Hi everyone,
Patch 8.1 has now arrived in Total War: WARHAMMER III, with a primary focus on Campaign AI improvements, as well as introducing some new Landmarks, Technologies, and a swathe of bug fixes and adjustments across the board.
As always, should you run into any new issues after updating to 8.1, don’t hesitate to report it over in our dedicated bug reporting sub-forum.
See you on the battlefield!
— Steve Coleman // Senior Community Manager
1. Campaign AI Improvements
With Patch 8.1 a number of Campaign AI changes and improvements have been added to the game:
Campaign AI Prioritisation
What did we change?
There are certain Campaign AI tasks that lead to its armies clustering and idling e.g. focusing on defending key regions therefore, we’ve added a new mechanism that allows us to control exactly what the Campaign AI prioritises, depending on how many turns have passed since campaign start. Using this new mechanism we’ve de-prioritised tasks e.g. defending key regions in the late game, as contextually they are not that useful at this stage of a campaign anyway.
How will this change affect you in-game?
We expect this to solve a number of cases where Campaign AI armies are clustered and idle around settlements, and the mechanism we’ve developed make this tweak also allows us to more easily solve similar Campaign AI behaviour issues in the future.
Campaign AI End Game Scenario Balance Update
What did we change?
Utilising the mechanism above defensive tasks for end game factions have had their priority decreased, making the late game more dynamic and much more interesting to play as the Campaign AI will seek to expand and compete instead of turtling up and behaving reactively. The priority of tasks that target enemy forces is increased slightly.
How will this change affect you in-game?
End game factions should be less prone to idling and clumping around a settlement, and situations where multiple end game factions end up in a stalemate (not attacking each other, only defending) should decrease.
Campaign AI Known Issues
There are a series of AI related issues that we are working on solving, including:
End game factions spawning before turn 40 are more likely to both exhibit and cause clumping behavior.
Multiple end game scenarios triggering at the same time can cause, regular factions bordering end game factions to clump up around their settlements.
End game factions bordering other end game factions clumping around settlements or near region borders (this can occur regardless of whether the factions are at war).
End game factions at war with other end game factions that share a border or fight over a contested province can form pockets of armies locked in a standoff (usually this manifests as one side encamping around a settlement, and the other - raiding in the same region). The chance this occurs is proportional to the autoresolve result - the more evenly matched the armies are in auto resolve, the higher the chance this will happen.
End game factions bordering a human of similar or superior strength ranking may fall back to owned regions and clump up.
2. New Landmarks
Patch 8.1 adds 4 new landmarks focused in Cathay to add additional buffs and benefits when conquering in the east:
3. New Technologies
8.1 also introduces two new technologies for the Tiger Warriors faction, focused on reducing upkeep while increasing recruitment rank, speed and damage output across the roster:
Tiger's Call:
Upkeep: -10% for Tiger Warrior Stalker units
Recruitment cost: -10% for all Tiger Warrior Units
Base missile damage: +2 for Tiger Warrior Stalker units
Honed Senses:
Upkeep: -10% for Tiger Warrior (Dual Axes) and Iron Claw Tiger Warrior units
Recruitment rank: +2 for all Tiger Warrior units
Speed: +10% for Tiger Warrior (Dual Axes) and Iron Claw Tiger Warrior units
4. Additional Campaign-side Updates
Goblin Big Boss, Goblin Great Shaman and Orc Warboss now have access to Chariot mounts in Campaign
Dragon-blooded Shugengan Lords (Yin and Yang) now have personalised skill lines.
Onwards to the full patch notes!
PATCH 8.1.0
Campaign
General
Fixed an issue with Zhao Ming’s goals triggering for Bhashiva around the Chaos Invasions.
Fixed bug where, upon meeting the maximum capacity in the Garden of Morr panel, removing one location does not cause available locations to repopulate.
Fixed an issue with Dragonship armies, causing them to not grant Settled Grudges or Iron Favour. Note that this fix will not affect saved games, only newly started campaigns.
When playing as Lizardmen, the main buildings of Itza and Hexoatl should now provide the same Control effect as the regular settlement main buildings.
Hotkeys have now been disabled during Realms of Chaos narrative event messages, to prevent other UI panels opening that can cause issues with other on-screen panels.
The building "Sanctum of Quintex" should now provide its Growth effect factionwide, instead of only for the local province.
Changed the effects of Rampaging Oak Landmark, which now provides:
The minor faction Ss'ildra Tor should no longer get Tzeentch corruption from an unknown source.
Astromancy stance will no longer take 25 campaign moment range on each turn, and will now only take that cost when entering the stance, as intended.
The following new Landmarks, exclusive to Grand Cathay factions have been added:
Monument of the White Tiger in Village of the Tigermen (exclusive for owners of Character Pack: Bhashiva)
House of Secrets in Shang-Yang
Grand Maritime Lift in Shi-Wu
When an enemy occupies a settlement with a Purple Hand, the unusual location foreign slot no longer shows building slots (if any were originally present).
Fixed script error when starting Taurox quest battle Heart of the Dark.
The Orthodoxy and Ice Court building chains should no longer remain in Kislev settlements after they've been conquered by another faction.
Fixed an issue where the title "Slayer of Champions" for the Warriors of Chaos wasn't unlocked upon completing the requirement.
The effect bundle "Raise the Banners" should now decrease cost and increase recruitment rank of Warband Recruitment units.
Lords will no longer lose Action Points mid turn by changing mounts or ancillaries. Those bonuses will be properly changed on turn start only.
Fixed issue with re-allocation of AP when switching between stances.
Fixed instances where recruiting a saved character would initiate a dilemma allowing stacking Names of Power buffs.
The settlement Massif Orcal should now have 10 construction slots available instead of 8 when playing as Greenskins or Bretonnia.
Lords will no longer lose Health or other stats when changing mounts in the same turn.
Faction Mechanics
Added Vampires and Dark Elves to the Iron Favour targeted cultures for Bhashiva.
Added a price cap to all actions within the Armies of Shang Yang. Costs are now capped to 10x their original value.
Treasury and Iron Favour rewards are now fixed to the mission type:
Fixed issue where Armies of Shang Yang would sometimes get more than 3 Zhao Ming’s Goals.
Increased Gold rewards from Zhao Ming’s Goals, and increased Gold and Favour rewards scaling based on the target difficulty.
Added building buff to Tiger Den when playing as Yuan Bo in Fortress settlements.
The Lord limit in Bhashiva’s Armies of Shang Yang no longer counts armies borrowed from allied factions.
Fixed an issue where Caravan rewards were not updating properly.
Caravan encounters with Chaos Dwarfs now resolve correctly, without unforeseen wars.
Fixed an issue where the "Capture Settlement" target in Zhao Ming’s Goals would repeat with the same settlement.
‘Da Plan’ scripted tour no longer breaks when triggered.
Fixed an issue where the Oath activation requirements could be bypassed.
Fixed an issue where missions under Zhao Ming’s Goals are hidden if they have not been accepted but have had their requirements met, preventing new missions from repopulating.
Changed ‘Raise Dead’ recruitment panel to include pending recruitment costs in its calculations so that it is no longer possible to queue up more units than you can afford.
Changed the effects for the ritual "Mistwalker Reinforcements" in Tyrion's Champion of Ulthuan mechanic.
Removed the effects targeting only Mistwalker units.
Removed the Vigour loss reduction effect.
Added an effect providing the army ability "Envelop in Mist".
Added an effect granting all units in the army the passive ability "Grim Discipline", replacing "Martial Mastery" and "Martial Prowess".
The ritual "Blessed Cold One Spears" in Nakai's Temples of the Old Ones should now state the correct amount of Spawning Sequence it grants.
Cults for the Masque and Dechala have received the following updates:
The building "Charm Offensive" has been added for the Masque with adjusted effects for her.
The building "Ritual of Excess" has been updated for the Masque. It now has a cost in Favour and provides a large amount of Devotees to the Masque upon building construction.
The building "Ritual of Excess" has been added for Dechala's Magus Cults with effects and costs adjusted for Dechala.
When playing as Slaanesh, Daemon Prince of Slaanesh lords should now have the Devour Captives post-battle option.
Changed the logic of Sayl's Blind War; it will now cause the target to declare war on all factions it knows, except for Sayl, his human allies or any of their vassals.
Caravans can no longer be dispatched before starting the scripted tour for Cathay caravans.
Fixed issue where Elspeth was able to construct more than 5 Gardens of Morr.
Scripted tour for Pleasure Palace no longer triggers when the user selects and deselects a settlement.
The Boar Meat ingredient for Grom's Cauldron should now unlock when a Savage Orc Shaman unlocks his War Boar mount, Wurrzag unlocks Spleenrippa or Gorbad unlocks Gnarla.
The Spider Egg Yolk ingredient for Grom's Cauldron should now properly unlock after recruiting an Arachnarok Spider (Flinger).
The Deeps foreign slots should now be removed if the settlement is traded to another faction. (Note that this fix will not affect existing saves and will only be applied to new campaigns.)
Ritual of Pestilence and Ritual of Plague now correctly increase Epidemius' tally mechanic.
Dark Elves should now get the same Income from Ports benefit that High Elves receive from the main building in Ancient Elven Colony settlements.
Establishing a colony in the Shrine of Khaine's ruins, as Aislinn, no longer requires colony availability points and it doesn't cost colony availability points when ending the turn.
Characters
Fixed softlock when Aislinn is declaring war on The Awakened and Clan Spittel and both of them are vassals or allies to the player.
Adjusted the effect of "The Fruits of Torment" after completing all narrative missions as Dechala. It will now increase the unit capacity and replenishment rate in Daemonic Attraction recruitment.
Nakai should now keep his horde buildings after he gets confederated by another Lizardmen faction.
Repanse de Lyonesse will now start her campaign with a Peace Treaty and Military Access agreement with the faction Lyonesse.
Units
Fixed an issue where Saytang the Watcher was ignored by some skill benefits affecting Heroes.
Fixed the Gifts of Slaanesh not being applied to Generals when they are wounded or have a hero action applied to them.
Fixed and issue where the Daemonsmith Sorcerer with the Lore of Hashut didn't have the Hide (Forest) attribute.
In Rewards of Dread the cost to increase unit capacity of Chimera and Preyton should now correctly increase each time you purchase it.
Increased the recruit time of the Chimera to 2 turns, to be equal to all other T4 Monsters.
When playing with a Tomb Kings faction, the Salt Mine building should now increase the recruitment rank of Liche Priests as intended.
Dragon-blooded Shugengan Lord (Yin and Yang) now have personalised skill lines.
Balance
Miao Ying’s starting army buffed to help her early campaign experience.
Increased number of Stalkers given in Ivory Road dilemmas. Reduced the price of units in one of the choices when units are given through an Ivory Road event.
Some ancillary balancing:
Dragon’s Gaze: Armour +15, Enemy Hero action success chance -15%
Horns of Shang Yang - Armour +15, Spell Resistance +30
Storm Wind Coronal - Armour +15, physical resistance replaced with Ward Save +12
Vambraces of Yin - Melee Attack and Melee Defense +6
Burning Vambraces: Melee Attack and Melee Defense +6
Dragon’s Fang: Melee Attack +12
Events & Missions
Styrkaar the Sortsvinaer should now appear for Azazel after finishing his missions.
When playing as the Beastmen, completing the mission "Fall of Man" should now properly trigger the event "The Fall of Men" granting the ancillary "Banner of Fallen Kings".
When playing as Grom the Paunch, all versions of the mission "Cook for the Hag" should now properly complete when the correct recipe and ingredients are cooked.
Fixed a script error that occurred when completing a Shanty mission.
The Gotrek and Felix quest battle now triggers for Bhashiva.
Fixed a bug where daemon invasion forces in Bhashiva's quest line do nothing.
Items
Fixed new Cathayan ancillaries not properly being generated from ancillary drops.
Fixed an issue where fusing two green arcane items as Valkia was destroying the items but wasn't producing a blue one. Valkia should now receive a blue arcane item when fusing green ones.
Technologies
The technology ‘Service Great and Small' should now appropriately reduce the cost and build time of Bhashiva's military buildings. Note that the ‘Peasant Huts’ and 'Peasant Stables’ won't be affected by this technology as they're not considered military buildings.
Added bespoke Technologies for Tiger Warriors in the Cathay Technology tree.
Fixed Celestial Dragon Guard and Celestial Dragon Crossbow benefits to provide their benefits to the appropriate units and their RoR versions.
Skills, Abilities & Traits
Changed Traditions of Fortitude to now affect all Tiger Warrior units. Also changed how the Tiger Warrior Sawaii benefits are displayed to be consistent with other skills in the tree.
Caravans now possess a new skill, allowing them to reduce or become immune to attrition.
Fixed issue where Norscan Provincial actions effects were applying to player armies instead of enemy armies.
Drycha's skill "The Natural Order" should now increase the recruitment rank of Branchwraiths as intended.
Fixed an issue that caused the Mentor skill to occasionally not be visible for Celestial General Lords.
‘Drowned Dead’, ‘Awaken from the Grave’ and ‘Command of the Unliving’ now receive cooldown reduction from "Cooldown to all spells" effect.
The Gate Master's skill Implacable Spirit should no longer unnecessarily display the portrait of the Gate Master.
When playing with Tiktaq'to, the Skink Priest (Beasts) should now have the correct skill "Gong Attunement" instead of "Sun Alignment".
High Queen Khalida's skill "Tenacity" should now require only 2 skill points instead of 3.
Warriors of Chaos tech Giant Manacles and the skills Monstrous Strength and Freakish Mutations will now provide bonuses to Chimera and Dread Maw units.
Supreme Sorceresses, Warlock Masters and Warlock Engineers now have a chance to be recruited with the Knowledgeable trait, increasing the experience gain of the character and the chance to receive a magic item after battle.
Aislinn and his Dragonship Admirals no longer have the Looter skill, and instead have been granted the Ancient Cunning skill. To facilitate this, Ancient Cunning has been replaced with Elven Scholar in the second part of the campaign skill line.
Fixed an issue with Transformation of Kadon (Lore of Beasts) not being available to Wood Elves or Bhashiva’s faction.
Fixed an issue where Champions of Slaanesh are missing the Immune to Psychology trait provided by Mark of Slaanesh.
Gorbad Ironclaw's skills "Shootaz to da Back!" and "Riderz on da Flankz!" should now properly grant their respective ability and attribute to the listed Regiments of Renown.
Fixed an issue where movement increases applied through traits/ancillaries didn't work for Heroes.
UI
Fixed an issue where the Insignia assign menu loses functionality if it's opened whilst the army is moving.
Fixed the 3D relics decal on settlements appearing for factions other than Bhashiva.
Fixed the Select Race button not working in the Unit & Spell browser.
Fixed the names of all Lords appearing as empty or incorrect text.
Fixed Zhao Ming’s Goal mission tooltip sometimes breaking and not displaying properly.
Fixed incorrect warning texts on loaned armies in Zhao Ming’s Support recruitment.
Devotion tooltip can no longer be clicked through.
Fixed missing UI elements for the Gate Keeper Embed actions.
Fixed issue where Caravans tooltip displayed wrong unit rank number when recruiting a caravan.
The Flow of Desire ability tooltip no longer has an incorrect condition.
Fixed Bhashiva's Tiger Warrior garrison leaders having Cathay names instead of Sawai ones.
Fixed an issue where some settlements weren't displaying the icon of the trade resource they're providing.
The action points of Heroes will properly be added to Lords when they join their army.
Fixed issue when activating rituals in the campaign where some of the upgrades were not displayed in the UI panel.
AI
Improved performance of Tiger Warriors/Bhashiva campaign AI behaviour.
Claws of the White Tiger (Bhashiva) now properly send out caravans.
Norscan factions will now build Mammoth recruitment buildings.
Battle
General
Fixed a script error in second tutorial battle in Prologue campaign.
In Bhashiva’s final quest battle, units can no longer move to or land on unreachable areas of the map.
Tzarina Katarin's Ice Court Sled mount should now be available to players who don't own the Shadows of Change DLC.
Fixed issue where increases to explosion radius made in campaign do not increase the explosion radius in battle.
Fixed issue where underground intercepts would trigger a minor settlement battle instead of a subterranean Underway battle.
Balance
Units
Sky Junk will now have the Eye of the Dragon ability again.
Adding missing Moving Attack animation to Jade Lancers.
Sky Lantern’s projectile range has now correctly been adjusted to 275.
Night Goblins will now face the direction in which they are placing ladders.
Added the Aquatic trait to Lokhir Felheart and both Black Ark Corsair units.
Fixed an issue where Hobgoblin Wolf Raiders (Bows) were not counting towards ‘Missile Unit' unit cap and 'Missile Cavalry, Chariots & War Machines’ unit cap.
Fixed an issue where the Gate Master incorrectly had Expert Charge Defence while on a warhorse.
Fixed an issue where the Great Shaman Sorcerer (Death) had less Missile Resistance while on a War Mammoth mount.
Fixed an issue where Berog Bearstruck and the Marauder Bearmen were available as an Extended roster unit for the Warriors of Chaos faction when unit caps were turned on.
Fixed an issue where Da Rusty Arrers (Night Goblin Archers) unit had lower Charge bonus than the base Night Goblin Archers unit.
Calmed the Steam Tanks down a little so they stop moving and spinning of their own accord without any player intervention.
Skills, Abilities & Traits
Removed the bullet point on Wind Bow incorrectly stating that it deals scaling damage.
Fixed an issue where some Lords and Heroes were missing the Encourage attribute.
Fixed an issue where Master of Mists ability didn't have a cooldown.
Fixed an issue where the self effect from Dual Personality - Betrayer ability was not being applied to the Curs'd Ettin (Runecaller).
UI
Removed a number of placeholder icons from new maps.
Fixed an issue where the Herald of Slaanesh, when put on a Daemonic Steed, has the wrong unit type icon.
AI
Fixed an issue where the AI ignores routing units when there are no other suitable targets nearby or urgent tasks to do.
Fixed an issue where the AI had problems reforming its big army, causing units to stack on the border of the map.
Fixed an issue where the AI ranged units are constantly receiving different orders and changing formation, while prioritising outflanking instead of just shooting the open targets.
Fixed an issue where the AI was stacking units on top of each other in Chokepoint battles.
Maps
Added 2 new battles (land and ambush) to the area of Black Fire Pass.
Fixed incorrect wall HP in Ancient City of Quintex – Dark Elves siege map.
Fixes and adjustments to deployment zones, ambush zones and reinforcement markers in various maps.
A selection of minor terrain, border and height adjustments in various maps.
Performance
Visual
Devotees of Slaanesh 2D portholes now using correct updated models.
Tiger Warrior Stalker’s hair no longer jumps around, jumps around, jumps up, jumps up and gets down.
Exalted Hero of Slaanesh, Ogre Bruiser and Skaven Warlord characters should no longer flicker around during idle animations.
Ivory Road scripted tour Dispatch button highlight no longer remains after completing the scripted tour.
Fixed an issue where in Skirmish vs. AI as Daemons of Chaos the Herald of Tzeentch on Disc of Tzeentch doesn't have said Disc of Tzeentch.
Fixed capture point flag positioning in Ancient City of Quintex and Sartosa - Coast maps.
Fixed animation issue where Celestial General on a Celestial Lion detaches from the mount during a flying attack.
“Fire while moving” animations are no longer interrupted, which would lead to them not dealing damage.
Added missing axe unit variants for Doomseekers and The Brotherhood of Grimnir RoRs.
Audio
Misc.
Battle Balancing
Bhashiva
Tiger Warrior Sawai
Clawspeaker
Ferocity of Kamau passive ability
Protection of Kamau passive ability
Mysticism of Kamau passive ability
Mantra of Righteousness ability
Tiger Warrior Stalkers
Tiger Warriors (all)
Taoyan the Merciless
Now has immune to psychology
Max splash attacks reduced to 4
Fuelled by Vengeance passive ability
Celestial Dragon Guard (Melee and Crossbow)
Terracotta Sentinel
The Green Guardian (Terracotta Sentinel RoR)
Astrogoth Ironhand
Mechanical Overdrive
Stone Mantle
No longer has the health activation flag
Now increases based on the amount of spells casted by the player.
Speed penalty increased to 30%
Physical resistance increased to 40%
The Masque of Slaanesh
-400 HP
-6 Melee Defence
Chanson of Caging
Waltz of Lethargy
Slaangors
Dechala the Denied One
Dance of Destruction
Praise of Slaanesh
Elixir of Damnation
Druchii Anointed
+25 Weapon Strength on all variants (mounts etc)
Can now purchase Murderous Euphoria in Custom Battle
Can now purchase Guardian in Custom Battle
Preyton
All-Consuming Hatred
Endless Malice
Devotees of Slaanesh
Champions of Slaanesh
Scourge of Arden (Preyton RoR)
Seeker Chariots (mount version included)
-20 Armour
+20 Charge bonus
Hellflayer
Exalted Seeker Chariot
Chaos Lord of Slaanesh
Daemonettes of Slaanesh
Alluress
Cost -50g (mounts included)
+5 Melee defence on the Daemonic Steed
Locus of Swiftness
Can now purchase Locus of Beguilement in custom battle
The Marquis of Masochism (Keeper of Secrets RoR)
-100g
Bound Enfeebling Foe
Cultist of Slaanesh
Pendant of Slaanesh
Torment Blade
Chimera
-5 Leadership
Flaming Breath
Bloodshriek Chimera (Chimera RoR)
-5 Leadership
Perfect Predator
Dread Maw
-5 Leadership
Burrow
Increased explosion projectile radius
Base explosion damage is now 25
AP explosion damage is now 35
Fimir Noble
Beorg Bearstruck
Now deals 20 Bonus vs Large instead of Bonus vs Infantry
Can now purchase Colossal Strike in Custom Battle
Replaced Potion of Toughness with Preyton Horns in Custom Battle
Hit Reaction/Ignore Chance now 75%
Bear Fang Talisman
War Cry
Riders of the Mighty Serpent RoR
Kurgan Horsemen (Dual Weapons)
+420 HP
+5 Weapon Strength
Kurgan Horsemen (Great Weapons)
Wulfrik the Wanderer
Throgg
Fimir (All variants and characters)
Feral Mammoth
Curs’d Ettin Runecaller
Enfeebling Foe, Flock of Doom and Doom & Darkness uses are now 3
Dual Personalities – Savage
WOM reserves per second now 0.07
Soul Crusher RoR
Cost -150g
-1 Melee Defence
Toad Dragon
+2000 HP (11970 > 13970)
Base melee damage now 200 (275 > 200)
AP melee damage now 400 (325 > 400)
Increased acceleration
Collision attack profile adjusted
Unspeakable Foulness
Tamurkhan
+2000 HP (Bubebolos)
Base melee damage now 200
AP melee damage now 450
Cost -100g (on foot)
Bonus vs Large now 30
Hit Reaction/Knock interrupt chancen ow 80%
Black Cleaver and Rotting Host range now 55m
Feast of the Maggot Lord healing increased from 2.4% to 3% per second
Rot Flies
Plague Ogres (both variants)
Nurglings
+15 HP per entity
+2 Melee Attack
Rot Knights
Plagueridden
Herald of Nurgle
Epidemius
Cost -50g
+30 Weapon Strength
Sands of Sickness
Tallyman’s Blades
Tally of Pestilence
Billious Thunderguff RoR
Great Unclean One
Now has Foetid Stench
Cost -100g
Cultist of Nurgle
Changeling
Deceiving Shadows
Cowled and Cloaked
Cost -100g
Now has +25% speed
Screamers of Tzeentch
+4 Charge Bonus
+15 hp per entity
Shrieking Skyrays RoR
Cost +50g
+4 Charge Bonus
+15 hp per entity
Flamers of Tzeentch
Cockatrice
Petrifying Gaze
Num uses now 2
Cooldown now 120s
Iridescent Horror
Vilitch the Curseling
Blazing Squealers RoR
Aekold Helbrass
Blue Scribes
Mutailith Vortex Beast
Aeson the Fallen
Burning Chariot of Tzeentch (all variants, mounts)
Additional 20 bonus vs infantry
Warpflame contact effect added for melee
Collision attack profile adjusted.
Lord of Change
The Golden Griffin on Theurgy
⚠ IMPORTANT
If you experience any issues after downloading the update, please take a moment to Verify the integrity of the game files first to ensure there were no issues when downloading. A step-by-step guide can be found in this article.
If the issues persist, please visit our support site for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.
🧱 MOD WARNING
Please note that user-generated mods may have compatibility issues with new game updates. If you are encountering performance or stability issues following a release, is recommended that you disable any mods you're running. If you continue to experience issues, please visit our support site for additional troubleshooting steps and assistance.
