Total War Medieval 3 aims for emergent character growth: "We have no plans for skill trees"

Total War Medieval 3 is still a blip on the horizon, but developer Creative Assembly has been very proactive in engaging with the community during the early stages of its production. Chief among them is Creative Director Leif Walter, who has regularly appeared in the forums to discuss potential concepts, and how the long-awaited sequel is tackling various aspects core to the strategy game series. Responding to a debate about whether the new entry would adopt skill trees akin to those seen in the likes of Total War Three Kingdoms, Shogun 2, or Attila, he says it's something the team is intentionally steering clear of.

"We currently have no plans for skill trees in Medieval 3," Walter writes. "As some have mentioned, skill trees in games with multiple actors lead to a lot of repetition, and to something we call 'templating' in the team. Where you end up figuring out what the 'path' through the skill tree is, or which ones you prefer, and then you keep repeating that throughout the campaign." He adds that it scales poorly as your character roster grows: "Early game it is quite interesting, late game it becomes busywork."

The plan for Total War Medieval 3 is therefore to "lean into emergent qualities like traits and ancillaries that drive character development," similar to the way Medieval 2 or the first Rome Total War worked. "There will still be choices, around ancillaries, heirlooms, and other transferrable items," Walter remarks, "but we are not planning for skill trees like in Attila or Three Kingdoms."

"We would actually love for some of this progression to live on in dynasties, rather than characters," Walter continues. "You will be playing through a very long time span, and while characters will come and go, the powerful dynasties within your realm will stick around through long periods or through the entirety of your campaign."

As an example, he suggests, "Over the course of the campaign you may further develop the Welf dynasty into an independent, proud, and fierce identity - while the Hohenstaufen become your civic administrators and strategic empire builders. So characters from these houses will generally follow these traits, and inherit some of these qualities.

"Of course there may be exceptions," Walter notes, "but we want there to be continuity. If your great general from 'your house of wardens in the east' dies, we want to ensure that some of this progression is inherited to his children." I like the idea in concept, with those elements that are awarded to your leaders based on their actions gradually turning into core tenets that are passed down through generations.

Walter also touches on the mods that have inspired Creative Assembly's ongoing development process. He notes, "I think one element that mods have gotten 'more right' in the past is what we call the 'window to the world.' Really appreciating the nuances of the world, reflecting player choice, and giving you nuanced levers to manipulate the world."

He highlights Medieval 2 total conversion mod Europa Barbarorum 2 as one he played a lot of: "Wrong time period, yes, but systemically that mod did a lot of interesting things. The way it handles different 'government types,' and culture/cultural units, was certainly a bit of an inspiration. Not in terms of literal mechanics, two very different base games and systemic foundations, but in terms of player experience and vibe, it was inspiring."

Other big names Walter mentions are Medieval 2 gameplay and polish megapack Stainless Steel, and Attila total conversion mod Medieval Kingdoms 1212 AD. "We certainly look at those mods (and marvel at what you guys are doing) to reflect on the choices you made (within the limitations), and see what we can learn from it for Medieval 3 and our goals for the project."

With that said, Walter is cautious about "getting too much into the weeds," lest it turn away less experienced players. "Total War games have to tread the middle ground between 'accessible history' and 'nuanced realness,'" he remarks. "Not an easy task, and mods have greater freedom to really lean into the latter. With Medieval 3, there's still a balance we need to achieve here, but I would say we are moving the needle towards the latter more so than before.

"There is a lot to say about historical authenticity and historical accuracy, but this isn't even about that," Leif notes. "This is about ensuring that the world responds to your actions. This adds to the authenticity of the world, especially in a historical sandbox, and creates much more compelling stories."