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Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven

2020-08-13T15:42:48Z

2A02:8070:87A5:F000:C454:7BDD:42F1:FF1D: /* Units */

==Why play Skaven==

*Because you are a backstabbing bastard that cares little about the lives of your very numerous subjects
*You like bringing down classic high fantasy tropes with the power of raw industrial might, like Saruman
*[[DOOMWHEELS]]
*Even your most basic Skaven is by all standards batshit insane and CAs Voice Acting is spot on
*You are an opportunist that takes advantage of other factions being distracted and like making plots
*Skaven are entirely unique to Warhammer, in no other setting there is something quite like them
*[[Awesome|IKIT CLAW HAS FUCKING NUKES]]

===Pros===

*'''Numbers''': Even at the highest tiers, you will outnumber your enemy easily. Even higher tier infantry units outnumber every enemy unit and you have the units with the highest base model count in the game.
*'''Firepower''': Your ranged units are easily unsurpassed by any other faction, this goes for your missle infantry as well as your artillery. Skaven have the strongest ranged roster in the entire game, and don't necessarily need a lot of micro to make the most out of them.
*'''Ambushes''': Your normal movement stance on the campaign map lets you ambush enemy armies on the attack.
*'''Cost''': Everything you have is extremely cost-efficient and your melee infantry in particular is dirt cheap.
*'''Under-Empire''': You can establish hidden bases all over the world, siphoning other factions income into your pockets as well do some really crazy shit with this mechanic.

===Cons===

*'''DLC is mandatory''': The big issue. The "The Prophet and the Warlock" DLC is absolutely mandatory to make your faction work on the battlefield; your roster will lack essential units like Ratling Guns and Warplock Jezzails without it.
*'''Mediocre Economy''': Your economy is not the best. While many of your baseline troops are dirt cheap, your crazy weapons are not and your economy needs some time to get going, but even then, you will be overshadowed in terms of money by most other factions in your general vicinity. Special attention needs to go to your food economy, which is easily one of the biggest pitfalls an unexperienced Skaven player can fall into.
*'''Hard to play''': You need at least a basic grip at how the game works to play Skaven, they punish mistakes heavily. Your troops may be numerous and dirt cheap, but have little staying power and will rout at the first glance of danger.
*'''Very hard start''': Your starting positions (aside from Ikit Claw) put you in opposition of factions that have a lot of tools to counter your strengths. Start to fear Lizardmen, as both Queek and Skrolk have to deal with them very early on.

==Universal traits==

*'''Verminous Valor''': The Leadership of Skaven Units depends on many Skaven are left, and will regenerate faster if the unit has more models left.
*'''Skitterleap''': Skaven units get a speed bonus when they rout. Interesting ability, because it stops enemies from chasing your fodder.

==Legendary Lords==

==Units==

===Infantry===

*'''Skavenslaves''': Cowardly, flimsy, expendable, cheap. Skavensklaves form the healthy base of any early game Skaven army. You send those guys in to die, not to do damage and to keep the enemy away from your weapons teams. Skavenslaves are by far the most efficient option to do just that. Can come with Spears if you want to give them more staying power against cavalry, but they are Skaven, do you really care if they die?
*'''Clanrats''': Just a tier above Slaves, with the same attributes, albeit a bit more costly. Basic Clanrats without shields are not worth your time, you're better off just using Skavenslaves.
*'''Stormvermin''': As "elite" as melee Skaven can be. In contrary to Clanrats and Slaves, they actually have staying power (due to being armoured) and good leadership for a rat. Take them with Halberds but as with the other frontline options, don't expect them to move mountains. Your strenghts are elsewhere.
*'''Eshin Triads (DLC)''': A very odd unit that comes with some downsides but all the same weaknesses Stormvermin has. If you don't play as Snikitch, forget about them. Not worth your time.
*'''Death Runners''': Whoo boy, those guys are really interesting. Probably the highest damage output a Skaven melee unit has, at the cost of a relatively low unit count and being overall very flimsy. That said, they can easily outclass even some elite units and are outright devastating against chaff. Their quick movement speed tends to push them towards a cavalry role, where they are best used.
*'''Plague Monks''': They trade armour for raw damage, but unlike Death Runners, can actually take a beating due to a high model count. A good, albeit costly, alternative to Stormvermin in the mid- to late game for the more offensively minded player.
*'''Plague Monk Censer Bearers''': Same weaknesses as Plague Monks, but come with Great Weapons. Great for stalling enemy elite units, but need to be kept save from enemy missles.

===Missle Troops===

*'''Skavenslave Slingers''': Utterly useless. No, really. Not even their low costs can offset the glaring weakness that almost every unit can easily shrug off their missles.
*'''Night Runners''': Your fast and manuverable skirmisher unit that also comes with Vanguard Deployment. Good at harassing the enemy backline and best used in that way. Come in Hybrid and Missle varieties.
*'''Warpfire Throwers''': Where the fun begins. Ridiculously high damage output, solidly armoured. Need positioning to work right, but will absolutely demolish anything that you point them at, including your own units.
*'''

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven

2020-08-13T15:41:42Z

2A02:8070:87A5:F000:C454:7BDD:42F1:FF1D:

==Why play Skaven==

*Because you are a backstabbing bastard that cares little about the lives of your very numerous subjects
*You like bringing down classic high fantasy tropes with the power of raw industrial might, like Saruman
*[[DOOMWHEELS]]
*Even your most basic Skaven is by all standards batshit insane and CAs Voice Acting is spot on
*You are an opportunist that takes advantage of other factions being distracted and like making plots
*Skaven are entirely unique to Warhammer, in no other setting there is something quite like them
*[[Awesome|IKIT CLAW HAS FUCKING NUKES]]

===Pros===

*'''Numbers''': Even at the highest tiers, you will outnumber your enemy easily. Even higher tier infantry units outnumber every enemy unit and you have the units with the highest base model count in the game.
*'''Firepower''': Your ranged units are easily unsurpassed by any other faction, this goes for your missle infantry as well as your artillery. Skaven have the strongest ranged roster in the entire game, and don't necessarily need a lot of micro to make the most out of them.
*'''Ambushes''': Your normal movement stance on the campaign map lets you ambush enemy armies on the attack.
*'''Cost''': Everything you have is extremely cost-efficient and your melee infantry in particular is dirt cheap.
*'''Under-Empire''': You can establish hidden bases all over the world, siphoning other factions income into your pockets as well do some really crazy shit with this mechanic.

===Cons===

*'''DLC is mandatory''': The big issue. The "The Prophet and the Warlock" DLC is absolutely mandatory to make your faction work on the battlefield; your roster will lack essential units like Ratling Guns and Warplock Jezzails without it.
*'''Mediocre Economy''': Your economy is not the best. While many of your baseline troops are dirt cheap, your crazy weapons are not and your economy needs some time to get going, but even then, you will be overshadowed in terms of money by most other factions in your general vicinity. Special attention needs to go to your food economy, which is easily one of the biggest pitfalls an unexperienced Skaven player can fall into.
*'''Hard to play''': You need at least a basic grip at how the game works to play Skaven, they punish mistakes heavily. Your troops may be numerous and dirt cheap, but have little staying power and will rout at the first glance of danger.
*'''Very hard start''': Your starting positions (aside from Ikit Claw) put you in opposition of factions that have a lot of tools to counter your strengths. Start to fear Lizardmen, as both Queek and Skrolk have to deal with them very early on.

==Universal traits==

*'''Verminous Valor''': The Leadership of Skaven Units depends on many Skaven are left, and will regenerate faster if the unit has more models left.
*'''Skitterleap''': Skaven units get a speed bonus when they rout. Interesting ability, because it stops enemies from chasing your fodder.

==Legendary Lords==

==Units==

===Infantry===

*'''Skavenslaves''': Cowardly, flimsy, expendable, cheap. Skavensklaves form the healthy base of any early game Skaven army. You send those guys in to die, not to do damage and to keep the enemy away from your weapons teams. Skavenslaves are by far the most efficient option to do just that. Can come with Spears if you want to give them more staying power against cavalry, but they are Skaven, do you really care if they die?
*'''Clanrats''': Just a tier above Slaves, with the same attributes, albeit a bit more costly. Basic Clanrats without shields are not worth your time, you're better off just using Skavenslaves.
*'''Stormvermin''': As "elite" as melee Skaven can be. In contrary to Clanrats and Slaves, they actually have staying power (due to being armoured) and good leadership a rat. Take them with Halberds but as with the other frontline options, don't expect them to move mountains. Your strenghts are elsewhere.
*'''Eshin Triads (DLC)''': A very odd unit that comes with some downsides but all the same weaknesses Stormvermin has. If you don't play as Snikitch, forget about them. Not worth your time.
*'''Death Runners''': Whoo boy, those guys are really interesting. Probably the highest damage output a Skaven melee unit has, at the cost of a relatively low unit count and being overall very flimsy. That said, they can easily outclass even some elite units and are outright devastating against chaff. Their quick movement speed tends to push them towards a cavalry role, where they are best used.
*'''Plague Monks''': They trade armour for raw damage, but unlike Death Runners, can actually take a beating due to a high model count. A good, albeit costly, alternative to Stormvermin in the mid- to late game for the more offensively minded player.
*'''Plague Monk Censer Bearers''': Same weaknesses as Plague Monks, but come with Great Weapons. Great for stalling enemy elite units, but need to be kept save from enemy missles.

===Missle Troops===

*'''Skavenslave Slingers''': Utterly useless. No, really. Not even their low costs can offset the glaring weakness that almost every unit can easily shrug off their missles.
*'''Night Runners''': Your fast and manuverable skirmisher unit that also comes with Vanguard Deployment. Good at harassing the enemy backline and best used in that way. Come in Hybrid and Missle varieties.
*'''Warpfire Throwers''': Where the fun begins. Ridiculously high damage output, solidly armoured. Need positioning to work right, but will absolutely demolish anything that you point them at, including your own units.
*'''

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Skaven

2020-08-13T15:10:12Z

2A02:8070:87A5:F000:C454:7BDD:42F1:FF1D:

Total War Warhammer/Tactics/Empire

2020-08-13T14:27:41Z

2A02:8070:87A5:F000:C454:7BDD:42F1:FF1D:

This is the tactics page for the Total War: Warhammer version of The Empire.

==Why play The Empire?==
*Because who doesn't love the sight of normal, everyday humans beating back the supernatural through sheer force of arms?
*A difficult, but very rewarding playstlye that rewards unit cohesion and combined arms tactics.
*Guns. Lots and lots of guns.
*Because the Karl Franz memes are too god damn good to not play them at least once.
*Humanity, fuck yeah!

===Pros===
*'''Jack of all Trades''': There's not a single department anyone can say you're bad in. The Empire can be played in a variety of different ways that can be viable from gunlines to infantry brawls to skirmish tactics. No plan is off the table for The Empire.
*'''Gunpowder''': Gunpowder units are powerful in this game and can easily swing a fight in your favorite if they are allowed to do their thing. Handgunners and Cannons can make any army regret coming to the field if used well. Their artillery is amazing for its cost and can blast most things into kingdom come.
*'''Flexibility''': As explained before, The Empire can bring a variety of tactics to the table, which can make them hard to predict. They have an answer for just about every race in the game, and while they have some uphill match ups, they can get together a few lists against everyone/
*'''Cavalry''': A very strong Cavalry faction, up there with the best (which kind of detracts form the whole "Jack of all Trades" thing mentioned above) Empire Knights are amazing for their price, and Demigryphs can take on just about any other cav unit one on one and win.
*'''Powerful Legendary Lords''': The Empire has some of the best named characters in the game. Karl Franz and Volkmar can be a massive asset to any battlefield, and Gelt and Wulfhart can be used to amazing effect as well.
*'''Magic''': You have access to every generic lore of magic in the game, including Metal if you pick Gelt as your lord.

===Cons===
*'''Master of None''': The main downside of most Jack of all Trades factions. Everyone in the game outclasses you at something. Sure, your State Troops are crushing those Men-at-Arms, but you're cav just got ran over by Grail Knights. You're heavy cav chased of those Wild Riders, but now Waywatchers are putting out more value than your missiles could dream off. Yeah, your gunline and artillery are carving up the Chaos Warriors, but know that they are in melee you can kiss your frontline goodbye. You need to make up for your weaknesses when going up against certain factions.
*'''Poor Infantry''': Unless you're going up against the worst of the worst in terms of infantry factions, you are probably not winning the frontline without support. Infantry is mainly there to buy time for your other elements, not win on their own.
*'''Difficult to Learn''': most newer players pick Empire in multiplayer due to their relative ease of campaign in single player, only to learn the are hard as hell in Multiplayer. The Empire is a faction that requires time and finesse to play perfectly, and aren't something you can pick up and play.
*'''DLC Locked Content''': You don't have it as bad as some factions, but you do have some missing stuff you would like on the battlefield. Also, you are the only core race to never get a FLC lord, meaning if you are committed to not buying DLC, you're stuck with Franz and Gelt (not that they're bad choices, but more options are always good)

==The campaign und unique mechanics (The Old World)==

The Empire pretty much fills out the entire northern part of the old world, giving you a very secure starting position with either Gelt, Franz or Volkmar. The main passageways into the Empire itself are guarded by the imperial forts from the south and west, and by Kislev from the north.

At the start of the game, The Empire is fractured into many pieces, called the Elector Counts. Each of the Elector Count factions have Fealty, which shows how loyal the individual EC is to your faction. If their fealty reaches zero, they secede from the Empire, causing you to declare war on them, if it reaches ten, they will offer you a confederation, causing you to take direct control of their lands and existing armies. If you control the main capital of an elector count province, you can make one of your lords the Elector count of that province, giving that character a unique bonus as well as the Runefang of the province, a very good Epic Melee weapon with a unique active ability.

Balancing this out is a unique resource called Imperial Authority, which represents how strong your faction is in the politics of the Empire. You basically want it to be at least 1, afromentioned Elector Count events will give you more at the cost of either money or prestige. Prestige increases when you win battles or through events, as well through controlled regions.

As is befitting for the most basic faction in the game, the Empires economy is neither terribly bad, nor excels in anything. For most of the early campaign, you will most likely deal with getting some elector count seats under your belt as well as fighting off the Vampire Counts. You will not expand a whole lot early on. Your overall victory conditions are to bring all of the Empire provinces under your banner and defeat Archaon.