Tips on How to Win Dechala’s Campaign in Total Warhammer 3

Dechala is a servant of Slaanesh who terrorizes the world of Total War: Warhammer 3 with both daemons and enthralled humans alike. Her campaign is all about subjugating Grand Cathay and its neighboring regions, all while making Thralls and constructing Pleasure Palaces in the name of the Prince of Pleasure.

Like all Lords, Dechala comes with a unique playstyle and campaign mechanics. In this guide, we’ll be briefly going over how her Tormentor’s faction work, as well as some tips on how to get your first campaign with Dechala in TWW3 rolling.

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Dechala’s Unique Mechanics and Playstyle

Dechala is a melee Lord with high speed and damage. She can swing six swords around using her six arms, making her a frightening melee combatant. She starts each campaign with the following traits:

• Dechala has one additional melee weapon slot.
• Dechala steals 15% of experience earned by other friendly lords/
• Post-battle, you have a chance to receive a magic item.
• +10 Weapon Strength for all non-Daemonic units in the Lord’s army.

Dechala also starts with two abilities that act as stance toggles: one is a defensive stance that improves survivability at the cost of Melee Attack, and the other sacrifices Melee Defence for improved damage. Later, she can learn two more abilities that turn her into a real powerhouse:

• Whirlwind of Pleasure turns Dechala into a blender that turns large blobs of infantry into soup.
• Daggerdance greatly increases Dechala’s armour and damage resistance, but it reduces her damage output.

As far as battles are concerned, Dechala embodies the Slaaneshi creed of strike hard, strike fast. She’s not the tankiest of lords, but she can sacrifice her offensive prowess for more survivability if needed, making her fairly flexible.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Dechala’s kit is her ability to buff Marauder units. She has access to two skills that grant massive bonuses to her human followers:

• The Tainted Cup enables Eroding Poison for Marauders, Marauder Horsemen, Hellstriders, and Chariots of Slaanesh. This deals damage over time and debuffs enemy combat stats.
• The Wages of Sin increases the Melee Attack and Melee Defence stats of the units mentioned above.

Both skills also make human units immune to Contact effects like Blinded, Burned, Sundered, and Poisoned.

Tormentor’s Tributes

Tormentor’s Tributes allows Dechala to purchase temporary abilities, items, and permanent upgrades using Decadence, one of the resources that Dechala’s Tormentors generates by holding Pleasure Palaces. The buffs here are divided into two sections:

• Marks of Vindictiveness are abilities that you can equip into your units. These are limited to three uses.
• Resplendent Offerings contain enchanted items that can be equipped by lords. This section also contains permanent Pleasure Palace upgrades.

Corrupt Units

Before starting a battle, Dechala can debuff a number of the enemy army’s units, causing them to take a massive hit to their stats. This will give you a stark advantage during the fight, potentially turning even the trickiest of battles into fairly easy ones.

Overall Playstyle

Of course, since Dechala is still under Slaanesh in Total Warhammer 3, you’ll want to take full advantage of this faction’s strengths, notably:

• Slaanesh units have high speed and damage, though they tend to have low armor (if any).
• They have access to a wide variety of spells, including strong buffs and debuffs.
• Dechala inflicts Gifts of Slaanesh when she defeats an enemy Lord, giving them a debuff until they defeat another Slaaneshi army.
• Dechala can raise disciple armies from corrupted settlements.

Dechala’s Victory Conditions

Like the rest of the playable races in TWW3, Dechala has a list of short and long victory conditions:

Short Victory Objectives

• Destroy or Vassalize the Jade Custodians and the Burning Wind Nomads
• Maintain control of any 4 of the following provinces:
  • Cathayan Hinterlands
  • Serpent Estuary
  • The Great Canal
  • Mount Li
  • Nongchang Basin
• Occupy, loot, raze, or sack 30 different settlements
• Establish a Pleasure Palace and build a Wing of Perfection in it

Long Victory Objectives

• Achieve the Short Victory conditions
• Destroy the following factions:
  • Clan Eshin
  • The Northern Provinces
  • The Western Provinces
• Maintain any 7 of the following provinces:
  • Broken Lands of Tian Li
  • Wastelands of Jishen
  • Warpstone Desert
  • Forests of the Moon
  • Jade River Delta
  • Plains of Xen
  • Imperial Road
  • Lands of Stone and Steel
  • Gnoblar Country
  • Ivory Road
  • Gunpowder Road
  • Celestial Riverlands
  • Celestial Lake
• Occupy, loot, raze, or sack 60 different settlements
• Win Final Battle: The Breaking Point

Economy

Apart from Favour, Dechala also uses Thralls and Decadence as part of her faction’s economy.

• Thralls are used to upgrade Pleasure Palaces and instantly recruit Daemonic Units.
• Decadence, as mentioned earlier, is used to activate powerful but temporary buffs and purchase permanent upgrades for Pleasure Palaces.

Thralls are a limited resource, though more can be gained by creating more Thrall Camps. Meanwhile, Decadence is earned passively so long as you control Pleasure Palaces. The more buildings a Pleasure Palace has, the more Decadence you can generate. Once you get multiple palaces, you’ll be able to generate plenty of Decadence to fuel your war efforts.

Speaking of camps and palaces, the Tormentor’s have access to three different settlement types, each of which does different things:

• Thrall Camps are economic settlements that produce Favour and Thralls.
• Tormentor’s Holds are military settlements that enable recruitment and other battle-related bonuses
• Pleasure Palaces serve as your seats of power, and they can only be built on top of capital cities.

Tips for Dechala Campaign in Total War: Warhammer 3

• Completely occupy the Cathayan Hinterlands within 5-6 turns.
• Early on, build only Thrall Camps to create a strong economic foundation for your campaign.
• Get Dechala’s army to 20 units as soon as possible.
  • Non-Daemons in Dechala’s armies benefit from various buffs. Don’t be afraid to spam Marauders.
• Keep a few cavalry units in your army to run down vulnerable enemy units.
• When a Thrall Camp runs out of Thralls, convert it into a Tormentor’s Hold.
• Dechala is extremely strong in a fight, but she’s fairly squishy too. Always keep backup nearby.
• Unlock the Legendary Hero Styrkaar as soon as you can. He’s great for buffing your Marauders.
• Fiends, Chaos Spawns, and Keepers of Secrets are great Daemonic units to add to your armies.