Hello, Total War: WARHAMMER fans. In last week's blog, we not only offered our first look at Immortal Empires, but noted that the new game mode represents the world-spanning vision that weve been driving towards since first beginning our work on the trilogy nearly a decade ago. Nowhere is that better represented than the campaign map: the massive battlefield where your armies will be fighting, raiding, sacking, and conquering in search of immortal glory. This is the quintessential sandbox experience of the Total War: WARHAMMER campaign; and today, were excited to not only offer a sneak peek at the beta version of the map, but provide a first look at the new Sea Lanes feature being introduced along with Immortal Empires!

THE IMMORTAL BATTLEFIELD

The Immortal Empires map is MASSIVE: the biggest map any Total War game has featured to date, and nearly twice as large as the Mortal Empires map first introduced in 2017 to Total War: WARHAMMER II. For perspective, the number of settlements has not only increased from 401 to 554*, but the number of starting factions has also increased from 183 to 278*. [table] [tr] [th][/th] [th]MORTAL EMPIRES[/th] [th]IMMORTAL EMPIRES[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]SETTLEMENTS[/td] [td]401[/td] [td]554*[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]STARTING FACTIONS[/td] [td]183[/td] [td]278*[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]LEGENDARY LORDS[/td] [td]74[/td] [td]86[/td] [/tr] [/table] * Note: These figures may change as we receive beta feedback Weve long said that the release of Total War: WARHAMMER III is only the beginning of the journey; to that end, you can expect the number of playable Legendary Lords and Races to continue growing as we release new DLC and free content to the game. This means that there will always be fresh new ways to approach Immortal Empires in the months and years to come as new forces join the battlefield. While we wont dive into the intricacies of start positions quite yet (...look for those soon...), you can also expect a variety of nifty changes which make the experience fresher, more challenging, and even more reverent to the Warhammer lore. You may just find a certain Krakenlord pillaging Grand Cathay...or a stealthy Skink taking the fight right to Chaos front door...

INTRODUCING: SEA LANES!

With the scale of the Immortal Empires map in mind, Sea Lanes have been introduced to add flexibility to your globe-trotting adventures. Interacting with them will provide the option to travel from the East of the map to the West and vice versa (with the exception of the Underworld Sea, which connects the Sea of Malice to the Boiling Sea), allowing for more exotic confrontations to be had, new allegiances to be formed, and unique roleplaying opportunities when once-distant factions meet for the first time. Any Lord or Hero will be able to move into the Sea Lane markers, allowing them to set sail and reach their destination after being at sea for a few turns.

BORDERS OF THE KNOWN WORLD

Though included within the map, not all landmasses and oceans will be traversable at the launch of Immortal Empires, such as Khuresh and Ind. Our focus for the Total War: WARHAMMER trilogy has always been on the races of Eighth Edition (with some exceptions such as Grand Cathay, Norsca, and Kislev), and the areas where these races reside remain our immediate design priority. Its also worth remembering that the Immortal Empires campaign map isnt a simple stitch and fit job. The Old World, Eye of the Vortex, and Realms of Chaos campaign maps are designed to be unique, standalone experiences. Simply put: theyre different shapes and sizes that dont fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. This is a sandbox mode first and foremost, so mechanics such as the Eye of the Vortex and Realms of Chaos invasion also wont be present here.

UP NEXT

Thats all for todays post, but as a teaser for our next news drop: Now that the map of the world has been revealed, it seems like the perfect time to start pinning where each Legendary Lord begins their journey for conquest and glory. That's right: we're talking starting positions in the next blog, so stay tuned for more!