Tempest Rising Campaign Guide: Factions, Missions, and Veti's Wrath
Explore the Tempest Rising campaign structure, compare its factions, and learn what to expect from the Veti's Wrath missions.
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What to expect from the Tempest Rising campaign
The Tempest Rising campaign puts you in command of rival factions fighting over a powerful resource in an alternate 1997. Its three faction campaigns offer different perspectives on one connected conflict, so the Tempest Rising campaign is as much about competing motives as it is about building forces and completing objectives. Here’s how the campaigns fit together, what the Veti expansion adds, and what the mission structure means for your approach.
The base game has two 11-mission campaigns: one for the Global Defense Force (GDF) and one for the Tempest Dynasty. The Veti’s Wrath expansion adds an 11-mission Veti campaign that follows the base campaigns’ events. According to the campaign overview on the Tempest Rising Wiki, the GDF and Dynasty stories happen in parallel and form a connected storyline.
There are no wholly heroic sides in this conflict. Each campaign shows its faction’s perspective, and missions can involve morally difficult choices. That framing gives the story room to explore how each group justifies its fight over the Tempest. The Tempest Rising campaign also connects the faction stories through the conflict itself: the GDF and Dynasty campaigns take place at the same time, while the Veti story follows them.
The three campaigns are substantial story paths, with 11 missions apiece. That gives you a clear way to compare the base game’s two perspectives with the additional Veti chapter. The overview identifies the campaigns’ sequence and broad focus, but it does not list every mission or provide a complete plot summary. If you prefer to avoid story details, you can use the mission counts and placement as a spoiler-light guide.
| Campaign | Length | Faction perspective | Story placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDF | 11 missions | Global Defense Force | Runs in parallel with the Dynasty campaign |
| Dynasty | 11 missions | Tempest Dynasty | Runs in parallel with the GDF campaign |
| Veti | 11 missions | Veti | Follows the GDF and Dynasty campaigns |
How missions and difficulty work
For the Tempest Rising campaign, before a mission, you receive a briefing from a superior. You can also interact with that superior to get more mission information or background. Before each mission, the campaign provides Doctrine and Armory menus for customization, and it lets you replay previous missions. Specialists—hero-like units with battlefield abilities—also feature in the campaign.
These elements give you several kinds of information to consider before a mission begins. The briefing sets up the assignment, and the superior may provide additional context. The Doctrine and Armory menus offer customization options, while the ability to replay previous missions gives you a way to revisit campaign content. The overview does not describe specific doctrine choices or explain how they change a particular mission, so consider each available option based on what the game presents to you.
Missions use two kinds of objectives. Primary objectives are required to finish a mission; secondary objectives are optional and may offer a benefit, such as making progress easier or providing more requisition points for the Armory. Objectives may appear on the minimap and be marked on the battlefield. A good approach is to keep the required objective in view while weighing an optional objective against the benefit it promises.
| Campaign feature | What it means | Practical tip |
|---|---|---|
| Briefing | Sets up the mission and its assignment | Use it to understand the stated objective |
| Primary objective | Required for mission completion | Keep the required goal in view as the battle develops |
| Secondary objective | Optional; may provide a benefit | Check its stated advantage before committing forces |
| Specialist | Hero-like unit with special battlefield abilities | Consider how its ability relates to the mission |
| Doctrine and Armory | Menus available before each mission for customization | Check the options presented before starting |
Campaign difficulty has four settings: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Insane. The selected difficulty affects how many enemy forces appear and their starting veterancy levels. Campaign balance also differs from skirmish and multiplayer, so a tactic that works in one mode may not translate directly to a story mission.
The available information does not give exact enemy counts or starting veterancy values for each setting. It also does not describe a universal formula for how the settings change individual maps. A useful way to approach difficulty is to treat the stated effects as guidance: the number of enemy forces and their starting veterancy can change, so be ready to assess the situation mission by mission.
A practical approach is to treat each mission as its own problem: check the primary goal, identify any optional objectives, and consider whether the briefing changes your priorities. If a secondary objective offers more requisition points or an easier route through the mission, weigh that benefit against the effort needed to complete it. These objectives are optional, so the main requirement remains the primary objective.
What the Veti campaign adds
The Veti campaign begins with “Stasis Breach” in North Jutland. After millennia of slumber, a Nacom awakens, while Huracán’s mind is trapped inside a GDF research facility. The mission asks the Nacom to take control of imprisoned Veti war machines, repossess Veti structures, and reduce the GDF Construction Yard to rubble.
A player video of the opening mission provides a specific example of how these faction themes appear during play. In the video, the Warden can use Sacrificial Summons to call an Enlightened unit to sacrifice itself, and a Subjugation Field affects nearby infantry; destroying subjugated enemies converts them to Enlightened. The player also uses Veti structures and units while working through objectives in the research facility. These details describe the mission shown in that player experience, not every Veti mission.
| Veti campaign detail | What the sources describe |
|---|---|
| Opening mission | “Stasis Breach” |
| Location | North Jutland |
| Main situation | A Nacom awakens after millennia of slumber |
| Mission goals | Take control of imprisoned war machines, repossess structures, and destroy the GDF Construction Yard |
| Player video example | Sacrificial Summons and the Subjugation Field appear in the opening mission |
The video also shows the player relocating Veti structures, including a Refinement Altar, a War Assembly, and a Ziggurat. The Refinement Altar can generate credits in proportion to the size and amount of Tempest pods it claims, without depleting the field. The player video describes relocating the altar so it can draw on Tempest, and shows structures being moved during the mission. A good approach is to pay attention to the specific structure objectives on screen; the video illustrates relocation as part of this mission, but does not establish a general rule for how all Veti structures are reclaimed.
The same player experience shows a Cultivator, whose aura inflicts Tempest charge on enemy vehicles, and a Vine Defender ability. These examples offer a glimpse of the faction’s tools in the opening mission. The video does not establish how those tools perform across every mission, so treat them as details of the scene shown rather than a complete guide to Veti tactics.
The next listed mission, “Data Harvest,” takes place during a GDF harvesting operation in North Jutland. The Nacom learns from Huracán and the Reclaimant about K'uhul the Immutable, a former Veti ruler whose compromised neural core has led him to wage conquests against the ancient edicts of the Veti. The Nacom’s chance to find the location of K'uhul’s prison is to capture the Data Core of the GDF’s 37th Mobile Refining Battalion.
The campaign overview lists these first two missions, but it does not provide the full mission sequence. If you want to avoid spoilers, the opening premise and mission names offer context without requiring a full plot summary. The Tempest Rising campaign’s Veti chapter follows the base campaigns, and these two mission descriptions introduce its immediate setup without claiming to cover the entire story.
Choosing a campaign and planning your playthrough
If you want to follow the Tempest Rising campaign’s main faction perspectives, the GDF and Dynasty campaigns happen in parallel and form one connected storyline. The Veti campaign follows those events, making it a next chapter if you want to see what happens after the two base campaigns.
For mission planning, focus on what the game explicitly asks you to do. A secondary objective may offer a tactical benefit or more requisition points for the Armory, but it is optional; weigh that stated benefit against the resources and time needed to pursue it. In the Veti opening mission, the player video illustrates another useful idea: structure relocation and faction abilities can be part of the mission’s objectives and activity. Treat that as an example from “Stasis Breach,” not a rule for every map.
| If you want… | Consider… | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| The GDF’s view of the Tempest conflict | The GDF campaign | It runs in parallel with the Dynasty campaign |
| The Dynasty’s view | The Dynasty campaign | It runs in parallel with the GDF campaign |
| The Veti story after the base campaigns | The Veti campaign | Its story follows the GDF and Dynasty campaigns |
| Optional mission objectives | Any campaign mission with secondary objectives | They may ease mission progression or grant more requisition points |
The campaign overview says each mission features an in-engine CGI cutscene. It also describes briefings from superiors, opportunities to interact with them for additional mission information or background, and battlefield objectives. Together, these elements provide story context around the mission assignments and the choices each faction makes. The overview does not say that every interaction is required, so use the information available from a superior when more context would help you understand the situation.
You can also use the mission structure to pace your attention. Start with the briefing and primary objective, then note any secondary objectives and their stated benefits. If a specialist is part of the mission, the campaign overview identifies specialists as hero-like units with battlefield abilities; consider the ability shown in the game as you decide how to approach the mission. These are planning tips based on the described campaign features, not guarantees about a particular strategy.
The sources distinguish campaign balance from skirmish and multiplayer balance, and they do not provide exact maps, unit counts, or difficulty values. For that reason, a good approach is to respond to the objectives and forces you see in each mission rather than assume that a tactic or numerical rule carries over between modes. The campaign’s four difficulty settings describe changes to enemy force numbers and starting veterancy, while the rest of the mission setup can be assessed as you play.
FAQ
How many missions are in the Tempest Rising campaign?
The GDF and Tempest Dynasty campaigns each have 11 missions. The Veti’s Wrath expansion adds another 11-mission campaign for the Veti.
Do the GDF and Dynasty campaigns happen in order?
They happen in parallel and form one connected storyline. The Veti campaign follows after the GDF and Dynasty campaigns.
What difficulty settings are available?
The campaign offers Easy, Normal, Hard, and Insane. Difficulty changes the number of enemy forces and their starting veterancy levels.
What does the Veti campaign’s first mission involve?
“Stasis Breach” begins in North Jutland. Its objectives involve taking control of imprisoned Veti war machines, repossessing structures, and destroying the GDF Construction Yard.