New Three Kingdoms DLC: Mandate of Heaven

[Mhaedros]

A new expansion has been announced for mid-January, trailer below.

Seems to be about the Yellow Turban Rebellion and how people like Dong Zhou, Cao Cao and the other guys we know from the main game (and history of course) came to where they are at the start of the coalition and the game. Very interesting so far, I think it's better they focus on characters we already know and like, as well as some new ones of course, than their approach with 8 princes.

There's also a Steam DLC for Tao Qian, looks like a FLC playable faction for the Three Kingdoms main campaign, which is excellent news!

[zoner16]

Great trailer as always. Here's the FAQ and the Steam Page:
https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-...of-heaven-faq/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1...ate_of_Heaven/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1...OMS__Tao_Qian/

Here's a lets play that they put out:


Some highlights:
New Imperial Factions:

• Emperor Ling
• Liu Chong, Prince of Chen
• Lu Zhi, General of the Household
• Tao Qian, Inspector of Xu Province (FLC)

Yellow Turban Factions:

• Zhang Jue, General of Heaven
• Zhang Liang, General of the People
• Zhang Bao, General of the Land

New (non-leader) Characters:

• He Jin, General-in-Chief
• Huangfu Song, General of the Left
• Empress He
• Diaochan
• Xun Yu, Director of the Secretariat of Wei

40 New Units:

• Imperial Household troops with great stats but low replenishment
• New Hybrid units (Crossbow + Spear&Shield)
• Expanded Yellow Turban Roster

Battlefield Deployables:

• Stakes
• Oil
• Arrow Towers

Unit Abilities:

• Smoke Bombs
• Caltrops

Sieges Weapons:

• Siege Towers
• Bed Crossbows (ballistae)

Complete Unit Rebalance to encourage diverse army compositions.
New campaign mechanics to create distinct playstyles and improve replay value.
New Start Date (182AD). Some factions from the base game will be playable in the new date with different start positions(Liu Biao, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo, Tao Qian). Liu Chong will also be playable in the 190AD start date. If you play the 182 start, you can keep playing through the 190 start into the Grand Campaign. Scripted events will fire if certain conditions are met to have the other factions emerge.


This one looks promising. Unlike Eight Princes, the new start date ties into the grand campaign with additions that can carry over. Honestly though, it's the free patch that has me hopeful. Eight Princes came out too early for feedback to be incorporated, and the 1.3 patch was a step in the right direction, but rather small. It looks like CA is trying to address the replayability issues that have been a sticking point for a lot of people, as well as other concerns, like the rather monotone sieges. Tao Qian was something of a shoe in for FLC, since he already has an in-game model. It'll be interesting what this unit rebalance and roster expansion does for the game. Mechanics like the Han faction system and the expanded government should make internal management a lot better and hopefully more dynamic:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[douglas]

Trailer looks good, as does some of the posted info. As always, I'll wait until it comes out to see.