CHANGELOG

Changelog

Latest v1.1.1 · 2026-10-17

v1.1.12026-10-17ContentMain mod

Added

  • New unit: Misaki Crow, recruited from shrines.
  • Tachibana Naotora: new mount, Kurokumo.
  • Sayo:
    • New mount: Sacred Steed (level 8).
    • New mount: Misaki Crow (level 13).
    • Misaki Crows can be bought through the Expedition Companions system: 5 Renown, unlocked in Chapter II, capacity 4 at the top bond tier.
  • Miko: new mount, Sacred Steed (level 11).
  • Ibuki: new lead-in quest, Rumours of Goshinmori. Once Sayo's Chapter II is complete, it points you to Goshinmori to find Ibuki; before you meet her, the Companions panel also tells you where to look.

Changed

  • The Okumoto and Sanyo Clans: their lords are now always Samurai Taisho, and the AI prefers Nipponese units when recruiting.
  • Shen Changfeng:
    • Her unique skill line, Jade Sea Swordmaster, unlocks at level 11 (was 8).
    • The Uncrowned Host: campaign movement range restored after winning a battle 10% → 20%.
    • Jade Sea Veterans: fleet units' melee attack / melee defence +8 / +6 → +4 / +4.
    • Trait Sea-Quelling Admiral: the +10% weapon strength now applies to the Tide Guard and Empyrean Guard only (was all fleet units).
    • Trait Sea-Quelling Admiral: the +10% missile strength now applies to the Tide Guard only (was all fleet missile units).
    • Kendo Mentor has been reworked into Flow State: it no longer gives samurai units melee attack, melee defence and leadership; instead it gives her +15% armour-piercing weapon strength and −20% cooldown on Jade Blade Dance and Broadside.
    • Powder and Sorcery: fleet missile strength +10% → +5%.
    • Campaign line: Iron Disciplinarian (public order +1 / +2 / +3) → Admiral's Renown (flagship growth +1 / +2 / +3).
  • Serena:
    • Trait Favour of the Sea God: army-wide ward save +10% → +5%.
    • Trait Favour of the Sea God: army-wide melee defence +4 → +2.
    • Fleet Drill (3 ranks): melee strength +10%, missile strength +15%, ammunition +20% (at max rank) → range +5 / 10 / 15%, reload time −5 / 10 / 15%.
  • Tachibana Naotora:
    • Her personal skill line, Two-Sword Style, unlocks at level 10 (was 8).
    • Exemplar of the Samurai: samurai units' melee defence +6 → removed (melee attack stays at +6).
    • Exemplar of the Samurai: samurai units' leadership +5 → +6.
    • Exemplar of the Samurai: samurai units now also get +10% missile strength.
  • Sayo:
    • Nipponese Miko now affects divine beast units (Inari Fox Emissary, Kirin, Misaki Crow) instead of all Nipponese units.
    • Nipponese Miko: melee attack / melee defence +5 / +5 → +6 / +6, leadership +10 → +8, and a new +10% weapon strength.
    • Nipponese Miko now unlocks at level 12 (previously no level requirement).
    • Bestow Omamori: now affects divine beast units; physical / magic resistance +10% → +15%.
    • Onmyo Miko battle passive: a permanent 55 m aura → triggered after casting a spell, lasting 25 seconds (the aura's effects are unchanged).
    • Expedition Companions: Inari Fox Emissary capacity at the top bond tier 12 → 11 (the free unit from Chapter III is now a Misaki Crow).
    • Expedition Companions: Kirin capacity at the top bond tier 4 → 3.
  • Ibuki's Comrades in Arms: now affects Yokai units only (was Yokai and samurai units); melee attack / melee defence +5 / +5 → +6 / +6; new −15% reload time (the +2 rank for new recruits is unchanged).
  • Fleet Admiral's Order to Fire: missile damage for missile units +10% → +5%.
  • Tide Guard:
    • Recruitment cost 1100 → 1200.
    • Upkeep 275 → 300.
    • Custom battle cost 1100 → 1200.
  • Yari Samurai: recruitment cost 720 → 800, upkeep 185 → 200, custom battle cost 720 → 800.
  • Teppo Samurai:
    • Missile damage (base + armour-piercing) 10+24 → 6+24.
    • Recruitment cost 800 → 900, upkeep 200 → 225, custom battle cost 800 → 900.
  • Thunderblade Hatamoto:
    • Melee attack 52 → 50.
    • Weapon strength (base + armour-piercing) 22+35 → 16+38, bonus vs. large removed (14 → 0).
    • Hit points per model 139 → 125.
    • Leadership 90 → 82.
  • Samurai Taisho's Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain:
    • Melee defence +8 → +4.
    • Leadership +10 → +6.
    • Speed +10% → +8%.
  • Inari Shrine chain, Divine Beast Sanctuary: Miko recruitment capacity +2 → +1.
  • Shipboard Inari Shrine, Kirin Roost Sanctuary: Miko recruitment capacity +2 → +1.
  • The Abyssal Grand Cannon has a new model and now uses the Cathayan Grand Cannon's animations.
  • Shen Changfeng's and the four Legendary Heroes' traits have new hand-painted icons in the vanilla style (10 in total, innate and companion traits).

Fixed

  • The vanilla Legendary Hero Taoyan could not be recruited by the Jade Sea Fleet.
  • The Disciples of the Maw's Ogre Camp was not relocated to Mount Haneulbong.
v1.1.02026-10-10ContentMain mod

Hotfix (2026-10-10)

  • The Okumoto Clan starts with stronger armies.
  • Fixed Ibuki's prologue battle not ending after a victory.
  • Fixed Yari Samurai, Teppo Samurai and Thunderblade Hatamoto showing random colours.
  • Spirited Away, from the Miko lore, has revised visual effects.
  • Starting situation:
    • The Sanyo Clan's starting armies have been adjusted.
    • The Cult of Tsien-Tsin starts with more armies.
  • Jade Sea Warriors: stats adjusted.

Added

  • New Legendary Hero: Ibuki, the Hanyo Wanderer, recruited through the Expedition Companions system.
  • New units Akatsuki-shu (Katana), Akatsuki-shu (Bow) and the Kunikuzushi Oni, plus a new landmark, Dawnbreakers' Haven.
  • Shen Changfeng's flagship goes from 11 building slots to 12, with a new flagship building: the Dawnbreakers' Quarters.
  • New opening cinematic and faction-selection animation.
  • Lords' and heroes' skill trees gain Beyond the Summit, a place for the skill points left over once everything else is maxed out.
  • The Fleet Admiral's skill tree gains The Art of War, which unlocks Vanguard Deployment for the whole army.

Changed

  • Some unit cards and illustrations have been repainted.
  • Broadside: damage per shell 68 → 50, cooldown 60 → 120 seconds, and it is now ready from the start of the battle.
  • The Abyssal Grand Cannon's ammunition has been rebalanced:
    • Torrent's direct-fire shot no longer bursts into a spray of bolts on impact and is now a pure kinetic hit; direct-hit damage 110/365 → 90/360, range 450 → 400.
    • Cloudburst airburst: carrier-shell range 450 → 400, armour-piercing 33 → 27, wider landing spread; airburst radius 7 → 6, airburst armour-piercing 35 → 20.
    • The water bolts' ground bursts are much weaker: radius 5 → 3, damage per bolt 12+11 → 5+2.
  • Empyrean Guard: recruitment cost 2200 → 1900, upkeep 550 → 475.
  • Fleet Gunners: bullet damage 6+18 → 5+17 (base + armour-piercing), and they can now damage vehicles; upkeep 135 → 150.
  • The Samurai Taisho's warhorse has a new model, and so does the Kirin's armour.
  • Campaign start: Skarbrand the Exiled now relocates to Kaimon.

Fixed

  • Fixed multiplayer desyncs.
v1.0.62026-10-02ContentMain mod

Changed

  • The Samurai Taisho has a new model, with three distinct variants and a unit card for each.
  • Spirited Away, from the Miko lore, has new visual effects.

Fixed

  • Fixed a crash that could happen when a companion's progress changed.
  • After the landmark at The Great Shrine was upgraded to the Great Shrine Inner Sanctuary, a second Great Shrine Outer Sanctuary could still be built.
  • Samurai colours: for the major factions, Yari Samurai are now always red and Teppo Samurai always black.
v1.0.52026-10-01ContentMain mod

Added

  • New Far East Seaways: to suit the new map, the Jade Sea Fleet gets three fast sea routes.

Updated for 9.0 and IEE's new Nippon map

  • The Jade Sea Fleet's starting position has moved.
  • Companion triggers: Serena now starts at Shuge Monastery, Tachibana Naotora at Jakken.
  • Victory objectives have been redrawn for the new map.
  • Lord relocations: Grimgor Ironhide now lands at The Great Shrine, Skarbrand the Exiled at Ukiyo.
  • For other Cathay factions, the Samurai Hall line now unlocks by capturing Kaimon, and the Shrine line by capturing The Great Shrine.
  • Fleet Admiral: Shuge Monastery and Tetsu Fortress count as major ports for the Jade Sea Fleet, and the opening reminder mission lets you click a city name to jump to it.

Changed

  • Sayo's Summon Divine Beast: Kirin now lasts 3 minutes.
  • The Jade Sea Fleet now finds frozen, magical forest, wasteland and ocean climates suitable.
  • Miko recruitment slots now open once the Shrine reaches tier 3.

Fixed

  • The Kirin summoned by Sayo was missing Thunder Echo and its heavenly lightning.
  • The Alchemist could not be recruited after the fleet Watchtower was upgraded to level 2.
  • Hotfix (2026-10-01): Cloudburst's double ammunition cost is reverted (it could stop the Abyssal Grand Cannon from firing); the cannon's ammunition goes from 22 to 18.
v1.0.42026-09-12ContentMain modTech-tree compatWar under Heaven compat

Added

  • New generic lord: the Fleet Admiral, recruitable by every Cathay faction — each major city port you hold raises the recruitment cap by one — with a flagship building tree of his own.
  • New optional submod: the WH3 Tech-tree Combination compatibility patch.

Changed

  • Shen Changfeng and the Fleet Admiral now sail the campaign map in their own dragon-boat model.
  • Serena's chapter 4 finale is now a quest battle, entered straight from the teleport button in the quest panel.
  • Shen Changfeng's Tidestrider mount is faster: speed up from 82 to 125. The Sea Longma comes back down, from 125 to 115.
  • The lords' and heroes' unique skill lines now buff the units added by the compatibility patches as well.

Fixed

  • Turning off a faction's relocation in MCT no longer leaves that faction listed in your victory objectives.
  • Tide Guard showed as Yin but could not trade Harmony with the units around them.
  • Hotfix (2026-09-16): with the War under Heaven compatibility patch, recruiting on shore bypassed the unlocks and gave direct access to the Northern, Western and Southern Provinces' units.
v1.0.32026-09-05ContentMain modWar under Heaven compat

Added

  • New fleet unit: the Empyrean Guard (Sea Longma Riders), with a timed magic ability of their own, The Heavenly River Tips.
  • New fleet artillery: the Abyssal Grand Cannon, which can switch between two magic shells, Torrent and Cloudburst.
  • The Jade Sea Fleet's flagship gains a Shipboard Stables chain: three levels, recruiting Peasant Horsemen, then Jade Lancers, then Great Longma Riders.
  • The flagship also gains a Shipboard Sea Spirit Shrine chain, unlocked once Serena joins the fleet: it recruits Lothern Sea Guard, Oceanids, Sea Elementals and the Merwyrm in turn, and grants ward save to the whole fleet.
  • Shen Changfeng's skill tree gains Powder and Sorcery: more missile damage and ammunition for Fleet Gunners, Tide Guard and the Abyssal Grand Cannon, and more magic power for herself.
  • New optional submod: the War under Heaven unit compatibility patch, which lets the Jade Sea Fleet recruit the Eastern Provinces' special units aboard the flagship.

Changed

  • Shen Changfeng's starting army is re-equipped: Grand Cannons become Abyssal Grand Cannons, and Great Longma Riders become Empyrean Guard.
  • Thunderblade Hatamoto and Tachibana Naotora now have their Shiden effects.
  • Companion quest pop-ups now wait for one card to be closed before the next appears.

Fixed

  • Other Cathay factions that confederate Shen Changfeng can now keep using the Cloud Sails leap.
  • Grand Cannons, Jade Warriors and other vanilla Cathay units no longer carry a flickering upgrade arrow on their unit card.
  • The Fleet Gunners' weapon model is no longer misaligned.
v1.0.22026-08-30ContentMain mod

Hotfix (2026-08-30)

  • Shen Changfeng's Cathayan Seamanship is stronger: trade goods income raised from +10% to +20%, plus a new +10% to port income.
  • Her Jade Sea Swordmaster skill now grants the Jade Blade Dance battle ability.
  • Tide Follows the Blade, on the Tidestrider mount, hits harder: damage goes from 20 to 33 (33% armour-piercing) and its cooldown from 25 seconds to 15.

Added

  • Nippon's buildings and landmarks now provide garrison units.
  • The Samurai Hall and Warrior's Manor chains each gain an entry-level building, so Yari Samurai can be recruited from a level 2 settlement.

Changed

  • Thunderblade Hatamoto and Kirin now take 2 turns to recruit, up from 1.
v1.0.12026-08-29ContentMain modNRS compat

Hotfix (2026-08-30)

  • Serena's action list was empty and she could not be added to an army. No new campaign needed.

Added

  • The Jade Sea Fleet can now unlock the Ivory Road through a mission. Objective: take Mount Li or the Jade River Delta, or hold one of them through a military alliance.
  • New optional submod: the Nippon, Land of the Rising Sun compatibility pack. With Nippon, Land of the Rising Sun enabled alongside it, the two mods no longer overwrite each other's legendary lord.
    • NoteRequires a new save.
  • Other Grand Cathay factions can now build Nippon's landmarks in Nipponese settlements they have taken.
  • Other Grand Cathay factions can unlock the Samurai Hall and Samurai Taisho recruitment by taking Dragon Fleet Port, and the Shrine chain and Miko recruitment by taking the Temple of the Orange Simca; they receive the matching missions at campaign start, and neither stays region-locked once unlocked.
  • An AI-controlled Jade Sea Fleet now spawns its three Legendary Heroes — Serena, Tachibana Naotora and Sayo — at campaign start and over the course of the campaign.

Fixed

  • Shen Changfeng's armies had no Winds of Magic reserve and started every battle with almost none.
  • The two attribute skills on the second-to-last row of the Miko's and Sayo's skill trees stopped granting attributes past the second point.
  • Serena would not use Moon Dragon Breath while mounted on the Moon Dragon. Her on-foot, Barded Ithilmar Steed and Ithilmar Chariot forms were also missing the High Elf passive Martial Prowess.
  • Buildings and landmarks added to Grand Cathay by other mods did not appear at all for the Jade Sea Fleet. New Cathay buildings from other mods are now buildable as normal.
  • The Warrior's Manor and the Shipboard Inari Shrine showed a blank lock tooltip while their companion had not yet joined.
  • Sayo and Serena were missing the immortality they are meant to have by default.
v1.0.02026-08-28ReleaseMain modStronger AI

First Workshop release. Shen Changfeng leads the Jade Sea Fleet east to Nippon, looking for a foothold in the eastern sea.

New faction and characters

  • New playable Grand Cathay faction: the Jade Sea Fleet
  • Legendary Lord Shen Changfeng, the Uncrowned Admiral — a nomadic faction with its own mechanics, casting from the Lore of the Deep and the Lore of Yang, with the Cloud Sails leap
  • Three Legendary Heroes, recruited through the Expedition Companions system: Tachibana Naotora, the Ghost, Sayo, the Onmyo Miko, and Serena
  • Generic lord Samurai Taisho — grants unique bonuses to Nipponese units, mountable on a Kirin
  • Generic hero Miko — a shrine maiden with an entirely new Miko spell lore

Expedition Companions

A dedicated Expedition Companions panel: muster the three companions, advance their chapter quests, raise their bond.

  • Four bond tiers — Bound → Trusted → Sworn → Devoted — each unlocking that companion's units and bonuses
  • Renown: spend it in the panel to buy the units you have unlocked
  • Three separate chapter quest chains

Units and buildings

  • 8 new units — Fleet: Jade Sea Warriors, Tide Guard, Fleet Gunners; Nippon: Yari Samurai, Teppo Samurai, Thunderblade Hatamoto, Kirin, Inari Fox Emissary
  • Flagship building tree: the Jade Sea Fleet's flagship is itself a building tree
  • Five Nippon landmarks: Thunder-Drawing Peak, Hikariya Forge, Yari Dojo, Divine Beast Sanctum, Vim-To Shrine
  • Nippon building chains: the shrine chain (Inari Shrine → Inari Grand Shrine → Divine Beast Sanctuary) and the samurai chain (Samurai Hall → Hatamoto Guard)

Victory objectives

A short victory, "Foothold in Nippon", plus two long routes — Route A "Overseas Empire" and Route B "Bulwark of the Far East".

Map reshuffle and AI buffs

  • Relocates 7 vanilla legendary lords to Nippon and the lands around it (Grimgor Ironhide, Skarbrand the Exiled, Epidemius, N'Kari, Lord Skrolk, Rakarth, Skrag the Slaughterer) — switchable off in MCT
  • The relocated lords and the island clans (Okumoto, Sanyo) are pushed up to top-tier vanilla legendary AI strength; both clan leaders become immortal Samurai Taisho, and their capitals start as tier-4 cities with a Hatamoto Guard already built

Submod: Stronger AI

The Nippon Expedition · Stronger AI submod ships alongside this release, buffing the AI overall and around Nippon and Grand Cathay in particular.

Requirements

Requires Immortal Empires Expanded (IEE) and Mixu's Unlocker (MIXER). MCT is optional.

Known issues

  • Conflicts with other mods using the same borrowed MIXER slot (mixer_nip_nipponese_expedition)
  • May conflict with other mods that change Nippon's ownership or factions
  • When reporting a problem, please include your mod list, load order, and the script_log_*.txt next to Warhammer3.exe
Stronger Surrounding AIStronger AI

Strengthens the AI across the whole map, with extra tuning for Nippon and the lands around Cathay.

  • 2026-10-09Faction Potential adjusted: Cult of Tsien-Tsin 225 → 180, Rizin Sunz 225 → 40, Sons of Ptra 120 → 40; Skrinderkin added at 120.
  • 2026-10-09Multiplayer games use the default settings.
  • 2026-10-01Follows IEE's new Nippon map: the boosted factions are now Clan Skully and Rizin Sunz.
Yin-Yin Unit Compatibility PatchYin-Yin compat

You only need this mod if you are also subscribed to Roar of the Jade Sea: Yin-Yin, the Sea Dragon.

  • 2026-10-09Fixed Yin-Yin crashing on launch since 9.0.
  • 2026-10-09Fixed Yin-Yin's armies being unable to encamp after you confederate her.
  • 2026-10-01Updated for 9.0.
  • 2026-08-30Released. Cathay factions can now recruit Yin-Yin's units: Jade Sea Pirates, Jade Sea Teppogumi, Jade Sea Ronin, Ansatsusha, Dragon Fleet Marines, Looted Cannons, Ogre Whalers and the Sea Dragon's Hatamoto.
    • The vanilla Cathay port opens a batch at tier 1 and another at tier 3; Yin-Yin's own Naval Garrison chain goes from Eastern-Provinces-only to buildable by any Cathay faction.
    • The Jade Sea Fleet's flagship gains a Corsair Berth chain, and its existing Naval Cannons chain now recruits Dragon Fleet Marines and Ogre Whalers as well.
    • New Regiment of Renown: the Zhuqiao Brigade (Dragon Fleet Marines), which appears in the "Regiments of Renown" tab once your lord reaches level 18, capped at one per campaign.
    • The Golden Heron and its variants, Yi Cha Jungle Fighters, the kaiju and the dinosaurs, and Yin-Yin herself along with the Jade Sea Pirate Lord / Pirate Queen are not included.
Nippon Rising Sun Compatibility PatchNRS compat

You only need this mod if you are also subscribed to Nippon, Land of the Rising Sun.

  • 2026-10-09Supports Ibuki's companion line; the lord-selection screen now plays Shen Changfeng's animated clip; fixed a start-of-campaign script error in IEE multiplayer.
  • 2026-10-01Updated for 9.0 and IEE's new Nippon map: the Gunnery School now unlocks by capturing Tetsu Fortress, and the Hidden Path by capturing Kokakurezato. The Far East Seaways also work after the faction-slot swap.
  • 2026-09-11NRS's Nippon units now benefit from lord and hero skills: the skills of Samurai Taisho, Shen Changfeng, Tachibana Naotora and Sayo that buff a unit class — Samurai units, Teppo units, Divine Beasts — now count all 24 of NRS's units in.
  • 2026-08-30NRS's Nippon units can now be recruited on shore: Ashigaru, samurai, mounted samurai, warrior monks, ninjas, fuju giants, artillery and more, with a dedicated building tree.
    • These units benefit from Cathay lord skills and technologies.
    • The Jade Sea Fleet and the Nippon factions on the island can recruit them from the start; other Cathay factions receive a mission at campaign start and unlock them by capturing the corresponding settlement.
    • NRS's lords and heroes are not available for recruitment yet — their campaign skill trees are not complete.
  • 2026-08-30Fixed settlements showing no building models on the campaign map. Vanilla Cathay cities, the map's special settlements and even NRS's own Nippon cities were all affected.
  • 2026-08-30Fixed Cathay factions having no occupation options after capturing a city. NRS's own Nippon options are kept as they are, and neither side affects the other.
  • 2026-08-29First compatibility pass: the Jade Sea Fleet moves to a different faction slot, so the two mods no longer overwrite each other's legendary lord and both factions can appear in the same campaign.
    • NoteJade Sea Fleet saves made before installing this patch will no longer load. Players who do not install it are unaffected.
Walking with Dragons Compatibility PatchWalking with Dragons compat

You only need this mod if you are also subscribed to Walking with Dragons (DEER24 Cathay).

  • 2026-10-06Released. The Jade Sea Fleet and every Cathay faction can confederate each other again, including the Okumoto and Sanyo Clans on Nippon. Confederation between other Cathay factions still follows Walking with Dragons' rules.
    • NoteThis patch requires Walking with Dragons; the game will not start without it. Decide before starting a campaign, and do not unsubscribe from Walking with Dragons mid-campaign.
  • 2026-10-06The Jade Sea Fleet can recruit the 14 Regiments of Renown that Walking with Dragons makes available from the start of the campaign.
    • This part used to live in the Cathay Mechanics Compatibility Patch and has moved here. Regiments that Walking with Dragons unlocks through its own quest chains are not included.
  • 2026-10-06The Jade Sea Fleet is exempt from 天朝局势 (the State of the Celestial Empire).
  • 2026-10-06The top bar shows 军功 (Merits), and 10 of the mod's own units — Yari Samurai, Teppo Samurai, Thunderblade Hatamoto and more — can be upgraded with them.
Cathay Mechanics Compatibility PatchCathay compat

Mods that add mechanics to vanilla Grand Cathay usually grant them faction by faction, and the Jade Sea Fleet is not on those lists. This mod puts it there, and more such mods will be added over time.

  • 2026-10-06The Walking with Dragons Regiments of Renown have moved to the Walking with Dragons Compatibility Patch; this patch no longer touches Walking with Dragons.
  • 2026-08-30Now covers Cathay Mechanism Expansion: Nan-Gau Workshop: the Jade Sea Fleet can use the Nan-Gau Workshop panel.
    • The Garden of the Moon Empress is Miao Ying only and is not included.
    • Without the Nan-Gau Workshop mod installed, the patch hides the entry point automatically.
  • 2026-08-30Released, first covering Cathay Compass Overhaul: the Jade Sea Fleet can use that mod's new compass.
    • With the patch on but that mod off, the compass shows Yuan Bo's panel instead. Appearance only — the mechanic still works.
War under Heaven Unit Compatibility PatchWar under Heaven compat

You only need this mod if you are also subscribed to War under Heaven.

  • 2026-10-01War under Heaven units you have not unlocked yet no longer show up in the recruitment panel.
  • 2026-09-03Released. The Jade Sea Fleet can recruit the Eastern Provinces' special units, aboard the flagship, from the start of the campaign.
Tech Tree CompatibilityTech-tree compat

You only need this mod if you are also subscribed to WH3 Tech-tree Combination.

  • 2026-09-08Released. The Jade Sea Fleet's technology panel gains the branch WH3 Tech-tree Combination adds for Cathay — 73 nodes, with the bonuses applying to the fleet's own custom units as well.