Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change review: Confusion, Harmony, and the Witch in the Woods

Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change is the latest DLC in the franchise and adds three new Legendary Lords to the game: The Changeling, Yuan Bo, and Mother Ostankya. It has been developed by Creative Assembly and Feral Interactive and published by SEGA and Feral Interactive. Although I've spent my fair share of time playing Total War: Warhammer III, Shadows Of Change adds a lot more new content to the game.

With three new Legendary Lords coming with their own unique mechanics, units, and gameplay style, I had endless fun conquering new lands with them. That said, my time spent with Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change was largely entertaining, to say the least.

Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change: A Mother, a Dragon, and a Changeling walk into the world

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Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change adds to the game three new Legendary Lords, units exclusive to them and their lore, alongside new faction mechanics. While on the surface, they seem to be similar to how other Legendary Lords from their corresponding fractions work, they are radically different in many ways.

Each Legendary Lord has their own end goal, which, much like the Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs DLC, doesn't revolve around Ursun. It's rather refreshing as players are not forced to chase demons through hell to complete objectives and win the campaign. All in all, it was a fun experience, and it didn't take me too long to adjust to the new mechanics.

First impressions and gameplay

1) Mother Ostankya - The Witch in the Woods

Given her reputation as a Legendary Lord in Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change, starting off with her was the obvious choice. I knew Mother Ostankya was powerful, but I was not expecting her to be able to take on units with such ease. Being able to use her to cast spells, bombard units from afar, and ram into the enemy's rank filled me with sheer delight and surprise.

However, my favorite thing about this Legendary Lord was the playstyle. Without the ability to recruit regular units that are part of Kislev's roaster, I had to rely on unconventional methods of warfare.

I won't lie; it was hard at first. But soon enough, I was able to adapt to this new style of warfare. Although the units available at her disposal are rather squishy when engaged in prolonged combat, they are perfect for hit-and-run tactics.

Using a combination of Flying War Beast to harass the enemy's ranged troops, as well as using Spiders to reduce the enemy's unit's speed and damage, allowed for some interesting tactics.

Of course, the backbone of these tactics revolves around the Akshina Ambushers, who fire armor-piercing rounds at opponents. With the combination of their Stalk and Stealthy abilities, they are masters at remaining hidden.

Incarnate Elemental of Beasts towers over the battlefield (Image via SEGA and Feral Interactive/Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change)

They are rather useful for drawing opponents into a crossfire and hitting them from the front and rear with some quick positioning. Given that my Akshina Ambushers were mostly in the woods, it goes without saying that I positioned The Things in the Woods nearby to provide melee-combat support. These bad boys rush into the fray at lightning speed to deliver significant damage.

They can also be used to lay a trap and engage units passing through wooded terrain. Since they receive no Forest Penalty, they are perfect for overrunning units stuck in the thick undergrowth.

Lastly, the Incarnate Elemental of Beasts held true to its name by being a sheer menace on the battlefield. Although its stats mention "Anti-Large," it's perfectly capable of taking on infantry with ease.

In many ways, Mother Ostankya plays out like the Wood Elves but is much more scary in nature - given she is a force of nature herself. But the fun doesn't end on the battlefield.

Unlike Kislev, Mother Ostankya has a few more ancient magic tricks up her sleeves. She's able to use powerful Hexes to her advantage. They require Spirit Essence to use, which I did find rather troublesome to gather, but it was worth it.

The Witch's Hut is useful in certain instances (Image via SEGA and Feral Interactive/Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change)

Given her Kislevite roots, she does have access to the Ice Court, but who needs it when you have access to the Witch's Hut? From here, I was able to create Incantations.

There are two types: Blessings and Curses. Akin to Banners, these can be put on select units to boost or debuff them before a battle begins. Blessings are used on friendly units, while Curses can be applied to enemy units.

All in all, Mother Ostankya was my favorite new Legendary Lord to play in the Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change. With a simple yet interesting understanding of mechanics alongside a fresh array of units, I had a blast controlling the forces of Kislev once more.

2) Yuan Bo - The Jade Dragon

When Total War: Warhammer III first hit the ground running, I became obsessed with Grand Cathay. The entire concept of "Yin-Yang" and having to balance out everything to have perfect harmony captivated my mind. Ensuring units are close to one another in battle would make securing victory a lot easier. This delicate dance of maintaining perfect harmony is the best way forward.

With Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change DLC, Grand Cathay gets a brand new Legendary Lord - Yuan Bo. Much like his siblings (Miao Ying and Zhao Ming), he too can switch between his human and dragon form on the battlefield. Given that he's a melee expert, The Emperor's Executioner ability is by far the most intriguing of active abilities in his arsenal.

When units have a low threshold of health, this can be used to immediately remove them from the battlefield. It's amazing to use on other Legendary Lords and Agents/Heroes.

This helps break the army's morale easily, especially when dealing with Chaos factions. That said, sending Yuan Bo alone into combat is not the best idea. Thankfully, he will never be alone, thanks to the new section of units.

The Jade Lion is very strong when used as a mobile battering ram (Image via SEGA and Feral Interactive/Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change)

Jade Lions are powerful armor-piercing melee units that can rip apart infantry with ease. Given their speed, they can even substitute cavalry units in certain situations.

Throughout my campaign, I tried to keep at least one of them in Yuan Bo's army. Although they aren't the best in dealing with all units, they are lethal for hit-and-run tactics.

Another unit I have come to love is Onyx Crowman. The flying units are perfect at taking out ranged infantry and harassing units that have gotten separated from the main army.

Given that they come with Vanguard Deployment, they are very useful against artillery units as such. But that's not all that Yuan Bo has to offer in Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change.

So many decisions (Image via SEGA and Feral Interactive/Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change)

What makes Yuan Bo stand out from his siblings is the knowledge he possesses regarding the Wu Xing Compass. As such, when compared to other factions of Grand Cathay, Yuan Bo has access to four additional options when using the Wu Xing Compass.

Although they are locked at the start of the campaign, unlocking them in due time will be extremely beneficial for all types of playstyles.

Lastly, his most unique faction mechanic, Matter of State, can be used for several aspects in-game. Although I'm yet to fully understand this system and implement it to the maximum, I have had the pleasure of using it to my advantage once every few turns.

That being said, Yuan Bo in Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change is perhaps the most tactical of Legendary Lords from Grand Cathay.

3) The Changeling - Confusion and deceit

The Changeling is a manifested form of pure confusion and deceit. With the ability to take the form of any Legendary Lord in battle, this character has more than a few tricks up his sleeves. While the faction plays similarly to that of Kairos Fateweaver, there are a few fundamental differences at play.

For starters, The Changeling cannot directly capture a settlement per se. Once a settlement has been attacked, it can be claimed as a Trickster Cult.

Similar to how the Skaven functions, players build right under the noses of their enemy in secrecy. However, if there's too much going on within the settlement, the chance of being discovered will rise over time, and eventually, you will be found

Which one do I pick? (Image via SEGA and Feral Interactive/Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change)

The Changeling focuses on deceit, and the campaign is very different from that of other factions. Rather than having to outright dominate or capture territory, I had to complete objects to reach closer to the end of the campaign.

While the faction, in general, is fun to play, there's a lot going on at once. From the Schemes mechanics to the Changing of The Ways system, there's a lot to learn.

That being said, while this Legendary Lords campaign has a lot of interesting and dynamic things on offer, I found it rather difficult to grasp. To be honest, if this is your first time playing Total War: Warhammer III, it would be best to avoid any faction of Tzeentch until you're able to grasp the basics.

So many Lords, so little time (Image via SEGA and Feral Interactive/Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change)

Nevertheless, the mechanics, especially Formless Horror, which allows The Changeling to assume any Legendary Lord in battle is amazing. Given that the entity is able to not just take on their form but stats as well is truly mesmerizing. Considering the number of Legendary Lords in-game, it will be interesting to think about the possibilities.

Performance and sound

Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change, provided by SEGA, was played on a system having the following configuration:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
GPU: RTX 3070 8GB
RAM: 32 GB

Throughout my Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change playthrough with all the new three Legendary Lords, I encountered no issues. The game ran smoothly and did not crash even once. While there was a bit of stutter at times, it's negligible for the most part.

In terms of sound and SFX, everything is as good as expected. From Mother Ostankya's taunts to the cries of infantry meeting their doom in battle, everything is perfect. That said, players can expect only the very best in terms of visuals and sound in Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change.

In Conclusion

Not the oddest thing to see on a battlefield (Image via SEGA and Feral Interactive/Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change)

If Total War: Warhammer III - Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs DLC raised the bar, Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change took it just a step higher. While it does not introduce a brand new faction to the base game, it does introduce three new Legendary Lords with their own unique gameplay mechanics and units.

Mother Ostankya remains my favorite. Despite lacking heavy-hitting units during the early game, her playstyle is amazing. On the other hand, I still have a lot to learn about The Changeling. But given the lore and gameplay mechanics that accompany this entity, there will be no shortage of entertainment.

Time to create a few cults (Image via SEGA and Feral Interactive/Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change)

For those looking forward to kicking off the Total War: Warhammer III - Shadows Of Change DLC and diving right into things, I would suggest playing as Yuan Bo. Although the "Yin-Yang'' system takes a while to get used to, it's a solid faction for newcomers to explore and learn, given the well-rounded armies of Grand Cathay.

With all that being said, I did expect a lot more to be added in, given the scope of the DLC.

Considering that the previous DLC introduced a whole new faction, storyline, and so much more - I was a bit disappointed. For instance, Mother Ostankya is great, but there's not much to her aside from three new units, Hexes, and her Witch's Hut. The same can be said for the other two Legendary Lords.

Nevertheless, I look forward to completing my ongoing campaign, especially the one with Yuan Bo. I've got some elite units that are being recruited, and I'm eager to engage Chaos on the other side of the Great Bastion. Even while on turn 66, I'm yet to unlock additional options on the Wu Xing Compass, so I'm guessing I'll be at it for a while.