Every Playable Race in Total Warhammer 3

The world of Total War: Warhammer 3 is full of different factions and races to play, and that number gets even more daunting when you count all the factions from the previous entries in the series. The game’s base campaign focuses on 9 different playable races, but once you dive into the Mortal Empires mode, this number goes all the way up to a staggering 24.

If you’re curious as to which factions are available in each game in the Total Warhammer series, here’s an overview of each of them, including their strengths, battle playstyles, and the various lords that serve under them.

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Total War: Warhammer 3 – Best Legendary Lords, Ranked

Total War: Warhammer 3 has a variety of Legendary Lords, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

The Empire (Total War: Warhammer 1)

The Empire is your standard human faction that draws inspiration from Renaissance-era Germany and Austria. Its armies are equipped with conventional weaponry such as swords, spears, and crossbows, though it is also supported by gunpowder-based and steampunk-esque equipment like muskets, cannons, rocket launchers, tanks, and gyrocopters.

The power of Imperial armies comes from the combination of its many divisions, making it the perfect faction for players who enjoy a combined arms approach to warfare. Their war machines and heavy cavalry are especially effective on the battlefield.

Dwarfs (Total War: Warhammer 1)

The Dwarfs combine might and superior technology to crush their enemies. They are experts at holding the line with heavy infantry and bombarding targets with powerful guns. Since they don’t have any form of cavalry, Dwarven armies tend to be on the slow side, but since they have such powerful ranged weapons, enemies will often be forced to come to them instead. Players who like heavy weapons and defensive turtle playstyles will have a lot to love about the Dwarfs in Total Warhammer.

Greenskins (Total War: Warhammer 1)

The Greenskin hordes overwhelm their enemies with huge numbers of poorly-disciplined everything, from measly Goblins to buff Black Orcs, spider riders, trolls, and shamans. They have a surprisingly wide variety of units that allow for an even more surprising array of strategies. Do you want to steamroll armies using big Orcs? Sure! But why do just that when you can also send in giant spiders, mages, and bomb-strapped wingsuit goblins fired from giant slingshots too?

As battles go on, Greenskin armies get to use the Waaagh! army ability, which sends every single friendly unit into a frenzy that increases their combat stats. If you want to stomp your enemies into the ground with brute force and shenanigans, then the Greenskins are for you.

Vampire Counts (Total War: Warhammer 1)

Instead of regular soldiers, the Vampire Counts fill their ranks with various kinds of undead, from skeleton warriors to zombies, vampire bats, vampire bat ogres, scythe-wielding ghosts, and more. Monsters do not retreat when they run out of Leadership. Instead, they begin to Crumble — when Vampire Count units start losing, they will gradually turn into dust.

The strongest part of a Vampire Count army is its Lord. Vampire Lords are melee experts who also wield devastating magic, but if you’d much rather rely on your ghouls to do the fighting for you, then maybe a Master Necromancer is more your speed.

Warriors of Chaos (Total War: Warhammer 1,2, & 3)

The Warriors of Chaos faction throws all tactics and strategy to the wind. They win through the overwhelming brute force of their heavy infantry, wide selection of monsters, and powerful Lords. Even their light Marauder meat shield units are strong combatants.

There’s not much to think about when playing a Warriors of Chaos army on the battlefield. Send everything into the enemy and watch them destroy everything. When playing a campaign, you often won’t need to fight any battles at all, as you’re very likely to get Decisive Victories just by auto-battling.

Beastmen (Total War: Warhammer 1)

Beastmen herds are full of glass cannon units that hit hard and break quickly. A well-executed ambush can quickly tear an opposing army to shreds, but if the fight drags on for too long, then you’ll likely see your beastfolk running with their tails tucked between their legs.

Much like the Warriors of Chaos, Beastmen operate in hordes, which means they don’t rely on settlements. On the campaign map, they can use the Beast Paths stance to cross otherwise impassable terrain, allowing Beastmen armies to hit enemies when they least expect it.

Wood Elves (Total War: Warhammer 1)

While generally few in number, Wood Elves compensate for their low numbers with sheer skill and strength. They field elite armies with powerful fighters, relying on ranged weaponry to shoot enemies down before they get the chance to fight back. Wood Elves also have strong melee and cavalry units that allow for varied playstyles, though they lack siege weapons and armor.

Bretonnia (Total War: Warhammer 1)

The Bretonnians feel and play like your standard medieval-fantasy army. They rely heavily on their cavalry units to do most of the heavy lifting while peasant infantry soak damage and steal attention. Bretonnians are terrifying in open fields, though they tend to be weak in siege battles where their cavalry units are less impactful.

Norsca (Total War: Warhammer 1)

Norscan infantry mainly composed of viking-like Marauders who all have the Rage ability, which makes them much deadlier the longer a battle goes on. Their apparent lack of ranged units is compensated for by their strong lineup of beasts and monsters, which includes werewolves, mammoths, manticors, dragons, and more. Much like the Warriors of Chaos, Norscan armies are extremely aggressive, and they work best when they can rush enemies down and chop them all up in melee combat.

High Elves (Total War: Warhammer 2)

The High Elves have a little bit of everything. All of their units have good combat stats across the board, but they have fewer soldiers per army to compensate. High Elves cater to a wide variety of playstyles, from classic spearman and archer combos to artillery-heavy armies, cavalry-focused shock tactics, and overwhelming force strategies with magic and dragons.

Dark Elves (Total War: Warhammer 2)

Much like the High Elves, the Dark Elves field small but elite armies. They have a good variety of units, but what sets them apart from their righteous brethren (apart from their sadistic nature) are their monsters. Monstrous Dark Elf units can lay waste to enemy lines in the blink of an eye, especially if they’re supported by the rest of the Druchii’s cruel warriors and war machines.

Skaven (Total War: Warhammer 2)

The Skaven field hordes upon hordes of cheap, expendable ratmen supported by vile monsters and anachronistic weapons like flamethrowers, gatling guns, ninja rats, and even tactical nukes in Clan Skryre’s case. The ratmen armies are equal parts weird and wonderful, and they perfectly represent the whole “strength in numbers” army archetype.

Lizardmen (Total War: Warhammer 2)

If you want to see lizards riding dinosaurs, then the Lizardmen are for you. They have plenty of strong melee units with a wide selection of dinos to choose from, but their ranged units are not quite as good. Lizardmen also have a chance to go on a rampage, causing them to lose control and start attacking anything nearby.

Tomb Kings (Total War: Warhammer 2)

The Tomb Kings are similar to the Vampire Counts in a number of ways. Both factions use expendable undead as meat shields that never rout, and most of their power comes from strong Lords and monster units. Tomb Kings have access to Construct units like Warsphinxes, Scorpions, and Hierotitans, all of which can devastate multiple units of infantry all by themselves.

Vampire Coast (Total War: Warhammer 2)

The Vampire Coast faction is composed of swashbuckling pirate zombies backed by a variety of underwater horrors. Their ranged units are particularly strong, though they tend to crumble quickly when engaged in close range. Like the Vampire Counts, the monsters of the Vampire Coast do a lot of heavy lifting, but unlike their landlocked cousins, they can rely on support from artillery and lines upon lines of muskets.

Kislev (Total War: Warhammer 3)

Kislevite armies have access to hybrid units that excel at both ranged and melee combat, giving them a unique approach to battle. While most other armies need to separate their shooters from their swordsmen, Kislev combines both to allow for more flexible army compositions, which is great since their war bears and ice witches can be utterly devastating when used correctly.

Grand Cathay (Total War: Warhammer 3)

Grand Cathay combines the roster variety of The Empire with the defensive nature of the Dwarfs. They have legions of cheap infantry that are supplemented by stronger elite units, including flying cavalry, artillery, war machines, and dragons. Each of their units are categorized as either Yin or Yang-aligned, and when they fight next to a unit of the opposite alignment, they both gain buffs. If you liked the Empire, then you’ll likely enjoy Grand Cathay as well.

Khorne (Total War: Warhammer 3)

The legions of the Blood God Khorne care only for war and violence. Their units forsake magic and ranged capabilities in exchange for extreme proficiency in close quarters combat. Their only strategy is to charge headlong into the fray, and considering how terrifying Khornes minions are, this tends to result in a lot of victories.

Tzeentch (Total War: Warhammer 3)

The followers of Tzeentch are the exact opposite of Khornite hordes. Instead of smacking their heads against a wall, they use a wide variety of magic to manipulate the battlefield in their favor. The armies of Tzeentch use both magic and missiles as mainstays of their arsenal, though their melee troops aren’t shabby either, thanks to the innate barriers protecting them from damage.

Slaneesh (Total War: Warhammer 3)

The majority of fighters in Slaanesh’s armies wear little to no armor, and they don’t have much health either. In exchange, they are incredibly fast and hit extremely hard, especially when attacking from the flanks. They lack ranged units, though they have access to a healthy variety of abilities that help their warriors reach and take their targets apart more easily.

Nurgle (Total War: Warhammer 3)

The Rotfathers minions excel at slowly grinding down the enemy. The majority of this faction’s units have poisonous attacks, making them effective against pretty much everything as long as players can buy enough time for the poison to kick in. Thankfully, buying time is exactly what Nurgle’s units are great at — the ones that have no armor typically have high health and vice versa, and if you’re worried about getting shot down by ranged units, Nurgle’s flying units and spellcasters will give you a chance to shut them down before they can do much damage.

Daemons of Chaos (Total War: Warhammer 3)

A collection of various Chaos Daemons unified under the banner of the Daemon Prince, who stands as the single most powerful entity in the faction. To play the Daemons of Chaos is to play as the Daemon Prince himself — he can be equipped with a wide variety of body parts and weapons for different occasions, and his armies can be composed of any mix of the daemons found in the other Chaos factions.

Chaos Dwarfs (Total War: Warhammer 3)

The Chaos Dwarfs are similar to the regular Dwarfs in terms of playstyle — while they have powerful heavy infantry and ranged units, they also have access to strong cavalry and monster units like Bull Centaurs and Taurus monsters. Chaos Dwarf frontlines are often filled with Orc and Goblin slaves that act as chaff while the backlines are lined with strong missile and artillery units protected by sturdier Infernal Guards.

Ogre Kingdoms Total War: Warhammer 3)

The big boys of the Ogre Kingdom are all about brute force. They don’t have the best defensive stats in the game, but since most Ogre units have high charge bonuses, they can easily be used to trample enemies via cycle charging. This faction also has access to some very powerful cavalry, monster, and artillery units — Ironblaster cannons are especially noteworthy thanks to their extreme missile damage and high movement speed.