Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires Queek Headtaker - Skaven campaign overview, guide and second thoughts

Hello everyone. This is what I check out for when I wish to play a campaign, a very brief overview of what I believe will happen during the campaign, as well as my initial thoughts on matters such as diplomacy, expansion paths, army compositions, important skills for lords, etc.

In this specific one, I pick the Legendary Lord Queek Headtaker of the Skaven.

Please do leave feedback and comment below, always keen to discuss the game with you guys.

Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires Queek Headtaker - Skaven campaign overview, guide and second thoughts

Hello everyone. In this guide I will cover:
- Victory conditions, faction and climate;
- Starting location;
- Diplomacy and outposts;
- Mechanics of the race and faction;
- Province edicts and army stances;
- Buildings and research;
- Lords and skills;
- Army compositions;
And give you my final notes on the specific faction. Hope you enjoy it.

If you prefer to watch the video (it also supports me):

https://youtu.be/YdEy8yAnxXA

If you prefer to read:

VICTORY CONDITION:

Short Victory:

- Conquer Karak Eight Peaks;
- Destroy the Crooked Moon Mutinous Gits, the Crooked Moon, Clan Angrund (your rivals in the race).
- Occupy, loot, raze or sack 30 different settlements.

The reward is +3 recruit rank to all units, good to ensure you always get quality troops.

This objective leads you into the North and the West, and into conquering a lot of land. You are, however, the most likely to reach Karak Eight Peaks sooner and to occupy it. You should embrace the race and ensure you are the first there, to reap the rewards.

Long Victory:

- Achieve the short victory;
- Occupy, loot, raze or sack 75 different settlements;
- Control at least 7 of several settlements. These are mainly Skaven capitals or other capital cities such as Mount Gunbad and Altdorf, spread around the Old World for the most part;

The reward is +2 global recruit capacity. Not the best, particularly for when it comes into effect, but Skaven can lose some troops here and there so it kinda helps.

Queek is Gnawdwell's Right Claw, and he enjoys the following buffs:

- +2 hero capacity for Chieftains;
- Upkeep -25% for Stormvermin and Clanrats;
- Can purchase up to +5 additional levels of "The Menace Below" before each battle;
- Food cost: -33% for additional uses of "The Menace Below".

Overall average buffs, mainly focused on using some infantry and the Menace Below mechanic.

Climate: actually one of the best of the Warhammer 2 initial factions. Only Ulthuan is really an issue, which is great since you do have to expand a lot even to win the long victory. It is another great campaign to do total map domination with.

STARTING POSITION:


Initial province has 3 settlements, but you start in a minor one.

Very close to Karak Eight Peaks, implying you may receive its bonuses sooner than with other races that go for that race.

Typical expansion goes into conquering Eight Peaks, and then into the North through the mountains, and then towards Clan Angrund. Plenty of threats exist from the south, so be wary.

You have good relations with Skarbrand, and they can be a buffer against the south... provided they can be trusted.

DIPLOMACY:

In terms of diplomacy, Skaven are quite neutral more leaning towards the evil factions. Some Greenskins, Vampire Counts, Khorne may become your friends, eventually. In the meantime you start at war with Greenskins and have to war with Dwarfs.

Depending on how well the war goes you may obtain enemies with those that are at war with those factions. Khorne, Ogres, and Vampire Counts thus would be my possible outpost selection (image below), if I could try it out.


Some heavy infantry and cavalry would be a wonderful addition, as well as any flying units.

MECHANICS:

- Undercities. You can build them with a Warlock Engineer, or they expand due to a specific building you can get there. They provide vision and you can generate food and income, as well as other bonuses for your faction.
- The biggest idea behind undercities is the Vermintide. Build a specific building there, and an army will spawn and attempt to siege the settlement and take it.
- Food is your unique currency, and it is important to keep finding more. This is to avoid penalties rather than gain buffs, although it is nice to have a surplus overall. Food can be used when capturing a settlement to have it begin at a higher level, which ensures great strategic advantages over other factions.
- Skaven corruption allows you more uses of the Menace Below, and grant you bonuses on that province. It provides food and public order when it is low, and public order penalties when high, but nothing too detrimental.
- Capturing Eight Peaks gives you a tremendous bonus:

1 - Lord Loyalty chance to increase on turn start;
2 - Lord recruit rank +2;
3 - Frenzy for clanrats and Stormvermin;
4 - The buildings you can get there, focused around income, reduced upkeep, food and province buffs.

- Menace below is an army ability that you can enhance in the beginning of any battle, and it consists basically on summoning units of clanrats anywhere you wish, for an amazing tactical advantage.
- An additional mechanic is how the Skaven ambush on their natural army stance, so every battle you initiate has the chance to become an ambush. Some army compositions are entirely possible just because of this.
- Rites, finally, have some variety:

1 - Food per turn, growth, control, recruit cost bonus... a very good basic one to do at every chance;
2 - Diplomatic relations with Skaven, lord loyalty, hero action success chance improved, enemy hero action chance reduced, and an army ability.
3 - Pestilent Scheme, which gives you a plague spreading agent that you can use in any enemy settlement;
4 - Scheme of Doom to obtain a Warlock Engineer that builds undercities or can cause an earthquake on an enemy city.

All pretty decent, particularly the first one that helps ensuring good control over everything you need.

PROVINCE EDICTS AND ARMY STANCES:

Edicts:

- reduced corruption -2, control +3
- recruitment capacity +1 and recruitment cost -5%;
- skaven corruption +3 and food per turn +2;
- growth +20 and construction cost -10%.

Very simple set, for the most part I would use the growth one, and the others are situational.

Army stances:

- Ambush while attacking is great. It works so well with the faction;
- Ambush (waiting) for concealing your force and costs 25% movement;
- Raid gives food, costs 50% movement;
- Encamp, the basic one, costs 50% movement;
- Underway, with all its strategy, is a nice one to have. You are able to avoid most rough terrain and surprise enemies, just like a good Skaven.
- Channeling stance provides Winds of Magic. It is debatable whether having more Winds is better than getting an ambush, but perhaps in sieges this may be of use.

Warhammer 3 Immortal Empires Queek Headtaker - Skaven campaign overview, guide and second thoughts (continuation)

BUILDINGS:

The undercities first, they have a discoverability rating. This is a chance that the undercity will be discovered, and if so, it will provide the faction with the possibility of destroying it by paying some gold.

There are many buildings in the undercities, but for the most part you use them to obtain food or gold, and you can always attempt to cause a Vermintide. Be wary of the discoverability rate.


- 6 military buildings, 5 of which must be in the capital for the fullest.
- However, they have good combinations of units at tier 3 already, including Stormvermin, catapults, rattling guns, rat ogres... they can be effective early to mid-game for certain.
- All buildings generate income and skaven corruption.
- Infrastructure splits into:

1 - Growth, casualty replenishment rate;
2 - Food, income from buildings;
3 - Corruption denial, recruitment costs;
4 - Control, hero, lord and unit recruitment rank.

Decent ones overall, which you should also consider just to unlock the necessary research.

RESEARCH:

Speaking of research, it is fairly extensive, with many of them locked behind buildings. They provide decent buffs to your units, nearly all of them, and to your campaign as well. Many add units to the Vermintide mechanic, so be sure you try it out too.

LORDS, SKILLS:

- Queek has some combat and faction effects, and an interesting loyalty preference towards warlords and against Grey seers.
- Therefore, Warlords should probably be one of your main lords to lead armies.
-The blue line does not have replenishment; however, most lords have that skill in a better way in their own specific skills.
-They do have an ambush increase in the blue line, which plays so well into the faction, as well as reduced upkeep; I would advise against having Lightning Strike, because you already are typically getting an ambush, but it is up to you;)
-Redline looks very good and allows some nice combinations. Definitely one of the most interesting rosters and you can have quite cheap combinations of upgraded units very easily.


-Finally, they have a lot of choice in lords and heroes, nearly one for any necessity. Assassins buff night runners and gutter runners; Warlocks for Weapons Teams; Packmasters for Monsters. 2 Heroes provide replenishment, so you also have plenty of good options for it.

ARMY COMPOSITIONS: (see below pictures)

Disclaimer: I typically like to try and use nearly every single unit, which is why I have this approach. Nothing wrong with you having a doomstack or something different, just please share with the group what you like best.

- Typically you would want some combination of melee and ranged, but nothing wrong on going all out in one or the other, as long as you have fun with it.
- Queek buffs Stormvermin and has more leadership for his army. Therefore, a standard line of Stormvermin with some weapons teams and artillery does great for him.
- You can also try a monster based one for fun, whatever you prefer.


- In terms of Weapons Engineers, they are better suited for weapons teams, so I provide you with some based around that. I always like having 2 warp cannons and 2 plague catapults, but feel free to go all out on Weapons teams if you like. The first one has only 3 warp grinders, to lock any fast units in place.
- If you prefer, a standard line of Stormvermin (or anything really) can give you the necessary buffer while the Weapons Teams do the damage.


-Some sneaky stabbing is always nice, so with the Assassins, I bring you some combinations of Stalk units. Night runners can become great skirmishers under them, and your infantry can clean up afterwards, followed by some monsters.
- You can also try the second one, which is a full vanguard army that can hide anywhere with the stalk abilities;)


Notice how inexpensive these all are in terms of redline skills (yellow number below each army composition).

Finally, just some compositions to try and explore the other units. A frontline and weapons teams, plus monsters; a frontline with more monsters and some weapons teams; a monster and weapons team only; and a monster, weapons teams, and some Doomwheels, great for any ambushes, but be wary when attacking settlements.


FINAL CONCLUSION:

- Skaven are one if not THE faction everyone dismisses until they play them. I know I was one of them. Amazing replay value, good mechanics that really give you the feel of being in control of a swarm of rats that wrecks everything in their path.
- They have a variety of playing styles, but with Queek I would take the advantage of going more melee/ranged hybrid style. Nothing wrong with variety though.
- Your army consists of:

1- Good infantry;
2- Great missile infantry and artillery;
3- Good monstrous infantry and single entities;
4- Great heroes, and varied;
5 - No flying units;
6 - No real cavalry;

Replenishment is great, specially considering the climate, you will most likely recover your army to full in no time.

Now-now, go play-play, yes-yes! Follow Queek Headtaker!

[JAJAJAJAJAAJAJ]

goat