Prestige (Total War: Three Kingdoms)

For Prestige mechanics in previous Total War titles, see National Prestige.

Faction summary screen in Total War: Three Kingdoms

Prestige returns in Total War: Three Kingdoms as an important resource for player to rank up the faction.

Overview

When the player develop their faction and fulfill certain requirements from the game, the faction gains Prestige.

Prestige is gained by either conquering new counties, constructing certain buildings, or equipping certain ancillaries (i.e. the Imperial Jade Seal). For the Yellow Turbans, their "prestige" is referred to as "Enlightenment", and is gained by either researching techs or constructing certain buildings.

When the faction gains enough prestige, the Faction Rank rises. With a higher rank, player is able to raise additional armies, and appoint more court positions in the territory.

The Warlord controlled by the player begins the game as a mere noble, and will have to work through the ranks before the player can make the Warlord becomes Emperor, with each rank bringing new benefits such as new assignment slot and advanced diplomacy options.

List of Faction Ranks

Base Game

The ranks on the left of the table are the ranks that the majority of factions need to progress through as they gain prestige, but a few factions have ranks unique to them.

Dong Zhuo and Zheng Jiang both have faction ranks unique to them, while still sharing the royal ranks prior to emperor with everyone else.

Dong Zhou starts at a higher rank than anyone else, and his ranks reflect his status as the master of the Han Empire though his control of the child emperor.

Zheng Jiang's ranks reflect her status as an outlaw.

The Yellow Turbans also have unique faction ranks that reflect their philosophy.

The Faction Ranks, in order, are:

Majority Warlords	Dong Zhou	Zheng Jiang	Yellow Turbans
Noble	N/A	Bandit	Devoted
Second Marquis		Outlaw	Balanced
Marquis	Chancellor of State	Raider	Healed
Duke	Grand Master	Bandit Leader	Empowered
King	King	Bandit Queen	Ascended
Emperor	Emperor	Empress	Enlightened
N/A			Yellow Sky Mandate

Mandate of Heaven

Faction ranks remain much the same as in the base game, but there are some differences.

Example: Liu Bei starts of with no territory with the rank of Shoemaker. He must gain prestige in order to advance to "noble," the starting rank of the base game.

Nanman

The Nanman have unique faction ranks that reflect their culture. Of the four playable Nanman warlords, King Shamoke, a character between Han and Nanman, alone has the ability to stake a claim as Emperor of China.

The Nanman faction Ranks, in order, are:

Rank
Headman
Chieftan
King of the Nanman
Ruler of the South
Greatest Ruler
The Nanman Kingdom	Emperor (Shamoke Only)

Eight Princes

The prestige and faction rank system functions much the same way in the Eight Princes campaign, yet the ranks are different. Additionally, players have the option to chose whether they become emperor or regent, especially when the capital, Luoyang, is captured – however, capturing the capital before achieving sufficient rank may result in the emperor fleeing to a different faction.

The faction ranks, in order, are:

Rank
Minor Prince
Prince
Grand Prince
Imperial Prince
Victorious Prince

When players reach the rank of Grand Prince, there will be a small chance that they will be offered the regency. This chance increases with the continued advancement in rank.

Gallery

Total War THREE KINGDOMS - Mid Game Spotlight

Notes & Trivia

• Oddly, Dong Zhou's base game faction rank doesn't change even if he loses control of Emperor Xian, nor do his ranks get passed to whoever takes control of the emperor from him.
• Additionally odd, is that even though he is in the same category as Zheng Jiang, Zhang Yan shares the same ranks as the majority of starting playable warlords.