Creative Assembly held a major livestream dedicated to version 9.0 of its upcoming strategy game Total War: Warhammer III. As part of the Endgame update demo, the developer detailed a deep revamp of the Vampire County faction and showed off Neferata’s gameplay.
Starting with the new economy, vampire gameplay has undergone significant changes. Standard buildings no longer allow you to recruit an army, and now the only way to replenish an army is to immediately resurrect the dead. To do this, two resources are needed: corpses, generated in past battles and used to create lower-level units, and blood, required for elite warriors. The controversial Blood Kiss mechanic has been completely removed. In order to balance instant recruitment, a strict limit on the number of units was introduced into the game. Additionally, the standard faction lord is now just the Master Necromancer. In order to obtain the powerful vampire lord, players must find hidden lairs across the map and spend precious blood to customize his abilities.
The tech tree also got a complete overhaul. It is now divided into three large branches: Vampire, Necromancer and Undead ordinary branch, with the purpose of strengthening the army. For the first time in the series, there are mutually exclusive technologies, forcing you to make tough choices, such as whether to increase your zombies’ damage or turn them into durable human shields. The mechanics of the alliance have also changed. By adding a legendary character, players now have only the commander himself at their disposal, while his armies are disbanded and territory is given to the new neutral faction of the remaining vampires.
The iconic vampire progenitor Neferata offers a completely different playstyle focused on manipulation and control from the shadows. Its unique mechanics utilize special resources to conduct espionage and diplomatic sabotage across a global map. In this she is aided by a unique agent – the Lamian Maid. Instead of fighting, they travel around the world and secretly build communities in foreign cities. These secret hideouts steal income, generate resources for destruction, and can improve relations with settlement owners. If Neferata can regain control of her historic home city of Lamia, she will have the opportunity to recruit some of the Tomb King’s troops.
The arsenal of the undead has also been heavily supplemented by new combat units. The game will feature the Ramian Handmaiden, the Templars of Drakkenhof, and the Coven Throne, the latter two of which are included in upcoming paid DLC. Surprisingly, the zombie dragon appears not only as a transportation tool for the lord, but also as an independent and powerful unit of the fifth level. In addition, the famous warrior Krell is now a full-fledged legendary hero with his own leveling tree. The developer promises to reveal more details about the final game scene and Nagash-related content during next week’s broadcast.
