To get followers in Warhammer Survivors, pick up a weapon your champion’s keywords do not allow: an ally who can use it joins you and wields it on your behalf. You also gain a follower when you rescue a champion during a run, and a few weapons bring allies of their own, such as Trooper Kozlowski’s Lasgun and the evolutions that summon Marneus Calgar and Gotrek Gurnisson.
Followers fight for you but “cannot take damage or collect items,” in Auroch Digital’s words, so every one you add is free damage. Below we cover how the keyword system works, every way to get a follower, how to run more than one, and the champions and combos that get the most out of a squad.
How Followers and Keywords Work
Warhammer Survivors decides who can use what with keywords. Auroch’s Squad System post explains it: “every character, weapon (and some items) has one or more KEYWORDS associated with them. Some champions may only use certain weapons (such as the Marneus Calgar’s Gauntlets of Ultramar or Gotrek’s Zangrom-thaz).”
When a weapon’s keywords do not match your champion, the game does not waste it. “When a character acquires a weapon that their keywords don’t allow them to use, they will be joined by an ally that can, forming a small squad of followers,” the post says. “This follower uses weapons on the player’s behalf, and whilst the followers unleash devastating attacks, they cannot take damage or collect items. They act as an extension of the player’s area of effect with no risk of losing health.”
In short: you still collect experience, items and pick-ups yourself, and you are still the one who can die, but your followers add their attacks to yours.
Every Way to Get a Follower
- Take a weapon your champion cannot use. Pick it from a level-up as normal, and an ally who can wield it joins your squad.
- Rescue a champion. Most stages have a rescue scenario. Kill the highlighted enemies around the captive, and that champion fights beside you for the rest of the run, then unlocks for future runs. Our guide on how to rescue champions lists every stage’s captive.
- Level Trooper Kozlowski’s Lasgun. Auroch says his starting Lasgun “fires at the nearest enemy, but as it levels up, squadmates join his side.” Our guide on how to evolve the Lasgun covers the weapon.
- Evolve the Power Fist. With the Codex Astartes passive it becomes the Gauntlets of Ultramar, which brings Marneus Calgar to your side, unless you are playing as Calgar.
- Evolve the Fyrestorm Greataxe. With Kragg Blackhammer’s Master Rune it becomes Zangrom-Thaz, which calls Gotrek Gurnisson into battle. If you are playing as Gotrek, “he won’t spawn a clone of himself.”
Our guide on how to evolve weapons has every recipe for options 4 and 5.
How to Have More Than One Follower
You are not limited to one. “Multiple followers can ‘squad-up’ with your chosen champion to become even more of a force to be reckoned with,” per Auroch. The quickest ways to stack them:
- Combine sources. A rescued champion, an off-keyword weapon and a summoning evolution all add to the same squad.
- Take more than one off-keyword weapon. Each weapon your champion cannot use needs an ally to carry it.
- Play Kozlowski. His Lasgun keeps adding Shock Troopers as it levels, so he builds a squad from his starting weapon alone.
Followers cannot pick up items, so you still have to collect experience and chests yourself, and you still need to keep yourself alive.
Best Champions and Combos for a Squad
The Black Templars Castellan is built for followers. Auroch says his “attack power and skill increase with every follower gained,” so every ally you add makes him hit harder. He unlocks with the Abaddon Black paint pot.
The Castellan and Trooper Kozlowski is one of Auroch’s own recommended combos: “When upgraded, Kozlowski’s Lasgun weapon brings in additional Cadian Shocktroopers to support him, and each of these contribute to the Castellan’s overall damage output.”
Bastian Carthalos and Lorai, Child of the Abyss is the Age of Sigmar combo Auroch named. Lorai’s Nebulous Sea Fog draws foes in, and “Lorai is able to draw enemies into Bastian’s close-range damage zones” from his weapon, Uskavar the Sunderer.
One bug to know about: Auroch’s November 11 hotfix, on Steam first, fixed the Legend of Catachan attacking with a Chainsword instead of Frag Grenades after being rescued.
Our best character guide explains why the Castellan tops our list, our list of every champion and how to unlock them covers the rest of the roster, our best build guide has a loadout for each universe, and the Warhammer 40,000 guides hub has everything else.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get followers in Warhammer Survivors? Pick up a weapon your champion’s keywords do not allow, rescue a champion during a run, level Kozlowski’s Lasgun, or evolve the Power Fist or the Fyrestorm Greataxe.
Can followers die in Warhammer Survivors? No. Auroch says followers cannot take damage.
Can followers pick up items? No. They cannot collect items, so experience, chests and pick-ups are still up to you.
How do you get two followers? Combine sources: a rescue plus an off-keyword weapon, two off-keyword weapons, or Kozlowski’s Lasgun, which keeps adding Shock Troopers as it levels. Auroch says multiple followers can squad up with your champion.
Who is the best champion for followers? The Black Templars Castellan, whose attack power and skill increase with every follower gained.
Why did a champion join me without a rescue? You probably picked up a weapon your champion’s keywords do not allow, so an ally who can use it joined to wield it for you.