The Skaven seem to cause strong reactions in players. Some players are frustrated by the way that their armies hide and ambush-attack you on the campaign map, others by their use of freakishly powerful ranged weapons.

Fighting them seems to be a bit easier than it was. Recent patches seem to have made their ambush attack ability more manageable. The Rakarth Update made AI Akaven less likely to choose skills that boosted their ambush success, and added modifiers to ambushes which allow players to defend against Skaven ambushes:

We have added additional effects to various stances in order to allow for more varied counterplay against the Stalk stance.


  • Stalk Stance now reduces Ambush Success Chance by 15%
    • This does not affect the Beastman equivalent

  • Various stances will now affect Ambush Defence Chance
    • Forced March: -25%
    • Besieging: +100%
    • Underway/Worldroots/Beastpaths: +25%
    • Encampment Stance: +75%


- Rakarth Update patch notes
When you fight the Skaven, how do you do it? Do you use encampment stance to defend against their ambushes? Do you modify your army composition?

For players who have struggled to fight the Skaven, playing as the Skaven can be surprisingly challenging. Your early-game Skavenslave units are little more than a speed-bump to slow down the enemy's advance. The Skaven food mechanic can be very useful, allowing you to summon multiple clanrats units to rear-attack the enemy with your Menace Below ability, and to capture settlements at a higher tier, but it also limits your expansion. If you've played as the Skaven, how do you overcome the early difficulties of very poor units and the problem of running out of food as you expand?