Total War Warhammer 3 dev gets "pretty raw" on why armies stand around doing nothing, and you might need a new campaign

Total War Warhammer 3 developer Creative Assembly is dusting itself off after what it calls "a frustrating year." In a renewed attempt to keep players in the loop, its latest update dives into some of the most pressing problems it's hoping to tackle with TWW3 hotfix 6.3.4, which it is tentatively planning to release in early November. At the top of its laundry list are fixes for idle armies, addressing continued recruitment issues for the Chaos Dwarfs, and improving the campaign AI for the Ogre Kingdom's newest legendary lord, Golgfag Maneater. Unfortunately, there's a chance your current playthrough might be beyond saving.

"Following the fix for last week's FLC issue, we promised to keep you updated on our direction of travel," Total War Warhammer 3 head of community Adam Freeman writes. An extensive apology marked CA's attempt to stem the most recent tide of frustration after a nasty chain of bugs and glitches, while also teasing big news that's set to arrive alongside the Tides of Torment DLC on Thursday December 4. For such a long-time stalwart on our best strategy games list, there's a lot of water to bail out, so Freeman offers what he calls "pretty raw information, hot from the ovens" (don't think about that metaphor too much).

First on the list are idle armies. Having your forces, or those of computer-controlled foes, simply stand around on the campaign map and not do anything productive is a fast way to pull me out of the immersion. CA believes this is "a complication of several different issues, all conflicting with one another, and causing the behavior that many of you have highlighted across our communities, where you see multiple armies standing around settlements and not taking any direct actions." By solving these various bugs, it hopes to "significantly reduce (though likely not entirely remove) instances of idle armies."

Among this "web of problems" we find "campaign AI prioritizing defensive tasks too aggressively, a specific issue with Vampire Counts that often saw them get tied up in odd recruitment logic [similar to the recent Lizardmen and Tomb Kings fiasco], and instances of factions who sit idle while surrounded by allies (despite having valid enemy targets in more distant provinces." Freeman also points to "cowardly diplomacy AI" that is content to just languish around its settlements when not at war, although says this particular one might not be resolved by the time 6.3.4 hits.

Returning to recruitment woes once more, the Chaos Dwarfs are another faction suffering here, although Freeman says the team is seeing an "early indicator that we're starting to see some success in changing that." There's lots more testing to be done, he says, "as well as a need for us to be diligent about checking that we haven't introduced any new, unintended behaviors," but it's moving "in a positive direction."

Last on the list is an overhaul to Golgfag, who was introduced with the last TWW3 DLC, Omens of Destruction, but has been far too passive in campaigns. "Of all the three key issues listed here, this is the one that we are most confident that we're currently making a good improvement on," Freeman remarks. "As of today, he's properly attacking and expanding his territory, though we've had a few early tests that raise concerns that he's prone to enter a state of megabonk, and can often be found to act as quite a menace to anyone within reach."

According to Freeman, the majority of current testing is "focused around new campaigns." He continues, "We do have access to plenty of saves where these types of issues are occurring, but we currently find that the AI struggles to resolve itself away from bad behaviors on existing campaigns where these types of problems are already present." As such, he warns that you're likely to want to start a fresh playthrough once update 6.3.4 arrives if you're hoping to see the improvements in their clearest form.

Freeman says the team is "not currently locked in on the release date for 6.3.4," but that it's "softly targeted" for Thursday November 6. "We hope that you'll understand that our testing phases for significant changes are often extensive and can cause us to make changes," he remarks. Given that some of the most notable complaints of late have been directed towards QA and oversights, I don't think anyone will mind waiting for more rigorous testing.

If you're waiting for the patch before returning, we've rounded up the best Warhammer games on PC, along with the best grand strategy games, to keep you busy in the meantime.

Are you satisfied with this response, or will it take more to bring you back? Join the PCGamesN community Discord server and let us know how you're feeling about the current state of Total War.