Unit ability, also known as unit trait, is a battle mechanics in Total War: Three Kingdoms. Similar to characters, many units have innate abilities which grant specific skills and inform their tactical usage in battle. These abilities are noted in the description panel to the left of the screen when the unit is selected.
Overview[]
Unit ability are passive skills that units has, Sometimes, the unit enables certain ability inherently. Other times, the ability is enabled by the leading general of retinue.
List of unit abilities[]
- Bracing: A spear or pike unit which stands still while facing an enemy charge will count as braced. Braced units will maintain a defensive line better when charged, with fewer individuals getting knocked back and displaced by the impact.
- Charge Negation: When a Sentinel hero has the Bravery skill, it unlocks the unit ability to completely negate the charge damage of enemy infantry. This effect stacks with Bracing and Charge reflection vs mounted. Charge Negation applies to every unit a Sentinel can recruit in the retinue from ranged to infantry to cavalry.
- Charge Negation VS mounted: This is an ability that is found in a handful of polearm units, like Zhanmajian Infantry. It stacks with Charge Negation, making the unit a very hard target vs charges of any kind.
- Charge reflection VS mounted: When braced, spear and pike units gain the charge reflection VS mounted ability. This reflects a cavalry or mounted character’s impact damage back onto itself, provided they charge the braced unit in the front.
- Disciplined: A unit with the disciplined trait will not suffer a morale penalty if the character leading its retinue falls in battle. Disciplined troops will also recover morale more swiftly after routing.
- Encourage: Units with the encourage trait enhance the morale of nearby friendly units.
- Fire backward: The unit may fire projectiles in any direction.
- Fire while moving: The unit may fire projectiles while moving.
- Guerrilla deployment: The unit may be initially deployed deeper into the battlefield, outside the usual green deployment zone, and into the white deployment zone which becomes visible when the guerrilla unit is selected.
- Hide in forest: Units with this trait who enter woodlands will disappear from enemy view until they exit the forest.
- Immune to fatigue: The unit will never suffer from the effects of fatigue.
- Immune to scare/terror: Units with this trait will suffer no morale penalties from proximity to units with the scare or terror effects.
- Impetuous: Units with the impetuous trait may choose to charge at nearby enemy units without orders.
- Misplaced Devotion: Qingzhou Corps units (Faction unique units, Cao Cao & WEI Generals only). A passive buff when unit morale is low (undocumented value). Effects: +100% Melee Damage - Base | +100% Melee Damage - Armor Piercing | -100% Melee Evasion | Unbreakable | Impetuous | 30s Duration, 120s Cooldown
- Raider: Idle soldiers will burn down nearby buildings.
- Resistant to heat: The unit takes longer to suffer from the fatigue effects caused by desert environments.
- Run amok: The unit may become uncontrollable and attack any nearby enemy unit.
- Scare: Units with the scare trait will reduce the morale of nearby enemy units.
- Terror: Units with the Terror trait will significantly reduce the morale of nearby enemy units.
- Unbreakable: Unit will not rout while this ability is active even if morale is very low.