Starting Tips for Total War Three Kingdoms Total War Three Kingdoms guide, tips

Last update: 22 May 2019

Total War Three Kingdoms is a strategy of blood and bone, requiring a good knowledge of the general mechanics, strengths and weaknesses of each faction. You also have to know everything about enemy units as well as have some tactics and strategy ideas to plan your next steps pretty well. For this reason, the latest installment in the series, like its predecessors, is not a simple game. So you should carefully read the following tips that will be useful to players with no experience, as well as veterans of strategy games.

• Carefully plan the development of your Kingdom
• Take care of the treasury state and food supplies
• Keep track of the public order level in your commanderies
• As far as possible - take control of all the commanderies
• Secure settlements located on the borders with a hostile faction
• Regularly increase food production
• Think twice before starting military action against another faction
• Never fight with multiple factions at the same time
• Try to fight just on one front
• Don't expand your army too fast
• Give the units of your army some time to regenerate
• Consider reducing the army if the treasury of the state does not allow you to maintain so many military units
• Don't send the General into battle alone
• Watch the morale of the troops
• Do not exhaust units
• Learn the types of units and use that knowledge in battle
• Try to flank the enemy troops and don't let the enemy do the same
• Watch out for vulnerable units
• Explore the battlefield before the battle begins

Carefully plan the development of your Kingdom

In Total War Three Kingdoms, Kingdom development progresses is related with unlocking the relevant reforms. These can be selected every 5 turns, each of which offers different bonuses - increased food production, additional revenues to the treasury, or you may even unlock new buildings/units. It is necessary to plan the development already at the beginning and focus on those reforms that will allow you to unlock access to the most useful features for your style of play - by those we mean abilities, units or buildings.

Take care of the treasury state and food supplies

Gold has a key role in Total War Three Kingdoms - thanks to it you can train new units, build more buildings and hire special units with effective skills. Its absence will significantly slow down the development of the Kingdom, and in extreme situations can lead to bankruptcy and the gradual loss of troops. Taking care of adequate food level is also a key factor of success - the high level increases the amount of gold extracted from the peasantry. Lack of gold may slow down the overall development of your commanders.

Keep track of the public order level in your commanderies

Public Order - is one of the main mechanics of city management in the Total War game series. You should always adhere to an adequately high level of public order (preferably in the area of maximum ~ 100) - even a sudden and significant drop of this value won't cause any threat. You can't allow public order to fall to the value of -100 (minus one hundred), as this can cause rebellion and loss of control over the city. Public order increases the presence of the army, reduces taxes and lowers cost of some buildings.

Note - it's worth to have at least one building that increases your public order in a city or settlement inside the commandery.

As far as possible - take control of all the commanderies

Unless one of the settlements or cities owned by commandery is under the leadership of your ally, it is always recommended to capture the entire commandery. This will allow you to prevent fluctuations in the level of public order (the constant capturing of the settlement has a negative impact on this). Also, you will have access to more space for buildings inside it.

Secure settlements located on the borders with a hostile faction

It is best to keep one of your armies in such a place, so that it can intervene if necessary. However, if this is not possible, it is necessary to build structures in nearby settlements that will increase the garrison. With a sufficiently expanded garrison, enemies will not be able to capture the settlement with just one army. It will also increase the time required to lead a siege, giving your troops time to get to the vulnerable location.

Regularly increase food production

With further development and increase of settlements and cities, they food requirements of your Kingdom will also grow accordingly. The amount of food produced can be increased with the help of special buildings and a significant part can be obtained through trade with other factions.

Think twice before starting military action against another faction

Before declaring a war on anyone and launching a campaign, it is necessary to ensure an appropriate level of public order, proper level of state treasury and food production, so that the Kingdom can function effectively. Conquering even half of the map for a dozen tours is useless if the vault is empty, and a low level of public order will lead to uprisings and the loss of subsequent, newly conquered possessions.

Never fight with multiple factions at the same time

Even if your Kingdom is several times stronger than those from nearby neighbors, and you own half the map, you'll never be able to fight multiple factions at the same time, on different fronts. It is necessary to eliminate the threat step by step - and if the elimination is not possible, use diplomacy to conclude a temporary peace with a neighboring faction, allowing you to solve other problems alone.

Try to fight just on one front

After a few dozen rounds of the campaign, your lands are going to stretch through a large part of the map. In such situation fight only on one front - so the enemy that is distant with a dozen turns of march couldn't suddenly perform a back-side attack, conquering one of the settlements, and beginning his expansion into your territory.

Don't expand your army too fast

In the first few turns of the game, one army consisting of 15-16 units is enough to conduct successful military operations. Create another army and fill it with troops only when you will be able to maintain the growth of gold at 1,000 pieces per turn.

Give the units of your army some time to regenerate

If your army has just fought a battle and its troops are scattered, wait a few rounds before launching another offensive. Troops require several tours (depending on the territories and buildings located in the cities) for full regeneration. Wounded units are much worse in the fight than healthy ones.

Consider reducing the army if the treasury of the state does not allow you to maintain so many military units

Having a large army is tempting - it will allow you to easily overcome enemies and conquer new territories. However, if the state of your vault does not allow you to maintain dozens of different units throughout the map, you may want to consider a temporary elimination of units to reduce the demand for gold and give your vault a little "space". When the situation normalizes, the troops can be re-hired and put back into the army.

Don't send the General into battle alone

Total War Three Kingdoms allows you to customize the gameplay mode, giving access to Story and Archives. In this former, generals are powerful units that can decimate the enemy army alone. However, sending them alone against an entire enemy army is a bad idea - an outnumbered general can very quickly be killed, which will be a giant blow to your army's morale. Use generals to support troops on the battlefield instead.

Watch the morale of the troops

The morale of your units is the second most important stat after their health. When the unit's morale indicator reaches zero, it will run away from the battlefield and you will lose control of it. Moreover, the fleeing troops have a negative impact on the morale of the closest allies, so things can spiral out of control quickly. The portraits of the units whose morale breaks will flash in white - as soon as you notice that, allow them to retreat for a moment, or use the special ability of the generals to boost their spirits.

Do not exhaust units

Each unit - a General, infantry or cavalry - has its own stamina index. Under normal conditions, units enter battle as rested, and tire out by fighting or covering long distances. Exhausted units are way less efficient in battle - the cavalry will not be able to charge, the infantry will be slower and less accurate and so on - there is also a decrease in morale. Watch out for fatigue and give your units some time to recover before engaging.

Attention - prevent fatigue before the battle proper. Do not charge from the other end of the map at the enemy units; before engaging the enemy, give the troops some time to recover after a long march.

Learn the types of units and use that knowledge in battle

In Total War Three Kingdoms there are different types of troops - cavalry, melee units equipped with different types of weapons and shields, ranged units or siege engines - all of them differently armored (light and medium to heavy). Each type of troops is most effective against some units, and less effective against others - cavalry will blow crossbowmen into dust, but will be crushed by a wall of spearmen, who, in turn, are nearly defenseless against heavily armored infantry. Learn the types of units (and read their descriptions!) to know how to use them effectively in combat.

Try to flank the enemy troops and don't let the enemy do the same

Flanking means attacking the enemy from the sides or from behind. This has an extremely negative impact on the morale of the enemy units - units engaged from all sides will collapse in a matter of seconds, running away from the battlefield. But remember that the enemy will also try to bypass your defenses.

Watch out for vulnerable units

Ranged units and siege weapons are very effective against the enemy, but have one huge drawback - they are harmless in direct combat. Do not leave them stranded, without any protection - they will be a tasty morsel for the enemy cavalry. Try to keep about 1-2 units around - they have to be able to stop the attack of enemy units and give you time to send reinforcements.

Explore the battlefield before the battle begins

Before each battle, you will be able to place your troops inside a rather limited area, and inspect the battlefield. It is necessary to look for places that can make it easier or more difficult to start - the trees are perfect to conceal the position of your units, hills, in turn, will allow archers to shoot farther than the archers of the enemy. However, remember that the enemy will also try to take advantage of the environment.