Total War: WARHAMMER - Call of the Beastmen adds the Beastmen as a fully playable race to the strategy game Total War: WARHAMMER. This expansion focuses on a horde-based faction drawn from the Warhammer fantasy setting, emphasizing aggressive movement across the campaign map and brutal combat encounters with monstrous units.
Gameplay
The Beastmen operate through a horde-style system where armies carry their infrastructure while traveling rather than claiming settlements in the traditional manner. Every unit possesses the Resilience ability, which eliminates attrition from infighting when multiple hordes operate near one another and encourages coordinated advances. Armies spread Chaos Corruption across provinces, weakening enemy holdings and applying attrition to opposing forces.
Each Beastmen army tracks a Bestial Rage meter that builds through raids and battles. Once the meter fills, a Brayherd appears as an AI-controlled supporting horde that the player can direct toward targets. Low rage levels risk infighting that costs troops or triggers mutiny. Unique army stances define movement and operations. Beastmen Ambush serves as the default stance for ambushing foes on the move. Hidden Encampment conceals the army for recruitment and building while remaining hidden from most enemies. Beast-Paths allow passage through impassable terrain, with battles fought on dedicated Beast Path maps if attacked in that stance. The Raiding stance generates income, boosts Bestial Rage, and increases public disorder in enemy lands.
After conquering a settlement, two post-battle choices appear. Raze and Loot extracts resources before destruction. Raze and Defile levels the site and raises a monument that heightens Chaos Corruption while granting population growth bonuses to the horde. Periodic Full Moon events tied to Morrslieb require choices in twisted rituals that carry costs but deliver rewards.
Game Modes
The Beastmen appear in the Grand Campaign alongside custom battles and multiplayer battles. A dedicated Story Campaign titled An Eye For An Eye places players in a guerrilla conflict on a bespoke map spanning forested regions from the Reikland Channel to Hochland. In this mode, the player controls Khazrak The One Eye in a campaign against human forces and rival tribes while pursuing Boris Todbringer.
Grand Campaign play begins with one of two Legendary Lords. Khazrak The One Eye starts in the Tobaro region of Estalia and focuses on precise strikes and guerrilla tactics. Malagor The Dark Omen begins in the Marshes of Madness and excels at blasphemous rites and spellcasting. Both lords feature distinct skill trees, quest chains, and legendary items that alter recruitment costs, combat performance, and campaign effects.
Beastmen Roster and Abilities
Beastlords command warherds and gain specialized skills that enhance melee attack, defense, leadership, weapon strength, and missile resistance. They unlock mounts on Razorgor Chariots at higher ranks. Two hero types support armies. Gorebulls function as powerful melee specialists with skill trees that provide support abilities. Bray-Shamans cast spells from the Lore of Death, Lore of Beasts, or the exclusive Lore of the Wild, which includes hexes, augments, and the Savage Dominion spell that summons a Cygor.
Units range across five tiers with shared passive abilities. Resilience appears on every roster entry. Primal Fury boosts speed, charge bonus, and melee attack for many Gor units. Bloodgreed enhances Minotaurs with charge and damage buffs. Soul Eater increases miscast chances for enemy spellcasters near Cygors. Thunderous Charge improves Razorgor performance. Vanguard Deployment allows most units to start deep in the field. The roster includes Ungor Raiders and Spearmen at tier one, progressing through Centigors, Gor Herds, Razorgor Herds, Minotaurs, Bestigor Herds, Chaos Spawn, Razorgor Chariots, and culminating in Cygors and Chaos Giants at tier five.
Is It Worth Playing?
This expansion suits players who prefer aggressive horde campaigns built around raiding, corruption spread, and monstrous infantry and cavalry. The combination of unique stances, Bestial Rage mechanics, and post-battle options creates a distinct loop focused on constant movement and disruption rather than settlement management. Legendary Lords and the dedicated story campaign add narrative focus for those interested in specific characters and rivalries. Reception has been mixed overall, with praise for the faction's visual and mechanical identity alongside notes on its older design compared to later updates in the series. Those drawn to feral, fast-striking playstyles in a fantasy strategy setting will find the most value here.
