With the long life cycle of Total War Warhammer 2, we got plenty of DLCs to expand and enhance the game. A number of them were free, adding units and lords to existing factions. The free reworks of various factions also aided them to keep up with the state of the game, Greenskins and Beastmen benefiting the most from their respective updates. However, the paid DLCs are the ones we go to for that big drop of content and extra features once the base game runs dry. That’s why today we will be counting them off, from worst to best.
10. Blood For the Blood God 2
Total War Warhammer 2 - Blood For the Blood God 2 Trailer
This is generally regarded by the community as the worst DLC in the game. The store page on Steam reinforces that sentiment with the Very Negative recent reviews and Mixed overall reviews.
So what’s so bad about the DLC? To put it simply, it shouldn’t exist. The DLC adds bloody effects to the game including decapitations and gibbing of opponents. Those who are familiar with the Warhammer world or either of the Total War Warhammer games know gore is one of the staples of the franchise. Excessive violence in a grim world is like icing on the cake. In this case, you are paying for the cake at full price and then paying extra for the icing.
The reason for this DLC’s existence that developers presented was the fact the base game can get a lower base rating this way. It’s a fine explanation but it still requires you to pay a few dollars to get the cut animations. From a pure gameplay perspective, this DLC isn’t necessary but a lot of impact in animations is lost without it, which hampers their overall feel. Which is a real shame because splendid animations of Total War Warhammer 2 are truly something to witness in their full gory glory.
DLC rating: 2/10
9. The Shadow and The Blade
Total War Warhammer 2 - The Shadow and the Blade Trailer
The 9th place goes to the more forgettable DLC of the bunch. This one focuses on Skaven and Dark Elves, giving both some okay units and a duo of Legendary Lords.
The campaigns of both Malus Darkblade and Deathmaster Snikch aren’t that engaging. Malus has an interesting mechanic that relies on you modifying his possession bar, which can give out many different effects but doesn’t alter the campaign all that much. On the other hand, Deathmaster Snikch and the lords you employ during his campaign can be sent off to secret tasks which reward the player with certain boons. This is a fine mechanic although it doesn’t really shake up the Skaven experience much.
The roster updates aren’t really important either. The Dark Elves get some chariots, Bloodwrack Medusa, and Bloodwrack Shrine. The Bloodwrack Shrine and Medusa are great for infantry blob destruction but still provide at best a mediocre boost to the army. The DLC gave them a lord and a hero too, both alright without much to stand out with.
Skaven get Eshin Triads, Poisoned-Wind Mortar, and Warp-Grinders. Just like with Dark Elves, these are pretty middling parts of the roster. The generic lord and hero addition is also here with the benefit of adding a caster hero option to Skaven. The most fun you can have with this DLC is going full ninja rat with Clan Eshin. Sadly, this isn’t quite possible later on in the game.
DLC rating: 6/10
8. The Hunter and The Beast
Total War Warhammer 2 - The Hunter and the Beast Trailer
Now’s the time for a DLC that bumps up Empire’s Legendary Lord count and gives Lizardmen some new toys to play with. Let’s get down to it and tackle this prey.
On the side of Empire, the roster hasn’t been shaken up much by the DLC. The units they received from this DLC are rather forgettable, some bordering on being completely useless. There are two types of archers who will swiftly be replaced by better infantry as you ascend the tiers, early game is nice to them though so an archer rush to get the party going may be useful. The DLC also brought with it War Wagon units. These are mobile units with gunpowder weaponry but their mediocre damage and range make them a poor choice at every stage of the game.
On the other hand, the quality of the new campaign is outstanding. Markus Wulfhart is the new Legendary Lord, with a quest to explore the lands of Lustria and expand throughout them by the orders of his superiors. The campaign offers a modified technology tree, special events, and four side quests that will net you legendary heroes. The harsh position and constant barrage of enemies make the entire campaign difficult but in a fun way. Markus’ campaign is all about maximizing efficiency while trying to hold your ground. It is a breath of fresh air for those who are bored with more uniform campaigns.
Lizardmen got the better deal in terms of roster. Sacred Kroxigors represent a generalist unit with magical attacks, able to rend anything with armor or a tendency to resist physical attacks. Speaking of armor-piercing, Razordon Hunting Pack will provide Lizardmen armies with reliable missile units that can cut through armor and infantry alike with their fire projectiles. Spicy lizards add more hammers to bludgeon enemy armies with, but the real beauty of a unit in this pack is Dread Saurian. Dread Saurian is one of the biggest units in the game, being a gigantic quadrupedal dinosaur. It’s also a generalist single entity monster that can sow chaos on the field. Overall, a great showing to be sure.
The campaign for Lizardmen is underwhelming. Playing as Nakai is a lackluster experience that has a lot of usual failings of horde armies. That’s right, Nakai uses horde mechanics which means no proper settlements and always dealing with mediocre income. To aid him with that Nakai can give conquered settlements to vassals. While it does make the horde mechanics easier to swallow, vassal mechanics don't go far enough to make the campaign worthwhile.
In summary, you are getting this DLC for the Empire’s campaign and for Lizardmen units. The rest is very middling in quality and fun factor.
DLC rating: 6/10
7. Curse of the Vampire Coast
Total War Warhammer 2 - Curse of the Vampire Coast Trailer
What better way to expand the available content than a whole new faction? With this DLC, you get the entire Vampire Coast to play with. Vampire Coast is a faction of undead pirates that bring all the best parts about vampires and pirates. There are a ton of guns to go around, wielded by terrifying skeletons, while the undead monstrosities from sea depths spice up the deal with beautiful models.
As far as the roster goes, Vampire Coast is exceptionally fun to play. The overwhelming ranged power will serve you well during just about every campaign, it’s possible to eliminate entire armies without them ever reaching the gunline. Some of their melee units can endure a lot of punishment but if you want to go for the ultimate pirate experience go for Rotting Leviathans. Nothing beats putting undead giant hermit crabs into your army.
The campaign side offers a lot of mechanics to play with and a unique win condition. For those who are bored from the constant struggle for the vortex in Total War Warhammer 2, Vampire coast can offer an invigorating new experience. The goal of their campaign is to tame a huge sea monster by raising the infamy of your army and attracting those who wield various items and knowledge required to tame the beast.
Each lord offers a unique playstyle and experience. Anything from standard gunning squads to hybrid armies can be covered with the right choice.
For those who really love their monstrous artillery, Count Noctilus is an absolute treat. In fact, he buffs the weapon strength of all large creatures, making monster armies possible.
Cylostra Direfin gives extra defenses and magical effects to her army, improving survivability and going past some defensive measures.
Luthor Harkon behaves similarly to Cylostra, giving magic resistance to the army he controls and spreading corruption faster than any other Legendary Lord.
Lastly, we have Aranessa Saltspite with her Sartosa units. These units aren’t undead, instead of being completely human, the mechanical difference being rather apparent. The melee Sartossan units have a much higher melee power than standard zombie pirates while ranged ones have leagues more mobility than the average shambling corpse.
This DLC is very fun but some may not enjoy the playstyle of any of the Vampire Coast armies. The campaign may also be off-putting to some because it will involve a ton of naval movement which can be moderately slower due to the embarking and disembarking. That’s why we feel it deserves this spot on the list.
DLC rating: 7/10
6. Rise of the Tomb Kings
Total War Warhammer 2 - Rise of the Tomb Kings Trailer
Speaking of the undead, here’s the Tomb Kings DLC. However, these guys have absolutely no skin on them, being fully skeletonized. The skeletons bring with them unique mechanics and a colorful selection of lords just like the other DLC factions so let’s see what’s on offer.
Tomb Kings have a much more diverse playstyle. Early on, their roster has to rely on chariots because the regular infantry is not that strong. Aside from archer units, players will spend a lot of time just cycling with the chariots in order to win. Later on, things become fun.
Once constructs become easily accessible your whole army could soon be swarming with gigantic golems of exceptional might. The bits and pieces of your skeletons may still remain but by this point, you’ll be using the much better troops such as Tomb Guard.
In terms of the campaign, Tomb Kings also ignore the vortex. Their goal is set on finding nine Books of Nagash. The search is easier said than done and may take you a while especially considering the slower start Tomb Kings usually have. It’s a rather fun campaign that is reinforced by some crafting mechanics and a unique technology tree.
Legendary lords that Tomb Kings have are mostly a thing of flavor. Aside from Arkhan the Black who offers a mix of Vampire Counts units and Tomb King ones. Even then, the differences aren’t potent enough because he gets a meek grab bag of units to utilize. What this means is that the pack will have a bit less variety so those who do not enjoy one lord are likely not going to enjoy any of them.
Despite that, the basic playstyle offers enough choices for players no matter the lord. Tomb Kings have an engaging campaign with a completely new area to explore, making the pack worthwhile for those itching for new content.
DLC rating: 7/10
5. The Silence and The Fury
Total War Warhammer 2 - The Silence and The Fury Trailer
After a long while, Beastmen get their time in the DLC spotlight. The Beastmen rework also came with the same patch so they have already had a wild time when it comes to refreshing their roster. The Lizardmen also came into the spotlight once more too, with an interesting campaign to boot.
The campaigns for the two lords included in this DLC are incredibly different. Starting with Taurox, the Beastmen lord of the pack, you have a simple requirement to wreak havoc across the lands and slaughter for the Chaos Gods. Taurox can even use his unique mechanic to reset his movement, making it so much easier to steamroll within a single turn. This allows Taurox to trample any nearby settlements with ease.
As far as Oxyotl’s campaign goes, there will be a bit more engagement than just brute-forcing an entire continent into submission. Oxyotl’s campaign involves Silent Sanctums, a special type of settlement that acts as anchor points which, along with the faction capital, allow Oxyotl to embark upon unique missions to stop Chaos’ advance. However, Oxyotl is but one Skink which means that he has to choose his battles.
This will lead to an interesting moment of dilemma where untackled missions will buff up enemy armies. Unfortunately, it is a bit mediocre in execution because the drawbacks are rarely worth worrying about so it’s often just a net benefit. Still an interesting shakeup to the standard Lizardmen campaigns though and very much worth it.
Units added to the roster in this DLC are nothing to scoff at. Beastmen got Ghorgon and Jabberslythe units which are perfect additions to the monster roster of Beastmen. Ghorgon is an anti-large and extremely durable monster while Jabberslythe is insanely good at killing infantry.
Beastmen also got a very fat chariot unit with Tuskgor Chariots which can do some insane impact damage! These monstrous creatures can also be reinforced by the new Wargor Hero when in battle while good old Minotaurs got a Doombull Lord to lead them. With these additions, the Beastmen roster is now properly rounded.
Lizardmen got a nice stack of units too with Chameleon Stalkers as an exceptionally potent source of stealthy shock infantry. They also bolster skink armies with some extra damage. They also got a new Skink Oracle Hero capable of casting a mix of magic to cause extreme discord on the battlefield.
These heroes are permanently mounted atop a Troglodon, which is a new giant dinosaur you can recruit. The Feral Troglodon possesses a powerful ranged attack that can easily tackle large creatures with little issue. They aren’t bad in melee but if you want them to perform their best keep them at range. You also get a flying monster called the Coatl, this is a very unique monster with tons of casting capabilities. The Coatl also provides Stalk to friendly units below it, hiding them from sight until it’s too late for the enemy to respond.
The campaigns included are good, straightforward, and decently engaging. Oxyotl is a great pick for those who wish to engage in a lizardmen campaign with more unique mechanics while Taurox presents a great simple campaign. However, aside from two important monsters Beastmen got, the pack doesn’t have any important staples. Lizardmen already have a potent roster and Beastmen can handle themselves without it.
DLC rating: 8/10
4. The Twisted and The Twilight
Total War Warhammer 2 - The Twisted and the Twilight Trailer
Once again, we have Skaven in a DLC pack. This was one of the last DLCs added to the game, adding in some neat mechanics for the lords and alright units. On the other hand, we had a unique lord choice for Wood Elves, giving an extra Legendary Lord choice to this Total War Warhammer 1 faction.
The Wood Elf campaign in this DLC is pretty similar to the regular goal they have of growing magical trees and winning a battle. The differing factor comes in the form of Forge of Daith which allows you to make and upgrade special items for your lord. It also brought in Ariel as a unique hero. She’s very fun to play around with especially with the interesting mix of magic she has.
Skaven DLC covers Clan Moulder, a Skaven clan focused on mutation. Their campaign gives you the ability to mutate the units in the army with a special resource. Additionally, the mutation lab itself can be upgraded to offer more benefits. Experimenting is the most engaging part of this mechanic, there are so many silly combinations that can come through from just playing with the system. Lastly, the lab can be dumped out to create a ton of monster units that can be added instantly to the army.
The roster additions for Wood Elves brought a mishmash of powerful units that cover various roles. The most important unit is Bladesingers. These melee units have an insane level of damage against any type of infantry no matter how much armor that unit has. An absolutely great addition to any splendid Wood Elves army.
Skaven mostly got a ton of monstrous units. They also got rat warhounds and a big monster unit called Brood Horror. Brood Horror is a strong and fast unit that can be used to disrupt formations over and over again. This is a nice way to enhance the performance of other Skaven units, disrupt the formation and then sic the other rats onto the enemy.
While the DLC is pretty good, most of the additions aren’t that important. The most important units for these factions are either in other DLCs or already in the base game. However, it is an important DLC to get if you want to play a monster army with Skaven.
DLC rating: 8/10
3. The Warden and The Paunch
Total War Warhammer 2 - The Warden and the Paunch Trailer
Finally, some Greenskins content. This pack gives High Elves and Greenskins some interesting roster additions. The focal point of the story is the rivalry between Eltharion and Grom. These two characters share a chunk of history, having faced each other once before. However, let’s see what their mechanics and the DLCs content have to say about it all.
Let’s start with High Elves. The High Elf roster has already been decently packed with useful units and had a scant need for more additions. The DLC adds lions and ligers as powerful wardog units that you can send and seed chaos within missile infantry. On the more interesting end, High Elves also get Arcane Phoenix, a huge magical monster with a devastating ability.
Past the roster, High Elves get a campaign for Eltharion who can build up his main settlement through a secret cave. This cave can be upgraded to get special boons that cannot be obtained elsewhere. The upgrade points can be gained through capturing enemy lords with Eltharion’s ability, which makes the whole campaign a ton more engaging. It’s incredible how much focus this mechanic can take up in every fight. Creating an entire minigame to play during each battle.
The Greenskins got some fantastic units in this pack. The Rogue Idols are one of the tankiest units in the game with a potent artillery attack. In case you want to keep them in the back lines, these huge rock-throwers can even use pieces of their stone body to refill their ammo. You get some chariot units with Snotling Pump Wagons and most importantly, new trolls. These are very good additions with River Trolls debuffing enemy morale while Stone Trolls have insane amounts of durability. In conclusion, Greenskins got a massive boost in monstrous units and useful units overall.
Grom’s campaign has an interesting mechanic, cooking. Grom likes to eat so the campaign is firmly focused on filling his belly with the foulest food. This leads to interesting ingredient gathering conquests that result in great bonuses which you get from said food. Grom himself is a decently unique Greenskin lord because he can buff up goblin units a ton, resulting in some devastating low-tier stacks. Goblin Skulkers may be one of the strongest cheap units when under Grom’s command! Becoming strong enough to take down even elite infantry, which does lead to some hilarious scenarios.
DLC rating: 9/10
2. The Queen and The Crone
Total War Warhammer 2 - The Queen and The CroneTrailer
Now for another elf DLC. Featuring High Elves and their grimmer cousins Dark Elves. This pack, along with the one coming up, are considered the most important packs to get if you want to play the factions included in them.
Campaign mechanics aren’t really that special for either of these lords. Crone Hellebron has to hold constant festivals to keep her powers strong.While this is a decently fun gimmick, the rest of the campaign proceeds as normal making it more of a side concern than an integral mechanic.
Alarielle is a bit more engaging. She has to keep certain locations protected from enemy forces or suffer penalties. Alarielle is also capable of using some select Wood Elf units. This includes Dryads and Tree Kin which are great sources of melee infantry through the early and middle game, mitigating one of the High Elves’ weaknesses. Both of these are fine campaigns but there isn’t that much of an impact in them.
Dark Elves get Sisters of Slaughter, Doomfire Warlocks, and Kharibdyss as their roster additions which are three spectacular units. Sisters of Slaughter perform exceptionally well in melee, being able to win most melee encounters. Doomfire Warlocks are magic cavalry with access to two spells, meaning extra casting on the field and potential missile infantry culling with their charges. Kharibdyss is the third addition, a huge anti-large monster that can take down just about anything in the game with its exceptional damage. Overall, a fantastic stack of units whose potency was only furthered by the new hero addition.
Alarielle brings in Handmaiden heroes with her who are alright but far from the star of the pack. The newly added Shadow warriors are a skirmishing unit that can kite a lot of units while peppering them with fire, absolutely great additions for anybody who likes to keep mobile and middle range.
However, the most impactful unit for High Elves here is the Sisters of Avelorn. This missile infantry unit is potentially the best ranged unit you can get. The magical attacks with added burning effect can cut down even the most obnoxious units while their extremely good range allows them to target just about anything from a safe distance.
Overall, this pack is a must-have for units alone. Of course, if you don’t play elves it won’t really sell you on them but for those dedicated knife ear players the 2nd spot this pack sits in is a go-to.
DLC rating: 9/10
1. The Prophet and The Warlock
Total War Warhammer 2 - The Prophet and the Warlock Trailer
The final pack should be one that truly changes the way a faction plays and gives a good boost to it. That’s exactly why we have this DLC as the best one of the bunch.
Tehenhauin’s campaign may be one of the hardest but most rewarding ones in the entire game. The mechanics aren’t quite there but It doesn’t mean the whole campaign isn’t engaging. The key mechanic is sacrificing captives to gain boons. These boons may be direct bonuses to your armies or even special units. These can come in handy because your early army will heavily rely on Skinks. The skinny little lizards will need some support from their older brothers to conquer the difficulties so make sure those are present in the army.
Ikit Claw campaign will give players an incredibly fun time. It’s probably the easiest campaign, giving out the most potent buffs to the faction that may reach some hilariously high levels. Namely, Ikit has access to a workshop that can buff up weapon teams, units introduced in this DLC. On top of that, he can utilize Doomrockets, weapons of mass destruction that can obliterate multiple units with little effort. This campaign sees you employing extremely strong weaponry every single fight and the DLC brings some of that weaponry to the rest of the faction.
While campaigns are fun the roster is what places this DLC firmly in the first place. Lizardmen got six new units with the pack along with a new hero! These units are formidable too with a mix of potent ranged and melee monsters. If you wish to play more colorful Lizardmen rather than simply rushing Saurus units, this roster update is a must-have.
The Skaven roster is barren without Ikit Claw’s mad machinery. The Ratling Gun Weapons Team and Warplock Jezzails represent two of the most potent ranged units in the entire game and the backbone of Skaven armies. These units finally made Skaven the menace that they are today because earlier editions of the faction couldn’t push the damage in quite as well. They also get Doom-Flayers as a pseudo-chariot unit. It’s a huge wheel with blades on it but boy if it’s not one of the greatest units to charge with. Not really the most important unit but a fun one to add.
The pack is undoubtedly the most important in the entire game. It pushes Skaven from a middling faction to a great one and Lizardmen from a good one to an even better one. It also provides two campaigns to have fun in so it definitely deserves the first spot on this list.
DLC rating: 10/10
