Creative Assembly has shown over an hour of new gameplay for Total War: Warhammer 40,000 and provided insights into the gameplay mechanics. Those who think they know the series should take a closer look at what they get.
We have known since the introduction of the factions, that Total War: Warhammer 40,000 does everything differently than usual. Now the developers have shown gameplay for an hour and discussed in detail what changes there are (on YouTube).
Specifically, it was about one of the most important features: real-time battles and ranged combat. What should particularly please veterans of the series is the return of bodyguards for heroes.
Instead of relying on individual entities as in Warhammer 3, nearly every hero now has a small unit of people around them who accompany and protect them, as was common in historical Total War titles. Other highlights include:
- Cover that can be destroyed by airstrikes, but can also be created by corresponding craters
- “Firing on the move” as a standard function for all units, meaning: no one has to stand still to fire (and Space Marines even fire while running with 100% accuracy)
- improved target selection and automatic weapon switching for the best efficiency, e.g., flamethrowers in close combat and anti-vehicle grenades against tanks
- customizable equipment within the unit following the tabletop model: each unit can be individually equipped with various weapons
Suppressive fire
as a new option for heavy rapid-fire guns to decimate entire units, instead of focusing all shots on a single model
However, a particularly exciting change affects almost all units in the game and a logistical mechanic that has given strategic planning more weight: ammunition.
In Total War: Warhammer 40,000 you can shoot infinitely and it makes sense
Instead of, as in all previous titles where ranged units (normally) only had limited ammunition, all units in Total War: Warhammer 40,000 are equipped with infinite ammunition for a battle.
The developers don’t fully explain how this decision came about, but from the perspective of the world, the situation is quite logical:
- The Imperium relies primarily on laser weapons, which by design have infinite ammunition, they only need to be “charged”. Here, it generally holds true: The weapon is worth more than the soldier’s life, which is why one prefers to pack enough ammunition to secure the more expensive weapons.
- Space Marines are the absolute elite of the Imperium and have access to virtually endless resources, even if these are rationed by commanders according to the mission.
- Orks … will take a painted rock and shoot with it. Seriously, they can use anything as a weapon and it somehow works; they likely just stick a magazine from a foe into their own weapon and keep shooting.
- Aeldari have such advanced technology that ammunition probably doesn’t matter there or has been calculated exactly to match the needs of combat.
Even though this time it was only about the real-time battles, Creative Assembly has already explained some time ago how even the campaign will work completely differently than what you are used to from Total War. Expect a completely new experience.
If you want to get a picture of the changes for yourself, you can register for the beta on the official website. The video is also worth watching, but if you don’t want to watch the full roughly 60 minutes, I can recommend the summary by Zerkovich on YouTube (in English), which breaks down the highlights in 11 minutes.
What do you think of the changes? Do you like where the journey is heading, or do you not recognize Total War in all of this? Which faction will you play at launch? Leave us a comment!
If you find the world of Warhammer 40,000 too grimdark and bizarre, you might be interested in the latest installment Total War: Warhammer 3. Although the successor is already in development, there will soon be a big update here as well: The big strategy game for Warhammer on Steam shows the next DLC, introducing 2 characters from the lore, changing the entire map
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