| “ | By Khorne, by Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh, let the world come crashing down! | „ |
Archaon the Everchosen is a 
Warriors of Chaos Legendary Lord unit introduced in Total War: Warhammer with the Chaos Warriors Race Pack DLC. In The Old World and Mortal Empires campaigns, he is one of the three Legendary Lord choices for the Warriors of Chaos, along with Kholek Suneater and Prince Sigvald the Magnificent. In Immortal Empires, he leads the Warhost of the Apocalypse.
Description[ | ]
Archaon is the Lord of the End Times, the vessel through which the Dark Gods will unite their followers and turn the whole world into a Realm of Chaos. He is an individual whom all the Chaos Gods have bestowed their gifts upon. Of all the Everchosen of Chaos who have assailed the world over the ages, Archaon is the most ruthless and powerful. At the heart of Archaon's army is his old warband, the Swords of Chaos, the most dread group of Chaos Knights ever to have blighted the world. The Everchosen often rides to war leading this cadre of veterans from atop the daemonic beast known as Dorghar, the Steed of the Apocalypse.
Introduction description[ | ]
Time is meaningless within the Realm of Chaos. Has Archaon completed his Unholy Quests or just begun his infernal journey? It matters not to him, for he is the Everchosen, and is destined to bring the End Times to the mortal fools that eke out their pitiful lives in the south. They will all pay; the price is blood, slaughter and death!
Attributes[ | ]
Wizard- ▲ Spellcaster: This unit can cast spells.
- ▲ Armoured & Shielded: Armoured units can block damage from any source apart from Armour-Piercing damage. Shields have a chance of blocking arrows, bolts, rifle shots and similar small arms fire - but only in a forward facing arc.
- ▲ Armour-Piercing: The damage of armour-piercing weapons mostly ignores the armour of the target, making them the ideal choice against heavily-armoured enemies. They are often heavier and attack at a slower rate though, making them less efficient against poorly-armoured targets.
- ▲ Melee Expert: Melee Experts might have a very strong melee attack or melee defence, or high values in both. Some also have melee-focused skills like Charge Defence. Use them to counter other strong melee units. When facing them, it is best to take them out before they can enter melee.
armour-piercing weapons mostly ignores the armour of the target, making them the ideal choice against heavily-armoured enemies. They are often heavier and attack at a slower rate though, making them less efficient against poorly-armoured targets.Spells[ | ]
In Warhammer III, Archaon can cast two spells from the 
Lore of Death, 
Lore of Fire, and 
Lore of Metal:
- Searing Doom
- Spirit Leech
- The Burning Head
- Flaming Sword of Rhuin
- Transmutation of Lead
- The Purple Sun of Xereus
WH1 & WH2[ | ]
Character Abilities[ | ]
Active Abilities[ | ]
Campaign only[ | ]
Multiplayer only[ | ]
Passive Abilities[ | ]
Campaign only[ | ]
Item Abilities[ | ]
Unique Items[ | ]
Mounts[ | ]
Campaign starting units[ | ]
The Old World & Mortal Empires[ | ]
Immortal Empires[ | ]
Effects[ | ]
Faction effects[ | ]
WH2[ | ]
- Units gain +3 weapon and missile strength per rank achieved
- Recruitment cost: -30% for Chaos Warriors units
- Diplomatic relations: -30 with all factions
Lord effects[ | ]
- Units gain +3 weapon and missile strength per rank achieved
- All Authority: +1 (Lord's army)
- Ward Save: +5% for all units (Lord's army)
WH2[ | ]
- Ward Save: +5% for all units (Lord's army)
- Income from razing settlements: +50%
WH1[ | ]
- Campaign movement range: +5% (all characters)
- Upkeep: -10% for Chaos Warriors and Chaos Knights
Character traits[ | ]
Personal trait[ | ]
Vessel: "I will be the axis upon which the wheel of change turns, and the world will drown in the light of unborn stars."
- Units gain +3 weapon and missile strength per rank achieved
- All Authority: +1 (Lord's army)
- Ward Save: +5% for all units (Lord's army)
Defeat trait[ | ]
Doomslayer: The Everchosen may rise and rise again, but he will forever be consigned to oblivion!
- Spell resistance: 10%
- Physical resistance: 5%
- Melee attack: +2 when fighting against Warriors of Chaos, Daemons of Chaos, Norsca and Beastmen (Lord's army)
Warhammer II Defeat trait[ | ]
- Attribute: Immune to Psychology
Talent Tree[ | ]
- Archaon's skill tree on TWWH Characters
- Skill Tree on TotalWarhammerPlanner
Chapter Objectives[ | ]
Chapter 1[ | ]
| Rank | Name | Objective(s) | Reward(s) | In-game description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary objective | The Pawn | Raze or sack 4 different settlements. | Total Favour: +2000 | All are pawns of Chaos, all must serve. Do as the Dark Gods wish and begin the destruction. Thus is the way prepared for the End Times. |
| Bonus objective I | Blasphemous Might | Defeat 8 Armies or Garrisons | Total Favour: +1000 | There are many who wish to invoke the attention of the Dark Gods, but the Ruinous Powers will not favour just any mortal; only those who can prove themselves in battle will receive - even then - the barest flicker of acknowledgement. |
| Bonus objective II | Slave to Darkness | Recruit 1 Hero(es) | Total Favour: +1000 | The path to damnation is long and treacherous, our master will need followers to accompany him as he walks along it. |
| Bonus objective III | Pall of Dread | Be at War with 4 Factions | Total Favour: +1000 | A great Chaos Champion, especially the Lord of the End Times, must maintain a reputation of dread. For if he is not feared then why will they follow? |
| Bonus objective IV | Tendrils of Chaos | Have at least 25 Chaos Corruption in the following provinces:
Eastern Oblast |
Total Favour: +1000 | The corrupting influence of Chaos begins to spread; ensure its tendrils reach deep into the mortal realms. |
| Bonus objective V | Placate the Tribes | Earn 1000 from Raiding | Total Favour: +1000 | The tribes of Norsca are useful foot troops in the coming wars, our Lord should gain their favour by offering a token alliance. |
Chapter 2
| Rank | Name | Objective(s) | Reward(s) | In-game description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary objective | The Servant | Raze or sack 8 different settlements. | Total Favour: +4000 | A loyal servant to the Chaos Gods is one that enacts carnage - that raids and destroys and scatters the mortals before him. |
| Bonus objective I | The Conqueror | Defeat 10 Armies or Garrisons | Total Favour: +1000 | To be the Everchosen, to command thousands? The Chaos Gods will not consider any being who is not a great warrior with an iron will. Archaon must prove his worth through conquest! |
| Bonus objective II | Minion of Tzeentch | Recruit 1 Chaos Sorcerer | Total Favour: +1000 | While we can vanquish the mortals with sword and scourge alone, there are many tools at our Lord's disposal. Recruiting a Chaos Sorcerer is but another. |
| Bonus objective III | Dominion | Be at War with 5 Factions | Total Favour: +1000 | Archaon must maintain his powerbase and support or he will be challenged by unworthy fools who dare to think themselves better than the Three-Eyed King. |
| Bonus objective IV | Bring About the End Times! | Have at least 25 Chaos Corruption in the following provinces: Eastern Oblast, Northern Oblast, Southern Oblast | Total Favour: +1000 | If the Everchosen is to bring his campaign of destruction beyond the shadow of the Chaos Realm, he must first take the mortal realms and collect their souls! |
| Bonus objective V | An Unholy Quest | Complete 1 Quest Chain | Total Favour: +1000 | Time has no meaning in the Realm of Chaos. For some, Archaon has been the Everchosen for centuries. For others, he has only just begun his Unholy Quest to seize the grand artefacts of Chaos and become the Lord of the End Times. |
Chapter 3
| Rank | Name | Objective(s) | Reward(s) | In-game description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary objective | The Champion | Raze or sack 12 different settlements. | Total Favour: +6000 | All hail the champions of Chaos, it is they who the eyes of the Gods fall upon. They are the ones that risk damnation in exchange for a chance of greatness - continue the slaughter! |
| Bonus objective I | The Thirsty God | Defeat 12 Armies or Garrisons | Total Favour: +1000 | All four Marks of Chaos sear Archaon's flesh. But it is Khorne that thirsts and demands the most. Ensure our Lord's forces see battle! |
| Bonus objective II | Sustain Power | Maintain control of 45 units | Total Favour: +1000 | The more glory the Everchosen achieves, the more jealous his rivals become. They will challenge our master as soon as his dominion falls, so fear and control must be maintained. |
| Bonus objective III | Unleash the Horde | Be at War with 5 Factions | Total Favour: +1000 | Raids alone will not bring about the End Times, but mighty Chaos hordes unleashed as part of a massive invasion from the dread north. that is what the Ruinous Powers require. |
| Bonus objective IV | The Enveloping Tentacles of Chaos | Have at least 25 Chaos Corruption in the following provinces: Eastern Oblast, Northern Oblast, Southern Oblast, Northern Worlds Edge Mountains, Ostermark, Ostland, Talabecland | Total Favour: +1000 | The corrupting influence of Chaos will envelop the world - the Lord of the End Times and his followers must ensure its continued spread. |
| Bonus objective V | The Blood God's Due | Achieve 3 Heroic Victories | Total Favour: +1000 | It is not enough to achieve victory in battle - Khorne demands that the Champion of Champions win convincingly as well. |
Chapter 4
| Rank | Name | Objective(s) | Reward(s) | In-game description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary objective | The Destroyer | Raze or sack 16 different settlements. | Total Favour: +1000 | The destroyer comes, and with him the favour of the Ruinous Powers. The southern lands of milk and honey will wither at his touch. |
| Bonus objective I | A Chaos Host | Maintain control of 60 units | Total Favour: +1000 | To marshal a host of the Gods' most foul mortal servants is a great challenge, but one Archaon has to grasp, for the rewards are great and failure not worth contemplating. |
| Bonus objective II | Ultimate Power | Be at War with 5 Factions | Total Favour: +1000 | Now more than ever - with the ultimate goal in sight - our Lord must be wary and maintain his dominion. There are those that plot against him, including the Great Changer himself. |
| Bonus objective III | The Lost | Reach Rank 20 with 1 Lord character(s) | Total Favour: +1000 | Powerful allies can be a boon, and oft-make loyal servants. Raise a Chaos Lord to greatness so that he may serve the Ruinous Powers effectively. |
| Bonus objective IV | and the Damned | Reach Rank 20 with 1 Hero(es) | Total Favour: +1000 | If our Lord Archaon grants willing thralls a sliver of his power they will be his forever; their fates in his hands to do with as he wishes. |
| Bonus objective V | An Empire in Flames | Have at least 25 Chaos Corruption in the following provinces: Eastern Oblast, Northern Oblast, Southern Oblast, Northern Worlds Edge Mountains, Ostermark, Ostland, Talabecland, Averland, Hochland, Middenland, Stirland | Total Favour: +1000 | As the tendrils of Chaos grow and bore deep into the Old World, its souls suffer, the lands wither, and the Empire burns! |
Chapter 5
| Rank | Name | Objective(s) | Reward(s) | In-game description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary objective | The Everchosen | Raze or sack 20 different settlements. | Total Favour: +10000 | Behold the Everchosen! The Daemons rejoice for the End Times are here. Destroy and corrupt those that still hold out against the inevitable. Chaos has come - the world will be broken! |
| Bonus objective I | A Ruinous Army | Maintain Control of 100 Units | Total Favour: +1000 | If Archaon commands a grand army, then the Chaos Gods will cast their gaze down onto the Old World and bring ruin upon the lands. |
| Bonus objective II | Total Dominion | Be at War with 5 Factions | Total Favour: +1000 | As the hammer blow strikes on the mortal lands, our Lord is at his most powerful - and most exposed - we must ensure his favour remains strong among the hordes. |
| Bonus objective III | Lords of the Apocalypse | Reach Rank 20 with 3 Lord characters | Total Favour: +1000 | As the End Times draw near, their Lord and catalyst cannot be everywhere at once. Grant his most powerful servants even greater glory so they can bring about the apocalypse. |
| Bonus objective IV | The Exalted | Reach Rank 20 with 3 Heroes | Total Favour: +1000 | Now is the time to unleash hell upon the world - Archaon's agents should be raised in status and dominion to achieve our ends. |
| Bonus objective V | The End of Time | Have at least 25 Chaos Corruption in the following provinces: Eastern Oblast, Northern Oblast, Southern Oblast, Northern Worlds Edge Mountains, Ostermark, Ostland, Talabecland, Averland, Hochland, Middenland, Stirland, Peak Pass, Reikland, The Wasteland, Wissenland, Zhufbar | Total Favour: +1000 | The Chaos Gods tire of the Old World and its denizens. The land shall be swept clean, its souls consumed once and for all. The End Times are here! |
Strategy[ | ]
Archaon is one of the best melee fighters in the game, and is also a decent spellcaster.
A beast in melee and master of the Lore of Fire. Archaon's only two significant issues are that he lacks a monstrous mount (making him a smaller target, but also harder for him to escape mobs of infantry) and that as a hybrid warrior/caster he needs to get to a very high level to amass enough skill points to use his entire skill set. Generally it best to prioritize one or two trees and once those are filled out sufficiently, diversify into the neglected trees.
Archaon is a strong generalist fighter. He is an effective melee fighter capable of dueling many characters in the game as well as slaying his way through armoured infantry. He has magical attacks as well to circumvent physical resistance while also having a small (10%) physical resistance of his own. Along with that he has the lore of Fire which is very effective for clearing crowds of enemies with burning head/flame storm/piercing bolts of burning or sniping enemies with fireball. One of his biggest weaknesses among dueling other characters or units is his lack of access to healing which means he can either be whittled down or can only take 1 or 2 serious engagements before being dropped to a low amount of health.
A simple template for Archaon campaigns is to work all across the Norscan region until two armies (at the minimum) are at play with one holding at least tier 3 infantry. While not the strongest at first at this point in time, Chaos Warriors can crush any other infantry during the mid-game with no problem.
When playing on difficulties higher than Hard, one should never travel to the Old World without a tier 5 hoard building and a decently leveled legendary lord (unless that individual is confident with winnings battles that should be losses for some 20 turns). When it comes to army compositions late-game, I personally build stacks of Chosen, Chaos Knights (sword-based), Hellcannons (needed against the Empire and the Dwarfs), and a few Shaggoths if I think they're needed.
Inside Archaon's army, Chosen become the strongest infantry in the game. A single Chosen unit with great weapons is able to win against most low-level lords easily due to their incredible stats. I can't understate this enough, but Chevron 9 Chosen with great weapons, and the right skills/traits for Archaon can result in over 70 melee attack, over 70 melee defense, over 140 armor, and some high 50 armor piercing weapon strength. A single Chosen unit in this state can single-handedly solo like 7 Swordsmen stacks (I haven't tried it, but it probably works).
Gallery[ | ]
Promotional
Archaon on Dorghar, in the Champions of Chaos trailer.
Trivia[ | ]
- During the early days of Total War: Warhammer, Archaon was considered an underwhelming commander compared to Sigvald and Kholek, leading to fans jokingly refer to him as "Archaon the Neverchosen".
- One of the victory conditions in the Old World and Mortal Empires campaigns is by ensuring that Archaeon is in a wounded state, which is done by defeating him in battle and ending a Chaos Invasion.
