Monsters and creatures abound when you play as Naggaroth’s most accomplished Beastlord. Here’s our guide to help you with Rakarth’s Monster Pen unit unlocks in Total War: Warhammer II.
Note: Please be reminded that this guide is based on a Vortex campaign run on very hard (VH/VH) difficulty. You can also check out our main guide for Rakarth’s campaign mechanics and opening moves.
Total War: Warhammer II – Rakarth’s Monster Pen unit unlocks
Rakarth’s faction mechanic in Total War: Warhammer II is called the Monster Pen. Based on different unlock conditions (i.e., raiding in a particular climate or capturing a certain race’s settlement), Rakarth’s armies will be able to field different units from the Monster Pen. These beasts and ferocious creatures can be recruited instantly, but they do have their purchase and upkeep costs. Likewise, higher-level lords have a better chance of capturing creatures.
Anyway, you can refer to the table below for the information:
| Monster Pen Unit | Unlock Condition: Race Settlement Capture | Unlock Condition: Raid in a particular Climate/Terrain | Special Unlock Condition |
| Harpies | N/A | Mountain | Winning battles with a high number of casualties |
| Giant Wolves | Greenskins or Norsca | Frozen, Wasteland, Temperate | N/A |
| Feral Mammoth | Norsca | N/A | N/A |
| Feral Carnosaur | Lizardmen | N/A | N/A |
| Feral Stegadon | Lizardmen | Jungle | N/A |
| Feral Cold Ones | Lizardmen | Desert, Jungle, Savannah | N/A |
| Feral Manticore | N/A | Regions with a high level of Chaos corruption | N/A |
| Explosive Squig | Greenskins | N/A | Defeating armies in the Underway |
| War Hydra | N/A | Mountain | N/A |
| Kharibdyss | N/A | N/A | Winning battles at sea |
| Black Dragon | High Elves or Wood Elves | N/A | N/A |
| Bloodwrack Medusa | N/A | N/A | Special events only |
Regarding unlock conditions related to settlement captures, you should see several options such as “occupy,” “loot & occupy,” “sack,” and “raze” once you conquer new lands. There’s a small icon showing that each choice has a chance of providing you with a particular Monster Pen unit. Granted, this isn’t always guaranteed. If you don’t get the desired results, you might as well reload a save.
To be clear, all of Rakarth’s Monster Pen units in Total War: Warhammer II can be obtained via special events. These actually pertain to a particular rite which we’ll discuss below.
Rakarth’s “Convocation of Hunters” Rite
Rakarth has the following rites available to him:
| Rite | Effect | Unlock Condition | Cost (slaves), Duration, and Cooldown |
| Sacrifice to Atharti | Generic lords have a chance to gain +2 loyalty at the start of your turn; +8 public order (all provinces) | Use the “Demand Highborn Hostages” commandment in a province. | 100 slaves/5 turns/20 turns |
| Sacrifice to Khaine | +25% casualties captured after battles; +20% replenishment; +15% income from slaves; +50% post-battle loot; +50% slave decline rate; “Dark Conduit” (magical AoE explosion) ability for all armies | Enslave three sets of captives after a battle. | 375 slaves/15 turns/40 turns |
| Sacrifice to Mathlann | Adds a Black Ark/Fleetmaster that’s available for recruitment in a port settlement | Have 500 slaves. | 500 slaves/instant/25 turns |
| Convocation of Hunters | Adds Monster Pen units that are available for recruitment | Unlock Monster Pen units based on various conditions five times | Variable costs/1 turn/variable cooldown |
The Convocation of Hunters Rite is unique in that you’re presented with four choices. Whatever you select will provide Rakarth with certain Monster Pen units, though the results and cooldowns can be different.
You can see the results in the table below:
| Convocation of Hunters Option | Monster Pen units that can become available | Costs and Cooldown |
| Sorceress of Ghrond | Black Dragon, War Hydra, Kharibdyss, and Bloodwrack Medusa | -500 slaves/-1,500 gold/15-turn cooldown |
| Beast Markets | Feral Manticore, Explosive Squig, and Harpies | -1,000 gold/5-turn cooldown |
| Old World Expedition | Giant Wolves and Feral Mammoth | Free/10-turn cooldown |
| Lustrian Expedition | Feral Cold Ones, Feral Stegadon, Feral Carnosaur | -750 gold/10-turn cooldown |
The general idea in your playthrough as Rakarth in Total War: Warhammer II is to consolidate and build up your forces close to your home base. Then, you’ll be roaming around, raiding and ransacking settlements belonging to different races/factions to unlock new Monster Pen units. You can offset whatever you’re lacking by using the Convocation of Hunters Rite.
Lastly, do remember that completing Rakarth’s Whip of Agony quest battle helps you obtain some nifty Monster Pen units. It’s a sea battle so you’ll get the Kharibdyss. Plus, you’ll unlock more Lizardmen dinos as a reward.
Total War: Warhammer II is available via Steam. Meanwhile, Rakarth can be downloaded via the Total War Access website.
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