A new DLC, Forge of the Chaos Dwarfs, has been added to Total War: Warhammer 3, and with the release of the paid DLC comes a "free LC" for everyone. This time it is Ulrika Magdova, the legendary hero of the Kislev and Empire factions.

Ulrika is unlocked in a different way than previous free LCs, and Creative Assembly explained how via a post on the Steam forums (opens in new tab) and FAQ (opens in new tab). Previous free versions had to appear on the storefront or be added to your account through the Total War Access dashboard, but this time it is a different process.

You will need to register for a CA account (opens in new tab) CA accounts are a new system for Creative Assembly to track players across all games. If you have a Total War Access account, you will need to register for the same You should already have a CA account with a login name and password, but you still need to update it (open in a new tab) and connect OK to either Steam or Epic, which owns Total War: Warhammer 3. If, like me, the login fails, log out by pressing the profile icon in the upper right corner and try again. Accessing from the incognito tab seems to work as well.

Once you have entered your details, you do not need to check any boxes to request Ulrica or download anything extra. If you want to make sure it worked, start a custom battle as the Empire or Kislev and see if you can add Ulrica to your army. If you want to have Ulrica as an ally in a campaign game, you need a little more explanation.

Ulrica can be acquired by Kislev or the Imperial faction in a Realm of Chaos or Immortal Empires campaign. You must first get your lord to rank 11, after which the quest "Slaughter on the Steppe" will appear. If you are already halfway through the campaign, don't worry, you don't need to start anew. I had already finished about 100 turns of the Kislev campaign, and the quest popped up on a save with one level 39 lord.

The first quest requires you to build the Frozen Outpost if you are a Kislev, or the Tall Walls if you are an Imperial. These are Tier 3 buildings in the Small Settlement Defense category, so start building them as soon as you rank up your lord to level 11. If you have already built it, don't worry. The quest will autocomplete and a second quest will appear.

The second quest is Bait the Bloodborn, which requires you to accumulate 15,000 gold in the treasury. Once that is done, the dilemma Ulrika the Vampire appears on the next turn. Yes, Ulrika is one of the undead, and you have the option of recruiting her or executing her for 10 turns of growth and increased dominance. Of course, you want to choose "recruit" in order to eventually unlock Ulrica.

It is worth the hassle. Ulrica is a hybrid ranged and melee combatant who also casts spells, ranks as a recruit, has two unique items, unique auxiliary items, and a unique skill line. She can be used as an independent agent outside of the military, but that's not where she shines. Her unique skills come with buffs that apply to everyone in the army she joins, such as reducing attrition and increasing fire and spell resistance.

She is also a powerful fighter, and one of her items, the Silver Dagger, adds a magical attack, dealing 25% base damage and armor piercing weapon damage for 32 seconds. She can also use shadow lore spells, enhanced by the Blood Shard. Her auxiliary, Gabriella von Nachthafen, increases the power of Winds of Magic by 5 each turn.

Still, Ulrica is better used as a warrior than as a spellcaster. Previous Legendary Heroes have had their power levels pinned down, as Ariel and Sir Cloak were particularly tough.