Total War: Warhammer 3’s Campaign AI Set for Major Overhaul: Key Changes Detailed

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by

Leo Circuit

Fans of Creative Assembly’s epic strategy game, Total War: Warhammer 3, often dubbed a ‘border-gore simulator’ by its dedicated community, have reason to be optimistic about upcoming campaign AI enhancements. Here at Digital Tech Explorer, we’re keeping a close eye on developments. Following a recent beta test that pinpointed a curious bug causing overly defensive AI (surprisingly triggered by a single hero!), Creative Assembly has detailed a second round of improvements in a new blog post. Let’s delve into what these changes mean for your future conquests.

![A Cathayan woman sits on a throne](https://digitaltechexplorer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ZypuMXAhXiYBBsrt2o4SvC-1024×576.jpg)

Key AI Behavioral Adjustments

The first significant enhancement will be a reduction in anti-player bias. This means the AI will treat player-controlled factions more akin to how it perceives other AI factions, rather than overestimating the threat players pose. Secondly, expect a tweak to distance scaling, a factor currently encouraging AI factions to remain defensive and hesitant to venture far from their home territories more than is ideal.

“One example is the Southlands World’s Edge Mountains province,” notes principle technical designer Radoslav Borisov, “the AI struggles to invade it normally.” This adjustment should make foreign armies less likely to idle at their home base without clear strategic purpose. Conversely, changes to AI aggression will ensure that nearby armies are less inclined to initiate attacks when they face overwhelming odds and have little hope of victory.

Faction Survival and Dominance Tuning

Faction potential is also slated for a significant overhaul. Creative Assembly stated, “We heard you loud and clear that having a variety of minor factions survive and potentially thrive is something you want to see.” Consequently, several underperforming factions will receive a boost. This means factions such as Clan Moulder, the Warhost of the Apocalypse, Hag Graef, Itza, the Bloody Handz, Caravan of Blue Roses, Puppets of Misrule, and the Bonerattlaz will have a better chance of survival—at least until players lift the fog of war and discover their progress.

Meanwhile, factions that have been consistently overperforming will see their potential curtailed. This means you’ll be less likely to witness factions like the Oracles of Tzeentch, Blooded Wanderers, Cult of Pleasure, and Khemri dominating vast swathes of the campaign map. In my last campaign, the undead legions of Khemri were inexplicably marching far from their desert homes across the Old World, so this particular adjustment is certainly a welcome change for many players seeking a more balanced world.

Campaign-Specific AI Feature Fixes

Finally, a host of bug fixes targeting how AI factions utilize their unique campaign features are incoming. These include:

  • Sisters of Twilight will now more actively pursue a specific item set within the Forge of Daith.
  • Disciples of Hashut, The Legion of Azgorh, and The Warhost of Zharr will exhibit improved navigation of the Hell-Forge, focusing on acquiring high-tier manufactory options.
  • Vampire Counts factions will now prioritize pursuing the Bloodline with which they are thematically aligned.
  • Improved AI management of the Bloodletting mechanic.
  • [Realms of Chaos specific] All Cathay factions will now make proper attempts to recapture lost bastions.
  • [Realms of Chaos specific] Kurgan Warband AI will more effectively choose targets after successfully destroying bastion settlements.

All these refinements will be part of a new campaign AI beta, which interested players can opt into via Steam. Looking further ahead, senior community manager Steve Coleman mentioned, “we have a team internally starting to explore changes that we think we can make to Sieges, and are hoping to bring you more on that in the summer.” This suggests that Creative Assembly’s efforts to enhance the Total War: Warhammer 3 experience are ongoing, promising more exciting updates for strategists and empire-builders.

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