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So you just got Total War: Warhammer 2 - The Warden and the Paunch and are feeling a bit overwhelmed? Well, first of all, congratulations on getting yourself what is probably one of the best DLCs of all time. And secondly, welcome to our The Warden and the Paunch guide! This can be your one-stop shop for both Grom campaign guide and Eltharion campaign guide, covering both strategy and general overview of how they play. So let's get started!
The Warden and the Paunch guide contains:
The Warden and the Paunch guide - Grom the Paunch campaign guide
First, we will be looking at Grom campaign guide. Before we start I would just like to make clear that this Grom the Paunch campaign guide is for the Vortex campaign. If you're looking for the Grom the Paunch campaign guide for the Mortal Empires you'll have to stay patient for a bit longer.
As far as Grom the Paunch Vortex Campaign objectives go, you have 3 things to do to ensure victory. For starters, Grom isn't interested in the Vortex, so you won't have to worry about performing rituals. What he wants is revenge.
In order to win as Grom you have to complete Blacktoof's quest chain, destroy the Yvresse faction, and win the final siege of Tor Yvresse. If it only were as simple as it sounds.
Grom the Paunch build
As with all the other factions, getting your legendary lord build right can make all the difference in battle. So what's the best Grom the Paunch build?
For starters, he has a major advantage of starting the game mounted. Furthermore, he also has a regeneration passive ability. That means you can easily use Grom to charge down ranged units. This will be extremely beneficial to you in the early game as it can negate a ton of damage. Not to mention it will keep your units from routing as they already have a very low leadership stat.
Grom the Paunch can make for an excellent tank unit thanks to the His Great Immensity passive skills. They give him a bonus to both health and melee defense. Combine that with bonuses from Grom's Cauldron and you have an immense tank chariot on your side.
Grom the Paunch campaign guide – early units and establishing a foothold
As far as your early units go, there is one big issue you need to be aware of. Their leadership is extremely low. That means they can easily be overrun by any type of monster units or a good shock cavalry. However, they are quite cheap. You can easily get a big army without worrying about your income. Luckily, you will start with access to different trolls, including a hero. They can be used to reinforce your flanks and potentially turn the tide of battle.
But here is where it gets tricky. At the start of the campaign you will find yourself at war with the Arachnos to the south. As such, you will be encouraged to march south and capture other settlements in the region. And by all means, you should do so. However, it you should not leave the northern part of your region unprotected. By the time you gain control of the entire province the elves from the west will most likely be highly aggressive and decide to pay you a visit. Which isn't surprising because you have a major diplomacy debuff when it comes to elves.
The best thing you can do to establish yourself in the early game is create a medium-sized army led by Grom and march it south. At the same time you will want to create a large army and have it guard the northern passage. That way the elves can't simply march through and capture your settlements before you have time to react.
Grom campaign guide – technology focus
Technology is always a tricky part of any campaign. It's easy to get carried away and focus on research that will provide you with benefits in the next several turns instead of focusing on technologies you really should get. So what early game technology you should focus on?
Your best bet is to focus on technologies that boost trolls and goblins. Trolls and goblins make up most of your early game units, so you want them to be at their best. Finally, if you see anything that will give them morale bonuses – TAKE IT!
What to do next?
After establishing a foothold your next priority should be gathering recipes for Grom's Cauldron. Of course, you should look to raid and expand, but be careful about it as your starting position is somewhat difficult to work from. But let's get back to the recipes.
In order to challenge Eltharion to the final battle you will first need to have a total of 12 recipes unlocked. Ingredients can be obtain in many ways, but the most straightforward ones is by attacking settlements belonging to different factions. One of those which you should priorities is the Karak Zorn. However, make sure to do it while it's still held by dwarfs. Doing so will get you the Stunty Ale ingredient which can be used in many useful recipes.
Furthermore, you'll be able to obtain both recipes and ingredients through the food merchant. The food merchant is an event that appears at random times in the world and can either cook a random recipe for you and instantly activate its bonuses, sell you an ingredient, or provide you with a cooking challenge which you have to complete in order to receive a reward. Or you could just rob her blind and get some money.
If there is anything I can tell you with absolute certainty in this The Warden and the Paunch guide is that you shouldn't underestimate the power of Grom's Cauldron. The bonuses it provides are extremely powerful and should be used at all times.
The Warden and the Paunch guide - Eltharion the Grim campaign guide
Now let's take a look at Eltharion campaign guide. Much like the Grom the Paunch section, this part of The Warden and the Paunch guide covers the Vortex campaign for Eltharion the Grim.
As far Eltharion the Grim Vortex Campaign goes, it is a bit simpler than his rival's. Your only objectives in order to win the campaign is to have maximum Tor Yvresse defense level and then win the final battle of Siege of Tor Yvresse.
Much like his rival, Eltharion the Grim isn't interested in the Vortex, even though his starting position is extremely close to it.
Eltharion the Grim build
Eltharion the Grim starts off as a medium-powered unit. When controlling him during the battle make sure not to overextend as he cannot take much damage. However, that doesn't mean he isn't useful. He starts off with access to the Apotheosis spell, which can be used to heal large amounts of health. If you use it properly, you can outlast much more powerful armies on the battlefield.
As a unit on the battlefield, Eltharion starts to shine when leveled up a bit, and becomes a true powerhouse on maximum level. In order to get the most use out of him on the battlefield, you need to make a good Eltharion build. What you want to do is focus on getting him access to different spells. Eltharion the Grim build should mostly focus on replenishing and buffing your troops. He might not be getting as many kills in battle as some of the other lords, but is still invaluable with a proper build.
Eltharion the Grim campaign guide – early game units and strategy
Eltharion the Grim starting units, and the ones available for early recruitment, are surprisingly well-rounded. You have great counters for large and charging units in the form of spearmen and silverin guard, as well as an amazing damage output with tamarha faithbreakers. Not to mention your war lions and phoenix can make short work of any ranged units that come your way.
Furthermore, there is a special type of units you will have access to called the mistwalker units. Most of the mistwalker units are a hybrid type of units who usually outperform other hybrid units. However, there is a catch. You can only have a limited number of them at any one time. If you want to recruit more you have to upgrade the mistwalker building chain first.
The first thing you want to prepare for is the battles against Pirates of Sartosa. And there is going to be quite a lot of them, given that you start the campaign at war. The Pirates of Sartosa boast missile units with high firepower and a lot of ammo. Your best bet is to use your war lions and phoenix to disrupt them, preferably with cavalry support. Include enough of those in your army and you should be set for the early game.
Eltharion campaign guide – technology
To be honest, as far as The Warden and the Paunch guide goes, there is not much to be said about priorities in research when playing as Eltharion. For the most part, he is no different than other high elven factions.
One thing you might want to do is prioritise the economy-boosting tech first, as it will allow you to snowball through the campaign almost effortlessly. Another thing you should do is make sure you researched all the upgrades for the anti-large units. When Grom attacks you for the final battle, he will do so with a significant number of large monsters. However, if you manage to take them out there is not much be worried about in the battle.
What to do next?
After setting up for the early game you have two options. Depending on which strategy you want to use to win you can either go defensive or aggressive. The defensive option is the intended one, and also the one that's easier to pull off. Basically, you wait for 150 turns to pass after which Grom will invade you for the final battle. You can use that time to prepare by amassing armies, training them, and obtaining all the weapons, armour, and relics that might come in handy. After that, you defeat Grom during the final battle and that's it.
However, if you're not that patient, there is something you can do to speed things up. And that is to be aggressive. There are a few quests that will give you major bonuses upon completion. And better yet, they're all about occupying settlements which are fairly easy to capture. Even in the early to mid game. Once you obtain all of those bonuses you can refresh your army and initiate the final battle yourself. All of which can be done in less than 150 turns. However, if you're playing legendary difficulty it would probably be best to play defensively.
The Warden and the Paunch guide - Siege of Tor Yvresse guide
Congratulations, you made it to the final fight as either Grom or Eltharion! It doesn't matter which, it's a great achievement either way. However, the Siege of Tor Yvresse can get quite tricky, no matter which side you're playing. So, as the final part of our The Warden and the Paunch guide, let's check out the Siege of Tor Yvresse strategies.
Grom the Paunch Siege of Tor Yvresse strategy
The first thing you want to do when playing as Grom during the Siege of Tor Yvresse is make sure your army is up to the challenge. That means having both strong regular and monster units. As far as numbers go, you'll want to have more monster units than you would initially expect. One of each of feral hydra, anachronok spiders, stone trolls, river trolls, and rogue idol should do the trick. Also, make sure Grom the Paunch is leveled, preferably all the way to level 30.
As far as Grom's Cauldron recipes go, having the effects of Misty Mountain Broth will be the most beneficial. Its effects provide your infantry units with berserk passive, your missile units with dragon breath rounds, and frenzy for all the goblin units. Having the Misty Mountain Broth recipe effect active will make sure your army does enough damage and can resist the fire damage Eltharion will throw at you.
As for the actual battle, try and hold back for a bit during the first few minutes. That way the allied armies will take most of the early damage and wear out the opponents. Not to mention that they will take out a solid number of Eltharion's army along the way.
Finally, it's time for you to charge in. When entering Tor Yvresse make sure to send in your monster units first. There are traps that can do a number on your infantry, but monsters will shrug it off. Once you're in it's mostly to pick off any stragglers with the rest of your horde. And that's all there is to it!
Eltharion the Grim Siege of Tor Yvresse strategy
Eltharion the Grim's Siege of Tor Yvresse strategy is, unsurprisingly, to counter the strategy described for Grom. First of all, make sure you have a lot of anti-large units. And I mean a LOT. The phoenix guard units are a great example. You might also want to throw in a couple of eagle claw bolt throwers. Finally, make sure Eltharion is leveled up, preferably to level 30.
Next thing you want to do is increase your magic reserves as you'll be chucking spells left and right. You can do so with the Invocation of Hoeth. However, no winds of magic reserves are infinite, so make sure to prioritise your spell targets.
One thing you should expect, unless you're playing on easy difficulty, is for the walls to get breached. Once they do there will be a horde of green-skinned warriors hellbent on destroying everything in your shiny city. And once they're in you have two strategies.
The first one is to pull back to the main square and let the greenskins trigger as many traps as possible on their way to you. That should eliminate many of their warriors, but will also leave you to be surrounded. The second strategy is to amp up your aggression to the max. If you want to do it that way, charge right into them before they can enter the city in too large numbers. Essentially, you'll want to keep them at choke points. The good old 300 tactic. This strategy requires much more micromanagement and as such is much harder to pull off at harder difficulties. Not to mention you'll use up a lot of ammo and magic reserves that way. But in the end, either strategy can work. It all depends on your preferred playstyle.
Final notes after The Warden and the Paunch guide
And that's it for our The Warden and the Paunch guide. Hopefully it will help you defend or raze Tor Yvresse and you'll have fun doing it. And just as a final reminder, if you still haven't purchased this DLC (for which I can personally vouch for) you can do so right HERE for a discounted price.
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!
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