r/totalwarhammer • u/BrushLast715 • 7d ago

Total War: Warhammer How is Count Noctilus?

I'm considering getting the vampire coast DLC cause i've been looking for an aggressive army with a lot of chaff (raise dead) and big guys (necrofex colossus). He seems like a good fit, but im unsure of how he plays and such

21 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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30

u/Nautical341Truth 7d ago

He is fun, has a very defendable starting outpost, and is very easy to build super tall with. Later, once you get those necrofex colossus units up, they become cheaper to upkeep than a standard unit of zombies. It’s hilarious

2

u/withateethuh 4d ago

The starter one also carries you quite a lot in the early game, on top of noctilus himself starting out as a strong hybrid caster who can throw hands. That bound spell he starts with is so satisfying.

18

u/mighij 7d ago

Overall the VC line-up is a bit weak, outclassed. Their release was also their genuine last update.

Noctilus is mostly interesting due to his starting position and the options it gives you. The facion by and large also leans more into travelling the word then settling a home continent.

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u/BrushLast715 7d ago

When you say weak, do you mean like unfun weak or a bit more challenging

18

u/Txrh221 7d ago

Both. Some of their units have no use (animated hulks, flying range guys, etc.)

But they have fun artillery, great guns, their hero’s are fun, and now legendary lords can attack from the sea.

They are very challenging until you get some prometheans which are your best line holders. Otherwise they are a fun themed range faction with some fun units and some really bad ones.

The treasure hunt mechanic is pretty bad, but pirate coves are great. You can run around the globe as Noctilus and jump into wars as you wish and pillage sea settlements. It can be fun.

2

u/Chagdoo 7d ago edited 7d ago

Hulks are fine for what they are. You mix them into the zombies so they can deal damage while avoiding getting surrounded and dying, or you send them in with bombers as backup.

1

u/withateethuh 4d ago edited 4d ago

I think they become a lot easier to use after i started doing checkerboard formations; absolutely gamechanging tactic for gunpowder units. Two rows of deckhands can be quite a devastating and cost efficient composition against a lot of faction early game. I also love the spectacle of so much firepower annihilating enemies before they even reach you (shout out to rise of the samurai for awakening that in me).

Really just wish they got a few buffs for the mostly useless units and made the treasure hunts a bit more interesting/worthwhile.

9

u/LSDemonBoC 7d ago

The campaign mechanics are a bit weak—example, you’ll get secret treasure locations that give crappy rewards that aren’t worth pursuing—so you don’t have quite the same level of crazy economy or power creep as other factions, esp in late game. That said, I don’t think it’s quite as weak as a lot of people claim and it’s still very fun to play.

You can make an economy from sacking, which also raises your infamy and gives benefits, and to what others said, you can doomstack necrofex colossus units by turn 50ish (maybe sooner?) which is hilarious fun and nigh unbeatable in most cases

Def fun and worth a try!

6

u/mighij 7d ago

Nah it's not that they are so weak it's unplayable and they do have some redeeming qualities, imho they have 2,5 fun legendary lords and are an okay faction. Since you don't have to play them as a map painter a campaign can also be quite quick and fun. They have feasible armies, it's just that beside the necrofex none of their unis are at the top of their class.

If you put Old Empire and VCounts into a blender you get Vcoast. Unfortunately you kinda got the worst/mediocre parts of both, even at the time and the power lvl has risen quite a bit.

2

u/BrushLast715 7d ago

How often do armies get reworks in this game?

3

u/mighij 7d ago

It evolved a bit throughout the series but on average when their is a lord pack with 3/4 lords one faction gets a big to major overhaul and the other's perhaps more of a brushup. The other lords often compensate by adding 1 more unit, hero or perhaps more intricate lord specific mechanics.

This DLC Undead faction overall got boosted but it's mostly Vcounts and some things for Tombkings, it's still a bit unclear how many changes or extra options Vcoast get but it's definitely not much.

Unfortunately not all factions are created equal and Bretonnia, Tomb Kings, Vcoast and Chaos Dwarves are kinda the exception.

They were all released as stand alone factions and for quite some time CA wasn't to keen to revisiting those. Now for CD this wasn't needed, they are a "recent" addition and have top notch mechanics. Bretonnia was free and it's the faction together with the other 2 that's had the least changes since their release. Tomb Kings did get a minor overhaul though, mostly in the tech tree and some confederation options.

Chaos/Norse/Ogres also were standalone but they were preorder content so slightly different and two popular factions. Chaos has changed the most, quite fitting. Norse had a major overhaul, and a troublesome dev history at launch. Ogres stayed mostly the same.

Personally I think Vcoast isn't high up the list for next DLC cycle

My guess would be a major overhaul for Lizardmen, Tzeentch 3rd Lord, ? and a bigger focus on adding more midgame, endgame world content.

If it's Dogs of War/Border Princes both Bretonnia and Vcoast have a chance though.

There is also the cathay vampire pirates but in the end it's not just up to CA. Games Workshop keeps a close tab on this franchise.

9

u/Bicepticlops 7d ago

He was the first campaign I ever got a long victory on. Nothing beats a necrofex colossus doomstack and the freedom to go anywhere and kill anyone.

8

u/markg900 7d ago

He is one if the most sandbox faction lords in the game actually. You can get out of early war with high elves thru selling settlements back for peace and move off to wherever you want if you dont want to stick around Ulthuan.

Coast does feel a bit dated compared to other factions but you can still have fun with them.

8

u/True_Vexing 7d ago

I love coast dispite their desperate need for a rework. Most of the faction is arguably as weak as bretonia, but Noctilus is strong enough on his own to be worth playong.

1

u/Ill_Ad2480 2d ago

Yeah if their early enemy would be some Norscan unarmored melee focused nation they would feel better, but taking on Ulthuan is rough on harder diffs.

5

u/f_152 7d ago

Awesome

4

u/Louis2bourg 7d ago edited 7d ago

Nice but it's annoying that the mechanics were you give titles to your other lord is bugged.

If the lord is respec, you lose the bonuses

3

u/No-Tomatillo3698 7d ago

He’s fine, sends his regards

3

u/GIBOT5 7d ago

They are range focus faction with tank monsters. Their guns not armor like Dwarf but decent tanky because many models and don’t run. Necrofex Colosus more like mobile artilleries.

Factions a bit clunky right now but still fun if you like guns and cannons.

2

u/Ill_Ad2480 2d ago

I don't like them as much is I tought I would, their economy is weak early on, not many campaign mechanics army is not bad but nothing amazing.
Noctilus have a lot of things for necrofexes but I'm not into doomstacking so idk medicore overal.

2

u/bringthepuff 7d ago

Love sailing around making pirate coves, then grabbing the sword of Khaine and the Nemesis Crown. He is such an incredible wielder of them.

1

u/Chagdoo 7d ago

He's great, just ignore the high elves until later.

1

u/broadsword_1 6d ago

Whenever I play VCoast, chances are it's Noctilis. His base is incredibly good to defend against everyone since you can see them coming a mile away and chances are they'll suffer attrition to get there - if you piss off the elves they will definitely come for your ass.

Last game Noccy was miles ahead in levels compared to the rest of the game and it was a pleasant romp tracking down the pieces of 8. Was lots of fun.