Harald Hammerstorm, better known as Harry the Hammer, is an iconic character currently celebrating his 40th birthday along with the rest of the Warhammer franchise. There’s a chance that Games Workshop will finally bring him back for The Old World, but you don’t have to wait until then to see it because Harry is already available as a legendary hero in Total War: Warhammer 3.
True to their word, Creative Assembly has started churning out more legendary heroes of late. After releasing Gorduz Backstabber and Ulrika Magdova along with the 3.0 patch, the developers are now giving away Harald Hammerstorm for free to all owners of Total War: Warhammer 3. Harry the Hammer is available in both Immortal Empires and The Realm of Chaos, but you will have to complete a short mission before you can unlock it.
Unlock and recruit Harald Hammerstorm
Like Ulrika, Harry the Hammer is available exclusively through Total War Access. If you don’t have an account yet, now is a great time to sign up and get not only Harald, but many other goodies as well. If you have linked your account in the past to claim Ulrika or other gifts, Harry the Hammer will automatically unlock as soon as you download the 3.1 update for Total War: Warhammer 3.
Harald Hammerstorm is available to all factions of Warriors of Chaos, but cannot be recruited by the Daemons of Chaos or any of the mono-god factions. None of the eligible factions are available in the base game, but you can unlock them by purchasing the Champions of Chaos DLC or the Chaos Warriors DLC. Check out our Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC buying guide if you need help figuring out how downloadable content works in this game.
The hiring process itself is quite simple. Once you reach level 15 with any of the eligible Legendary Lordsyou will get a quest titled The Hammerstorm Cometh which assigns you killing 3000 enemies in battle. Simply complete the quest and the legendary hero will appear next to your faction leader immediately after or during the next turn. In addition to Harry, the quest also rewards you with 2000 Favor.
Harald Hammerstorm Skills and Abilities
Harry the Hammer is essentially an upgraded Hero of Chaos Exalted. The character is known as the curse of the undead in lore and that is very much reflected in his unique skill tree. In addition to being able to unlock a ton of special abilities, Harry also grants various bonuses to all units in his army. by fighting the Vampire Coast, Vampire Counts, and Tomb Kings factions. In addition, he can also remove the Undead trait from enemies and comes with a unique trait of his own called Avatar of Chaos Renegade that makes your army immune to vampiric attrition.
Harald Hammerstorm comes equipped with two unique items from the start in the form of The shield of doom and harry’s hammer. The Bane Shield grants Harald a passive AoE Hex that increases his melee defense while weakening the offensive capabilities of nearby enemies. Meanwhile, Harry’s Hammer gives him an active ability that goes by the same name as Causes an explosion that deals moderate magic and piercing damage.
The Bane Shield and The Hammer of Harry are the same items that Harald came equipped with on the table, however he is missing the Doom armor in Total War: Warhammer 3. But even with just two of his unique items, Harry the Hammer is an absolute beast in combat and is well on his way to becoming one of the best legendary heroes in Immortal Empires.
