Veterans of TW, are you buying this game?

[welshy91]

I've been keeping an eye on this game for awhile now. At first wasn't at least bit interested but funny enough that TV 3k series peaked my interest and then I started looking into the history.
Watched a few of the Live streams with Wheels and it looked good. Was happy they delayed the game and happy it turned out to be a decent release.
Haven't bought the game yet as I'm waiting on Legend TW and Republic of Play to give their reviews.
What I'm interested to know is what you the veteran players think of it?
I've been playing TW since Med 1 and it's probably the most hours I ever played on one game series. I bought Thrones of Britannia and regret it though I had to two reasonable campaigns on it.
Probably why I haven't bought 3k yet, too cautious now (Decided to jump onto DEI mod for now)
All of my steam friends who play the historical TW games haven't bought this game which made me curious.

I'm guessing a large chunk of Warhammer players have bought 3k.
Whether you have or haven't bought it, just curious for those long time fans and players, what your reasoning is for your decision.

I wonder also if there's a shift in the demographic, the old TW vets keep to the old games. playing med 2 and the other titles while the new guys move on with CA into their new style.

Would love to know your thoughts.

Cheers

[Akar]

I've got to say I had a lot of nervousness going into the purchase but as many of us do I have an addiction for Total War games, so that nervousness didn't do much to stop me from buying the game on release. That being said though I have nothing but positive things to say about this new release (Except for blood and gore not being included but I digress). I've been an avid fan since Rome 1 and I've enjoyed most releases since then in spite of their (many) flaws. Thrones of Britannia, Atilla, and Napoleon are all the worst of the series and you shouldn't buy them (let alone judge the series off them, shame on CA). I really enjoyed Warhammer Total War 1 and 2 despite it's drastic shift from the previous total war games I've enjoyed so much, although that may be in part due to my love for the Warhammer franchise in and of itself. All that being said though, Three Kingdoms is probably the most polished Total War game I've played since Rome 1 and Medieval 2. I've had no crashed and it runs incredibly well on max settings, even with battles of 10k+ troops. On top of the polish it's very fun and adds the good qualities of it's predecessors while still learning their lessons, each faction is distinctive and has their own play style while still remaining cohesive with the rest of the game. I've bought every Total War game since Rome 1 on release and this is the first one since Napoleon that I haven't regretted buying on release.

[Dacadey]

I've played TW since Rome 1 and so far I quite like it. It has:
- family tree and the senate like Rome 1
- Level of polish (in terms of bugs) like Shogun 2
- Heroes with equipment and levels like WH2
- Interface most similar to Shogun 2
- Far better, deeper and complex strategic part than any other previous games
- Slightly arcade-y battles (swordsmen > spearmen > cavalry > archers > swordsmen > ...)

I've bought it because I absolutely loved the strategic part, it feels really fun with proper diplomacy, family tree, council, espionage, coalitions and so on, it's in my opinion the best strategical TW ever produced

In terms of the tactics and the battles though it hasn't yet reached the level of WH2 (best diverse races combat) and Shogun 2 (best similar races combat). As I've said, it's a bit too arcade-y. Battles end VERY QUICK, and the generals are a bit too OP and you get three of them in the army from the start, which is not very fun. also duels are pretty meh.

[Ellsid]

nope, nothing about the time period in Asia interest me.

[z3n]

Sadly no... I don't think I will until it comes on sale for at least 50% off, (75% seems more likely).

They put lots of effort into how the campaign map "looks" graphically but I frankly couldn't care any less about the graphics of the campaign map. I would rather see *mechanics* of the campaign map improved, seriously, the only reason they constantly "enhance" the graphics is to make it as difficult as possible for modders to actually mod the thing. They'd rather make money cutting up the map and modifying it ever so slightly so that they can make an extra buck (after all, nobody is going to buy unit packs when modders can do better), so they need a reason for people to buy their DLC's, and that is the campaign map being changed ever so slightly.

Regardless, I understand they're a business so it's "fine" but really not fine. There won't ever be a Third Age mod out of a historical total war game like M2TW ever again, unless an absolutely staggering effort is made by people. Which is highly doubtful, I can only ever see it happening in Shogun 2 but even that would be extremely difficult.

The later games mechanics have degenerated to the point of being quite boring, I can't even partake in a little RPG with my characters any more (their traits are extremely simplified), the lack of building trees and slots results in every town feeling the exact same and lacking any character whatsoever. At least the family tree still exists and is better (at least in Rome 2 / Attila), but I strongly dislike the direction the TW series has been heading aside from Warhammer.

DeI and Rome 2, are quite fun in their current state despite the various flaws (due to how hard they worked on all the mechanics and adding new ones in). But, generally unmodded TW games quickly lose my interest now.

[LestaT]

I've been keeping an eye on this game for awhile now. At first wasn't at least bit interested but funny enough that TV 3k series peaked my interest and then I started looking into the history.
Watched a few of the Live streams with Wheels and it looked good. Was happy they delayed the game and happy it turned out to be a decent release.
Haven't bought the game yet as I'm waiting on Legend TW and Republic of Play to give their reviews.
What I'm interested to know is what you the veteran players think of it?
I've been playing TW since Med 1 and it's probably the most hours I ever played on one game series. I bought Thrones of Britannia and regret it though I had to two reasonable campaigns on it.
Probably why I haven't bought 3k yet, too cautious now (Decided to jump onto DEI mod for now)
All of my steam friends who play the historical TW games haven't bought this game which made me curious.

I'm guessing a large chunk of Warhammer players have bought 3k.
Whether you have or haven't bought it, just curious for those long time fans and players, what your reasoning is for your decision.

I wonder also if there's a shift in the demographic, the old TW vets keep to the old games. playing med 2 and the other titles while the new guys move on with CA into their new style.

Would love to know your thoughts.

Cheers

Those who came to Total War via Warhammer does not seems interested in the game. Most of the sales I believe came from China, Korea and Taiwan where Romance of the Three Kingdoms are pretty big. Streamers from Korea I see can easily get 15k view on their Twitch streams, more gjan EU/US streamers. Even CA own channel only manage to get around 2k viewers.

There are those who came from RoTK and Dynasty Warriors and this being their first TW games.

I have to say this is the smoothest Total War release, maybe on par with Warhammer 1 or Shogun 2.

[Gigantus]

I'll buy it eventually after a number of patches have passed (too old to suffer a first day release aneurysm). If only to see how it holds up against my RotK mod

I have heard that the diplomacy has improved, just not sure if that's simple rumours, if true that would be major draw for me as I am more into the campaign side of the game.

[AK47]

Sadly no... I don't think I will until it comes on sale for at least 50% off, (75% seems more likely).

They put lots of effort into how the campaign map "looks" graphically but I frankly couldn't care any less about the graphics of the campaign map. I would rather see *mechanics* of the campaign map improved, seriously, the only reason they constantly "enhance" the graphics is to make it as difficult as possible for modders to actually mod the thing. They'd rather make money cutting up the map and modifying it ever so slightly so that they can make an extra buck (after all, nobody is going to buy unit packs when modders can do better), so they need a reason for people to buy their DLC's, and that is the campaign map being changed ever so slightly.

Regardless, I understand they're a business so it's "fine" but really not fine. There won't ever be a Third Age mod out of a historical total war game like M2TW ever again, unless an absolutely staggering effort is made by people. Which is highly doubtful, I can only ever see it happening in Shogun 2 but even that would be extremely difficult.

The later games mechanics have degenerated to the point of being quite boring, I can't even partake in a little RPG with my characters any more (their traits are extremely simplified), the lack of building trees and slots results in every town feeling the exact same and lacking any character whatsoever. At least the family tree still exists and is better (at least in Rome 2 / Attila), but I strongly dislike the direction the TW series has been heading aside from Warhammer.

DeI and Rome 2, are quite fun in their current state despite the various flaws (due to how hard they worked on all the mechanics and adding new ones in). But, generally unmodded TW games quickly lose my interest now.

The gameplay on the 3kingdoms campaign map is actually the best part about it & its the best its ever been in a TW game, it makes me optimistic about what they could do with a Medieval 3 game. Characters have so much more purpose now in the game, being ur also able to change the horse/weapon/armor of ur generals so each one is unique in one area, the diplomacy options are numerous, Everything has personality to it in this game.

The only cons i see to this game is its almost like the clone armies in Shogun 2 since every faction in the game is the same culture until they add the Nomads(Xiongnu) to the north & Koreans to the south.
The battles need alot of balancing.

[somatophylakes]

The gameplay on the 3kingdoms campaign map is actually the best part about it & its the best its ever been in a TW game, it makes me optimistic about what they could do with a Medieval 3 game. Characters have so much more purpose now in the game, being ur also able to change the horse/weapon/armor of ur generals so each one is unique in one area, the diplomacy options are numerous, Everything has personality to it in this game.

The only cons i see to this game is its almost like the clone armies in Shogun 2 since every faction in the game is the same culture until they add the Nomads(Xiongnu) to the north & Koreans to the south.
The battles need alot of balancing.

I hoped the combat system was like that of shogun 2, epic matched combat between units but i noticed it's like warhammer franchise hack and smash, pretty disappointed on this but i enjoy the game however.

[LestaT]

I'll buy it eventually after a number of patches have passed (too old to suffer a first day release aneurysm). If only to see how it holds up against my RotK mod

I have heard that the diplomacy has improved, just not sure if that's simple rumours, if true that would be major draw for me as I am more into the campaign side of the game.

Get it while there's still free DLC. There are no major bugs. Diplomacy not just improve but can be consider a totally new aporoach together.

Get it. You wont regret I assure you.

[Iskar]

Definitely recommendable, vastly improved campaign gameplay and they seem to have in fact learned from previous games and their shortfalls. Big plus is also that they actually adopted a spying mechanic that is more or less safe against savescumming, where you send regular characters as spies to be hired by your rivals - a mechanic that Knights of Honor already had ages ago, funnily.

The various non-military ways of conquest, including annexation, abdication, confederation or simple cessation of territory that now actually works in diplomacy make for an entirely new experience.

It also seems that the AI is cheating less than in previous titles. I have noticed an actual drop in troop numbers and quality in a protracted war that seems to have drained my enemy's coffers: After they opened the war by advancing several mid to high tier fullstacks their later offensives consisted mostly of militia.

[AK47]

I hoped the combat system was like that of shogun 2, epic matched combat between units but i noticed it's like warhammer franchise hack and smash, pretty disappointed on this but i enjoy the game however.

I think this is an area the modders will be able to fix. Only positive to the fast paced battles is since the game loads its battle map really fast, it allows for the player to do alot of them instead of autoresolving as much.

[z3n]

Definitely recommendable, vastly improved campaign gameplay and they seem to have in fact learned from previous games and their shortfalls. Big plus is also that they actually adopted a spying mechanic that is more or less safe against savescumming, where you send regular characters as spies to be hired by your rivals - a mechanic that Knights of Honor already had ages ago, funnily.

The various non-military ways of conquest, including annexation, abdication, confederation or simple cessation of territory that now actually works in diplomacy make for an entirely new experience.

It also seems that the AI is cheating less than in previous titles. I have noticed an actual drop in troop numbers and quality in a protracted war that seems to have drained my enemy's coffers: After they opened the war by advancing several mid to high tier fullstacks their later offensives consisted mostly of militia.

I found out CA acquired some old talent from black sea studios in 2017, so that may be why they finally adopted that mechanic.

[pajomife]

The place and price prevented me from buying the game, and seeing YouTube videos, it looks like a console game with that ridiculous arrow traces and green markers... , to childish, it's good for anime fans not for Total war fans and the prove is this forum, I don't see much activity here, comparing with Rome 2 or previous games firsts days.

[AstroCat]

Been playing since the original Shogun. I love the more realistic DEI Rome 2, EB back in the day, etc and I also have a great time with fantasy Warhammer versions. Been playing 3K for the past few days, it's super fun, I'm even playing in Romance mode for now. The Campaign map play is great, it's not a Paradox game deep, but the depth and flavor is really great. I'd say go for it, it's a big release in the franchise and I'm sure its going to get a ton of support and post launch content.

[RobG4]

76 hours played in first 5 days. I cant say enough good things about it. I've played literally thousands of hours of every TW game that CA has made (except Rome 2) and this one seems to me as their crowning achievement. At least in Campaign mode.

I started my first couple of games in Records mode thinking the Romance character driven game would be a turn off. I was so wrong. The Romance features adds a very fun layer to the game and has freshened up the battlefield portion of the game as well.

I'm a huge fanboy.

[Intranetusa]

The place and price prevented me from buying the game, and seeing YouTube videos, it looks like a console game with that ridiculous arrow traces and green markers... , to childish, it's good for anime fans not for Total war fans and the prove is this forum, I don't see much activity here, comparing with Rome 2 or previous games firsts days.

Can't tell if you're being serious or not.

The arrow traces are excessive, but they can be turned off in the options setting.

The green markers highlighting a clicked unit have been around in other TW games too - they've been around since at least Rome TW 1. Even Rome 2 had yellow markers to highlight a unit when you clicked on them.

The most arcadey games in the TW series are the Warhammer games, especially since it had an overly streamlined & simplified campaign. This 3K game improves the campaign mechanics and complexity so it's not remotely a console game. This game probably has the most complex campaign in the entire TW series.

[LestaT]

The place and price prevented me from buying the game, and seeing YouTube videos, it looks like a console game with that ridiculous arrow traces and green markers... , to childish, it's good for anime fans not for Total war fans and the prove is this forum, I don't see much activity here, comparing with Rome 2 or previous games firsts days.

It's precisely because of post Rome 2 that there's less activity here. People have moved on to other place and many never came back.

Some people do actually came back. I see many long time familiar faces with the release of 3 kingdoms. 😁

[KaiserJoe]

Oh boy, been a longggg time since I've posted here.

I honestly bought this game with serious apprehension, expecting the usual issues we all have with Total Wars; Bugs, really dumb AI, poor performance, ect... But, CA proved me wrong. I've played every Total War that's come out and this may honestly be the most polished product I've ever seen in a PC release. I've got everything maxed with extreme unit sizes on a 1060 6GB and i7, I had about 20 seconds of stuttering on a siege map from shoving 4,000 men through one tiny breach but it cleared up as soon as they passed through.

I've got nothing but good things to say about this game. I've never felt as attached and protective of my generals/characters in any other game besides CK2. I'm playing as Cao Cao and what started off as a little war to fill out a commandery (province) turned into a war of straight revenge. I had one of my sons leading an army and was one of my best generals, but got ambushed then executed after the battle. By the time the war ended I executed most of the offending party's family. The diplomacy is the best of any Total War with a lot of ways to maneuver around to get what you want without a war. And each leader has a personality, which makes them react to things or wage war on you a bit differently. The family tree is no joke, make sure you marry off your kids. If you have a daughter, you may snag a legendary unwed general.

I really like the way you go up a chain of titles with each one unlocking administrative positions. My first campaign I played lazy and expected the AI to just kind of wait on me, but my neighbors all expanded quicker and started snatching up territories until I was forced to become a vassal and start a new game. Yuan Shao is a bit OP at the moment though. I haven't had to deal with it yet but you can have or cause civil wars through espionage, which is another great addition. Part of how I dealt with Yuan Shao in my current game is infiltrate his nation with 2 spies getting hired as generals. As soon as war broke out I had them poison food supplies in 2 of his best armies and then later had them revolt and take their retinue to my side. It was enough to make him sue for peace and give me a major city.

The AI is kind of what you'd expect, but I'd still say it's an improvement. Diplomatic AI is a lot better, minus the fact they absolutely love ancillaries and I've funded wars on trading them away for cash. Battle AI is about the same but I've actually seen the AI withdraw from an ambush instead of fighting to the death, and I'll actually lose battles when outnumbered 2-1. They seem to move their armies around the map better, and will group them up when they're going for your territory. You'll usually see a climactic battle at some point that'll determine whether or not you or they will sue for peace. My last battle was with Shu-Han, 3 of their stacks vs 3 of mine, just barely won it but 10k dead men later they abdicated to me and I won the campaign.

My biggest complaint is some events don't seem to work as much as they should, I've played 2 campaigns now as Cao Cao but never had events trigger for 2 of his "special" legendary generals. Also, thanks to this place, it's extremely hard for me to play Total war without mods. So I'm going to wait for the workshop to come up before I start a new campaign. There's a list of mods on reddit however; https://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/co...kshop_release/. It'll tide you over for now.

I totally understand wanting to wait, especially with some of their releases. If you're on the fence, I truly highly recommend it. If you hold out for a sale you're a better man than myself and it'll definitely be worth it by then.

[Iskar]

I found out CA acquired some old talent from black sea studios in 2017, so that may be why they finally adopted that mechanic.

Heh, that may actually be the reason to be honest. I always loved the spy mechanic in KoH, it is as brilliant as it is simple in concept, and having it in a TW game makes it all the much better. I have to admit I haven't really tried them out properly, because I'm playing the virtuous and philantropic Kong dynasty that would never ever do something as heinous as espionage, but my next playthrough will be someone less idealistic.