Total War: Pharaoh (stylised as Total War: PHARAOH) is a turn-based strategy game developed by Creative Assembly and published by SEGA, and Feral Interactive for macOS. It is set in the Bronze Age Collapse circa 13th century BC, focusing on the turbulent time during the 19th dynasty of Ancient Egypt following the death of Pharaoh Merneptah and the civil war that followed. The game was announced on 23rd of May, 2023 and was released on the 11th of October, 2023.
Game Mechanics[]
- Main article: Campaign (Total War: Pharaoh)
Dynamic Battles[]
Become a fierce warrior or brilliant tactician and lead massive armies into epic real-time battles that stretch across the ancient lands of Bronze Age Egypt, barbarous Canaan and the Mighty Hittite Empire. Be prepared for intense changes in weather that directly impact your chances of survival on the battlefield and utilise the threat of fire, which can engulf armies and spread destruction throughout forests, deserts and settlements.
Customised Campaigns[]
With a brand-new Campaign Customisation feature, no two campaigns will ever feel the same. Determine how you play with an extended range of campaign customisation options, such as random starting positions for all factions, detailed resource settings, the ability to toy with natural disasters and much more. With an abundance of options, stack the odds against yourself for an added challenge or become an unmatched power to breeze your way to victory.
Royal Courts[]
Many factions can choose to participate one of the courts. There are Egyptian, Hittite, Mesopotamian, and Aegean. To avoid participating in the royal court, you can forge your path option — Path of Marauder and the Path of Sea Peoples (Sea Peoples factions only).
Shemsu Hor[]
- Main article: Shemsu Hor
As the cycle turns again upon your land, the Royal Court convenes once more in the eyes of the gods. However in Dynasties, it is typically Egyptian, fit less and less into the new context. It became apparent that while it initially served the narrative well, it eventually did not.[1]
Dynasty system[]
Added in Dynasties, this system consists of a family tree, new diplomacy mechanics such as political marriages.
| Total War: Pharaoh gameplay mechanics | |
|---|---|
| The Land | Land & Sea・Regions・Provinces・Sacred Lands・Settlements・Rebellions・Outposts・Ruins・Map Features・Realms |
| Campaign | Pharaoh Campaign・Multiple Resource Economy・Religion・Diplomacy・Pillars of Civilisation・Royal Decrees・Ambitions・Seasons・Buildings・Customisation |
| Armies & Battles | Types of Military Forces・Generals & Armies (Unit abilities)・Military Movement・Army Stances・Pre-Battle Options・Battles (Post-Battle & Occupation Options)・Siege Warfare・Reinforcement・Units |
| The Crowns | Royal Tradition・Shemsu Hor・Ancient Legacies・Forge Your Own Path・Royal Court・Dynasties |
| Characters & Factions | Factions・Faction Leaders・Titles & Competencies・Traits・Backgrounds |
Playable Factions[]
- Main article: Factions (Total War: Pharaoh)
Pharaoh includes a total of 39 playable factions. 14 of these are major factions, often with special mechanics and a myriad of exclusive units. The remaining 25 minor factions offer a more general experience, often with default mechanics and less special units.
| Major Factions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Hatti | Canaan | Sea Peoples | Mesopotamia | The Aegean |
| Ramesses leads his faction in Neb-gehes | Suppiluliuma leads Hatti in Hattusa | Irsu leads his faction in Tadmor | Walwetes leads Peleset (unlanded) | Ninurta-Apal-Ekur leads Hanigalbat in Dur-Katlimmu | Agamemnon leads Mycenae in Mycenae |
| Seti leads his faction in Hardai | |||||
| Tausret leads her faction in Yebu | Kurunta leads Tarhuntassa in Tarhuntassa | Bay leads his faction in Tzor | Iolaos leads Sherden (unlanded) | Adad-Shuma-Usur leads Babylon in Babylon | Priam leads Troy in Troy |
| Amenmesse leads his faction in Per-Ramesses meri-Amon | |||||
| Minor Factions | |||||
| Egypt | Hatti | Canaan | Mesopotamia | The Aegean | |
| Merneptah leads his faction in Mennefer | Talmi-Teshub leads Carchemish in Carchemish | Ammurapi leads Ugarit in Ugarit | Ashur-Nadin-Apli leads Assyria in Assur | Achilles in Aeolia in Pteleon | |
| Setnakhte leads his faction in Amunia | Hulliya leads the the Cimmerians in Zalpa | Jabin leads Ashkelon in Ashkelon | Hallutash-Inshushinak leads Shutrukid in Susa | Odysseus leads Ithaca in Cephallenia | |
| Memnon leads Napata in Napata | Ibiranu leads Alashiya in Alashiya | Abdosir leads Byblos in Gubla | Ashpabara leads Lullubi in Musasir | Sarpedon leads Lycia in Telmessos | |
| Djedefhe leads Dungul in Dungul Oasis | Hellarizzi leads Malidiya in Malidiya | Hariyu leads Damascus in Damascus | Ukkura leads Shubru in Hayasha | Rhesus leads Thrace in Scione | |
| Meryey leads Meshwesh in Wehat Mehtet | Zuwalla leads the the Sangarian Phrygians in Kuwaliya | Arhalba leads Emar in Emar | Yakum leads Sutu in Ashimon | Ajax leads the the Boeotians in Thebes | |
| Underlined cultures have royal courts. Italicised factions are named after the overlord (leader) similar to Total War: Three Kingdoms. N.b.: If current leader dies, the faction will be named after the heir; in-game text denotes this E.g.: "Merneptah, overlord" will become "Khaemwaset, descendant of Merneptah" | |||||
| Total War: Pharaoh factions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Development[]
Total War Pharaoh was announced in May 2023.[2] The game was developed by Creative Assembly Sofia who had previously worked on Empire Divided, Rise of the Republic and A Total War Saga: Troy.
A free update titled High Tide, previously intended as the first DLC faction, was released on 25th of January 2024, introducing two new factions of Sea Peoples, Peleset (led by Walwetes) and Sherden (led by Iolaos).[3][4] In May 2024, it was revealed that a major map expansion would include additional regions such as Mesopotamia, Western Anatolia, Thracia, Achaea and Crete, featuring 168 new settlements and four new major factions including Babylon (led by Adad-shuma-usur), Assyria (also known as Hanigalbat, led by Ninurta-apal-Ekur), Mycenae (led by Agamemnon), and Troy (led by Priam), along with 25 new minor factions.[5] This free update titled Dynasties, was released of 25th of July of the same year.[6][7]
Controversies[]
On 11 October 2023, CA Sofia released Total War: Pharaoh[8] to mixed reviews, with the principal concern being that the game was overpriced compared to the content delivered.[9][10] Following numerous complaints from fans of the series about its price and the pre-paid DLC roadmap, Creative Assembly would reduce the price of the base game from £49.99 / $59.99 to £29.99 / $39.99 in December; also issuing refunds to all the players who purchased the game before the price reduction. Furthermore, the pre-paid DLC roadmap would be scrapped in favour of improving the base game and incorporating new content as free updates.[11][12]
Achievements[]
- Main article: Achievements (Pharaoh)
Total War: Pharaoh has 76 available achievements, including the High Tide update and 29 additional achievements from the Dynasties update, for a total of 105 achievements.
Original soundtrack[]
- Main article: Total War: Pharaoh (Original Soundtrack)
Experience this iconic age through a collection of 23 stunning and atmospheric tracks, where the use of rich instrumentation and evocative soundscapes bring the epic conflicts of the time to life.
System Requirements[]
Windows[]
| Minimum | Recomended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit |
| Processor | • Intel i3-2100
• AMD FX-4300 |
• Intel Core i5-6600
• Ryzen 5 2600X |
| Memory | 6GB RAM | 8GB RAM |
| Graphics | • Nvidia GeForce GTX 660
• AMD R9 270 |
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
• AMD RX 480 |
| DirectX | Version 11 | Version 11 |
| Storage | 50GB available space | 50GB available space |
MacOS[]
| Minimum | |
|---|---|
| OS | macOS 13.4 |
| Processor | Apple M1 (8‑Core CPU) or better |
| Memory | 8GB RAM |
| Graphics | Apple M1 (7‑Core GPU) or better |
| Storage | 50 GB available space |
| Macs | Total War: PHARAOH has officially supported all Mac models with an Apple Silicon chip since November 2020 with an Apple M1 chip or better. |
Windows[]
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit |
| Processor | • Intel i3-2100
• AMD FX-4300 |
• Intel Core i5-6600
• Ryzen 5 2600X |
| Memory | 6GB RAM | 8GB RAM |
| Graphics | • Nvidia GeForce GTX 660
• AMD R9 270 |
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
• AMD RX 480 |
| DirectX | Version 11 | Version 11 |
| Storage | 80GB available space | 80GB available space |
| Additional Notes | Total War: PHARAOH - Dynasties may be updated over time and have paid for and free additional content released for it. Please be aware that this may increase the minimum requirements for running the game above the specification stated here. | |
MacOS[]
| Minimum & Recommended | |
|---|---|
| OS | macOS 13.4 |
| Processor | Apple M1 (8‑Core CPU) or better |
| Memory | 8GB RAM |
| Graphics | Apple M1 (7‑Core GPU) or better |
| Storage | 80 GB available space |
| Macs | Total War: PHARAOH has officially supported on all Mac models released since November 2020 with an Apple M1 chip or better. To check your Mac model and when it was released. |
Trivia[]
- Mendl Sans Dusk is used as the primary thematic typeface.
- In Dynasties, all characters (excluding Amazons, due to the near-complete lack of historical evidence) return from Total War Saga: Troy, such as Mycenae and Troy. These include Agamemnon, Menelaus, Achilles (leading Aeolia), Odysseus (leading Ithaca), and Ajax (with Diomedes, leading Boeotians) for the Achaeans; Priam, (with Hector, Paris, and Aeneas, leading Troy), Sarpedon (leading Lycia), and Rhesus (leading Thrace) for the Trojans/Assuwan, and also Memnon (leading Napata), who was the only character/leader that came from Aethiopia rather than the Aegean.
- Sea Peoples are the only faction that have no playable minor factions.
- This is the Total War game since Medieval II to not officially support Russian language.[13][14]
- This is the last historical game to not officially support Japanese language.
- This is the last historical game to use Warscape engine.
Other Languages[]
Base game[]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| English | Total War: Pharaoh |
| Simplified Chinese | 全面战争：法老 Quánmiàn Zhànzhēng：Fǎlǎo
|
| Traditional Chinese | 全軍破敵：法老 Quánjūn Pòdí：Fǎlǎo
|
| Korean | 토탈워: 파라오 Totalwo: Parao
|
Dynasties[]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| English | Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties |
| Simplified Chinese | 全面战争：法老 王朝版 Quánmiàn Zhànzhēng：Fǎlǎo Wángcháo bǎn
|
| Traditional Chinese | 全軍破敵：法老 王朝版 Quánjūn Pòdí：Fǎlǎo Wángcháo bǎn
|
| Korean | 토탈워: 파라오 왕조 Totalwo: Parao Wangjo
|
Media[]
Videos[]
Total War Guide To[]
Screenshots[]
Videos[]
Screenshots[]
References[]
- ↑ https://community.creative-assembly.com/total-war/total-war-pharaoh/blogs/27-total-war-pharaoh-%E2%80%93-patch-notes-2-0-0
- ↑ https://www.totalwar.com/blog/pharaoh-faq/
- ↑ https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/total-war-pharoahs-high-tides-update-is-the-first-of-creative-assemblys-free-dlc-apologies-for-messing-up-total-war
- ↑ https://www.si.com/videogames/news/total-war-pharaoh-high-tide-update-patch-notes
- ↑ https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/total-war-pharaohs-big-free-update-map-is-far-far-larger-than-i-would-have-thought/
- ↑ https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/total-war-pharoahs-enormous-free-dynasties-update-gets-a-july-release-date-and-trailer
- ↑ https://community.creative-assembly.com/total-war/total-war-pharaoh/blogs/27
- ↑ https://store.totalwar.com/en/total-war/total-war-pharaoh/total-war-pharaoh
- ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/total-war-pharaoh/user-reviews/?platform=pc
- ↑ https://steamcommunity.com/app/1937780/reviews/
- ↑ https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-pharaoh-faq-dec-2023/
- ↑ https://www.totalwar.com/blog/message-from-total-war-leadership-dec-2023/
- ↑ Creative Assembly Announces Total War: PHARAOH with release in October (in Russian)
- ↑ The developers of Total War: Pharaoh showed the gameplay for the Egyptians (in Russian)
| The Total War series | |
|---|---|
| Main series | Shogun (The Mongol Invasion) • Medieval (Viking Invasion) • Rome (Barbarian Invasion • Alexander • Remastered) • Medieval II (Kingdoms) • Empire • Napoleon • Shogun 2 (Fall of the Samurai ) • Rome II • Attila • Three Kingdoms • Pharaoh • Medieval III |
| Saga | Thrones of Britannia • Troy |
| Warhammer Fantasy & 40,000 | Warhammer • Warhammer II • Warhammer III • Warhammer 40,000 |
| Spin-offs | Spartan: Total Warrior (consoles only) • Arena |