Immortal Empires — After Strategy

Total War: Warhammer 3 Update 9.0 — End Times Crises, Glottkin, and Vampire Counts Rework Explained

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Immortal Empires has always had the same structural issue in the late game: existing crises arrive predictably, without the dramatic escalation a campaign spanning three continents deserves. Update 9.0, previewed at Creative Assembly’s WHAT’S NEXT livestream on June 30, 2026, targets that problem directly — and most of the changes ship free to everyone, regardless of whether you buy the DLC.

Three End Times crises replace the flat endgame

Creative Assembly is replacing the current crisis system with three staged End Times events. An upgraded Vermintide acts as a mid-campaign pressure point. A Nagash-led invasion follows as the central escalation — even if you do not own the Undead Legions faction. The final stage is an Archaon-led assault built around what the developers describe as a true endgame state, not just another crisis pop-up.

The Archaon twist is notable: play as him and you can position yourself as the campaign’s final boss, with a win condition built around world-ending domination rather than the standard territorial objectives.

The risk here is balance. An End Times system that triggers too early breaks long campaigns; one that arrives too late becomes irrelevant. Creative Assembly has historically struggled to calibrate crisis timing across the enormous map of Immortal Empires.

Vampire Counts rework: Raise Dead scales with casualties

The Vampire Counts overhaul is the most concrete free change in Update 9.0. Raise Dead no longer operates at a fixed rate: the mechanic now scales with casualties taken during battles. Costly engagements unlock larger resurrections; comfortable wins give you less.

The tradeoff is real. Reaching maximum Raise Dead power requires lair investment and dedicated resources — turning the faction into an active economy rather than a passive snowball. In theory, Vampire Counts stay competitive late but demand deliberate management earlier.

Whether this fixes the polarizing swing between early dominance and mid-game fade-out that Mannfred and Isabella von Carstein produced in extended campaigns depends entirely on implementation. The full patch notes, expected closer to September, will tell the real story.

Individual victory conditions for every legendary lord

Update 9.0 replaces the generic campaign win conditions with unique objective checklists for each legendary lord. Depending on the lord, requirements might include leveling specific units, confederating with named factions, or constructing their most famous landmarks.

For players running multiple long campaigns, this is probably the change with the most long-term impact. Having a lord-specific narrative direction gives Immortal Empires the sense of purpose that open-ended sandbox runs often lack past the 150-hour mark.

Lords of the End Times: what September brings

The DLC is scheduled for September 2026 with four legendary lords. Three are confirmed:

Nagash — the Great Necromancer as a playable legendary lord for the Undead Legions, a new playable race
Boris Todbringer — Elector of Middenheim, joining the Empire with a fortress-lord identity
Glottkin — the Glot brothers, marked by Nurgle, joining the Warriors of Chaos with new units: Putrid Blightkings, Basilisk, and a Chaos Siege Giant

A fourth legendary lord, widely expected to be a Skaven character, has not been officially confirmed. Neferata will arrive as a free legendary lord (FLC) for the Vampire Counts.

What to watch before September

The free patch alone makes a case for returning to Immortal Empires in September. The End Times crisis overhaul addresses the structural endgame problem directly, and individual victory conditions change how every run feels regardless of which DLC you own.

The tension is in the execution. If the Nagash crisis and the Archaon assault land as genuine pressure rather than another checkbox, Update 9.0 could push Immortal Empires into its best state since the Chaos Dwarfs expansion. If the balance misses, expect community pushback.

For a current read on faction standings before the meta shifts, the Immortal Empires tier list is the place to start. The original DLC announcement from earlier this year is in our Lords of the End Times preview.

Total War Warhammer 3 tier list 2026: which factions dominate Immortal Empires?

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Four years after Total War: Warhammer 3’s release, and with the Immortal Empires sandbox now universally recognized as the best Total War mode ever made, factions have found their balance. Some dominate, others are solid, others still frustrate. Our 2026 tier list ranks the 23 playable races (base + DLC) by their strength on Very Hard / Legendary solo campaign.

TL;DR:

S Tier (5 factions): Clan Skryre, Warriors of Chaos, Clan Eshin, High Elves, Chaos Dwarfs
A Tier (5-6 factions): Greenskins, Kislev, Dwarfs, Vampires, Empire
B Tier: rest of the solid, playable factions
C Tier: Norsca, Vampire Coast (under pressure since nerfs)
Competitive multi ≠ solo campaign: some S-tier campaign picks are mediocre 1v1

How to read this tier list
S Tier: the 5 factions that dominate
A Tier: strong with some movement
B Tier: solid without shining
C Tier: challenging on Legendary
Best picks beginner vs veteran

How to read this tier list

Criteria considered:

Starting position in Immortal Empires (hostile neighbors, resources)
Unit roster — depth, synergy, elite units
Unique faction mechanics
Main legendary Lord strength
Campaign difficulty Very Hard / Legendary

Tier evaluated on solo campaign in sandbox mode. Competitive multi has its own tiers (Sisters of Avelorn dominate 1v1, for instance, but are just one unit in a roster).

S Tier: the 5 factions that dominate

Clan Skryre (Ikit Claw) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ King of Immortal Empires since TWWH2 and still on top after 2025-2026 patches. Ikit Claw benefits from:

Warlock Engineers — incredible ranged infantry
Jezzails — long-range snipers
Doomwheels — devastating vehicles
Underground economy via Under-Empires
Starting position (Skavenblight) defensible and rich

Ikit’s campaigns are consistently ranked best in the game by every major guide.

Warriors of Chaos (Archaon) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Historically TWWH1’s worst race, turned monster in TWWH3 thanks to successive reworks. Archaon has:

One of the most forgiving starting positions — Northern Wastes with few immediate threats
Chaos Undivided roster — units from all marks (Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, Slaanesh)
Chaos Gifts mechanics — your favorite boosts your power

Paired with Kholek Suneater as secondary, the best Chaos package.

Clan Eshin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Skaven assassins. Asymmetric gameplay based on:

Extreme mobility — your army sprints everywhere
Stalking — invisible enemy approach
Death Globes and Gutter Runners — atypical elite units
Starting position — Lahmia accessible and interesting

Very fun to play, very strong mechanically.

High Elves (Alarielle / Tyrion) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Massive late-game. Before 1850 (turn 100+), High Elves struggle a bit. After, they’re a steamroller:

Sisters of Avelorn — best archers in the game, hands down
Silver Helms and Dragon Princes — unmatched elite cavalry
High Magic — very strong
Influence Court — unique elven diplomacy mechanics

Requires early-game patience but rewards massively.

Chaos Dwarfs ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the best-balanced factions. No bad units, solid economy, well-paced campaigns. Specificities:

Demon summonings
Tauri Centaurs — atypical heavy cavalry
Hellcannons and K’daai Destroyers — artillery and monsters
Tower of Zharr — unique career mechanic

A Tier: strong with some movement

Greenskins (Grimgor / Azhag) — A+ The TWWH2 rework lifted Orcs to real force status. Black Orcs still as strong, Waaagh mechanics well integrated.

Kislev (Tzarina Katarin) — A Diversified roster, ice magic, strong in competitive multi too. Ice Guard excellent.

Khazalid Dwarfs (Thorgrim) — A Long but safe campaign. Dwarf artillery still legendary. Gyrocopters and Ironbreakers dominate.

Vampire Counts (Vlad) — A Less broken than before nerfs, but Zombie Dragons and necromancy remain powerful. Vlad > Mannfred > Isabella as Lords.

Empire (Karl Franz) — A Elite Reiksguard cavalry, devastating Demigryphs. Central position difficult but rewarding.

B Tier: solid without shining

Lizardmen (Mazdamundi) — strong magic but somewhat dated roster
Wood Elves (Durthu) — niche, specialized
Khorne Bloodbound — strong but one-dimensional
Nurgle (Ku’gath) — tanks but slow
Tomb Kings — solid roster but weird economy

C Tier: challenging on Legendary

Norsca (Wulfrik) — roster limited since Chaos changes
Vampire Coast — heavily nerfed since 2024
Bretonnians (Louen) — promised rework never really came, dated gameplay

Reminder: C-tier factions are not unplayable. They just require more skill to pull off.

Best picks beginner vs veteran

For starting Immortal Empires:

Karl Franz (Empire) — classic roster, central position, perfect tutorial
Thorgrim (Dwarfs) — slow but robust, few surprises
Grimgor (Greenskins) — aggressive and fun, forgives mistakes

For veterans / challenges:

Ikit Claw (Skryre) — learning the S-tier meta
Archaon (Chaos) — extreme asymmetric gameplay
Alarielle (High Elves) — political puzzle of Court Intrigue

For roleplay / flavor:

Eltharion (High Elves Yvresse) — very different gameplay via Prisoner
Morathi (Dark Elves Cult of Pleasure) — atypical economy
Settra (Tomb Kings) — pharaonic roleplay

For other Total War and Warhammer analyses, see our Tempest Rising review, our EU4 vs EU5 comparison, and our Crusader Kings III beginner guide 2026.

Creative Assembly patches regularly — this tier list will be updated every 6 months.