Total War: Warhammer III - A guide on conquering Chaos Realms

The primary method of victory in Total War: Warhammer III is to campaign through the Realms of Chaos and claim the Soulstones. These will unlock the path to the Forge of Chaos and secure a complete victory.

The four Realms of Chaos in Total War: Warhammer IIII is each represented by one of the four Chaos Gods: Khorne, Tzeentch, Slaanesh, and Nurgle. Each realm is different and has its own challenges. Here’s what a would-be conqueror of the Chaos Realms needs to know.

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How do the Realms of Chaos unlock in Total War: Warhammer III?

Around turn 15 or so, the first Chaos Rift will open up in Total War: Warhammer III. They are only up for a limited time and stay open for 15 turns. After that, players will have to wait a fair amount of time for the next Rift to open up, and they are always temporary.

From there, a player just has to move their Legendary Lord onto the Rift, and it will give them a variety of options. They can enter any of the Chaos Realms through any portal, and can also use them to travel to other places for a cost.

The longer the Rifts stay open, the more corruption they spread, and so other units can close them by defeating the guardian units of a Rift.

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The Realm of the Blood God in Total War: Warhammer III

Khorne's Brass Citadel is the goal in his Realm of Chaos for Total War: Warhammer III (Image via SEGA/Creative Assembly)

Far and away, the easiest of the Chaos Realms belongs to Khorne, the Blood God. His realm is a Crucible, where the various factions enter and murder each other, to accumulate “Bloodshed.” Once the Bloodshed meter is full, players can head to the Brass Citadel on the map to claim the Soulstone.

In the four corners of this map, there is also a set of powerful legendary weapons of Khorne himself, but he will only allow the player to have it until they travel to another Realm of Chaos. It will take several battles (about four) to fill the meter.

Before heading to the Brass Citadel, it’s worth it to go pick up one of the four weapons. They have +10 Khorne corruption, +20 melee attacks, enabled magic attacks, +250 armor-piercing weapon damage, are Unbreakable, and have an extra ability.

It’s worth noting that the Daemon Prince cannot use any of these, only weapons granted by Daemonic Glory. These weapons can only be wielded by the Legendary Lord and heroes.

Players will need to use the Encamp Stance to replenish troops here as needed, as that’s the only way to recover in the realm of Khorne. It’s advised to bring a strong infantry because the Bloodletters can shred through them otherwise.

Armor-piercing range units are useful against the Chaos Warriors and the Bloodthirster itself. If ammo is a problem, don’t forget about the “replenishments” option on the bottom right of the screen.

This is the easiest of the realms and is all about being aggressive but not overdoing it. It’s advised to fight off the other factions that show up first to build Bloodthirst, and stop other factions from getting the edge.

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The Realm of the Dark Prince is a race against time

Slaanesh's realm is one of temptation, and several rewards will be offered to leave (Image via SEGA/Creative Assembly)

Slaanesh’s realm looks similar to Dante’s Inferno, only far more purple. The realm itself is not difficult, though the forces of Slaanesh that chase the player may be overwhelming. Players will need to head deeper into the area, through one gate at a time.

The reason this is such a challenge, and should probably be tackled as soon as possible, is because it’s a race. If another faction gets to this first, they are almost certainly going to claim the Soulstone. The only way it’s feasible that the player will get through in that case is if the leading faction gets hassled by the daemon forces.

Using March Stance is advised here to get as far as possible, as fast as possible. Slaanesh will also periodically offer the player gifts to leave the realm, and they will certainly be tempting.

The rewards vary but typically include huge amounts of gold (45,000, up to 100,000). One reward in particular, if it shows up, is worth leaving for, and that’s The Dark Prince’s Paramour.

This reward grants +25 control to every province the player controls. Essentially, this eliminates rebellions and Chaos uprisings for that player for the remainder of the game. They can then extend their control of the land into Chaos territory safely. Players can simply destroy the faction that claims the Soulstone anyway, so their lead won’t be relevant.

For any combat in the Realm of the Dark Prince, the strategy is essentially the same. Total War: Warhammer III players will want to focus down on the biggest units first, bringing some cavalry to the protect the flank. This will likely protect the army from being overwhelmed.

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Tzeentch’s Realm is a frustrating maze in Total War: Warhammer III

Tzeentch's realm is one of a great deal of frustration and trial-and-error (Image via SEGA/Creative Assembly)

Tzeentch’s Realm may be the most frustrating of all four. It’s a maze, that is navigated by teleporting across a series of islands. Players are not made aware of which teleporters go where, however, and in order to find out, they need to defeat armies and select “reveal teleport sigil” in the post-battle.

This will reveal two corresponding portals, creating a slow but steady path through the area. It may behoove the player to make a map as they go, or at least note which portal leads where. This makes it important to fight all the battles, to find a way through the area.

There are also white circled areas that can help replenish forces or grant a boon from Tzeentch in Total War: Warhammer III. When it comes to Tzeentch, it is incredibly important not to clump up the player’s forces. Tzeentch after all is a master of incredibly powerful magic and has ranged combat skills to demolish groups. Heavy Cavalry will be key here, as will enough ranged power to counter-hit the Lord of Change.

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Nurgle’s challenge is crossing the plaguelands

Like Khorne’s challenge, Papa Nurgle’s is mostly very straightforward. The faction going in has to cross the plaguelands, get to a particular Point of Interest, and then do battle with Grandfather Nurgle. Attrition is a constant problem in the area, but there are white outlined areas that players can replenish their forces in.

It also grants a bit of attrition resistance to help get through this challenging area in Total War: Warhammer III. It’s not a walk in the park though, because Nurgle’s forces also bar the way through. One way to do this safely is to use Encamp Stance; while the force will move slowly, attrition is no longer an issue.

When it comes to battling the forces of the Father of Plagues, they’re slow and aren’t armored, but they do have physical resistance and often regenerate. The solution is magical damage and siege weaponry to make sure they get set on fire. FIre slows down regeneration, making it a little less frustrating.

When traveling to the Realms of Chaos, players will almost certainly gain negative traits, the Chaos Realm traits.

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Removing Chaos Realm traits in Total War: Warhammer III

The Realms of Chaos are key to victory, but they are not an easy task to undertake (Image via SEGA/Creative Assembly)

The longer a Legendary Lord is in the Realms of Chaos, the greater a chance they will pick up negative status traits - Chaos Realm traits. They are incredibly harmful and should be removed as soon as possible. They can negatively impact an entire faction, and that’s not good.

To remove them in Total War: Warhammer III, the player needs to garrison the Legendary Lord in a province capital, or a settlement that has a “Protection” building, such as the anti-Skaven building. Having both is even better.

One important thing to be aware of is that certain factions’ main settlements do not have the effect needed to do this. Greasus of the Ogre Kingdoms is one of those. That faction will need to have a major settlement that has the appropriate building, so that means conquering.

The Realms of Chaos are incredibly challenging in Total War: Warhammer III, but with time and dedication, players can crush the forces of evil and collect the Soulstones needed for the primary objective of the campaign.