Total War: Warhammer 2's upcoming "Laboratory" game mode will allow you to drastically tweak unit sizes, stats, and battle mechanics

Two days ago Creative Assembly announced some good and bad news. The bad news is that Norsca and its accompanying 30 new Regiments of Renown will not be making their way to Total War: Warhammer 2 until May due to technical problems. The good news on the other hand is that we'll be getting Tombs Kings as a brand new faction in January, a new Skaven Legendary Lord, as well as a highly experimental new game mode.

The Tomb Kings are still shrouded in a sandstorm so we have absolutely no information about them, but what I can tell you is that Total War: Warhammer 2 will be getting "The Laboratory" game mode next week! The new game mode allows you to tamper with 16 different sliders in order to drastically affect the course of battle. You can ramp up the number of models per each unit in order to recreate the Vermintide (an ocean of very, very angry rat-men), mess around with gravity so units go flying through the air with each charge, amplify the power and range of spells, increase the size and strength of units, and the list goes on.

Total War: Warhammer 2 screenshot of massive Lizardmen armies from "The Laboratory" update

I can already hear my CPU squeal

On its own, this concept is pretty damn cool, but what excites me the most is its future potential! Right now "The Laboratory" will only be available in custom battles, but if it manages to prove that it won't melt PCs left and right, what's stopping Creative Assembly from implementing it into the campaign as well? Just imagine, you could make Skaven forces weak but numerous, the Dwarfs incredibly powerful but small in number, and a variety of other lore-friendly changes that would make the campaign that much more flavorful. So while "The Laboratory" might not be much more than a passing distraction, it gives me extremely high hopes for the future of Total War: Warhammer games!

If you would like to learn more about "The Laboratory" and what exactly you'll be able to tweak, I'd recommend heading over to the official website. And as a final note, allow me to send you off with a Skaven-narrated trailer showing off the new features. Enjoy, and don't forget to add more Doomwheeeeeeeeeels!