16 best Total War games, ranked

Total War is a long - unravel series with 16 mainline games . The series has learn many betterment over time , but some are better than others . We ’ve put together a tilt of every single mainline Total War game and ranked it from bad to honest . Keep in brain that we wo n’t touch the tailspin - offs , so Total War [ … ]

Total War is a long - running series with 16 mainline games . The series has seen many improvements over time , but some are better than others .

We ’ve put together a inclination of every individual mainline Total War game and rate it from tough to undecomposed . Keep in mind that we wo n’t touch the spin - offs , so Total War Battles wo n’t be discuss .

Every Total War game ranked

16 – Shogun: Total War (2000)

We ’re put Shogun Total War because it is unbelievably dated . Yes , there were a lot of great things about this secret plan , and the idea was almost whole fresh . However , the game has show its age , and at this tip , it ’s hard to look at it without think of the sentence it ’s from .

It ’s a great Total War biz and build a series that has lasted the test of fourth dimension . Many of the early mechanics are here , from conquering a map to building climb to provinces to real - clock time battles . It ’s a majuscule plot but ca n’t compare to those that come up after .

15 – Medieval: Total War (2002)

mediaeval : Total War move the series to Europe . The game had a diverse compass of faction and unit further enhancing the experience , and provide player with the tractableness to tailor their playstyle to their liking . Diplomacy was improve , earmark histrion to make trade wind agreement and use different whole . It ’s an okay game by today ’s standards and was promptly ticktock by the subsequence .

14 – Rome: Total War (2004)

We are tattle about the pre - definitive edition , technically the definitive edition is in its own class .

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Total War Rome shines with its immense and intricately detailed campaign map , pop the question a huge function of the ancient public for the histrion to search and subdue . Rome : Total War ’s has more complex gameplay car-mechanic than its precursor , including a new metropolis management system and political dynamics . This provides players with a inscrutable and more challenging scheme experience . The secret plan also pushed the nontextual matter way further than previous games and seemed almost cinematic at the clip .

Total War Shogun Warmap Table With Some People

Image: Creative Assembly

13 – Total War Saga: Troy (2020)

I am unsure why the developers went so far into mythology with this one , but they pay for it . The series fans be intimate historical truth , and while the War of Troy is only jazz because of the Illiad , you’re able to tell what is mythology and what could be said as historically precise .

There are the bugs and much of this game , but Troy was relatively uninspired and did n’t introduce any significant new features to the series . Not only that , but it was repetitive , especially in the later degree of the campaign . Without an endgame , you were essentially just fighting over and over just to get to the final stage .

12 – Total War: Pharaoh (2023)

There were a net ton of issues with Total War : Pharaoh . The diplomacy system of rules was right smart too simplistic for an eld where you had to plow some unstable empires . Somehow , they decided to make the imagination system overly complex and confusing . I get there were different resourcefulness , but it should n’t have been this many .

On top of all that , the AI was really simple and you could scramble it every single prison term if you want . While it is good than the former game , it ’s still one of the bad Total War games ever made .

11 – Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia (2018)

Total War Saga : Thrones of Britannia is still well - liked for many reason . Its focal point was on a specific historical period of time and region , namely the British Isles in the former 9th century , which provide player a more focused experience . It infix new gameplay mechanics like the intellectual nourishment supply system , colonization direction , and a political system . This made the game much more difficult because you were n’t a New administration head teacher , you run a kindred .

Thrones of Britannia is also one of the few Total War game to focus so much on diplomacy , requiring players to skillfully manage faction relationship to achieve their objectives . Overall , it ’s a fun game but really hard because it ’s not forgive .

10 – Empire: Total War (2009)

conglomerate : Total War was one of the few games that got stuffy to the New years . It ’s not easy to make a secret plan with rifle very strategical , but they did a great job on this one . You could play as the United States , Great Britain , France , and many other area on their route to mod control .

This is one of my favourite games , and it ’s because I get to enact the American Revolution . It ’s got such a nerveless way to make George Washington seem both muscular and the underdog .

9 – Napoleon: Total War (2010)

Napoleon : Total War took what made Empire : Total War so unspoiled and pushed it further . The bugs were doctor , accommodation were made to battle , and you felt more like an almost forward-looking warlord . However , the focusing on Napoleon really hurt the game in my centre . Yes , it was great to be shooting , but it was n’t much better than an improve Empire that was restrictive . It ’s a peachy game , but not adept enough to me to have justify a full release .

8 – Total War: Warhammer (2016)

Total War Warhammer aggregate the Warhammer enfranchisement with Total War . To be reliable , the full-grown battles are more accurate to the tabletop plot than the RTS games made a while ago . Sure , there are head where you ’re fighting squad to squad or warparty to party , but when you ’re campaign with entire armies , it ’s really like this .

The game does everything Total War games unremarkably do with alliances and diplomacy but it added fantasy and Warcraft . by all odds worth essay if you love Warcraft . It ’s candidly one of the best game I ’ve ever played and only gets better from here .

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Total War Medieval Soldiers Lined Up For Battle

Image: Creative Assembly

7 – Total War: Attila (2015)

Total War : Attila is one of the unvoiced games I ’ve make for in the series . It has a darker and more atmospheric tone , jell it apart from its predecessors . It accent survival , demanding players to carefully get by food , water , and tax shelter resources to maintain their armies and urban center , adding a grapple stratum of strategy . The secret plan introduce raw and typical factions like the Huns , Sassanids , and Vandals , each with its singular strengths and weaknesses , contributing to a rich diversity of gameplay experience . The Horde system make players to forever relocate Army in search of resource . This is only made heavy because of the climate change system , which make the game world dynamical and more demanding as climates shift across region .

6 – Total War: Three Kingdoms (2019)

I like Total War : Three Kingdoms , and not just because I care Dynasty Warriors . The developer transfer a lot about the series for this game . There ’s a much good diplomacy system that ’s hard to professional , proxy wars , real reasons for vassalage , and a whole lot of territories to stamp down .

This biz gets hated because it ’s not like the other ones , and upgrading those things I just mentioned meant the developer need to change the way the plot run . It ’s not unsound at all , it ’s really good , but it change so much that some people just ca n’t get into it .

5 – Total War: Warhammer II (2017)

So this plot started by doing everything the last Warhammer did but sum up more factions . What was nerveless is that it also made sure to reward you for being a longtime rooter . You get to use all of the unit from the first game with a new elevate look for each one . So it was like wager a remake but with more factions .

You could also fight on a immense map made just for this and have every junto usable out to get each other . It ’s a ton of fun and is definitely deserving render if you ’re a fan . It really led to some bloodletting .

4 – Total War: Rome II (2013)

I personally did not enjoy Total War : Rome II as much as everyone else because I got the definitive edition . This give me so many playable faction that it acquire forever for my turn . This is because those factions replace rebels , so they act as real empires and need bend . That ’s on me though , and overall , the game is amazing .

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While the AI is pretty dumb , the developer did fix a lot of the issues from launching . you’re able to play multiple effort and you feel like you ’re prove to keep an unstable empire going . There ’s finesse , wars , and everything you have a bun in the oven . In my opinion , this one was better than the original Total War : Rome .

Total War Rome 2 Army Charging Toward Battle

Image: Creative Assembly

3 – Total War: Warhammer III (2022)

This was a good biz without the other two games , do n’t get me wrong . Total War : Warhammer III pass huge upgrade to the demonic camarilla and gives players their own avatar to really do damage . That alone was a immense leap that was fun to play with .

Yet , if you own the other two games , this one was pretty much one of the best full War game ever made . If you were eager for Warhammer 3 , then you most likely trifle the first two so you recognise what I mean . Every junto from before was given a graphics upgrade , and a much bigger map was give for every junto to press each other in . This included DLCs , so it is a grand time . This is as close as you may get to the tabletop game without being on a tabletop .

2 – Medieval II: Total War (2006)

For the longest amount of prison term , Medieval 2 : Total War was my favorite Total War game . There was so much to like about it , from the vast mathematical function you have , being all of Europe and some other places too . You could utilize princess for finesse , campaign heretics , and even fight in the Crusades . There was so much introduced like guild units and the function being beautiful while change base on what you build up . This is still a secret plan worth playing today and I bid they ’d make a subsequence .

1 – Total War: Shogun 2 (2011)

This is by far my favorite Total War game and it ’s because I think it ’s the best in the series . They took their first game , Shogun : Total War and elevate the artwork , combat , diplomacy and every small thing . The discreetness goes further than before , being able to corrupt in new ways , and you have to be deliberate about how your world thinks .

This was the first game where I used the resister ’s religion against them to make rebels to take over . It ’s such a great biz , and if you only play one Total War biz , it should be this one .

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Total War Troy Spearman Fighting Another Soldier