Be’lakor, the Dark Master and first Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided, awaits you at the conclusion of the campaign in Total War: Warhammer III. He resides in the Forge of Souls, yearning to ascend and become the Chaos God of Shadows. Regardless of the faction/lord you’ve selected, it’s time to put a stop to his schemes so you can decide the fate of the mighty Ursun. Here’s our Total War: Warhammer III guide to help you unlock Be’lakor and win the Forge of Souls final battle.
Note: For more information, check out our Total War: Warhammer III guides and features hub.
Total War: Warhammer III Be’lakor unlock and Forge of Souls final battle guide
To unlock the Forge of Souls final battle against Be’lakor in Total War: Warhammer III, you’ll need to do the following in the grand campaign:
- Enter the Realms of Chaos with your legendary lord and succeed in the challenges therein.
- Defeat all four Chaos champions in the Survival Battles in those realms.
If you meet those requirements, which will take around 130 turns, the Forge of Souls can be tackled. You’ll still use a Chaos Rift to teleport to it, and you’ll see a marker that lets you commence the encounter.
Note: Currently, there’s no way to steal a champion’s soul from another faction (i.e., if you want to play passively and wait for an opportunity to strike). As such, you truly need to go through the entire process if you want to complete the campaign’s arc.
The Forge of Souls finale
The Forge of Souls fight in Total War: Warhammer III is akin to a Survival Battle, and it can be cheesed. For the first zone, the Bridge of Shadows, just clear out the first set of mobs but don’t capture the flag yet. Instead, bring your entire army to the northeastern corner (facing the interior of the dungeon). Then, have a fast-moving unit (i.e., mounted hero or cavalry) capture the flag. Use the extra supplies to build Magic Towers only.
In a few seconds, multiple squads of mobs will spawn from portals, Avengers: Endgame-style, to ruin your day. But, the towers should blast them to pieces. The most dangerous ones are Pink Horrors due to their range, but you could shoot them with your archers/gunners and artillery (make sure you disable fire-at-will so you’re not wasting ammo). That’s basically it, you’re just camping here.
After the first part, you’ll need to head to the Engine of the Forge. A twist here is that enemies will continue to appear from one corner of the map before beelining for your troops. As such, just leave most of your army in the same spot, and send a lone rider to capture the next flag. Build a couple of Magic Towers if need be.
Note 1: You can delay capturing the second flag if you want. This lets you amass more supplies for unit, mana, and ammo replenishment.
Note 2: If you do claim that zone, Be’lakor will summon additional hostiles such as Chaos Furies, Chaos Giants, and Soul Grinders.
The third and final area is the Throne Room. The four mobs guarding this area are all Soul Grinders. Again, use a mounted hero to lure one of them, the Slaaneshi Soul Grinder, back to the previous area (since the others won’t follow). The Magic Towers should take care of it. Next, bring some of your artillery (and refill their ammo) to annihilate the remaining three.
Before you claim the flag, make sure you’re well prepared. The Throne Room is a dangerous spot since you’ll be attacked from all sides. There are a few ways of handling this:
- Rush in with your entire army and position units with their backs to the throne. This is somewhat safer since the mobs will only come from areas in front of you (no risk of getting attacked from behind).
- Camp the entrance of the Throne Room, which would be slightly risky since you could get sandwiched between Be’lakor’s forces and the mobs that continuously spawn from the main area.
- The last option is to return to the main area, assuming that most of your army is still there. The problem here is that you’ll start seeing Chaos Furies and even more Pink Horrors that can prove to be annoying since they can destroy towers.
Unlocking Be’lakor in Total War: Warhammer III
In any case, the most threatening foe here is, naturally, Be’lakor. Since he has the Lore of Shadows, he can cast Pit of Shades and rip apart your soldiers. If you’ve got more supplies and Winds of Magic, now would be a good time to nuke him.
Once the boss in the Forge of Souls has been dropped, you’ll do some cleanup with the remaining mobs. This will unlock Be’lakor in Total War: Warhammer III. He’ll basically serve as one of your faction’s generals if you wish to continue the grand campaign (yes, this includes Kislev and Cathay).
Be’lakor will be level 20 by default, and he’s got a couple of unique skills/perks (the rest are your usual army boosts and Lore of Shadows spells):
- The Dark Master – -40 melee attack (AoE)
- Lord of Torment (passive) – Up to 100% armor-piercing damage and 40 melee attack; increases with each kill.
- Whispers in the Darkness (passive) – Healing AoE with an effect that increases with each kill.
Note 1: You can’t start a Total War: Warhammer III campaign as Be’lakor. However, he can be selected in A.I. battles.
Note 2: Even though you’ve completed the game’s narrative arc, Chaos Rifts will still appear periodically.
Total War: Warhammer III is available via Steam, Epic Games, and the Xbox Game Pass for PC. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
