On the 11th of September, Creative Assembly will be releasing The Hunter and The Beast, the next major Lord Pack DLC for Total War: Warhammer 2. As normal for a DLC release, the studio will be simultaneously releasing a smaller ‘Free-LC,’ together with a free game update (including a huge faction rework for the Empire). That Free-LC will be the addition of Gor-Rok as a Lizardmen Legendary Lord. However, until recently, the studio hadn’t shown anything of the new Lord. Now, Creative Assembly has finally given fans a glimpse of the Great White Lizard himself.
The Next Total War: Warhammer 2 Free-LC Legendary Lord
Gor-Rok will be the sixth Legendary Lord for the Lizardmen when he launches alongside Nakai the Wanderer on the 11th. Interestingly, this puts the Lizardmen ahead of every other faction in the game; only Vampire Counts have 5, with all other factions at 4 or less. While Nakai introduces some highly unique Horde gameplay mechanics, Gor-Rok is a more traditional leader. “Leading the faction of Itza from the revered Temple City of the same name,” explains Creative Assembly; “Gor Rok strikes out with Lord Kroak to ensure the Great Plan is followed and that Lustria is cleansed of usurpers. A powerful defensive warrior, he has a number of unique skills granting him a range of bonuses including Perfect Vigour, Physical Resistance, Terror, and Regeneration.”
Full details of Gor-Rok’s campaign and faction effects haven’t yet been revealed. However, the Free-LC’s Steam page does include screenshots which reveal some of them. For instance, Gor-Rok will benefit from +3 Recruit Rank for Saurus Scar-Veterans. He will also have a new Rite called the Rite of Resilience, which grants Saurus units defence bonuses and the Unbreakable ability. However, perhaps the most significant effect that Gor-Rok has is that he starts his campaign “with control of Lord Kroak”. Normally accessible only through a difficult mid-game story battle, Kroak is an exceedingly powerful unique Hero.
If Gor-Rok does indeed start with Kroak available from the start of the campaign, his play-style is likely to put the desiccated Slann front and centre; utilising Kroak’s destructive magic with legions of Saurus to defend him. Screenshots also show that the Great White Lizard has a fairly simple and low-tier set of starting units. He starts with Skink Skirmishers and two units of Saurus Warriors; one with Shields and one Spears and Shields. His skill list is similar to that of a standard Saurus Lord, although with a unique skill line. He can also acquire all of the ‘Blessing’ skills, instead of only being able to choose one. He has a single unique magic item quest-line – The Shield of Aeons, and does not have any mount options.