For factions in other Total War games, see Factions.
Overview[]
Factions are hierarchical organisations of characters bound by common purpose, and form the discrete power blocks in Total War: THREE KINGDOMS. Each faction is led by a faction leader (also known as a Warlord, and after whom the faction is named), who is supported by their family, ministers, administrators, generals, spies, and any other unassigned characters in player's court. To learn more about court management, see Court.
There are a number of playable factions in Total War: THREE KINGDOMS, each of which has its own famous leader from history, and its own unique playstyle, which is largely defined by its leader's specialisation and its faction specialisation.
There are many more computer-controlled factions in the game, all of whom seek the same ultimate goal as the player: to become the ruling faction of all China, with their faction leader as emperor.[1]
The faction names are the same as that of their starting faction leaders. When the factions advance into higher faction rank, the faction name will change depending on the factional leader, geographic locations, or other cultural tradtions. For example, historically Liu Bei established Kingdom of Shu-Han, player will see the faction name change to it once Liu Bei advance his faction into King level.
Gameplay[]
Faction progression[]
- Main article: Prestige (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
Faction rank is a measure of player factions's progress and development, and as player advance through the faction ranks, new bonuses are unlocked. Player's objective is to reach the rank of emperor, and defeat any other emperors to become the sole ruler of China. To achieve higher faction ranks, player must gather prestige from gameplay.
Faction management[]
- Main article: Court (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
Court comprises of the faction leader, heir, administrators, and the most senior ministerial positions in player's faction. The court panel also displays all the characters currently employed by the faction, and presents a list of candidates who may be recruited into the faction, and offers a separate tab showing the family tree of faction leader.
Faction Specialisation[]
- Main article: Faction resource
Each playable faction has its own faction specialisation, a unique mechanic which heavily influences its playstyle. This is noted in the faction's description before a campaign begins, and in the faction summary panel duringa campaign.
If a faction leader dies and their heir assumes the title, the faction will change its name to reflect the new warlord, and the original warlord’s character specialisation will be lost, though their faction specialisation will remain in play.
Faction support[]
Faction support is a concept that represents the integration between player's faction and territory owned. When player captures a new commandery or county, faction support will become negative, as the settlement and its people come to terms with their conquerors. Negative faction support penalises public order and replenishment in the commandery, and will be shown in the public order tooltips both in the commandery panel and on the settlement’s information bar on the campaign map.
Faction support naturally improves over time until it reaches 100%. When a settlement is newly captured, it is therefore wise to keep an eye on its public order, and perhaps station an army there to boost public order for a few turns while faction support improves.
Public order[]
Public order is the measure of a commandery population’s contentment and, by extension, its lawfulness. Certain conditions will cause a commandery’s public order to fall, such as high taxation, low food reserves, negative faction support, and excessive population. Other factors will cause it to rise, such as specific buildings (particularly red military buildings), a strong garrison, an army stationed in the settlement, adequate food reserves and a population below the settlement’s population cap. Player can see the factors influencing a commandery’s public order by mousing over the public order icon in the commandery panel or in the commandery’s information bar on the campaign map.
Rebellion[]
When a commandery’s public order drops to -100, a rebellion will occur. A rebel army of malcontents will spawn in the commandery, and begin mustering fresh troops each turn. The quality of the characters and units in the army are defined by the overall development level of the commandery’s buildings. So a small, under-developed commandery will be reflected in a militia-heavy army, whereas a highly developed commandery will contribute to a rebel army with higher-level characters and more advanced unit types.
A rebel army begins at war with the player immediately, and will seek to conquer the commandery capital if it can. Defeating a rebel army will improve public order in the commandery temporarily, but will not address the root causes of its low public order.
List of Factions[]
Total War: Three Kingdoms has dozens of playable factions, and nearly a hundred non-playable ones. Below is the full list of every faction in the game at the start of all campaigns. They are sorted by start date and split into two tables: Playable and Non-Playable. The tables' individual categories can also be sorted.
Rise of the Warlords (190)[]
Mandate of Heaven (182)[]
| Faction Group | Faction Name | Faction Leader | Start | Capital | DLC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial Warlords | Cao Cao / Wei | Cao Cao | Hard | Landless | Mandate of Heaven |
| Dong Zhuo / Zhou | Dong Zhuo | Normal | Shuofang | Mandate of Heaven | |
| Sun Jian / Wu | Sun Jian | Hard | Northern Jian'an | Mandate of Heaven | |
| Imperial Governors | Liu Biao / Chu | Liu Biao | Normal | Nan | Mandate of Heaven |
| Lu Zhi / Guangyang | Lu Zhi | Very Hard | Henei | Mandate of Heaven | |
| Ma Teng / Liang | Ma Teng | Hard | Wudu | Mandate of Heaven | |
| Tao Qian / Lu | Tao Qian | Hard | Donghai | Mandate of Heaven + Tao Qian | |
| Yuan Shu / Zhong | Yuan Shu | Very Hard | Runan | Mandate of Heaven | |
| The Han Dynasty | Liu Bei / Shu-Han | Liu Bei | Hard | Pingyuan | Mandate of Heaven |
| Liu Chong / Chen | Liu Chong | Easy | Yingchuan | Mandate of Heaven | |
| Liu Hong / Han Empire | Liu Hong | Very Hard | Luoyang | Mandate of Heaven | |
| Yellow Turbans | Zhang Bao | Zhang Bao | Normal | Landless | Mandate of Heaven |
| Zhang Jue | Zhang Jue | Normal | Landless | Mandate of Heaven | |
| Zhang Liang | Zhang Liang | Hard | Landless | Mandate of Heaven |
A World Betrayed (194)[]
Fates Divided (200)[]
| Faction Group | Faction Name | Faction Leader | Start | Capital | DLC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warlords | Duchy of Wei | Cao Cao | Hard | Yingchuan | Fates Divided |
| Liu Bei / Shu-Han | Liu Bei | Easy | Donghai | Fates Divided | |
| Sun Ce / Wu | Sun Ce | Hard | Danyang | Fates Divided | |
| Yuan Shao / Song | Yuan Shao | Easy | Anping | Fates Divided | |
| Regional Warlords | Liu Biao / Chu | Liu Biao | Normal | Nan | Fates Divided |
| Liu Zhang / Xun | Liu Zhang | Easy | Shu | Fates Divided | |
| Ma Teng / Liang | Ma Teng | Hard | Wudu | Fates Divided | |
| Shi Xie / Ba | Shi Xie | Very Hard | Jiaozhi | Fates Divided + Shi Xie | |
| Bandits & Outlaws | Zhang Yan / Heishan | Zhang Yan | Hard | Anping | Fates Divided |
| Zheng Jiang / Tai | Zheng Jiang | Very Hard | Pengcheng | Fates Divided | |
| Southern Tribes | King Meng Huo | Meng Huo | Easy | Yunnan | Fates Divided + The Furious Wild |
| King Mulu | Mulu | Normal | Jianning | Fates Divided + The Furious Wild | |
| King Shamoke | Shamoke | Hard | Wuling | Fates Divided + The Furious Wild | |
| Yellow Turban Remnants | Gong Du | Gong Du | Very Hard | Runan | Fates Divided |
| Faction Name | Faction Leader | Capital | DLC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chen Deng | Chen Deng | Guangling | Fates Divided |
| Chenggong Chunhua | Chenggong Chunhua | Yulin | Fates Divided |
| Gao Gan | Gao Gan | Shangdang | Fates Divided |
| Gongsun Du | Gongsun Du | Liaoxi | Fates Divided |
| Han Sui | Han Sui | Jincheng | Fates Divided |
| Hua Xin | Hua Xin | Yuzhang | Fates Divided |
| Huang Zu | Huang Zu | Jiangxia | Fates Divided |
| Shi Huang | Shi Huang | Cangwu | Fates Divided |
| Shi Hui | Shi Hui | Jiuzhen | Fates Divided |
| Shi Wu | Shi Wu | Nanhai | Fates Divided |
| Shi Yi | Shi Yi | Hepu | Fates Divided |
| Wu Jing | Wu Jing | Xindu | Fates Divided |
| Xu Zhao | Xu Zhao | Danyang | Fates Divided |
| Yuan Tan | Yuan Tan | Beihai | Fates Divided |
| Yuan Xi | Yuan Xi | Youbeiping | Fates Divided |
| Zhang Lu | Zhang Lu | Shangyong | Fates Divided |
| Zhang Meng | Zhang Meng | Wuwei | Fates Divided |
Eight Princes (291)[]
| Faction Group | Faction Name | Faction Leader | Start | Capital | DLC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princes of Jin | Sima Ai | Sima Ai | Normal | Changsha | Eight Princes |
| Sima Jiong | Sima Jiong | Normal | Beihai | Eight Princes | |
| Sima Liang | Sima Liang | Very Hard | Runan | Eight Princes | |
| Sima Lun | Sima Lun | Hard | Shangdang | Eight Princes | |
| Sima Wei | Sima Wei | Hard | Shangyong | Eight Princes | |
| Sima Ying | Sima Ying | Normal | Chengdu | Eight Princes | |
| Sima Yong | Sima Yong | Easy | Pingyuan | Eight Princes | |
| Sima Yue | Sima Yue | Normal | Donghai | Eight Princes |
Gallery[]
