Aranessa Saltspite

Aranessa Saltspite is a Vampire Coast Legendary Lord introduced in Total War: Warhammer II with the Curse of the Vampire Coast DLC.

In the campaign, she leads the Pirates of Sartosa faction.

Background
Queen of the Tides, Aranessa Saltspite is one of the most respected and feared pirate captains of Sartosa. Some say she is the daughter of the sea god Manann himself and he whispers to her to take control of all the world’s oceans. Now, many a sea-bloated corpse washes up against the Swordfysh’s hull, and so the Vampire first mates breathe unlife into them, creating a vast rabble of loyal crew, ready to serve at Captain Saltspite’s command. As part of the living realm rather than the undead, she commands a human pirate crew known as the Sartosa Free Company, otherwise reluctantly sharing control of the denizens of the Vampire Coast.

Attributes

 * ↑ Anti-Large: Anti-large units have an advantage against targets that are at least as large as a horse. This advantage can be a damage bonus against large targets or an attack that focuses on a very small area. However, some units are simply better against large targets because their attacks are slow and easy to dodge by skilled melee combatants.
 * ↑ Armour-Piercing: The damage of armour-piercing weapons mostly ignores the armour of the target, making them the ideal choice against heavily-armoured enemies. They are often heavier and attack at a slower rate though, making them less efficient against poorly-armoured targets.
 * ↑ Melee Expert: Melee Experts might have a very strong melee attack or melee defence, or high values in both. Some also have melee-focused skills like Charge Defence. Use them to counter other strong melee units. When facing them, it is best to take them out before they can enter melee.
 * ↑ Aquatic: Where other units of small stature struggle to fight and move in shallow water, Aquatic units excel.

Abilities

 * Spearfisher's Net


 * Manaan's Luck
 * All Hands Hoay!

Lord effects

 * +12 Character's aura leadership effect
 * +20% Weapon strength all Sartosan units (Lord's army)
 * +8 Melee attack all Sartosan units (Lord's army)

Aranessa Saltspite’s inspiring presence and aura of leadership increases the weapon strength and melee attack of her Sartosa Free Company units.

Items

 * Kraken's Bane

Mounts
Before being mounted, Aranessa begins as a melee infantry unit.


 * Rotting Promethean (mount)

Notable skills

 *  Mutant  - Aranessa Saltspite may not be undead but she is far from human, the inherent resilience of her warped form increasing her hit points and making her immune to fatigue.


 * Sawfish Peg-Leg - Aranessa Saltspite’s legs take the form of wickedly serrated sawfish bills, increasing her armour and weapon strength.


 *  Creatures of Manaan  - Aranessa Saltspite’s keen knowledge of Rotting Prometheans and Rotting Leviathans allows her to reduce their upkeep and improve their missile resistance – it is clear why some believe her to be the daughter of the sea god Manann.


 *  Gifted Sailor  - Aranessa Saltspite’s mastery of the waves brings many benefits, increasing the leadership of her Sartosa Free Company units as well as increasing her army’s movement and replenishment rates.


 *  Self-Taught Gunner  - Aranessa Saltspite’s formidable gunnery skills increase the ammunition of Carronades, Mortars, and Queen Bess when part of her army.


 *  Your Worst Nightmare  - Aranessa Saltspite’s reputation as one of Sartosa’s most formidable pirate captains is well earned, her notoriety boosting her melee attack and giving her a ward save in addition to increasing plunder gained from encounters at sea.

Strategy
In the Vortex Campaign: Aranessa currently begins at war with Yvresse and has missions that encourage her to conquer this faction. This is a viable option, however it commits the player to protecting their portion of Ulthuan against hordes of High Elves, against Eltharion and Tyrion close by and Alarielle not very far, this will be a hard and time consuming fight.

Another option is to sack/raze Yvresse to end that war before returning to Sartosa and sailing the high seas, or attacking the Bretonnians/Tomb Kings close by (note Tomb Kings are poor and will make very little money from sacking/razing).

Through the combination of skills and traits, Aranessa can gain boatloads of money from raiding as well as sacking. Given the public order bonuses she can stack as well as the Vampiric Corruption her faction spreads, she can incite rebellions in enemy provinces relatively easily. This can lead to Aranessa farming a province for raiding income, waiting for the rebels to attack, and regardless if they win or lose the victor will be easy pickings for her to sack/conquer.

Notably, Aranessa has a base 20% physical resistance which she loses when mounted on her rotting promethean.