ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV Equipment Guide: Best Equipment Ranked

Q: Is ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV in English?

Yes. The Steam release went live on 15 January 2020 with Japanese, Korean and Chinese support, and Koei Tecmo added English on 28 February 2020. The store page now lists English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Q: How big is the map?

It covers 46 cities and roughly 340 regions across Han China, with more than 1,000 named officers carrying over 150 distinct traits between them.

Q: Do I need the Diplomacy and Strategy Expansion Pack?

Not to play, but it adds War Chronicles mode with five short scenarios: the Anti Dong Zhuo Coalition, the Battle of Guandu, the Battle of Chibi, the Battle for Jing Province and the Battle for Wuzhang Plains. They are far shorter than a full campaign, which makes them good for learning the systems.

Q: Which scenario should a first time player pick?

One of the later scenarios where the map has already consolidated, such as the 227 Chu Shi Biao start. Fewer independent forces means fewer simultaneous borders to manage while you learn supply lines and formations.

Q: What actually decides a battle?

Formation, terrain, supply line integrity and officer tactics, roughly in that order. Troop numbers matter, but a supplied Ring formation on a pass regularly beats a larger force that marched in on a cut supply route.

Complete ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS XIV equipment guide. Every equipment option ranked with stats, best builds, and how to get them.

EarlyGuides Editorial Team

Researched and editorially reviewed. Updated August 12, 2026.

Koei Tecmo put the fourteenth entry on Steam on 15 January 2020 and added English language support on 28 February that year. The map covers 46 cities and roughly 340 regions of Han China, and territory is tracked by painting individual hexes in your faction colour, which is simultaneously how income, ownership and supply are calculated. More than 1,000 named officers carry over 150 different traits between them.

Your choice of equipment defines your damage output and playstyle. This guide ranks every major option, explains what makes each one strong, and tells you which builds they pair best with.

Equipment Rankings

Equipment	Tier	Best For	Notes
Fish Formation	S	Open ground engagements where you expect a straight fight rather than a manoeuvre	The dependable default.
Crane Formation	A	Painting newly taken land and widening a supply corridor behind an advance	Decent defence and good mobility, and it occupies more hexes as it moves than a compact formation does.
Awl Formation	A	Racing to an undefended city or repositioning across a province between turns	The fastest way to move an army, at the cost of real combat strength, and units in it cannot use tactics at all.
Ring Formation	B	Holding mountain passes and river crossings against a numerically superior force	A defensive formation built for attrition rather than damage.
Battering Ram	B	Cracking a defended city once the field army protecting it has already been beaten	One of the three siege formations alongside Siege Tower and Catapult.

S-Tier: Fish Formation

The dependable default. It balances attack and defence with average mobility and holds up on plains where nothing about the terrain favours either side. Most armies should be in it unless there is a reason not to be.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	S
Best For	Open ground engagements where you expect a straight fight rather than a manoeuvre
Key Mechanic	Hex painting and region control
Recommended Build	Cao Cao

How to get it: Available from mid-game onward. See our walkthrough for the exact progression point.

Best builds using Fish Formation: Pairs naturally with Cao Cao thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

A-Tier: Crane Formation

Decent defence and good mobility, and it occupies more hexes as it moves than a compact formation does. That makes it the tool for converting territory quickly rather than for winning battles.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	A
Best For	Painting newly taken land and widening a supply corridor behind an advance
Key Mechanic	Supply lines from the origin city
Recommended Build	Liu Bei

How to get it: Accessible in the early-to-mid game. Check our maps guide for the location.

Best builds using Crane Formation: Pairs naturally with Liu Bei thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

A-Tier: Awl Formation

The fastest way to move an army, at the cost of real combat strength, and units in it cannot use tactics at all. It exists to arrive somewhere before the defender does.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	A
Best For	Racing to an undefended city or repositioning across a province between turns
Key Mechanic	Thirteen formations and unit types
Recommended Build	Sun Quan

How to get it: Accessible in the early-to-mid game. Check our maps guide for the location.

Best builds using Awl Formation: Pairs naturally with Sun Quan thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

B-Tier: Ring Formation

A defensive formation built for attrition rather than damage. Parked on a chokepoint hex it forces an attacker to grind through while your supply line stays intact and theirs stretches.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	B
Best For	Holding mountain passes and river crossings against a numerically superior force
Key Mechanic	Officer traits and battle tactics
Recommended Build	Lu Bu

How to get it: Found in later areas. Our walkthrough covers when you can access this.

Best builds using Ring Formation: Pairs naturally with Lu Bu thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

B-Tier: Battering Ram

One of the three siege formations alongside Siege Tower and Catapult. Its damage applies only to the siege attack, so a ram unit caught in the open by cavalry is close to defenceless.

Attribute	Detail
Tier	B
Best For	Cracking a defended city once the field army protecting it has already been beaten
Key Mechanic	Diplomacy, plots and submission
Recommended Build	Yuan Shao

How to get it: Found in later areas. Our walkthrough covers when you can access this.

Best builds using Battering Ram: Pairs naturally with Yuan Shao thanks to how their stat scaling lines up.

Equipment Progression Path

The order you should acquire equipment as you progress:

Starting gear → Enough to clear Luoyang
Crane Formation → Your first real upgrade, available early
Awl Formation → Mid-game upgrade with good scaling
Fish Formation → Best-in-slot, aim for this by late game
Upgrade to max → The power spike from max upgrades is enormous

Equipment Tips

Always upgrade your primary equipment before diversifying. One strong option beats three mediocre ones.
Match your equipment to your build's stat priorities for maximum scaling.
Check the coloured hex chain behind every army before you commit it. An army whose supply route runs through a single undefended corridor can be beaten by a smaller force that simply walks onto that corridor and waits.
Check our tier list for how equipment rankings affect overall build effectiveness.

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