History VideoGame / TotalWarWarhammerII

The core gameplay remains relatively unchanged from the first game (functioning more like a massive ExpansionPack then a true sequel), but it contains several new features besides additional races, such as Rites; powerful spells unique to each faction, activatable on the campaign map that provide a myriad of special boons both for the campaign and the battlefield, story focused campaigns for each race centered on the vortex, several new battlefield types, and a host of other changes that improve on the game that came before it.

* AdaptationalExpansion: Like the first game, there's been some alterations to existing factions to make them more fun and competitive,

* AdaptationalVillainy: While the Lizardmen have always had an undertone of genocidal tendencies, in the tabletop they usually restricted their massacres for the [[AssHoleVictim many]] AlwaysChaoticEvil races of the setting. The Vortex epilogue makes it ''very clear'', yes [[spoiler: they intend to ''slaughter'' everyone in a giant purge of both the New World, and the Old World, now that they have the power of the Vortex behind them. ]] Furthermore, the game plays up their bestial traits far more, appearing more savage and monstrous then they did in the original game.

** The Slaan Magepriests are severely less powerful then how they were in both the fluff and the wargame, although this also can be attributed to the fact the series put less emphasis on magic than the original game.

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Unchanged from the first game. A single army can consist of twenty units per stack, further increased to forty if you engage the enemy with a reinforcing force. Also summoned units ''cannot'' be spawned if there's twenty, or forty units on the field.

** A lot of the adversity of from the Very Hard and Legendary battle difficulties lie in how AI units will secretly get free bonuses to their charge, reload speed, and melee attack, defence and damage (also leadership, but this is not a secret and clearly indicated from mousing over enemy units' leadership bar's breakdown). Being bonuses that are in many ways beyond even a maximum-rank lord who's invested as many skill points as they can into improving their army (after all, there's not many ways to improve ranged infantry units' melee-relevant stats), this tends to lead to [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome most factions' players heavily relying on ranged units and artillery whenever possible]] to damage and break the enemy so as to avoid tangling with disproportionately-powerful enemy melee units anymore than the player has to.

* CutScene: The game has ''much'' more cutscenes then the first, all done in stylized art, which includes faction intros, ritual cutscenes, and an ending cutscene after the climatic final battle. There's also the ''gorgeous'' intro cinematic, which was made with CGI.

* EasyLogistics: A little bit better then the first game, but still rather simplistic compared to other Grand Strategy titles. Food has been regulated to Skaven only, General loyalty has returned, but only for Dark Elves, Skaven and Vampire Coast, and the Imperium rating only exists as an invisible resource that defines how big the negative diplomacy rating you get with other factions. Taxes have been significantly simplified as well. All you really have to manage is your income, public order, and corruption.

* EliteArmy: While its possible to field entire armies of elite units (if you have ''alot'' of money), the High Elves units as a whole are cut above their equivalents, at the price of a universally highish upkeep for their units. They also have access to alot more elite options then other races.

** The Skaven, have the Stormvermin, who are picked from birth should they possess black fur, and are given better provisions, better war-gear and extensive training. As such they are larger, healthier, stronger and all around deadlier than the average skaven. While a Skaven Clanrat would run at the first sign of danger, Stormvermin hold the line, and fight with both ferocity and cunning. They come in Halberds (which are excellent anti-large, and armor piercing units) and sword and board variants (which are good frontliners). It should be noted, Stormvermin downplay this trope much more then other elites, as whilst their head over shoulders above the other Skaven as soldiers, they're subpar compared to other elites (with the added bonus of them being a good deal cheaper.) With the 'Shadow and Blade' come the Eshin Triads, elite assassins who provide a more stealthy elite option.

** The High Elves themselves are this, having an option for everything, alongside a large selection of elites. You need powerful cavalry? Dragon Princes. Offensively powerful infantry? Swordmasters. ''Defensively strong infantry''? There's not much better then Phoenix Guard. Archers? Seaguard. Monsters? Dragons. High Elven units also tend to get more versatile rather than more specialized as they increase in tier and they have the most hybrid units of any faction, letting the same unit fill multiple roles. The High Elves can counter anyone, with their only main weaknesses being how expensive it is to field an army and how slow they are to recruit them.

** '''The Tomb Kings''': A Spammer/Technical/Gimmick faction. The Tomb Kings are one of the most powerful defensive factions in the game, alongside the Dwarves. They have access to hordes and hordes of hardy, if offensively weak, skeleton infantry which can hold enemies in place for long periods of time, whilst their more powerful and fast units, such as horsemen and their various constructs, move in for the kill. They make heavy use of their lores to further support their skeletons and make them last longer (whose sustainability is enhanced even ''further'' with their battlefield mechanic: ''Realm of Souls''). Unlike the Vampire Counts, they ''do'' have archers and powerful artillery, which let them turtle even more. Tomb Kings also notably have no upkeep on any of their armies, only being allowed to field a limited amount of most units until you construct buildings or research technology to allow them to field more. This makes Tomb Kings armies almost completely expendable as they can simply raise it back up for free a few turns later, making Tomb Kings threat being directly proportional to how much territory they have.

** Capturing Pigbarter as an Empire faction will give you a unique follower named Sir Man Delour, a nod to [=YouTube=] game reviewer Mandalore Gaming.

** The Lizardmen have the Temple Guard, which is composed of the oldest, most massive Saurus Warriors who wield halberds onehanded alongside shields (the ''only'' unit of its kind), who wear heavy stone armor, and serve directly underneath the Slann, being fanatically loyal to them. Because of their immense discipline, they also never get enranged. They have singlehandedly hold off enemy charges, and slaughter monsters like nobodies business. Besides the Temple Guard, nearly every unit in the Lizardmen faction has a variety of EliteMooks through the Blessed Spawnings, rare and extra powerful versions of the normal units with better stats and special abilities, which you can only access through special missions.

* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: Rodrik L'Anguille's story of being stranded on Lustria, which took place several centuries before Karl Franz's coronation, has been changed so that he arrived [[AdaptationalLateAppearance only a few months before the Huntsmarshal's expedition]]. As it turns out, his father, Duke Tudual, is also alive, as well as Rodrik's younger brother, whom his father wants as his successor. The story doesn't elaborate if Tudual has been made Duke of L'Anguille in the ''Total War'' games or if Taubert de L'Anguille, who's the duke of L'Anguille during Franz's reign in the source material, is the current duke.

* TheAllSeeingAI: Zig-zagged. While the AI always knows what is going on and where all the factions are at all times, it will change its decision-making based on what the player can see. This can also be exploited to some degree, as while certain AI factions will bee-line to settle ruins (even if that faction has never seen that area) they will ignore Skaven settlements despite those also showing up as ruins, so if the player sees a ruin that stays ruined for more than five turns or is being ignored by nearby armies it's likely a Skaven settlement.

* AuthorityEqualsAssKicking: As with the last game, Lords are elite warriors who can take on entire regiments on their own. Put enough skill points into their individual combat skills, and their battlefield prowess becomes ridiculously high-powered.

* DemBones: Tomb King units have this general aesthetic, but unlike the Vampire Count ones, who have a gothic look, the Tomb Kings are ''Egyptian'' skeletons.

* BadassBaritone:
** Tyrion talks with an authoritarian air and even sterner voice. For a High Elf, at any rate, meaning he's more of a tenor.
** Similarly, the all-female Handmaiden heroes have surprisingly deep, powerful voices. Rather fitting for the right hands of the Everqueen herself.
** ''The Warden and the Paunch'' DLC adds Eltharion the Grim, who exemplifies this trope even better than Tyrion.
** Mazdamundi's voice is so low, it might as well be an actual toad croaking.
** ''Malekith''. Good lord Malekith. Doubling as EvilSoundsDeep, ''nobody'' in the series speaks with a more menacing, yet utterly badass, voice.
** Kroq-Gar, while not as thunderously deep compared to Mazdamundi's croaks, still speaks with a throaty, growling voice that perfectly conveys the ancient killing machine he was born to be.

''Total War: Warhammer II'' is the sequel to ''[[VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer Total War: Warhammer]]'' and the second game in the planned trilogy. The game [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXxe897bW-A was announced on March 31, 2017]], confirmed for release later that year with the introduction of the Dark Elves, High Elves, Lizardmen and Skaven. It is to take place in the New World, Ulthuan and the Southlands, and will focus one the Vortex in Ulthuan, a maelstrom of arcane energies created by High Elf mages to drain excess magic and Chaos influence from the material world, and the playable races' struggle to control both it and the LeyLine network in Lustria. Players who own both games, as well as individual DLC packs, will have the option of playing them separately or as a single combined campaign map, the massive ''Mortal Empires'' campaign.

* PrivateMilitaryContractors: Dogs of War finally appear in some capacity, after being absent in the first game. Mostly as Rogue Armies (Such as Mengil's Manflayers, a famous Dark Elf Dog of War crossbow regiment) but the "Intervention Armies" are also described as "mercenaries". Proper mercenaries were added later on, initially with Gotrek and Felix in ''The Hunter and the Beast'' (temporarily recruitable by the Empire, Dwarfs, and Bretonnia) followed by the Ogre mercenaries in the ''The Silence and the Fury'' (who can be recruited by any faction via an event).

* OverratedandUnderleveled: Zig-zagged with Legendary Lords. As expected, they all start at level one at the campaign despite the lore stating they have been alive and killing for a thousand year or more. However, they have abilities unique to themselves, and [[OneManArmy once they have a few levels and legendary items under their belt both playable and enemy Legendary Lords can live up to their hype]]... with the exception of Legendary Lords brought in by confederation, who may be underdeveloped, have poorly-placed skills or both. Notable in this game as there are far more characters that are OlderThanTheyLook, some to Time Abyss levels.

** Nowhere is it more evident than with trade deals. You might offer a faction a trade deal that would bring both you and them hundreds of gold per turn, mutually benefitting each other, but unless they like you to begin with (and they need to ''like'' you, not just to tolerate you) they will stubbornly refuse to trade with you. Despite being spiteful and illogical, this [[AluminumChristmasTrees isn't exactly unrealistic]] to anyone who works in politics.