Total War Warhammer 3: Battles for the daemon souls Total War Warhammer 3 guide, walkthrough

On this page of the Total War Warhammer 3 game guide, you will learn all about the battles that allow you to get the souls of the demon princes: Gatekeeper, Gardener, Courtesan, Librarian.

Last update: 12 April 2022

This page of the guide to Total War Warhammer 3 covers the battles for the souls of the daemon princes: the Gatekeeper, the Gardener, the Courtesan, the Librarian.

• Rules
• Battle screen
• Attack
• Defense
• Tips

Rules

Remember, that the battles for daemon prince souls don't look like the standard fights you know from the game. They are a combination of a normal fight, where you're the attacker, and a settlement siege (where the player defends it).

You can resolve them automatically, but we recommend fighting at least one on your own, because the final battle of the campaign in the Forge of Souls (you can learn more about it on a separate page of the guide - Forge of Souls) has very similar rules, so make sure you know them beforehand.

These battles consist of 3 identical phases. First, you attack your enemy, then fortify in their position and defend yourself. Then, a passage to the next part of the map will open. This pattern repeats three times. Each subsequent fight will be more difficult, though.

During fights, you can also heal your units, replenish their ammunition and summon reinforcements. You can do it by spending defensive supplies obtained from captured victory points and for killing enemies.

Battle screen

You can support your army in various ways during the battle. Summoning units, replenishing and strengthening them - you can buy all of this for defensive supplies. As a result, the number of buttons and things you have to remember are a bit bigger.

First, look at the top of the screen. Some of the elements you can see here may be familiar to you from siege battles. Starting from the left, you can see the number of strategic points and the amount of defensive supplies.

The bar on the right says how many units you need to defeat to end the current attack wave. Even if enemy soldiers are approaching, if you drop this counter to 0, they will disappear. If you hover your mouse over it, you can also see what units are currently attacking you.

The button on the bottom left allows you to summon reserve units. In each phase of the battle, new, more advanced units will be added here.

On the right, you can see 3 more new buttons:

1. the "vortex" allows you to move your wounded units to the reserve, which is a very good idea if the unit is seriously injured and you want to have it at full strength for the next battle;
2. next, you can upgrade the armor and weapons of your units;
3. the last button will allow you to support your army on the map by healing it (advisable at minor injuries), replenishing ammunition or supporting magic units (e.g. shorter spell cooldown), etc.

Attack

You start each battle with an attack. It's best to have an artillery unit in your army (if possible). This should enable you to provoke the enemy to attack you, which will make your situation much easier and reduce your losses.

After defeating the enemy army, you can take over the strategic point. Watch out, though, because once you get it, you will have only a about a minute to attack the demons.

Guard

Before taking over a strategic point, you should choose positions for your troops. This is very important because defense is much more difficult than attack, and you need to prepare for it properly.

You should start strengthening the point by building magic towers. Although they're the most expensive defensive formations, they are perfect against large groups of opponents. You can build in places marked with a green hammer. You have to do this quickly, because structures can be built only after capturing a point, and from then on (as mentioned before), you only have about a minute until the attack.

The best defensive position is with a wall behind your army's back. You can base your defense on an obstacle that you need to pass to get further into the battlefield. The enemy will summon armies from the rear and sides.

However, the situation changes at the last defense on the map (the third one). Then, the enemy (along with the daemon prince) will arrive directly from the edge of the map that's in front of you. This means that the enemy's main starting forces will appear right next to your lines. You should be prepared for it.

During the last attack, you also have to be ready for the enemy to appear from all sides, but the attack from behind is the least dangerous. First, the troops that are coming at you from the same place you came from have a long way to go; second - they need to pass through the towers that you set up. Therefore, you should focus your defense on 3 directions. At the same time, leave only some minor units at the rear, and direct more manpower there only if you're surrounded.

Tips

Due to the length and complexity of these battles, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. First, take a moment to rest after resisting the attack. Your victory point will generate defensive supplies for some time (although it will eventually run out). Combined with those collected for killing enemies and getting the point, you probably have a lot of them in stock - use it to prepare for your next fight. Heal your units, replenish ammunition, summon more troops.
2. Take advantage of the terrain. Maps often have some tight spaces - use them when you can. This makes the defense much easier.
3. Don't get the victory points right away. Take time to assemble your army and line up to prepare your defense.

1. After earning a new point, click on the button shown above! It will appear at the symbol of the strategic point. This way, your current location will be a summoning zone for reinforcements, instead of the previous one.
2. Have at least one artillery unit (if possible), or a long range shooter to lure enemy units to attack you.

1. Don't be afraid to send very injured units to the reserve (the vortex button at the bottom). You will have to repurchase them, but at least they will return in full health.
2. Buy magic towers, which are invaluable against the overwhelming enemy forces.
3. Remember that your mana is limited. Save it for the tougher fights at the end. Don't use up all your assets at the beginning.
4. If possible, attack with summoned units. Firstly, they do not have the experience of your regular army, and secondly, they won't stay with you after the battle, so losing them won't hurt your military.
5. Remember that each race has its own strengths and weaknesses (you can learn more about this on the pages dedicated to specific factions), so use it to your advantage.