Total War: Warhammer 3 just launched its Proving Grounds Siege Beta, giving players an early hands-on look at major siege reworks ahead of the upcoming real-time strategy expansion, Tides of Torment. The beta runs until August 7 and is free for all owners of the game—it can be enabled via Steam under the game’s properties menu.
Originally set to launch this month, Tides of Torment was delayed after Creative Assembly admitted the DLC didn’t meet their own quality standards. While no exact date has been announced, the studio is now aiming for a “later this year” release window. In the meantime, players can bash down beta gates and provide feedback on the siege mechanics overhaul that’s meant to anchor the expansion.
One of the biggest changes in the beta is the removal of “pocket ladders”—the notorious mechanic where units pulled siege gear out of nowhere like fantasy magicians moonlighting as carpenters. Players can now toggle this feature off for a more grounded approach to wall assaults. Siege towers and battering rams have been rebalanced, too, with lower costs and more impact, while defensive towers have been retuned to deal higher close-range damage with reduced range, rewarding tighter positioning and punishing sloppy plays.
Battle AI has also received a long-overdue tune-up, addressing over 50 siege-specific bugs and behavioral oddities that have plagued the game’s strategic layer. Several siege maps have been revamped as well, offering clearer layouts and more flexible lanes of attack or defense—perfect for players looking to flex their tactical chops before the next big chaos wave.
With these tweaks and the community’s input, Creative Assembly is hoping to reforge Total War: Warhammer 3’s siege gameplay into something worthy of its high fantasy scale—and to give strategy fans a solid reason to keep their hammers warm until Tides of Torment finally arrives.
