Summary
- Rare achievements in Total War games require players to overcome challenging circumstances or complete difficult tasks, making them out of reach for many players.
- Some achievements, like "There Can Be Only One" in Total War: Shogun 2, may be impossible to complete due to changes in the game or lack of leaderboard updates.
- Only a small percentage of players have managed to complete achievements like "Da Greatest Warboss" in Total War: Warhammer, highlighting their difficulty and rarity.
Creative Assembly's grand strategy Total War series lets players take control of huge armies and play their part in massive narratives across different historical periods, as well as in the fantasy world of Warhammer. Different campaigns across the games offer a variety of challenges for generals of any level of experience, but some of the achievements remain out of reach for even the most capable warlords. Only the most tenacious completionists will be willing to chase these tricky challenges.
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Some of these achievements are time-consuming or require the player to make a whole campaign more difficult for themselves. Others ask that players take control of trickier factions, or chase online rankings in multiplayer. For this list, each game will only feature once with its most brutal test.
10 St. Martin's Medal - Naopleon: Total War
Win a campaign having given the enemy player 50000 gold.
- Released
- February 23, 2010
- ESRB
- Teen // Alcohol Reference, Language, Mild Blood, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly, Feral Interactive
- Publisher(s)
- Sega, Feral Interactive
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
Can you surpass Napoleon?
The ultimate tactical challenge awaits as you step into the shoes of General Bonaparte or one of his fiercest enemies. Build an economic and military superpower through the epic battles and political unrest of the Napoleonic era. Will you beat the achievements of the legendary general or destroy them?
Unrivalled Total War Gameplay - Command your troops in real-time and manage your faction on the turn-based campaign map.
Three Theatres of War - Follow Napoleon's career through the Italian, Egyptian and Grand European campaign maps.
New Multiplayer Campaign - Play online with or against a friend for the fate of Europe.
- Platform(s)
- PC, macOS
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Tactical
One of the rarest achievements in Napoleon: Total War involves generals putting themselves at a distinct disadvantage. Not only does the player faction have to progress enough to earn 50000 gold, but then it must be gifted to an enemy and the campaign must still result in a victory.
Only 0.4% of players have this achievement on Steam, and many of those have had to resort to exploits like playing in multiplayer and gifting the gold to their fellow player so that the gold does not result in an overwhelming force against themselves. These potential workarounds mean that this achievement is not the hardest on the list, but for any trying to conquer this challenge alone, the odds are not in their favour.
9 There Can Be Only One - Total War: Shogun 2
Achieve the ultimate accolade and obtain rank 1 on the multiplayer Shogun Ladder.
- Released
- March 15, 2011
- ESRB
- Teen // Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
In the darkest age of Japan, endless war leaves a country divided. It is the middle of the 16th Century in Feudal Japan. The country, once ruled by a unified government, is now split into many warring clans. Ten legendary warlords strive for supremacy as conspiracies and conflicts wither the empire. Only one will rise above all to win the heart of a nation as the new shogun...The others will die by his sword.
Take on the role of one Daimyo, the clan leader, and use military engagements, economics and diplomacy to achieve the ultimate goal: re-unite Japan under his supreme command and become the new Shogun – the undisputed ruler of a pacified nation.
Total War: SHOGUN 2 features enhanced full 3D battles via land and sea, which made a name for the series, as well as the tactical campaign map that many refer to as the heart and soul of Total War. Featuring a brand new AI system inspired by the scriptures that influenced Japanese warfare, the millennia old Chinese “Art of War”, the Creative Assembly brings the wisdom of Master Sun Tsu to Total War: SHOGUN 2. Analysing this ancient text enabled the Creative Assembly to implement easy to understand yet deep strategical gameplay.
An achievement that may now be impossible to complete, Total War: Shogun 2 features a ranked leaderboard that fans believe may no longer be updated. Some claim they can still complete 'There Can Be Only One,' playing in multiplayer battles enough times that they reach the top rank in any of the formats and claim the achievement.
However, with the added difficulty of the realm divide mechanic in Shogun 2 causing every faction to eventually turn on the player, reaching the top of the leaderboard was never an easy task. 0.9% of players have the achievement on Steam, but with some players clinging to their number-one spots for as long as they can, it will be an infuriating goal to chase.
8 Da Greatest Warboss - Total War: Warhammer
Win a campaign as the Greenskins on Very Hard or Legendary difficulty.
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 86 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- May 24, 2016
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
WHERE TO PLAY
The Old World echoes to the clamour of ceaseless battle. The only constant is WAR!
A fantasy strategy game of legendary proportions, Total War: WARHAMMER combines an addictive turn-based campaign of epic empire-building with explosive, colossal, real-time battles -- all set in the vivid and incredible world of Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
Command five wholly different races: Bretonnia, the Empire, the Dwarfs, the Vampire Counts and the Greenskins, each with their own unique characters, battlefield units and play style. Lead your forces to war with powerful Legendary Lords from the Warhammer Fantasy Battles World, arming them with fabled weapons, armour and deadly battle magic; hard-won in individual quest chains.
For the first time in a Total War game, harness storms of magical power to aid you in battle and take to the skies with flying creatures, from ferocious dragons and wyverns to gigantic griffons. Which faction will reign supreme over all?
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Tactical
Surprisingly, one achievement in Total War: Warhammer that has a very low rate of success on Steam is 'Da Greatest Warboss.' The beautiful Grom (pictured above) is not actually featured in the first Warhammer installment in the series, so players might have a hard time choosing a legendary lord.
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Trade and commerce are the cornerstones of many grand strategy titles, but which games handled it the best?
The Greenskins can haul in huge amounts of money from raiding and capturing settlements, which helps to offset upkeep costs for their armies; however only one of the Greenskin factions in the base game is equipped enough to make fighting with the dwarfs to the North of their starting position straightforward. Playing as Grimgor Ironhide should help, but the Empire will likely grow in power in the West - only 0.9% of generals have lived up to this challenge.
7 Immortal Marauders - Total War: Warhammer 2
Playing as Norsca, win a singleplayer campaign on Very Hard or Legendary difficulty.
Total War: Warhammer 2
- Released
- September 28, 2017
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
Another faction that seems to pose some challenge to Total War players in Total War: Warhammer 2 is Norsca. Only available to those who also own the first Total War Warhammer game, Norsca is a faction that plays very differently from the others in this entry.
Primarily focusing on raiding and with a particularly difficult late-game on the Mortal Empires map, Norsca will quickly struggle with their income and to develop diplomatic relationships with other lords. Players should focus on razing and raiding across the map to keep their funds up. 0.7% of players have fought through the campaign to a victory on Very Hard or Legendary as the Norsca, making this achievement a rare feat in such a popular game.
6 This Is Total War! - Total War: Three Kingdoms
Playing as any faction, win a campaign having declared war on every faction as soon as they're encountered.
Total War: Three Kingdoms
- Released
- May 23, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Tactical
The 'This Is Total War!' Achievement repeats in some of the other entries in the series, but in Total War: Three Kingdoms it is particularly rare. This achievement entails declaring war with every single faction as soon as players meet them, which will inevitably lead to war on all fronts and fighting on every side of friendly territory.
On as cramped a map as the campaign in Three Kingdoms, very few leaders can withstand this much constant combat, which explains the low 0.7% of Steam players who have this achievement. The hard-fought victory for Ancient China will only be won with expert use of the different champion classes.
5 Ultimate Mastermind - Total War: Warhammer 3
Achieve a score of 100000 in all Trials of Fate.
Total War: Warhammer 3
- Released
- February 17, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Tactical
Total War: Warhammer 3 features three campaigns and factions that have so much variety that players can lose themselves in the world of Warhammer from turn 1. However, hidden in the battle menu under the name of 'Mirror of Madness' are 5 Trials of Fate, where the best generals can find more challenging encounters. Each of these poses a strange threat with mixed army compositions, poor starting positions, or walls of enemies surrounding the player's troops from the start.
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There is a unique scoring system that favors tactically skilled players, and only by scoring a Platinum rank on every Trial will generals leave with the 'Ultimate Mastermind' achievement. Only 0.9% of players on Steam have managed this, proving the trials to be a difficult task.
4 Alexander The Great, He Died Of Fever In Babylon - Total War Rome Remastered
Defeated due to Alexander dying of plague.
Total War Rome Remastered is a game that plays with many individual mechanics. While being a perfect starting game for those new to the series, Rome suffers in some ways from random effects that can be hard to predict and control. One of these statuses that can be inflicted on any settlement is 'Plague,' which will damage units, spread where trade networks have been established, and has a random chance of occurring in any city with a population of above 30,000.
Building sewers and health buildings can stave off Plague, but for those players who are looking to unlock this rare achievement, they will have to make enough progress through a campaign that Plague becomes a real threat to their victory, only to then rely on random chance to give a settlement Plague and then ensure that Alexander is close enough that he can enter and get infected. If he dies, this achievement should unlock, but only 0.3% of players have managed to have the patience and time to accept defeat for this trophy.
3 Legendary General - Total War: Attila
Complete the Grand Campaign on legendary difficulty without auto-resolving any battles.
Total War: Attila
- Released
- February 17, 2015
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Tactical
Total War: Attila is regarded by fans of the series to be the hardest Total War game. It requires a different method of playing the game to achieve victory; surviving even if it means losses while players consolidate your power. The early game can be particularly challenging as all the factions on the map scramble for power.
The 'Legendary General' achievement asks players to survive the mad rush for victory on the hardest difficulty. In addition, and most frustratingly for veteran players, no battles can be auto-resolved. This means a slow and brutal campaign is ahead, where every battle has to be fought against legendary AI that will hold nothing back as players struggle to expand on a map that is over-crowded and frantic. Only 0.6% of Steam players have this achievement, and it is not hard to see why.
2 Scythian Legend - Total War Rome 2
Acquire the "Plough and Yoke," "Axe," and "Bowl" skills with a single character.
Total War: Rome 2
- Released
- September 2, 2013
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Tactical
Many of the achievements in Total War: Rome 2 require the player to invest in DLC to play as other factions and complete other campaigns. However, the 'Scythian Legend' achievement seems to have caused some confusion in the Rome 2 Steam Community, and only 0.2% of players have unlocked it. It requires players to play as the Royal Scythia faction and spend many of their heroes' skill points in the Authority tree to get access to each of the three skills mentioned in the achievement's description.
Not only does this make one of the Scythian's most powerful units incredibly situational, it also means getting them enough experience to become the 'Scythian Legend' without losing them in battle. Perhaps this achievement only being attainable with one faction has caused it to be so elusive, but the low percentage of players who have unlocked it proves how demanding it can be.
1 Apollo's Plague - A Total War Saga: TROY
Defeat someone who already has this achievement in any multiplayer battle.
A Total War Saga: TROY
A Total War Saga: TROY takes fantasy elements that Creative Assembly developed in the Warhammer games and uses them alongside mythical heroes and Bronze Age units. It strikes a balance between the more fantastical pieces and the Homeric writings in an interesting way. The 'Apollo's Plague' achievement has proven itself to be out of reach for the vast majority of players though, with the sales figures for TROY indicating that less than 200 players have this achievement. The trophy is gifted randomly to players when they begin the game and then has to be spread through multiplayer battles.
This means not only finding another player with this achievement and beating them online, but also finding other players in a quickly dwindling online community. Steam Community forums for the game feature many players resorting to cheats to give themselves the achievement so that they can have a completed collection. This only proves just how unattainable 'Apollo's Plague' really is - only 0.2% of warlords have managed to grab it.
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