Total War: Warhammer III has more than eighty playable factions and they are not close to balanced. That is not a criticism; asymmetry is the point. But it does mean a tier list is genuinely useful here in a way it is not for most strategy games.
Ranked for Immortal Empires campaign strength, which is where most people play, rather than for multiplayer battles.
Campaign tiers
| Tier | Faction | What makes it strong |
|---|---|---|
| S | Dwarfs (Thorgrim) | Best defensive infantry and artillery in the game, excellent economy, forgiving of mistakes |
| S | Tzeentch (Kairos) | Teleporting armies and enormous magic output. Trivialises campaign map logistics |
| S | Khorne (Skarbrand) | Cannot build a normal economy, does not need one. Snowballs through raiding |
| A | Empire (Karl Franz) | The straightforward faction, strong lategame artillery and state troops |
| A | High Elves (Tyrion) | Superb units, strong economy, weak early defence |
| A | Vampire Counts | Free replenishment and no upkeep pressure on undead |
| A | Kislev (Katarin) | Good roster, strong ice magic, awkward starting position |
| B | Greenskins | Fun, chaotic, inconsistent. Waaagh mechanics reward aggression |
| B | Bretonnia | Excellent cavalry, poor infantry, economy needs managing |
| B | Nurgle | Extremely durable, extremely slow. Wins by attrition or not at all |
| B | Ogre Kingdoms | Strong units, restrictive economy tied to camps |
| C | Beastmen | Improved considerably and still a hard start with no settlements to speak of |
| C | Norsca | Early power that fades badly once neighbours field proper armies |
Which to learn on
Dwarfs or the Empire. Both have a conventional army structure, a front line, ranged support, and no unique economy to learn on top of the battle layer.
The trap for new players is starting with a faction built around an unusual mechanic. Learning tactical combat and a bespoke economy simultaneously is why first campaigns get abandoned.
Why S-tier is S-tier here
Not unit quality. Campaign-map advantage.
Tzeentch teleports armies across the map, which removes the single biggest cost in a Total War campaign: travel time. Khorne does not need buildings, which removes economic management entirely. Dwarfs simply do not lose defensive battles.
Factions that win on the battle map alone sit lower, because battles are the part you control and the campaign is the part that grinds you down.
Caveats worth stating
Legendary Lord choice changes a faction's tier. Some factions have one start position that is comfortable and another that is brutal.
DLC ownership also matters. Several factions here are substantially different, and stronger, with their expansion.
Realm of Chaos versus Immortal Empires
The rankings above are for Immortal Empires. In the Realm of Chaos campaign the rift mechanic interrupts every faction's pacing equally, which compresses the spread and makes the early-aggression factions relatively stronger.
The Total War: Warhammer III builds guide covers army composition and faction mechanics.
