Heroes of Three Kingdoms is Perfect World's MMORPG set at the fall of the Han dynasty. It launched in China in 2009 as Chi Bi - Red Cliff, after the famous battle - and Perfect World Entertainment brought it to North America in 2010. Its hook was history: instead of an invented fantasy world, you fight through the Three Kingdoms period and meet the heroes and villains made famous by its literature.

The North American version closed on November 1, 2011, after little more than a year, so for Western players fan-run private servers are the only route back. Servers for a game with such a short Western run are rare, and the ones that appear tend to be small projects. This guide explains what the game is about and how to judge a server for it.

Eighteen Weapons and Three Kingdoms

There are no classes in the usual sense. Your role comes from the weapon you choose when you create your character, and the game's Eighteen Weapon System draws on the weapon types of the era, each with its own skills and cooldowns. Two characters with different weapons play like different classes, which makes your first choice the most important one you will make.

At a set point in the story you swear loyalty to one of the three kingdoms - Wei, Shu or Wu - and the kingdoms can wage war on one another or form alliances. Famous generals and rulers of the period appear throughout the story, so fans of the Three Kingdoms novel will recognize the people and battles they meet along the way.

What to Look For in a Heroes of Three Kingdoms Private Server

Client and language

The game was released in Chinese first, and the English version ran for only about a year. A private server may be built on either client, and translation quality varies a great deal. Check that quests, items and skills are readable in your language, because the story is a large part of the appeal.

Kingdom balance

Kingdom warfare needs at least two living sides, ideally three. Check how many players are in Wei, Shu and Wu, and whether the server encourages new players to join the weakest kingdom rather than piling into the strongest.

Weapon balance

Eighteen weapon types are a lot to balance, and on a small server one dominant weapon can take over PvP. Look for staff who publish balance changes and listen to players who use the less popular weapons.

Rates and progression

Small populations often mean boosted EXP and drop rates, so players reach the kingdom content before interest fades. That helps, but the server still needs goals once you get there. Check what the endgame offers and how gear is earned.

Project stability

For a niche game, the biggest risk is a server that simply disappears. Look for a project with a visible history, regular updates and an active community channel, and never reuse a password from another game on a fan-run server.

Getting Started

Try two or three weapons on low-level characters before you settle on one, since the weapon you pick at creation decides your role from the start. Then choose the kingdom that needs players most, and ask in the community channel which weapons are underplayed. Reading up on the period pays off here - knowing the story of the Three Kingdoms makes the quests, the generals and the rivalries far more fun. Vote for the server you play on; rankings here start again every month, so the list below shows where players are now.