Total War: Warhammer 2 – The Hunter & The Beast final battle guide

The Hunter & The Beast, the newest DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2 introduces two legendary lords — Markus Wulfhart for the Empire and Nakai the Wanderer for the Lizardmen. Neither of them would be interested in the Vortex mechanics. Instead, they’ll clash in a climactic final battle (the Battle for Itza) that serves as the ending to their respective campaigns. Here’s our mini-guide on what you can expect from The Hunter & The Beast‘s final battle and how to defeat your rival lord.

Note: You can also check out our Total War: Warhammer 2 – The Hunter & The Beast guides and features hub for more info.

Total War: Warhammer 2 – Markus Wulfhart’s final battle

Markus Wulfhart’s objectives in Total War: Warhammer 2‘s Vortex campaign are as follows:

• Have 100 Acclaim at the start of your turn.
• Destroy the Spirit of the Jungle faction.
• Win the Battle for Itza.

Acclaim/Emperor’s Mandate is obtained as you progress through the campaign. You can check out our Markus Wulfhart campaign guide for more info.

The Spirit of the Jungle is Nakai’s faction. You don’t even need to do anything to see it destroyed. Nakai’s AI has no idea how to play Total War: Warhammer 2, and he’d end up getting eliminated in less than a dozen turns after you start the campaign.

As for the Battle for Itza, it can be a bit tough. The Huntsmarshal’s forces from the Empire have more range and firepower compared to Lizardmen, but these defenders of Lustria can easily swarm you. That’s where your four Legendary Hunters come in. All four provide unique benefits to the Battle for Itza that can swing the pendulum in your favor. You can refer to our Legendary Hunters guide to know where to find them and how to complete their mini-quests.

In any case, once you’ve obtained 100 Acclaim/Emperor’s Mandate, a short cinematic will fire and the Battle for Itza becomes available. You can start it whenever you want to put an end to Nakai and the Lizardmen threat.

Markus Wulfhart – The Battle for Itza

Nakai’s troops arrayed against you include the following:

• Skink Priest (heavens)
• a couple of Skink Cohorts and javelin-throwers, Razordon Hunting Packs, and Cold One Riders, Blessed Kroxigors, and a Sacred Kroxigor
• monstrous units such as a Bastiladon (Revivification Crystal), Blessed Bastiladon (Solar Engine), and a Feral Dread Saurian

But, you also have to contend with two Slann Mage-Priests — one to your left and the other to your right. The two are defended by Temple Guard units.

Every minute or so, as long as these Slann are alive, they’ll summon feral dinosaurs such as Cold Ones and even Stegadons. The goal is to eliminate them quickly to prevent your forces from being overrun by monstrous foes.

Wulfhart’s Army Composition

In my case, I had the “Ubersreik Five” (the four Legendary Hunters plus a random Bright Wizard acting as my bearded Sienna). Here’s what they brought to the fight:

• Markus Wulfhart – Amber Bow, Focused Shot -> Executioner, Sleight of Hand, Telescopic Aim, Grand Huntsmarshal
• “Bearded Sienna” (Bright Wizard) – Flaming Sword of Rhuin (ranged unit buff), Cascading Fire Cloak (good buff for Greatswords), Flame Storm (AoE spell).
• Kalara (Waystalker) – breaks the Lizardmen bubble shield; Prey of Anath Raema so you can net those dreaded monsters.
• Jorek Grimm (Dwarf Engineer) – replenishes troop ammo count during the final battle; Ballistics Calibration and Extra Powder (buff for missile and artillery units)
• Hertwig van Hal (Witch Hunter) – brings an entire army as reinforcements during the final battle; Accusation skill (lowers melee defense, armor, and missile resistance, use this on Dread Saurians and Bastiladons), and Tools of Judgment (increases his damage against large foes).
• Rodrik L’Anguille (Knight) – his bonus for the Battle of Itza is that he lowers Nakai’s resistance significantly.

My army had two Greatswords, two Halberdiers, and four Huntsmen. I didn’t have a lot of infantry or even Demigryph Knights, but I did have loads of artillery. I had three War Wagons (Mortars), two Steam Tanks, and a Luminark of Hysh. These came from Wulfhart’s Imperial Supplies campaign mechanic.

Opening Moves

Wulfhart’s Battle for Itza will start with Kalara breaking the Lizardmen shielding which makes Nakai’s forces advance. As for Wulfhart’s army, you’d want to pick a Slann Mage-Priest to focus on. I chose to head to the right-hand side first.

My Greatswords and Halberdiers were arranged in a line to stop rampaging dinosaurs, and my Huntsmen took out enemies from a distance. The Lizardmen have no hope of outgunning you here thanks to loads of artillery and Jorek’s buffs. I also used my Steam Tanks and Luminark of Hysh to take out the Slann Mage-Priest from afar to stop his ritual.

Rodrik and Hertwig were at the front of my battle lines, engaging others in melee combat. I used Kalara to net the Feral Dread Saurian, followed by the Accusation debuff from Hertwig. It died within a minute after being peppered with arrows.

Given that Rodrik’s final battle effect will lower Nakai’s resistances, the guardian of Lustria actually died within a minute as well. Wulfhart’s coup de grâce was an Executioner and Amber Bow shot to finish off Nakai.

Mopping Up

It was also around this time that Hertwig’s Battle for Itza bonus (army reinforcements) popped up. Several of the units are Greatswords and Huntsmen. Now that’s just fine and dandy against the Lizardmen. You can’t control these guys at all but they will beeline straight for the enemy forces.

Move your own troops back if you need to have a breather. That’s because Gor-Rok will also join the fray.

Now, because you’ve got an entire army of Greatswords and Huntsmen taking down Gor-Rok, you can safely nuke his force of Saurus and Bastiladons from afar. Around this time, the Slann Mage-Priest from the left side temple will panic and it’ll make its way towards you. Kill Gor-Rok and the toadman and you’re done.

Wulfhart’s version of the Battle for Itza can be very easy especially if you build your army composition properly. Ideally, you’d want to bring some extra Greatswords or even Demigryph Knights, although my army composition worked as well due to the artillery.

What made the final battle laughable was because of all the bonuses conferred by the four Legendary Hunters. I was singing:

Bye, bye Mr. Lizard Nakai.

He’s the Spirit of the Jungle but the Great Plan’s awry.

He charged his foes, bringing dinos that fly,

Not knowing this’ll be the day that he dies.

This’ll be the day that he dies.

Total War: Warhammer 2 – Nakai the Wanderer’s final battle

Nakai the Wanderer’s objectives for Total War: Warhammer 2‘s Vortex campaign are as follows:

• The Defenders of the Great Plan must hold at least 40 settlements.
• Destroy the Huntsmarshal’s Expedition faction.
• Win the Battle for Itza.

Giving settlements to your vassal and erecting Temples to the Old Ones isn’t difficult at all as Nakai the Wanderer. What can be a challenge is managing your economy since he does start out fairly slow. Wulfhart’s faction won’t get destroyed early in the game unlike the poor Spirit of the Jungle. In fact, the Huntsmarshal has around half a dozen settlements already once you start, and he’s not done expanding yet. You can check out our detailed Nakai the Wanderer campaign guide for more info.

Anyway, to get the final battle to pop up, all you need to do is defeat Wulfhart’s four Legendary Hunters during Nakai’s Total War: Warhammer 2 campaign as they’re part of missions. You can do this by encountering them in battle, or you can even send heroes to wound or assassinate them.

Note: Defeating or killing Wulfhart’s Legendary Hunters during the campaign (as part of missions) would net you a lot of Favor to use for boons from the Old Ones. However, the Legendary Hunters would still appear during the Battle for Itza.

Nakai the Wanderer – The Battle for Itza

Wulfhart’s troops arrayed against you during the final battle include:

• All four Legendary Hunters mentioned above, and Wulfhart even brought a Bright Wizard to complete the “Ubersreik Five.”
• His army has Halberdiers, Handgunners, Demigryph Knights, and Reiksguard.
• He’s got a couple of War Wagons (Mortars), a Great Cannon, and a Luminark of Hysh.

You might be asking where the Greatswords and Huntsmen are? Well, a full contingent will arrive as reinforcements as promised by his Witch Hunter.

Nakai’s Army Composition

I thought I messed things up for Nakai’s final battle even though everything miraculously worked. My army was comprised of:

• Nakai – beefed-up and ready to go with Cold-Blooded Reflexes, First Spawning, The Sacred Wanderer, Daemon Crusher, Obedience Brings Victory, and more advanced “red line” skills.
• Saurus Scar-Veteran – “yellow line” skills to boost melee damage, armor, and defense.
• Skink Priest (Beasts) – Transformation of Kadon (summons are important for this battle), Pann’s Impenetrable Pelt, and Curse of Aranheir.

I had five Temple Guards, a lone Chameleon Skink which I forgot to remove, three Blessed Kroxigors, two Ancient Salamanders, and two Blessed Bastiladons (Solar Engine). But, bolstering my forces were two Dread Saurians and two Feral Dread Saurians!

Opening Moves

Oh well, I wouldn’t necessarily call this an opening move. I just threw Nakai, my Saurus Scar-Veteran, and all four Saurians into the fray. Everyone punched through the center of Wulfhart’s armies. Units and heroes being thrown all over the place definitely ruined all semblance of cohesion.

While this was going on, reinforcements were attempting to take over the temples off to the side (the ones defended by Slann Mage-Priests). I used Salamanders and Bastiladons to nuke them from afar. My Temple Guard held the line, picking off infantry that were trying to focus on my monstrous units, while my Kroxigors harried the enemy’s flanks.

I mentioned how summons are important in the Battle for Itza, and, sure enough, they played a pivotal role. These were the summons I had:

• Feral Cold Ones – Lizardmen ability
• Razordon Hunting Pack – from temples dedicated to Itzl
• Manticore – from the Transformation of Kadon, a Skink Priest (Beasts) spell

I used these summons on Wulfhart’s artillery as well as on the troops harrying the temples. Because I was able to defend the temples and prevent the Slann from routing, they also kept summoning more and more dinosaurs (Cold Ones and Stegadons) to harass Wulfhart’s scattered forces. Needless to say, the chaos in the battlefield did not do the Huntsmarshal any favors.

Mopping Up

With Wulfhart’s army in disarray, I pulled back some of my units that were getting too excited. I also used the lord and hero ability to prevent beasts from going crazy, while using skills and spells that bolstered melee defenses.

Soon enough, Gor-Rok’s army arrived. His Saurus and Bastiladon forces made a mad dash towards the remaining hostiles. I made sure to let them take the brunt of the damage this time. Wulfhart’s reinforcements had Greatswords and Huntsmen which would be a pain in the butt for my behemoths. Overall, I was surprised that throwing battlefield tactics out the window and just punching forward with your heavy-hitting dinosaurs worked wonders.

That does it for our guide to the Battle for Itza, the final battle for Markus Wulfhart and Nakai the Wanderer. You can find Total War: Warhammer 2‘s The Hunter & The Beast DLC via its Steam store page. Don’t forget that we’ve also got our Total War: Warhammer 2 – The Hunter & The Beast guides and features hub with more info.