Total War: Warhammer Details New Endgame Crises and The Vermintide's 'Rat Counter'

Following the full reveal of the upcoming Lords of the End Times expansion for Total War: Warhammer, developer Creative Assembly has shared new details regarding the game's revised and upcoming endgame crises. In a recent developer livestream, Lead Game Designer Mitch Heastie and the development team showcased several end-of-the-world scenarios, including Archaon's reworked Chaos Invasion, Nagash's Great Ritual, and the Skaven-themed Vermintide.

A major highlight of the presentation was the introduction of a dedicated "rat counter" interface element designed specifically for the Vermintide crisis. This counter provides players with an estimated tally of how many Skaven forces remain to be eliminated across the campaign. According to Mitch Heastie during the livestream, the figure "is based on the actual numbers, like roughly." In the gameplay demonstration, the interface displayed a counter of 165,000 rats, which was distributed across 60 active Skaven armies.

The mechanics of the Vermintide endgame require players to systematically target and destroy Skaven Under-Cities before the rat-men can detonate Doomspheres to destroy player settlements. Players must quickly recapture lost territories to prevent the Skaven from continuously spawning new armies. Defeating these armies feeds into a narrative component, allowing players to gradually uncover the Skaven's plot. New defensive buildings will also be available to help players handle the threat.

By contrast, the other showcased endgame crises offer different strategic challenges. The Great Ritual of Nagash endgame focuses on a climactic final battle. As the Black Pyramid slowly travels to Nagashizzar, players must actively disrupt the Lord of Undeath's conquests to weaken him ahead of the final encounter. Meanwhile, the reworked Chaos Invasion requires players to target Archaon’s armies and fortresses. Doing so is necessary to lower his ward save; otherwise, Archaon remains functionally immortal as he lays waste to the world.

These endgame updates are scheduled to arrive alongside the Lords of the End Times expansion content on September 24. Additionally, Creative Assembly has clarified that purchasing any of the expansion lords will grant players access to the game's massive Immortal Empires campaign mode.