The conflict between mankind, daemons, beast, and undead is about to come crashing down in a huge deluge in Total War: Warhammer 3 - Tides of Torment. The latest DLC for Creative Assembly and Sega’s hit strategy title adds three Legendary Lords who are eager to join the fray.

Our Total War: Warhammer 3 - Tides of Torment guide discusses everything you need to know about Sea Lord Aislinn of the High Elves, Dechala the Denied One of the Slaaneshi Daemons, and Sayl the Faithless of the Norsca. Note that these Legendary Lords are only playable in the game’s Immortal Empires campaign.

 

High Elves: Sea Lord Aislinn campaign overview

Faction effects:

• Asur Domination: Can establish colonies and gift regions to High Elf factions and can recruit Dragonships.
• Can issue provincial commandments without owning the entire province.
• Improved sea navigation.
• -1 local recruitment duration for Oceanids, Sea Elementals, and Merwyrms.

Lord effects:

• Lord’s army:
  • Enable sea-based attacks on port settlements.
  • +20% missile strength for High Elf units while fighting at sea.
  • -10% upkeep for Ship’s Company, Oceanids, Sea Elementals, and Merwyrms.
• +10% campaign movement range while at sea.
• Ability - Iron-Handed Captain: +100 leadership and instant rally effect.

Elven Trade and Dragonship Supplies

Aislinn uses various resources to aid the expansion of his people’s domains:

• Elven Trade: Used to research specific technologies and construct Dragonship Supplies facilities.
• Dragonship Supplies: Unlocks upgrades for Aislinn and other Dragonship Captains that you recruit.
• Dedication: Earned by gifting Outposts to High Elf factions and is tied to the Asur Domination mechanic.

Asur Domination: Colonies, Outposts, and Dedications

An important Total War: Warhammer 3 - Tides of Torment tip to remember is that Aislinn has two options related to controlling a conquered settlement:

• Establish Colony: Take direct control of a settlement with multiple building slots. Note that you can only establish a limited number of colonies, though there are ways to increase this cap.
• Establish Outpost: Gift an Outpost to other High Elf Legendary Lords to earn Dedication and diplomatic relations bonuses. The AI faction will manage the settlement but you can still construct garrisons and Elven Trade buildings.

The six High Elf factions/Lords are: Tyrion (Eataine), Alarielle (Avelorn), Alith Anar (Nagarythe), Teclis (Order of the Loremasters), Eltharion (Yvresse), and Imrik (Knights of Caledor).

• There are three reward tiers unlocked after gifting a leader with 2, 6, and 10 total settlements. You can click on the “Consult Leaders” button to select a reward.
• Tier 1 rewards are generally similar, as they grant bonus experience points and recruitment ranks.
• Tier 2 and 3 rewards tend to be more unique. For instance, Alith Anar boosts ambush success chances, while Teclis increases research rate.

Likewise, there are three Dedication categories with numerous permanent buffs: Colony Dedication, Outpost Dedication, and Dragonship Dedication. A long-term goal in Aislinn’s campaign is the recruitment of the remaining Dragonships. One comes from the “Admiralty Forged” Dragonship Dedication. The others are unlocked upon activating four total Dedications from the Colony, Outpost, and Dragonship categories.

Additional tips when playing as Sea Lord Aislinn

• Research the “Heralds of Civilization” technology on your first turn. This opens up more options for trade and diplomacy.
• Aislinn’s Mist Landing stance while at sea allows him to directly attack armies and cities on land.
• We recommend sailing to Ulthuan via Sea Lane when prompted via an event, so you can aid your fellow High Elves.
• Gift smaller settlements as Outposts and pick main settlements for your Colonies.
• The Tier 2 “Consult Leader” reward for Alarielle instantly replenishes all units in every army in your faction.
• Be careful when confederating with other High Elf factions. If a faction no longer exists, you won’t be able to gift Outposts to it or consult its leader.
• You gain a faction’s armies upon confederation. However, every settlement it owns becomes controlled by an independent sub-faction known as the United Maritime Patrol.

Slaanesh: Dechala the Denied campaign overview

Faction effects:

• Torment’s Tribute: Gain powerful abilities, ancillaries, and effects via the Decadence resource.
• Corruption mechanic: Weaken enemy units before battle.
• +10% experience gain (all characters).
• +10% physical resistance for Devoted Marauders, Marauder Horsemen, and Hellstriders (all armies).
• -15% upkeep for Devoted Marauders (all armies).

Lord effects:

• Dechala can equip one additional weapon.
• Steal 10% experience earned by other lords.
• +50% post-battle chance of demanding a magic item as tribute.
• +10% weapon strength for all non-daemonic units (lord’s army).

Thrall Camps, Tormentor’s Holds, and Pleasure Palaces

Dechala in Total War: Warhammer 3 - Tides of Torment has several unique options when capturing a settlement:

• Thrall Camp: Grants Thralls as a unique resource, which is used for certain buildings, units, and income boosts.
• Tormentor’s Holds: Has basic military building chains so you can recruit units.
• Pleasure Palace: Offers multiple building slots and upgrades.
  • A Pleasure Palace can only be established in captured provincial capitals.
  • Establishing a new Pleasure Palace requires that all other Pleasure Palaces across your domain are at level 3.
  • Pleasure Palaces grant Decadence used to unlock Tormentor’s Tributes.

Tormentor’s Tributes rewards

The Decadence you amass throughout the campaign can be used to acquire boons known as Tormentor’s Tributes:

• Marks of Vindictiveness: Think of these as consumables that you may select prior to the start of a battle. You can also upgrade effects further.
• Opulent Gifts: These are unique rarity items that can be equipped by characters. Each one costs 500 Decadence.
• Exquisite Spoils: Each option costs 1,000 Decadence but you receive permanent boons for the rest of the campaign.

Additional tips when playing as Dechala

• Thralls are a finite resource in each region. However, it’s still possible to convert between Thrall Camps and Tormentor’s Holds.
• Establish Pleasure Palaces in provinces that have four regions, since your expansion should still be backed by a strong Thrall-based economy.
• Be ready to ambush Balthasar Gelt when he shows up with an army a few turns into the campaign. Then, prepare for all-out war once Zhao Ming and Greasus Goldtooth show up at your doorstep.
• Don’t forget to inflict Corruption on enemy units before pitched battles. The debuffs to attack, defense, speed, and leadership ought to greatly weaken your foes.
• Similar to other Slaaneshi leaders, Dechala excels at swiftly rushing opponents to close the gap. Her Daggerdance and Whirlwind of Pleasure abilities easily rip apart enemies in melee range.

Norsca: Sayl the Faithless campaign overview

Faction effects:

• Manipulations: Undermine other settlements, armies, and even entire factions.
• +2 lord and hero recruit rank for Shaman-Sorcerers.
• +10 Winds of Magic reserves (all armies).
• +20% weapon strength for Kurgan Horsemen (all armies).

Lord effects:

• +10% spell intensity.
• -25% miscast base chance
• Poison attacks for Kurgan Horsemen (lord’s army).
• Ability - Nightmaw: This is a forward-moving area-of-effect spell.

Manipulations and the Dark Ritual

Sayl the Faithless makes use of two interconnected mechanics known as the Dark Ritual and Manipulations.

• Dark Ritual: Choose to “Raise a Chaos Altar” when you capture a settlement.
  • There are four total tiers that require 4, 10, 18, and 30 altars, respectively.
  • Each tier offers bonuses to weapon strength and unit capacity for Chaos Spawn and Chaos Warriors.
  • Dark Ritual tiers also unlock higher Manipulations tiers. However, you must defeat armies in quest battles.

• Manipulations: There are four total tiers with selectable effects. Here are some of the best options.
  • Tier 1 - Twisted Tribute: Target another faction’s settlement to gain +250 spoils and a random rare magic item. Also lowers the income from buildings by -80%.
  • Tier 2 - Crippling Injunction: Target a faction to disable local recruitment and global recruitment.
  • Tier 2 - Subversion from Within: Carry out Treacheries in a target settlement. You can then pick an effect that becomes active for that settlement.
  • Tier 3 - Exploit Your Rivals: Target an army to enable attrition, cause +20% damage instantly, and reduce all ammunition by -100%.
  • Tier 3 - Daemonic Summoning: Summon a Greater Daemon in any of your armies by sacrificing a random Marauder infantry unit.
  • Tier 4 - Blind War: Automatically causes a faction to declare war on every faction they know. This also reduces their control in provinces by -50 points.
  • Tier 4 - Mutinous Whispers: Target another faction’s army to instantly wound its lord and heroes. The army will turn into a rebel force that will attack its original faction.

Additional tips when playing as Sayl the Faithless

• Sayl has game-changing Manipulations, but these also cause the Attraction meter to increase. At higher thresholds, more Chaos Daemon armies will spawn in your lands and target Sayl.
• While you might be tempted to raise Chaos Altars in every conquered region, know that these places will only have two building slots. This limitation can greatly hamper your economy, so you have to rely heavily on raiding and sacking locations.
• Sayl is surrounded by numerous Legendary Lords on all fronts. These include Vilitch the Curseling, Zhatan the Black, Grimgor Ironhide, Tamurkhan the Maggotlord, and Greasus Goldtooth.
• Sayl has access to several linear and conal spells, such as Nightmaw, Windblast, and Penumbral Pendulum. These help you damage a lot of enemy units in a straight line or arc.

That does it for our Total War: Warhammer 3 - Tides of Torment guide. We hope these tips help you regardless of which Legendary Lord you choose for your next Immortal Empires campaign.

Those who would like to sail the high seas to bring or defend against the wrath of Chaos should pick up Total War: Warhammer 3 - Tides of Torment, available now on the Epic Games Store. You may also purchase legendary lords like Sea Lord Aislinn, Dechala the Denied One, and Sayl the Faithless separately. 

Last but not least, we highly recommonend reading our celebration of 25 years of the Total War series, where a huge number of the Total War series joins the Epic Games Store. 

Celebrate 25 years of the award winning strategy series with the Total War Anniversary Sale! The sale is live now through Dec. 12 11AM ET, 2025.