Despite being one of the two recommended starts for Total War: Warhammer III, the Daemons of Chaos campaign featuring the Daemon Prince is more difficult than players may expect. Led by the former Prince Yuri of Kislev, now known as the Daemon Prince, players will need to carve out a kingdom in the frozen chaos wastes. Enemies abound, and a few decisions can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
The goal of the Daemons of Chaos campaign is to gather the four souls from the chaos gods' realms, use them to find the Forge of Souls, and defeat Be'lakor, taking the power of the bear-god Ursun to achieve godhood. Before they can invade the realms of chaos, players will need to secure their place in the mortal world. The Daemon Prince starts at the Doomkeep in the Ice Tooth Mountains and will need to quickly establish a presence in the area to survive.
The early Daemons of Chaos campaign can be difficult due to the number of enemies surrounding the start, but by taking advantage of the faction's versatility and taking a few tips into consideration, players should be on their way to godhood in no time. The most important task in the early game is for players to conquer their home provinces and establish a strong economic base for their empire by stamping out the factions surrounding the Daemons of Chaos start. There are several Norscan factions and one Skaven city in the area, and players should fully wipe out each faction before declaring war on another. While being at war on multiple fronts is relatively normal in Total War: Warhammer games, it's a situation players will want to avoid as the Daemons of Chaos.
Total War: Warhammer 3: Daemons of Chaos Army Building
From the very start of Total War, many factions will be sending armies north to engage the player. Expect to see a constant flow of Wood Elf, Nordland, and Kislev armies along the southern border, near the Bay of Blades and the Tower of Khrakk in the Trollheim Mountains. This constant onslaught means players will want to leave an army in the area permanently to hold the entrance to their peninsula from the mix of armies from all three Total War: Warhammer games. Once the gates to the realms of chaos begin to open, the player will have to send their legendary lord through in order to claim the souls necessary. Only the Daemon Prince's army can do this, and it is a race against every other faction attempting to achieve the same goal. Making sure his army is ready to depart at a moment's notice means the player will need at least three armies to be successful: one to go to the chaos realms, one to guard the Trollheim Mountains, and one for offensive wars.
Units from all four chaos gods are available to the Daemons fo Chaos faction, which offers a great degree of versatility when building armies. With the right selections, players will easily outclass the Warhammer armies of their neighbors. While each player's army composition will depend on their playstyle, there are a few units that are worth recommending or avoiding. Two units that are particularly useful in the early game are Chaos Warriors of Khorne and Blue Horrors of Tzeentch. Both are available early in the game and excel in their roles. Chaos Warriors of Khorne are heavily armored and shielded infantry with 100 armor at base, which can be improved through lord skills. This means they will ignore most non-armor piercing damage, which is a level of durability most early armies won't be able to cut through.
Blue Horrors of Tzeentch are a melee infantry unit with a flaming magical missile attack and a barrier, which acts as a rechargeable bank of hit points allowing them to temporarily engage even powerful large units such as Ogres as long as they can pull back and recharge. They are both competent in melee against most unarmored opponents, and potent enough to act as an army's main source of missile attacks. On the other hand, Chaos Furies are a unit to stay away from, and any army should only ever include one or two units. Although they are flying and can be useful in chasing down fleeing enemies, Chaos Furies are weak and will lose almost any one-on-one combat.
The Legendary Lord of the Daemons of Chaos, the Daemon Prince, is the most flexible lord in the game and is completely customizable to fill whatever role the player desires. From casting high-level spells, to becoming a melee monster, the Daemon Prince can do it all. Customization options are acquired through daemonic glory, one of the faction-specific currencies. The player will gain glory for Tzeentch, Khorne, Slannesh, Nurgle, and Chaos Undivided, the same gods present in Warhammer 40,000, by dedicating their victories, settlements, and quests to each god. The daemonic glory tab shows how much glory is required to unlock specific gifts, which are not limited just to upgrades for the Daemon Prince.
Certain units are also locked behind glory levels. Players should examine the possible rewards, and focus on acquiring the type of glory that will unlock the most useful rewards to their current build. It's also worth noting that by default the Daemon Prince has low armor and no shield, and because he is both flying and large, he can easily fall prey to enemy missile troops. For players planning to use their lord on the front lines, taking some armor upgrades is a must.
Though challenging at times, the Daemons of Chaos campaign, whose protagonist the Daemon Prince appeared in the cinematic trailer, is a great chance for players to stretch their strategic and tactical abilities. A careful approach to empire-building and understanding their situation should allow players to overcome the difficulties of their starting position. Combined with functional knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the weapons available to players, conquering as the Daemon Prince should be an enjoyable, if difficult, campaign.
Total War: Warhammer III is available on PC, Mac, and Linux.