Weakest and strongest AI factions?

[Holeypaladin]

In your experience, what are the weakest, easiest AI factions to defeat in solo battles? What are some of the strongest?

In my experience, Empire and Bretonnia factions seem to be the easiest to defeat, as the units used by AI route pretty quickly and don't fight all that remarkably well. Although Bretonnian AI seems to be stronger later in the game than Empire AI, once they start recruiting their grail knights and flying cavalry (thanks in no small part to AI's incompetence at controlling and protecting artillery).

Some of the toughest AI I've fought includes Vampire Coast, Dwarves (both kinds), all elves, and (if you don't have a range specialized army) Norsca. Vlad von Carstein gets a special mention as the absolute hardest single entity unit I've ever struggled to kill, but Vampire Count armies themselves aren't all that difficult to defeat.

Skaven get an honorable mention as the most annoying, as they have the worst campaign mechanics to deal with (in the form of their plagues and ambush attacks), and reserve every single one of their nukes and army skills for when they fight the player.

[SpeaksTooFast]

It used to be the wood elves for me but the more patches this game gets the worse the AI seems to get at using ranged units.

Have not played on the current patch but in my experience Skaven and Vamp Counts can be tough if you get caught on the defense due to ambush and re-spawn mechanics. Chaos Dawrfs also have some really strong army abilities that make even their weak armies dangerous. Despite multiple nerfs Tzeentch is still probably a pain to take out.

Just my opinion but these are due to campaign map mechanics as battle AI is just in a bad place.

[C-zom]

I got bored and tried a Ghorst Zombie Stack on VH/VH and did my usual thing of dominating every battle until I went up against the Chaos Dwarves on Turn 40. To my surprise, I got my face pushed in. They're tough little dudes.

Overall in my experience Grimgor is the best against other AI since he obliterates the scales on auto-resolve.

[franz]

Weakest is VC , they did give/allow the AI overall more troops in the last patch , but still they are the weakest AR in the entire game . If I want an easy start I start next to VCounts or Vcoast .

Strongest AI is Kairos or Thorgrim . The elves are countered if you can own artillery . Clan mors/Ikit claw are annoying too , unless you are immune to attrition .

[Ashley]

Beastmen probably. Their ai is terrible and they delete themselves on AR lose on garrison. Vampire Coast probably 2nd.

[Holeypaladin]

Originally posted by WALTUH:

Beastmen probably. Their ai is terrible and they delete themselves on AR lose on garrison. Vampire Coast probably 2nd.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Beastmen. They're about on par with Empire with how easy it is for me to destroy them. They sometimes use strong units, but most of their units route very easily in my experience.

But yeah, VC armies are pretty easy to disintegrate... they're just super annoying when Vlad and Isabella are in the same army, as they fight on after their entire army is destroyed. If I don't have a crapton of AP ranged units (as non-AP will run out of ammo before they can kill either of them), I'm better off auto-resolving against those two.

[Verchial]

Vs the player the weakest: Beastmen
Vs the player the strongest: dwarves/chorfs or wood elves depending on player faction.

As the player - the weakest: probably anything Nurgle.
As the player - the strongest: Greenskins.

[cernodan]

Everything and everyone is weak.
There is no challenge in this game. Early game is piss easy and after turn 40 I can demolish entire stacks with just a lord and 3 heroes.
I literally watch a movie in a separate screen while I'm playing a Legendary campaign. It's that easy.

[chaosbringer42]

Grimgor is by far the strongest AI, but he starts so many wars he tends to die early even with his OP autoresolve (he may be strong, but he can only be in one place so once he starts 10 wars by turn 30 he tends to die off).

[kilen]

Probably Tzeench remain one of the difficult ones, despite they nerfed that annoying ability to give one of your settlements to your allies randomly, fortunately that’s over since 3.1 patch.
But Tzeench remain difficult in early game due to barrier.
Anyway the « ranking » of which AI faction is the strongest only apply in early to mid game, after that it’s all pretty much the same imo.
And Wood Elves as well, due to their insane fast and good all round armies.
Defeat them in Athel Loren is always difficult, it’s usually a job for the end game.
Other than that, maybe Grimgor yeah, he is a tough nut to crack early game…
Probably others I don’t think about, but these are the most obvious ones to me.

[ope84]

Chaos dwarf with doom of hashut and dreadquake battery abilities

[valky]

current VH ME campaign: (Morghur)
skaven: next to non existent (Morghur starts near Ikit.. so it is a given to kill him)
WE: I left some because I hate fighting archer garbage
Dawi: quite strong, until I focused on them
Lizardmen: insanely strong (Hexacoatl+Itza) .. currently raizing their settlements
Pointsy-dark-ears: depends ....Naggarond is currently rank 3
Grimgor: Rank 2 ... I guess being at war with short-legged things, made him quite strong.

will prolly leave the other factions alone, so I don't know about the dragon-guys. Zhao Ming does seem to do quite well.

in battle: I hate fighting Tzeench! (!!!!!) and to the lesser Kieslev and friggin' WE archery

edit: @OP Beastmen Lore: Traitor Kin ^^ bye bye Vlad = a powerful lore for a powerful race..... (errr Wild MAgic)
On the basic WH3 map, Ogres are quite strong = like, Ogres, ma' Lord!

And I got Sword of Kaine with Morghur *whistle* ... elves are the real headache.....nullified their island, before they become a real PITA. I guess, it depends on the player and how you advance and where you start.....

[Emilia Tempest]

On the campaign map, Warriors of Chaos are the strongest, they never really die thanks to their crazy garrisons, but they also dont really take land so they are just those small, immortal factions that dont doomroll the planet.
Grimgor is a good contender for this but usually he doesnt dominate the map in my campaigns, he's really strong in the early game but just falls off a cliff once mid to lategame happen. Just stagnating in his territory, trapped by massive powers (Chorfs, WoC, Cathay, Ghorst)

The weakest I would say is Slaanesh. I've not seen once a campaign where this race ever was a threat, unless I literally started right next to it.


In battle?
Hands down its the dwarfs, its the only faction in the entire game that gives me a struggle even with great stacks. And that solely for them spamming slayers like their life depends on it.
If its one thing I somehow cant manage to deal with, its unbreakable infantry

Skaven field too much trash to be considered a threat (even late game), same with vampires, chorfs and all the massive powers really. Though its funny to see auto resolve go "lol valiant defeat" when chorfs come around with 4 stacks of orc labourers at turn 70.
Like cmon man, I know youre a price gouger like me but I can cheese and you cant.


The weakest is probably, ogres. Reason being that missile units just completely shred them, not to mention all units are large (well gnoblars exist but they suck anyways) so even if engages with infantry their good units can be shot to crap, and the only race that has trouble with them are Vampire counts and Nurgle. Vampire counts can counter by using their own ogres (crypt horrors). And nurgle has to pray that his Beast of Nurgle is enough of a debuffer for his blod to survive.
However, both will suffer if they blob and the ogres have a mage, flock of doom really loves blobs.

Though honorable mention goes to woodelfs, if it werent for them hunkering down in their forest and therefore never having to really fight them, they would probably be the hardest to fight in battle.
But since I never really get to fight them, I cant really say they are the strongest.