Before you start
Play The Lost God Prologue to learn movement, settlements and battles, then choose Immortal Empires for the shared sandbox. You can learn its systems with a small regional goal before trying to conquer distant lands.
Owners of Warhammer I or II can also enter IE through the Warhammer III application. A Lords of the End Times pack provides another entry route. Access to the map and access to a particular playable lord are separate: check the portrait you want before buying more content.
Choose an army you want to practise
Start with a battlefield job you can recognise. A protected missile line gives you time to watch how infantry, ranged units and magic interact. If you prefer moving aggressively, choose a mobile or melee army and expect to spend more attention directing it.
Zhao Ming offers Cathayan combined arms; Katarin pairs Kislev hybrids with Ice magic. Karl Franz brings the Empire from the first game into IE. A lord imported from an earlier game is still a campaign choice on the shared map, rather than a requirement to play the older campaign first.
Read the map before spending
Select your army and inspect its movement range, the nearby enemy forces and the route back to friendly territory. Open your victory objectives so that your next conquest serves a purpose. A settlement farther away can leave a more valuable home exposed.
Inspect the province panel and building browser before placing a recruitment building. Compare what it unlocks with what your existing army can already do. Keep money available for replacing losses; filling every construction slot can leave you unable to respond to an attack.
Give each part of the army a job
Use a holding group to keep enemies occupied, a damage group with room to fire, and a mobile reserve to answer flank attacks. Those jobs can overlap: a hybrid regiment can shoot and fight, but it stops doing one job when committed to the other.
A stronger unit still needs a useful position. Guns require a clear shot; infantry placed directly in front can block them. Watch the terrain from the firing unit’s position and move a blocked regiment before assuming that its target is too tough.
Fight, recover, then decide again
For your first manual battles, use pause or a slower battle speed to inspect what each regiment is doing. Give a few clear orders, watch their result, and then adjust. Keep your lord and supporting heroes close enough to contribute instead of sending them after every fleeing enemy.
After a battle, inspect casualties and the next threat before continuing the advance. An army that won can still need recovery. If a fight went badly, replaying it can teach a specific lesson: blocked missiles, an exposed flank or a spell cast into friendly troops.
Treat alliances and access agreements as commitments. Read the acceptance details before signing, and keep a route home while you learn which neighbours you can rely on. A smaller territory you can defend is a useful foundation for the next campaign objective.