Total War: Three Kingdoms Update: 1.5.2 Patch Notes Include Changes To Diplomacy And Legendary Characters

Total War: Three Kingdoms has a new hotfix available as of May 13 for those with access to the beta servers. The update is not live in the full game as of yet, with the beta edition acting as a testing grounds for the fixes before it goes live on a wider release. In addition to many much-needed bug fixes, this planned hotfix for Total War: Three Kingdoms enhances the diplomacy system, faction gameplay, tweaked many of the existing legendary characters such as Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, and Wu Jing.

Here’s the full update notes, which are available in Chinese and Korean on the official Total War website.

Total War: Three Kingdoms 1.5.2 Patch Notes

Diplomacy Changes:

• Fixed issue where if an individual deal component was not the first part of a diplomacy deal it could lead to problems later – for example if a Mercenary Treaty wasn’t added first in a deal, that treaty might not complete correctly when its time limit runs out
• Fixed issue where Liu Bei couldn’t annex Han Empire settlements in Mandate of Heaven
• Fixed issue where asking subjects to end a feud as an Empire leader wasn’t working correctly – it would say they had agreed to make peace but they wouldn’t actually have made peace (this now no longer happens)
• Fixed issue where the Coerce diplomatic action was missing for Lü Bu
• Fixed remaining issues that meant a player couldn’t make peace when in an alliance war
• Fixed issue where multiple alliance wars could be proposed at once
• Fix for factions other than Bandits and those that aren’t under player control being able to sign mercenary treaties
• Fixed issue where it was possible to issue ultimatums to factions you were already at war with
• Fixed issue where it was possible to be at war with an alliance member if they issued you a mercenary contract and the target asked you to turn against the issuing faction
• Fixed issue where if a mercenary faction asked another mercenary faction to be a mercenary for them, they wouldn’t be assigned a mission to attack a target
• Fixed issue where the mercenary contract bar would stick around at the top of the screen if the mercenary lord made peace with the mercenary target
• Fixed issue where, if you are kicked from an alliance/empire, you could wrongly have wars with both the alliance/empire and individual members of the alliance/empire
• Fixed issue where consequential deals information was missing from some war event messages, for example declaring war on a faction with vassals will now once again show consequential wars with vassals in the event pop-up

Character Changes:

• Added more faction fondness for characters in A World Betrayed so that more legendary characters are happy to stay in their historical factions, for example:
  • Zhang Liao now has fondness for Lü Bu’s faction and a positive relationship with Lü Bu
  • Diaochan now has fondness for Lü Bu’s faction
• Fixed issue where all court nobles were getting the governor salary by default, even if they were a family member. Now by default a character’s salary is 150 and then increased by titles and becoming governor (250 base) and minister (350 base). It is then further modified up or down by effect from tech tree etc. Family members will again have 0 salary
• Halved AI salaries for court nobles, administrators and ministers
• Increased time characters with unique art remain in the character pool after they leave a faction or their faction is destroyed, from 20 turns to 50 turns
• Corrected Guo Si’s class display in battles, he is now consistently displayed as Wood
• Changed Wu Jing’s personality type so his faction is less aggressive in campaign, giving more time for Sun Ce to complete his objectives
• Cheng Pu now uses a corrected unit in records mode in the Rise of Warlords campaign so he now has a bodyguard. This fix will only apply to campaigns started after this patch
• The following characters were spawning as the wrong element in the A World Betrayed campaign (which has now been fixed):
  • Han Fu
  • Liu Qi
  • Yuan Shang
  • Xu Rong
  • Yang Biao
  • Wei Huang
  • Xuan Fan
  • Fan Min
• Added effects to the career trait for the following characters, and also set their starting traits as they were missing them:
  • Gao Dai
  • Zhu Fu
  • Xu Zhao
  • Wu Huan
  • Shi Yi
  • Shi Huang
  • Shi Wu
• Zhang Yan’s and Zheng Jiang’s skill trees have been updated to include new Bandit skills
• Fixed issue where Lady Mi and Tao Qian were missing Resilience
• Fixed issue were Lady Bian’s armour gave Resolve instead of Authority
• Fixed incorrect Chinese character used in the name of Yang Hong
• Fixed issue where Yuan Huan was not gaining access to the Agricultural Development assignment his career trait should have given him
• Fixed issue where any faction could get the Sun Quan/Zhang Zhao event if they had Zhang Zhao in their faction
• Ma Xiu and Ma Tie’s starting ranks are now consistent in Rise of Warlords and A World Betrayed
• Fixed issue where Luo Jun couldn’t unequip his starting armour or weapon
• Fixed issue where Yan Baihu was missing a normal horse in his starting equipment which prevented him from unequipping his starting horse
• Corrected Wang Dang’s background in the campaign selection screen to match his actual background in campaign
• Corrected Lu Zhi’s spawn years so he cannot spawn in the A World Betrayed start date anymore
• Changed Li Jue’s AI personality so it no longer references Dong Zhuo
• Fixed issue where Zheng Jiang started with Archer Militia in her retinue which she can no longer recruit
• Fix for characters added in A World Betrayed, or who got updated backgrounds in A World Betrayed, not supporting any political faction if they join Liu Hong’s faction in the Mandate campaign
• Tao Qian’s wife Lady Gan is now in both Mandate of Heaven and Rise of Warlords
• Fixed issue where Que Xuan leaves Tao Qian on turn 1 in Rise of Warlords
• Fixed issue where Han Dang leaves Sun Jian on turn 1 in Mandate of Heaven on higher difficulties
• Zhao Yun no longer starts with the Blue Blade in any campaign
• Sun Ce death event in main campaign now waits until at least the year 200 to fire
• Adjusted Guo Tu’s birth year so he appears of age in Yuan Shao’s court in the A World Betrayed campaign

Campaign Changes:

• Removed warning of wrong game version in load game menu as the warning is incorrect
• Fixed issue where Fervour effect bundles were not being removed after the Mandate War ended
• Halved Prestige given by Lü Bu’s Personal Victories
• Corrected issue where for each of the Bandit factions one of their unique units started with a cap but the other didn’t. Their unique units now have no cap, and do not gain a cap through any technologies. Other Bandit factions can still gain access to some of the other Bandit factions’ unique units via the Bandit Network
• Moved many instances of modifiers to Family Estates income from effect bundles to other sources to correct issue where income could drop/increase on a save load
• Reduced Prestige given by Bandit buildings to reduce pace of their campaign
• Fixed issue where Liu Hong mission “A Legacy for the Han Dynasty is crafted by the Emperor” did not have a target building to construct
• Replaced bonuses to silk and spice income in Bandit network with a bonus to commerce income
• Fix for mission to take 95 regions not appearing correctly for Lü Bu once he has eliminated the other Emperors. Victory could still be achieved but the mission alerting players to this that was not appearing
• Cao Cao no longer captures the Emperor if his faction is no longer around
• Fix for Sun Ce’s Grandmaster Legacy of Wu set bonus not applying correctly to characters
• Fixed dilemma “A Thief No More” to correctly spawn a character into Cao Cao’s faction
• Fixed issue where Foreign Assignments were not available in the Eight Princes campaign
• Eight Princes factions now have access to Zhanmajian Infantry and the Imperial units added in Mandate of Heaven
• Spies are now available from the start for Bandit factions in the Rise of Warlords campaign
• Zheng Jiang can again Demand Tribute from Han factions
• Applied a fix to Sun Ce’s ambitions so that upon completion they always give at least 1 turn of boost to Reckless Luck
• Fix for Lu Zhi’s “Art of War” not unlocking correctly
• Fixed issues in multiplayer campaigns where if both players are Bandit factions and have Mercenary Contracts they could get each other’s rewards. They now get the correct rewards for their faction
• Fixed issue where the Population icon and Fervour icon was not being shown on the province panel for major settlements
• Fixed issue where completing missions for Sun Ce that granted characters before that character had come of age would not lead in them being given to him. Now if these missions are completed the character will join him once they are of age
• Fixed issue where Lü Bu, on betraying Liu Bei, would sometimes get territory that did not belong to Liu Bei
• Fixed issue where AI faction leaders could get titles
• Fixed issue where heirs becoming faction leaders could keep their titles
• Fixed issue where the “A Way Out” dilemma could occur multiple times if the campaign was saved and loaded
• Reserves effect from Share the Spoils and Raiding stance is now being applied correctly
• White Cranes Bandit tech melee evasion bonus increased from +3% to +5%
• Fixed issue where it wasn’t possible to construct State Workshop in Jianye as one already technically existed in a slot that isn’t visible when it is conquered
• Corrected issue with downgrades for Bandit resource buildings causing issues – these can now be converted properly by Han factions
• Sun Ce’s flag now correctly changes when he forms a Kingdom
• Corrected issue where many horse speeds had not been updated to reflect new unit speeds
• Fixed issue where the new Bandit skills were not giving attribute points
• Fixed issue where Prime Minister position was not appearing correctly for many factions in Mandate of Heaven campaign
• Fixed issue where it was impossible to construct buildings in Jian’an when it was colonised in the Mandate of Heaven campaign
• Fixed typo in population effect for People’s Compassion technology
• Fixed incorrect spelling of Chen Gong and Cheng Gong in campaign selection screen
• Fixed several instances of “a lot” being spelled as “alot”
• Fixed issue where Sun Ce was not getting any event pop-ups when increasing faction rank
• Fixed issue where Yan Baihu’s Family Estate income was too low in the Rise of Warlords campaign
• Fixed issue where Sun Ce was not getting the same effects from port buildings as Sun Jian
• Fixed issue where there were problems trying to upgrade the Taoist Temple chain (unique to Pengcheng commandery) as non-Yellow-Turban factions
• Swapped Banditry income from Copper and Iron chains for Industry income for Bandits to give more chains with Industry income
• Replaced references to Administrators in campaign selection, buildings and Bandit Network for Bandits with references to Underlings
• Camp Crushers and Flying Riders now shown in Lü Bu’s campaign selection screen. These have replaced Xiliang Cavalry and Heavy Xiliang Cavalry because of the limited amount of space to display faction unique features
• Fixed issue where Guo Jia’s Greatest Warrior objective could not be completed
• Corrected several dilemmas that used a layout that meant the second option for them could not be seen
• All characters in Lü Bu’s faction can now recruit Flying Riders when they are rank 2, instead of just Fire characters
• Fix for Emperor effect bundle for Yan Baihu and Zhang Yan calling them “Empress”
• Fixed issue where the public order bonus when Administrator effect from the Master of Writing title was not being applied correctly
• Fixed issue where the new Bandit Villainy skill was not correctly unlocking the Reward the Villainous & Corrupt assignment
• Cao Xing should no longer spawn in A World Betrayed until the event for Lü Bu

Balance Changes:

• Adjusted Zhou Tai’s autoresolve values
• Changed Zhou Tai’s Undying Vow ability to be active so it deactivates under the right conditions
• Changed Sun Ce’s Blood Fury ability so that it only fires in duels
• Reduced power of Zhanmajian Infantry and Handmaid Guard
• Xu Chu and Handmaid Guard now give less damage resistance to nearby heroes
• Halved duration of Yan Baihu’s Poison Volley, UI stats for damage have updated based on the changed duration
• Increased ammunition of Mounted Crossbows
• Fixed issue where change to Knowledge of Body healing value wasn’t included in update 1.5.0
• Qiang Hunters were using wrong attribute set
• Mercenary Cavalry Captain now correctly using cavalry spacing rather than infantry spacing
• Qiao Sisters ability and Zhang brothers abilities now have correct deactivation conditions
• Added the following units to the following characters in custom/multiplayer battles:
  • Gao Shun now has access to Protectors of Heaven and Defenders of Earth
  • Jia Xu now has access to Xiliang Cavalry and Heavy Xiliang Cavalry
  • Guo Jia now has access to Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and Heavy Tiger and Leopard Cavalry
  • Pang Tong now has access to Yi Archers and Yi Marksmen
  • Xun Yu now has access to Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and Heavy Tiger & Leopard Cavalry
  • Yan Baihu now has access to Protectors of Heaven and Defenders of Earth
  • Yan Yu now has access to Protectors of Heaven and Defenders of Earth
  • Zhang Liao now has access to Xiliang Cavalry, Heavy Xiliang Cavalry, Camp Crushers and Flying Riders
  • Chen Gong now has access to Xiliang Cavalry, Heavy Xiliang Cavalry, Camp Crushers and Flying Riders
  • Diao Chan now has access to Xiliang Cavalry, Heavy Xiliang Cavalry, Camp Crushers and Flying Riders
  • Sun Ren now has access to Tiger Guard
  • Sun Quan now has access to Tiger Guard and Handmaid Guard
  • Zhou Yu now has access to Tiger Guard and Handmaid Guard
  • Sun Jian now has access to Handmaid Guard
  • Gan Ning now has access to Handmaid Guard
• Diaochan now gets a unique weapon at Enchantress level in custom/multiplayer battles
• Xun Yu now gets a unique weapon at Marquis of Wansui level in custom/multiplayer battles
• Added the following missing abilities to the following units:
  • Mercenary Infantry now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Zhanmajian Infantry now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Pearl Dragons now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Tiger Guard now have access to Caltrops
  • Protectors of Heaven now have access to Caltrops
  • Mercenary Archers now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Defenders of Earth now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Imperial Sword Guard now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Imperial Gate Guard now have access to Caltrops
  • Imperial Palace Crossbowmen now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Infantry of Jing now have access to Caltrops
  • Imperial Defenders now have access to Caltrops
  • Yue Remnant Warriors now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Azure Dragons now have access to Caltrops
  • Fury of Beihai now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Thunder of Jian’an now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Onyx Dragons now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Destroyers of Treachery now have access to Diamond formation
  • Defenders of the Empire now have access to Shield Wall formation
  • Camp Crushers now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Handmaid Guard now have access to Diamond formation
  • Chen Royal Guard now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Chen Peacekeepers now have access to Wedge formation
  • Defenders of Hebei now have access to Caltrops
  • Rapid Tiger Infantry now have access to Smoke Screen, Caltrops and Circle formation
  • Warriors of the Left now have access to Smoke Screen, Caltrops and Circle formation
  • Huanglao Paragons now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Venerable Wu now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Scholar Warriors now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Archery Masters now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Jiazi Raiders now have access to Wedge formation
  • Fervent Defenders now have access to Shield Wall and Hollowed Square formations
  • Guardians of the Land now have access to Caltrops, Shield Wall and Hollowed Square formations
  • Watchmen of the Peace now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Exemplars of the Tao now have access to Smoke Screen and Caltrops
  • Spearmen Gang now have access to Shield Wall, Turtle and Circle formations
  • Ascetics of the Way now have access to Shield Wall and Hollowed Square formations
  • Peasant Volunteers now have access to Loose formation
  • Poachers now have access to Loose formation
  • Redeemed Outlaws now have access to Shield Wall and Circle formations
  • Zealots of the Way now have access to Caltrops
  • Bringers of Peace now have access to Caltrops and Smoke Screen
  • Gallant of the People now have access to Caltrops. Corrected their formations to right ones for their element
  • Tyrant Slayers now have access to Diamond formation
  • Righteous Vanguards now have access to Diamond formation
  • Youxia now have access to Caltrops and Smoke Screen
  • Arm of the Supreme Peace now have access to Caltrops
  • Bringers of Righteousness now have access to Smoke Screen
  • Chosen of the Eight Immortals now have access to Caltrops and Smoke Screen
  • Messengers of Heaven now have access to Wedge formation
  • People’s Warband now have access to Circle formation

Total War: Three Kingdoms is available on PC, Linux, and Mac. The game sold over 1 million copies in its first week and has continued to receive multiple updates in the year since.

Editor's note: This article regarding Total War: Three Kingdoms has been corrected to remove information related to Total War: Warhammer II.