The Total War: Rome II Desert Kingdoms Culture Pack arrives on March 8th, 2018, bringing new playable factions and environments. And it will be accompanied by a free update to the base game which will introduce new playable characters for the existing forces and campaigns in the game.

The Desert Kingdoms pack brings four new playable factions to wage war across the shifting sands of Africa and Arabia. The quartet are the Kingdoms of Kush, Saba and Nabatea, and the Masaesyli of Numidia. Each army has unique new rosters with different strengths, building chains and technology trees. All of the new factions will get a bonus to morale in desert battles and bonus income from agriculture. But they’ll also have a penalty to their research rates due to their deep-rooted traditions.

So expect new warriors, mounted elephants and armoured camels to use. And getting accustomed to using the sandy environments to your advantage. The Meroe (Kingdom of Kush) benefit from better archers and a disciplined workforce. Whereas the Nabataeans were literate builders who can construct faster, cheaper buildings, and get incense trade bonuses. The Saba also benefit from incense, and also a close relationship to hired forces with access to cheaper and stronger mercenaries. And Numidia specialise in desert ambushes.

So there’s plenty in the Total War: Rome II Desert Kingdoms Culture Pack to get your teeth into. It’s released on March 8th, 2018, and you can pre-order for a 10% discount on the normal price of £6.99.

Total War: ROME II Desert Kingdoms Culture Pack Trailer:

Total War: ROME II Female Leaders Free DLC Update:

In addition to the Total War: Rome II Desert Kingdoms Culture Pack, there’s also a free Female Leaders DLC update for the base game. It will make Cleopatra and Teuta fully playable as faction leaders and generals. And important female characters have been added to all campaigns and across all factions. It follows the general historical culture, with some women limited to politics (Rome/Greece), some able to fight alongside men and become generals, and some following a special path to show their influence behind the scenes.

It also allows for special events surrounding women coming to power, and for faction leaders of opposite gender to marry as a diplomatic action.