The Six New Warlords of Total War: Three Kingdoms Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven DLC, recently announced by Creative Assembly, is the second Chapter Pack DLC for Total War: Three Kingdoms. Following on from Eight Princes, Mandate of Heaven takes players back to just over a decade prior to the start of the main game. Here, players will be able to experience the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Qiang uprising, and the other events which led to the start of the main game. While several of the existing warlords are playable in Mandate of Heaven, such as Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo, the DLC also introduces six new playable warlords. (As well as Tao Qian, who is coming as Free-LC alongside the main release.)
The Han Empire
Mandate of Heaven DLC Warlords: Liu Hong (Emperor Ling)
Liu Hong is likely to be perhaps the most original playable character in the Mandate of Heaven DLC. Certainly, he offers a totally different sort of campaign to any of the other existing characters. Not only is he the first playable emperor in the game, but he starts with control of almost the entire map; the Han Empire itself. This provides him with a vast economy, a full imperial army with extremely low upkeep and the best imperial guard units, and a full court of characters. However, he also starts with severe penalties and problems to deal with. (Not to mention the impending Yellow Turban Rebellion…)
Liu Hong’s campaign seems to be more about trying to stop an empire from collapsing than building one up; something which Total War: Three Kingdoms hasn’t offered players until now. Additionally, Liu Hong is the first playable warlord who never actually appears in battle. Both he and the empress never leave the imperial palace, meaning that they cannot be sent on assignments or tasked with leading armies. As such, Liu Hong has the support of General-in-Chief He Jin (pictured above) who leads the imperial army in the field.
Liu Hong’s unique mechanic is his Imperial Court, balancing which is a major factor of his campaign. At the start, his court is dominated by the Bureaucrats; a situation which imposes massive penalties across his faction. Liu Hong can use Political Influence, a unique resource, to remove ministers and annex imperial factions. This allows him to balance the power of the Bureaucrats, Dynasts, and Warlords, the three court factions, as well as cement his control over the Han Empire.
Mandate of Heaven DLC Warlords: Liu Chong
The second new warlord for the Han Empire in Mandate of Heaven is Liu Chong, the last Prince of Chen; the only member of the imperial family who ruled his own territory in this period. “The people he governs love him,” explain Creative Assembly; “due to a combination of his own bold personality and his skill in battle. He is determined to make his holdings a place of peace and prosperity for any and all who wish to seek kaven there.”
Liu Chong’s unique resource is Fortitude, which he gains from fighting in battles. The more Fortitude he amasses, the better bonuses it applies to units under his command. Additionally, the prince has a unique mechanic which allows him to unlock trophies for his trophy cabinet. Each trophy provides a different bonus, and so with many trophies available, Liu Chong can mix and match his active trophies to suit different styles of play. Unfortunately, Liu Chong was assassinated by Yuan Shu in 197.
Interestingly, it sounds as though players might be able to play as Liu Chong in the base game as well as the DLC campaign; “Owners of Mandate of Heaven will also be able to begin a campaign in 190 CE as Liu Chong,” write Creative Assembly; “and his historical conflict with Yuan Shu.”
Mandate of Heaven DLC Warlords: Lu Zhi
A famous scholar, and the mentor of both Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan, Lu Zhi was one of the first imperial generals to fight against the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Unfortunately, his career was undone by political rivals; when he failed to pay a bribe to the eunuch Zuo Feng, the eunuch had him arrested. Ultimately, he was freed, but he was stripped of his military post, taking up a position instead as Master of Writing. In Mandate of Heaven, he serves as a new playable Strategist whose playstyle focuses on scholarship.
Lu Zhi’s unique mechanic, The Great Library, is similar in some ways to Liu Chong’s trophy cabinet. Rather than achieving battlefield feats to unlock trophies, however, he must complete civic achievements to unlock unique texts. He can “equip” up to five texts in the Library at a time; each providing a unique bonus to his faction. Some texts also form sets which offer even greater bonuses if displayed alongside one another.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion
At last, Mandate of Heaven will allow players to play as the original leaders of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Total War: Three Kingdoms; the three Zhang brothers. Overall, Creative Assembly hasn’t revealed as many details about their individual mechanics and styles of play, but they have revealed details about the Yellow Turban Rebellion as a whole. Essentially, all three brothers will share two faction mechanics; Zeal and Fervour.
Zeal is a unique resource which all three brothers share between their factions. This resource depletes over time and can impose penalties if it falls too low. However, the brothers can maintain it by fighting battles and capturing new territory. Meanwhile, Fervour is a new mechanic representing the local support for the rebellion in different regions. It sounds very similar to how corruption works in Total War: Warhammer 2; a regional mechanic which penalises public order for Han Empire factions and improves public order for the Yellow Turbans.
Mandate of Heaven DLC Warlords: Zhang Jue
Known as the General of Heaven, and the Great Teacher of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Zhang Jue was a Taoist healer and the eldest of the three brothers. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhang Jue receives a sacred text called the Scriptures of Great Peace from an immortal, which prompts him to begin the Yellow Turban Rebellion against the Han Empire. Creative Assembly seem to be adapting this part of the story somewhat for the game’s Romance Mode.
Mandate of Heaven DLC Warlords: Zhang Bao
The General of the Land, Zhang Bao is an aggressive commander who leads the Yellow Turban Rebellion on the front lines. “He forms the spear-tip of the rebellion,” write Creative Assembly; “hurling himself boldly into the fray”. While Zhang Jue’s territory is nestled in the centre of the rebels’ holdings, Zhang Bao will be on their outer borders. As such, he will be the one pushing to take territory from the Han.
Mandate of Heaven DLC Warlords: Zhang Liang
Where Zhang Bao is on the attack, Zhang Liang, the General of the People, is more of a defensive leader. “His aim is to build an impregnable defence against the Han as they attempt to stamp out the rebellion,” explain Creative Assembly. In particular, Zhang Liang will find himself fending off Lu Zhi; the imperial general who has been dispatched by the emperor to put down the rebellion. As such, Zhang Liang and Lu Zhi are likely to start relatively close to one another.