In a bit of a surprise announcement, Creative Assembly revealed a massive new patch heading towards Total War: Warhammer in the near future. The truly surprising part about all of this is that the "near future" is actually tomorrow, June 30th!
The first post-launch update will bring with it five new multiplayer maps, extensive balance changes across all factions, improvements to enemy AI in order to make sieges against it more difficult, and most excitingly, an entire new unit for the Vampire Counts - the Blood Knight. Here's what you can expect to see from this new end-game cavalry:
"Once the order of The Knights of The Blood Dragon, these noble warriors were dominated and given The Blood Kiss by the vampire Walach of the Harkon family. In undeath, their skill is no less potent: they are among the most powerful cavalry in The Old World.
Tier 5 Shock Cavalry, Blood Knights are recruitable from the Vampire’s Keep building (along with the Black Coach). Heavily armoured and shielded with a high Charge Bonus, they smash into infantry with ease, and with the Anti Large ability, they are apt to take on larger foes. They also have the Frenzy ability, meaning they deal more damage as long as their leadership is high. Blood Knights can also be directly improved with two technologies: Turning Knightly Orders (bonuses to Melee Attack, Melee Defence and Charge Bonus), and Delusions of Grandeur (Upkeep and Recruitment Cost reductions)."
As someone that has spent most of his time in Total Warhammer with the Vampire Counts, I simply cannot wait to get my hands on yet another cavalry unit, especially one that is capable of fending off the giant monstrosities Chaos forces tend to field on nearly every occasion. There are very few things more fun than watching enemy lines crumble as hundreds of skeletal horsemen cleave through their ranks, so here's to hoping the Blood Knights don't disappoint on this front either.
If you're interested in the full patch notes and all of the details on the upcoming changes, I would suggest you head over to the Total War: Warhammer wiki. Creative Assembly has listed out every single change, no matter how small, so do be prepared for a bit of reading as the list is quite extensive. While I'm incapable of summarizing the patch notes for you, I am able to bring one exciting piece of news - this is only the first of many free updates heading towards Total War: Warhammer in the coming months.
Finally, the release of this patch will also see the arrival of the DirectX 12 mode as an opt-in beta test. While it should be mostly functional, bugs are to be expected, so don't head in there blind our you might just regret it. If you don't mind dealing with the occasional annoyance, you will find the system requirements and all of the information you need in order to enable the DirectX 12 mode over at the official Wiki.
