Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI with Power Up Kit Maps & Locations Guide: Every Area Covered

Q: Does the Steam version support English?

No. The Steam listing for app 628070 supports Japanese and Traditional Chinese, both with full audio, and nothing else. English speaking players use community translation patches, which are not official and can break with Steam updates.

Q: How is this different from Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV?

XI puts all of China on one continuous gridded map where armies march, besiege and burn facilities in real space. XIV works through territory control painted over provinces. XI also builds farms, markets and barracks directly onto map tiles, which XIV does not do.

Q: What does the Power Up Kit actually add?

Six new campaign scenarios, thirty new events, a Final Battle mode, an Absorb and Merge system for folding rival forces into yours, an officer and base editor, ten new city facilities, facility merging, and a research system with more than fifty abilities.

Q: Which unit type beats which?

Pike beats Spear, Cavalry beats Pike, and Spear beats Cavalry. Crossbows sit outside the triangle with two tile range and multi target attacks, and siege engines are specialists that mostly cannot fight units at all.

Q: Is it worth playing in 2026?

If you want the tactical depth of the series at its sharpest, yes. The 2006 presentation has aged into a distinct painterly look rather than looking broken. The language barrier, not the age, is the real obstacle.

Complete Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI with Power Up Kit maps and locations guide. Every area with difficulty, rewards, progression order, and what to do in each zone.

EarlyGuides Editorial Team

Researched and editorially reviewed. Updated August 12, 2026.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI is Koei's 2006 grand strategy game, and the Steam release from 16 January 2018 bundles it with the Power Up Kit expansion. It is the entry most series veterans point to as the tactical high water mark, because the whole of China sits on one continuous gridded map and armies march across it in real space rather than resolving in an abstract battle screen. You build farms, markets, barracks, smithies and stables directly onto the terrain, then defend them with turrets, camps and stone walls placed on the same grid. Buy it with your eyes open on one point: the Steam version supports Japanese and Traditional Chinese only, with no English interface or audio, so English speaking players rely on community translation patches. That single fact does more to decide whether you enjoy it than any tactical consideration.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI with Power Up Kit features distinct areas with increasing difficulty. This guide covers every major location in progression order: what to do, what to get, and when to move on. For the step-by-step path, see our walkthrough.

Area Progression Order

Order	Location	Difficulty	Key Rewards	Recommended Build
1	Luo Yang	Contested from turn one in most scenarios	Central road access, high population for drafting, prestige with the imperial court	Liu Bei
2	Chang An	Mid campaign objective	Defensible approaches, control of the western road network	Liu Bei
3	Xu Chang	Starting city for Cao Cao, late objective for everyone else	Multiple barracks and smithy sites, deep population for repeated drafts	Cao Cao
4	Chengdu	Mid to late campaign	Rich farmland, terrain that lets a small garrison hold off a much larger army	Cao Cao
5	Jian Ye	Starting city for Sun Quan	Naval production, river chokepoints that break northern cavalry armies	Cao Cao

Luo Yang: Starting Area

The old Han capital and the central hinge of the map. Whoever holds it can reach north, south and west in a reasonable number of turns, which is exactly why it changes hands so often.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Contested from turn one in most scenarios
Key Rewards	Central road access, high population for drafting, prestige with the imperial court
Recommended Build	Liu Bei
Key Equipment	Pike troops

What to Do Here

Learn the basics of One continuous map of China. This is where you practice without heavy punishment.
Collect starting resources and your first equipment upgrade.
Clear all main content before moving to Chang An.
If you're struggling, read our beginner's guide.

Chang An: Early Game

The western gate onto the central plain, sitting behind mountains and river crossings. It is the natural staging city for anyone attacking from the west and the natural wall for anyone defending it.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Mid campaign objective
Key Rewards	Defensible approaches, control of the western road network
Recommended Build	Liu Bei
Key Equipment	Pike troops

What to Do Here

Focus on mastering Field facilities built onto terrain. It's critical from this point on.
Farm for Pike troops if you don't have it yet.
Complete all objectives for maximum rewards.
Prepare for the difficulty spike in Xu Chang.

Xu Chang: Mid Game

Cao Cao's power base in the late Han scenarios and one of the best developed starting cities on the map. Its facility slots and population make it the fastest place to convert gold into armies.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Starting city for Cao Cao, late objective for everyone else
Key Rewards	Multiple barracks and smithy sites, deep population for repeated drafts
Recommended Build	Cao Cao
Key Equipment	Pike troops

What to Do Here

This is the main skill check. Bring an optimized build.
Spear troops becomes accessible here. Prioritize getting it.
Master Pike, Spear and Cavalry counters for the boss encounters.
Check our boss guide if you get stuck.

Chengdu: Late Game

The Sichuan basin capital, ringed by mountains and reachable only through a small number of passes. Taking it is slow, but holding it costs less than any other major city on the map.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Mid to late campaign
Key Rewards	Rich farmland, terrain that lets a small garrison hold off a much larger army
Recommended Build	Cao Cao
Key Equipment	Spear troops

What to Do Here

Full build optimization is expected by this point.
Spear troops should be your primary, fully upgraded.
Power Up Kit Absorb and Merge system mastery starts mattering here.
Farm resources for the push into Jian Ye.

Jian Ye: Endgame

The southern capital on the lower river, and the anchor of any naval strategy. River crossings and boat units define every fight around it, so land heavy forces struggle to project power here.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Starting city for Sun Quan
Key Rewards	Naval production, river chokepoints that break northern cavalry armies
Recommended Build	Cao Cao
Key Equipment	Spear troops

What to Do Here

This is endgame. Best-in-slot gear and a perfected build are mandatory.
See our boss guide for endgame fight strategies.
The reward loop: clear content → upgrade → push harder content.
Experiment with Yuan Shao for variety once you've mastered the meta.

Exploration Tips

Clear areas in order: Luo Yang → Chang An → Xu Chang → Chengdu → Jian Ye. Skipping areas means missing resources you'll need later.
Check every corner: Hidden caches and secrets are often in non-obvious locations.
Match your equipment: Some areas favor different equipment types.
Read the walkthrough: Our walkthrough provides exact progression milestones for each area.
Don't rush: Clearing an area fully gives more resources than speedrunning two areas.

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