- Lü Bu is a Chinese name; the family name is Lü.
- For the faction, see Lü Bu
Lü Bu is a unique legendary Vanguard hero in Total War: Three Kingdoms. He is a member of Dong Zhuo in 190. In 194, after having killed Dong Zhuo, he leads his own faction, Lü Bu.
Description[]
As one of the mightiest warriors under the heavens, Lü Bu has proven himself on multiple occasions to be an expert combatant, as well as a most imposing presence on the battlefield. While he is indisputably fierce, Lü Bu is unpredictable, and has a penchant for betrayal.
General Information[]
Attributes[]
Main Article: Attributes (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
- Expertise: 104
- -21% construction cost (administered commandery)
- +32 melee evasion
- Resolve: 58
- +17% general's health
- +2k population growth (administered commandery)
- Cunning: 32
- +2% ammunition (own retinue)
- +1 military supplies (own army)
- Instinct: 178
- +43% melee damage
- -12% recruitment cost (this army)
- Authority: 49
- +2 unit morale (own retinue)
Background[]
Main Article: Background (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
Warrior Without Equal
- +40 expertise
- +15 resolve
- +25 instinct
- +1 resilience
- -15% recruitment cost for shock cavalry (faction-wide, if prime minister, heir or faction leader)
- +15 melee damage for all shock cavalry (faction-wide, if prime minister, heir or faction leader)
- +3 morale in enemy territory (faction-wide, if prime minister, heir or faction leader)
Commends Physical Strength, Commends Physical Ability, Supports War.
Unit Statistics[]
- Morale: 100
- Melee Toughness: 37
- Ranged Toughness: 43
- Melee Power: 47
- Hit Points: 21k
- Melee Charge Bonus: 326
- Melee Attack Rate: 44
- Base Melee Damage: 1.2k
- Armour-Piercing Melee Damage: 1.8k
- Base Melee Evasion: 32%
- Base Armour: 80%
- Speed: 112
Traits[]
Main Article: Traits (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
Formidable
- +4 expertise
- +8 instinct
Commends Physical Strength, Commends Physical Ability, Supports War.
Feared
- +8 instinct
- +4 authority
- Enables: Scare
- +2 morale in enemy territory (own army)
Supports Intimidation, Admires Power.
Disloyal
- +2 cunning
- +6 instinct
- +50% desire for higher office
- Increases ambition to gain independence as administrator
Unconcerned by Friendship, Unconcerned by Duty, Unconcerned by Family.
Skills[]
Main Article: Skill (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
- Flexibility
- +8 resolve
- -25% redeployment cost (if prime minister, heir or leader)
- +5% replenishment (when commanding)
- Smouldering Fury
- +4 expertise
- +4 instinct
- Ability: Smouldering Fury
- Passion
- +8 instinct
- Unlocks Assignment: Conscription
- +25% melee damage for all shock cavalry (own retinue)
- Zeal
- +8 expertise
- +10% melee armour-piercing damage (own army)
- +40% melee attack rate
- Bravery
- +8 expertise
- Enables: Charge Negate (own retinue)
- Enables: Immune to Fear & Terror (own retinue)
- Intensity
- +8 instinct
- Enables: Mighty Knockback
- +25 charge speed (own retinue)
- Rage of Lü Bu
- +4 expertise
- +4 instinct
- Ability: Rage of Lü Bu
- Fury
- +8 instinct
- +2 morale in enemy territory (when commanding)
- +25 charge bonus (own retinue)
Abilities[]
Main Article: Ability (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
- Scare
- Reduces nearby enemy morale. Does not stack.
- Mighty Knockback
- Causes extra damage when knocking back enemies.
- Unbreakable
- Does not suffer any morale loss and will never rout.
- Rage of Lü Bu (Melee Attack)
- Can use if:
- In melee
- Engaged in a duel or has an attack order
- Not on Elephant
- Splash Damage: 1.9k
- Duration: 10s
- Cooldown: 60s
- Can use if:
- Smouldering Fury (Passive Buff)
- Enabled if:
- In melee or engaged in a duel
- Phase 1 (15s)
- +25% Base Melee Damage
- +25% Armour-Piercing Melee Damage
- -2% Melee Evasion
- Phase 2 (10s)
- +50% Base Melee Damage
- +50% Armour-Piercing Melee Damage
- -5% Melee Evasion
- Phase 3 (6s)
- +100% Base Melee Damage
- +100% Armour-Piercing Melee Damage
- -9% Melee Evasion
- Phase 4 (3s)
- +200% Base Melee Damage
- +200% Armour-Piercing Melee Damage
- -12% Melee Evasion
- Phase 5 (∞)
- +400% Base Melee Damage
- +400% Armour-Piercing Melee Damage
- -15% Melee Evasion
- Enabled if:
Ancillaries[]
Main Article: Ancillary (Total War: Three Kingdoms)
- Sky Piercer
- Base Melee Damage: 809
- Armour-Piercing Melee Damage: 1.6k
- Melee Attack Rate: 24
- -15 expertise
- +24 instinct
- Enables: Unbreakable
- Lü Bu's Armour
- Base Armour: 80
- +6 expertise
- +15 instinct
- +15% chance of evading capture post-battle
- +12% speed
- +5% melee attack rate
- Red Hare
- Speed: 100
- Mass: 2.5k
- +5 expertise
- +10 instinct
- +25% chance of evading capture post-battle
- +50 charge bonus
Guanxi[]
Main Article: Guanxi
While the Guanxi paragraph usually focuses on the character in 190, Lü Bu's relations change so drastically between 190 and 194 that both are included.
190
- Family
- Friends
- Acquaintances
- Negative Acquaintances
- Rivals
194
- Family
- Lady Yan (wife)
- Lü Ji (daughter)
- Oathsworn
- Friends
- Acquaintances
- Negative Acquaintances
- Rivals
- Nemeses
Biography[]
Lü Bu is easily one of the most legendary warriors to ever come out of Chinese history. While his skills and achievements have undoubtedly been exaggerated in the past eighteen odd centuries, it can be safely said that he was the most skilled fighter in China at the time. He first rose to power under Ding Yuan, a minor warlord. While starting his military career as just another soldier, Yuan quickly picked up on his skill, eventually making him a low-ranking officer.
Lü Bu's spree of betrayal would begin soon, however. As the Han Empire began to crumble, Ding Yuan predicted Dong Zhuo's rise to power. He revealed his plans to Lü Bu to assassinate Zhou, not to preserve the Han but to uphold his own power. Lü Bu protested at first, but Yuan wouldn't listen to him, and after getting more and more frustrated, he killed the warlord, cutting his head off and offering his head to Dong Zhuo as a gift in 189.
Lü Bu now served Dong Zhuo, who had just seized Emperor Xian and became regent of the Han Empire. He joined Zhuo in his war with Yuan Shao's coalition, and while mostly insignificant at first, Bu later managed to defeat Sun Jian. At this point, Lü Bu had a good amount of won duels with enemy officers under his belt, and he started to gain notoriety amongst the coalition. As a result, Dong Zhuo would keep Lü Bu near him at all times so that any would-be assassins would be too scared to even try to kill him. Eventually, he even adopted Lü Bu and appointed him the head of his personal guard in Chang'an.
The tale of Dong Zhuo taking Diaochan, the lover of Lü Bu, as a concubine is often portrayed as the reason for his betrayal, but this is more or less a romanticized event. What truly caused Lü Bu to join the assassination plot against Zhuo came down to a massive difference in personalities between the two, as they disagreed on practically every move either made and fought often. It was Wang Yun, the leader of the plot, who ultimately convinced Bu to join the rebellion.
In 192, Lü Bu, along with other soldiers, ambushed Zhuo at the entrance of his own palace, with himself landing the killing blow. Wang Yun then gained control over Dong Zhuo's territory and the Han Empire. However, a civil war broke out almost immediately, causing Wang Yun to be overthrown by Li Jue and Guo Si. Just before Chang'an fell, Lü Bu gathered a small group of horsemen and fled towards the south without a destination or purpose.
He eventually looped around to the northeast, joining the court of Yuan Shao. Here, he was briefly employed to fight the Black Mountain Bandits of Zhang Yan. However, Shao feared that Lü Bu would betray and kill him and prepared an assassination plot against him. Lü Bu got wind of this plot and managed to escape southwards, travelling to the court of Zhang Yang. Yang planned to betray Lü Bu and collect the bounty from Li Jue and Guo Si, but ultimately grew to like the man and refused to kill him.
In 194, Zhang Miao and Chen Gong requested that Lü Bu become the leader of their future rebellion against the tyranny of Cao Cao. Lü Bu managed to defeat and capture the famous Xiahou Dun, overthrowing most of Cao Cao's home commandery while he was away fighting Tao Qian in the east. While Xiahou Dun would later be freed by Han Hao, many of Cao Cao's officers defected to Lü Bu's side. When Cao Cao returned, a bitter campaign broke out between the two, eventually dragging down into a stalemate. Lü Bu got the worst of this stalemate, as his ranks began deserting and his people were starving.
Bu would abandon Cao Cao's commandery altogether with many ringleaders, fleeing to Liu Bei in the east. Liu Bei took in Lü Bu with open arms as he sought to integrate Lü Bu and his small army into his own. When Bei left his home commandery to deal with threats on his border, Lü Bu immediately overthrew him, taking Xiapi commandery for himself. However, Liu Bei couldn't take back his territory, as Lü Bu held his entire family hostage at the time.
Eventually, Cao Cao and Liu Bei, two long-time enemies, joined forces and took the fight to Lü Bu. Somewhat unexpectedly, Yuan Shu also joined the war against Lü Bu, but his intentions were to take the land for himself, not to hand it back to Liu Bei. Chen Gong later managed to broker a fragile peace with Yuan Shu, although the two would end up at war later over a failed marriage. Just as had happened in Cao Cao's territory, Xiapi was under a constant siege, and once again, Lü Bu was running out of supplies.
In 198, most of Lü Bu's army was either dead or demoralized, and he was captured. During his captivity, he offered to become a member of Cao Cao's army. Cao Cao had heard and seen tales of Lü Bu's power in combat and briefly considered accepting his offer. However, Liu Bei talked him out of it, pointing his new ally at the fate of Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu would be beheaded the same year. His last words were directed at Cao Cao, warning him to not trust Liu Bei.
A little over a year later, Liu Bei would backstab Cao Cao, joining Yuan Shao and declaring war on him.
Trivia[]
Despite being one of the most powerful characters ever, Lü Bu was the most defeated faction in Total War, along with Greenskins, Vampire Counts, Skaven (Warhammer), Danaan (Troy) and Amenmesse (Pharaoh) in 2023.
Media[]
Videos[]
Featured screenshots[]
Artworks[]
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| Champion | Cai Zhong・Cao Ang・Cao Hong・Cao Shuang・Cao Xi・Cao Zhang・Chang Xi・Chen Jiu・Chen Lan・Cheng Yi・Dong Feng・Dian WeiS・Gao Ding・Gao Sheng・Guan Xing・Guan YuS・Han Fu・Han Hao・Hong Ming・Huan Lin・Huan Zhi・Huang Gai・Huang Zu・Huo Nu・Ji Ben・Jiang Gong・Li Damu・Li Huan・Li Yu・Ling Tong・Liu Shao・Lu Kang・Pang De・Qu Gong・Quan Rou・Sen Pei・Song Yang・Tao Ying・Tuoba Liwei・Wang Xi・Wei Huang・Wei Jie・Wen Chou・Xiahou DunS・Xianyu Yin・Xin Ping・Xu ChuS・Xu Rong・Xuan Fan・Yang Feng・You Tu・Yu Qin・Zang Ba・Zao Zhi・Zhang Fang・Zhang Fu・Zhang Guang・Zhang Lu・Zhang YanS・Zhao Du・Zheng Yan・Zheng JiangSF・Zou Lin・Zuozi Hangba |
| Strategist | Bao Xun・Bian Rang・Bu LianshiF・Cai YanF・Cai Yong・Cao Chong・Cao Zhi・Chang Lin・Che Zhou・Chen Biao・Chen Di・Chen Gong・Chen Lin・Chen Qun・Chen Zhen・Cheng Xu・Cheng Yu・Cui Lin・Cui Yan・DiaochanF・Ding Yi・Dong Yun・Dong Zhao・Du Qiong・Fa Zheng・Fan Qin・Lady FengF・Feng Shuo・Fu Gan・Fu Jia・Fu Wan・Gao Rou・Gaotang・Gongsun Xiu・Gu Yong・Guan Chun・Guan Jing・Guan Lu・Guan Ning・Guanqiu Dian・Guo Jia・Guo Tu・Han Ji・Han Ran・Han Rong・Han Yin・Handan Chun・Handan Shang・He Yan・He Zeng・Hu Zhao・Hu Zhi・Hu Zong・Hua Biao・Hua Tuo・Hua Xin・Huan Dian・Huan Fan・Huan Jia・Huang Wan・Hungfu Mi・Ji Miao・Ji Mu・Jia Chong・Jia Cong・Jia Xu・Jiang Ji・Jin Yi・Ju Shou・Kan Ze・Kong RongS・Kong Zhou・Kuai Liang・Kuai Yue・Liu Ba・Li Chao・Li Fu・Li Kang・Li Ru・Li Shao・Li Xiu・Liang Mao・Liu Dai・Liu Fu・Liu He・Liu Ji・Liu Yan・Liu Ye・Liu Yi・Liu Zhen・Lu An・Liu Fan・Lu Ji・Lu Kai・Lu Mao・Lu Su・Lu Xing・Lu Xun・Lu Yi・Lu Yu・Lu ZhengF・Ma Liang・Ma Midi・Ma Qiu・Ma Su・Ma Yu・Mao Jie・Mi Heng・Mi Zhu・Miao Xi・Min Chun・Pan Xu・Pang Ji・Pang Tong・Pei Jun・Pei Qian・Peng Yang・Qi Zhou・Qiao Zhou・Qin Mi・Quan Ji・Que Xuan・Ren An・Ren Jun・Ruan Yu・Shan Gu・Shan Tao・Shen You・Sheng Xian・Shi Wei・Shi Xie・Shi Yi・Shi Zhi・Sima Feng・Sima Fu・Sima Lang・Sima YiS・Su Shuo・Su Ze・Sun Qian・Sun Xu・Tao QianS・Teng Yin・Tian Chou・Tian Feng・Tian Jing・Wang Biao・Wang Can・Wang Dang・Wang Fu・Wang Jian・Wang Lan・Wang Lei・Wang Lie・Wang Su・Wang Xiang・Wei Dan・Wei Feng・Wei Shu・Wei You・Wei Zhao・Wei Hui・Wu Fan・Wu Shuo・Wu Zhi・Xiahou Rong・Xiahou Xuan・Xiahou Zuo・Xiahou Lang・Xiao QiaoSF・Xin Xianying・Xing Yong・Xu Gan・Xu Jing・Xu Miao・Xu Shao・Xu Shu・Xu Ta・Xu Xuan・Xu You・Xue Zong・Xun Wei・Xun Yu・Xun Yue・Yan Pu・Yan Xiang・Yan Yu・Yang Chou・Yang Dao・Yang Xi・Yang Xiu・Yao Tai・Yao Zhou・Ying Qu・Ying Yang・Ying Yu・Yu Fan・Yuan Long・Yuan Yi・Yue Dun・Zhang Chao・Zhang Cheng・Zhang Chunhua・Zhang Hong・Zhang Ji・Zhang Miao・Zhang Min・Zhang Quan・Zhang Song・Zhang Wen・Zhang Yun・Zhang Zan・Zhang Zhao・Zhang Zhen・Zhang Zhi・Zhao Ang・Zhao Qi・Zhao Wei・Zhao Yan・Zhao Yi・Zheng Mao・Zheng Mo・Zheng Sui・Zheng Tai・Zheng Xuan・Zhong Yao・Zhongchang Tong・Zhou Huan・Zhou YuS・Zhou Zhi・Zhu En・Zhu Gui・Zhu Han・Zhuge Jin・Zhuge LiangS |
| Vanguard | Bu Ji・Bu Zhi・Cai Mao・Dong Zhuo・Gan Ning・Gongsun ZanS・Liu Qi・Lü BuS・Ma ChaoS・Ma TengS・Shisun Rui・Sun CeS・Sun RenSF・Xiahou Jie・Xiahou YuanS・Yan Liang・Ze Rong・Zhang FeiS・Zhang He・Zhang Yang |
| Commander | Lady BianF・Lady CaiF・Cai Xun・Cao CaoS・Cao JieF・Cao Ren・DaqiaoF・Da QiaoSF・Dong PeishanF・Guan YinpingF・Liu BeiS・Liu BiaoS・Lady LiuF・Liu Yu・Liu ZhangS・Wang Lang・Lady WuF・Sun QuanS・Yuan AnyangF・Yuan ShaoS・Yuan ShuS・Yuan Tan・Yuan Xi |
| Healer (YTR) | Han Xian・He YiS・Liu Pi・Wang Du |
| Veteran (YTR) | Gong DuS・Guan Hai・Liao Hua・Pei YuanshaoS・Zhang KaiS・Zhao Bo |
| Scholar (YTR) | Guo Da・He ManS・Huang ShaoSWang Rao・Xu He |