Total War: Attila is one of the more unique Total War titles, and is perhaps one of the more underrated instalments. The vanilla game featured 56 factions, but only 10 which are playable, and then six more were added via DLCs.
Set in 396 AD, the game covers the Late Antiquity period. It is often referred to as a spiritual successor to Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion, as it covers the Migration Period and the demise of the Roman Empire.
Attila introduced some new mechanics into the game which threw some players a little. Sanitation and food can make the campaign a lot more challenging, and having no heroes in battle can be strange for some who enjoy the supernatural Total War experience.
Some players have also noted that this is a deceptively hard title, where the AI is intelligent and ruthless and the economy is complex. The economy, happiness levels of the population, food, religion, sanitation and immigration need to be balanced constantly.
Mods can make a huge improvement to this title, and Attila has a huge modding community that not only tweaks some of the less well-optimised sections of the game, but adds in some fresh content.
Here are the current best Attila mods available:
1. Age of Vikings
If you’re after a genuine Total War Vikings experience, then you can’t do much better than the Age of Vikings mod for Attila. This mod is highly rated across the board and adds in a wealth of content to immerse you in a Vikings experience, such as new factions and an overhauled campaign map. This is definitely one to try out.
2. 634 Fire & Swords
This mod sets the Attila map to the year 634, and keeps the design and feel as historical as possible. You can now play as 37 different factions – an additional 21 playable factions. This mod adds a huge amount of content to the game and focuses on historical accuracy.
If you enjoyed the Age of Justinian 555AD mod, then this mod is a great transition, and makes some significant content upgrades. The 634 mod is still active too, and the developer is in the process of updating and improving it, so now is a great time to jump in.
3. Olympian Battle Camera
The camera in Total War games is important, not just for agility when you’re controlling units, but to also see the action as it unfolds. But it can be frustrating sometimes though when the camera doesn’t quite reach ground level, or when you can’t get a full bird’s-eye view of the map.
The Olympian Battle Camera mod for Attila is the remedy for this, and allows you to play the game with adjusted height parameters – ideal if you’re looking to check out the new mod you’ve just installed.
4. Unofficial Attila Community Patch
It’s well-known in the Total War community that Attila wasn’t the cleanest game when it came out. There were quite a few performance issues, and for some, the graphics weren’t quite up to scratch. There is even a request in the form of a mod that addressed the issues Attila was having upon release.
The Unofficial Attila Community Patch puts a lot of these issues to bed and fixes bugs left in Attila’s code. It makes improvements to:
- Animations
- Lighting
- Effect bundles
It is actually a collection of 21 separate mods, and increasing as more mods are added. There is currently an add-on mod which adds an additional 7 mods.
5. Terminus Total War – Imperium
More than 100 new and unique units have been added for this Roman Empire mod, which adds 14 new factions to the game.
This mod is set in an alternate timeline of the Eastern Roman Empire, and creates a campaign of political intrigue and dramatic clashes of factions. If you’re into historical Total War titles and enjoy diplomacy, this is one for you.
The mod also adds Kingdom Formation Missions and War Weariness – extra variables to consider in your campaign, forcing you to switch up how you approach the game.
6. Ancient Empires 2.0
A second option for a Roman Empire mod, the Ancient Empires 2.0 mod is set in 202 BC (prior to the Second Punic War).
This mod adds 45 playable factions, into a campaign with over 148 factions. The campaign is dynamic and places specific emphasis on historical accuracy. Ideal for players who are looking to learn about the history while they play. It features factions that have never been seen before in any Total War game or mod, so it’s definitely one to try.
7. Medieval Kingdoms 1212 AD
Instead of playing Medieval 2 and modding it to freshen it up, you might want to consider using the Medieval Kingdoms 1212 AD mod to turn your Attila into a medieval-style Total War game.
This mod adds in 57 playable campaign factions, 4,000 units, a music mod, a UI sound replacement mod, and a unique Three-Tier Unit Upgrade System which is based on the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries covered in this mod.
This is an unmissable mod and definitely one to consider if you were a Medieval 2 fan.
Do you agree with our list? Let us know your favourite Attila mods in the comments.
