REVIEW

Total War: Warhammer II – Curse of the Vampire Coast Review

by Daniel Clarke, December 11th, 2018

Welcome back avid gamers. Join us as we delve into a rich and battle torn world as we review the Total War: Warhammer II – Curse of the Vampire Coast expansion. So, rally your forces, refine your tactics, and get ready to conquer!

Riding the waves off the base game, Curse of the Vampire Coast unleashes you upon the world to raid, pillage, and terrorise you way to infamy. By piloting one of four pirate factions, you will face unique challenges, pursue different goals, and utilise new and horrifying, undead units. Can you become the world’s greatest and most feared pirate? Or will you face a watery grave only to be resurrected as a deckhand?

The Faction Leaders

With this expansion there are a plethora of new features and additions. First off, the new faction and its leaders Luthor Harkon, Count Noctilus, Aranessa Saltspite, Cylostra Direfin. They each come with their own flavour, goals, starting conditions, and challenges to face. Not only that but they also come with unit focus such as large units or mobs.

Luthor’s fractured mind pits him against the Lizardmen in hopes to find the relics to lift his curse. With multiple personalities now running rampant, he is definitely a wild and unpredictable character. Because of the curse, he is resistant to magic and grants this to his forces. Not only that but, he is an experienced leader which boosts his troops, and the firepower of his forces are more devastating.

Count Noctilus, formerly of the Von Carstein line, is the master of the Galleons Graveyard that claims all wrecks and abominations of the sea and an expert of the sea. More of an end-game lord as he gains buffs to large units including the monstrous and deadly Necrofex Colossus; essentially a frigate with legs! He also gains more from raiding, sacking and can replenish his troops faster. A great, fast paced leader.

Aranessa is the only living pirate amongst the new leaders who leads the Sartosa Free Company. She earns more from raiding and sacking, has greater chances of finding treasure maps, and her presence increases the melee capabilities of her forces. Although human, she has many modifications including bladed peg legs. Definitely a hero who likes to dive right into the fray. Not only that but her play through grants you cheaper, more resilient sea creature units and more munitions for canon units.

Lasty, Cylostra is a former Bretonnian court singer turned vengeful spirit. Now a mistress of the ocean, she is as dangerous as the storm that claimed her. She gains many traits that buff the spirits and undead of her army. This includes upkeep reductions on spirits and horrors, summoning of spectral Bretonnian knights, reduced cost for raising the dead, and increased resistances for spirits and some larges units. Not only that but she has a great affinity to magic which decreases cooldowns, costs, and increases her power reserves.

Each of the new leaders have a unique, powerful, and flavoursome feel and playstyle. The look, the voice acting, and gameplay considerations for each are well designed and have a fair amount of weight to them. It’s an awesome delight hearing each voice line, some of which are taken from popular culture, and seeing them each in action. Definitely not a copy and paste example here. Great stuff!

New Mechanics

Moving onto the new mechanics now, and there is a fair few. Starting with Infamy, as with most pirate stories there are the captains who are more respected/feared than others. Their deeds echoing over the seas finding the way into taverns and decks alike. As you win battles, take out other pirate lords, sack and raze settlements, as well as other events, your infamy rises. This brings you closer to your end goal, which will be detailed later, and gaining the ire of other lords.

Along your gold littered crusade, you will undoubtedly cross a port town. Instead of occupying, sacking, or razing it you could also establish a Pirate Cove. This new option allows you to secretly sap the income of said settlement without having to worry about defending it. Very useful if you want to focus your efforts elsewhere but need the resources. There are different coves for uses too. Whether it be more gold or more corruption, there are decisions to be made. Gold is always nice though.

With the new lords comes their Flagship. This is a mobile construction and battle platform. Much like a settlement, you can construct buildings and provide warriors for your war effort. This will stay with your faction lord whether it be land or sea. Other legendary lords can be recruited, once researched, and can provide the same results. But, at face value, a moving city of death is nothing to shake a stick at. It will also be the means to take the fight to the story’s end goal.

When you progress through the game you will encounter rogue pirates who will hold Pieces of Eight. These are trinkets that allow the recruitment of regiments of renown. The regiments are elite units of max rank that can be added to your army instantly but, have a cooldown before recruited again. Taking names on the opens seas has never been so rewarding!

Lastly, there are good ol’ Treasure Maps. It would be a pirate game without hunting for treasure. You can gain these maps from battles, searching ruins, and sea encounters. Each map has a riddle from which the general area is circled but, you must pinpoint the exact location by using the hints in the riddle. This has great flavour and can yield equally great rewards when your lord or an able hero digs them up. It might also provide a minigame to solve before you get the gold.

Overall, the new features presented by the Vampire Coast are very flavoursome and add new dynamics the game. These are only available to the factions of the Vampire Coast which makes them even more fun and special to play. It is easy to describe this DLC as a full-fledged expansion, like the good old days. The only thing that is missing, which is detailed in the official FAQ, is naval battles. It is a little disappointing to play as pirates and not be able to send helpless souls to the bottom of the deep. It would have been the perfect moment to add this into the game. Other than that, the new features are ace!

The Campaign

Regardless of the lord you choose, the goal of the campaign is to slay the great ocean serpent Anmar and claim it for your undead army. To complete this task you are required to acquire a magical, star metal harpoon previously owned by the crew of the Vengeance which lies in ruins at the bottom of the ocean. By salvaging the harpoon you then must repower the weapon with the three lost sea shanties owned by powerful and infamous pirate lords. Only then can you take on the beast.

The progression for the campaign is exactly the same regardless of the leader your play with. You fight for the weapon, increase your infamy to usurp pirate lords for the shanties, then prepare for the final battle to claim Anmar. However, each playthrough has so much flavour and a plethora of paths to walk. The will not be a playthrough that will be exactly the same as the last. Also, each lord has their own story to follow and progress. Whether that be reclaimed Luthor Harkons mind or developing the Galleons Graveyard for Count Noctilus, the journey for each lord is a vibrant and exciting one.

It is also fully inclusive of all features of the main game and it’s DLC. This adds new and exhilarating interactions between the races, savage wars to wrought, and unlikely alliances to establish. This and much more in terms of the grand strategy of this Total War title. It is easy to see the replayability the Vampire Coast can give its fans or even entice newcomers into the franchise when bought with the main game.

The only gripe about the campaign, without spoiling the last phase and ending, is that it could have been more epic. The final battle was a little lackluster in terms of substance. It was great tactically fighting against massive odds in prolonged warfare. However, it did not provide the heart pumping experience and awe as the campaign intro and goals was teasing. Tactically enjoyable and aptly difficult but, narrative to gameplay execution was not quite what was expected.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Total War Warhammer II: The Curse of the Vampire Coast is beautiful expansion that adds a multitude of new features, terrifying units, extremely fleshed out characters, and a compelling story. It will provide uncountable hours of gameplay that will keep you coming back to the lands of Lustria to sink your enemies into the great oceans and raise them as your deckhands.

The only improvements that can be suggested is the inclusion of naval battles and more engrossing and well-rounded ended to the story arc. Naval battles would have been so epic and enjoyable. Not only that but it would have suited the expansion so well. Island battles as a substitute worked but, pales in comparison to a good solid ship wrecking. As for story, 99% of the story is beautifully crafted, enticing, and encaptivating. It’s just that 1% translated into gameplay mentioned above that could have made it perfect.

Overall, an absolute delight to play! Tactically engaging, encaptivating lore, well crafted characters, and hours of enjoyment. A must get for fans and newcomers alike!