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

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.