In January, the clock is rolled back a little further in Total War: Three Kingdoms. The Mandate of Heaven DLC lets you begin a campaign in 182 CE (8 years before the start date of the original campaign), right before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Fight through the uprising and into the country-wide Three Kingdoms conflict that makes up the base game.
Creative Assembly nailed it again with a fantastic trailer setting the stage for the Mandate of Heaven.
The developers are hyping up the DLC as “the largest and most detailed Total War: Three Kingdoms DLC to date.” What does that mean? Let’s dive into the biggest changes.
Six new warlords are coming — three on the Yellow Turban side – Zhang Jue, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang. And three new Han Empire factions: Emperor Liu Hong, Prince Liu Chong, and Lu Zhi.
Six other warlords are also getting new starting positions before they consolidated their power as the Three Kingdoms conflict kicked off. Liu Biao, Tao Qian, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Liu Bei, and Dong Zhuo get new starting positions on the campaign map.
New factions also mean unique mechanics for them. Emperor Liu Hong’s unique faction mechanic is The Imperial Court. According to the developers, with high enough levels of political influence gained from The Imperial Court, you can annex entire factions.
The Yellow Turban warlords use Zeal and Fervour to keep their rebellion going. Zeal constantly depletes over time but can be restored by capturing territory and fighting battles.
Mandate of Heaven also adds 40 new units. The DLC’s Steam page highlights a handful of the best elite units.
What if you don’t buy Mandate of Heaven? Creative Assembly promises many improvements to the Total War: Three Kingdoms campaign for all players. Details on these improvements will be released soon. Also, Tao Qian is a new, free warlord coming alongside the main DLC content.
The Mandate of Heaven DLC will release on January 16 for $9.99. You can knock a buck off that if you decide to pre-order.