaz) - set the Camp Ruckus commandment here as well. Send your main Lord closer to Kradtommen - he should be able to attack it during the next turn. Now upgrade the main building in Black Crag. You probably won't have much gold left - end the turn now.
At the beginning of the 16th turn attack Kradtommen with your main Lord - the Waaagh! should help you and make the battle trivial (remember to use the Lightning Strike ability to prevent enemies from receiving reinforcements - it can be activated on the pre-battle screen). Your Lord will now be level 10 - add a second point to Mob Boss. Before you end the turn, start upgrading the main building in Karak Eight Peaks and send the Waaagh! to attack Misty Moutain.
When the 17th turn starts, you will be given gold as a reward for completing a quest. Use it to upgrade the main building in Crooked Fang Fort and Spitepeak, as well as construct Idolz in Kradtommen and Pile of Shiny Stuff in Black Iron Mine. Send your main Lord towards Karak Azgal. You can now end the turn. When the next turn starts, attack Karak Azgal immediately. You will be able to conquer the capital of this province quite easily, while your Waaagh! focuses on another settlement. This will also give your Lord level 11 - use it to unlock the third level of Mob Boss. Afterwards, upgrade the main building in Dringorackaz and Pile of Shiny Stuff in Black Iron Mine to HeapofShiny Stuff. You can now end the turn.
At the beginning of the 19th turn your Waaagh! should conquer Misty Mountain. There's only one settlement more to conquer - Deff Gorge, where you should now send your main Lord. Using the 'Use Underway' stance you should get there in 2 turns. Now upgrade Shiny Pit in Black Crag to Stunty Mine. As there's nothing else to do now, end the turn. At the start of the 20th turn change the stance of your main Lord to 'none' and attack Deff Gorge. This will be your third province - set the commandment to Camp Ruckus. Upgrade the main building in Karak Azgal and in Iron Rock, and demolish Musta Fieldz in Deff Gorge. Now end the turn.
Start constructing Boss' Tent in Deff Gorge, upgrade the main building in Karak Azul and Pile of Shiny Stuff in Spitepeak to Heap of Shiny Stuff. Send your main Lord to the west, towards Agrul Mighhdal. Your second Lord can now move - you should probably have quite a stable obedience level in your main province. Send the second Lord to attack Barag Dawazbag, which should be controlled by Dwarfs. After you conquer it start constructing Goblin Watch Tower there. You can now end the turn.
During the 22th turn start upgrading the main building in Kradtommen and in Valaya'sSorrow. Send your main Lord further to the west and leave your second Lord stationed in Barag Dawazbag until the Goblin Watch Tower construction there is finished. You can now end the turn. During the next (23th) turn you won't have much to do. Move your Lord further to the west, right next to Agrul Migdhal - he should be able to attack it during the next turn. In the meanwhile send your second Lord to conquer Varenka Hills and construct Boss' Tent in Barag Dawazbag. Afterwards, start upgrading the main building in Dringorackaz and end the turn.
Attack and conquer Agrul Migdhal. Afterwards, send your main Lord's Waaagh! to Galbaraz. Your second Lord should now have his own Waaagh! following him - send that army towards Dok Karaz and your second Lord inside of Barag Dawazbag. Now upgrade the main building in Misty Mountain and in Black Iron Mine, and end the turn. During the next turn send your second Lord towards Dok Karaz - he should be able to reach the border of the settlement. Leave him there to wait for the Waaagh! to reach the place. Your main Lord must head towards Galbaraz. Afterwards, start upgrading the main building in VarenkaHills, construct Boss' Tent in KarakEightPeaks, Black Crag and in Karak Azgal. Now end the turn.
When the next turn starts, attack Dok Karaz with your second Lord - his army and the Waaagh! following him should make this encounter an easy one. In the meantime send your main Lord right next to Galbaraz - he should be able to attack it during the next turn. Now construct Pile of Shiny Stuff in Kradtommen, upgrade Boss' Tent in KarakAzul to Boss' Shack and construct Boss' Tent in Karak Eight Peaks. You won't be able to do much more now, so just end the turn.
At the start of the 27th turn attack Galboraz with your main Lord and the Waaagh! accompanying him. After you've conquered it send the main Lord's Waaagh! to attack and conquer GorGazan. Afterwards, send your second Lord towards Stonemine Tower. Now time for some constructing. Upgrade Brawlin' Groundz in Black Crag to Fightin' Pit, the main building in Karak Azgal and construct Idolz in Dok Karaz and in Galbaraz. When you're done, end the turn.
At the beginning of the 28th turn attack Stonemine Tower with your second Lord - this settlement should be trivial to conquer. Now send your main Lord to Gronti Mingol, located to the north-west. Upgrade the main building in Dok Karaz and Spitepeak, and construct Goblin Watch Tower in Varenka Hills. Afterwards, end the turn. Your main Lord should now be able to attack Gronti Mingol - do so and conquer this settlement. Now send the second Lord to the south-east, towards BitterstoneMine. Before you end the turn construct Boar Sty in Karak Eight Peaks, upgrade Idolz in Kradtommen to Totem Pole and Heap of Shiny Stuff in Black Iron Mine to DaHoard.
With the start of the 30th turn, your main Lord's Waaagh! should conquer Gor Gazan, giving you control over the whole province - set Camp Ruckus here as the commandment. Additionally, you will be given some extra gold for completing a quest. Use it to upgrade the main building in Galbaraz and construct Idolz in Gor Gazan, upgrade Totem Pole in Iron Rock and Valaya's Sorrow to Boss Pole, and upgrade the main building in Deff Gorge. Afterwards, send your main Lord towards DragonhornMines and your second Lord to attack BitterstoneMine. End the turn now.
At the beginning of the next turn construct Goblin Tinkeker Bench in Karak Azgal and Beast Lairz in KarakEightPeaks. Furthermore, upgrade the main building in GorGazan. If you have enough gold, start constructing Boss' Tent in Bittestone Mine. Your main Lord should be able to attack Dragonhorn Mines - do so and conquer this settlement. Leave the second Lord garrisoned in Bitterstone Mine and end the turn. It should be 32th turn now. Move both of your Lords close to Ekrund and attack this capital. This will give you full control over another province - Western Badlands. As always, assign the Camp Ruckus commandment here.
What to do next
You have now conquered the whole south-eastern section of the map - no one will be attacking you from those directions anymore. You have control over 5 full provinces and 2 provinces that need 1 additional settlement to be completely under your control.
Your task for the next several turns will be to attack the Dwarves and the Bloody Spearz. There are 5 settlements you must attack and conquer from those two factions: Barak Varr, Karak Dron, Mount Squighorn, The Pillars of Grugni and the capital city of Dwarves, Karak-a-Karaz. Normally, conquering some of them would be difficult, but with two, 20-unit armies with Waaagh! following them the task will be trivial. The enemy won't be able to keep up with your numbers. Note - if you have problems with obedience in other provinces hire a new Lord there and fill his army with the cheapest units. This will give you a 10-point boost to obedience while costing a small amount of gold.
You should start the conquer by sending your second Lord to attack and capture Barak Varr. At the same time your main Lord should go for Karaz-a-Karak and wait for the Waaagh! to catch up to him. Afterwards, you just have to attack those settlements from two different directions, so that the enemies won't be able to run away. Main Lord should go for Karak-a-Karaz and The Pillars of Grugni, while the second Lord should attack and capture Karak Dron and Mount Squighorn.
It should now be turn 40th-42th and you will have control over 8 entire provinces: Death Pass, Blightwater, Blood River Valley, Western Badlands, Southern Badlands, Eastern Badlands, Desolation of Nagash and The Silver Road. Developing those provinces and stabilizing their obedience level will be your task for the next 20-30 turns. Recommended buildings for capital cities and settlements can be found in the next chapter of this guide. Also, below you will find the walkthrough of the first story-related quest.
Battle at the Thundering Falls
This quest can be triggered at any time you want, but you shouldn't wait too long with it. The Battle at the Thundering Falls takes place underground, in a narrow, cave-like location. You will be able to set the starting position of your troops on both sides of the enemy army. This will allow you to easily overwhelm them.However, you don't have to do that, as the encounter is one of the easiest you've taken part in. You will have a huge advantage when it comes to number of soldiers on the battlefield. Set your units in two long rows - the frontline composed of melee units, with missile units and artillery standing behind them. You will be able to defeat the enemy army in a matter of seconds, especially if your units can attack the enemy from behind.
After a short while 2 Gyrocopter and 2 Gyrobomber units will attack you from the north. Your archer units should make a short work off them. The most important thing to remember while dealing with those units is to not group your own soldiers too tightly. Gyrobombers attack by dropping bombs that deal a lot of damage in a huge radius - the tighter your units are packed the more damage they will receive and the easier it will be to break them and force them to route.
Focus your missile units' fire on the Gyrobombers and Gyrocopters and the enemies should soon be running away from the battlefield. After the encounter ends you will complete the quest, gaining some gold and a new hero in return.