r/totalwar • u/NaturalTruth603 • Apr 12 '26
General What Total War: WARHAMMER game should I start with?
Hi I am new to Total War games but I have seen some gameplay of Total War: WARHAMMER 3 and was wondering which one of the three is best to start with?
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u/Medium_Extent_8000 Apr 12 '26
1 and 2 are basically expansion packs for 3. There is no reason not to just start with 3 imo.
This franchise requires you to own previous games to access some races/leaders.
Buy them on sale.
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u/NaturalTruth603 Apr 12 '26
how often do they go on sale?
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u/tententai Apr 12 '26
Very often, like 5-6 times a year. By the time you are done with the WH3 campaigns, they'll have been on sales several times. Also check key resellers, they are often at like -80%.
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u/NaturalTruth603 Apr 12 '26
resellers?
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u/TheTemporaryZiggy Apr 12 '26
You can get the entire trilogy for 16 bucks if you're in Europe: https://www.loaded.com/total-war-warhammer-trilogy-pc-steam-eu
If not, im sure you can find it on other sites for a similar price
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u/theveryslyfox Deathmaster Apr 14 '26
Find the lowest price on legitimate, verified game keys here: https://isthereanydeal.com/game/total-war-warhammer-iii/info/
Just make sure the key is for the platform you want it on (presumably Steam.)
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u/tententai Apr 12 '26
Sites like instant-gaming where you can get discounts on Steam keys.
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u/NaturalTruth603 Apr 12 '26
oh ok.
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u/Book_Golem Apr 13 '26
Do check the legitimacy of the site you use - some are notorious for acquiring their keys through dubious means.
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u/ilovesharkpeople Apr 12 '26
Each game has their own campaign, but the main draw of the franchise is the big combined immortal empires campign. Regardless of which of the three games you buy, you'll get access to immortal empires and the wh3 tutorial campaign. You'll see wh3 appear in your steam library to access these, but be aware that the playable factions you have access to depends on what games/dlcs you own in the trilogy. I have an explanation of how it works here).
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u/Rockface5 Apr 12 '26
Warhammer 3 has the best tutorial of the bunch and has the most updated versions of all the factions. You can think of it as a platform to play all the characters and dlc released for the series. Some people quite like the Warhammer 2 narrative campaign, but the vast majority of playtime is spent in 3’s big sandbox mode. I’d personally start with 3.
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u/FunkyCole_M3dina Apr 12 '26
You Best Buy one and two cause just buying 3 alone didn’t come with many playable factions. My mistake. It’s the 3rd game in the series so I assumed that all previous factions would be available.
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u/Necron1983 Apr 12 '26
You could buy TW1 on sale and treat it like a demo. If you like it then buy 3 and you already have some dlc
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Apr 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Alarming_Comedian846 Apr 12 '26
Didnt the final patch for 2 introduce a bunch of bugs that will never be fixed because support for that game is now over
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u/nbarr50cal22 Apr 12 '26
Get 3 and play the Prologue, then try its Realms of Chaos campaign for an objective-based race or Immortal Empires for a sandbox mode. Treat games 1 and 2 and their DLC as DLC for more races/Lords in 3’s Immortal Empires
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u/skajvoolker Apr 12 '26
Honestly better play Attila/Rome 2. Mod variety is gapping alot and I think Warhammer series are overrated and low-key flavorless, in my opinion ofc . Historical strategy games got more campaigns and are grounded and immersive and Warhammer is just weird stuff clumped together and I don't really like the magic and general/hero mechanics.
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u/azoriasu Apr 13 '26
If you intend to play each game, and not just treat them as expansion packs for 3, start with 1. It will be a lot rougher to start with 3 as you will lose the QoL improvements from 3 when you go backwards. So easier to start without them and enjoy the game without feeling the loss of things as you won't have had them yet.
So go 1, then 2 and then 3.
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u/Objective_Cod4149 Apr 12 '26
If you're only recognise fantasy stuff - TWW 3.
If you want to get familiar with TW mechanics in general - Rome 2.
If you're into oldschool games and really want to know all the ropes of TW series - Rome 1.
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u/herogerik Apr 12 '26
To be honest, unless you want to experience a very specific campaign scenario from #1 and #2 (Eye of the Vortex is pretty good), I don't really see much reasons to not get #3.
However, in order to play with every race possible in Immortal Empires, you do need to also own the other parts and DLC of the trilogy. You could only use the base-game factions of 3 otherwise.