Total War: Three Kingdoms - Factions

Introduction

Total War: Kingdoms is actually the 13th expansion in one of the most iconic series - Total War. The game got released around two months ago and it immediately became a huge success.

Total War: Kingdoms is set in China during the Three Kingdoms era and it features two game modes. The first one is called “Romance” and it’s based mainly on the romanticized account of the era. After that, the second mode is “Classic” and it presents a more historically accurate version of the game. In Classic, the generals do not have any superpowers and they cannot be commanded separately.

 However, this doesn’t mean that it is less interesting compared to Romance. In fact, the vast majority of the players out there prefer to play the Classic mode.

Apart from the sheer story of the game, let’s take a look at all the different Factions.

Some of them are good storywise, whereas other not so much. At the end of the day, it will all come down to your personal preference wether or not you want to be from the good side.

Factions

In total, there are 12 playable factions if we exclude the DLC characters. Having said that, the total faction count is 36 and it includes vassal and NPC factions. Each of them has its own leader referred to as a Warlord.

It’s important to note that most factions have its own unique features and/or a resource.

Cao Cao

• Unique features 

• Tiger & Leopard Cavalry

• Heavy Tiger & Leopard Cavalry

• Farming Garrisons (Agricultural building chain)

• Tuntian Conscription (Military building chain

• Resource - Credibility

• Incites proxy wars

• Influences diplomatic relations

• Credibility recovers over time

• Playstyle focus: Diplomatic manipulation

Liu Bei

• Unique features

• Yi Archers

• Yi Marksmen

• Shu Han Tax Collection (Governmental building chain, which gives peasantry income and reduces public order)

• Confederation (Diplomatic option)

• Integrate (Settlement action)

• Resource : Unity

• Increases your prestige

• Unlocks administrator positions and increases income

• Unity increases if the generals are satisfied

• Satisfaction can be managed with unique assignments

• Playstyle focus: Companionship

Sun Jian

• Unique Features

• Mercenary Captain Retinues

• Mercenary Archers

• Mercenary Infantry

• Mercenary Calvary 

• Mercenary Outpost (Economic building chain) 

Yuan Shao

This faction has a starting location in a relatively safe spot which gives it the option to unite well. What’s more, it also holds a lot of resources due to the agriculturally rich environment.

Yuan Shu

The starting position of this faction provides a great opportunity. However, it’s important to note that this campaign is also one of the hardest in the game. It is situated next to the formidable Liu Biao. To make a long story short, this faction is surrounded by powerful and ambitious warwords with a few allies on hand.

Gongsun Zan

This man is very much into military action and his playstyle shows it. He focuses mainly on militaristic approach to his empire management. Having said that, Gongsun Zan doesn’t have access to any sort of administration.

Kong Rong

The campaign begins with Kong Rong fighting against the Yellow Turbans from Beihai commandery, his base of operations. His first mission is about securing and defending Quing Province, which is being attacked by the Yellow Turbans.

Liu Biao

This character is mostly known as a big etiquette and nobility lover, hence, he is often referred to as the Gentleman of the Han. His lands have a lot of conflicts and one of his main goals in the beginning is to restore order to the place.

Ma Teng

As soon as the game starts, Ma Teng is at war with the Yellow Turbans in Wudu. In order to prevail against this enemy, the player will have to conquer the entire commandery to gain a strong foothold in the west.

• Unique features

• Qiang Hunters

• Qiang Marauders

• Qiang Raiders

• Xiliang Supply Lines (Military Building Chain)

• Loyalty to the Han

Zhang Yan

This faction is led by a very well known bandit, who is always on the crossroads between nobility and banditry. Zhang Yan’s campaign will suit someone who wants to win against all odds.

Zheng Jiang

Starting in one of the most difficult terrains, this faction is at war with the Dong Zhuo and Han Empire. Despite that, as a bandin, there are not any clear established allegiances or diplomatic alignments, which definitely makes the fighting task a little bit harder.

Dong Zhuo

This is the big boss. Dong Zhuo is the warlord who runs his authority by inciting fear. In the game itself, he is trying to keep his power which is being questioned by the others. Having said that, this is where it gets interesting to play - you have to navigate between in enemies in order to create some sort of “friendships”.

Yellow Turban

This faction consists of He Yi, Gong Du and Huang Shao, who are their warlords. Their main goal is to restore peace to this broken realm by “appointing” a wise and just Emperor.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is literally anything for anyone in this game. That’s why according to the developers, Total War: Three Kingdoms is the most pre-ordered Total War game ever. What’s more, this title also holds a record for the most concurrent players - over 160,000. In addition, it also became the fastest-selling game in the history of the franchise, selling over one million copies in just one week.