Chaos Dwarfs are ‘Total War: Warhammer 3”s most intricate villains yet

In Total War: Warhammer 3, generosity is scarcer than gold. In the Old World’s kingdoms of backstabbers and cutthroats, Creative Assembly’s newest faction – the Chaos Dwarfs – stand (metaphorically) tall in their benevolence. Show me another faction that can deliver homemade weapons to eager buyers across the world; or provide mandatory work placements for any defeated soldiers they pluck from the battlefield as “labourers”.

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Because of those reluctant workers, Chaos Dwarfs’ economy is vastly different to Warhammer’s typical fare as rather than constructing gold-earning buildings to pay for troops, Chaos Dwarfs have a number of unique resources to juggle. It all starts with labourers, who can either be sent to Chaos Dwarf outposts to mine Raw Materials, or condemned to life-long factory shifts where they refine those Raw Materials into Armaments.

From there, players are given a number of options: do you use those Armaments to upgrade your recruitment buildings, or kit your troops out with powerful bonuses? Do you increase your unit caps, or sell them to the highest bidder for gold and labourers? Speaking of labourers – do you have them construct a building in one turn, at the cost of a few hundred lives?

It’s not as overwhelming as it sounds, but it does mean that there is far more to think about beyond just painting the map in your colours — throw in a fleshed-out caravan trading system and unit caps that limit the amount of elite infantry you can field, and the Chaos Dwarfs’ campaign map becomes an engine of moving parts.

These mechanics make for Creative Assembly’s richest faction to date, and that depth extends far beyond the campaign map. Say what you will about capitalism — it gets you some phenomenal war machines. A number of heavily-armoured troops are equipped with Warhammer 40k-style rifles and shotguns, while hulking magma cannons and mortars decimate foes before they reach the frontlines. I favour artillery over the bustle of melee combat, so the faction’s playstyle is a dream: even the most elite infantry in Warhammer, from terrifying Chosen warriors to legions of Black Orcs, can barely get within brawling distance with your melee troops.

Yet, what’s really sold me on the Chaos Dwarfs is their aesthetic, and the power fantasy of turning war into a calculating game of efficiency. Like the rest of Warhammer Fantasy, the Chaos Dwarfs take inspiration from The Lord Of The Rings – but instead of the High Elf’s elder race do-goodery or humanity’s sheer resilience, Chaos Dwarfs capture Mordor’s industrialist nightmare to grim perfection. For other factions, battling and losing soldiers to expand your borders is the cost of doing business. With Chaos Dwarfs, the battles themselves are the business — a means to securing more labour, or an opportunity to test out the hulking K’daii destroyer you’ve just recruited.

For me, living out that Mordor fantasy – evil for evil’s sake – has been intoxicating. The fact that the Chaos Dwarfs are Warhammer 3‘s densest faction to date makes it all the more thrilling — and if this is the standard Creative Assembly will hold future factions to, even the most patient of Nagash fans should be excited.

Forge Of The Chaos Dwarfs launches for Total War: Warhammer 3 on April 13. 

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