Total War: Warhammer III Tzarina Katarin and Kislev guide – The basics
Let’s discuss some of the basic concepts that you’ll encounter while you’re playing as Tzarina Katarin of Kislev in Total War: Warhammer III.
Faction and lord bonuses
Tzarina Katarin of Kislev in Total War: Warhammer III has the following bonuses and mechanics:
- +10 Devotion generated from successful Frost Maiden hero actions
- +6 control.
- +3 hero recruit rank for Frost Maidens
- -2 Ice Court training duration
- -6 corruption (local province)
- -50% upkeep for Ice Guard units (lord’s army)
- -50% miscast base chance (lord)
Starting units and map location
Tzarina Katarin starts in the province of River Urskoy. Here are the initial units:
- 1x Armored Kossars
- 2x Armored Kossars (Great Weapons)
- 2x Ice Guard (Swords)
- 1x Winged Hussars
- 1x Snow Leopard
Tzarina Katarin skills
Tzarina Katarin is your typical mage that uses Ice magic. These include Ice Maiden’s Kiss (wind blast), Death Frost (single-target), Frost Blades (armor-piercing), Crystal Sanctuary (damage reduction), and Heart of Winter (AoE spell with multiple phases that increase damage). She, like other mages of Kislev, can summon a Snow Leopard with Guardian Call, though she does have a perk that increases its effectiveness.
Kislev technology
Kislev in Total War: Warhammer III has four branches in its tech tree: The Land, Kislev, Praag, and Erengrad (you’re not required to hold these cities just to research the techs listed therein). Each segment or tier requires a certain number of techs to be completed first before the rest can be selected. Some will also unlock Ice Court training slots for your spellcasters (I’ll explain more later).
Unique building chains/landmarks
Your starting province, the River Urskoy, has only one settlement, and that’s the city of Kislev. The way Kislevite territory works is that a bunch of provinces are comprised of minor settlements with four building slots only (no province capital). Instead, the power base lies in the three great cities of Kislev, Praag, and Erengrad.
If you’re playing as Tzarina Katarin in Total War: Warhammer III, then Praag is just a stone’s throw to the north. It’s controlled by the Ropsmenn Clan, a minor faction that you’re at war with by default. You can eliminate them and capture Kislev after taking care of the Vanaheimlings (another faction that’s hostile to you). As for Erengrad, it’s held by the Druzhina Enclave, which is a lot friendlier. You can, eventually, confederate with them by increasing diplomatic relations.
These three great cities have 10 building slots, and they share similarities for the most part. But, there are also unique building chains/landmarks:
- Kislev
- Bokha Palace – Devotion, Ice Guard upkeep, and leadership when under siege.
- Grand Citadel – Control (factionwide and local) and income from all buildings (local).
- Temple of Ursun – Fur production, growth (factionwide), and Elemental Bear and Warbear Rider upkeep.
- Imperial Embassy – Diplomatic relations with the Empire and allegiance points earned for alliances with the Empire
- Praag
- The Bleakness – Reduction of attrition casualties (factionwide), Gryphon Legion upkeep, and leadership when fighting Warriors/Daemons of Chaos and Norsca.
- Citadel of Praag – Global recruitment duration, global recruitment capacity, and leadership when under siege.
- Magnus Gardens – Patriarch hero recruitment, Patriarch hero capacity, lord and hero recruitment rank, and corruption reduction (adjacent provinces).
- Erengrad
- The Harbor – Gold income, growth, and dyes/iron/pottery/spices resource production.
- Temple of Manaan – Construction cost reduction for ports, immunity to storm and reef attrition, and +10 melee attack when fighting at sea.
- Frosthome – Frost Maiden hero capacity, hero and lord recruit rank, and War Sled and Little Grom upkeep reduction.
- The Lynsk Bridge – Increased income from trade and income from all buildings.
Because a vast majority of the surrounding territory only has minor settlements, the idea is to bolster your armies through alliance/outpost recruitment or global recruitment. In the case of the latter, the Citadel of Praag makes churning out a decent-tier army a breeze.
All right, let’s talk about additional mechanics for Tzarina Katarin and Kislev in Total War: Warhammer III. We’ll discuss the Motherland/Devotion system, Ice Court recruitment, the Crystal Cloak quest battle, and how we can unlock Boris Ursus.
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.
