Total War: Yuan Bo, The Jade Dragon
One of the new Legendary Lords in the Total War: Warhammer 3 expansion, the Shadows of Change, is Yuan Bo, the Jade Dragon.
The Shadows of Change expansion for Total War: Warhammer 3 promises three new Legendary Lords, as well as a ton of new units. It also promises a price increase that currently has the community in an uproar as Creative Assembly eyes the future of the game. But for now we won’t worry about that.
Instead we’ll take a look at Yuan Bo and his new faction mechanics. Yuan Bo is a potent spellcaster, and fierce combatant on the battlefields. With the Lore of Light and the Heavens on his side, there’s little he can’t accomplish. Let’s take a look.
Yuan Bo, The Jade Dragon – Mechanics Preview
One of the biggest things going for Yuan Bo is the Matters of State faction mechanic. This is a new global system that lets him work across provinces, settlements, armies, and characters throughout Grand Cathay. It’s fueled by two resources: Stone and Steel.
Stone lets Yuan Bo work on construction, deal with corruption, and effective trade. While Steel is useful for bolstering reserves, and hero actions. Both resources must be balanced in order to unlock certain unique state actions.
Yuan Bo has four new unique directions on the Wu Xing compass. These new directions give him the ability to direct the Winds of Magic to different provinces to unlock their strength, depending on which direction the compass is pointing in.
New Units
Yuan Bo also commands some powerful new units, including two unique Guardian Lions. One, made of Jet, helps negate enemy spells. With a passive ability called Guardian Shield that buffs magic resistance, and a Bound Missile Mirror spell that deflects projectiles, it’s a powerful defensive bonus.
The Jade Lion, meanwhile, is a powerful conduit of magical energy. The Jade Conduit ability makes hero powers usable more often. While Jade Dragon’s Breath coats the enemy in green flames, and boosts your Yang reserves.
The Zhangu War Drum, on the other hand, brings the Disdain of the Dragon Emperor ability to bear. This massive AoE buff makes your nearby units immune to Psychology and boosts their melee power. While the Bastion of the Great Cities ability boosts armor, and Fury of the Falling Blade grants extra speed and magical attacks to nearby units.
The Onyx Crowmen are elite spies and scouts. Using their Eyes of the Empress passive ability, they can see further and increase spotting range which gives you the information advantage you need to mop up.
Finally the Celestial General leads from the front with a massive hammer. Using Celestial Sweep, the General can deal massive damage. While passive abilities buff Leadership, morale, and resolve.
