Total War Warhammer 3: 10 Best Quest Battles, Ranked

Total War: Warhammer 3 gets a lot of things right, but drops the ball a bit when it comes to quest battles. This has been the case ever since the series first started back in 2016 and probably won’t change anytime soon. That said, it’s not all bad. While most of the quest battles you’ll come across while playing the game are indeed pretty dull, there are a few battles that do stand out.

Related: Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires: Best Legendary Lords Tier List

In order to keep things interesting, this list will mostly focus on quest battles that involve multiple Legendary Lords. After all, it’s far more engaging to fight Karl Franz or Archaon the Everchosen than a randomly generated army led by a no-name Lord. We’re also taking into account the difficulty of the battle, however, this isn’t as nearly important as the map or the enemy army’s composition and leader.

10 Final Siege Of Tor Yvresse

The Final Siege of Tor Yvresse is a quest battle that can be played from either the perspective of Eltharion the Grim or Grom the Paunch. As you might imagine, Eltharion will always be the defender and Grom will always be the attacker regardless of which of the two Legendary Lords you’re playing. The Final Siege of Tor Yvresse is the culmination of The Warden & The Paunch DLC and while it’s disappointing that we didn’t get an invasion instead, the quest battle itself certainly isn’t a letdown.

Sieges, in general, are one of the least beloved parts of the series, however, this one is pretty memorable thanks to the size of the map and the number of units involved. There’s also a fair bit of lore surrounding Grom’s invasion of Tor Yvresse, so it’s nice to see it represented in-game. Unfortunately, the Final Sige of Tor Yvresse hasn’t been integrated into Immortal Empires, but you can still play it from the main menu along with all the other quest battles on this list.

9 The Great Drill Of Hashut

The Great Drill of Hashut is a quest battle introduced alongside the Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs DLC and can be fought by all leaders of the Dawi-Zharr. The battle tasks players with defending the titular Great Drill from an army of angry Dwarfs, even angrier daemons, and ultimately Thorgrim Grudgebearer himself. Don’t worry, this is a multi-phase battle, so you won’t have to fight all those enemies at the same time.

Related: Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC Buying Guide For Immortal Empires

In order to fully enjoy The Great Drill of Hashut, you’ll need to play a Realm of Chaos campaign. While you can simply jump into it from the main menu, the campaign features certain mechanics that tie into this quest battle and confer various bonuses that can make it easier or more enjoyable. The Great Drill of Hashut plays somewhat similar to a settlement battle where you can build towers and fortifications, but the map and layout are entirely unique. It also works well thematically as it’s the largest battle in Warhammer 3 involving the two rivaling races of Dwarfs.

8 The Fall Of Man

The Fall of Man is a very old quest battle that dates back to the original Total War: Warhammer and, more specifically, the Call of the Beastmen DLC. Unlike some of the other old quest battles out there, this one can be accessed both from the main menu and while playing an Immortal Empires campaign with a Beastmen faction. Strangely enough, though, you can only play the battle as Khazrak the One-Eye from the menu even though it is available to other Beastmen factions during the campaign.

The Fall of Man is a thematic quest battle that sees The Empire and Bretonnia trying to mount a desperate defense against the forces of the Beastmen. This is an uphill battle for the Beastmen both literally and figuratively as the human armies have an advantage both in terms of numbers and elevation. The map itself isn’t particularly noteworthy, but fighting against both Karl Franz and Louen Leoncoeur at the same time is certainly a memorable moment.

7 The Root of Chaos

The Root of Chaos is another one of those quest battles that can be experienced from both sides of the battlefield. This one was added as part of The Twisted & The Twilight and features the two protagonists of the DLC going head to head in a bid to either complete or stop a magical ritual involving Ariel, the mage-queen of the Wood Elves. You can defend Ariel and help her complete the ritual while playing as the Sisters of Twilight. Alternatively, you can try to thwart Ariel’s plans by playing as Throt the Unclean.

Throt’s quest battle goes by the name of The Ultimate Harvest, but it’s the exact same mission. In addition to the two Legendary Lords, the battle also involves two Legendary Heroes in the form of Ariel and Ghoritch. Despite being busy with the ritual, Ariel is an active combatant, and she’s a force to be reckoned with. The battle is slightly more interesting when played from the perspective of the Wood Elves, but it’s also a bit more challenging. Although quite small, the map is absolutely beautiful and a blast to play on regardless of which side of the battle you’re on.

6 Battle For Itza

Speaking of beautiful maps, next up we have the Battle For Itza. You’re probably starting to see a pattern here since this is yet another quest battle designed to be the culmination of a DLC pack. In this case, The Hunter & The Beast. While not exactly one of the best DLCs out there, this is definitely a great quest battle that pits Markus Wulfhart and Nakai the Wanderer against each other in an epic showdown that will decide the fate of the ancient city of Itza.

Related: Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires: 10 Best Legendary Lord Traits, Ranked

Regardless of which side of the conflict you’re on, there are a couple of side objectives you’ll need to clear in order to secure the city. Playing as Nakai seems easier at first until you’re ambushed by Empire reinforcements from the rear and your allies decide to make the battle harder than it should be. On the bright side, Nakai does get reinforced by Gor-Rok, which is bad news if you’re playing as Markus. Nakai by himself is hard enough to take down in a 1v1 fight, never mind having to deal with two melee-focused Legendary Lords at the same time.

5 The Heart Of The Dark

The Heart of the Dark is a massive Herdstone brimming with the ruinous powers of Chaos. It’s also an epic quest battle introduced in The Silence & The Fury DLC, starring Oxyotl and Taurox the Brass Bull on opposing sides. The battle takes place on a very impressive-looking map featuring the titular Herdstone rising menacingly from the ground. The scale of this thing is difficult to grasp until you notice that even huge monsters like Cygors look like ants next to it.

The Heart of the Dark plays out similarly to some of the other quest battles we covered earlier, but it does have one thing that allows it to stand out. Regardless of whether you’re playing as Taurox or Oxyotl, you won’t face off against the other one from the get-go. Both Legendary Lords have special objectives they’ll need to complete before the final battle. The battle is particularly interesting when played from the perspective of Oxyotl as you’ll need to use stealth to eliminate some of Taurox’s allies before ambushing the big bull himself.

4 Wars of Errantry: Chaos Wastes

Wars of Errantry: Chaos Wastes is a quest battle that sees Louen Leoncoeur go up against seemingly insurmountable odds in the name of honor and chivalry. There’s also a Wars of Errantry quest battle in the Badlands against the Greenskins, but the one against Chaos is a little bit better. In addition to being more challenging, this battle has you fighting some truly epic foes like Archaon the Everchosen, Kholek Suneater, Sigvald the Magnificent, and Sarthorael the Everwatcher.

This quest battle holds up remarkably well considering it was first introduced in the original Total War: Warhammer. Having to go up against even one Legendary Lord is always a good time, but here you’re fighting three of them, possibly soon to be four since Sarthorael is likely to get his own faction at some point. Even though Louen receives a few reinforcements about halfway through the battle, he’s still hopelessly outnumbered against the never-ending tide of Chaos. But that’s exactly why it’s so satisfying if you somehow manage to claim victory in the end.

3 Staff Of Tomorrow

Kairos Fateweaver is a pretty special Legendary Lord with a special unique trait and an even more special quest battle. Staff of Tomorrow is the only quest battle in Total War: Warhammer 3, or the entire series for that matter, where you’re forced to fight against yourself. Literally. Kairos has to fight both his past and future selves during this battle in order to repair fractured time. That’s pretty meta even for a follower of Tzeentch.

What’s even more interesting about this battle is that Kairos gets his own defeat trait as a reward if he emerges victorious. Presumably, the other versions get it instead if present Kairos ends up losing, but I guess we’ll never know for sure. The battle itself can be a bit dull considering it’s basically a mirror matchup, but the concept behind it and the absolute visual eye candy that is the map are enough to earn it a high spot on this list regardless.

2 Battle Of The Black Pyramid

Just in case the name didn’t already give it away, the Battle of the Black Pyramid involves the Tomb Kings. All of them. You can access this battle with any of the four Tomb Kings factions, but it’s going to be a bit different if you play as Arkhan the Black. You can trigger this quest battle naturally at the end of the Vortex campaign in Warhammer 2, but in Warhammer 3 you’ll need to launch it via the main menu. Unfortunately, many of these battles haven’t been integrated into Immortal Empires yet, but hopefully they will be at some point.

Related: Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires: Best Races Tier List

The Battle of the Black Pyramid is what you might call an asymmetric quest battle. If you’re playing as Settra the Imperishable, High Queen Khalida, or Grand Hierophant Khatep you’ll join forces with the other two Legendary Lords to take down Arkhan the Black. Conversely, if you’re playing as Arkhan you’ll have a more difficult task on your hand as you attempt to defeat the three other Tomb Kings. The main highlight of this battle is the monolithic Black Pyramid itself, which towers above everything else. While the Black Pyramid is pretty impressive even on the world map, it looks absolutely astonishing when viewed up close.

1 The Altar Of Battle

Champions of Chaos is one of the best DLCs ever released for the Total War: Warhammer series. In addition to giving us four powerful Legendary Lords and a bunch of new units, the DLC also introduced an epic quest battle known as the Altar of Battle. You can trigger the battle while playing as any of the four Legendary Lords – Azazel, Festus, Valkia, or Vilitch – and win it by defeating the armies of the other three.

The premise is somewhat similar to the Battle of the Black Pyramid, however, this one is more engaging since it incorporates new elements introduced in Total War: Warhammer 3. In addition to punching and poking rival Chaos Champions, you’ll have to capture and hold objectives to claim victory. Among other things, you can also upgrade your army and call in reinforcements during battle. There are other battles in the Realm of Chaos campaign where you can do this, but this one is a bit more special thanks to the battle royale aspect and the variety of factions involved.

Next: Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires: 10 Most Overpowered Spells, Ranked