As I keep taking extended breaks between routing and running, I keep forgetting what I tested and routed, something this document will hopefully prevent... Since the discovery of true musou gate clips, a whole bunch of stages have been superceded by a faster route utilising this trick. Most things are thus outdated. Sorry, nobody!

These notes might still be able to give some insight, explanation, or reasoning behind the route taken.

...........................................................

This assumes you are using my save file's weapon setups.

THE ROUTING DOCUMENT

Every officer should have a curved blade as weapon 1 and throwing knives as weapon 2. If this is not the case, weapon 2 is specified per officer at the start of each route. Skills should be Rage Springs>Attack Boost>Havoc=Mighty Roar. Dasher on non-Dash officers, Musou Springs if musous are required quickly. Animal selected should be Maple (Endurance+Penetrate required)

1p = solo/first officer 2p = splitscreen/second officer

x = default selected officer < > = direction (left/right) to select officers (doesn't always matter) (so "2p x >>" would mean it's splitscreen, first officer default, second officer 2 right) If no info is given, pick the default officer

Lu Bu

semi up to date run

Historical

Ten Eunuch Rebellion cutscene

• 1p Watch the WR and copy it exactly and pray for good RNG

Getaway from Hulao Gate 2p x > camp

• (better to have 2p instead of 1p because less troops?)

Uprising at Chang'an 2p x > camp

• 1p/2p Musou clip through the first gate
• 1p Clear the way for Wang Yun, defeat Zhang Liao
• 2p Go to the escape point
• 1p Defeat Dong Zhuo, don't trigger his dialogue
• 1p Defeat Jia Xu

Capture of Puyang < cutscene, camp

• Defeat Yu Jin before his dialogue starts

Hypothetical semi up to date run

Wu

Historical up to date run

Hypothetical up to date run

Shu

Historical out of date run

Bow: Pang Tong, Zhuge Liang

Yellow Turban Rebellion cutscene

• Default route, defeat Zhang Liang, Zhang Bao, Zhang Jiao

Battle of Hulao Gate 2p x > camp

• 1p/2p Copy Wei Historical, but defeat Li Jue with 2p to skip the archer ambush for safety
• 1p After Zhang Liao, go to the base in front of Hulao Gate and defeat Jia Xu, then wait for the gate to open
• 1p Save rage for inside Luoyang

Defense of Xu Province 2p camp

• I can't be arsed to route this currently, as doing 2p strats will force the reinforcements to spawn and retreat immediately , meaning you will have to intentionally play it a lot slower

Battle of Xinye 2p x > cutscene, camp

• 1p Do the entire stage as normal
• 2p As 1p enters the Eight Gates Formation, approach the officers in the Northeast base and defeat them as the stage progresses
• 1p Save/quit/load Xu Shu's dialogue listing all of the gates
• 1p Have rage to defeat Yueying before her dialogue

Battle of Changban 2p < > camp

• just old route but now with 2p

Battle of Chibi 2p x > cutscene

• just old route but now with 2p

Battle of Chengdu 2p x <

• 1p Rush to Luo Castle and bowjump into it, but instead of weapon switching after, drop down as fast as you can to trigger the dialogue as fast as possible
• 1p Capture Luo Castle, build rage, and use it to defeat the bridge ambush for your reinforcements
• 1p Defeat the drawbridge officer, defeat the two base ambush officers, build rage
• 2p Head a little east to prevent enemies from getting defeated
• 1p Once the drawbridge gate opens, rush to the castle wall and savejump/clip up it, then rage to Liu Zhang and defeat

Battle of Mt. Dingjun the same

Battle of Fan Castle 2p > > cutscene, camp

• 1p/2p Dash forward outside the castle
• 1p Defeat the three officers and clear the path to the first escape point, then wait at the first ambush location
• 2p After the Guans start moving, loop around the castle and idle next to Guan Ping (might want to clear some enemies approaching you)
• 1p Use rage at the ambush and rush to the escape point (Wu spawn)
• 1p Defeat Lu Meng and Lu Xun, and whoever else, then head toward Mi Fang/Fu Shiren (you can also try to camera manipulate the Guans to prevent them from moving so they will be closer)
• 1p Defeat the two traitors, camp Xu Huangs spawn and rush south to defeat the other guy, build rage
• 1p Rage, defeat the Xiahou Dun ambush and rush to Cao Ren

Battle of Yiling 2p x > cutscene

• 1p Dash to the ledge directly north of the Wu main camp and ledge hop it
• 1p Head towards Han Dang and wait half a second for his dialogue before defeating him to prevent Zhao Yun's dialogue
• 1p Defeat Sun Quan before the gate dialogue ends or you will get Han Dang's

Battle of Tianshui 2p x > camp

• 1p Rush through the gorge and horse bowjump up the bridge and defeat the officers there, then go east where Jiang Wei will spawn later
• 2p Defeat the two ambushes and trigger the cutscene, then defeat Jiang Wei before his dialogue starts
• 1p Defeat Jiang Wei when he respawns

Battle of Jieting aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Battle of the Wuzhang Plains

Hypothetical out of date run

Yellow Turban Rebellion cutscene

• 1p Default route, defeat Zhang Liang
• 2p Rescue peasants
• 1p Defeat Zhang Bao, Zhang Jiao

Battle of Hulao Gate_ 2p x > camp

• 1p/2p Copy Wei Historical, but defeat Li Jue with 2p to skip the archer ambush for safety
• 1p After Zhang Liao, go to the base in front of Hulao Gate and defeat Jia Xu, then wait for the gate to open
• 1p Save rage for inside Luoyang

Defense of Xu Province 2p camp

Disturbance at Guandu

Battle of Xinye

Battle of Changban

Battle of Chibi find your shoes

Battle of Chengdu pang tong lives

Battle of Mt. Dingjun defeat cao xiu

Battle of Fan Castle

Battle of Lukou

Ambush at Chang'an saving Xiahou Mao fast seems unavoidable

Pacification of Nanzhong extra stage, sadly

Invasion of Luoyang

Capture of Wei

Wei

Historical up to date run

Escape from Luoyang 2p x > cutscene

• 1p No special route, just complete the stage as normal lol
• 1p Push Diaochan with your horse to make her reach the trigger faster

Battle of Hulao Gate 2p x > cutscene, dialogue (7), camp

• Defeat Song Xian, then wait outside the first base to avoid dialogue (and be careful not to skip this trigger when rushing through the base)
• 2p If there is no dialogue, you can defeat an officer as 1p defeats the gatekeeper, with optimal rage dash cancels, you do not need this as there is a very high chance your allies will defeat an officer, sometimes more than one if you're lucky
• 1p Avoid archer ambush by going past the officer and luring him (watch a run for clear instructions)
• 1p Wait for Jia Xu's trick up his sleeve dialogue to rush to Hulao Gate with rage
• 1p Watch Lu Bu's cutscene for 1.5 seconds to ensure the gates are open
• 1p Do not defeat Diaochan
• 2p If there is no dialogue, you can defeat an officer before 1p defeats the city gate officer
• 2p If there is no dialogue, you can defeat an officer before 1p defeats the main camp gate officer

Battle of Yan Province camp

• Save jump four or five times, depending on what method you wish to use, over the raised bridge and continue as normal.

Battle of Xu Province

• Save jump twice and ledge clip up the cliff
• Open Mi Zhu's gate before Tao Qian dialogue happens
• Rush through the ambush base by sticking all the way right
• Defeat Tao Qian and go back to wait OUTSIDE the ambush base until Liu Bei spawns
• Save jump (2) and ledge clip up the cliff and defeat Liu Bei

Imperial Escort 2p >> > cutscene

• 1p Defeat the 5 officers starting at the top 2p Move toward later position
• 1p Spawn camp rock ambush
• 1p Overlook south emperor spawns 2p Overlook north emperor spawns
• 1p/2p Avoid extra Cao Cao dialogue by immediately hugging the emperor
• 1p/2p Spawn camp Yuan Shao (spawns when emperor is close)

Battle of Wan Castle 2p x > cutscene

• 1p Use your horse to quickly defeat the statues
• 1p Save your allies to prevent an additional stage

Battle of Guandu 2p x > cutscene, dialogue (7), camp (note: if you can properly control both officers, you can leave 1p on the east side)

• Defeat Wen Chou and Yan Liang before their dialogue
• Idle inside Baima to avoid Guan Yu defeating/spawning officers and meeting Liu Bei

Battle of Mt. Bailang 2p < > camp

• 1p Check WR video for most optimal base route to work around the dialogue
• 1p Go around the top from the east and defeat the Yuans

Battle of Xinye 2p x > cutscene, dialogue (9), camp

• Two players to avoid dialogue

Battle of Chibi cutscene, camp

• Play the stage as normal
• Defeat Gan Ning as soon as he spawns and immediately save/quit/load so the boat starts moving and to guarantee Liu Bei directly spawning

Battle of Tong Gate camp

• Refer to WR video for the exact route
• Note that the Ma Chao cutscene is triggered by Cao Cao reaching the main camp, so try to get him stuck in it
• Manipulate the ram by looking at it until it hits the gate, then look away, and repeat twice more (you can see the ram on the minimap, but if you can't, just give each action 3 seconds)

Battle of Hefei

• Reach the cliff before Yue Jin and Li Dian's protection dialogue
• Sniping Sun Quan, hold forward when using charge attack 5 (C5) to properly aim it in front of you, do NOT hold it the entire time

Battle of Mt. Dingjun

• Defeat Ma Chao, Zhao Yun, Yueying, Zhuge Liang

Battle of Fan Castle

• Refer to the WR video for the exact route
• Defeat as many enemy officers as possible during any downtime to avoid ally dialogue

Hypothetical semi up to date run Bow: Dian Wei, Xiahou Dun, Jia Xu, Wang Yi

Escape from Luoyang 2p x > cutscene

• 2p Wait three seconds after Diaochan spawns, then defeat Lu Bu to ensure the first gate is opened
• 1p Push Diaochan with your horse to speed her up

Battle of Hulao Gate 2p x > cutscene, dialogue (7), camp

• Defeat Song Xian, then wait outside the first base to avoid dialogue (and be careful not to skip this trigger when rushing through the base)
• 2p If there is no dialogue, you can defeat an officer as 1p defeats the gatekeeper, with optimal rage dash cancels, you do not need this as there is a very high chance your allies will defeat an officer, sometimes more than one if you're lucky
• 1p Avoid archer ambush by going past the officer and luring him (watch a run for clear instructions)
• 1p Wait for Jia Xu's trick up his sleeve dialogue to rush to Hulao Gate with rage
• 1p Watch Lu Bu's cutscene for 1.5 seconds to ensure the gates are open
• 1p Do not defeat Diaochan
• 2p If there is no dialogue, you can defeat an officer before 1p defeats the city gate officer
• 2p If there is no dialogue, you can defeat an officer before 1p defeats the main camp gate officer

Battle of Yan Province camp

• Same as Historical

Battle of Puyang 2p x > camp

• 1p Rush to defeat Zhang Liao WITHOUT defeating Cao Xing and bowjump the gate when his dialogue starts
• 2p Defeat Zang Ba, defeat Lu Bu

Battle of Xu Province > camp

• Save jump (2) and ledge clip up the cliff
• Open Mi Zhu's gate before Tao Qian dialogue happens
• Rush through the ambush base by sticking all the way right with rage
• Lure Tao Qian as close to the ambush base as you can until his retreat dialogue ends, then slap him dead
• Save jump (2) and ledge clip up the cliff and defeat Liu Bei

Imperial Escort 2p >> > cutscene

• 1p Defeat the 5 officers starting at the top 2p Move toward later position
• 1p Spawn camp rock ambush
• 1p Overlook south emperor spawns 2p Overlook north emperor spawns
• 1p/2p Avoid extra Cao Cao dialogue by immediately hugging the emperor
• 1p/2p Spawn camp Yuan Shao (spawns when emperor is close)

Battle of Wan Castle (die) 2p x > cutscene

• Do not save your allies

Battle of Xiapi cutscene, dialogue, camp

Battle of Wan Castle (save) 2p x > cutscene

• Save your allies

Battle of Guandu 2p x < cutscene, dialogue (7), camp

Battle of Mt. Bailang camp

• Defeat the Wuhuan reinforcements

Battle of Xinye cutscene, dialogue (9), camp

• Wait for Xu Shu's dialogue before defeating him, then save Cao Ren

Battle of Chibi cutscene, camp

• After boarding the boat, rush through the southern road and defeat the 3 officers outside the main camp to ensure the gate opening

Campaign for Jianye 2p x > camp

• 1p Rush to inbetween two bases outside the enemy main castle, defeat east gatekeeper, west gatekeeper, west base, east base
• 2p Go chill with the enemy officer outside to make sure he is not defeated
• 1p Take the two southern bases
• 1p Wait outside south inner castle gate for the ambush, defeat ambush and go north for Huang Gai and SSX
• 1p Defeat Xiaoqiao and Daqiao after spawning them, then Lu Su
• 1p Enjoy dashing over the traps, defeat Zhou Yu, then Zhou Tai, then Sun Quan (don't trigger his dialogue)

Uprising at Xuchang 2p < > cutscene

• 1p Stand in the corner to avoid proximity dialogue after defeat Wang Zhong
• 1p Defeat the troops in the four corners, save rage
• 1p Rage, defeat Zhang Bao, Zhang Liang, Zhang Jiao (before Liang's dialogue ends)
• 1p Defeat Cao Cao, Wang Zhong, then stand where Wu will invade to prevent it
• 1p Defeat everybody who spawns until the stage ends (final Zuo Ci dialogue skippable)

Pursuit at Nanjun > camp

• Defeat Zhao Yun, gatekeeper, then Liu Bei before he teleports into the base
• Defeat Liu Bei again, defeat Chen Zhen, defeat Liao Hua
• Wait for the gate to open and defeat all the officers as the other gates open
• Climb ladder, defeat Yueying, Ma Su, then Zhuge Liang, Zhuge who, then the three stooges, then your boredom waiting through 40 seconds of dialogue

Battle of Baidi Castle 2p < > cutscene, camp

• 1p Kill Yueying
• 2p Stand with the enemy officers to ensure they live
• 1p Kill Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Jian Yong and then whatever other trash in the plaza
• 1p Wait for catapult and break the gates with it
• 1p Bow jump up to your Shu friends and slap all into the afterlife
• 1p Kill Liu Bei without triggering his dialogue (rage recommended)

Jin

Historical up to date run, but it's not optimal Bow: Sima Yi, Wen Yang Double-edge Trident: Sima Zhao, Deng Ai

Pursuit at the Wuzhang Plains 2p x > cutscene

• 1p Defeat the 2 officers in the west; 2p defeat officer directly in front of you
• 1p Defeat advancing officers and wait at the eastern base; 2p Defeat Xingcai and wait outside the central base
• 1p Defeat officer in the base and wait for the gates to open
• 2p Trigger Guan Suo's ambush; 1p Defeat Wei Yan and Ma Dai and trigger main camp ambush
• 1p Pre-open eastern main camp gate
• Rage, defeat 3 juggernauts and go to Jiang Wei

Battle of Xiangyang 1p x camp

• Defeat the 4 officers and cross the bridge fast
• Defeat Wei Yan, bowjump and defeat Gongsun Yuan before Sima Yi's dialogue ends

Battle of Mt. Xingshi 2p x > cutscene, camp

• 1p Defeat the bridge ambush and go to Ma Dai's ambush
• 1p Trigger Ma Dai when the Messenger dialogue appears
• 2p Defeat Main Camp ambush
• 1p Complete the stage

Coup détat 1p x cutscene

• Take armoury, take barracks
• Defeat central officer, take main camp
• Rage, defeat Cao Shuang's south vanguard, then spawnkill

East Gates Battle 2p < > cutscene, dialogue, camp

• 1p Defeat Zhu Ji, Sun Xian, Shi Kuan before Sima Zhao's dialogue ends
• 1p Clear peons outside allied main camp and go to Tang Zi
• 2p Go to Liu Zan, defeating ONLY the gate officers
• 1p After getting all the officers stacked up, move away and pray
• 2p As soon as an ally is routed, defeat reinforcements and Liu Zan
• 1p Defeat Liu Zuan and continue as told, the end is a cutscene trigger

Battle of Mt. Tielong 2p > > dialogue, camp

• 1p Dashkill Jiang Shu and jump down ASAP
• 1p Ledge clip off your horse, rush to Guo Huai's gate, defeat Xiahou Ba
• 1p Spawncamp Jiang Wei

Guanqiu Jian & Wen Qin's Rebellion 2p x > camp

• 1p Get some rage as you dash to the overpass until Wen Yang spawns; 2p Set up for easy 90° dash
• 1p Dash back and up the cliff path, defeat Shi Zhao, wait at the green highlight
• 2p Dash to the east, spawncamp Wen Yang
• 1p Defeat Wen Qin, Go around the castle and defeat the two officers assaulting
• 1p Go north; 2p Defeat Wen Yang inside the castle
• 1p Build and use rage, defeat the three officers starting from the eastern base

Battle of Xuchang 2p > < cutscene, camp

• 1p Trigger Guanqiu Dian ASAP, defeat him, then Guanqiu Xiu; 2p Dash towards the city gates
• 1p Defeat Wen Hu and go north to the next spawn
• 2p Defeat 3 Unit Commanders and Liu Zan
• 2p Defeat the next 3 Unit Commanders and go toward Yin Damu
• 1p Defeat Wen Hu and go south; 2p Defeat Yin Damu and go west
• 1p Rage, defeat Wen Hu and go north until it ends; 2p Defeat the 3 Unit Commanders
• 1p Go north and spawncamp Wen Qin

Zhuge Dan's Rebellion 2p X > cutscene, dialogue, camp

Wei Emperor's Last Stand 2p x > cutscene

• 1p Trigger cutscene at the start of Zhong Hui's dialogue ; 2p Go toward the gate
• 1p Capture barracks ; 2p Take Jia Chong's path
• 1p Wait for juggernaut dialogue before fully approaching Cao Mao in the barracks

Battle of Taoyang 1p X camp

• Turn around and summon your horse, save jump, save clip and defeat Xiahou Ba

Battle of Jiange 1p > cutscene, dialogue, camp

• Turn around, defeat Liu Yong and the three messengers down the cliff and go through the base
• Bowjump up the mountain to defeat Zhuge Zhan and anyone else without wasting time
• Go down, defeat Xi Zheng, Wang Han, Huang Chong and Li Jian and head to the main camp
• Defeat Zhang Shao and Huo Yi and go inside
• Defeat Yueying, defeat Jiang Wei
• Go north to defeat Yang Xi and Li Xin and then go back
• Mount your horse and ledge hop western ledge after the gate opens
• Go through the boulder ambush, into the base, and defeat the two officers, build rage
• Go straight forward, and save clip (alternatively, you can ledge hop, but it's inconsistent) (alt alt, jump twice with your horse, hop off, dash+charge attack, musou at highest point, then dash)
• Defeat Guan Suo, defeat Jiang Wei before his dialogue

Battle of Chengdu 1p x cutscene, camp

• Defeat Guan Yi before the dialogue ends (hard) OR have him approach you before defeating him
• Cutscene upon entering the castle
• Look away from Jiang Wei to have him jump down quicker, defeat before his second dialogue starts
• Defeat Ju Fu and Unit Commander
• Go through the middle and defeat Guan Yinping and her two ambush officers south of Yueying
• Defeat Yueying before the gate dialogue ends
• Jumping off your horse, use two aerial musous and a double-edge trident ledge clip to scale Chengdu's wall
• Defeat Guan Suo, Jiang Wei, Jiang Bin and Wang Han and spawncamp Ma Dai
• Build rage and wait at the eastern inner gate until you can get to Liu Shan

Hypothetical up to date run, but it's not optimal Bow: Sima Yi, Wang Yuanji Double-edge Trident:

Coup d'état 1p < cutscene

• Exactly like historical, but defeat all 4 vanguard officers, so go east before going south

Xiahou Ba's Journey 1p <

• Take Guo Huai's path instead

East Gates Battle 2p < > cutscene, dialogue, camp

• Like historical, but ignore all 2p actions

Battle of New Hefei Castle

Capture of Chengdu 2p x < dialogue, camp

• 1p Savejump into the castle and defeat Liu Chen before his dialogue ; 2p Go south
• 1p Wait for dialogue before approaching and defeating Jiang Wei
• 2p Go all the way south, defeat Xingcai, defeat Liu Shan