This page refers to Warriors of Chaos in Total War: Warhammer and Warhammer II. For the race in the third game, see Warriors of Chaos (Total War: Warhammer III).
Warriors of Chaos require the Chaos Warriors Race Pack to play.
Warriors of Chaos is a race and playable faction introduced in Total War: Warhammer. It is led by Archaon the Everchosen, Kholek Suneater or Sigvald the Magnificent and can be found spawning far to the northeast, where The Old World meets The Chaos Wastes.
The Warriors of Chaos are barbaric, Chaos-worshippers from the far north. They are a migrating horde that seeks to bring ruin and destruction to the world. Corrupted and mutated by the power of Chaos, they have become something less than human... and also something more. A Warriors of Chaos army primarily consists of melee infantry, including heavily armoured Chaos Warriors, alongside huge, mutated monsters such as Dragon Ogre Shaggoths and two-headed Chaos Dragons.
How they play[ | ]
A summary of Chaos Warriors gameplay:
- Units: Lightly armoured marauders backed up by elite heavy-armoured warriors and huge monsters. Few ranged options.
- Regiments of Renown: These are unique, more elite versions of regular Warriors of Chaos units.
- Horde: In the campaign, they are a horde faction who do not occupy settlements, but their encamped armies act as mobile settlements. (Except in Total War Warhammer 3, where they behave like a normal non horde faction.)
- Chaos corruption: Warriors of Chaos spread corruption, and take attrition damage if there is not enough corruption in an area.
- Awaken the Tribes: Warriors of Chaos can choose to awaken a Norscan tribe after winning a battle against certain Norscan settlements. Awakened tribes become vassals to the Warriors of Chaos.
- Destroyers: Warriors of Chaos are hated by most factions, and cannot engage in trade. Economy is based on attacking enemies.
Background[ | ]
| “ | Fear me, mortals, for I am the Anointed, the Favoured Son of Chaos, the Scourge of the World. | „ |
To explain Chaos is to define the undefinable; it permeates the world - the ultimate foe against which the forces of Order must battle to survive. Chaos - and all magic, for that is of Chaos - seeps into the world from the two poles, one of which lies at the Realm of Chaos in the far north. This is the legacy of the Old Ones, an ancient star-faring race who, in their arrogance, used the immaterial dimension to travel and manipulate the tangible. Unknown to them, the empyrean was home to the sub-conscious desires, aspirations and emotions of all sentient races. Over time, this force coalesced into the Chaos Gods – the Ruinous Powers. It is these omnipotent beings that control the fates of all, viewing the world as a game board, the mortal denizens on it as nothing more than playing pieces to be pushed aside and destroyed at will. The Chaos Gods have many names and aspects. For most in the Old World who are aware of such things they are Khorne - the Blood God, lord of murder, rage, violence and battles; Tzeentch - the Arch-Manipulator, master of magic and weaver of time; Nurgle - the Lord of Decay, father of plagues, poxes and contagions; Slaanesh – the Dark Prince of Chaos, the great summoner of excess, desire and perversion.
To the north of the Old World lies Norsca and beyond that the Chaos Wastes, which lie in the shadow of the Chaos realm - its people the Gods’ primary pawns. The Northmen congregate in tribes. They are savage and brutal, for the lands are harsh, full of ice-covered fjords and roving monsters. No crops grow here so they must raid south to survive. They do this not just out of necessity but for glory and the chance to be recognised by the Chaos Gods. Those that do well will be gifted with all manner of mutations, and for the very few, even Daemonhood. However, those that disappoint the Ruinous Powers will be turned to Chaos Spawn - mewling mountains of flesh, teeth and tentacles.
And so Chaos armies march south, consisting of Chaos Marauders, the aforementioned fur-clad barbarians, and Chaos Warriors - particularly ruthless fighters chosen by the Ruinous Powers and gifted with arcane suits of all-encompassing armour. A Chaos force is also accompanied by a mass of mind-fraying creatures – from Hellcannons to Dragon Ogres and abhorrent Spawn. These hordes can be raiders that cross the icy seas in longships, large armies that raze entire cities, or full-scale invasions where entire nations quake in fear, convinced the End Times are upon them… And quite possibly they are, for now is the time of the Three-Eyed King. Archaon the Everchosen gathers his countless servants, who are ready at their Lord’s whispered command to bring doom down upon all!
Factions[ | ]
In the campaign, Warriors of Chaos are a horde faction who do not occupy settlements or control provinces. To construct buildings, their horde armies must enter into encamped stance. This also means they do not have any commandments. Additionally, horde infighting causes Marauders units in the Warriors of Chaos horde armies to take attrition damage if they are too close to each other. This is contrast with Beastmen who do not have this disadvantage. Earlier versions of the game had all the units take attrition instead of just the Marauders.
Playable factions[ | ]
Warriors of Chaos players can choose from the following lords when starting a campaign. See the individual lord pages for information on their various bonuses in campaign. Despite being available in custom battles and multiplayer, Sarthorael the Everwatcher cannot be used in the campaign:
Minor factions[ | ]
On the campaign map, many minor factions are grouped together as "Chaos". These all have a diplomatic positive racial bias towards each other, and use units from the Warriors of Chaos unit roster.
Total War: Warhammer
Factions introduced in The Old World campaign:
Challenger of the Crow- Challenger of the Eagle
- Challenger of the Hound
- Challenger of the Serpent
- Chaos Gathering
- Chaos Rebels
Total War: Warhammer II
Factions introduced in the Eye of the Vortex campaign:
In Battle[ | ]
Unit Roster[ | ]
- Main article: Warriors of Chaos unit roster
Lightly armoured marauders backed up by elite heavy-armoured warriors and huge monsters. Melee focused roster, only ranged options are Hellcannons (artillery) and magic. Generally a fairly elite army that will often be outnumbered by the opponent.
Magic[ | ]
Warriors of Chaos spellcasters have access to four lores of magic:
Regiments of Renown[ | ]
Warriors of Chaos have several Regiments of Renown available, which were added in the Foundation Update. These are elite, unique versions of standard Warriors of Chaos units.
In the Campaign[ | ]
Chaos corruption[ | ]
- Main article: Chaos corruption
Warriors of Chaos spread Chaos corruption which benefits them, but harms other non-Chaos factions. If an area has too low levels of chaos corruption, Warriors of Chaos armies take attrition damage.
Diplomacy[ | ]
Warriors of Chaos are hated by most other factions (the major exceptions are Beastmen and Norscans). They cannot engage in trade at all.
Awaken the Tribes[ | ]
- Main article: Awaken the Tribes
Warriors of Chaos can choose to awaken a Norscan tribe after winning a battle against certain Norscan settlements (regardless of which factions currently owns the settlement). Awakened tribes become vassals to the Warriors of Chaos.
Tribes which can only be found by being awakened:
Other Tribes which can be awakened:
Marks of Chaos[ | ]
Marks of Chaos are special inventory items available to the Warriors of Chaos. They operate similar to banners.
Inventory[ | ]
Buildings[ | ]
- Main article: Warriors of Chaos buildings
As a horde faction, Warriors of Chaos have a rather limited selection off buildings which, as noted, can only be built in encamped horde armies.
Technology[ | ]
- Main article: Warriors of Chaos tech tree
The Tech tree of Warriors of Chaos consist of a central trunk that carries an increasing cost of Favor to advance through and gain the favor of the Dark Gods, and branches that are gated behind each node of the main trunk.
Stances[ | ]
Warriors of Chaos stances:
Post-battle options[ | ]
Warriors of Chaos post-battle options for captives are as follows:
- ?
Settlement options[ | ]
Warriors of Chaos have these settlement options when they have captured a settlement:
- Awaken the Tribes (certain Norscan settlements only)
- Raze - Razing a settlement creates a Chaos Portal at it's location, which spreads Chaos Corruption for a time.
- Loot & Raze
In Total War: Warhammer III, were changed so they can occupy settlements like a normal faction and construct buildings. Armies will also suffer attrition if they have no settlements left, making them a non horde faction.
Followers[ | ]
- Main article: Warriors of Chaos followers.
Faction effects[ | ]
Archaon
- Leadership +5 for Chaos Warriors units
- Recruitment cost -15% for Chaos Warriors units
- Diplomatic relations -20 with all factions
Sigvald
- Diplomatic relations: +20 with Norscan Tribes
- Leadership: +15 when fighting against Men
- Armour: +15 for Lord and embedded Heroes
Kholek
- Chaos Corruption: +4 (All characters)
- Recruitment cost: -60% for Dragon Ogre units
- Ambush defence chance: -20%
Start Position[ | ]
Warriors of Chaos start in The Chaos Wastes.
Victory Conditions[ | ]
Victory conditions for the Warriors of Chaos faction in campaign:
Long Campaign (The Old World)[ | ]
- Raze or sack the following number of settlements: 40
- Destroy the following factions: Reikland, Couronne, Karaz-a-Karak
Short Campaign (Mortal Empires)[ | ]
- Raze or sack the following number of settlements: 50
- Destroy the following faction(s)
Reikland, Couronne
Long Campaign (Mortal Empires)[ | ]
- Raze or sack the following number of settlements: 80
- Destroy the following faction(s)
Reikland, Couronne, Karaz-a-Karak, Eataine
Warriors of Chaos names[ | ]
See also: Warriors of Chaos names
Chaos Invasion[ | ]
During a Chaos Invasion, if the player is not playing Warriors of Chaos, then the Warriors of Chaos will descend upon the world to attack with all four legendary lords (The standard three + Sarthorael). They can also be joined by the Warherd of Chaos and the Bjornling Norscan Tribe.
If the player is playing Warriors of Chaos, then they will have to contend with a rival faction of Warriors of Chaos headed by Sarthorael the Everwatcher.
Strategy[ | ]
A good strategy with the Warriors of Chaos is a hit & run technique. Being deep into negative income is something not favorable but not terrible because of all the looting and razing you'll be doing you'll be gaining more favor than you are losing. When you recruit lords you should transfer units to the new lord in order to save time and build with that unit to decrease cost for units. Use the new lord to raze settlements so that they may gain population surpluses themselves and to gain exp. Attrition will not be a problem in the mid to late game due to higher units such as the Chosen but it will for Chaos Warriors. You'll need a lot of cavalry to take care of artillery and ranged units especially for the Dwarfs, one of your greatest enemies. Your greatest weakness will be ranged units and armored units but your cavalry will have armor piercing and speed making the Dwarfs and The Empire easy to take care of if you know what your strengths are.
Mortal Empires: As a horde, you should always focus on upgrading your main horde structure before any other. You must have heroes ahead before you move, because being attacked by multiple armies being a horde is your biggest weakness. A good start is to subdue all the Norscan tribes. They are weak, so you can easily defeat them and strengthen your horde. After the north, a good target is Couronne. Their strength is cavalry, but their armies are still mainly composed of infantry, and theirs is really weak and has poor leadership. In addition, Couronne is one of the factions that you must destroy to achieve victory and if you get to them early they will not have confederated yet. Finally, Couronne is close to Ulthuan, your next stop. If you get the Sword of Khaine and then defeat Isabella von Carstein (for the regeneration perk), your lord will become invincible. It's also recommended that you pursue other useful perks defeating specific lords. One last tip is to obtain the Lightning Strike skill, from your lord's skill tree, essential for dealing with groups of armies.
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