Total War: WARHAMMER Realm of The Wood Elves expands the core strategy experience on PC by introducing the Asrai as a fully playable race in the Grand Campaign. This addition brings a distinct approach to expansion and conflict, centered on the forest realm of Athel Loren and its surrounding areas. The content integrates seamlessly with existing mechanics while emphasizing ranged combat, woodland allies, and resource management through Amber.
Gameplay
The Wood Elves operate with a hybrid settlement system. Major infrastructure develops inside Athel Loren through settlements that offer ten building slots and extensive tech trees. Outside these regions, captured provinces support only Asrai Lookouts, which function as limited outposts for replenishment, recruitment at local costs from the global pool, and trade resource exploitation. The Great Oak serves as the central five-tier Wonder building that drives campaign progress and delivers escalating bonuses as it advances.
Amber functions as a secondary finite currency alongside gold. Players acquire it exclusively through settlement captures and Lookout placement, then allocate it toward elite unit recruitment, technology unlocks, or Oak expansion. This scarcity forces ongoing decisions between military strength, faction growth, and victory objectives. The Wood Elves Council manages offices tied to specific buildings, granting periodic bonuses such as Wild Hunt events that enhance army performance during active periods.
In battles the faction fields glass-cannon units with smaller sizes but strong melee and ranged options. Archers rank among the strongest available, with many able to move and shoot before receiving upgrades to specialized ammunition including Starfire shafts for fire damage, Hagbane Tips for poison, and Swift Silver Shards for magical damage. Woodland spirits such as Dryads, Treekin, and Treemen accompany the host, while spellcasters draw from the Lores of Life, Beasts, and Shadows. Orion and Durthu each impose extra Amber costs when recruiting certain spirit or Elf units.
Game Modes
The Grand Campaign allows Wood Elves to conquer any region on the map while focusing development on Athel Loren. A separate story campaign titled Season of Revelations unfolds on a dedicated map covering Athel Loren and nearby Bretonnian duchies. Players lead either Orion or Durthu to unite the forest against Bretonnian incursions and later face escalating assaults from the Beastman warlord Morghur.
Victory in the Grand Campaign centers on advancing the Oak of Ages to tier five, which triggers the multi-stage Battle of the Great Oak against combined Beastmen and Chaos Warrior forces. Survival or success completes the primary objective. The story campaign follows a linear narrative path with climactic confrontations that test the faction's defensive capabilities.
Legendary Lords and Roster
Orion begins as the King in the Woods with strong melee and ranged capabilities through long-range spear attacks plus area abilities Hounds of Orion and Hawk's Talon that do not consume Winds of Magic. He features multiple skill trees for combat, battle, and campaign specialization, including improvements to bow units. Durthu leads from Argwylon as an ancient Treeman who wields the Lore of Beasts and can summon Manticores via The Transformation of Kadon.
Additional lords include Glade Lords with dual combat trees and mount options such as Elven Steed, Great Eagle, or Forest Dragon, and Ancient Treemen who provide protection bonuses to Tree Kin units. Heroes comprise Spellsingers for the three lores, Branchwraiths that combine melee and Life magic, and Waystalkers focused on ranged sniping with stealth elements. The full roster covers Eternal Guard variants, Wardancers, Wildwood Rangers, Glade Guard and Deepwood Scouts with ammunition options, Wild Riders, Glade Riders, Hawk Riders, Sisters of the Thorn, Dryads, Treekin, Treemen, Great Eagles, and Forest Dragons.
Is It Worth Playing?
This expansion suits players who enjoy deliberate campaign pacing and specialized army compositions over broad conquest. The Amber system and settlement restrictions create meaningful trade-offs that differentiate the experience from other races. Battles reward precise positioning of archers and timely spirit summons rather than brute force.
The two Legendary Lords offer contrasting playstyles, with Orion favoring aggressive hunts and Durthu emphasizing defensive woodland power. Those drawn to ranged dominance and forest-themed units will find the roster and mechanics rewarding across both the Grand Campaign and the focused Season of Revelations story. The content remains available as part of the established Total War: WARHAMMER library for PC.
