Total War: WARHAMMER III players have been waiting a long time for a patch that doesn’t just list fixes… but actually changes how the game plays. Update 7.0 arrived alongside the lead-up to Tides of Torment, bringing some of the most important AI, balance, and stability improvements the game has seen in years.
But if you’ve ever opened a massive Total War patch note, you know the struggle:
What do these changes actually mean during a real campaign?
Which factions benefit?
Should you restart?
Did CA fix the issues the community keeps shouting about?
This guide breaks down Update 7.0 in plain language — no fluff, no walls of patch text — just clean explanations of what matters, why it matters, and how it affects your next campaign.
Let’s get into the good stuff.
1. Update 7.0 — The Big Picture Summary
Before diving deep, here’s a fast TL;DR:
✔ Campaign AI got a major overhaul
Fixing long-standing problems with pooled-resource units, recruitment logic, faction decision-making, and idle behavior.
✔ Battle balance was tuned across multiple armies
Daemon Princes, Dread Knights, flying units, cavalry, and several specialist infantry got number-level changes.
✔ Dozens of bugs and softlocks are finally addressed
Floating assets, broken tutorials, stuck characters, misaligned battle maps, diplomacy quirks — massively cleaned up.
✔ Visual upgrades for older Lords & Heroes
Sharper textures and better detail for some aging models.
✔ Prep for Tides of Torment DLC + free content
New faction mechanics and framework improvements quietly added under the hood.
Overall: This is the most “foundation-fixing” patch of 2025 — not flashy, but hugely important.
2. Campaign AI & Mechanics — The Most Important Part of 7.0
If you’ve been frustrated by AI factions wasting resources, failing to recruit properly, or acting like confused tourists on the campaign map… good news:
AI Pooled-Resource Fixes (Massive)
A long-standing issue caused AI factions to mismanage units requiring special currencies or pooled resources.
This caused:
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Lizardmen failing to field Blessed units
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Daemonic factions mis-budgeting
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Certain Chaos factions under-recruiting elite troops
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Armies that fell behind by mid-game due to bad spending logic
Update 7.0 finally corrects these behaviours.
Impact on your campaigns:
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Expect stronger AI armies mid-to-late game
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Resource-heavy factions actually function and scale properly
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Legendary Lords will field “thematically correct” late-game stacks more often
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Difficulty spikes feel more natural and less random
AI Army Management Improvements
The AI is now more decisive about:
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Reinforcing threatened settlements
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Avoiding suicidal attacks
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Taking advantage of player weaknesses
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Pursuing weakened armies
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Expanding earlier and more aggressively
This means Immortal Empires campaigns feel alive again, with stronger wars, more surprise pushes, and less idle AI behavior.
3. Unit & Battle Balance — What Changed and Why It Matters
This is where Update 7.0 feels immediately different in the field.
Flying Units: Increased Mass & Adjusted Agility
Flying units have been a problem — either too tanky, too slippery, or both.
Update 7.0 makes them:
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Heavier (more realistic impacts)
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Less directionally agile
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More predictable to counter and control
Result: Less cheesy cycle-charging, more grounded tactical play.
Daemon Princes: Damage & Armor-Piercing Adjustments
The Daemon Prince has received stat tweaking to make his early/mid-game less volatile and late-game more stable.
You’ll notice:
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More reliable dueling performance
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Slight changes to armor-piercing ratios
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Better consistency across builds
Cavalry Tweaks (Including Dread Knights)
Cavalry-heavy factions get:
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Slightly improved charge interactions
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More reliable impact damage
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Better mass transfer
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Dread Knights in particular feel more effective and less “sponge-y”
Specialist Infantry & Minor Units
Several sub-elite infantry received stat refinements to improve faction identity and unit clarity.
4. Bug Fixes, Visual Improvements & QoL Upgrades
This is the part that fans of stability have been begging for — and Update 7.0 delivers.
Major Categories of Fixes:
⚙ Campaign Softlocks & Progression Bugs
Several notorious issues where characters, quests, or turns would freeze the campaign have been addressed.
⚙ Floating / Misaligned Battle Map Assets
Big cleanup across multiple maps, improving immersion and clarity.
⚙ Tutorial Logic & Onboarding Fixes
No more “why is my tutorial stuck” moments — smoother experience for new players.
⚙ Diplomatic Oddities & Faction Behavior
Better recognition of treaties, trust, and AI-to-AI diplomacy.
⚙ Dismemberment & Visual FX Bugs
Effects now trigger correctly and consistently.
⚙ Lord & Hero Texture Improvements
Older models now look closer in quality to newer ones — a surprising but welcome upgrade.
Overall Effect
Warhammer 3 is now noticeably smoother and more polished, especially for players who suffered odd edge-case bugs or map issues.
5. What Update 7.0 Didn’t Fix — And What Still Needs a Hotfix
Let’s be honest:
While 7.0 is a huge step forward, some issues remain.
✓ Community reports show some AI behaviours still inconsistent
Particularly late-game resource stacking or edge-case recruitment.
✓ Some factions still feel under-curated or mechanically messy
This likely ties to future reworks or DLC integration.
✓ Not all battle units feel fully balanced yet
Especially flying units, certain cav, and specialist infantry — may require a smaller tuning patch.
✓ Mod compatibility is mixed right now
Mods interacting with pooled-resource systems or custom factions may need updates due to 7.0’s AI logic changes.
Expect a hotfix or two — CA hinted as much.
6. How Update 7.0 Actually Affects Your Playthrough
Here’s the “practical” section most guides miss:
For New Players
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This is one of the BEST times to start Warhammer 3
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AI behaves more logically
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Tutorials and onboarding are cleaner
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Bugs are less likely to stall your campaign
For Returning Players
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If you quit because “the AI felt broken,” this is your patch
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Battles feel more controlled and predictable
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More factions finally play as intended
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Restarting isn’t mandatory — but recommended for the best results
For Veterans & Min-Maxers
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Expect a very different late-game power curve
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Elite units feel more meaningful
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Flying units require actual tactical decision making
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Certain factions may be sleeper strong now
For Mod Users
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Check compatibility before loading old campaigns
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Mods affecting AI budget logic may behave strangely
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Expect a wave of updates in the next week or two
7. Looking Ahead — How 7.0 Sets the Stage for Tides of Torment
This patch is clearly a foundation update preparing the engine for:
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New faction content
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Large mechanical reworks
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Free content packs
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Visual upgrades
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New AI logic supporting upcoming campaign systems
If 7.0 is any indication, Tides of Torment and its associated free updates are lining up to be some of the most ambitious content drops since Immortal Empires launched.
Conclusion — Update 7.0 Finally Feels Like a Turning Point
Total War: WARHAMMER III Update 7.0 isn’t flashy, but it’s crucial.
It fixes many of the game’s structural issues, modernizes several systems, improves AI, adds balance clarity, and cleans up enough bugs to make the game feel fresher than it has in months.
If you drifted away from Warhammer 3, now’s the time to return.
If you’re just starting, you picked the right moment.
And if you’re a long-time player — you’ll notice the difference immediately.
Before you go:
Which faction are you testing first after the patch?
Which change surprised you the most?
Drop your experience — I’d love to hear how 7.0 is playing for you.
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