When the going gets tough, the Fatuous Lord gets going. Here’s our guide to help you with Yuan Shao’s unique faction mechanics — Captain Armory and Lineage — part of a free update that coincides with the release of Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided.
Note: For more information, check out our Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided guides and features hub. Likewise, please be reminded that this guide is based on Romance Mode playthroughs with VH/VH difficulty selected.
Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided – Yuan Shao’s Captain Armory and Lineage
How Lineage works
For the sake of clarity, Yuan Shao’s Lineage mechanic has been around well before the Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided DLC. However, the free update does tweak it a little bit.
Anyway, Lineage points are gained via the following means:
- Yuan Shao leads an army – 5 points each turn.
- Yuan Administration Office buildings – From the third building tier onwards, you’ll get 1/2/4 points each turn.
- Winning a battle – 15 points.
- Losing a battle – 5 points.
- Each Northern Army unit you recruit – 10 points.
- Each new army you raise/deploy – 10 points.
Note: You no longer gain Lineage from having alliances or coalitions.
What’s it used for?
Lineage is used in the following actions:
- Recruiting an officer in your court – 10 points; this lets Yuan Shao get more officers without spending a dime (except for their salaries).
- Choosing the “Secure & Occupy” option when you capture a settlement – 50 or 75 points depending on the settlement; this boosts faction support, military supplies, garrison replenishment, and army replenishment.
- Obtaining Captain Armory perks.
What are captain retinues?
Like Sun Jian, Yuan Shao and his generals are able to recruit captain retinues (Shao doesn’t even need an outpost building just to recruit them). Here are some key differences when you recruit captains and their retinues:
- Captains can’t lead armies. An officer has to be fielded first. Once you click on the plus sign, you’ll see a tab for captain retinues. You’ll need to spend gold on their recruitment and upkeep costs.
- Since they can only supplement armies, once all officers in an army are removed, the captains also disappear. Likewise, if a captain’s retinue is wiped out, it’s gone for good.
- Captain retinues have fixed unit types, and most are low-tier. These can’t be changed at all.
- Captain retinue units are garbage and they’ve got low morale. They’re primarily there for the early to mid-game when you just need more soldiers to swarm and outnumber stronger armies.
Captain Armory perks
However, with the free update that’s releasing alongside Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided, Yuan Shao now has the Captain Armory. It provides the means to upgrade captain retinues using Lineage points.
There are five upgrade tiers that require you to be at a particular Lineage value (30/60/100/150/300) just so you could purchase certain perks. Oh, and to be clear, only two of these — “Captain Missions” and “Increase Army Limit” — have faction-wide effects. The remaining upgrades are specific to a captain retinue.
| Captain Armory Perk/Upgrade Tiers | Perk/Upgrade | Lineage Cost |
| Tier I | Captain Missions (more on these in a while) | 0 |
| Guerrilla Deployment | 30 | |
| +20% melee damage | 30 | |
| +10% melee attack rate | 30 | |
| +15% melee charge bonus | 30 | |
| Tier II | Unit Training (+25 bonus EXP each season) | 60 |
| +7% attack range | 60 | |
| Enable caltrops | 60 | |
| +10% armor | 60 | |
| Enable flaming arrows | 60 | |
| Tier III | 10% replenishment in foreign lands | 100 |
| +15 military supplies in enemy territory | 100 | |
| +5 morale | 100 | |
| +10% melee evasion | 100 | |
| Enable poison arrows | 100 | |
| +15% ranged firing rate | 100 | |
| +50% ranged ammunition | 100 | |
| Tier IV | Whitewater ability (increases enemy officer ability cooldown) | 150 |
| Enable unbreakable | 150 | |
| +20% ranged damage | 150 | |
| Enable stalk | 150 | |
| +25% battle running speed | 150 | |
| Enable smokescreen | 150 | |
| Tier V | Increase Army Limit (+3 available armies) | 300 |
| Formations (enables circle, shield wall, spear wall, wedge, and many others) | 300 | |
| Ambush Battles (chance to ambush when initiating an attack) | 300 | |
| +10% ranged block chance | 300 | |
| Enable terror | 300 |
Regarding “Captain Missions,” this should be the first one you unlock the moment you start Yuan Shao’s campaign in Total War: Three Kingdoms. You’ll receive three tasks here that provide increasing faction-wide bonuses. These tend to be quite passive affairs, and you’re likely to complete them as you progress further.
| Captain Mission | Requirements | Effect |
| Pursuit: Maneuver | Kill 100/300/500 enemies with captain retinues | Upkeep cost for mercenary units reduced by 10%/20%/30% |
| Pursuit: Enlistment | Recruit 3/5/7 different captain retinues | +25/35/60 Lineage points |
| Pursuit: Triumph | Win 3/5/7 battles with captains in your army | Recruitment cost for captain retinues reduced by 10%/25%/45% |
As for the perks/upgrades themselves, try not to overdo it. As mentioned, these captain retinue units are still crap compared to what you can obtain. Plus, given that Yuan Shao has the opportunity to unlock Northern Army units, you don’t really want to get saddled with militia troops once you’re King.
At best, you might use Lineage points on specific retinues that have earned their keep throughout the campaign. For the most part, though, you’ll be using Lineage points for officer recruitment and the “Secure & Occupy” option when capturing settlements.
In any case, now that you know about Yuan Shao’s Lineage and Captain Armory mechanics, it’s time to head straight to his 200 CE campaign in Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided.
Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided is available via Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
