Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided -- Cao Cao campaign guide

The Hero of Chaos, Cao Cao, is set to do battle against his friend-turned-rival Yuan Shao. Here's our Cao Cao campaign guide for 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 - Cao Cao campaign guide We'll be dealing with a lot of mechanics and facets when it comes to Cao Cao's 200 CE campaign in Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided. You can refer to the pages below for the parts that you need help with: I. Opening moves: Domestics II. Opening moves: Armies III. Breakthrough: Annihilating Yuan Shao's forces IV. Missions and progression V. Various tidbits: Establishing the Kingdom of Wei or restoring the Han Empire VI. Cao Cao's unique faction mechanics: Schemes and Credibility VII. Lovebirds: Cao Pi and Zhen Ji Note: Details about Cao Cao's schemes and Credibility mechanics, as well as Cao Pi and Zhen Ji, are part of separate guides. You can also take a look at our campaign guide for Yuan Shao, Cao Cao's main rival in the 200 CE campaign. Opening moves: Domestics Let's talk about Cao Cao's domestic policies in Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided. Officer Court and Family First things first: Cao Cao has a lot of brilliant officers at the start of the 200 CE campaign. Four of the five Elite Generals are with you (the only one that's missing is Zhang He, but we can get him soon enough). Reliable friends like Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, and Xu Zhu are also included. Likewise, you're filled to the brim with amazing strategists such as Xun Yu, Xun You, Kong Rong, Jia Xu, Guo Jia, and Mao Jie. Regrettably, Dian Wei (your trusted bodyguard) and Cao Ang (your eldest son) are already dead at the hands of Zhang Xiu (who's already your vassal in 200 CE). That means your heir is Cao Pi, and he's only 13. If you don't want to wait for him to come of age, you can make Lady Bian your heir (give her some ancillaries too). Now, since Cao Cao is already a Duke, several ministerial positions are available. Here are my picks: Prime Minister - Cao Ren Huainan administrator - Cai Yang Hedong administrator - Xun You Dong administrator - Xu Huang (give him +industry income once he levels up) Chen - vacant Assignments If you made Cao Ren your Prime Minister, then you should have six assignments ready: Huainan - Tax Collection (Lady Bian) and Reward the Filial & Incorrupt (Guo Jia) Hedong - Stimulate Markets (Jia Xu) and Reward the Filial & Incorrupt (Kong Rong) Dong - Reward the Filial & Incorrupt (Zhang Ji) Chen - Tax Collection (Wang Lang) Buildings You won't need to do anything on your first couple of turns. Later, though, I would suggest demolishing every tax collector and military infrastructure building to replace them with administration offices. Faction Council These two are important: Circulate Propaganda (200 gold) - +20k population growth and +10 public order. Go increase your taxation by one level (the extra public order here will offset the penalty from the tax increase). Seek Skilled Characters (500 gold) - When you're prompted on turn 2, choose a Sentinel officer. If that person isn't level 3 or 4, reload your save. Diplomacy and trade Cao Cao starts Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided embroiled in a gigantic conflict against the Yuan clan (Yuan Shao, Yuan Tan, and Yuan Xi), Gao Gan, Liu Bei, and Gong Du (yes, that Yellow Turban Gong Du). This is an alliance war, and Cao Cao is backed by the aforementioned Zhang Xiu (vassal) and Chen Deng (ally). Funnily enough, their group is called the "Coalition to Restore the Emperor." Oh, such a wicked Mengde! Likewise, Zheng Jiang is an independent leader, and she's at war with you and Liu Bei. Don't let Cao Ren marry anyone since we could eventually see Zheng Jiang in Cao Cao's officer court after her faction's been defeated. Anyway, go ahead and enact trade agreements/NAPs with Sun Ce, Zhang Lu, Zhang Xiu, and Liu Biao (you might have to pay extra for this guy). If you don't want to spend a lot of gold already, you can trade some food or useless ancillaries. All right, let's discuss Cao Cao's management of his armies. Update: The live/release build now places the Imperial Seal in Cao Cao's inventory, so go ahead and equip it. There's no need to make Sun Ce trade it to you. Opening moves: Armies Let's talk about Cao Cao's armies and battlefronts in Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided. The north The massive Guandu campaign is right here in the north. In the central area, you've got: Cao Ren's army (Cao Ren, Yue Jin, and Xu Huang) - Fill this up with a few units like Archer Militia and Qingzhou Halberds. Position the army so that near Zhang He's squad. Yu Jin's army (Yu Jin and Cheng Yu) - Add Zhang Liao, and continue filling it up with cheap units. Xiahou Dun's army - It's just Xiahou Dun. Eliminate Gao Gan's officer and capture Taiyuan - Jinyang on your next turn. Note: Do not attack Yuan Shao's armies yet. We still have one more thing to do (I'll get to that in a while). The south Xiahou Yuan's army - You've only got Xiahou Yuan here and he's right next to Gong Du's city in Runan. Add a second officer (i.e., Xun You) and give him Archers. If you still have extra gold, add a third (i.e., Han Hao) and give him some Ji Militia. Xiahou Yuan's army should simply stay in ambush stance since Gong Du will muster his forces faster than you. Cao Cao's army (Cao Cao and Xun Yu) - Get a third officer (i.e., Dian Wei) and give him some Ji and Sabre Militia troops. When this army has the max number of units, go straight for Guan Yu. You'll get a decisive victory and a 100% shot at capturing him. Note: Make sure you've filled up Cao Cao's army before fighting Guan Yu. Since beating him is part of a mission, you'll get more gold so you can continue adding troops to your other armies. The first three Schemes After recruiting Guan Yu, move Cao Cao closer to Xiapi. Cao Cao will run out of movement points, so open the Schemes panel and use "Hawk & Tiger Maneuvers." You'll regain some movement points, allowing you to attack Xiapi. Make sure you don't lose a lot of troops here. Oh, and since we're on the subject of Schemes, pop "Rival Tigers & One Prey" to get diplomatic bonuses with other factions. Likewise, since you've deployed Zhang Liao, use "Flatter the General" on his army. The reason we're using these Schemes now is that they add extra Credibility for Cao Cao which, in turn, increases our Imperial Favor gains. Imperial Intrigue Speaking of Imperial Favor, check the Imperial Intrigue panel and take note of how many points Yuan Shao has. Just increase Cao Cao's favor for now and go save your game. Anyway, let's talk about how Cao Cao can break Yuan Shao's forces from turn 2 onward. Breakthrough: Cao Cao destroys Yuan Shao's army Let's talk about how Cao Cao can obliterate Yuan Shao's troops quickly in Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided. I've also added an update based on the live/release build. The fourth Scheme, new administrators, and new officers On turn 2, use "Dominion Over the Realm" to unlock a reform. Pick "Eunuch Secretaries" so you can have another administrator. Since we just recruited Guan Yu, you can now make him the administrator of Chen. He's got +peasantry income without the public order malus (unlike Xiahou Dun). Also, remember the "Seek Skilled Characters" Faction Council decision? If you get a level 3+ Sentinel, use skill points for +industry and +commerce income. He/she can be an administrator for an industry/commerce province later. Note: You might see officers like Liang Xing, Yan Yuanchang, and Lu Fu. Save up on some gold and recruit them when you can. Enemy of the Han Now on turn 2, use your Imperial Favor to decrease Yuan Shao's standing, then mark him as an "Enemy of the Han." This will make your Imperial Favor amount drop considerably, but the extra Credibility threshold should help boost it back up. Also, because we declared Yuan Shao an "Enemy of the Han," defeating his armies and garrisons will make Cao Cao gain Imperial Favor instead of losing it. Update: Based on the live/release build, it's possible for Yuan Shao to have a slight bump to his Imperial Favor on turn 2, making it impossible to declare him as an "Enemy of the Han" early in your campaign. Assuming this is what occurs in your playthrough, I would suggest using Cao Ren's army to move closer to Zhang He on turn 1. This will force Zhang He to attack you after you end your turn. Win this battle (since the AI initiated the attack, you won't be penalized). Upon reaching turn 2, you should see that Yuan Shao's Imperial Favor is below 65 points. Just decrease it further and mark him as an "Enemy of the Han." The north on turn 2 Xiahou Dun can capture Taiyuan - Jinyang now. Give him another officer as backup and attack Taiyuan - Jiexiu when you think the army is ready. Deploy Guan Yu's retinue in Henei - Huaixian and partner him with Mao Jie. Get a full stack. Capture Wei - Gongcheng with Cao Ren's army. Have Yu Jin's army cross the river and park near Henei - Zhaoge and Yuan Shao (better save beforehand, though). The south on turn 2 Xiahou Yuan should stay in ambush stance. Give him a third officer if you want. Move Cao Cao between Xiapi - Xuexian and Donghai - Tanxian. Switch to ambush stance to intercept Liu Bei. After you end your turn, the following things should happen: Yuan Shao (with Yuan Shang in march stance) will attack Yu Jin's army. Just retreat. It's unlikely that Yuan Shao will be able to follow through. As for Liu Bei, he may or may not attack. If he does and the ambush is successful, you should get a pyrrhic or close victory. Since Cao Cao's stack isn't fully replenished, you should be fine with that. The north on turn 3: My own mini-Guandu I've reloaded my save here a few times, and I've usually seen this result: Yuan Shao, Yuan Shang, and Zhang He will all be in march stance next to Henei - Zhaoge. That's the ideal result. It's even better after reloading since I could give Guan Yu a full stack. Anyway, have Yu Jin, Guan Yu, and Cao Ren (march stance) swoop in to triple-team the closest hostile army. This will maul every enemy in the vicinity. Follow through by getting Yu Jin to capture Henei - Zhaoge with some backup (which will also annihilate any stragglers). On turn 3, I was able to capture Yan Liang and Wen Chou. I also had Yuan Shao as a prisoner. I could execute him this early in my Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided campaign. Note 1: Since Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are childhood friends, it's probably not a good idea to kill the Fatuous Lord so soon. Note 2: There's a possibility that Zhang He will hang further back. Since Yuan Shang will always be left out in the open, Zhang He's army will just get snagged once your three armies strike. Likewise, if Yu Jin retreated too far away, then you'd need to wait until turn 4 before you can besiege Henei - Zhaoge. The south on turn 3 If Liu Bei attacked you and he got ambushed, then his army's practically in shambles. It's time to chase him down. Heck, I had the opportunity to execute Lord Benevolence, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun in one go. As for Gong Du, well, Xiahou Yuan's just watching him attentively. Consolidating your forces In just a couple of battles on turn 3, I decimated Yuan Shao's forces. Three of his armies have been obliterated, and I managed to recruit two of his top generals. It's like my own version of the Battle of Guandu. Sadly, I did lose Cheng Yu here. Anyway, it's time to consolidate my troops. Ideally, I'd have this kind of setup: Xiahou Dun gets a third officer to make his offensive a breeze. Guan Yu and Zhang Liao should be in the same army (since they're best buddies). Have Mao Jie with them, too. Don't forget to give Red Hare to Guan Yu since that's fitting. I've never seen an event where Cao Cao actually gives the horse to him. Cao Ren, Yue Jin, and a random officer should be fine in one army. Xu Huang and Yu Jin could be moved further south to assist Cao Cao. You can redeploy them in Xiapi - Xuexian. Okay, let's discuss the various missions and events you'd experience as Cao Cao in your Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided campaign. Cao Cao's missions and events in Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided Cao Cao's missions in Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided are fairly straightforward. You can check the table below for the information. Just remember that some missions might require you to complete those that come before them. Mission Name Task Reward The Battle of Guan Yu (This is definitely a nod to the Battle of Guandu) Engage Guan Yu's army +1,000 gold 100% chance to capture Guan Yu Thinning the Herd Defeat 5 armies or garrisons (Yuan Shao's forces) +3,000 gold The Opening Move Control Dong – Puyang (already held) and Henei – Zhaoge movement range and morale buff; 6 turns Cao Cao Makes a Bold Move Control Luoyang, Xuchang, Chenliu, and Runan – Ruyin (only the last one isn't held yet when you start the campaign) population growth, public order, and peasantry income buff; 5 turns Cao Cao Seeks to Weaken Yuan Shao Destroy either Liu Bei's or Gong Du's faction population growth, public order, and peasantry income buff; 5 turns A Deft Advance Control Wei – Ye and Wei – Gongcheng +2,000 gold A Devastating Blow Control Anping – Xindu +3,500 gold A Defensive Line Control Qi Pass and Gu Pass morale and replenishment buff; 6 turns The Loyal Servant Destroy Gao Gan's faction +4,000 gold The Final Flourish Destroy Yuan Shao's faction +5,000 gold; +20% income from all sources (8 turns) Ruler of the Eastern Seas Control Langya – Dongwu, Kaiyang, and Buji mustering and recruitment cost reduction; 6 turns Weakening the Lineage Destroy Yuan Tan's faction +4,000 gold All That Remains Destroy Yuan Xi's and Liu Bei's faction (if the latter is still around) +4,000 gold Law and Order Destroy Zhang Yan's and Zheng Jiang's factions 3,500 gold; +15 public order (5 turns) As for the events, I've noticed only a few: There's one called "The Tomb Keeper" which fires when Cao Cao loses a general. Xun You gains +1,240 XP here. Periodically, Cao Cao as the Imperial Protectorate/Prime Minister gets the dilemma on what to do with the Han Emperor. There's also the "Jade Girdle Decree" (which I think is one of the older events). You can ignore (increased recruitment), crush (+150 gold), or expose it (-80 diplo relations with Liu Bei and Ma Teng). This can happen from Summer 202 CE to Spring 204 CE (turn 12 to turn 21). The very evil-looking Cao Pi comes of age in summer 203 CE (turn 17). "Yuan Shao Succumbs to his Illness" occurs in autumn 203 CE (turn 19). The event mentions that his sons will create chaos as they stake their claims. Surprisingly enough, I didn't notice any Yuan family squabbles. "Cao Cao Pays His Respects to Yuan Shao" happens in autumn 204 CE (turn 23). Honestly, Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided seems to lack a lot of events and dilemmas. As mentioned in our official review, progression feels like you're just "completing tallies/bounties" (sort of like what I've seen in Destiny 2). Heck, I don't think there's actually something that would make Guan Yu leave Cao Cao to go back to Liu Bei (assuming the latter is still alive). Anyway, it's time to talk about the next chapter: establishing Wei or restoring the Han. Establishing the Kingdom of Wei or restoring the Han Empire Yuan Shao's star has fallen. Now, it's time to talk about establishing the Kingdom of Wei or restoring the Han Empire in Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided. Odd tidbits here and there In Cao Cao's case, only the first few turns of his Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided campaign seem challenging. After dismantling Yuan Shao's entire force in the north, your generals can easily sweep the area until the banners of Wei are flying. Eventually, Gao Gan and Zhang Yan will be defeated as well. As an aside, I did another run where I tried to provoke infighting among the Yuans (a combination of Faction Council choices and schemes to lower satisfaction). When Yuan Shang (Yuan Shao's own heir) became very disloyal, I saw that I could make him one of my spies. After Yuan Shao finally died (turn 19), Yuan Shang led that faction while he was still spying for me. Sadly, it didn't really lead to anything important. I was expecting the three Yuan brothers to start squabbling, but that chaos didn't materialize. Did Yuan Shang as a spy somehow break a particular event chain? Did I just rush through the whole thing which prevented events from firing? Or were these event chains and dilemmas non-existent in Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided, to begin with? Anyway, to the south, Liu Bei can prove to be slippery (if you didn't execute him when you had the chance). Thankfully, destroying Yuan Shao's faction will break apart the grand alliance. This allows you to enforce your peace demands on Liu Bei. You can even add Credibility and an Imperial Decree to the mix if you want to ensure vassalization. The same also goes for Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Gao Gan if you want them to become your subjects. Note: While you're crushing Yuan Shao, you'll have a reliable means of gaining Imperial Favor if you declared him as an "Enemy of the Han." Continue using the resource for Imperial Decrees so you can put the squeeze on rival warlords. As for Gong Du, he'll either beeline for Ruyang, or walk straight into Xiahou Yuan's ambush near Gushi. Just take him down when you can. Oh, and avoid leaving your capital undefended, which AI Cao Cao loves to do when you play as Yuan Shao, since Gong Du can conquer it and remove Emperor Xian from play (he's a Yellow Turban so he doesn't count as a Han leader). Oh, and I'll finally explain why I kept Cao Ren unmarried. So, after you've consolidated your forces, you should have another army that can eliminate Zheng Jiang. Make sure you don't execute her. Within a couple of turns after you defeat her faction, there's a chance that she'd appear in your Officer Court. Hire her, get her to marry Cao Ren (married into the ruling family), and give her an extra promotion. These should offset her negative traits. Wei vs. Han In the end, though, you've got a choice to make once Cao Cao is ready to become King: Since the Han Emperor is in your capital, you can restore the Han and make Liu Xie your new faction leader. He'll still retain Cao Cao's mechanics, but the number of pawn slots will be lowered. Alternatively, you can start your own dynasty by ruling the Kingdom of Wei. The choice is yours, but don't dawdle around. Sun Ce will likely have gained a ton of prestige by now, and there's a chance that he could declare himself as King (automatically forcing Liu Xie to escape your clutches and abdicate). Note: You can read our other guides related to Cao Cao's campaign in Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided. We have one for Schemes and Credibility, as well as my attempts to get Cao Pi and Zhen Ji married. Total War: Three Kingdoms - Fates Divided is available via Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.

Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided — Cao Cao campaign guide

Total War: Three Kingdoms – Fates Divided – Cao Cao campaign guide

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