Armchair Dragoons Forums

Wargaming => Sci-fi & Fantasy Warfare => Topic started by: Martok on December 04, 2020, 05:34:56 AM

Title: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on December 04, 2020, 05:34:56 AM
With all the other gaming news, I almost forgot about The Twisted & The Twilight DLC coming out, alongside (more importantly IMO) the rework for the Wood Elves. 


While I admittedly have little desire to grab the DLC, I am looking forward to checking out the Wood Elves once the inevitable kinks from the latest update are worked out.  It sounds like they'll be an actually viable way to play tall, something I very much appreciate in strategy games (and wish we'd see more of).  Anyone else been playing WH2 lately, or planning to? 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on December 04, 2020, 06:45:37 AM
I just bought the tomb kings one - waiting for a chance to sit down with it and maybe try an aar
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on December 04, 2020, 05:05:43 PM
Sweet.  :bigthumb:  Any idea if you're playing  Settra, or one of the other TK legendary lords? 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on December 05, 2020, 07:07:08 PM
Arkhan the black - he’s who I would have painted in ye olden days
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on December 06, 2020, 02:07:33 AM
Ha, nice. 


Not sure why, but lately both the Dark Elves and (especially) Vampire Counts have been calling to me.  Might have to take one of the von Carstein's out for a spin. 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on December 06, 2020, 02:20:08 PM
Excellent - there is so much diversity in the game I could  but I won’t not play anything else
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on December 06, 2020, 05:53:41 PM
On a different note, I find it interesting that the new update removes the difficulty rating for the various Legendary Lords.  I can't help but wonder why. 

Was it because the difficulty ratings were judged grossly inaccurate (especially after all the years of updates that changed game balance)?  Was it so as to not discourage players (especially newer ones) from choosing a Lord that sounded like fun, but maybe had a "harder" campaign?  I think I like the change, but I'm curious as to the reasoning behind it. 




Excellent - there is so much diversity in the game I could  but I won’t not play anything else

Heh, I know the feeling.  Appealing as the other races/factions are, I still want to play as the Empire or Dwarfs every time.  :D 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on December 16, 2020, 03:07:00 AM
Just in time for the holidays, an opt-in beta update (the "Asrai Resurgent") is now available: 


https://www.totalwar.com/blog/the-asrai-resurgent-update-opt-in-beta/


It appears to be a pretty solid list.  Naturally, most of the changes & improvements focus on the Wood Elves, including addressing issues with the Twisted & the Twilight DLC. 



(Of course, I've started up a campaign as Vlad... ;D ) 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on April 22, 2021, 04:37:56 PM
A small patch dropped today.  Still no word on when the next (last) DLC is coming... 


https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-ii-patch-1-11-1/


Quote

This is a small interim patch to address a handful of issues.

    *  Giant Wolves are no longer missing from Drycha’s Wild Spirits pool
    *  Rakarth’s Whip no longer jumps back to it’s original location when he is selected
    *  kaven victory conditions have been tweaked to accommodate the changes to Skaven Corruption
    *  Black Dragons no longer use mismatched textures
   *  Condemned Lizardmen armies no longer gain Blood Voyage buffs
    *  Lohkir’s unique Black Ark no longer increases Supply Lines.




Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Bison on April 24, 2021, 09:07:36 PM
I saw this update a few days ago but I fell into a play through of Batman Arkham Asylum. Now that I have defeat the Joker's evil plans for Gotham and Batman, I can hopefully redirect my attention back to playing my Lizardman campaign.
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on May 29, 2021, 11:54:26 PM
I don't if anyone here has watched any of Cody's "noob's guides", but they're pretty funny (and actually somewhat informative to boot).  This guide for Isabella Von Carstein is his latest, and I think it's one of my favorites so far.  8)   





Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on June 03, 2021, 04:29:18 PM
The game's final DLC, The Silence and the Fury, has been announced!  Looks like the Beastmen and Lizardmen fans will finally get the love they've been so desperately craving... 


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1556110/Total_War_WARHAMMER_II__The_Silence__The_Fury/





Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on June 28, 2021, 02:06:08 PM
The trailer itself isn't anything special:  It's just an overview of all the free content that's been added to Warhammer II over the years. 

At the end of the trailer, however, it mentions that a new FLC Legendary Lord and unit are coming...and new reinforcements?  I'm curious to see what CA means by that. 





Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 01, 2021, 05:00:40 PM
New blog info (https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-2-silence-and-fury-release-date-faq/?utm_source=Total+War+Newsletter+GDPR+Consent&utm_campaign=ffff605cc0-WH3_GW_Khorne_Content_Reveal_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_94e55c10f9-ffff605cc0-63463485), a trailer, and a reveal stream video for The Silence and The Fury DLC: 










The following nuggets from the newest blog entry (https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-2-silence-and-fury-release-date-faq/?utm_source=Total+War+Newsletter+GDPR+Consent&utm_campaign=ffff605cc0-WH3_GW_Khorne_Content_Reveal_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_94e55c10f9-ffff605cc0-63463485) is what particularly caught my attention: 

Quote

There is also the massive free update coming at the same time which includes a number of elements you’ll learn more about below and over the next 24 hours.

...There will be two major parts of the free patch that lands with the DLC – updates for the Beastmen… and smaller but still significant changes to one more faction you’ll find out about tomorrow.

...We’ll see you back here tomorrow, when we’ll talk about a new Dwarf legendary lord, mercenary reinforcements, and a new Beastmen lord.



Okay -- *now* I'm excited.  :D 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 02, 2021, 10:15:47 PM
Giggity!  So it turns out the new FLC Legendary Lord is Thorek Ironbrow: 


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1576390/Total_War_WARHAMMER_II__Thorek_Ironbrow/

(https://i.imgur.com/Vt34THS.jpg)


Looks like his specialty is runes, and will especially benefit from the rework to rune magic in the upcoming patch.  (The Dwarfs are essentially getting their own Lore of Magic.)  Also notable in that he heads an "expedition", and that his starting position appears to be in Lustira -- sort of the Dawi equivalent of Wulfhart (although Thorek will probably be battling Skaven more than Lizardmen). 




Cody Bonds gives a tongue-in-cheek (though still informative) overview of Lord Ironbrow, with Italian Spartacus taking a bit more serious look at the first few turns of his campaign. 








I'm definitely looking forward to taking him out for a spin.  :D 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 02, 2021, 10:24:52 PM
And for the game's final free content, we're getting Ogre Mercenaries! 


https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-2-ogre-mercenaries-roster-reveal/




Cody Bonds did a video overview of these guys as well.  I love the pistol-armed Maneaters, dressed up as pirates; that alone makes this worthwhile.  ;D 







Cody also speculates that the Ogre Mercs are a teaser of sorts for Warhammer 3 -- a notion that the blog itself appears to reinforce: 

Quote

And what better possible way is there to bid farewell to the New World and WARHAMMER II than with brutal warriors adventuring far from their home in the north-eastern reaches, far beyond the realms of the Empire and Kislev, near the mysterious lands of Cathay? This taster, a mere morsel of what might lie in their Kingdom, is available through Total War Access, along with a host of other content for WARHAMMER II.

Yes, the Ogre Mercenaries are our final major addition to WARHAMMER II, alongside all the other content in The Silence & The Fury, and bug fixes and balance patches notwithstanding. Feast with them, drink with them, pay them well, and maybe they will spin you a tale – one of the mysterious East, of new realms of conquest, of Daemon armies clashing, headed by terrible creatures. Of the Maw, and its insatiable hunger, and the legends that tell of a way to finally sate it…

Here’s to the future.



:D 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on July 02, 2021, 11:15:04 PM
Just when I thought I was out…..
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 03, 2021, 01:53:49 AM
^  My thoughts as exactly! 

Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Gusington on July 03, 2021, 09:28:57 AM
Sweet, sweet Cathay…
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Bison on July 03, 2021, 04:11:13 PM
I have lost my initial enthusiasm for Warhammer Total War which really means I should fire it up again...soonish...
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 04, 2021, 04:32:53 AM
I just wish the campaign map wasn't so "busy", and that CA had done something about those ridiculously long loading times.  Honestly, those are my two biggest beefs with the game at this point -- I'd be playing it a lot more otherwise. 

As it is, I'm genuinely excited to try out Thorek.  He sounds like my kind of Dwarf. 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on July 04, 2021, 07:12:20 AM
It was with a heavy heart when I turned my back on the dwarves
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Gusington on July 04, 2021, 12:13:39 PM
We will always remember.
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 05, 2021, 03:40:47 AM
The Dawi never forget. 

Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on July 05, 2021, 11:15:56 AM
Yeah…….

They’re assholes  ;D
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Gusington on July 05, 2021, 02:36:30 PM
O snap
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 05, 2021, 03:36:02 PM
Yeah…….

They’re assholes  ;D

That's going in the Book. 


(You're not wrong, though.) 

Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on July 05, 2021, 03:50:35 PM
😂😂😂

Honestly, having watched LOTR again and read some warhammer fluff they’re trouble causing assholes
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 06, 2021, 01:21:52 AM
in Tolkien's universe, Aulë created them to be incredibly stubborn and unyielding.  It is subsequently both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness.  One gets the sense that this trait was only amplified in Warhammer's Dwarfs.  :P 

Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 06, 2021, 04:55:34 PM
CA gives us the details on the rework to Dwarfs (and Thorek in particular): 


https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-2-thorek-ironbrow/



The short version is that rune magic, grudges, and (to a lesser extend) oath gold are all being overhauled.  I'm seriously stoked for these changes. 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on July 06, 2021, 05:06:06 PM
in Tolkien's universe, Aulë created them to be incredibly stubborn and unyielding.  It is subsequently both their greatest strength and their greatest weakness.  One gets the sense that this trait was only amplified in Warhammer's Dwarfs.  :P

Like I said - a-holes!! 😂

From someone who defaulted to dwarves in any fantasy game anywhere ever
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on July 13, 2021, 08:25:21 PM
Patch notes are up! 



https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-warhammer-2-silence-and-fury-patch-notes-112-hammers-herdstones-update/








This looks like one hell of an update; the list of changes is absolutely massive.  The notes for the Dwarf rework alone are almost longer than my arm: 


Quote

DWARF REWORK

With the arrival of Thorek Ironbrow (and his intense frown of disapproval), we had no choice but to grant the redoubtable Dawi the same love and attention that other Old World races have received. This overhaul touches nearly all aspects of the Dwarf factions’ shared mechanics, not least Grudges and Runecrafting.


GRUDGES

The Grudge bar has been expanded with more tiers and more significant effects granted at each tier. Clearing Grudges is now more attainable, making the system more balanced and rewarding. Your Legendary Lord’s Grudge level grants increasing stat boosts, and influences how many Wandering Slayers he can recruit.

WANDERING SLAYERS

Slayers may still be recruited in settlements as normal. However, they will also become available in the Regiments of Renown recruitment pool, in direct relation to your faction’s Grudge level:

    When the Grudge bar is full, many Dwarfs will feel shame, and will choose to walk the path of the Slayer
    When it is low, fewer Dwarfs will feel the need to swear Slayer oaths, and the pool will replenish more slowly

LEGENDARY GRUDGES

    Each Dwarf Legendary Lord begins play with four unique Legendary Grudges in the Dammaz Kron which inform the flow of their campaigns
        Thorek Ironbrow begins with eight, relating to the artifacts he needs to locate
    These Grudges have a higher severity rating and add a sense of progression to Grudges
    Legendary Grudges award considerably more Oathgold than generated Grudges and, in some cases, powerful buffs or unique Master Runes (see below).


NEW POST-BATTLE OPTIONS

Some post-battle options for Dwarfs have been altered to improve them thematically, given the Dawi’s relationships with and attitudes towards specific races. These can grant bonuses for defensive play, and provide a valid new source of Oathgold:

Victory VS Dwarfs:

    Ransom captives: Ransoms prisoners for Oathgold
    Drink to Victory! Province buff
    Take On Captives: Replenishment

Victory VS hated races (EG Greenskins, Skaven, Vampire Counts, Chaos etc):

    Execute and loot: Oathgold
    Drink to Victory! Province buff

Victory VS not-so-hated races (EG Humans, Elves etc):

    Ransom captives: Ransoms prisoners for Oathgold
    Drink to Victory! Province buff


CHARACTER AND FACTION EFFECT TWEAKS

THORGRIM

As High King of the Dwarfs, all of Thorgrim’s provincial commandments are now more powerful. Thorgrim also gains additional bonuses from settling Grudges, with four unique follow-up incidents for all grudge missions:

    Tribute from the Craft-guilds: gold
    Tribute from the Thanes: Oathgold and diplomatic bonuses with Dwarf factions
    Tribute from the Brewers: factionwide Public Order and Growth
    Tribute from the Slayers: More Wandering Slayers added to the RoR pool

Lord Effects:

    Bonus Physical Resistance and Guardian effect for Hammerers
    Thorgrim now begins play with a Master Engineer Hero

GROMBRINDAL

Grombrinal Now begins player with a Master Engineer Hero

THANE

Thane Heroes now have three new skills:

    Keeper of the Gate
        Guardian effect for self
        Vigour Loss Reduction for Hammerers
    Ironbeard
        Bonus fire resistance
        Imbues Flammable effect
        Bonus ammo for Ironbreakers and Irondrakes
    Wanderer
        Vanguard and Stalk effects for Self
        Grants Snipe to Rangers

ENGINEERS

The Engineer skill tree has been reworked, allowing you to specialise a character as a long-range sniper or a close-quarters, shotgun-wielding bruiser.

RUNESMITHS

Runesmiths now have a new skill tree to reflect the changes to Rune Magic (see below), and can now unlock two special embedded army actions: Harden Armour and Sharpen Weapons.


RUNECRAFTING

The Runecrafting system has been much expanded, with the goal of allowing players to create Rune combos for characters in order to customise them with interesting, varied, and powerful upgrades.

    A large number of new Character Runes and Banner Runes have been added to the game. Players now have a broader choice for character and army improvement through Character Runes (buffing the character’s performance) and Banner Runes (unit banners and artillery buffs).
    Players can craft these Runes through the new Character Rune and Banner Rune tabs in the Forge. Each Runecrafting ritual in the Forge can only be performed once, but each ritual will generate three Runes for use across multiple characters. Master Runes can also be crafted, which produces a single, powerful Rune.
    Dwarf characters now have three dedicated Character Rune slots, so equipping Character Runes doesn’t take up any other equipment slots. However, Banner Runes which benefit units in their army can also be added under the Followers, Runes and Banners pane in the in the character panel.


RUNE MAGIC

Rune Magic has had an overhaul to bring its effectiveness and tactical flexibility in battle into line with the Lores of Magic wielded by other races, whilst still very pointedly being NOT MAGIC.

There are six Runes of Magic which can be used by Runelords, Runesmiths and Thorek. There are also six Master Runes of Magic – more powerful versions with longer cooldowns, which can only be used by Runelords and Thorek Ironbrow. When a Rune is used in battle, it puts all that character’s Runes into a shared cooldown period.




Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on September 08, 2021, 01:22:22 PM
CA dropped a new patch (1.12.1) today.  It's mostly bug-fixes with a few balance tweaks. 


https://www.totalwar.com/blog/warhammer-2-patch-1-12-1-cavalry-fix/



Perhaps of greater interest, however, is that the devs are working on a beta patch (currently available as an opt-in) that focuses on rebalancing cavalry.  There's been a lot of complaints about cavalry (especially heavy cavalry) being under-powered for a while now, so it's nice to see them finally addressing the problem. 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on September 08, 2021, 02:10:27 PM
I have noticed the standard empire cav struggling to catch fleeing foot troops
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Gusington on September 08, 2021, 04:03:26 PM
Still waiting on my dwarf rework.
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on September 09, 2021, 12:38:25 AM
I have noticed the standard empire cav struggling to catch fleeing foot troops

From what I've seen, most of the complaints have stemmed from cavalry under-performing in melee combat against (most) infantry.  If they're unable to catch them while fleeing as well, however, that would definitely also be a problem. 




Still waiting on my dwarf rework.

Dude, they were just overhauled in July.  You want another one already?? 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Gusington on September 09, 2021, 08:19:06 AM
Can never have too many dwarf reworks!!
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Sir Slash on September 09, 2021, 11:47:03 AM
Or Dwarf Manscapping.
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Gusington on September 09, 2021, 11:50:04 AM
Manscraping? Not sure if I'm into that.
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on November 15, 2021, 11:30:01 PM
Came across this lady's video.  I thought she did a good job of spelling out WH2's current state, along with what it did both right & wrong. 





Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Boggit on March 11, 2022, 03:02:35 AM
My long term campaign is Skaven - Clan Skryre. I'm doing ok, but with 2 1/2 armies am struggling a bit. Any advice is gratefully recieved.
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on August 10, 2022, 03:15:13 AM
9.6 gb update wtf?
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on August 11, 2022, 12:27:04 AM
9.6 gb update wtf?

Warhammer II is now available on the Microsoft store, so CA is forcing this 9 Gb "update" on existing owners to make everyone's version compatible.  It's the same bullshit they pulled with Three Kingdoms. 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on August 11, 2022, 01:07:18 AM
It’s been a while since I played - this may be an uninstaller
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Gusington on August 11, 2022, 07:25:03 AM
^Yeah for me too.
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on August 11, 2022, 03:13:37 PM
^  Yeah, I definitely wouldn't blame you guys for doing so. 


I'm fortunate in that, for whatever reason(s), my Steam games don't always automatically update (even though I have them set to do so in my settings), which happens to be the case with my copy of WH2 here.  So I guess as long I don't tell it to install the update, I'm fine...at least for now. 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on August 15, 2022, 01:37:44 AM
Well so much for that:  My game just auto-updated as well.  (I really wish there was a way to stop your Steam games from updating if/when you so chose.)  I've now uninstalled as well. 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on August 15, 2022, 03:20:22 AM
One of us

One of us

Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Bison on August 15, 2022, 12:23:47 PM
There are many developers requiring massive downloads for games. Many of which seem unnecessary. I remember installing ARK and the install was over 100 GB, It was due to all sorts of maps and other stuff of which 90% are not necessary for the vast majority of players. But the developers make you download it all with no option to reduce the file size.  If I want to play a specific modded world, I will rather have the option to download it or not. I uninstalled. I could not justify the game taking over 10% of my HD space. The base game is only around 10 GB so 90 GB of extras.  These days a 1 TB HD is not sufficient as more and more games have massive storage requirements.

As far as Warhammer, I have not loaded a game in close to a year. They really turned me off to the game with the TW WHIII hype train and the inexplicable reason to have multiple games for the same dang game. Silly design decision. And they did not win any favors by quickly dropping support almost immediately for historical games with real potential after release.
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on August 15, 2022, 05:39:33 PM
I will uninstall but fortunately at the moment the download is sat in ‘unscheduled’ and isn’t trying to download
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Gusington on August 15, 2022, 05:55:03 PM
^*yet
Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Martok on August 20, 2022, 03:53:47 AM
There are many developers requiring massive downloads for games. Many of which seem unnecessary. I remember installing ARK and the install was over 100 GB, It was due to all sorts of maps and other stuff of which 90% are not necessary for the vast majority of players. But the developers make you download it all with no option to reduce the file size.  If I want to play a specific modded world, I will rather have the option to download it or not. I uninstalled. I could not justify the game taking over 10% of my HD space. The base game is only around 10 GB so 90 GB of extras.  These days a 1 TB HD is not sufficient as more and more games have massive storage requirements.

As far as Warhammer, I have not loaded a game in close to a year. They really turned me off to the game with the TW WHIII hype train and the inexplicable reason to have multiple games for the same dang game. Silly design decision. And they did not win any favors by quickly dropping support almost immediately for historical games with real potential after release.

You're preaching to the choir in all respects, Bison.  The hard-drive space requirement is both ridiculous and clearly unnecessary, and I've become almost completely turned off to the Total Warhammer series for all the reasons you mentioned above (and more). 




I will uninstall but fortunately at the moment the download is sat in ‘unscheduled’ and isn’t trying to download

As Gus said..."yet". 

That was the status of my version as well, but when I fired up my PC the other day, I discovered that Warhammer II was now fully "updated".  :kling:  May you have better fortune than I, and your copy of the game remain "incomplete". 


Title: Re: Warhammer II
Post by: Undercovergeek on August 20, 2022, 04:01:13 AM
I haven’t pressed the uninstall button yet but I will - should the urge ever arise it’ll be there on steam but I doubt it