Immortal Empires is the massive combined campaign map for Total War: Warhammer 3, bringing together the factions and geography from across all three Total War: Warhammer games. This epic game mode fuses the strategic depth of the sandboxes from the previous titles, allowing you to play out your ultimate Warhammer fantasy battles.
Previously, access to Immortal Empires required owning all three Total War: Warhammer base games. But great news – Immortal Empires is now completely free for all owners of Total War: Warhammer 3!
So how can you get your hands on Immortal Empires and enjoy this colossal campaign for free? Here‘s what you need to know:
Upgrade Total War: Warhammer 3
The key to unlocking Immortal Empires for free is to simply update Total War: Warhammer 3 to the latest version. When the big Immortal Empires DLC released on August 23, 2022, Creative Assembly made it free for all Warhammer 3 players as part of the massive Update 2.0.
So as long as you‘re playing the most up-to-date version of Warhammer 3, Immortal Empires will automatically be available for you to play at no additional cost. Just look for the Immortal Empires campaign option on the main menu.
Own Just Total War: Warhammer 3
Previously, access to Immortal Empires required owning all three Total War: Warhammer base games. But now, you only need to own Total War: Warhammer 3.
The Immortal Empires DLC combines content and maps from the first two Warhammer games, but you no longer need to actually own those titles. Simply buying and installing Total War: Warhammer 3 gives you free access to everything in Immortal Empires.
Don‘t Need Any DLC
You don‘t need to own any DLC or extra content packs to play Immortal Empires. The massive combined campaign comes as part of the free Update 2.0.
Of course, owning Warhammer 3 DLC unlocks additional Legendary Lords, units and factions. But the full Immortal Empires map and sandbox is yours to play for free!
It‘s Out of Beta
Immortal Empires spent a couple months in open beta as Creative Assembly gathered player feedback and ironed out bugs. But as of September 2022, Immortal Empires is now out of beta and considered fully launched.
For a time, you had to opt-in to the beta to access Immortal Empires. But now it‘s permanently available to everyone as an official game mode. Just update Warhammer 3 and you‘ll get Immortal Empires added to your campaign menu.
Claim It on Epic Games Store
If you claimed Total War: Warhammer 3 for free on the Epic Games Store, the good news is this also grants you access to Immortal Empires!
During a limited promotion, Epic Games offered Warhammer 3 as a free download. If you claimed it during this event, Immortal Empires is yours for the taking by updating to the latest version.
Waiting for a Steam Sale?
Steam sales are a great opportunity to grab Total War: Warhammer 3 at a discounted price. And once you own the base game on Steam, the massive Immortal Empires DLC is free automatically with the Update 2.0 patch.
So if you‘re waiting for the next Steam sale to pick up Warhammer 3, you‘ll be able to get Immortal Empires at no extra cost and explore the huge combined campaign.
Try It with Game Pass
An easy way to play Total War: Warhammer 3 and check out Immortal Empires is with Xbox Game Pass. Warhammer 3 is currently available with Game Pass for PC and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
That means subscribers can install and play the full game for free. And when you update to the latest version, you‘ll get full access to the Immortal Empires campaign at no additional charge.
Get It with a Friend‘s Copy
If a friend owns Total War: Warhammer 3 and has access to Immortal Empires, you can join their campaign in multiplayer. By playing co-op with a friend who hosts, you can check out Immortal Empires without owning Warhammer 3 yourself.
You won‘t be able to play Immortal Empires solo this way. But it‘s a good way to try before you buy and see the epic scale of the huge campaign map firsthand.
Wait for a Free Weekend
Periodically Total War: Warhammer 3 is available to play for free during Steam free weekends. This gives you temporary access to download and play the full game.
If you download Warhammer 3 during a free weekend event, you‘ll be able to explore Immortal Empires while it‘s available. Of course your access will end when the event concludes, but it‘s a nice free trial.
Grab It on Sale
While Immortal Empires itself is free, you do need to purchase Total War: Warhammer 3 to play it. But the base game frequently goes on sale across various digital stores.
By grabbing Warhammer 3 while it‘s on sale, you can get the full experience of Immortal Empires for cheaper. So keep an eye out for discounts on the base game.
Once you‘ve gotten access to Immortal Empires for free, you may feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the massive campaign. Here are some helpful tips to get you started conquering the world:
Pick an Easy Starting Faction
For your first Immortal Empires campaign, go with an easy faction like High Elves, Lizardmen, or Vampire Counts. Straightforward, elite unit rosters make early game progression smoother.
Focus on Economy First
Build up your income through settlements, trade, and resources before overextending your forces. A strong economy funds armies to snowball your conquest.
Scout Your Starting Area
Explore the immediate geography around your starting location to see potential enemies, chokepoints, and paths for early expansion.
Prioritize Growth
Use heroes, commandments, and buildings that increase growth in your provinces so you can upgrade settlements faster. Higher tiers gain better defenses and income.
Maintain Public Order
Keep public order high in new territories to avoid rebellions springing up all over. Letting order slip tanks income and splits your forces.
Build Walls Everywhere
Rush construction of walls in vulnerable settlements, allowing garrisons to fend off attackers if you can‘t reach them in time with armies.
Sign Military Alliances
Allies net you extra forces in wars and make enemies think twice about declaring war on you. But don‘t overcommit.
Legendary lords are mighty hero characters that lead factions in Total War: Warhammer. Choosing the right legendary lord to lead your forces can make overcoming the vast scale of Immortal Empires much easier thanks to their powerful bonuses and abilities.
Here are some top legendary lords to consider for dominating your Immortal Empires campaign:
Karl Franz (The Empire) – Excellent starting position in the heart of the Reikland. Buffs the core of your army with leadership, melee attack, and upkeep reduction bonuses. A versatile military and economic powerhouse.
Tyrion (High Elves) – Ideal origins on Ulthuan help unite the High Elves quickly. Potent combat lord who enhances Spearmen and Archers through buffs. Great foundation for elf conquest.
Ikit Claw (Skaven) – He‘s the greatest Warlock Engineer, giving huge bonuses to weapons teams and artillery. Starts in a wealthy corner of the Southlands jungle. Nukes help with sieges.
Grom the Paunch (Greenskins) – Cooks up a lethal cauldron for combat buffs and regeneration. Begins near Elven colonies ripe for sacking. Unlocks excellent goblin units and technologies.
Malus Darkblade (Dark Elves) – Split lord with powerful Daemon form. Initial location lets you raid wealthy coastal cities. Excellent for using Black Arks to establish a spread out empire.
Settra the Imperishable (Tomb Kings) – Armies cost no upkeep, just Canopic Jars from conquests. Starts in golden Nehekhara ready for rapid expansion. He‘s Settra…so clan unity and construction speeds rocket.
Louen Leoncoeur (Bretonnia) – Ultimate mounted lord with quests for legendary gear. Nearby lands perfect for establishing your knightly kingdom. Economy bonuses enhance your war chest.
The diversity of factions in Immortal Empires can seem overwhelming for a new player. These factions make getting started on the grand campaign easier with straightforward unit rosters, beneficial starting positions, and playstyles welcoming to beginners:
Tyrion‘s High Elves – Elite infantry and archers with Dragons for firepower. Safely isolated in Ulthuan. Can forge alliances with nearby factions.
Empire – Jack of all trades roster. Centralized starting spot to expand equally in all directions. Rich provinces fuel armies. Karl Franz leads them excellently.
Hexoatl Lizardmen – Ancient Plaque of Sotek buffs units in nearby provinces for free upkeep savings. Potent dinosaurs and mages available early. Jungles rich in resources.
Vampire Coast – No Chaos invasion threat since you‘re not an Order faction. Gunpowder units offer easy ranged power. Pirates gain tons of gold from coastal raiding.
Gong Du‘s Nanman – Stone Dogs give bonuses in mountainous terrain. Tributaries provide income while buffering you. TP help field diverse armies quickly. Centralized starting spot.
Imrik‘s High Elves – Begins far from the Chaos invasion. Can quickly confederate Caledor. Dragons strike fear while Spearmen hold the line. Mage support.
The hundreds of unique units across Warhammer races available in Immortal Empires can be intimidating to new players. But mastering the best units for dominating battles will help you conquer the grand campaign.
Here are some top-tier units to aim for in recruitment and consider the backbone forces of your armies:
Ironbreakers (Dwarfs) – Nearly unbreakable heavy infantry that excels at holding the line. Use to anchor battle lines while artillery and slayers pressure flanks.
Sisters of Avelorn (High Elves) – Legendary archers with Fire Damage and long range. Mow down enemies at a distance. Focus fire large monsters and lords.
Blood Knights (Vampire Counts) – Hard-hitting shock cavalry that obliterate units with charges. Cycle charge lone entities into oblivion. Run down archers and artillery.
Crypt Horrors (Vampire Coast) – Monstrous infantry that cause fear while dishing out plenty of anti-large and armor-piercing damage. Great supporting an undead gun line.
Skaven Jezzails (Skaven) – Long-range armor piercing shooters that can focus down heavily armored targets. Hide them behind spears and let them go to work.
Ancient Stegadons (Lizardmen) – Heavily armored dinosaurs that blast apart blobs with explosive Skaven slaves. Use as linebreakers while Saurus hold flanks.
Warpfire Throwers (Skaven) – Hide these flamethrowers behind fodder to torch engaged infantry. Let them loose once melee lines clash, withdrawing before enemies reach them.
The huge array of Legendary Lords available to lead factions in Immortal Empires can be dizzying. To help you focus, here are some of the best Lords for each race to consider:
Empire – Karl Franz, Boris Todbringer, Markus Wulfhart
Dwarfs – Thorgrim Grudgebearer, Ungrim Ironfist
Greenskins – Grom the Paunch, Wurrzag, Skarsnik
Vampire Counts – Vlad von Carstein, Mannfred von Carstein
Bretonnia – Louen Leoncoeur, Repanse de Lyonesse
Norsca – Wulfrik the Wanderer, Throgg
High Elves – Tyrion, Alarielle, Imrik, Eltharion
Dark Elves – Malekith, Malus Darkblade, Lokhir Fellheart, Rakarth
Lizardmen – Mazdamundi, Kroq-Gar, Tehenhauin
Skaven – Ikit Claw, Deathmaster Snikch, Throt the Unclean
Tomb Kings – Settra, Khalida, Arkhan the Black
Vampire Coast – Count Noctilus, Cylostra Direfin, Luthor Harkon
Chaos – Archaon, Kholek Suneater, Sigvald
Beastmen – Khazrak, Malagor
Wood Elves – Orion, Durthu
The default campaign objectives in Immortal Empires of conquering a certain number of settlements and eliminating faction leaders can be grueling. Here are some easier and more optimized victory conditions for beginners learning the vast campaign:
Short Campaign – The short campaign requires fewer provinces and has a quicker pacing suitable for newer players.
Vortex Victory – Factions like Lizardmen and High Elves can aim for the Vortex ritual which provides an alternate victory objective separate from conquest.
Forge Alliances – Focus on diplomacy and forging alliances to stand together against enemies. Provides allies and shared victories.
Continent Domination – Pick a single continent like Lustria or Naggaroth and aim to control it rather than the whole world.
Unite Your Race – Confederate and unite provinces held by factions of your race. Bring together your kindred under one banner.
Island Kingdoms – Island-based factions like High Elves can work to dominate just their archipelago, avoiding messy foreign wars.
Settlement Focus – Aim to build up and upgrade a small number of fortified core settlements rather than paint the map your color.
While Immortal Empires is great on its own, mods can add a ton of enhancements to your experience. Here are some top mods worth checking out:
Community Bug Fix – Squashes bugs left over from the beta like invisible units, eliminating crashes.
respec skill points – Allows resetting lord skills for experimenting with different builds.
Diplomacy Overhaul – Adds depth to negotiating with factions, like defensive and military access.
No Degradation – Persistent Summons – Keeps summoned units at full strength rather than fading away.
Universal Unlocker – Unlocks all lords and starts for a given race regardless of DLC owned. Great for more variety.
Volound’s Ultimate Battle Sound Overhaul – Adds immense immersion and intensity to battle audio.
Home Region Movement Bonus – Adds 50% extra campaign map movement range in home territory, allowing rapid response to threats.
Recruit Defeated Legendary Lords – Can recruit and use enemy legendary lords after defeating them in battle, which is awesome.
Tabletop Caps – Limits units like artillery and monsters to loreful caps for more balanced armies closer to the tabletop game.
No Unit Caps – Disables unit caps so you can make crazy doomstacks if you prefer. Adds more elite armies.
Conquering the vast campaign in Immortal Empires requires expert strategies beyond just the basics. Here are some advanced tips from veteran players for achieving ultimate victory:
Abuse ambush stance when on the attack – it drags isolated enemy armies to you.
Use heroes to block enemy army movement and disrupt their plans.
Focus fire with ranged units to eliminate high value targets like lords and monsters quickly.
Flank engaged lines with shock cavalry and monsters to break them fast.
Spread corruption with heroes to soften territory before invading.
Assault and hinder enemy armies with agents to weaken them before attacking.
Bait enemy forces with a cheap lord and ambush with your main force.
Craft items for your lords to increase combat effectiveness.
Secure military and defensive alliances when you‘re strong to avoid unnecessary wars.
Don‘t overextend – build up infrastructure and economy before conquering more lands.
Mastering these advanced strategies along with the tips provided will help you conquer the vast Mortal Empires campaign! Use the information provided to choose your starting faction and legendary lord wisely, build elite armies that play to your race‘s strengths, and manage your economy and diplomatic relations skillfully. Victory awaits!
