Total War: Warhammer II waggles Norsca race DLC as early purchase incentive
It's Grimdark up Norse
My partner is literally playing Warhammer in the living room with a friend right now. That means I've probably got enough ambient Warhammer to write an entire post about Warhammer. "Age of Sigmar" is a Warhammer phrase. So is 40K. I also remember that guy with all the eyes. The Chancellor of Eyes we call him. Hangs out with the Lord Relictor and Sir Doots And His Trumpet in the Silver Tower. OH. He is called the Gaunt Summoner.
Anyway, if you pre-order Total War: Warhammer II [official site] or buy it on the first week of release you get the Norsca Race Pack for the first game free of charge when that particular DLC comes out on 10 August.
As the famous saying goes, "In the far future when someone turns the lights out and it's scary there's a war. Only war. In the dark."
But turning back to this Norsca business for a moment:
"In the far north, between the Chaos Wastes and the Sea of Claws, lies Norsca. A barren, inhospitable peninsula in the far north of the Old World, it is home to ferocious tribes of warriors, hardened by the relentless blizzards, the barren icy tundra and the monstrous denizens of this accursed land. Fanatical servants of the dark gods, they will stop at nothing to prove their primal might, in a relentless hunt for worthy foes and fresh raiding grounds."
The Sea of Claws sounds pretty hardcore.
The idea here is obvs to incentivise people who own Total Wa®: Wa®hamme® to buy Total Wa®: Wa®hamme® II: The Wa®hamme®ing early using the power of the Definitely Not Norse Race. This is a good thing if you were planning on getting Total Wa®: Wa®hamme® II: The Wa®hamme®ing anyway AND you have Total Wa®: Wa®hamme® AND you wanted a bunch of Definitely Not Norse warriors for Total Wa®: Wa®hamme®. In that scenario you save money you would have spent on the DLC.
Oh, and according to the FAQ, the DLC is for the first Total Warhammering only but they will end up coming to the second one in a roundabout way a little while after release:
"[S]hortly after the launch of the second game, we will be releasing an extra combined campaign map, which is a whole new, massive campaign accessible for free by owners of both first and second games. Norsca will also eventually be playable in that combined campaign map."
If you are sensibly waiting to see what we wise owls* have to say about the game you can either wait til that first week of release and read reviews pre-purchase or just pick the Norsca Race Pack up separately for a bit of cash if you really want it. £7.99 to be precise. Or if you just want to sort of see them ambiently around the game but not fully #engage with them as a playable race then they'll just generally exist. I think Creative Assembly/Sega/Games Workshop call that Free-LC but I don't because it makes me bilious.
Tune in again tomorrow for the next piece of drip-fed Totally Warhammers content to land in our feeding trough JUST RELEASE THE GAME ALREADY!
On a happier note, one time I painted a Warhammer miniature. She's called Bernice and is friends with an angry caterpillar called Cheryl.
*I will not be the wise owl for this.