Since 2000, the Total War series has been a major player in real-time strategy games. Unlike other real-time strategy (RTS) games, this series features more in-depth tactics and “big picture” strategy. The Napoleon edition in the series regresses on some of the franchise’s more expansive strategic aspects, yet it is still regarded as one of the series’ greatest games. Due to its emphasis on a certain leader, the game does not enable players to modify their empire’s policies, but places a greater emphasis on resource management. This year marks the game’s tenth anniversary, and as expected, it has numerous mods and an active modding community, just like the majority of other Total War games. Here are some of the finest Napoleon mods: World War
1) Ultimate Soundmod
Total War has always emphasised the excitement of combat. With the grandiose recreations of past conflict, modders have continued to add modest tweaks to make fights seem more genuine. Starting with the Ultimate Soundmod, a compilation of of the finest sound modifications for NTW.
Community member LochKopf picked what he considered were the greatest sound improvements from 6 separate packs and the outcome is wonderful. The realism of each combat is pushed to a whole new level with simple modifications in audio. Everything from muskets, cannons, mortars, and even player fatalities now sound more realistic.
Some of the sounds were even taken from real-world weapon fires! It may not sound like much, but you’d be surprised at the impact of better audio.
2) DarthMod Napoleon
If you have been into modding the Total War franchise for a while, you have probably heard of the modder Darth Vader. Some of Vader’s best work is the improvement of Total War’s AI. The Napoleon version of this mod improves enemy AI, blood and smoke effects, and creates for new formations to be used in-game. The mod also includes new factions and an improved soundtrack.
What is most impressive about this mod is that it also includes over 200 new units in the game. These units are pulled from several other mods that are integrated into DarthMod Napoleon. The mod also includes more realistic battle mechanics and new campaigns. This mod makes Napoleon feel like a new game while staying true to its base concepts.
3) Naval Supremacy V2.0 UAI
If you prefer to play through NTW on your own, you’ve probably noticed flaws in the AI. It may have even gotten too easy at certain points as the AI becomes predictable through experience. This mod buffs the AI giving the game a fresh breath of life.
If you’re up for a challenge, the AI here may surprise you. They are now capable of recruiting large navies and infantries too. AI focus on naval warfare is also increased as invasions become more common.
4) The Great War
The Great War Mod changes the game’s setting to the 20th century with a focus on World War 1. The game starts in 1914, and players get to choose from any of the available allied or central powers of the time that took part in WW1. The map stays mostly the same as in the standard game, which restricts some of the factions available.
Factions outside of the map of Europe used in the base game like the US and Australia are not included. The mod’s developer does give the nod to these countries in some way or another through unit recruitment and other forms of gameplay. The base gameplay is the same, but aspects like the tech tree have been completely changed to match the setting. In combat, the units have been changed to reflect the time period, including an increased rate of fire and pseudo-trench warfare.
The biggest drawback to this mod is that the game’s base AI hasn’t been altered, still acting like the standard AI from the base game without compensating for the new setting and technology. Despite this, it is still a fun mod to play.
5) The Ottoman Realism Mod
If you’re looking to play through the European or Middle Eastern campaigns again, this is something you might want to try out. Focusing on the Ottoman Empire, it aims at making the units more historically accurate.
The mod adds 10 new units that the creator felt were missing. And this is based on research of the time period, so it’s pretty accurate. The additional merchantmen, ships, and infantry are sure to make your campaign playthroughs more interesting.
6) The Rights of Man II
Another overhaul mod looking to improve on the campaign, The Right of Man II makes changes to virtually all aspects of the game. From additional units to new playable nations, there’s tonnes to explore in this mod. One of the major changes in terms of gameplay is the updated recruitment system.
Players are now able to recruit foreign troops from captured regions. The attention to detail given here is incredible as recruited units from captured nations even have their own uniforms and unit cards. There are also more updates to the GUI, units, and general gameplay mechanics to explore in this mod. I definitely recommend giving it a try.
7) Diverse Artillery Mod
To make the game even more realistic, modder Iutland created the Diverse Artillery Mod. This time, the mod focuses on improving artillery units. With 83 new artillery units spread across the different factions, there is much more fun to be had in the battlefield. Explore the mod to find out for yourself.
Not only are the artillery units updated, but Iutland even included explosion and projectile effects from other modders. These definitely make for a great improvement to the excitement of battle.
8) Napoleonic Total War 3
This mod gives a huge overhaul to the game making it more immersive and more challenging. There are new factions, new units, and new gameplay mechanics, among other things. This mod includes several new maps and campaigns to play through along with commanders for each faction with unique stats and effects on the player’s units. There have also been a lot of tweaks to gameplay like column formation moving faster and artillery being extremely slow when moving through wooded areas.
All of the new units and the units from the vanilla game have had their appearances updated to be more historically accurate. Heavy cavalry plays a much bigger role in combat thanks to this mod and light cavalry take a bit of a back seat. The other mods on this list fundamentally change gameplay while this one drastically improves it by trying to make it more historically accurate.
Unit stats and tactics have been altered to make them more true to history and force players to take much greater care in planning and tactics. The downside to this mod is that battles are now ridiculously long.
9) Vanilla Units Unlocked
You actually don’t even have to go so far as to get user-made units to add additional units to the game. There are actually certain units within the game that are not playable (for some reason) (for some reason). But thanks to this mod they can easily be unlocked.
Mostly affecting the French and British factions, you’ll be able to unlock units including French Grenadiers. Explore for yourself and see what other units will be made available for use.
10) North & South: ACW The American Civil War
While we do feature an American Civil War mod on the Empire: Total War mods guide, this one is made by a different team. This is not to be confused with another mod simply called North & South.
As the 2019 MODDB Mod of the Year winner, you can set your expectations high if you’re looking for an ACW total conversion. The current version – 2.6 – features 65 battle maps, 38 historical scenarios, and over 4,000 unique historical regiments that fought in the conflict. The only real drawback is that there’s no campaign gameplay.
11) Coalition Campaign
If you’re looking to add more than just new units to the game, the Coalition Campaign mod is the one for you. Adding new playable factions like Naples, Bavaria, and Denmark, there’s so much to find here.
Each faction has detailed descriptions and win conditions, so you’ll have different objectives depending on who you prefer to play as. Although the original Coalition Campaign links are already offline, they have been uploaded to gamewatcher.com for download.
12) Additional Units Mod
The Additional Units Mod does what you would expect, adding 48 new units to the game. Three new ships were also added for the UK to use in naval combat. Aside from the new units, the mod unlocks vanilla units and buildings for the various factions to use that would not be available normally. The developer of the mod carefully balanced all of the new units for gameplay.
Many of the new units are only available in certain regions and under certain government types. Finally, the mod also makes some slight changes to special abilities like the artillery accuracy boost. There is a version of this mod available that is compatible with DarthMod making them a great combination for anyone wanting to enhance Napoleon’s gameplay.
13) Europe in Conflict
Europe in Conflict is another expansive mod that adds loads of content to NTW. Introducing new gameplay mechanics like shell-shock (which affects unit morale), recruitment, and naval updates, this will surely give you a fresh NTW experience. One of the more unique features of this mod is the addition of disease.
Adding a deeper sense of realism to the game, nations can now be affected by plagues. Fun! Diseases have multiple effects on gameplay, disabling unit replenishment and causing unrest among others. There’s so much more to explore here, so it’s best to experience in your own playthrough.
14) Masters of Europe
Masters of Europe is a collaboration between two modders, Steph and l’Aigle. This mod merges Steph’s Vive l’Empreur and l’Aigle’s Imperial Eagle mods into a single mod. This mod makes some significant changes to the game. Like a lot of the mods on this list, it balances gameplay to make the Napoleon more immersive and historically accurate.
There are a handful of aesthetic changes to a handful of the units to make them true to the period. Cavalry and naval combat is more realistic, and a lot of new naval effects have been added. The biggest draw to this mod is that once installed; players have access to 39 unique playable factions. Each faction has been carefully balanced within the game and has unique stats and tactical approaches.
