Aspirations and Inheritance: Unique faction mechanics for Liu Yan and Liu Zhang in Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided
Aspirations and Inheritance are factors you’ll need to deal with if you play as Liu Yan or Liu Zhang in Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided.
What is Inheritance?
Inheritance is the key mechanic that makes a Liu Yan playthrough truly unique. It depicts how a parent would do all he can to create a better future for his child and heir (even if that heir is the clumsy and inept Liu Zhang). Depending on when you let your heir inherit, you’ll gain numerous bonuses (and penalties if you take too long). You can see these in the table below.
Note 1: If you don’t want Liu Zhang as your heir, you can pick someone else (i.e., a relative or via adoption). Whoever becomes your heir at the time of Inheritance gains the bonuses.
Note 2: Funnily enough, passing the leadership to Liu Zhang (as long as it’s not the 200 CE start date), still lets you make Liu Yan your heir.
| Timely Inheritance (from 190 CE to 194 CE) | Delayed Inheritance (from 195 CE to 198 CE) | Late Inheritance (from 199 CE to 200 CE) | Forgotten Inheritance (from 201 CE onwards) |
| Heir: +10 resolve, +15 authority, +10% melee evasion, +10,000 XP | Heir: +5% melee evasion, +5,000 XP | Heir: -10 to all attributes | Heir: -20 to all attributes |
| Heir’s army: +15% campaign movement range | Heir’s Army: +10% campaign movement range | Faction-wide: +2 Dongzhoubing Marksmen and Dongzhoubing Defenders, -10 satisfaction, -10 public order, +25% character salary | Faction-wide: -20 satisfaction, -15 public order, -15% income from all sources, +35% character salary |
| Faction-wide: +10 satisfaction, +1 trade agreements, +6 Dongzhoubing Marksmen and Dongzhoubing Defenders available for recruitment | Faction-wide: +5 satisfaction, +4 Dongzhoubing Marksmen and Dongzhoubing Defenders |
Needless to say, you do not want to trigger the Inheritance mechanic at any point in time past 198 CE. Oh, and as for the 200 CE start date in Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided, Liu Zhang has the “Delayed Inheritance” effects.
Aspirations and Inheritance Rewards
So, why exactly would players delay Inheritance for Liu Zhang or any heir in Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided? Well, it’s because of Liu Yan’s Aspirations mechanic. These are objectives that you’ll need to complete while Liu Yan still leads the faction. The moment he steps down, these objectives can no longer be completed.
By completing Aspirations, the player unlocks Inheritance Rewards for the chosen heir. These are used to further boost the faction once the heir is the one leading it.
| Aspiration Task | Inheritance Reward Unlocked | Aspiration Point Cost and Cooldown |
| Lethal Duelist – Win 3 duels with your heir Note: It’s tough to let Liu Zhang do this alone, but your officers might help if they support him with buffs/debuffs. | Recruitment Posters – +40% replenishment (county); 20 turns | 80 points; 20-turn cooldown |
| Trained & Wise – Have your heir level-up | Investment in Education – +75% character experience (faction-wide); 15 turns | 120 points; 15-turn cooldown |
| Experienced General – Have your heir lead the army and complete 5 battles Note: Liu Yan starts his campaign leading his army (with Liu Zhang in support). Just swap to Liu Zhang as the leader while beating down enemies. | Industrial Restructuring – -35% recruitment costs (county); 10 turns | 70 points; 20-turn cooldown |
| Stern Defense & Cutting Attack – Have 3 armies with the maximum number of units (full stack) Note: This is very expensive if your economy can’t handle it yet, so just use cheap archer militia units to get the tally done. | Private Tutelage – level-up a character; instant effect | 50 points; 10-turn cooldown |
| Flowing Gold – Have an income per turn of at least 1,500 gold | Economic Stimulus – +35% income from all sources (county); 15 turns | 50 points; 15-turn cooldown |
| Worldwide Contacts – Know of 15 living factions | Artisan Commissions – Spawn an exceptional-quality ancillary; instant | 50 points; 10-turn cooldown |
| The Shining Capital – Have a city of level 6 or higher (large city) | Construction Stimulus – Completes construction in a single turn after the effect is enabled (county); instant | 90 points; 20-turn cooldown |
| Swelling Domain – Own 10 regions | Soldier Drills – +35% campaign movement range, +20 morale (army); 15 turns | 60 points; 15-turn cooldown |
All right, we’ll talk about Liu Yan’s and Liu Zhang’s Tradeoffs and Aspiration Point sources in Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided in the next section of our guide.
