Total War: Do not cycle charge Lu Bu!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Total War: Do not cycle charge Lu Bu!

Zane: Nov 14, 2007

milkandcookiestw likes what he sees. he's a bit of a fanatic but he's fundamentally a sane guy. so i feel okay about three kingdom's prospects. i might just be feeling generally good about about the franchise. after 5 years of waiting and 50 hours of modding i've finally made the r2tw grand campaign into a somewhat challenging and enjoyable game.

# ? Feb 2, 2019 11:36

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# ? Jun 6, 2024 22:54

alex314: Nov 22, 2007

I'm a bad person that pre-ordered the collector's edition, and so far nothing I've seen makes me cancel it. TW games have a long "shelf life" and they are supportive of mod community. If the battles and other mechanics suck someone will mod them out/overhaul them, like R2 agent spam stuff. My main worry is possible lack of battles and huge armies, both moddable from the looks of it. I enjoy seeking my CK2 empire crumble as my good leader dies a year after his good son and leaving only dynasty heir a bumbling idiot behind, but that's not why I play TW games.

# ? Feb 2, 2019 13:15

Archonex: May 2, 2012; MY OPINION IS SEERS OF THE THRONE PROPAGANDA IGNORE MY GNOSIS-IMPAIRED RAMBLINGS

I mean, if nothing else the game will become awesome once the first "Dynasty Warriors" mod gets out into a decent state. Warhammer with the right mods is basically that right now assuming you want a fantasy variant instead of Romance of the Three Kingdoms variant.

Remember the days of Medieval's one man army generals? :unsmigghh:

# ? Feb 2, 2019 13:32

ZearothK: Aug 25, 2008; I've lost twice, I've failed twice and I've gotten two dishonorable mentions within 7 weeks. But I keep coming back. I am The Trooper!

THUNDERDOME LOSER 2021

Zane posted:

milkandcookiestw likes what he sees. he's a bit of a fanatic but he's fundamentally a sane guy. so i feel okay about three kingdom's prospects. i might just be feeling generally good about about the franchise. after 5 years of waiting and 50 hours of modding i've finally made the r2tw grand campaign into a somewhat challenging and enjoyable game.

Plus he was one of the several influencers who went "Yeah, I am not really feeling it" on Thrones, so we can at least be sure it won't be that bad.

# ? Feb 2, 2019 13:40

Josef bugman: Nov 17, 2011; Pictured: Poster prepares to celebrate Holy Communion (probablY)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

I didn't mind thrones, I do think it could have done with more "oomph" though.

# ? Feb 2, 2019 16:34

underage at the vape shop: May 11, 2011; by Cyrano4747

Zane posted:

milkandcookiestw likes what he sees. he's a bit of a fanatic but he's fundamentally a sane guy. so i feel okay about three kingdom's prospects. i might just be feeling generally good about about the franchise. after 5 years of waiting and 50 hours of modding i've finally made the r2tw grand campaign into a somewhat challenging and enjoyable game.

Just dei or? I find Rome 2 too easy on hard and really unfair on very hard which makes me not want to play

# ? Feb 2, 2019 16:40

Frog Act: Feb 10, 2012

How is the thrones recruitment different from the Rome2/Shogun2/Warhammer/Attila system?

# ? Feb 2, 2019 16:51

Hunt11: Jul 24, 2013; Grimey Drawer

Frog Act posted:

How is the thrones recruitment different from the Rome2/Shogun2/Warhammer/Attila system?

You can recruit as many units as you have space in your army, but they start at half strength and take a couple times before they are fully ready.

# ? Feb 2, 2019 16:53

John Charity Spring: Nov 4, 2009; SCREEEEE

They also recruit instantly instead of taking multiple turns to recruit. You can effectively recruit units at full strength or near it by recruiting multiple of the same and merging the units, as long as there are a lot of units in the recruitment pool. I really like the system personally, and it was the main thing I hoped that other TW games would take from Thrones of Britannia.

# ? Feb 2, 2019 17:06

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Gay Horney posted:

it looks like you can only have three armies? am I crazy?

If you're talking about the composition of a stack, that's three generals plus six units each. If you're instead talking about seeing 'armies 1/3' from the Empire Building video when deploying Ma Lanli, a faction's army cap depends on a combination of their faction rank, Reforms enacted (the famously literal 'tech' tree), and whether your faction leader, heir, and/or prime minister have a factionwide-when-in-those-ranks bonus (from their background or granted by an equipped ancillary or a skill) that raises the army cap.

# ? Feb 2, 2019 17:39

HerpicleOmnicron5: May 31, 2013; How did this smug dummkopf ever make general?

John Charity Spring posted:

They also recruit instantly instead of taking multiple turns to recruit. You can effectively recruit units at full strength or near it by recruiting multiple of the same and merging the units, as long as there are a lot of units in the recruitment pool. I really like the system personally, and it was the main thing I hoped that other TW games would take from Thrones of Britannia.

Same, Thrones did a lot to make the campaign map more interesting from a military point of view, I'm looking forward to the changes from a civil/character driven perspective.

# ? Feb 2, 2019 17:58

Beamed: Nov 26, 2010; Then you have a responsibility that no man has ever faced. You have your fear which could become reality, and you have Godzilla, which is reality.

ZearothK posted:

Plus he was one of the several influencers who went "Yeah, I am not really feeling it" on Thrones, so we can at least be sure it won't be that bad.

Not attacking you personally, but man i don't know why the term influencers exploded in the last year, but boy oh boy do i hate it.

# ? Feb 2, 2019 18:02

Zane: Nov 14, 2007

underage at the vape shop posted:

Just dei or? I find Rome 2 too easy on hard and really unfair on very hard which makes me not want to play

dei is good but it has a couple of niggling problems that drive me insane. ai naval invasions are perpetually bugged because (i think) of non-standard unit sizing. the tiered recruitment pools are actually not much of an obstacle. and units in formation will sometimes bug out and phase through other units (usually killing them) because of how much they've mucked with the combat system. what i really miss and wish i could seamlessly port over is its incredibly deep aor unit pool.

i've instead built a custom mod list upon the foundation of the uncle billy community patch (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=754698092). it makes a number of modifications to the economy and the campaign ai that are similar to dei's. if you find vh intolerable however then my solution won't work for you. the community patch on vh severely constrains your available resources and ensures--with these resources--that you are almost always warring on multiple fronts and hard pressed to maintain public order. the balance is good enough to perpetuate the elusive total war sweet spot for longer than the first 30 turns of having to fight a careful series of battles with limited units in order to prevail against overwhelming odds. it's harsh to the point that many smaller faction starts are next to impossible however.

Zane fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Feb 2, 2019

# ? Feb 2, 2019 18:13

Ammanas: Jul 17, 2005; Voltes V: "Laser swooooooooord!"

Beamed posted:

Not attacking you personally, but man i don't know why the term influencers exploded in the last year, but boy oh boy do i hate it.

yeah and it doesnt really seem right when they arent exactly shilling a product but demonstrating their capability at the game

just stick to streamers

# ? Feb 2, 2019 18:30

Communist Thoughts: Jan 7, 2008; Our war against free speech cannot end until we silence this bronze beast!

The problem with making the campaign better at the sake of battles is that's basically the opposite of what I want from total war.

At its absolute best, imagining a fantasy world where CA was capable of making well thought out systems, they'd end up with a competent civ builder. Which I can play any number of already

Their USP is the mass battles, the campaign gives needed context and weight to them but focusing on the campaign over the tactical layer seems like a bad idea

Hopefully modders will take over but the mod tools for ThroB aren't even out yet

# ? Feb 3, 2019 16:10

Josef bugman: Nov 17, 2011; Pictured: Poster prepares to celebrate Holy Communion (probablY)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

Hentai Jihadist posted:

The problem with making the campaign better at the sake of battles is that's basically the opposite of what I want from total war.

At its absolute best, imagining a fantasy world where CA was capable of making well thought out systems, they'd end up with a competent civ builder. Which I can play any number of already

Can you recommend any of them here, because gently caress knows the only one I had fun with recently is Frostpunk.

# ? Feb 3, 2019 17:01

underage at the vape shop: May 11, 2011; by Cyrano4747

Zane posted:

dei is good but it has a couple of niggling problems that drive me insane. ai naval invasions are perpetually bugged because (i think) of non-standard unit sizing. the tiered recruitment pools are actually not much of an obstacle. and units in formation will sometimes bug out and phase through other units (usually killing them) because of how much they've mucked with the combat system. what i really miss and wish i could seamlessly port over is its incredibly deep aor unit pool.

i've instead built a custom mod list upon the foundation of the uncle billy community patch (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=754698092). it makes a number of modifications to the economy and the campaign ai that are similar to dei's. if you find vh intolerable however then my solution won't work for you. the community patch on vh severely constrains your available resources and ensures--with these resources--that you are almost always warring on multiple fronts and hard pressed to maintain public order. the balance is good enough to perpetuate the elusive total war sweet spot for longer than the first 30 turns of having to fight a careful series of battles with limited units in order to prevail against overwhelming odds. it's harsh to the point that many smaller faction starts are next to impossible however.

The reason I find it frustrating is that the AI cheats, not that its limiting. Does the AI play by the same rules?

# ? Feb 4, 2019 01:20

ZearothK: Aug 25, 2008; I've lost twice, I've failed twice and I've gotten two dishonorable mentions within 7 weeks. But I keep coming back. I am The Trooper!

THUNDERDOME LOSER 2021

Hentai Jihadist posted:

The problem with making the campaign better at the sake of battles is that's basically the opposite of what I want from total war.

At its absolute best, imagining a fantasy world where CA was capable of making well thought out systems, they'd end up with a competent civ builder. Which I can play any number of already

Their USP is the mass battles, the campaign gives needed context and weight to them but focusing on the campaign over the tactical layer seems like a bad idea

I am pretty sure this is not a popular position, but I think they could do with taking some notes from Battlefleet Gothic 2. Not in terms of general campaign mechanics (which are pretty light), but by the fact that the AI factions are not playing the same game as you. You could argue the AI already does it at higher difficulties (the money and PO bonuses means it ignores a lot of the difficulties the player has), but the BFGA2 campaign enemies are not even dealing with the same simulation. Each region of the game has a level of threat for each faction, which is essentially the amount of moves they get. Creating an invasion force from outside the region, building or reinforcing fleets, building up defenses, making attacks, each of these cost a different amount of Threat points to activate, in addition to that all the AI's offensive moves are clearly telegraphed and you have some time to shuffle fleets around to defend and there are ways to delay the attacks.

It is not a design that could be given a 1:1 to Total War, but I think it's a concept that would lead to better campaigns that stay challenging for longer, because the purpose of the TW AI is to provide a credible and fun challenge in the form of cool battles; I think 4X and grand campaign strategy games all suffer from the fact that by midgame an experienced player will have far outpaced the AI's development, often leading to a less interesting game as it goes on, this is a problem that has been with the genre since forever and no one has managed to solve it despite decades of many studios tackling it and I think insisting on the AI playing the same simulation as the player is at the crux of this.

Somewhat related to this, but not really contributing to my thesis above... When I think of my favorite Total War campaigns ever I think of my very first ones in Rome and Medieval 2 when I didn't know what the hell I was doing (so even the braindead AI in those early games was a challenge). I think of the Western Roman Empire in both BI and TW:A, which is still an unique set of challenges in the series. I think of the Napoleon mini-campaigns and Alexander with their time limits giving additional pressure between just winning battles (and for being bite-sized experiences, really wish there were more of those), I think of how the Empire in TWW has to deal with escalating threats and constant pressure all the way to the Chaos Invasion in a way other factions in the game don't, I think of how Norsca has very distinct phases for their campaign all the way to giving you a lot of broken bonuses to wrap up the game when it becomes a fait acompli. I think of the very rare battles with AI allies in all the games.

I definitely don't think of the usual exercise in map painting that most grand campaigns devolve into. So instead of the endless sandbox I want time limits, campaign phases that feel distinct, escalating threats, objectives beyond simple map painting, AI allies I have to bail out and new game mechanics that will make me fall on my face while I learn them. Also more mini-campaigns.

# ? Feb 4, 2019 01:31

skooma512: Feb 8, 2012; You couldn't grok my race car, but you dug the roadside blur.

I�m not preordering poo poo after I got burned in Rome 2

# ? Feb 4, 2019 03:50

Moonshine Rhyme: Mar 26, 2010; Hate Hate Hate Hate Hate

skooma512 posted:

I’m not preordering poo poo after I got burned in Rome 2

Same, especially without complete consensus from the prerelease gameplay experiences.

# ? Feb 4, 2019 04:13

Ragingsheep: Nov 7, 2009

skooma512 posted:

I�m not preordering poo poo after I got burned in Rome 2

Good thing CA still gives you the "Pre-Order" DLC for free if you buy up to a week after release.

# ? Feb 4, 2019 04:46

Zane: Nov 14, 2007

underage at the vape shop posted:

The reason I find it frustrating is that the AI cheats, not that its limiting. Does the AI play by the same rules?

The TW AI is always gonna cheat to present a sufficient challenge on the campaign level. You can check out the mod collection I just published however. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1645582516

Zane fucked around with this message at 08:38 on Feb 5, 2019

# ? Feb 5, 2019 08:33

Arc Hammer: Mar 4, 2013; Got any deathsticks?

Any Total War YouTubers worth watching besides Many A True Nerd? I've tried watching LegendOfTotalWar and while I appreciate some of his content he feels like kind of an rear end in a top hat. Certainly not as deluded and self-important as PrinceOfMacedon but not really a likable guy.
I'd like if iSorrowproductions played more Total War games, but he's more of a UE4 guy, even if his total war videos are hilarious.

I just want a nice, easy to listen to person who enjoys total war and makes fun campaign videos.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 09:38

Mantis42: Jul 26, 2010

Pixelated Apollo is probably my favorite. He got me into the series and it's always fun to watch him narrate a long rear end multiplayer siege battle - he just gets really into it and enjoys catching cinematic moments.

Jackie Fish is alright but he tends to drone on and on sometimes. Uh, there's Invicta who has branched out into doing general history videos. Milkandcookiestw/Indypride is another good one.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 09:48

Kazzah: Jul 15, 2011; Formerly known as
Krazyface; Hair Elf

2kliksphilip has done a couple of short fun videos dicking around in the older TWs.

This guy has repeatedly thrown himself at Attila.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 09:52

Galewolf: Jan 9, 2007; The human gallbladder is indeed a puzzle!

I like MrSmartdonkeyLP for his Shogun 2 + Fall of the Samurai videos. He makes 6-7 minute videos about clans and Top Unit videos so it's not a chore to sit through.

Pixelated Apollo is also pretty good, if a bit long for my squirrelike attention span.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 10:16

Beefeater1980: Sep 12, 2008; My God, it's full of Horatios!

I�d be interested to see a more narrative driven twist on the TW formula.

Does anyone remember the old game �Centurion: Defender of Rome�? There was a kinda tactical level but invading a country was a short CYOA to see if you could get them to submit / ally and then a single battle: win it and you get the province.

It would be good to see where and how battles happen (and maybe recruitment) streamlined. Right now I feel a major weakness in the series is that going on the offensive you�re often having the same battle several times over with minor variations and it gets old fast. Quest battles and the recruitment changes from Thrones are I think attempts to address this, but I�m not sure they go far enough.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 10:59

Chazani: Feb 19, 2013

Heir of Carthage seems to be one of the few Total War streamers who aren't alt-right adjacent. I've personally appreciated that a lot.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 11:44

John Charity Spring: Nov 4, 2009; SCREEEEE

Arcsquad12 posted:

Any Total War YouTubers worth watching besides Many A True Nerd? I've tried watching LegendOfTotalWar and while I appreciate some of his content he feels like kind of an rear end in a top hat. Certainly not as deluded and self-important as PrinceOfMacedon but not really a likable guy.
I'd like if iSorrowproductions played more Total War games, but he's more of a UE4 guy, even if his total war videos are hilarious.

I just want a nice, easy to listen to person who enjoys total war and makes fun campaign videos.

This guy, SB, has some great Total War Warhammer let's plays. https://www.youtube.com/user/Sumashful

His early ones are filled with mistakes as he learns the game, but he got really into the game and at this point is pretty competent as well as being consistently easy-going and easy to listen to. Fun videos.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 12:10

Galewolf: Jan 9, 2007; The human gallbladder is indeed a puzzle!

Beefeater1980 posted:

Does anyone remember the old game �Centurion: Defender of Rome�? There was a kinda tactical level but invading a country was a short CYOA to see if you could get them to submit / ally and then a single battle: win it and you get the province.

It would be good to see where and how battles happen (and maybe recruitment) streamlined. Right now I feel a major weakness in the series is that going on the offensive you�re often having the same battle several times over with minor variations and it gets old fast. Quest battles and the recruitment changes from Thrones are I think attempts to address this, but I�m not sure they go far enough.

That game! God, I remember spending alot of time to master the chariot races and gladiator fights to make money.

I think the strategic and even tactical game is proto-Total War Shogun 1 and Medieval 1 now that you mention it.

# ? Feb 5, 2019 12:10

Hallucinogenic Toreador: Nov 21, 2000; Whoooooahh I'd be
Nothin' without you
Baaaaaa-by

Two hour twitch stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/376071859

One thing they clarify here is that if the AI doesn't want it's general to duel then the option is greyed out for the player rather than the player offering to duel and the AI refusing, which is why it looked like the AI always accepted duels.

There's a nice feature in the recruitment system where if you swap out an existing unit the replacement retains some of the old units strength.

Characters seem a little weaker than at the press event, in one battle generals lose most of their health fighting low tier units.

# ? Feb 6, 2019 22:28

Mantis42: Jul 26, 2010

e:f;b

# ? Feb 6, 2019 22:28

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Hallucinogenic Toreador posted:

Two hour twitch stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/376071859

Also here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PI51Mcg74Q

Nice to finally have some numbers for a bunch of Yuan Shao's faction specifics:

instead of paying out gold/cash Yuan Shao players pay 10 lineage (out of 100) to recruit characters
we got to see what Yuan Shao's Secure occupation option does: -15 Lineage but no Population reduction, 25 faction support instead of Occupy's 10, +30 military supplies instead of Occupy's +10, no settlement level reduction, and +20% replenishment for the local army and for garrisons)
Yuan Shao's initial dilemma means either you get +40 diplomatic standing with Gongsun Zan for not interfering with Gongsun Zan's attack on Han Fu or war is declared with Gongsun Zan but you gain not only Anping commandery (small city and farmland) but also all of his family members and his deployed generals, which in this video included Zhang He (a generic portrait-but-still-Legendary vanguard)
Wen Chou's Binding Fury does 'only' 10K splash damage with a 60s cooldown vs. Liu Bei-campaign-build-Guan Yu's 75K splash damage for God of War (once per battle), while a mouseover of Zhang He's Flames of the Phoenix showed only 5K splash damage for that but only 30s cooldown
Yuan Shao's faction-specific units are the Warriors of Ye (medium spear infantry) and Defenders of Hebei (heavy spear infantry, character rank 3 required to unlock), and his faction-specific building chain is the Yuan Administration Office (+ income from all sources, + public order, + lineage)
an example event, Disciplined General, gave Wen Chou a five-turn buff of Drill Master: "+1 starting rank for all recruits (this army)" and "+10 bonus experience for units per season (own army)"
for the Yellow Turbans the Scholar class "Excels at engaging enemy heroes and highly-skilled foes but easily overwhelmed", while the Veteran "Excels at holding out against many enemies but susceptible to armour-piercing damage", we get our first look at ranged cavalry stats in the Horseback Huntsmen (light, guerrilla deployment, 33 Morale, 33 Melee Toughness, 30 Ranged Toughness, 11 Melee Power, 100 Ranged Power), and there's even a support unit called Chanters (light melee infantry) who "encourage allies"
you can recruit/deploy a character-and-retinue right from the army deployment screen instead of having to do these separately, e.g. the devs picking up the sentinel Congqian by paying out 10 lineage (for the character) plus 671 gold to add him and his retinue (two Axe Bands and two medium Crossbowmen units) right to an existing army, albeit with mustering time required as in regular unit recruiting

Hallucinogenic Toreador posted:

There's a nice feature in the recruitment system where if you swap out an existing unit the replacement retains some of the old units strength.

That was nice, though I imagine that the units being able to rank up is why they didn't allow merging units (avoids the question of how to handle a rank differential).

Hallucinogenic Toreador posted:

Characters seem a little weaker than at the press event, in one battle generals lose most of their health fighting low tier units.

Not so surprising when (if I'm guessing correctly you're thinking of the Siege of Henei, City) the two characters were Yuan Shao (commander) and Wen Chou (champion) whose classes are officially suboptimal to vanguards for directly fighting units, e.g. I swear that Binding Fury missed at least once in the opening duel, plus in both his case and Guan Yu's with God of War they had from-what-I-could-tell minimal immediate effect against units.

Chortles fucked around with this message at 01:24 on Feb 7, 2019

# ? Feb 7, 2019 00:38

Mantis42: Jul 26, 2010

Oh hey, it looks like they're doing something with Dong Zhuo after all. Someone leaked a trailer early, but it's been scrubbed from Youtube.

https://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/comments/ao0v86/dong_zhu_leaked_trailer/

# ? Feb 7, 2019 12:04

ZoninSilver: May 30, 2011

It's out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj_VMvsG7G0

https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-war-three-kingdoms-warlord-legends-dong-zhuo

He's unlocked by reaching Emperor rank or defeating him in a battle, been a while since we saw unlockable factions, don't remember where Duke is placed but it's probably not a bad thing its not "beat an entire campaign" like in the Medieval 2 days

quote:

Dong Zhuo, the Tyrant
Hero Class: Vanguard
Nickname: The Tyrant

Who is he?
Despite his reputation, Dong Zhuo was a chivalrous youth with a talent for horseback archery who spent his earlier years travelling the Qiang region and befriending many great men of valour.

As an adult, he returned to his birthplace of Longxi Commandery and took up farming, inadvertently discovering a blade bearing the inscription �Slices through jade, like so much logging� that the scholar Cai Yong claimed was the blade of Qin dynasty warlord Xiang Yu.

After a very successful period of service in the imperial guard that included several promotions, Dong Zhuo was sent to snuff out the Yellow Turban rebellion � but was ultimately defeated and demoted. The Liang Province Rebellion saw Dong Zhuo reinstated and sent to suppress the rebels, and while he failed to defeat them his unit was the only one to escape unscathed thanks to a cunning deception involving damming a nearby river.

Dong Zhuo was subsequently promoted to General of the Vanguard and Inspector of Bing Province, but refused to take up his new post as he didn�t want to leave his forces back in Liang Province. With the power of the Han dynasty waning, he settled In Liang Province to build up his own, with Sun Jian�s suggestion that Dong Zhuo�s arrogance and insubordination was worthy of a death sentence going unheeded.

Following the death of Emperor Ling of the Han, He Jin ordered Dong Zhuo to lead troops into Luoyang in order to eliminate the Ten Attendants. However, the latter assassinated He Jin before Dong Zhuo arrived, with the capital falling into turmoil as a result.

The Ten Attendants took the child Emperor Shao hostage and fled Luoyang � only to be intercepted by Dong Zhuo, who returned the young emperor to the palace.

Taking advantage of the ongoing chaos in the capital to offset his lack of popularity as a potential regent, Dong Zhuo took command of the He family�s leaderless forces and soon established himself as a tyrant, ruling through fear and intimidation.

Playstyle
Dong Zhuo is trying to hold onto the last remnants of Han imperial power � but as his fist grips tighter and tighter, opposition from the outside grows.

It is this balance that is the cornerstone of Dong Zhuo�s playstyle: will you try to rule with an iron fist, stabilising your realm internally but creating external enemies, or will you try to � at least in appearance � be gentler, and make your enemies turn against each other?

Crucially, Dong Zhuo starts with the Han emperor � Emperor Xian � under his control.

This means that the still-mighty Han empire is his vassal, which provides him with significant income and also means he can annex and integrate Han empire territory by claiming ownership for himself (something that all factions are able to do if they control the emperor). Dong Zhuo also starts at a higher faction rank than all of the other playable factions.

Dong Zhuo also has access to a unique resource: intimidation. This measures his authority, exercised through his iron fist and his cruelty, and the amount of control he exerts over his territory and his subjects. High intimidation keeps characters under Dong Zhuo in line with increased satisfaction and reduces corruption across his realm � which is key in the later stages of the campaign. Conversely, low intimidation means less satisfaction and higher corruption.

Intimidation is increased by annexing or integrating Han empire territory, winning battles, or executing other characters. Intimidation decreases when characters are promoted, or battles are lost, as well as decaying over time. Dong Zhuo can also spend intimidation to coerce other factions into more efficient diplomacy, meaning that with high intimidation he can force other factions into certain deals.

Overall, Dong Zhuo�s playstyle revolves around juggling internal control with external threats � much like the historical Dong Zhuo himself. You have a lot of power, and the ability to make a lot of different things happen, but the reins are slipping away from you and all the other warlords want a slice of the pie. And there�s only one way to know how to maintain the upper hand: to rule with intimidation, tyranny, and an iron fist.

Guanxi
Dong Zhuo relies on the handful of strong generals at his command but he also counts a number of important faction leaders as his rivals from the start, meaning that diplomacy with them will be difficult. Additionally, thanks to the events preceding the campaign, Dong Zhuo also starts with reduced diplomatic trustworthiness.

L� Bu (his foster son, who Dong Zhuo convinced to kill his original foster father Ding Yuan) considers him a friend, but he has personal rivalries with Sun Jian (who has been actively fighting against him), Yuan Shao (who led the alliance against him), and Cao Cao (who Dong Zhuo has declared a prime enemy of the state).

Dong Zhuo�s faction also includes other such noteworthy figures as Zhang Liao, Li Ru, and Guo Si.

Starting Position
As Dong Zhuo, time is on your side. If you can consolidate your immediate situation, you�ll be in a good position for the mid game.

However, the situation is difficult, mostly hinging on your success at stabilising your starting situation and preventing the former coalition from reuniting against you.

Dong Zhuo�s enemies are primarily to the east: Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao are all within striking range, and can become a threat early on if you are too bold.

To the north and south there is a lot of Han Empire territory that you could claim for yourself, but such actions will draw a lot of attention and might make other factions more aggressive towards you. However, it might still be the most efficient strategy to be as aggressive as possible in order to get an early advantage.

Equally, you can try to remain relatively defensive, consolidating your situation and letting the other warlords turn against each other. However, with this strategy you risk falling behind in the race to establish a strong mid-game power.

Initial Dilemma
In each playable warlord�s campaign, they will face a unique dilemma after fulfilling certain prerequisite actions. These dilemmas will position the player at a fork in the road, marking a pivotal moment in that warlord�s story. One of the options available to you is a choice reflecting what happened in history, and the outcomes will follow the events of the period. The other lets you forge a tale of what might have been. Total War is all about giving players the freedom to create their own stories in some of the most exciting periods in human history, and these initial dilemmas epitomise that spirit.

Dong Zhuo�s dilemma primarily concerns his relationship with � or alienation from � L� Bu.

However, it�s up to you to decide how best to handle the situation and keep the famous warrior in line. Depending on your choices, it may very well turn out that you meet an early demise and end up being succeeded by the culprit himself�

Unlike the other warlords, this outcome is dictated by not one but a chain of dilemmas and events, each of which depends on the selected game mode.

In Romance Mode, Dong Zhuo�s dilemma chain focuses around Diaochan, the beautiful serving girl who turned Dong Zhu and L� Bu against each other with their jealousy (which eventually led to Dong Zhuo�s death).

As Dong Zhuo, you can influence these events by giving up on Diaochan in order to gain L� Bu�s approval � or confirming his affection by marrying her, thus leading to a more difficult outcome.

In Classic Mode, this dilemma chain is based around personal differences between Dong Zhuo and L� Bu, as well as the political scheming of Wang Yun.

Campaign Progression
As with all the warlords, Dong Zhuo�s path to victory depends on you.

If you opt for a more passive, defensive strategy, the other warlords will eventually turn against each other, meaning Dong Zhuo will need to strike out in the later stages of his campaign. He will then find himself facing steadily stronger warlords and realms, and will have to battle it out with the other warring factions on equal footing.

An aggressive strategy early on will allow for quick expansion but will also result in a lot of opposition from various sides right from the start.

Dong Zhuo will also want to take Han territory wherever and whenever appropriate.

Whatever his approach, Dong Zhuo will want to do his utmost to �protect� Emperor Xian and make sure he exploits his position � and his role as tyrant � to the fullest

What kind of player is Dong Zhuo for?
Dong Zhuo is the warlord for anyone who�s up for the challenge of keeping a crumbling realm together, ruling with authority and by inciting fear � for those willing to step into the shoes of a true tyrant.

ZoninSilver fucked around with this message at 22:09 on Feb 7, 2019

# ? Feb 7, 2019 16:13

Arbite: Nov 4, 2009

ZoninSilver posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj_VMvsG7G0

I love that Lu Bu's doing the bro walk in that preview image. He's even got the expression.

*Edit*

Watching that Yuan Shao stream, they need to have a way to speed up duels after the battle's ended around them.

Arbite fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Feb 7, 2019

# ? Feb 7, 2019 16:42

Babe Magnet: Jun 2, 2008

lol that the Dong Zhou trailer is 90% Lu Bu loving poo poo up

can't wait for some Big Dong action

# ? Feb 7, 2019 17:22

Mantis42: Jul 26, 2010

He's unlocked when you reach the rank of Emperor, not Duke.

# ? Feb 7, 2019 20:40

ZoninSilver: May 30, 2011

Mantis42 posted:

He's unlocked when you reach the rank of Emperor, not Duke.

Almost 100 % certain that changed since I last checked, they also added the option to defeat him personally in combat to unlock him. Post updated, thanks for the headsup!

# ? Feb 7, 2019 22:10

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# ? Jun 6, 2024 22:54

Chortles: Dec 29, 2008

Arbite posted:

Watching that Yuan Shao stream, they need to have a way to speed up duels after the battle's ended around them.

On the other hand, what if you were hoping to 'confirm the kill' on the dueling officer or even capture them?

Addendum note to the above Dong Zhuo reveal: Pete_CA said on Reddit that "It's bound to an achievement this time around. So as long as you're using the same steam account, Dong Zhou will remain unlocked forever once unlocked."

# ? Feb 8, 2019 04:41

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Total War: Do not cycle charge Lu Bu!

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