Orruk Kruleboyz Faction Guide: Tips & Tricks

Hail Commanders!

The Kruleboyz are spoiling for a fight, but that don’t mean it gotta be a fair fight…

Undermine your stalwart foes with brutal cunning and cunning brutality, using these tips to master the underhanded tactics of the savage Orruk Kruleboyz in Realms of Ruin.

While the Stormgitz may pride themselves on their honour, for the Kruleboyz, cunning in battle and victory by any means necessary is more rewarding. They’ll take a win in a straight fight, but they much prefer to stab their enemies in the back.

As devoted followers of the brutally cunning God of Destruction, Mork, this clan favours ambushes over open warfare. They defeat their foes by luring them into traps and overwhelming them with numbers, poison, and Orruks mounted on the backs of the lethal beasts of Ghur.

You must learn to be devious to take Ghur back from the interlopers and lead the Kruleboyz to victory.

Savage Tricksters

You must be cunning when commanding the Kruleboyz. Despite their savage weapons and brutal rage, in open warfare, the Stormcast Eternals and Disciples of Tzeentch will cut the Orruks down. Even in the later stages of the battle, when you have access to all the Kruleboyz units and upgraded equipment, you must use your army’s abilities to maintain an advantage.

Many Kruleboyz units have active abilities you can use to create devious ambushes. The Hobgrot Slittaz, for instance, can bury scrap mines in the ground, damaging anyone who steps on them. Man-Skewer Boltboyz can conceal themselves in the shadows, moving quickly around the battlefield to flank enemies and attack them from the rear. Most devious of all is your Swampcalla Shaman, who can hide whole groups of units with their Summon Boggy Mist ability.

When setting up an ambush, you must pick a location where your enemy is likely to venture, so you should choose a location based on their needs. For instance, in battles with Victory Points, your enemy must secure these locations to win the game, which makes them great places to prepare ambushes.

Your army will be most effective if you keep it mobile and hidden. Your Man-Skewer Boltboyz can use their Lie in Wait ability to conceal themselves and move quickly around the battlefield. In this way, your enemy can never know quite how many units you have or where they are. While you can’t seize Victory Points or Arcane Conduits with a hidden unit, when you find an undefended point, you can emerge from the shadows, take it and hide again before the enemy can react.

To learn more about abilities, resource management and other mechanics, read our Beginner’s Guide to Realms of Ruin.

Cunning Plans

The Orruk Kruleboyz demand careful attention to be most effective on the battlefield. An ambush is a complex operation to pull off: you must conceal units, set up firing arcs, place mines, and lure your enemy into the trap before ordering your hidden units to reveal themselves. You must also line up the second wave of attackers to hit your enemy when they’re locked in combat and can’t easily respond.

You can control how complex your command becomes with the upgrades you choose for your army. For instance, you can upgrade your Man-Skewer Boltboyz with either an active or a passive ability. Over Dere lets you teleport the crossbowmen a short distance when concealed. It’s good for flanking enemies, moving quickly across the battlefield, and beating a hasty retreat. If that seems like one too many things to control in the heat of battle, you can instead choose Swamp Drenched Strings. The upgrade improves the crossbowmen’s attack and vision range. It reduces the number of choices you can make in battle, but the crossbowmen become more powerful and simpler to command.

There are upgrades, too, that allow you to play more aggressively if that is your style. You can replace your Hobgrot Slittaz landmines with grenades, turning this defensive ability into a more offensive one. It makes the units less effective ambushers but excellent second-wave attackers, letting you pelt your enemies with explosives while they’re locked in combat.

Beasts of War

The Kruleboyz draw their most vicious units from the caves and swamps of Ghur; the Orruk enslave warbeasts, driving them into battle against their enemies. These monstrous creatures don’t just cause great damage to your enemies; they also support your troops with buffs and abilities.

The Marshcrawla Sloggoth acts like a walking Command Point. High up on its back, armed grots have a great view of the battlefield, revealing hidden enemies before they can ambush your forces. The crew can also stun multiple enemies with nets. These snares can even bring down flying units, making them vulnerable to attack from your ground troops. However, the Krew Drummer upgrade is the most powerful of all, as it reduces damage to nearby allies and replenishes their numbers.

The Breaka-boss on Mirebrute Troggoth is a more straightforward damage dealer. Armed with two massive ironbound clubs, the creature can slam the ground, causing a shockwave that sends nearby enemies flying. The attack can break allies out of combat lock and cause great disruption in a battle.

With a late-game upgrade, you can mount your Killaboss hero on the back of a Great Gnashtoof. This savage beast gives the Orruk Warboss a deadly charge that lets it tear through the enemy frontlines, knocking away any enemy units in its path.

The Biggest and the Bestest

The Kruleboyz heroes manifest the two sides of the Warclan: brutal and cunning. Together, they show why the Orruks are a faction to be feared.

A brutal fighter, the Killaboss will cleave his way through foes with his jagged Boss-hacka. With the Hacka Swing ability, he cleaves his weighty axe in a circle, knocking back any enemies caught in its arc. He can also push nearby allies to fight harder with his All Part Of Da Plan ability. Affected allies gain damage, armour, and movement speed, but the buff also comes with a cost; the Killaboss motivates his troops by enraging them, causing damage.

The Swampcalla Shaman is the more devious of the two. This magic user can summon up a boggy mist to conceal troops that can’t hide themselves, allowing you to set more complex ambushes. The shaman can also conjure a thick quagmire with the Da Black Pit ability, slowing and damaging enemy units caught in its muck.

Used together, your heroes can surprise and devastate your enemies.

Poison the Land

If you upgrade the Plotting Pit to its maximum level, you gain access to the Kruleboyz’s faction ability: Da Retch. With this vile creature, you can create a deadly swamp that is too dangerous for any enemy to pass.

When you summon the Retch, you blacken a large area of the map with swamp ooze. The Retch's writhing tentacles emerge from the dark waters, striking at any Kruleboyz foe that comes near.

It is tough to kill the Retch, making the monster an excellent tool for area denial. For instance, if you summon it over a Victory Point, only a large force can make the location safe to capture.

The Kruleboyz demand tight control to be their most effective on the battlefield. You must lure enemies into ambushes and trigger the trap at the right moment. But if you master their abilities and tactics, you can delight in destroying your surprised enemies.

If you keep your army moving and your enemy guessing, you can harass them into making a mistake. Seize what your foe needs and draw them into a battle they can’t win. Maul them with your beasts, poison them with your magic, and deny them a victory in these savage lands you call home.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin is available to play NOW on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X.