Noob friendly?

[Balt]

I have never played any total war titles. As I am getting more and more into Warhammer I was wondering if this game was worth it or if I should try the previous titles before getting into this one? How noob friendly is the game overall?

[Enelith]

Bcs you're interested in Warhammer, yes, go for it. As everything, you'll need to commit to get good at the game (many have hundreds of hours over the 3 games, and are still learning things nowadays...).

Now, regarding TWWH3, it's part of a trilogy.
The original campaign is called Reign of Chaos (I think ? hello W3), but for most people, the main selling point / interesting one is IE (Immortal Empire), in which ALL previous content carries over IE.
RoC (Reign of Chaos) is a narrative campaign, located north of the Old World / Norsca / Chaos Waste and Cathay (it will feature a specific campaign for TWWH3's original factions + Ogres ; another campaign for the Champions of Chaos DLC ; and another another campaign for Shadow of Change & Throne of Decay),
whereas IE is a sandbox with the all Warhammer World (except few locations which should be released one day or another... Ind, Khuresh, Nippon...)
Therefore, if you buy TWWH3 and then TWWH2 or a previous DLC (belonging to TWWH1/2), you'll can play those in TWWH3 IE.

Better you read carefully what TWWH3 has to offer as for races / factions... For example, if you're only interested in Skaven, TWWH3 doesn't provide them, you'll need TWWH2 and/or the related DLC (there are many posts about this matter a bit scattered everywhere on this forum).

Good luck.

[MF]

Originally posted by Balt:

I have never played any total war titles. As I am getting more and more into Warhammer I was wondering if this game was worth it or if I should try the previous titles before getting into this one? How noob friendly is the game overall?

For myself, I started with Troy and found it not too difficult to catch on. Then I migrated to Warhammer 2 (not 3). Play a few dwarven campaigns............ they're incredibly solid in defence and you can get away with more than a few mistakes. Their ranged is good and eventually you'll get some nice artillery. You won't have to worry about micromanaging cavalry......... the closest thing to that would be helicopters.

The elves are also recommended for beginners. Fantastic archers and you can get some magic happening as well. The exception to that is Imrik - stay away from his campaign until you really really know what you're doing.

There are any number of really good vids out there to educate yourself. Zerkovich to name just one.

[Zeel Ara]

The UI of the campaign map can be intimidating at first, but if you dedicate some time to just clicking around and hovering the different buttons, you'll get used to it quickly. It looks worse at a glance than it is in practice.

Other than that, yea I'd say the game is pretty beginner friendly. Some of the factions are more complex than others though, so I'd recommend starting with one of the recommended factions while still getting used to the overall gameplay and presentation.

[Enelith]

Originally posted by Moffle:

so I'd recommend starting with one of the recommended factions while still getting used to the overall gameplay and presentation.

That's very debattable actually, I don't remember if the Empire is still one of those recommended ones, but definitely Cathay's Miao Ying, or HE's Tyrion should be the easiest to learn the game (although, I would argue that playing RoC is actually better to learn the game, as you're only going to face few major factions opponents, it's also easier/short generally speaking and more forgiving compared to IE's madness...)

Originally posted by MF:

There are any number of really good vids out there to educate yourself. Zerkovich to name just one.

And totally right as well, Zerkovich is both a good teacher and a good entertainer (with his "dumb" but funny videos)

[SBA77]

Originally posted by Balt:

I have never played any total war titles. As I am getting more and more into Warhammer I was wondering if this game was worth it or if I should try the previous titles before getting into this one? How noob friendly is the game overall?

Friendly than the other two that's for sure. I wouldn't be too afraid of learning and losing and though, but if you don't want to look up guides on Youtube or elsewhere, you can always start with one of the historical titles from Rome II onwards.

The TW basics haven't really changed in Warhammer titles, they've just added magic, some new unit types, and powerful hero units. Like someone suggested Troy wouldn't bad a start if that's the route you want to go with as it has the heroes and the monster units but no magic.

[trooperrob]

you will want wh2 as it adds a couple of campaigns.
It isn't a bad choice as a standalone - to see if you like the mechanics.
I think 1,2,3 each add 4 main races, so you may wish to read about the races and see which you wish to play (first).

It is probably worth concentrating on one or two races until you are fully happy with them as the mechanics are complicated and each race has very different mechanics and might confuse yourself if you try to play all of them.
Some races are harder than others.

[SBA77]

Originally posted by trooperrob:

you will want wh2 as it adds a couple of campaigns.
It isn't a bad choice as a standalone - to see if you like the mechanics.
I think 1,2,3 each add 4 main races, so you may wish to read about the races and see which you wish to play (first).

It is probably worth concentrating on one or two races until you are fully happy with them as the mechanics are complicated and each race has very different mechanics and might confuse yourself if you try to play all of them.
Some races are harder than others.

but Wh2 doesn't have a tutorial which at least teaches you the basics OP. wh3 does, which makes it the most "noob friendly" of the three.

[TiberiusGaben]

its not very complicated to start with . theres alot of depth but nothing too crazy . biggest thing to learn is diplomacy and which buildings to prioritize . rest is just learn which units do good against which units . which lords do what things .

[Zeel Ara]

Originally posted by Enelith:

*snip* That's very debattable actually *snip*

Good points there. You made me realize that I don't actually know which factions are recommended, and just blindly assumed that they would be good to start off with. Thank you for pointing out that I spoke without thinking. I appreciate it.

[Butterside down]

As someone who has nearly 1000 hours in WH I and WH II, I can attest WH III is not noob friendly. Unless you want to auto resolve all your tactical battles.

[Smugass Braixen-Chan]

My go to Total War game for new players is Rome: Total War

https://store.steampowered.com/app/885970/Total_War_ROME_REMASTERED/

While archaic in a lot of areas, the campaign isn't too difficult, and it doesn't have any complex mechanics like magic or religion that you need to deal with. (Religion is added in the DLC, but is not present in the vanilla campaign) You just build armies and paint the map your colour.

While people say Brutii (Green) is the best Roman faction, I recommend starting with Julii (Red) because they are way easier (Fighting Gauls, (Shirtless dudes with spears) instead of Greek Hoplites and Spartans (Shirtless dudes with, uh... REALLY LONG spears... Trust me, it makes a significant difference))

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Rome: Total War gets a lot of hate from newer fans of this franchise. But Rome and Medieval 2 are, by far, my favourite Total War games. And are easily the best starting point for new players.

[✳Sindri Myr✳]

IMO Wh 3 is very noob friendly. PRobobly the easiest TW game ragarding campaign mechanics.

[Belegar]

I wouldn't call it noob firendly, but it's a singleplayer so just start on easy and take your time.

I'm a warhammer fan aswell, and this is my favourite game of all time, and it's not even close. I would even go as far as saying it is the best strategy game ever made.

[Commander359]

Actually, there is not a real "Good" first total war game if your intent is to get into total war warhammer. Total war war-hammer, while retaining the same principles and continental strategy and construction mechanics as other total war games, functions fundamentally different due to a number of different mechanics that exist in it and it alone. For example, magic is the most obvious example; a mechanic that fundamentally changes the way each battle plays compared to any other total war game (and a frequent complaint from players coming over from other total war games). Mega-units, automatic weapons, and flying units are also not present in other total war games.

So with all this said, if you want a basic understanding of how to play a Total War game, such as the controls, city-building mechanics, diplomacy system and whatnot, then it may be better to start with a different total war game. However, you can learn all these mechanics from Total War Warhammer itself, and other Total War games will not prepare you for some of the more over-the-top aspects of Total War Warhammer.

Also, keep in mind that Total War Warhammer III differentiates itself from other total war games by incorporating ALL of the factions from the previous Total War Warhammer games and their DLC. This means that it is actually incredibly expensive to truly enjoy Total War Warhammer III to its fullest potential without dumping alot of money into it, but it is SUPER fun to play if you do, so spending more money on a different total war option might not be financially worth it in the long run.

[SBA77]

Originally posted by Smugass Braixen-Chan:

My go to Total War game for new players is Rome: Total War

https://store.steampowered.com/app/885970/Total_War_ROME_REMASTERED/

While archaic in a lot of areas, the campaign isn't too difficult, and it doesn't have any complex mechanics like magic or religion that you need to deal with. (Religion is added in the DLC, but is not present in the vanilla campaign) You just build armies and paint the map your colour.

While people say Brutii (Green) is the best Roman faction, I recommend starting with Julii (Red) because they are way easier (Fighting Gauls, (Shirtless dudes with spears) instead of Greek Hoplites and Spartans (Shirtless dudes with, uh... REALLY LONG spears... Trust me, it makes a significant difference))

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Rome: Total War gets a lot of hate from newer fans of this franchise. But Rome and Medieval 2 are, by far, my favourite Total War games. And are easily the best starting point for new players.

Sorry but it's too old and it's mechanics are outdated. Rome 1 is my favorite TW but it's worthless for learning how to play TWW3 from. Rome 2 is the oldest option to go with as it's the first game that has the the modern TW formula; though Troy, particularly with Mythos or even 3K would be better options IMO. Rome1/Remastered is only worth getting for its own merits not as a training tool.