Total War: Pharaoh – all factions coming with the free map update

Creative Assembly is delivering a massive expansion to the game

Creative Assembly / Sega

It’s no secret that the sales of Total War: Pharaoh, which was released last year in what we can probably call one of the lowest points in the strategy game series’ history, have not been great.

Table of Contents

1. Total War: Pharaoh – all upcoming major factions
2. Total War: Pharaoh – all upcoming minor factions

However, the game appears to have become a cornerstone of Creative Assembly’s still ongoing campaign to curry favor with the community and rebuild trust: After canceling plans for paid DLC and refunding the game’s more expensive edition, the developer released the Sea Peoples DLC as a free update instead. But that’s not the end of the generosity: An upcoming map expansion for Total War: Pharaoh will essentially double the game’s content without requiring players to pay a dime.

Creative Assembly Sofia will be adding Mesopotamia and the Aegean to Total War: Pharaoh’s campaign map, bringing four additional major factions from the Bronze Age into the game: the Mycenaeans, Troy, Babylon, and Assyria.

In addition to these four peoples with their own unique mechanics and cultures, the studio will make a total of 25 minor factions playable. Though these won’t quite match their brethren in terms of mechanics – lacking unique Court or Faction Commands, for instance – they will further enhance replayability and allow players to experience the game from different points of view.

Total War: Pharaoh – all upcoming major factions

• Hanigalbat (Mesopotamia) – led by Ninurta-Apal-Ekur, this faction has access to early melee and ranged cavalry units, giving it a massive mobility advantage over others; with solid heavy infantry and chariot options as well, Hanigalbat can field powerful armies, though they are expensive to maintain, making their build-up slow and methodical.
• Babylon (Mesopotamia) – led by Adad-Shuma-Usur, Babylon has just reclaimed its capital from the Assyrians and needs to rebuild its strength. Relying on cheap and versatile infantry that receives boosts from rare elite forces, Babylon hopes to outmaneuver and overwhelm the smaller Assyrian forces.
• Mycenae (Aegeans) – led by Agamemnon, Mycenae is master of the Peloponnese and has set its sights on the rest of Greece and beyond. It fields powerful heavy infantry with shock capabilities and a limited roster of skirmishers, making all-out assaults and melee brawls its specialty.
• Troy (Aegeans) – led by Priam, Troy is a defensive powerhouse with stalwart infantry and excellent ranged options, though it finds itself surrounded by potentially hostile powers, so clever diplomacy is a must.

Total War: Pharaoh – all upcoming minor factions

• Napata (Egypt) – strong ranged units, few elite units
• Setnakhte (Egypt) – balanced infantry roster, no chariots
• Merneptah (Egypt) – elite armored infantry, no cheap units
• Baharia (Egypt) – strong desert melee infantry, few ranged units
• Dungul (Egypt) – strong desert ranged infantry, no chariots
• Ugarit (Canaan) – good defensive units, no strong flankers
• Emar (Canaan) – strong offensive infantry, no ranged units
• Byblos (Canaan) – good mercenaries, few defensive units
• Damascus (Canaan) – strong ambushers, no chariots
• Ashkelon (Canaan) – balanced infantry roster, few elite units
• Cimmerians (Hittite) – high variety of cavalry, few infantry units
• Malidiya (Hittite) – good heavy infantry, no ranged units
• Sangarian Phyrgia (Hittite) – mobile medium infantry, few defensive units
• Alashiya (Hittite) – access to Hittite and Canaanite units, few elite units
• Carchemish (Hittite) – heavy chariots, few frontline units
• Aeolia (Aegean) – strong mobile infantry, few defensive units
• Lycia (Aegean) – strong chariots, no ranged units
• Ithaca (Aegean) – balanced infantry roster, no chariots
• Boeotians (Aegean) – balanced infantry roster, few ranged and chariot units
• Thrace (Aegean) – balanced infantry roster, no particular strong suits
• Igihalkid (Mesopotamia) – balanced infantry roster, no elite infantry
• Lullubi (Mesopotamia) – solid frontline and archers, no cavalry
• Sutu (Mesopotamia) – camel units, few ranged units
• Shubru (Mesopotamia) – access to Hittite and Mesopotamian units, no ranged units
• Assyria (Mesopotamia) – access to cavalry units, no elite infantry