---
title: "Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties best faction for beginners (2026 guide)"
description: "Which faction to start with in Pharaoh Dynasties? Ramesses to learn, Bay or Seti next, then Babylon, Assyria, Mycenae or Troy. A leader-by-leader faction guide."
url: https://after-strategy.com/en/total-war-pharaoh-dynasties-best-starting-faction-2026/
lang: en
published: 2026-11-07
author: "Simon Dougnac"
author_url: https://after-strategy.com/en/auteur/simon/
game: "Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties"
game_url: https://after-strategy.com/en/jeux/total-war-pharaoh/
categories: [rts, tour-par-tour]
tags: [total-war-pharaoh, total-war, creative-assembly, sega, historique, guide]
translations:
fr: https://after-strategy.com/fr/total-war-pharaoh-dynasties-quelle-faction-choisir-2026/
es: https://after-strategy.com/es/total-war-pharaoh-dynasties-mejor-faccion-para-empezar-2026/
publisher: "After Strategy"
---
# Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties best faction for beginners (2026 guide)
> Which faction to start with in Pharaoh Dynasties? Ramesses to learn, Bay or Seti next, then Babylon, Assyria, Mycenae or Troy. A leader-by-leader faction guide.
Pharaoh Dynasties throws a lot at you before turn one: the original Egyptian, Canaanite and Hittite leaders, four more major factions and twenty-five minor ones. For a first campaign, the safest pick is still Ramesses, in the heart of Egypt. The four factions added in 2024 (Babylon, Assyria, Mycenae and Troy) are the reason to play Dynasties, but they make more sense once the game's systems have clicked.
This guide is not based on a campaign played by our team. It cross-checks the [Pharaoh Dynasties Steam page](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2951630/Total_War_PHARAOH_DYNASTIES/), announcements from Creative Assembly and SEGA, and faction guides from PCGamesN, Stealth Optional, Gamepressure and GameRiv. Every piece of advice says where it comes from.
## Pharaoh or Pharaoh Dynasties: what you are actually launching
Dynasties is not a paid DLC. It is a free update to Total War: Pharaoh, released on 25 July 2024. On Steam it takes the form of a separate product: owners of the base game find a "Pharaoh Dynasties" entry in their library, and that is the one to install. The Steam page spells it out: you need to own Pharaoh to play it.
The jump in scale is obvious. The campaign map almost doubles in size, with 168 new settlements, and now runs from the Aegean to Mesopotamia. New Sea Travel Lanes speed up fleets carrying armies, which makes long-range raids far easier. The game runs on Windows and, through Feral Interactive, on macOS.
Game director Todor Nikolov described Dynasties as Pharaoh's final content addition, according to Worthplaying and Gamereactor. For a faction guide, that is good news: the balance of power described here will not shift with another expansion.
## The simple rule: learn with 2023, travel with 2024
The eight base-game leaders have been covered in detail since October 2023. The four Dynasties factions are presented by Creative Assembly at culture level, and none of the guides we read rank their difficulty. That documentation gap shapes our advice: play your first campaign with an original leader, then head to the Aegean or Mesopotamia.
The eight leaders split across three cultures:
- **Egypt**: Ramesses, Seti, Amenmesse and Tausret;
- **Canaan**: Bay and Irsu;
- **Hittites**: Kurunta and Suppiluliuma.
PCGamesN describes the Hittites as heavily armoured soldiers, slower but very powerful, and the Canaanites as stealthy, swift and flexible. Stealth Optional backs up the Hittite profile with strong melee infantry around Kurunta, and GameRiv credits Suppiluliuma with a decent share of medium and heavy units.
## First campaign: Ramesses
Every guide we read points to Ramesses. Gamepressure tells newcomers, and anyone returning after a long break, to pick this faction. Stealth Optional calls it a good start for players new to Total War. GameRiv puts him first in its leader ranking.
Geography does most of the work. Ramesses starts in the middle of the map, which gives him two directions to expand and borders that are fairly easy to hold, according to Gamepressure. GameRiv points out that he is surrounded by weaker powers. His army is well rounded with no major weakness, and both Stealth Optional and Gamepressure highlight his Medjay units.
Gamepressure's guide also lays out an opening routine. Put resources into the economy first, food above all, rather than military buildings. Keep the army small at the start, around ten to twelve units. Build according to what each settlement produces. Ignore the Court for the first turns, because its perks matter less than wins on the campaign map. That advice works for any leader, but it is easier to follow from Ramesses' comfortable position.
## Second campaign: Bay, Seti or Tausret, depending on your style
**Bay, for politics.** PCGamesN calls him a pragmatic schemer and an expert in ambush tactics. Stealth Optional agrees: Bay leans on his influence over Egyptian affairs and sets traps with his melee and missile units. GameRiv adds that his real strength lies in politics and in the legitimacy he draws from Court positions. Pick him if you enjoyed the Court with Ramesses and want to turn it into your main weapon.
**Seti, for war.** The rightful heir, in PCGamesN's words, Seti goes for military expansion. Stealth Optional describes big armies of cheap troops, and GameRiv notes he starts with the largest army in the game. The trade-off is numerous but undisciplined infantry, and morale you need to watch. Take him if you want to learn battles more than management.
**Tausret, for a steadier game.** PCGamesN describes her as a sharp, resilient strategist. The guides disagree on her main strength: Stealth Optional stresses her economy, GameRiv her chariots and a defensive mindset. That is not a weakness. Tausret suits a player who wants to hold Egypt without rushing into war in the opening turns.
Amenmesse rounds out the Egyptian four. Guides cover him less than the other three: save him for later, once you know the Nile valley.
## Factions to avoid at first
**Suppiluliuma.** The Hittite Great King is a defensive leader who puts his people's happiness and morale first, according to PCGamesN. Stealth Optional calls his start by far the most challenging in the game, and GameRiv flags a fragile economy despite a solid army. A gripping campaign, but not one to learn on.
**Irsu.** The Canaanite leader sees governing as pointless and funds his conquests through plunder, PCGamesN writes. Stealth Optional presents him as the only raiding faction in the game, built to cause chaos across the map. Playing Irsu means unlearning how to run an empire: keep him for your third or fourth run.
**Kurunta.** A Hittite usurper after the crown, according to both PCGamesN and Stealth Optional, Kurunta fields strong melee infantry. His status as a pretender sets him against the established power from turn one, a tension that is easier to handle with some experience.
## Babylon, Assyria, Mycenae and Troy: for later
Dynasties adds four major factions. Babylon and the Assyrians of Hanigalbat start in Mesopotamia, Mycenae and Troy in the Aegean. Twenty-five minor factions also become playable, including the Aeolians led by Achilles and Napata led by Memnon, according to SEGA's press release.
These factions get the most out of the update's new systems. The Dynasty system runs a family tree with strategic marriages, deaths in battle, assassinations and old age. More than 150 new and reworked units arrive, including cavalry, camel riders and faction-specific troops such as the Guards of Troy. The Sea Travel Lanes mostly serve the two Aegean powers, whose armies move by sea.
Our advice: pick Mycenae or Troy if seaborne raids appeal to you, Babylon or Assyria if you want to explore a region missing from the 2023 game. No source we read ranks their difficulty. Launch them with the habits you built in an Egyptian campaign, not as your first game.
## One setting to know before you start
Dynasties adds a Lethality modifier, which SEGA and Worthplaying both describe as optional. It makes charges and missile volleys deadlier, so battles end faster and more decisively. For a first campaign, leave it off: a bad deployment already costs enough without it. Switch it on once you can hold a line and keep your archers safe.
The menu also offers the minor factions from the start. Their famous heroes are tempting, Achilles first among them, but a small faction boxed in by bigger neighbours forgives very little. Keep them for when the base game holds no more secrets.
## What to remember before you hit "Play"
Ramesses to learn, Bay or Seti to go deeper, then the Aegean or Mesopotamia to get the most out of Dynasties. Suppiluliuma, Irsu and Kurunta make great campaigns, just not early ones. Pharaoh will not receive any more official content: the map you discover is the map it will stay. Take your time with that first campaign, because everything you learn there carries over to the rest.
## Going further
- [All our Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties articles](https://after-strategy.com/en/jeux/total-war-pharaoh/)
- [Over 25 Years of Total War: From Shogun to Medieval III and Beyond](https://after-strategy.com/en/total-war-at-25-from-shogun-to-medieval-3-and-beyond/)
- [Napoleon Total War: Complete Guide 2026 (Strategy, Mods, Tips)](https://after-strategy.com/en/napoleon-total-war-complete-guide-2026/)
## Frequently asked questions
### What is the best faction for beginners in Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties?
**Ramesses**. He starts in the centre of the map with a balanced army and weaker powers around him. Gamepressure, Stealth Optional and GameRiv all recommend him to newcomers. Keep the four Dynasties factions for a second campaign, once the core systems make sense.
### Is Pharaoh Dynasties free?
Yes, for owners of **Total War: Pharaoh**. Dynasties is a free update released on 25 July 2024. On Steam it shows up as a separate product, Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties, that you install from your library. You need the base game to play it.
### Which factions does Pharaoh Dynasties add?
Four major factions: **Babylon** and the **Assyrians of Hanigalbat** in Mesopotamia, **Mycenae** and **Troy** in the Aegean. On top of that come 25 playable minor factions, such as the Aeolians led by Achilles and Napata, led by Memnon.
### Which faction should you avoid for a first Pharaoh campaign?
**Suppiluliuma**. The Hittite Great King is a defensive leader whose start Stealth Optional calls by far the most challenging, and GameRiv points to a fragile economy. Irsu, a raider who lives off plunder, also asks for a very different way of playing than a classic empire.
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Source : [Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties best faction for beginners (2026 guide)](https://after-strategy.com/en/total-war-pharaoh-dynasties-best-starting-faction-2026/) — After Strategy