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Total War: Warhammer 3 brings an epic final chapter to Creative Assembly's foray into the Warhammer universe. The third game boasts an entirely new map, and plenty of new factions to fill it, ranging from the daemons of Chaos to the Chinese-inspired nation of Grand Cathay. Cathay was never much more than a footnote in Games' Workshops tabletop franchise, and Total War: Warhammer 3 is the first in-depth look at the nation that fans have ever received.
When players choose to take on Grand Cathay in Total War: Warhammer 3's campaign, they must pick a Legendary Lord from two of the Dragon Emperor's children. Miao Ying holds the nation's Northern Provinces, while her younger brother Zhao Ming controls the Western Provinces. Although he starts far from the Great Bastion and Cathay's eternal war with Chaos, players will still need to work hard to unify the nation as Zhao Ming.
Maintaining Harmony
In order to prosper, the Western Provinces must find the Harmony between Yin and Yang. Almost all of Grand Cathay's buildings, Technologies, and Lords are aligned with one of the two opposing forces, and will affect the nation's Harmony when built, researched, or recruited. To forge a successful empire as Zhao Ming, players will need to avoid the massive debuffs from drifting too far in one direction or the other.
Players should constantly be aware of the Yin and Yang alignment of their choices, and try to balance each purchase with another. Those who achieve perfect Harmony will be rewarded with huge boosts to Growth, Income, Control, Untainted Corruption, Diplomatic Relations, and the ability to summon Ancestors into battle. Meanwhile, going too far to one side will come with crippling Control penalties, though raised income and lower construction costs for buildings aligned with the other side will help restore balance.
Without access to the rich and developed lands of the Northern Provinces, Zhao Ming cannot afford to miss out on the Harmony bonus. Once it has been achieved, it's a good idea to spend some time on unaligned Buildings and Technologies, in order to maintain the effects for as long as possible.
The Great Bastion and the Wu Xing Compass
Zhao Ming's starting position in the Western Provinces puts him several provinces away from the Great Bastion, the huge wall that protects Grand Cathay from the forces of the Chaos Gods. Despite this, protecting the wall is still an important campaign goal for the Iron Dragon. Players should make sure to keep an eye on what is happening in the north and dispatch reinforcements if it looks as if the Cathayan factions there will be unable to hold the Bastion.
Zhao Ming can build up the economic strength to help protect his sister's lands through the use of the Wu Xing Compass, another of Cathay's unique turn-based campaign mechanics. The Compass can be orientated in four directions, each offering a different active bonus when selected. Three of the directions will build up energy reserves when the Compass is orientated toward them, meaning players should change its orientation whenever possible.
The Ivory Road
One of Zhao Ming's most impactful faction features is his +20% to the Maximum Cargo Capacity for caravans on the Ivory Road. The Ivory Road allows players to send Caravan Masters and their armies to distant corners of the Total War: Warhammer 3 map in search of riches. Players can dispatch their first caravan on turn 1, and it's recommended to use the feature heavily throughout the game.
In order to dispatch a caravan, players need to choose a Caravan Master, assign him some cargo, and pick a destination. Carrying more cargo will increase the eventual payout when the caravan reaches its destination, meaning Zhao Ming's bonus can help players quickly amass a fortune.
The Ivory Road map will highlight any particular risks along the chosen route, and the caravan will face Events ranging from new recruits to bandit armies on each trip. Any hostile faction can attack the caravan if it comes within their range, so sending one through enemy territory is very dangerous. It's also a big risk to dispatch a caravan in the 15-turn periods when Chaos Rifts emerge across the map, as daemonic armies can easily destroy an entire caravan.
Zhao Ming in Battle
While his sister Miao Ying focuses on ranged units, Zhao Ming and his Western Provinces armies are all about melee combat. All melee units in Zhao Ming's faction have a +15 bonus to Armor, greatly enhancing their staying power in battle, and those in his army also have -25% upkeep. In addition, the Western Provinces have a -25% upkeep reduction for Ogre mercenary units, allowing them to afford more of the expensive but powerful Ogre forces.
While Grand Cathay's melee units don't have the versatility of the infantry in Kislev's Great Orthodoxy, they're much better at holding a disciplined frontline against the forces of Chaos. Players who want to make the most of Zhao Ming's strength should rely on classic hammer and anvil tactics. This means a solid line of Jade Warriors or Celestial Dragon Guard to engage the enemy, followed by a flanking attack by fast, powerful units like Ogre Mercenaries, Jade Lancers, or Great Longma Riders.
Despite Zhao Ming's buffs to melee units, no Cathayan army can function without Harmony. This means that players will still need to keep a few Yang-aligned ranged units or artillery pieces close to the frontline to balance out the Yin-aligned infantry. Finally, the Alchemists of Cathay can dominate a battlefield in the right circumstances. With Zhao Ming's +5 bonus to their starting rank, players should try to attach one of these deadly casters to every army.
Total War: Warhammer 3 is out now for PC.