Greenskins technology (Total War: Warhammer)

This page is about the tech tree in the first game. For the tech tree from game 2 onwards, see Big Thinkin'.

The Greenskins tech tree consists of technologies that unlock new advantages throughout the game. Research takes place constantly, but the rate at which discoveries occur can be increased by using heroes to spy or building additional research buildings at your settlements.

Tech tree[]

Requirement:
Goblin Workshop

Requirement:
Goblin Tinkerer Bench

Goblin Tinker Crew

Technologies[]

Tech	Effects	Description
Goblin Tinker Crew Some gobbos are blessed by the Green Godz to create "worky bitz".		Although dismissed as "speccy gits" by their Orc cousins, without them, Greenskins would still be seen as savages. Goblin Tinkerers have a curious desire to know "how fings work". They're the ones that take apart Dwarf gear assemblies in the lost Holds and who fashion crude armour by heating it in forges - although it costs them a few teef to get some big lug of an Orc to start smashing the molten metal with 'ammers. It's also the Tinkerers that are largely responsible for Greenskin war machines. Although the basic principles of the Rock Lobbers and catapults have been shamelessly pilfered from Dwarf innovations, plagiarism has never been a concern for Goblins.
Betta Stikkas The sharper the spear tip, the nastier the hole a gobbo can make in his enemy.	Weapon strength: +10% for Greenskin units with spears	While Savage Orcs are still happy to produce blades of flint and bone, more "kultured" Greenskins look upon their enemies with their forged metal points and want in on the action. Compared to the fine metalwork of their arch-foes, the Dwarfs, or even the humies, Goblin smithing is crude at best. Nevertheless, many gobbos have learnt to get a fine point upon their spears. Even if they can't fashion one themselves, there are always plenty of spearheads littering the battlefields to purloin, discarded by the other races.
Betta Arrer 'Eads Copying the designs from stinky Elves, gobbos noticed that slimmer, sharper arrer 'eads could punch through enemy armour more easily.	Missile damage: +10% for Greenskin bow units	For Orcs, "bigga is betta" is the general mantra, but that doesn't always work - especially with flying objects. Goblins cottoned on early that the smaller the mass, the better it flies. That's why it's the gobbos that take the wings of a Doom Diver, rather than their bulkier Orc kin. While Greenskins generally like their big arrer 'eads, they realised change was needed when "those bloody pointy-eared gits" - and even the humies - could fire their arrers further than the Orcs.
Beasts of Burden Docile or older boars are used to pull big carts that can be piled high with shiny stuff following a raid.	Ammunition: +20% for Greenskin bow units	War Boars that don't die in battle will most likely perish from injuries or even exhaustion in the aftermath. The few boars that survive to an older age - or those that lack the typical ferocious porcine attitude - are demoted to beasts of burden, there to pull carts laden with loot, enemy gear and loads of shiny stuff!
Boar Breedin' Boar breedin' is more than just a spectator sport, the aim being to produce even tougher mounts.	Armour: +10 for Orc Boar Riders and Orc Boar Big 'Uns units	The "sty-boss" is the Orc that ends up in charge of keeping the boars housed, fed and watered when not in battle. It's his job to round up the gobbos that form part of the "cleaning krew" and to ensure a healthy ruttin' program. This is not too complicated as it usually just involves putting a male and female boar in the same sty and - assuming they don't gouge each other to shreds - letting nature take its course, hopefully producing an even stronger breed in the process.
Fasta Wolves Even Greenskins have realised that getting fast wolves to mate produces even speedier beasts!	Speed: +10% for Wolf Rider units	Goblins have close relationships with their chosen mount until the wolf gets hungry enough to throw and then eat its rider, but that's relatively rare. The Boss of the mob will usually ride the alpha wolf and gets to pick his mount's future mate - usually the next fastest wolf of the correct gender. This, in a very crude way, ensures the next generation of wolves run even fasta or so the Goblins believe - and if Greenskins believe in something enough then it usually happens!
Big 'Un Bullies The looming presence of a gnarled and muscular Orc amongst the Goblin mobs helps keep discipline and the gobbos focused on "wot matters".	Leadership: +5 for Goblin units	Bullies are primarily used to crack the whip at Goblin war machine crews, making sure they stay by their tools of destruction even when the enemy gets close. Recently, Warbosses have been expanding the Bullies' role to ensure that not just war machine crews stay put and get the job done, but mobs of Goblins muster properly and not scamper off at the first sign of trouble. It's all a question of who the gobbos fear the most - is it the enemy or a veteran Big 'Un (who will happily rip off a limb of a fleeing gobbo and then smack the others with it to halt a rout)? For most Goblins, it's probably the latter.
'Eavy Clubs Bigga clubs make for betta bashing.	Weapon strength: +10% for Giant units Weapon strength: +10% for Trolls units	Giants and Trolls are even less sophisticated creatures than Orcs. A Giant's normal weapon is an upended tree trunk and Trolls tend to use bones and large boughs to maim their enemies. With a little jiggery-pokery - by adding extra spikes or discarded metal plates and shards - the gobbos can make these clubs even more deadly in the hands of such monsters.
Black Orc Bellow Black Orcs can't stand the cowardice rife in other Greenskins, should they witness it they bellow out threats to keep the others in line.	Leadership: +5 for Orc units	Black Orcs look on the other Goblinoids with sheer contempt, and have little time for the animosity and bickering rife amongst the ranks of their green-skinned relations. Such is their scorn that they refuse to accept the behaviour in their presence. With this in mind, it doesn't take Warbosses long to realise that getting a Black Orc to bellow orders and blunt threats at the lesser Orcs - and even administer physical violence - keeps the gits in line and their small minds on fightin' the enemy at hand.
Big Lever Even the thickest of gobbos can operate a war machine if it has a big enough lever for their scrawny hands to pull.	Reload time reduction: +10% for artillery	Goblins are better suited to war machine duty as they are a cowardly lot and prefer to stand back and fight things from afar. Orc crews tend to get too excited about the approaching battle and in their frustration get their choppas out and run forward to join the fray, leaving their war machines abandoned. Therefore it's Goblins - with the occasional Orc Bully overseer - that operate the lobbers and catapults, and while they're better than Orcs, they are still not ideal crew. Big levers ensure they keep firing, even when under pressure.
Bigga Wheelz Orcs like things that are bigga, so they "pimp" their chariots with large wheelz!	Charge bonus: +10% for Greenskin Chariot units	Orcs are not subtle - they make things "betta" by adding things that are "bigga". In the case of wheelz this does actually work, as the larger diameter means more distance can be covered in a shorter time, which is especially useful when going into a charge! Not that Orcs are bothered by the physics, they just love "ta pimp up da wagonz" to show up their rivals. When not in battle they'll gather in popular spots at night, drink lots of grog and have drag races, tearing up the primitive tracks and exhausting their boars - much to the consternation of older, dourer Orcs.
Red Paint It's true. Red Onez do go fasta!	Speed: +5% for Greenskin Chariot units	Every Orc worth his choppa knows that painting something red makes it faster. This applies mainly to chariots, but Boar Boyz and even gobbos have daubed their mounts in red to get a little more "umph" out of their beasts on occasion. Of course, if you were of a mind to challenge an Orc why painting stuff red makes it go faster, they would be at a loss other than to say "it just does" (before hitting you with their choppa for being so impertinent).
'Eavy Metal Orcs like a bit of 'Eavy Metal, especially on their chariots - not only is it good for defence, it also gives them something to paint on…	Melee defence: +5 for Greenskin Chariot units	Covering a Boar Chariot in metal plates makes the crew more difficult to hit and generally strengthens the whole contraption. Of course, the Orcs riding the chariots have to fight over the same defences and run the risk of slicing off their own limbs as they thrust their choppas out over shards of razor-sharp metal - not that health and safety has even been a Greenskin concern...
Tuff Chassis Orcs like to make their chariots as tough as possible - although if they're too heavy even boars struggle to pull 'em!	Armour: +10 for Greenskin Chariot units	Despite the ramshackle nature of Greenskin vehicles, Orcs will keep 'ammerin' bits of wood onto their chariots to make them tougher. The trouble is, the more you reinforce a chassis, the heavier the chariot becomes and so harder for the mounts to pull. Heavy chariots also tend to get stuck more often and even - ironically - break apart more easily when going over ruts, as they lack the flexibility of a lighter chassis. Yet if an Orc can get the balance right - mostly by fluke - he will get a stronger chassis that's able to take more of a poundin'.
Spikes 'n' Scythes Greenskins have always loved to put spiky bitz on their stuff, because they like things to be as stabby as possible.	Weapon strength: +10% for cavalry units Weapon strength: +10% for Greenskin Chariot units	Greenskins want their war machines and vehicles to be as lethal as possible. The typical Orc answer to this dilemma is to attach a load of spiky stuff and shove some scythey things onto the wheels of chariots. As crude a solution as this is, it works for the Orcs and Goblins, and that's more than good enough!
Massive Choppas Orcs like a big choppa, they like the feel of it in their hands and the weight of the hefty weapon as it pulverises the foe!	Weapon strength: +10% for Orc units	Orcs are always after a larger choppa, as it follows the Greenskin mantra of "bigga is betta". Obviously, the heavier the weapon the more of a brute an Orc has to be to wield it with any degree of success. Warbosses, Big 'Uns and Black Orcs have the largest choppas as they are the biggest Orcs. As all boyz crave to have big choppas, the Boss that can supply them will get much kudos among the mobs.
Troll Sinew Goblin devices rely on "springy stuff" for power, and there is none better than cured Troll intestines.	Range: +5% for Goblin infantry units	Catapults and lobbers are powered by the tension and release of animal sinews. Boar and even Goblin sinew is typically used as its readily available, but it's Troll intestine that is undoubtedly the best because it is so tough, having to contain the caustic bile in every Troll belly. To get at the sinew you obviously need a Troll's carcass, not an ideal item to have on any shopping list - especially if the only Trolls around are still alive at the time!
Betta Bowstrings Goblins copied the bowstrings of other races, twisting the twine and even combining it with sinew.	Reload time reduction: +15% for Greenskin bow units	Bows work on the tension of the bowstring and the strength of an archer's arm. Being a weedy lot, all Goblins can pull are short bows. Orcs fair better with larger ones, but are not the most accurate archers in the world by a long shot - pun intended. As well as being scared of Elves, Goblins also noticed that the pointy-eared gits fired their arrows a fair bit faster than they did. A lot of that is to do with natural talent and centuries of practice - two things Greenskins could not be bothered with - but it is also about how Elven bows are strung. They use a reverse twist to store more tension, which the Goblins can copy.
Live Ammo Before you can operate a Doom Diver catapult, you need "willing" volunteers to be shot into oblivion. Fortunately, there's rarely of shortage of nutters.	Ammunition: +10% for artillery	Bat-Winged Loonies or Doom Divers, as they are also known, are as mad as they look - devoid of the usual Goblin instinct to survive by throwing their mates in the way of any peril! Instead, they actually want to be strapped into a catapult and sent skywards like a shot from a humie rifle - the nutters! The height a Doom Diver can reach is dependent on the quality of his hand-stitched wings and the aerodynamics of his coned helmet, all of which require skill and materials to create.
Longa Chains Fanatics with longa chains have a larger arc of death - bad news for any unfortunates caught up in the loon's lethal cyclone!	Weapon strength: +15% for Night Goblin (Fanatics) units	A sane Night Goblin can't lift the great iron balls of the Fanatics, only those with longa chains, driven mad by drinking the fungus brew (the recipe of which is still a closely guarded secret, shared only with other Night Goblin Shamans) have a larger arc of death. Once imbued by the Mad Cap potion, the insanity it creates also brings great strength. The gobbo is given the chained ball and then, when the time is right, unleashed on the battlefield! While the casualties caused will be as random as the direction in which the loony swinger spins, gobbos reason that making the chains longer should increase the number of deaths caused. The downside of all this is that there's a greater chance that the Fanatic will wrap himself up in chain and ball more easily, but then who cares what happens to him in the end anyway?
Strap-On Gear Greenskins have embraced wearable technology by strapping on bits of metal to form crude armour - or even wings!	Armour: +10 for infantry units	Orcs are not known for thinking too much about armour. For them it's all about attack rather than defence. Having said that, they see the men of the Empire covered in full plate, the Dwarfs' solidly-crafted armour, and even the dreaded Chaos Warriors and realise that maybe some armour platin' is a good idea. The Orcs leave it to the gobbos to scavenge metal from battlefields and then fashion armour in their crude forges, before using buckles and Squig-leather to strap it to their heaving green chests and muscled bulks.
Beast Armour Greenskins begrudgingly see the logic of barding their mounts, but it's not an easy thing to do considering what they ride to battle on!	Armour: +10 for cavalry units	Orcs armour their War Boars, not because they particularly care about their beasts, but because they want to ensure they reach the enemy intact. A Boar Boy will get the "right 'ump" if his mount is shot from under him before he can get a charge in, so they get the gobbos to strap crude barding and even 'eavy metal plates to the beast. This is not a task any Goblin savours, for boars don't welcome being impeded by such cumbersome gear. Wolves and spiders like it even less - a Spider has it's own natural protection with a hardened carapace, and a wolf wants to run free rather than be weighed down. It doesn't stop some Goblins trying to emulate the Boar Boyz though - idiots!
Spider Worship Worship of the many-eyed god - the Feaster from Beyond, as it is known to the Forest Goblins - ensures its children stay in the fight.	Leadership: +5 for Spider Riders units	The Spider-god demands veneration from the forest tribes if they are to ride its offspring into battle; eight-legged totems festooned with webbed skulls appear alongside the traditional idols of Gork and Mork. Before large battles, one of the weaker members of the tribe - even the occasional volunteer - is wrapped in webbing and laid before the cobweb-shrouded gloomy hollows as an offering to the Spiders and their arachnid god. Should the Feaster from Beyond be appeased, then the Spiders are more willing to fight for the Greenskins.
Spider Hatchery Taking spider eggs and broodlings from nests in the forests is a deadly undertaking, but can create more vicious mounts.	Melee attack: +10 for Spider Rider units	Creating a hatchery within an environment controlled by the Forest Goblins allows the gobbos to control and modify the behaviour of the maturing broodlings to create even more ferocious arachnid mounts. Setting up such a hatchery is no easy task, a Forest Goblin - usually the Shaman of the tribe - (or one of their number that has already built up an immunisation to venom through a thousand spider bites) must venture deep into a spider's web-strewn lair to steal away its eggs.
Arachnarok Spider In the deepest, webbed lairs lurk the Arachnaroks, now lured to battle by the Forest Goblins.		The darkest forests of the world are the home to the Gigantic Spiders. These venomous creatures grow to an enormous size, sucking the life juices out of prey and leaving behind only skin-husks and bones. A full-grown Gigantic Spider is larger than a Troll, and its whole body is protected by chitinous armour plates. All Gigantic Spiders have a poisonous bite that is used to paralyse their prey. Only the most foolhardy would attempt to seek them out, and Forest Goblin Shamans, with their spectacular lack of common sense, fit well into that category. A gifted Shaman, touched by the Spider-god's blessings, will not be turned into a lifeless husk, but instead may be rewarded with a clutch of spiderlings. This foul brood - each spider already the size of a horse's head - can be reared and trained. When fully grown, these Gigantic Spiders are prized as revered mounts for a Goblin tribe's mightiest warriors.
Goblin Doom Diver Flung into the air by a ramshackle catapult, the Doom Diver lands on the enemy in a flurry of Squig-leather wings and squishy body parts!		The height the Doom Diver can reach is largely dependent on the quality of his hand-stitched leather wings and, perhaps even more importantly, how far back his crew can pull him on the sinew. It has been known for over zealous types to pull the entire device from its mounts - but more often than not the Doom Diver is stretched back to the limits of the crew's strength and let go with a loud "TWANG!" Ripping skywards like a bullet, the Doom Diver reaches cloud level before beginning his dive. Using his wings, the gobbo spirals and guides himself towards the chosen target. As the downward descent gains speed, most Goblins emit a high-pitched scream that grows louder and more irritating as they plummets earthwards. With worrying rapidity, the black speck in the sky expands into the plunging Doom Diver. When the Goblin finally impacts, the Greenskin himself might splatter altogether or, if he has effectively applied his wings as brakes and is a bit lucky, he might bounce. Either way a Doom Diver is likely to cause considerable damage to any foe he lands upon.
Bigga Goblin Rock Lobber The Goblins steal ideas as much as anything else - they saw the deadly catapults of the Dwarfs and knew they needed a larger stone thrower of their own.	Range: +15% for Goblin Rock Lobber units Reload time reduction: +35% for Goblin Rock Lobber units	Orcs and Goblins were introduced to catapults, or “fings wot throw roks”, shortly after they encountered the Dwarfs. Greenskins are not technically minded (particularly Orcs), but they have a great appetite for destruction. Even as boulders splattered their foes, Orcs and Goblins began to wish for some catapults of their own. Since then, the Greenskins have built a plethora of what they generally refer to as “lobbers”. These are deployed either singly or in batteries to soften up enemy formations, smash defensive positions, or to toss those that offend the Warboss very, very far. A great shot, one that pulverises a large amount of the foes or sends body pieces flying particularly high, always raises a rowdy cheer. Most Rock Lobbers are counterweight devices, although some use twisted rope to generate torque. Experiments with Troll-powered devices have been tried, but such creatures tend to eat either the animation or key parts of the machine (or both). Some war engines, especially those that have launched spectacularly bloody shots, are given names, such as the legendary Skull Crusher, Fings Chucker, and Hammer of Gork. The Rock Lobber known as Da Boss’ Bane, named for its habit of landing off target and smashing the tribe’s Warboss, was burned, along with its crew, as a precautionary measure by an unusually bright new leader.
'Normus Loot Cart A wagon for keepin’ the Boss’ stuff in stops the more unscrupulous among da boyz from nickin’ it for themselves.	Income from post-battle loot: +10% Income from raiding: +10%	After the fightin’ is done, da boyz make off with whatever they can carry. Assuming he’s not an totally stupid git, da Boss orders a giant cart to be built beforehand, so he can quickly snatch a lot of the really nice shiny stuff for himself after the battle. Naturally, da loot cart is guarded at all times by his most trusted boyz and it needs to be, as everything sneaky stinkin’ gobbo scumbag will have his eyes – and indeed his thieving little fingers given half a chance – on da Boss’ loot.