Total War: Warhammer III Walkthrough — Start to Endgame

Total War: Warhammer III is the capstone of Creative Assembly's Warhammer trilogy, and the Immortal Empires campaign is the largest strategy map ever made — combining all three games' factions across a massive world map. With 86 playable legendary lords across 24 factions, each with unique campaign mechanics, army rosters, and quest battles, there are thousands of hours of content. The real-time battles feature armies of thousands clashing with cavalry charges, artillery barrages, monster duels, and devastating magic spells. Whether you want to play a Chaos daemon horde, an organized Empire gunline, a sneaky Skaven underempire, or elegant High Elf spearwalls, every faction plays completely differently.

This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. Follow this path to avoid common traps that stall most players.

Quick Progression Summary

Phase 1: Getting Started — Chaos Wastes

The northern wasteland controlled by Chaos factions. Attrition damage affects non-Chaos armies. Contains powerful Chaos settlements and daemon armies. Only invade with high-tier armies and attrition resistance. The endgame crises often originate here.

Level/Difficulty: Late game Key Rewards: Chaos settlement control, daemon encounters, high-difficulty campaign challenge

What to Do in Chaos Wastes

1. Learn real-time battles. Battles feature hundreds to thousands of units in real-time. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
2. Pick Cathay as your starting build. It's the most forgiving option.
3. Cycle-charge cavalry by selecting them, right-clicking the enemy to charge, then immediately pulling them back with a move order after impact. This repeats the charge bonus damage without getting bogged down in melee.
4. Acquire your first equipment upgrade — Terracotta Sentinel or whatever's available.
5. Clear all main content before moving on.

Phase 1 Checklist

• Understand real-time battles fundamentals
• Cathay selected and functional
• Chaos Wastes main content cleared
• Ready for Empire Provinces

Phase 2: Early Game — Empire Provinces

Central Old World region with rich settlements and multiple factions. The Empire start location provides balanced resources and enemies. Vampires to the east, Greenskins to the south, and Chaos from the north create a multi-front challenge.

Level/Difficulty: Early-mid game Key Rewards: Rich provinces, Elector Count confederation, balanced strategic position

What to Do in Empire Provinces

1. Work on campaign map. The turn-based campaign map manages your empire: building cities, recruiting armies, managing economy, diplomacy, and territorial expansion. This system becomes critical from here on.
2. Farm for Terracotta Sentinel if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
3. Magic wins battles. A single well-placed Wind of Death, Burning Head, or Pit of Shades can destroy half an army. Always invest skill points into your caster lord's magic abilities before combat skills.
4. Complete all objectives before pushing to Cathay.
5. Consider whether Kislev might suit your playstyle better than Cathay.

Phase 2 Checklist

• campaign map integrated into gameplay
• Terracotta Sentinel acquired
• Empire Provinces fully cleared
• Ready for Cathay

Phase 3: Mid Game — Cathay

Far eastern region behind the Great Bastion wall. Cathay faces constant Chaos incursions from the north while managing Ogre threats. The Great Bastion mechanic requires defending against waves of Chaos forces. Rich provinces once secured.

Level/Difficulty: Early-mid game Key Rewards: Ivory Road trade income, Great Bastion defense bonuses, jade resource

What to Do in Cathay

1. Master magic system. Each faction has access to specific lores of magic (Fire, Life, Death, Shadows, etc. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
2. Start working toward War Bear Riders. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
3. Use the Treasure Hunt mechanic — ruins and shipwrecks on the campaign map provide free items, gold, and followers. Send a cheap lord to clear ruins while your main army fights wars.
4. This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
5. Start investing in siege rework for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.

Phase 3 Checklist

• magic system mastered
• War Bear Riders acquired or in progress
• Cathay fully cleared
• Ready for Lustria

Phase 4: Late Game — Lustria

Southern jungle continent home to Lizardmen and contested by multiple factions. Dense terrain and many settlement battles. Rich in gold and trade goods but difficult to expand due to dense faction clustering. The Lizardmen's Geomantic Web makes their cities powerful.

Level/Difficulty: Mid game Key Rewards: Gold provinces, Lizardmen artifacts, Star Chamber buildings

What to Do in Lustria

1. Finalize your build. You should be running Kislev or Cathay with optimized gear.
2. War Bear Riders should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
3. Lightning Strike (skill available to all lords at high level) lets you fight enemy armies one-at-a-time instead of facing multiple stacks simultaneously. It's the most important campaign skill for aggressive play.
4. legendary lord skills optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
5. Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Ulthuan.

Phase 4 Checklist

• Build fully optimized
• War Bear Riders upgraded to max
• Lustria fully cleared
• Ready for Ulthuan

Phase 5: Endgame — Ulthuan

The island continent of the High Elves surrounded by sea. Ulthuan is naturally defensible with limited naval access points. High Elf factions start strong with excellent trade income and elite units. Controlling all of Ulthuan provides massive economic bonuses.

Level/Difficulty: All game phases Key Rewards: High Elf trade bonuses, Phoenix Gate defense, Shrine of Asuryan, elite unit recruitment

What to Do in Ulthuan

1. Ulthuan tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
2. Confederate other same-faction lords to absorb their territory and legendary lords peacefully. High relations, military alliances, and their military weakness trigger confederation willingness.
3. The endgame loop: run Ulthuan, optimize gear, push harder content.
4. Experiment with Empire for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
5. This is where legendary lord skills mastery separates good players from great ones.

Phase 5 Checklist

• Endgame content on farm
• Best-in-slot gear acquired
• Ulthuan fully cleared
• Ready for challenge content

Common Progression Mistakes

• Auto-resolving every battle — manual battles give more experience, preserve more units, and teach you critical tactical skills that auto-resolve skips entirely.
• Neglecting magic on caster lords — a level 20 caster lord with no magic skill points invested is wasting their most powerful feature. Invest in magic first.
• Leaving cavalry in prolonged melee — cavalry loses its charge bonus advantage when stationary. Always pull them out and re-charge for maximum damage.
• Ignoring corruption and public order — Chaos/Vampire corruption and low public order cause rebellions that require military attention you should be spending on enemies.
• Spreading armies across too many fronts without Lightning Strike — the AI will stack 3-4 armies together and overwhelm your single stack. Use Lightning Strike or bring multiple armies.

Key Tips for Smooth Progression

1. Cycle-charge cavalry by selecting them, right-clicking the enemy to charge, then immediately pulling them back with a move order after impact. This repeats the charge bonus damage without getting bogged down in melee.
2. Magic wins battles. A single well-placed Wind of Death, Burning Head, or Pit of Shades can destroy half an army. Always invest skill points into your caster lord's magic abilities before combat skills.
3. Use the Treasure Hunt mechanic — ruins and shipwrecks on the campaign map provide free items, gold, and followers. Send a cheap lord to clear ruins while your main army fights wars.
4. Lightning Strike (skill available to all lords at high level) lets you fight enemy armies one-at-a-time instead of facing multiple stacks simultaneously. It's the most important campaign skill for aggressive play.
5. Confederate other same-faction lords to absorb their territory and legendary lords peacefully. High relations, military alliances, and their military weakness trigger confederation willingness.

For detailed build optimization, see Total War: Warhammer III builds. For quick wins, check tips & tricks.