Total War: Warhammer II – Greenskins faction overhaul and Waaagh! mechanics guide

The Greenskins needed some love, and the free “Total Waaagh!” update that coincides with the release of Total War: Warhammer II – The Warden & The Paunch DLC does just that. You’ll be able to use the overhauls to the Waaagh! mechanic, the scrap resource to upgrade units, and the tweaked Raidin’ Camp stance. Here’s our guide to help you out based on a playthrough using Grom the Paunch. You could also watch the overview video below.

Note: This guide is based on a Vortex campaign playthrough on VH/VH difficulty. For more information, you can also check out our Total War: Warhammer II – The Warden & The Paunch guides and features hub.

Total War: Warhammer II – Greenskins faction overhaul

Scrap upgrades mechanic

Scrap is a new resource for Greenskins in Total War: Warhammer II. All factions will be able to see what this is about in a Mortal Empires campaign, though Grom the Paunch, uniquely enough, will also be able to try this out in his Eye of the Vortex campaign.

Scrap is used to upgrade unit capabilities and cook new recipes via Grom’s Cauldron (with each recipe costing 50 scrap). Scrap is obtained via the following actions:

• winning any type of battle
• razing a settlement
• Raidin’ Camp stance on the campaign map
• certain missions or events
• researching Scrap Compactor (a late-game tech)

With regards to unit upgrades, some of these will still require you to have researched certain techs (or Big Thinkin’ as the Greenskins call ’em). Oh, and these techs also need you to spend 50 scrap just to initiate the research, though you only need to wait one turn to finish it.

Below, you’ll see examples of scrap upgrades for units. You’ll notice that the cost goes up the higher the unit’s tier. You could also select multiple similar units to apply the same scrap upgrades quickly.

Scrap upgrades requiring Sharper Stabbas tech:

• Scrap Armor (Goblins) – +25 armor; 20 scrap
• Spiky Weapons (Goblins) – +5 armor-piercing weapon damage; 20 scrap
• Ammo Skinsacks (Goblin Archers) – +45% ammo; 20 scrap
• Heavy Ammo (Goblin Archers) – +400% armor-piercing missile damage; 20 scrap
• Chariot Armor (Snotling Pump Wagons) – +15% physical resistance; 20 scrap
• Jagged Weapons (Snotling Pump Wagons) – +10 bonus vs. infantry; 20 scrap

Wolf Breedin’ tech:

• Jagged Weapons (Goblin Wolf Riders)  – +10 bonus vs. infantry; 20 scrap
• Scrap Saddles (Goblin Wolf Riders) – +15% speed and +15% armor; 20 scrap

Betta Arrer ‘Eads:

• Combat Skinsacks (Night Goblin Archers) – +25% reload time reduction; 20 scrap
• Winged Ammo (Night Goblin Archers) – -5% speed; +20% range; 20 scrap

Trollin’ tech:

• Reinforced Weapons (Trolls) – +25% weapon strength; 50 scrap
• Water Flasks (Trolls) – Perfect Vigor trait; 50 scrap

Toothy Weapons:

• Jagged Weapons (Black Orcs) – +10 bonus vs. infantry; 80 scrap
• Longer Weapons (Black Orcs) – +10 bonus vs. large; 80 scrap
• Immortulz Armor (Black Orcs) – +10 leadership; “Fear” attribute; 80 scrap

Stronga Howdahs:

• Longer Weapons (Anachronok Spiders) – +10 bonus vs. large; 80 scrap
• Scrap Barding (Anachronok Spiders) – +8 melee defense; 80 scrap

Revamped Waaagh! mechanics

The Greenskin factions overhaul from the free update also makes changes to the Waaagh! mechanic. Now, there are two kinds of Waaaghs! that can be called upon by your lords. You can make full use of these while playing as any Greenskin warboss and, most especially, if you’re trying out Grom the Paunch’s campaign in Total War: Warhammer II.

Call to Waaagh! – Steamrolling opponents in your Total War: Warhammer II campaign

Take a look at the top of the screen and you’ll see your reputation meter. You’ll notice that each level provides you with powerful campaign buffs.

Reputation is increased via the following methods:

• engaging in any type of battle
• razing settlements
• using the Green Sporez ingredient in a recipe for Grom’s Cauldron
• researching Da Biggest Waaagh! late-game tech

Once you’re ready to bash ‘eadz, err, heads, select a faction’s capital to target. Then, decide to offer this to either Gork or Mork. The former will grant buffs for your melee units and the latter boosts your ranged units. Your lords will also gain the Big Waaagh! ability in battle (which we’ll explain in a while).

Extra units

Once you’ve started your Waaagh! you’ll notice that additional troops have been attached to your existing armies. As such, it’s important to have several forces that are ready before clicking that button. As turns pass, you’ll see that more Orcs, Goblins, and Trolls are joining you. That’s because this mechanic actually simulates the Warhammer Fantasy Battles depiction of Greenskins following a strong warboss in his offensive.

• By default, you’ll get five random units in the attached army no matter how small the regular army is.
• You’ll get more units each turn, but only up to the maximum number of units that the regular army had when you started the Waaagh!
• For instance, an army with 14 troops can only muster up to 14 attached units.

Let’s say you were ambushed or you’re up against a ragtag army while searching for sunken treasure, having these troops around will help swing the results in your favor. However, though the attached Waaagh! troops appear as reinforcements during battles, it’s still possible for them to spawn further away on the map. Likewise, they don’t join you for quest battles such as the Siege of Tor Yvresse.

Waaagh! trophies

Your main goal is to capture the targeted faction’s capital in 20 turns and, once all those turns elapse, you’ll obtain a Waaagh! trophy (seen below). The level of the trophy’s buffs will depend on the strength of the faction you’re attacking. For instance, attacking a faction with high strength gives you better trophy buffs. Likewise, the trophy buffs will last until you obtain your next Waaagh! trophy in your Total War: Warhammer II campaign.

Note: The Waaagh! trophy is also related to the Lucky Banner quest, one of Grom the Paunch’s unique items.

Here some of the faction-wide buffs you’ll obtain when you successfully take over a targeted faction’s capital via the campaign Waaagh! mechanic:

• Lizardmen – Increased physical resistance, recruitment rank for all units, and recruitment rank for lords and heroes.
• High Elves/Wood Elves/Dark Elves – Increased research rate, ammunition, and missile strength.
• Tomb Kings (possibly also the Vampire Coast) – Increased Winds of Magic starting amount, unit speed, and post-battle loot income.

Regiments of Renown

In addition to the trophy buffs that you get when you successfully capture a Waaagh! target, you’ll also be able to recruit new Regiments of Renown (seen below). The ROR units you get are dependent on the faction strength of your target, so beating down any of the top 10 factions will net you stronger troops such as the Feral Hydra or Lava Anachronox Spider.

Raidin’ Camp stance

Synergizing extremely well with the new Waaagh! mechanics, the Greenskins faction overhaul also tweaks their Raidin’ Camp stance, allowing you to switch to it without requiring leftover movement points. Now, you could march straight into enemy territory and switch to Raidin’ Camp stance, gain some gold and scrap, disrupt public order and growth, be immune to all forms of attrition, increase your melee defense and leadership, all while having access to the global recruitment pool.

The big Waaaagh! – Krumpin’ stupid gits in battles

The second type of Waaagh! can be used during battles. Think of this as similar to another faction in Total War: Warhammer II — the Dark Elves and their Murderous Prowess mechanic. Whereas the Druchii require units to do a significant amount of damage during a fight, the Greenskins’ battle Waaagh! requires units to be engaged in melee combat. The more units you field, the higher the point requirement to fill up the meter.

Once full, you can unleash the Big Waaagh! ability which has map-wide effects for all your units:

• +25% armor-piercing weapon damage
• +25% base weapon damage
• +40 melee attack
• immunity to psychology
• 18-second duration; once the buff dissipates, you’ll need to accrue more points on your meter to recast it; slightly higher cost for each successive use

Note: Grom the Paunch has his own special skill called “Grom’s Waaagh!” that has the same effects as above, with an additional +432 HP healed (for all units).

The Greenskins’ new Waaagh! mechanic gives you free rein to conquer new lands and blitz through multiple armies thanks to extra troops. You’ve got 20 turns to cover new territories in a green tide and capture the capital of a targeted faction. Once finished, you’ll just need to keep krumpin’ more stupid ‘umies, stunties, skinnies, bonies, and everyone in between to start another Waaagh!

The Greenskins faction overhaul is part of the “Total Waaagh!” free update that’s available to all players. You can read the rest of the patch notes here. The update also coincides with the release of Total War: Warhammer II – The Warden & The Paunch which is available on Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.