Campaign Walkthrough#

A “walkthrough” for Total War: WARHAMMER III works differently from most single-player games: there is no fixed chain of levels, only long-haul progression built around campaign objectives. The game has three campaign lines — the prologue “The Lost God”, the Realms of Chaos main campaign, and the Immortal Empires sandbox. Understanding each line’s rhythm and milestones is how you decide “what to do next”. This page focuses on progression criteria and turn benchmarks (all experience-based reference values) and does not repeat basic mechanics (see the Beginner’s Guide and Strategy pages).

How the Three Campaign Modes Differ#

Mode	Main throughline	Turn pressure	For whom
Prologue “The Lost God”	Yuri Barkov’s tutorial journey north in search of a god	None	New players learning core mechanics
Realms of Chaos	Collect the four souls, then defeat Be’lakor at the end	Yes — the realms open on a timer	Players who want goals and challenge
Immortal Empires	A full-map sandbox with free expansion	None	Players who want to roam and see everything

Of the three, Realms of Chaos has the clearest progress bar (soul collection plus a final survival battle), so it is this page’s main focus.

The Prologue “The Lost God”#

The prologue is the story of the Kislevite prince Yuri Barkov: dispatched by the Tzarina Katarin, he marches north to find the silent bear-god Ursun.

Stage	Content
Setup	The bear-god Ursun has fallen silent; Kislev is in turmoil, and the Tzarina sends Yuri north to investigate
Map structure	The prologue map has 15 provinces, each containing one settlement
Format	Linear story progression with staged tutorials: strategic movement, settlement building, real-time battle, magic, heroes, sieges
Story beats	Dark choices on the road north (killing his brother and offering the skull at the Skull Bridge) and Be’lakor’s temptation at the Howling Citadel
Handoff	The prologue’s story feeds directly into the Realms of Chaos campaign — clearing it flows seamlessly into the full campaign

Advice: do not skip the prologue. It covers every basic mechanic inside a complete story, and the familiarity carries straight into your first real campaign.

The Core Realms of Chaos Loop#

The campaign’s skeleton is “grow first, grab souls second, win the showdown last”: the goal is not to paint the map, but to push soul collection through the four powers’ competition and finally beat Be’lakor in the Forge of Souls survival battle.

Overall Pacing (Turn Counts Are Experience-Based)#

Phase	Turn benchmark	Main task	Success check
Growth	Turns ~1-50	Consolidate economic provinces, raise one main army	Positive gold per turn; at least one army that can win a hard fight
Soul-grabbing	Once a realm opens	Enter the four Chaos Realms and push soul progress	Evaluate every opening; withdraw the moment you have your progress
Showdown	Late campaign	Fight the Forge of Souls survival battle	Full stack before the fight, with magic and armor-piercing units

Inside the Four Realms#

The four realms belong to Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh; entering one means completing that god’s challenge. Confirm you brought the right force before going in:

Realm	Environment	Preparation
Khorne	Constant melee engagements that reward killing	Bring front-holding melee and healing; spells matter less
Nurgle	Constant attrition environment	Bring recovery and high-HP units
Tzeentch	Complex terrain with misdirection and traps	Bring fast units; do not let your force get split up
Slaanesh	Speed and armor-piercing threats	Bring anti-large and high AP; guard your rear against fast flankers

The step-by-step conditions of each realm’s challenge are in-game experience; neither official nor verifiable sources publish a checklist, so this site will not guess them. The army-prep logic above is the reliable part.

Criteria for Soul-Grabbing#

Evaluate the moment a realm opens: realms open on a timer; miss the window and you wait for the next cycle.
Do not linger: withdraw immediately once the phase’s progress is done, return to a safe province to heal, and avoid getting encircled inside the realm.
Watch rival progress: the AI pushes the main quest too; their pace sets your time budget.
The final battle is a survival battle: Be’lakor’s Forge of Souls fight at the end is a war of attrition management (see the Bosses page).

The Immortal Empires Expansion Route#

Immortal Empires has no turn pressure, so pacing can stretch freely — but pushing by milestones avoids the twin traps of overextension and economic collapse:

Milestone	Turn benchmark (experience-based)	Goal	Success check
Foothold	Turns ~1-15	Take your first full province	Provincial capital upgraded, income buildings standing
Expansion	Turns ~15-50	Secure 2-3 provinces	Positive gold per turn; border towns walled
Growth	Turns ~50-100	Field 2-3 full stacks	Stable recruitment and economic loop
Hegemony	Turns ~100+	Push multiple fronts, handle the endgame crisis	Keep a mobile reserve; the endgame crisis defaults to firing between turns 100-150

Opening Directions for Base-Game Factions#

Opening play differs radically by faction — this is the most valuable part of any walkthrough:

Grand Cathay (Miao Ying / Zhao Ming)#

Phase	Route
Opening	Hold the Great Wall direction and grow the economy behind the defense line
Early	Maintain the Yin-Yang Harmony, prioritize income buildings, no rash expeditions
Mid	Once the economy is solid, consolidate the Cathay region
Late	Push toward the Chaos Wastes and beyond

Note: patch 8.0 (2026-05-21) reworked Cathay’s mechanics and added the White Tiger Bashwa and the Merciless Tao Yan — read your opening against the current version.

Kislev (Katarin / Kostaltyn / Boris Ursus)#

Phase	Route
Opening	Secure the capital direction, clear nearby threats, take your first full province
Early	Run the Devotion mechanic and build up Ice units
Mid	Unify the Kislev region, then strike back toward Chaos
Late	Expand south or east

Boris Ursus unlocks inside the campaign — expect an extra lord-acquisition objective mid-run.

Khorne (Skarbrand)#

This route has almost no defensive phase: attack constantly, feeding the army on skulls and war income.
Match your expansion tempo to your combat strength; do not let ranged factions kite you into attrition.

Nurgle (Ku’gath)#

The slowest route: buildings and armies take long to come online and the opening is passive.
Soften enemies with plagues before attacking; advance by erosion, not head-on brawling.
Never force early expansion — stabilize infection and recovery first, then bite off provinces piece by piece.

Tzeentch (Kairos)#

The route runs on magical resources and the changer’s paths: set up first, detonate later.
Win fights with spells and mobility rather than grinding attrition battles.

Slaanesh (N’kari)#

The route stresses speed and subversion: charm enemy units to fight for you and cut your own casualties.
Strike fast, withdraw fast, and avoid being focus-fired by ranged lines.

The Daemon Prince (“Daniel”)#

The route revolves around choosing one of the four gods’ dedication paths toward full apotheosis.
Decide your ascension path first, then plan recruitment and expansion around it.

Ogre Kingdoms (Greasus Goldtooth / Skrag the Slaughterer)#

The route runs on camps: wherever the camp migrates, economy and recruitment follow.
Take contracts for paid mercenary work to top up income; let monster infantry break lines head-on.

Key Decision Criteria Mid-Campaign#

Situation	Correct decision	Common mistake
A realm opens	Push in immediately after assessing your main army	Keep farming and enter just before it closes
Main army mauled inside a realm	Withdraw and heal; preserve the stack	Grinding on until the stack dies, leaving a gap
Endgame crisis nears	Pre-build a mobile reserve (default trigger turns 100-150)	Commit every elite to the front while the rear is empty
Multiple declarations of war	Concentrate force and defeat in detail; stabilize other borders diplomatically	Splitting into multi-front wars of attrition
Chronic deficit	Disband inefficient armies, grow trade	Keep spamming stacks and sink deeper

Walkthrough FAQ#

Question	Answer
Which campaign first?	Play the prologue to learn the systems, then pick Realms of Chaos or Immortal Empires by taste
The core principle of Realms of Chaos?	Timing first — push the moment a realm opens and force the showdown once progress is complete; farming slowly loses
When should I stop expanding in Immortal Empires?	When per-turn gold turns negative or you are at war with more than one power — stabilize before pushing
Does one faction’s route transfer to another?	No — Cathay holds, Khorne attacks, Nurgle erodes, Slaanesh rushes; each has its own rhythm
The most important resource mid-campaign?	A stable economy and one full main stack — together they decide whether you can respond at the key moments
When does the endgame crisis hit?	Between turns 100-150 by default; adjustable in campaign settings

After-Phase Review#

After each campaign phase, run this quick self-check — it reliably cuts wasted turns:

Did I complete the planned milestone (province taken, economy stable, army raised)?
Is gold per turn positive, with an emergency reserve left over?
Can my main stack beat the strongest current enemy right now?
Are there undefended weak points on borders or in the rear?
In Realms of Chaos, am I ahead of or level with my rivals on the main quest?

Treat the walkthrough as “milestone pushes plus criteria-based adaptation” rather than a fixed checklist, and you will find your own rhythm in Total War: WARHAMMER III.