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How the Kingdom War works, and how to rank in it
, updated 4 minute readBy Gitkonek Studio
In short
The Kingdom War runs Monday to Sunday, UTC. Every point of Honor a member gains in raids, attacking or defending, and every point of influence they earn on the war map adds to their Kingdom's score, and the highest score wins. Winners are paid Merit equal to their own score divided by ten, everyone else half that. Separately, the hundred highest scorers across all three Kingdoms each receive five Lu Bu shards.
The Kingdom War is the only part of the game you can lose, and the only place Lu Bu comes from. Those two facts are related.
The shape of a week
It opens on Monday at 00:00 UTC and closes on Sunday at 23:59 UTC. A week is named by the date of its Monday, so the settlement you are reading about on a Tuesday belongs to yesterday’s date.
During the week, every point of Honor won by a member is added to their Kingdom’s running score, and so is every point of influence they earn on the war map. There is no separate war mode to enter and no window to be awake for. Raiding is the war, and so is every siege. If you raid on a Thursday afternoon, that is your contribution.
Honor gained while defending counts identically. So does a camp that holds. This matters more than new players expect: a large share of a committed player’s weekly Honor arrives while they are asleep, from other people failing to take their Copper.
Map influence
Influence is what a warlord does on the war map, and it counts in the war exactly as Honor does.
| Deed | Influence |
|---|---|
| A siege won | 30 times the city’s tier |
| A level bought for a city you hold | 10 times the city’s tier |
| A raid won on a rival’s city | 10 times the city’s tier |
| Your city’s walls holding against a rival | 10 times the city’s tier |
It is also counted by province. The Kingdom whose members earn the most influence in a province leads it, and for the whole of the next week its warlords collect a quarter more from the stores of their cities there. So a week can be lost overall and still leave your Kingdom leading the provinces where your own cities stand.
How it settles
Two payouts, decided differently, and confusing them is the most common mistake.
The side
The Kingdom with the highest score, Honor and influence together, wins the week. Members of the winning Kingdom are paid Merit equal to their own score divided by ten, rounded down, with a floor of 20 for anyone who won at least one attack. Members of the other two Kingdoms receive half that.
Note what this is not. It is not a flat prize. Your Merit is a function of your own week, scaled by whether your side won. A quiet week in a winning Kingdom pays less than a busy week in a losing one.
Tied Kingdoms share the win. A week in which nobody gained any Honor or influence has no winner at all.
The person
Separately, every member of every Kingdom is ranked by their own score that week. The top hundred each receive five Lu Bu shards.
This ranking does not care who won. It is run across all three Kingdoms together, so a player grinding hard in the Kingdom that came last can out-rank a passenger in the Kingdom that came first.
How to rank
The ranking is on your own score, so the question is how to gain the most Honor and influence in seven days.
Raid at your ceiling, not below it. Honor scales with the difficulty of what you beat. A string of easy wins against warlords well under your power is Copper, not Honor. Look for targets near your own bracket and accept a worse win rate.
Bank your Copper and let them come. Defending pays. A warlord carrying visible Copper is an attractive target, and every failed attack on you is Honor you did not have to spend Stamina on. Players who bank everything and look poor are optimising for the wrong currency during a war week.
Besiege the highest tier you can win. A siege pays 30 influence times the city’s tier in one fight. A week with an open city in reach is a week to take it.
Spend Stamina down before the reset. Stamina regenerates against a cap. Stamina sitting full at 23:58 on Sunday is Honor you did not win, and it does not roll over into the new week in any useful sense.
Keep your retinue current. Generals of your Kingdom fight a tenth stronger, and raid outcomes are decided on power. The cheapest Honor increase available to most players is starring up a General they already own rather than chasing a new one.
Why it was built this way
An earlier design made Lu Bu the prize for completing the achievements list. That was changed, because a list of deeds measures how long someone has been present, which is the wrong question to ask for the strongest General in the game.
Paying him only to the winning side was also considered and rejected. A player in a Kingdom that keeps losing should not be locked out of the game’s best General by other people’s play. Merit already rewards the side, so the war has both shapes: one for the faction, one for the person.
Twenty weeks is a long time. It is meant to be. Nothing else in the game asks for that, and nothing else in the game is Lu Bu.
Questions
When does the Kingdom War reset?
Monday at 00:00 UTC. The week runs to Sunday at 23:59 UTC, and a week is named by the date of its Monday.
What counts toward the Kingdom War score?
Honor gained in raids, attacking or defending, and influence earned on the war map. A siege won is worth 30 influence times the city's tier. A level bought for a city, a raid won on a rival's city, and walls that hold against a rival are each worth 10 times its tier.
Does defending earn Honor?
Yes. Honor gained while defending counts toward your Kingdom exactly as attacking does, and a camp that holds earns Honor too. You do not have to be awake to contribute.
What do I get if my Kingdom loses?
Half the Merit a winning member with your score would have received. You also keep your place in the individual shard ranking, which ignores which side won.
How long does Lu Bu take?
A hundred shards assemble him, and five a week is the maximum, so twenty qualifying weeks at best. Three hundred more take him to full stars.
Can I be locked out of Lu Bu by being in a losing Kingdom?
No, and that is the reason the shard ranking is individual. Your own Honor and influence are what rank you, across all three Kingdoms.
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