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After a long delay into 2022, Total War: Warhammer 3 launched last month to a warm critical reception. The third game in the epic collaboration between Creative Assembly and Games Workshop sees players facing down the Daemons of Chaos with eight new factions. The Ogre Kingdoms DLC faction is free to players who pre-ordered Total War: Warhammer 3, and is one of the most interesting in the game.
Players who choose to take on the semi-nomadic Ogre Kingdoms can start as Overtyrant Greasus Goldtooth, or Prophet of the Great Maw Skrag the Slaughterer. Greasus and his Goldtooth faction begin the game in the Mountains of Mourn, requiring players to contend with rival Ogres, Greenskins, and the might of Grand Cathay right from turn one.
Ogre Kingdom Camps
Like all Ogre Kingdoms, the Goldtooth live a semi-nomadic existence, and cannot capture Major Settlements on Total War: Warhammer 3's map. Any Major Settlement that Greasus captures will be downgraded to a Minor, removing its extra building slots and higher tiers. To compensate for this, the Goldtooths can build their own Major Settlements in the form of Camps. These Camps cost a relatively small amount of money to place and can be built anywhere on the map that isn't too near to another Settlement.
Camps are an essential tool for the Goldtooth faction, as their access to high tier units, powerful economy buildings, and local buffs are great for building up strength. In addition, any Camp built in enemy territory will automatically raid, generating a small amount of bonus income. It's best to use Camps as either advanced staging posts in enemy territory, where friendly armies can rest, rebuild, and recover or as economic powerhouses in safer lands.
Units can be recruited or traded directly into a Camp's garrison, and they allow neutral factions to hire elite mercenary Ogres. This means players should make sure to keep them well protected while in enemy territory, as any Camp that loses its garrison will be wiped out.
Contracts And Big Names
The Ogre Kingdoms are some of the most famous mercenaries in the Warhammer universe, and Goldtooth players will be offered Contracts by other factions every 10 turns. These Contracts almost always involve fighting an enemy of the hiring faction, either by sacking a city, defeating an army, or assassinating a character. Each Contract will offer a substantial amount of gold and Diplomatic Relations for completion, making them vital for building alliances and strengthening borders in the early game.
Beyond gold and diplomacy, completing mercenary Contracts is also a way that some Ogre Kingdom Lords can earn their Big Names. All Goldtooth Lords come with four of these unique buffs that they can earn by completing certain conditions, and Greasus Goldtooth has four unique ones. Once a Big Name has been unlocked it can be set as the Ogre Lord's primary title, granting them the associated buff. These primary titles can be changed every few turns, so it's a good idea to swap them out depending on the situation.
Feeding The Ogres Of Goldtooth
There's nothing Ogres like to do more than eat, and this is reflected in-game by the Meat system. Each army has its own stockpile of Meat and will consume one for each unit in the army every turn. Running out of Meat can be disastrous, as hungry Ogres will wander off in search of food, causing massive attrition. A Goldtooth army's Meat upkeep is only waived when within the radius of a friendly Camp, giving players yet another reason to stay close to their nomadic bases.
Building up an army's stockpile of Meat can be done through both Camp buildings and battle captives, though the latter is unlikely to be enough to sustain a large army on its own. Not just an upkeep mechanic on the turn-based map, Meat can also be spent to hold a pre-battle feast, giving all the well-fed Ogres in the army buffs to Speed, Charge Bonus, and Mass.
Meat can also be given as an offering to the Great Maw, the god of the Ogre Kingdoms, in order to gain one of four powerful buffs for an extended period. Managing Meat is one of the most important parts of the Goldtooth campaign, and players should make sure that they're constantly aware of nearby opportunities for feeding their troops.
The Goldtooth In Battle
The Goldtooth are the more melee-focused of the two Ogre Kingdom factions in Total War: Warhammer 3, a little like Zhao Ming's Western Provinces. Their factionwide bonus of +25% Unit Mass makes the devastating Ogre charge even more brutal, as even the smaller units can send human-sized enemies flying. This means players should build armies that make full use of the Ogre's solid frontline units like Bulls, Maneaters, and Ironguts, but particularly their deadly Mournfang and Crusher cavalry.
Ogres rely on the weight of their charge to smash through the toughest formations, whether they're warriors of Kislev or Daemons of the Chaos Gods. However, nothing punches a hole like an unstoppable Stonehorn. Goldtooth players should try and include at least one of these monstrous beasts in each of their armies, as their huge weight and power can bury even the toughest of enemies.
Total War: Warhammer 3 is out now for PC.