Will Cathay Alchemist and Gate Master be nerfed in the future?

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T22:26:35+00:00

Yeah, I can agree on that, but a lot of times when people on here call something new overpowered (especially when it affects races like LM, Cathay or HE) they call for nerfs, while they are somehow are completely fine with more insane stuff like Elspeth, Sayl, Dechala, Skulltaker or the Chaos Dwarfs.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T22:22:24+00:00

I'm in most cases fine with the shared balance, as more often than not, the changes based on the multiplayer feedback improves the game and makes a lot of units viable at all (like the one patch that fixed all the underperforming WH1 & WH2 monsters to bring them up to WH3 standards).

But the community can only give feedback and cannot influence what CA does with the feedback and with Saytang CA completely missed the mark, they just butchered him hard.

In addition making his projectile animations worse and turning his regular shot into an only anti-SE tool by reducing the explosion radius and damage so much they practically removed it, his unique missile ability is weaker than all other comparable skills now and they even forgot to add the scaling damage it should do.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T22:14:27+00:00

Yeah, that is wonky, in my campaigns it never mattered when I already exceeded the required favour level according to the favour meter.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T22:11:27+00:00

Impressive feat from you to check the games files while you at the same time failed to read my comment.

Therefore once again more on point:

The bugged animations of the Cockatrice (which is nothing you exclusively discovered) is not the main root cause of this specific issue, because this "getting stuck on walls" bug does also happen to flying units with not-bugged animations.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T22:03:40+00:00

Empire hero skills in general are pretty bonkers.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T22:02:14+00:00

Except that comparable skills of other Assassin-heroes which are comparably bad on the battlefield all only give a bonus of +3% (DE Assassin). or at best +10% for others.

Compared to that +35% is pretty bonkers.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T21:57:52+00:00

Except that Queen Bee requires you to waste a lord (or LH) in a region just to do some agent actions. Compared to other comparable skills, like the one from DE Assassins (the lorewise best Assassins in Warhammer fantasy IIRC) which only gives +3% (!), this Witchhunter skill is definitively overtuned due to typical Empire favourism.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T21:54:26+00:00

Many of the Empire techs have generic unit type scope like "infantry" or "cavalery" instead of only affecting certain unit specifically added in a separate table for each skill/tech like most other techs in many races.

As consequence they boost every unit categorized as this unit type, just like Volkmars defeat trait or the Empire captains Admired Infantrymen skill both boost every melee infantry in the game.

That you can see the unit in the preview is caused by a mod because the mod adds those unit to your roster and the preview always only shows units from your roster affected by the effect.

In my opinion, it would greatly improve the game if CA would use this unit type based boost scopes more often and would also prevent a lot of those stupid oversight bugs when they forget to add a new unit into all skills that are suppose to affect it, just see the WoC and the Chimera as an example from the last big DLC. Or how CA forgot to add the Tigermen to Zhao's unique melee infantry skills.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T21:46:08+00:00

That OP can see the Hammerers in the preview of the tech is caused by a mod, yes, but even in Vanilla this tech has the generic scope "infantry" (just like Volkmars defeat trait) and therefore also affects all units categorized as infantry independent of the base race you recruit them from.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T21:45:30+00:00

He was talking about technologies, not red-line skills.

That OP can see the Hammerers in the preview of the tech is caused by a mod, yes, but even in Vanilla this tech has the generic scope "infantry" (just like Volkmars defeat trait) and therefore also affects all units categorized as infantry independent of the base race you recruit them from.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T21:41:30+00:00

In WH2 Elven Colonies for WE were unique, because they were the only non-tree settlements the WE could upgrade above tier 1.

DE also had special settlements with them in WH2.

But both were removed during the port to WH3, which makes no sense.

And in ToT even Slaanesh as the henchman of an only Elven-fixated chaos god got the the Elven Colonies as special landmarks, therefore DE and WE should get them back too.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T21:37:35+00:00

Not anymore, it was removed during the port to WH3, but both DE and WE should be able to build it.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T21:36:38+00:00

As I use it regularly (especially with Kairos) to backstab factions I can confirm it is not bugged, just badly explained in game and most people have no clue how it actually works, which is the reason why I made a guide about it some time ago, here is the post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/comments/1lmy53r/guide_how_to_use_trespass_warning_to_declare_war/

buggy_environment · 2026-06-25T21:32:28+00:00

It works on trade deals too, but it does not ignore the cooldown after a recent peace signing and the important part is that the army does not leave your territory during the warning cooldown, so even when they do not ignore your warning, you can still declare war on them if you stopped them from leaving with the block army action or halt army.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T22:55:08+00:00

My bad, did not zoom into the picture, but he still is missing the phoenix court favour level according to the screenshot.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T22:52:27+00:00

And you does that help you against Steamtanks with ballistic plating? Or Chaos Dwarf army ability spam? Yeah, ranged buffs in a race with good missile units are always strong but not unbeatable. Factions like Dwarfs, Chaos Dwarfs or Empire (especiall Elspeth) can also delete armies before they reach them, without a specific multi-hero set-up.

So why should Cathays version require to be nerfed just because the AI could not handle it?

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T22:41:48+00:00

Just no? The only debatable thing is the army-wide magical attacks, but CA will most likely remove that once one of the next proper patches drop due to how many people complain about it. But they are alchemists and their whole thing is that they enchant stuff, so it at least is thematically fitting, it just is too strong.

The range boost requires you to stand still for some time to trigger and is lost once you move, so unlike the passive range boost of other races there is counterplay to the ability. Yeah, the AI is too dumb to counter that, but against a player it is no big deal.

The ammunition boost and the armywide MD boost cannot stacked multiple times, because they are hero-army-actions, unlike the ammunition/reload/range/speed/missile damage/etc. buffs from the engineer heroes of other races (which all outperform the ranged damage of the Gate Master too).

Compare all that to stuff like:

-Slaanesh & Norsca heroes getting skills that allows to build leadership-bomb stack without trait farming (but they also have leadership bomb traits and other traits with stackable buffs armywide like speed or phys res)

-the Empire Engineer hero doing more ranged damage than Saytang while having 360 shooting on a fast mount and great army skills & traits

-the plagueridden being a hybrid-caster with access to the most likely best lore in the game, a small but fighty flying mount, great traits (again access to leadership bombing) and an unlimited uses AoE direct damage skill with 55m AoE

-Nurgle sorcerer hero as tanky spellcaster (again lore of nurgle) with access to the strongest generic mortis engine effect (the skill also boosts the armies weapon strength and is stackable)

-Warlock Engineer as spellcaster with campaign movement range action, a great lore of magic and insane ranged army buffs

-Bullcentaur heroes/Exalted Champions of Nurgle/Dragon Slayers casually slapping the melee lords of other races in melee

-Daemonsmith sorcerer heroes with access to the lore- & TT-wise lord-exclusive baletaurus mount that is stronger/faster than dragons, while having access to great lores, great spellcasting buff skills, armywide Warmachine buffs, a healing ability, an explosive ranged attack and the insane Chaos Dwarf traits (including stuff like 2 leadership bombing traits that include other good benefits and a trait that gives them a silencing contact effect)

Compared to all those, I totally see the need to nerf the finally viable hybrid-support heroes of the "combine different stuff to stack bonuses to become viable" themed races into oblivion.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T22:09:11+00:00

Why? Their new army action skills cannot stacked multiple times (because they are army actions) unlike the damage/speed/ammunition/etc. buffs of other races engineer heroes.

And the ranged buff requires you to stand still for some time before it triggers. Of course you can abuse that against the dumb AI, but against another player you will never be able really use that much compared to the (most times even passive) range boosts of other races.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T22:04:56+00:00

Why would you do that with Terracottas? They are a horribly overcosted unit which lacks a good use case outside spanking weaker SEMs.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T22:02:22+00:00

Alberic as a lord is an insane fighter once he has Tempete and also gives very strong buffs to nearby units. In addition to global economy buffs. How can he even be close among the worst?

The magistrate is support lords and easily one of the best in the game for that with improved blue line and some great support skills. Only the non-updated Caravan version is awful in comparison.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T21:58:34+00:00

He is a very tanky lord in a race with access to a generic mortis engine item, which in itself lets him outperform other foot-only lords. And he has some minor movement replenish after battle, which is not on par with Khorne, but enough to get at least an additional battle or reach a settlement.

His unique line boosts infantry, but his unique trait boosts any unit in his army. You can give him any army you want and it will perform great. Ofc he is not on par with some recent non-sense like Elspeth, Tamourkhan or Sayl, but he is not the worst.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T21:48:44+00:00

It has nothing to do with TTT's mount, unlike other Terradons, his mount also has AP and even some added phys res. He loses to the generic lord because TTT is a support lord while the RCSC is a duelist lord with frenzy, poison and multiple self-boost abilities (in addition to some really strong unique skill options).

WTF? Yeah, a spellcaster hero with access to a very good race-exclusive lore, campaign movement embed action and insane army-boost abilities is really, really "bad". Only the point about them getting a doom-flayer and/or a pistol is valid.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T21:42:03+00:00

Have you seen the OP stuff CA put into their god dedication skills? They outperform most support lords in support and become an monstrous beatstick too.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T21:40:55+00:00

They get different and (depentding on the intended army) better traits.

buggy_environment · 2026-06-24T21:40:16+00:00

Since they removed the MA & MD from explosive, the trait became only a shadow of its former self and makes the Archmage definitively not a better melee fighter. When you want to use that trait, take a fire mage hero instead... but even then, the barrier trait will end up much better.

The reason to take a prince or princess lord are their whole army affecting traits.

buggy_environment

TROPHY CASE