Total War Warhammer 3: Prologue Campaign Walkthrough guide

The beginning of a long journey...

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Total War: Warhammer 3’s Prologue – while optional – is an interesting, engaging and in many ways unique part of the game that you really shouldn’t skip. Far from being a stripped-down tutorial, the prologue serves as a short campaign in its own right. And one that is integral to the story of multiple factions to boot. As such, we’re here to walk you through the whole of Total War Warhammer 3’s Prologue Campaign, to get you ready for what the rest of the game has to offer.

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Prologue Campaign: The beginning

For those familiar with the Total War: Warhammer series, the Prologue Campaign is more story-focused than might have been expected. This by no means makes it a lesser experience than the rest of the game. Simply a different style than introductions past.

The Prologue begins with a cutscene introducing you to Yuri Barkov, the Kislev prince and legendary lord of the Total War Warhammer 3 Prologue Campaign. For the rest of the Prologue, you will be following these Kislev characters and their expedition into the Chaos Wastes, in search of the bear-god Ursun.

Once the introductory cutscene is complete, you will be given control of your faction for the first time, as well as being issued the mission ‘Respite’.

Respite

Your objective in this mission is to journey north, finding shelter for the people that have joined Yuri on his quest. This part of the tutorial is mostly concerned with movement and navigating the campaign map. As such, the first objective of this mission is simply to Move North. Once you have done so you will receive two more objectives in quick succession: Keep Moving North and Occupy Kislev Refuge. Simply choose to occupy the settlement and Respite will be completed, earning you Treasury +1000

Once respite is done with, you are instructed to construct a Kislev camp before proceeding further. After building the camp, you will also need to build a storehouse to safeguard your supplies. At this point – following a brief tutorial on income – you will receive the mission ‘Rescue’.

Rescue

Rescue – as the name suggests – involves rescuing a settlement called the ‘Beacon’ from attackers. After Moving North once more, you are met with refugees fleeing the Beacon and presented with two choices; Save the innocent or Punish the wolf. Save the innocent prioritises saving Kislevite lives at the Beacon settlement. Punish the wolf focuses on retribution against the tribal chief that threatens the beacon. Depending on the choice you make, Yuri will receive an increase in different stats.

Prior to heading north to the beacon, you are shown how to equip armour on Yuri. Following this brief tutorial, your new objective is to Rescue the Beacon, save the innocent, or Rescue the Beacon, punish the wolf, depending on your earlier choice. Move Yuri north once more and be greeted with a short cutscene showing Skollden the wolf attacking the Beacon settlement. Move Yuri to the settlement to engage Skollden in your first battle!

The Battle of the Beacon

The Battle of the Beacon is not a lengthy affair, but contains introductions to several key mechanics, as well as walking you through all the basics of combat. By the time it’s over, you’ll have learned all about troop movement and positioning, as well as the strengths of your Kislev troops and some of the foes you’ll face in the Chaos wastes.

Once the battle is done, you will have reclaimed the Beacon once more, and gain a Cartographer as a reward for your trouble. Post-battle, you will be given a choice of what to do with your captives, Indenture or Ransom.

Following this, your objective it to Select Prince Yuri, as you are given an introduction to recruiting forces. Once your ranks are bolstered, your next mission is to find and defeat Skollden, in ‘Revenge.’

Revenge

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for Skollden to come looking for a rematch. Move north into the wilderness, and Skollden will soon return and rush your forces, prompting a battle. This battle is more involved than the last, teaching elements of deployment and terrain, but persevere and Skollden will flee once more, leaving behind a Star-iron ring as your prize.

Following your second combat in Total War Warhammer 3’s Prologue, you will be prompted to increase Yuri’s skills for the first time. After learning details of the skill tree, you are instructed to reclaim Fort Dervingard in the mission ‘Reclaim.’

Reclaim

Marching north to Fort Dervingard unlocks the Battle for Dervingard. Bring Skollden’s reign to an end, and once the wolf lies defeated, the Fort will be liberated once more. In his death, you are able to claim Skollden’s tainted blade Wolfsbane as your own, choosing either A Strong Blade or A Sharp Blade. Following this, you will have Yuri sanctify Dervingard for Ursun by building a Totem of Ursun. With Ursun invoked and the taint of Chaos cleared, Dervingard is reclaimed and Yuri is granted Frostshard armour.

A hero is added to Yuri’s cause here, a frost maiden. You then are told of Dervingard’s commander’s fall into madness and chaos worship, and when given his journal, may opt to either Keep it secret or Tell Gerik. Once done, the next quest is to reach the Lucent Maze in ‘Runes.’

Runes

Leaving Fort Dervingard, you venture North into the Chaos Wastes. On the way you are introduced to more of Chaos’ effects on the land. To Embrace Magic will grant Snow Leopard units, but to Keep Tradition will unlock Bear War Sleds. Along the way, you will be offered trials from the commander’s journal; optional objectives to complete in order to survive these inhospitable lands. These triala will provide additional unlocks and resources to Yuri’s forces.

Once arriving near the Lucent Maze quest marker, the battle can begin. Select Yuri and then select the quest marker to Start Lucent Maze Battle. Fend off Tzeentch units and breach through the barriers with your forces to reach the Lucent Maze.

Within the maze, Yuri learns more dark secrets from the journal, and is pointed towards the Brazen Altar in Khorne’s lands. There they will find the means of accessing the Howling Citadel and reaching Ursun. When leaving the maze and greeting your forces, you can choose to Rally them and gain extra rations or Ignore them and gain or reinforce a trait. Either way, the Patriarch is unlocked as a reward. The next quest – Raid – is then unlocked.

Raid

At this point in Total War Warhammer 3’s prologue, you’re seeing more of the map, and the scale of travel is increasing somewhat. You are given greater freedom in what you accomplish on the way to your overall objectives. Numerous settlements, trials and small-scale battles can be accessed as you move onwards, to complete as you see fit.

An additional mission – Trial of the Fervent – is unlocked here. Simply use the Patriarch’s Wound ability on an enemy hero while on the campaign map to receive Saint Annushka’s Finger Bone as a reward.

Whilst progressing towards Khorne’s lands, tribes that hear of Yuri’s Chaos-surviving exploits come to pay tribute. You can Accept it to gain a powerful item, or Trade for it to gain an average item and a diplomatic bonus with the tribes.

Regardless of what you achieve on your path, soon enough you will reach your Khornish destination and access the quest marker. Once battle begins, fight through waves of Khorne troops and defeat the Flesh Hound Simaergul to reach the shrine.

With Khorne’s Altar defiled, Yuri now has the ability to summon the Bridge-Maker at the Screaming Chasm. As a reward, you unlock Kislev’s mightiest unit, the Elemental Bear.

When Yuri quenches his blade in the Brazen Altar, you are given two choices. My Legend – declaring Yuri’s might and titles – or My God – focusing on finding Ursun above all else. Both options gain or reinforce one of Yuri’s traits. Whichever path Yuri prioritises, the next quest is Reach.

Reach

This is the final quest of Total War Warhammer 3’s prologue. You must reach the Howling Citadel and slay Kurnz, the former commander of Dervingard, whose footsteps you have been following in on this journey into Chaos.

Once you feel sufficiently prepared, move Yuri into the light at the Screaming Chasm to summon the Bridge-Maker. A Greater Daemon of Khorne appears and fills the chasm with skulls before Yuri. At this point, the extent of Yuri’s corruption – the toll Chaos and this journey has taken – is revealed. Your only option is to Slay Gerik, your beloved brother and trusted advisor. Once the deed is done, Yuri proceeds onwards, with his fearful army behind and the Daemon at his side.

One final battle is undertaken against Kurnz’ Horde, and once Yuri emerges victorious, he is able to finally receive his reward. As for what that entails… well. We’ll leave the last of the Prologue Campaign’s surprises for you to discover yourself.

 We hope this guide will help you progress through Total War Warhammer 3’s Prologue Campaign and be well equipped to tackle everything that comes after!

More Total War: Warhammer content

We’ve been covering a lot of Total War: Warhammer 3 here at WePC. We’ve put out a faction tier list, and have also helped new players choose the best starting faction for them. We have also written guides for Unlocking secret lords, dealing with Chaos Rifts and Corruption and venturing into the Realms of Chaos. And we’ll be covering much more of the game in the coming days. Stay tuned for in-depth faction guides, campaign tips, customisation options and more!