The Ultimate Guide to Lizardmen in Total War: Warhammer 2 – Legendary Lords, Geomantic Web, Tech Tree, Strategy & Battles
Lizardmen, at first glance, seem to be cold-blooded killers and cunning robbers. However, Total War: Warhammer 2 pursues noble goals. They are the oldest race in the world, adhering to the “Children of the Earth” philosophy, believing that they are designed to protect the world from all other factions that came after them.
Lizardmen strategy
At the beginning of the game, it is advisable to complete active quests. Before you start replenishing your treasury through trade, take over provinces and use the geomantic web. Most of the income will go through completed quests, which provide a decent financial boost to strengthen cities and the army.
Another benefit of completing quests is that you get special items, which are a resource for lizardmen to complete the five great rituals that each faction must perform. These rituals feed energy from the Great Vortex located in the center of the game map, which gives the people certain boosts. Given that the original purpose of the Whirlwind was to contain the forces of Chaos and evil, then such actions inevitably lead to complications …
Mazdamundi
When you begin the ritual, an energetic connection will be formed between the Vortex and your three cities. Because of this, during the rituals, the Whirlwind weakens, because of which the forces of Chaos break through into our world and attack those settlements in which the rituals take place. You need to be ready for this! Also, the energy beams from the ritual will be visible to the rest of the factions, which will immediately try to interrupt it.
If you play as Mazdamundi, then the most important early quests that you should strive to complete is “Mirror, Mirror”. As part of the mission, you need to capture the “mirror pool” Tepok, having recaptured it from the Dark Elves. This place will bring you resources for rituals (every turn).
There is another similar resource generating place – Tlaxtlan, south of the isthmus, which belongs to one of the lizardmen tribes. You can go in two ways – try to form a confederation, forging relations with a faction of your race, or resort to forceful capture.
Now, where you can build and live is influenced by the regional climate. Technically, you can capture any settlement, but not everywhere your people will be happy. People’s dissatisfaction will lead to a decrease in the speed of construction, etc. Jungles, savannahs, and deserts are best suited for lizardmen. They receive the most severe penalties (to public order, population growth and income) for trying to settle in the common wastelands and wastelands of Chaos, as well as in icy lands. All other territories are simply “unpleasant” for them, which leads to insignificant fines. In short, just think about where you can see lizards in real life, and everything will become clear.
Geomantic web and lizardman technology tree
One of the prominent mechanics of the Lizardmen is the Geomantic Web. It is a kind of network of magical power that stretches between the capital provinces around the world. The stronger your network, the more effective the edicts you issue, which, like other Total War games , offer your people provincial bonuses (less often empire-wide boosts).
Lizardmen receive a set of edicts of their own, but they are not the only ones that can be strengthened through the Geomantic Web. But, as a rule, they will be more powerful. Depending on the level, the issued edict for production will provide an incentive for the growth of income, population and public order. An edict tied to order will allow you to learn about the actions of enemy heroes, increase the time of the siege, and can remove corruption and disease. Military edicts give a bonus to the strength of Winds of Magic, increase the strength and leadership of the local army, and reduce the recruitment cost.
The strength of a geomantic web depends on several factors. First of all, for the network to work at its maximum strength, it must be connected to cities of equal or greater geomantic strength. To strengthen the network, you need to build a geomantic pylon, and later, other buildings in those cities that are connected to the network. A nice bonus is that these structures also increase the amount of gold produced. In turn, this gives the lizardmen a chance to become the best faction from an economic point of view. If a neighboring settlement is held by another faction, then the strength of its geomantic network is determined by your relationship with them – the better the relationship, the stronger the network.
Settlements under your control that are not directly linked to the geomantic web can benefit from these links, requiring special structures to be created. They can be built at the second and third levels, and also increase the income of gold in the provinces.
Each army on the campaign map can occupy one of several positions, including “march”, which speeds them up (but makes them more vulnerable), and an ambush, which allows them to suddenly attack an enemy moving through the region. However, the lizardmen have their own unique position. It increases your chances of intercepting units moving underground, decreases your chances of being ambushed, and increases your visibility. In this position, some units also gain the Forward Deployment ability, which means that at the beginning of the battle, you can deploy them anywhere (outside the enemy’s deployment zone).
Each faction has a unique technology tree. Lizardmen have eight technological chains, each of which is unlocked by the construction of certain buildings. But they also have two unique tech chains – one halfway through the entire tree and one at the end. You will unlock them when constructing mid-level buildings. Unlocking these special tech chains will not only grant you access to fantastic new technologies, but also allow you to take advantage of permanent public order bonuses. This is very useful, because almost everyone living in the world of Warhammer is not too happy with the fact that they are on the brink of war.
There is no perfect way to move up the tech tree – it all depends on what priority goals you have at a particular moment. Want to enhance your skins? Go downstairs along their technological chain. Want to focus on population and industry growth? Then you are interested in a completely different chain.
Legendary Lizard Lords
You can choose between two leaders in the campaign. Mage Priest Mazdamundi and Great Warlord Krok Gar are available. While Mazdamundi is responsible for protecting the rainforests of Lustria and finding resources for rituals, Krok Gar travels to the remote regions of Arabia, a land infested by ratmen. In the Crok-Gar campaign, you will have many bonuses related to battles. If you would like to spend time enjoying the game without really worrying about anything, then it is recommended to choose Mazdamundi.
Croc-gar
In battles, Mazdamundi is a ranged spellcaster. It is best surrounded by one or two strong units (for extra protection). Looking at your skill tree, you will find an abundance of spells. There are also healing skills, as well as those aimed at destroying cities and destroying several units at once. The Amyntok Network and Comet should still be a favorite pairing for any magician.
Croc-Gar, meanwhile, does not use spells like Mazdamundi does, but his skills include passive bonuses for the army, combat boosts against enemy units, powerful weapons, etc. In fact, there is still one magic spell – “Hand of the Gods”. With its help, you send a concentrated death ray at a single target. Great for destroying enemy heroes and large units.
Both leaders have access to four unique rituals of lizardmen, which you will unlock as you reach one or another part of the campaign (for example, winning the first battle using an ambush, creating a star chamber, etc.). Lovers of good defense can try the Sotek rite, which forces the forces of the jungle to resist invasions, causing exhaustion. You can never go wrong with the Rite of Primeval Glory, which puts powerful monsters at your disposal. Raptors can be summoned three times per batch.
Lizardmen Fighting Tips
Given their unconventional origins, the Lizardmen are surprisingly balanced and militarily powerful. They are unshakable in battle – it will take a lot of effort to force them to leave the battlefield. The benefits of this are obvious, but the downside is that you have to tell them yourself when to leave a potentially lost battle.
Stegadon
To balance the moral stamina of the lizardfolk, the developers made them prone to impulsive behavior – they can go berserk and behave recklessly in battle. Monsters can feverishly begin to trample not only opponents, but also allies. The Saurus Warriors are some of the finest mid-level grunts in the game. They have a huge supply of HP and great damage from weapons. Armor, melee attacks, and defense are more mediocre stats. They also have no armor-piercing damage.
The lizardmen’s artillery is unique in that their Bastiladon and Stegadon can also participate in regular combat.
