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Jumping into Total War: Warhammer today is a very different prospect to doing so a decade ago. The original 2016 game is now a trilogy, and the series' staple Immortal Empires campaign – a vast map of Warhammer Fantasy's entire world – is close to bursting with the amount of factions and Legendary Lords added across all three games. It's hard to stress how much variety lies within that depth. Want to play as the aristocratic Vampire Counts? Bleed 'em dry. How about building Mordor as the Chaos Dwarfs, upholding knightly chivalry with Bretonnia, or running a vast Skaven under-empire? You can do any of that, too.
Even that vastly undersells how many different campaigns there are. But if you're yet to play Warhammer 3, you can find that out for yourself, as the most up-to-date version of Immortal Empires has been added to the first two Total War: Warhammer games for free. You can play any of the characters from the games you own, while the update also allows for buying DLC from games you don't.
But where do you start? If you're me, 10 minutes of choice paralysis on the main menu before starting yet another Nurgle campaign. Luckily, you're not me. That fate is mine alone to bear, as I've got Warhammer 3's senior game director Richard Aldridge and associate design director Sean MacDonald here to sell you on their favorite Immortal Empires campaigns.
Damn fine campaign
MacDonald is quickest to make a recommendation for first-timers. "Obviously Skaven," he asserts, offering no elaboration until Aldridge prompts him to pick a specific Legendary Lord. He does: Queek Headtaker, a Skaven warlord who buffs the rat-folk's toughest frontline infantry and is best-positioned in battle fighting alongside them.
"He's a classic," says MacDonald. "Anyone can enjoy and learn the Skaven experience with Queek. He's quintessentially cowardly, but brave when he needs to be. And he's a leader that takes no backtalk from his troops – the perfect Skaven!"
"Everyone should enjoy Skaven the most because they are the most interesting race, and are the most fun to develop," he adds, grinning. "Anyone who likes Lizardmen is a fool."
Aldridge, whom that last comment was aimed at, sets aside his own fondness for Lizardmen to suggest the Empire's own Balthasar Gelt. Gelt is a powerful magician who was recently given a big shake-up in Immortal Empires, with Creative Assembly moving Gelt away from the Empire's heartland to study magic in the far-eastern nation of Cathay.
Gelt is a "good first point of contact for Warhammer 1 players," says Aldridge, pointing to how differently he now plays from the original Warhammer days. "He's now over in Grand Cathay, he's got a completely new starting position, he's got different people around him to interact with. He's now got a Colleges of Magic system that we introduced in Warhammer 3. You can do all sorts of grand things with your various wizards, so I'd recommend him."
For new players specifically, Aldridge explains that the team is pushing new players towards the likes of Gelt and High-Elf warrior Tyrion. It's a far cry from the series' original recommendation, which was to lead humanity as Emperor Karl Franz. While Franz was once one of the safest campaigns to jump into, his only threats being an upstart province of Vampire Counts and distant rumblings of Chaos, years of new additions have brought danger much closer to home. Norscan raiders pillage its coasts and a Nurgle-worshipping army now has a fortress in nearby mountains, all while Tzeentch's Changeling spreads cults within the Empire's borders.
Winning as Franz means not only surviving all of that, but reuniting the Empire proper whilst avoiding civil war. That's not even touching on elements out of your control. If the AI-controlled dwarfs to the east fall, for example, you can expect to see hordes of Skaven and Greenskins on your doorstep. The Emperor has effectively become Warhammer's Doomguy, beset on all sides by otherworldly horrors and hard-pushed to survive.
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Though Franz himself would likely have a few choice words to say about his newfound challenges, the Empire's leader is a fantastic example of how the Warhammer trilogy has filled out over the years. MacDonald says Creative Assembly took a look at Franz' health during 2024's Thrones of Decay update, with the team frequently using auto-runs of the campaign to predict how any changes to Immortal Empires will affect a faction's survivability.
"There are always variations because that is the Total War sandbox, but we make sure that Franz is coming out [reasonably balanced] each time," he explains. "There are a few staple campaigns that we do try to keep tabs on as we develop more DLC. Especially someone like Karl. When we make a new experience, we have some of our QA team go 'Keep an eye on Karl, because he's Karl!'"
"He's a shining light, so it's a testament to him when he does survive," adds Aldridge. "He's not the easiest campaign to play straight-in. We have tweaked some things to try and allow for players to have that experience earlier. But this is the beauty of Warhammer. With so many characters now, there is hopefully a character for everybody and you should try and experience some different ones. The Jade Dragon's a good example of that – again, one that's maybe slightly easier to learn, a bit more protected. And I keep mentioning Gelt. Gelt's great!"
So, there you have it. Want to bring about a rat apocalypse? Play Queek Headtaker. Prefer to double-down on magic? Go Gelt. And if the thought of drowning the world in undeath as a power-tripping necromancer inspires you, seek help – but then keep an eye out for Warhammer 3's Lords of the End Times DLC, which will let you do just that in 2026.
