Total War: Warhammer 3 recently announced its latest DLC, Shadows of Change, and many new things await the players within Patch 4.0. One of them is Yuan Bo the Jade Dragon, the brand new Cathayan faction that holds unique gameplay mechanisms that can help you turn the tide. Today, we will discuss the Yuan Bo Faction’s strengths and weaknesses in this guide. Let’s begin.
Total War: Warhammer 3 is available on Steam for $54.99, while the Shadows of Change DLC is available on Steam for $19.99.
Yuan Bo Faction Lore Overview
Let’s start with Yuan Bo’s lore and how he controls Grand Cathay’s administration. He leads the Court of Celestial Sorcerers and while the Jade Dragon seems like the highest bureaucrat, he is a talented spymaster at heart, The Jade Dragon runs the city of Wei-Jin and, by extension, is an administrator for the Cathay empire. Liked by all, the good of Grand Cathay is in capable hands.
Since he’s a very capable administrator and spy, it’s fitting that his faction mechanics revolve around those two traits. Moreover, Yuan Bo has two new abilities that set him apart from Miao Ying and Zhao Ming: Matters of State and Enhanced Wu Xing Compass, which we will discuss down the line.
Yuan Bo.
Yuan Bo’s New Gameplay Mechanics
As stated before, Yuan Bo arrives on Total War: Warhammer 3 by bringing two unique systems that will support his faction: Matters of State and Enhanced Wu Xing Compass.
Matters of State
Let’s begin with Matters of State first. Since Yuan Bo is the administrator of Grand Cathay, he can relay orders and craft master plans to both his enemies and allies. Without a doubt, this is Yuan Bo’s greatest strength, as this system allows you to handle diplomacies or other ‘shady’ businesses against other factions, granting you more ways to achieve campaign victory.
Moreover, you can actively choose when to use Steel or Stone resources, as the two have different effects accordingly. Steel allows Yuan Bo to develop his territories by constructing buildings, as well as enacting treaties with other factions. Meanwhile, Stone gives Yuan Bo more power for his armies since this branch can enhance his garrisons into actual armies, take control of a neutral or allied army, and many more. The two resources must remain in balance to ensure Yuan Bo’s strategies can be orchestrated efficiently, with some unique state actions locked behind the harmony of the two resources.
There are no real downsides to this crafty system, so we strongly advise you to use The Jade Dragon’s Matters of State whenever possible to inflict as much damage or control as you can in your campaign playthroughs.
Matters of State.
Enhanced Wu Xing Compass
For the next part of this Yuan Bo Faction guide, we will discuss his Enhanced Wu Xing Compass mechanic. The Jade Court that Yuan Bo leads has four new branches within the Compass, and this feature is only available for Yuan Bo, though the effects can still affect Miao Ying and Zhao Ming, giving you direct control over their additional Compass bonuses.
Apart from the basic four Compass Directions, Yuan Bo has access to four more connections that give him great benefits. However, before you can utilize these benefits, you must capture and construct Astromantic Relays across the map. Fortunately, their locations are not that far from Yuan Bo’s starting position, with Hexoatl being the closest and arguably having the strongest buff among the four: Your characters can turn immortal, making them the perfect warmongering generals.
Enhanced Wu Xing Compass.
New Units
Apart from Matters of State and Enhanced Wu Xing Compass, Yuan Bo also introduced many new units that will bolster both his faction and other Grand Cathay factions. They are Jet & Jade Lions, Zhangu War Drum, and Onyx Crowmen.
Let’s start with the two new Monstrous Infantry, the Jet & Jade Lions. Living statues formed from Jade or Jet, the Lions are enormous, pristine, and magical entities that serve masterfully. These creatures have two different purposes: the Jet Lion blocks your enemies’ spells, while the Jade Lion can burn your enemies to a crisp, so their presence on every battlefield can potentially turn the tide, that is, as long as you can find the right composition for these two units.
Moving on, we have the Zhangu War Drum, a powerful support unit that has three different effects, depending on which one you need most during a particular battle. Disdain of the Dragon Emperor boosts your army the Immune to Psychology attribute, as well as provides a small bonus to melee attacks. Meanwhile, Bastion of the Great Cities grants your army armor bonuses, and lastly, Fury of the Falling Blade grants +15% to Speed and Magical Attacks to all friendly units within 100 meters.
Last but not least, we have Onyx Crowmen, dependable agents of the Moon Empress, who stalks and scouts the battlefield seeking their targets… silently. This unit is relatively cheap, and with its Eyes of the Empress passive, they can become your valuable eyes and ears during battles.
Onyx Crowmen.
Strengths and Weaknesses
After assessing Yuan Bo’s new gameplay mechanics and units, it’s time to take a look at the Jade Court’s strengths and weaknesses. We have curated them in the table below:
| Yuan Bo’s The Jade Court Overview | |
|---|---|
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| Matters of State’s flexibility allow you to enact many devious schemes against allies or enemies | Slightly unfavorable starting position |
| Yuan Bo can decide on Enhanced Wu Xing Compass’ direction as he please | The benefits of the unique Enhanced Wu Xing Compass’ directions feel lackluster except for one |
| The new units are useful in battles, especially the Jade & Jet Lions | Fighting on two fronts at once might divide your focus during his campaigns |
| Trade Agreements allow Yuan Bo to see his trading partners’ locations and settlements | Yuan Bo is not involved in Grand Bastion’s defense, which practically gives you no advantage if you do manage to capture all three (Serpent, Turtle, Dragon) Gates |
Final Verdict
As one of the three brand-new Total War: Warhammer 3 factions, Yuan Bo certainly manages to introduce several new mechanisms alongside top army units. However, when compared to Mother Ostankya and The Changeling, Yuan Bo feels lackluster since his Matters of State mechanic is the only thing that sets him apart from Miao Ying and Zhao Ming.
And so, to close this Yuan Bo Faction Guide, we will hand out a verdict about his faction. In short, Yuan Bo is a fine addition to the game, especially for the Grand Cathay, as there are many beneficial changes to them alongside The Jade Dragon’s release. However, his Enhanced Wu Xing Compass does not feel special or beneficial enough for his campaigns, making the Matters of State the only system that differentiates Yuan Bo from his siblings. Still, the addition of new units such as the Jade & Jet Lions is a welcomed one since this Monstrous Infantry type boasts great values for your armies.
Therefore, to conclude this guide, we rate Yuan Bo The Jade Dragon with a score of 8 out of 10.
The Jade Dragon’s Office.
