Creative Assembly’s Proving Grounds beta for Total War: Warhammer III brings major changes to siege battles, removing default ladders and refining unit behavior, settlement layouts, and siege equipment functionality. This round of testing includes significant mechanical overhauls, better attrition pacing, unit targeting logic, and tweaks to how siege attacker traits affect gameplay.
Ladder Removal and Siege Equipment Changes
Ladders no longer spawn automatically in sieges. Instead, they must be built alongside siege towers and battering rams. Units now push the ladders during battle, similar to systems used in Total War: Rome II, bringing more realism and tactical choice. Players who prefer the older system can still toggle “insta ladders” in the settings.
Battering rams move faster and feel more useful, often beating monstrous units and cavalry in tests against gate durability. However, siege towers currently crumble too quickly under arrow fire, making their role somewhat questionable. While ladders lack tower protection, they are nearly indestructible and fast-moving, potentially overshadowing towers if left unbalanced.
Attrition, Walls, and Gate Logic Overhaul (Total War Warhammer 3)
Attrition now scales with time instead of applying uniform losses each turn, adding strategic tension to prolonged sieges. Gate and wall HP have been reduced from 16,000 to around 13,200 in the beta, but these values could still change.
Gate mechanics remain inconsistent. Units like Chaos Warhounds destroy gates faster than Trolls with siege attacker traits, creating immersion-breaking results. Infantry with axes outperform monstrous infantry, while some cavalry perform equally well. The ram still wins outright in speed. Suggestions include tying gate-breaking ability to weapon types or reserving it for siege attacker units, monsters, and artillery alone.
Wall types across factions also lack variety. Skaven-made walls have nearly the same durability as Chaos Dwarf structures, which undermines thematic logic. Faction-specific wall HP could be a welcome addition.
AI Pathfinding and Capture Point Issues
AI units tend to stand idly under missile fire while waiting for siege equipment to open gates. This causes unnecessary attrition and makes defense feel trivial. While AI correctly focuses on single entry points, it fails to rotate forces to backline capture zones, often allowing attackers to claim key points with no resistance.
Capture victory also feels too easy. Capturing two points usually forces a defender loss, regardless of remaining forces. A three-point system similar to Total War: Pharaoh, spread across front, center, and rear areas, would ensure more meaningful victories by requiring control of the entire city layout.
Map Reworks, Ghost Units, and Tactical Features (Total War Warhammer 3)
Some maps labeled as “new” are simply re-skinned or recycled from minor settlements with a few terrain adjustments. Nuln, Hell Pit, and Black Fortress look largely unchanged. Players expected more drastic visual or mechanical revisions.
Blockades remain asymmetric. Defenders walk through them while attackers can’t, making them feel like one-sided terrain tools. Siege deployables like towers and barricades should be set only during the deployment phase and not summoned mid-battle.
Suggestions include special rules for specific unit types—ghosts could phase through walls, spiders could scale them, and Skaven might use grapples. Facing direction for wall placements also needs polish, as melee and ranged units often end up in clunky spots requiring micromanagement.
