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Total War: Warhammer 3has arrived, bringing the final chapter to the epic collaboration between Creative Assembly and Games Workshop. The new game takes players from snow-bound Kislev, through the Chaos Realms themselves, all the way to distant Cathay. The nation of Grand Cathay was never fully explored in Games Workshops' tabletop franchise, andTotal: War Warhammer 3has revealed many details about the Chinese-inspired empire.
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Players who choose Grand Cathay will take control of a child of the Dragon Emperor, immortal dragons able to take human form. Zhao Ming holds the Western Provinces of Cathay, while his elder sister Miao Ying holds the Northern Provinces. Miao Ying’s starting position puts her right up against the Great Bastion, and players will need to use all of Grand Cathay’s unique features to hold back the tide of Chaos.
Maintaining Harmony
Cathay’s first campaign mechanic is Harmony, which is all about finding thebalance between Yin and Yang. Many of Cathay’s Buildings, Technologies, and Lords are aligned with either Yin or Yang and willaffect the nation’s Harmony when built, researched, or recruited. Maintaining a balance between the two forces is crucial to victory for Miao Ying, as the bonuses for success are huge, and thepenalties for drifting too far to one side are equally punishing.
With Technologies and Buildings finishing every turn, it can be difficult to keep a perfect Harmony, but those that do so will be rewarded with huge boosts toGrowth, Income, Control, Untainted Corruption, Diplomatic Relations, and the ability tosummon Ancestors into battle. Drifting too far to one side will come withincreasingly crippling Control penalties, but will also raise the income and lower the construction cost of buildings aligned with the opposing force, making it easier to restore balance.
If Miao Ying manages to achieve Harmony in the Northern Provinces, it’s a good idea to spend some time focusing onunaligned Technologies and Buildings, in order to maintain the bonus for as long as possible.
The Great Bastion And The Wu Xing Compass
Like its historical counterpart, the empire of Cathay relies on a vast wall to protect it from invaders. The Great Bastion runs from Wei Jin to Nan Gau and holds back the forces ofWarhammer’s Chaos Gods. As Lord of the Northern Provinces,protecting the Bastion is a huge part of Miao Ying’s campaign, and players should prioritize restoring the ruined Snake Gate in the first few turns.
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The Threat to the Great Bastion will constantly build, accelerated byone of the gates being destroyed or Chaos forces massing outside, and result in a major invasion when it reaches max. Miao Ying players who don’t want to commit their armies to the endless defense will need toquickly build up the garrisons of the gates, so they can defend themselves.
One of the best ways to generate extra Growth to build up the gates is through theWu Xing Compass, another of Cathay’sunique turn-based mechanics. The Compass can be orientated infour directions, each of which offers a different active bonus when selected. Three of the directions also have energy reserves that give different bonuses.
These reservesbuild up when the Compass is orientated toward them, then drain slowly when it isn’t. Because of this, it’s a good idea for players tochange the orientation of the Compasswhenever it becomes available, in order to keep as many of the reserves topped up as possible.
The Ivory Road
Maintaining armies, expanding cities, and building up the Great Bastion will quickly drain Miao Ying’s treasury. Fortunately, Cathay’s final unique mechanic is theIvory Road, which allows players to send trade caravans to lands as distant as theIce Court of Tzarina Katarin. The Ivory Road is available right from the start of the game, and it’srecommended for players to begin using it immediately.
to dispatch a caravan, players will need toselect a Caravan Master,assign him some cargo, andpick a destination. The Ivory Road map will show the route that the caravan will take, as well as the risks involved.
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Caravans will travel automatically to their destination and willface many Events along the way, some negative and some positive, leading to everything from battles against bandits to new recruits for the Caravan Master’s army. Other factions can attack the caravan if it stops within their range, making itvery dangerous to send a caravan through enemy territory. It’s also risky to dispatch a caravan during the 15-turn periods whenChaos Rifts emerge across the map, as any route is likely to face daemonic incursions.
Miao Ying In Battle
Perhaps the biggest differences between Miao Ying and her brother Zhao Ming are their approaches to battle. While Zhao Ming focuses on melee units, Miao Ying is all aboutmissiles and artillery. Her faction bonus gives a+20% bonus to ammunition for all missile units, and in her personal armymissile infantry have a -50% upkeep reduction. While Grand Cathay doesn’t have the versatile hybrid units ofKislev’s Great Orthodoxy, these bonuses work perfectly with their strong crossbow and gunpowder units.
In battle, Miao Ying’s ideal army functions a little like theEmpire or Dwarf factions fromTotal War: Warhammer 2. It’s best to take astrong defensive positionand force the enemy to advance under fire fromGrand Cannon and Fire Rain Rockets. This explosive hail can then be intensified through the use ofstrong Cathayan ranged units like the Crane Gunners and Celestial Dragon Crossbowman. Despite the power of this barrage, it’s always important to keep Yin-aligned melee units close, both to defend and to buff through Cathay’s battlefield Harmony system.
