Evony new wall general (main city defense general), Zhou Yu, who comes from ancient China, has been released with the 2025 Arena Event. This general has a good buff effect on all four types of in-city troops. Read this guide to learn how to obtain this general, how he compares to Takenaka Shigeharu, and how to use him in conjunction with other generals.
Zhou Yu’s General Story
Zhou Yu was a leading commander of Sun-Wu in the late Eastern Han. Fighting alongside Sun Ce, he swept through Jiangdong and, from his base in Danyang, supplied the army with men and provisions, becoming a cornerstone of the realm.
In 208 AD, Cao Cao invaded with overwhelming numbers. Zhou Yu insisted on battle, forged an alliance with Liu Bei, and exploited the enemy fleet’s linked ships and unfamiliar climate. His nighttime fire attack at Red Cliffs turned the river into a blazing inferno, destroyed Cao Cao’s navy, and preserved the balance that became the Three Kingdoms.
Celebrated for more than strategy, Zhou Yu showed generous leadership, honored veterans, united the ranks, and was admired for his musical talent and composed manner.
Though he died young, his victories and civil achievements laid the foundation for Sun-Wu. A master of both war and governance, Zhou Yu endures as a model of wisdom and courage.
Special Skill: Masterful Strategy
Increases in-city ranged troops and siege machines’ attack by 40%, and in-city ground troops and mounted troops’ defense and HP by 20% when Zhou Yu is the Main City Defense General.
Ascend the general to unlock the following buffs.
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1 Star – In-city ground and mounted troop attack +10%; in-city ranged troop and siege machine defense +15%
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2 Star – In-city ranged troop attack +20%; healing speed +10%
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3 Star – In-city siege machine attack +20%; in-city ground and mounted troop defense and HP +20%
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4 Star – In-city ground and mounted troop attack +25%; in-city ranged troop and siege machine defense and HP +10%
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5 Star – In-city ranged troop and siege machine attack, defense, and HP +20%
Note: these buffs take effect only when he is the Main City Defense General.
Max-level Specialty Attributes
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Siege Machine Assault: siege machine attack and HP +10%
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Fortification (applied to the main city defense general): In-city troop attack +6%
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War God: all troops attack +6%
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Battle of Red Cliffs: in-city troop attack +25%; in-city ranged troop and siege machine defense and HP +25%
Zhou Yu’s Covenant Information
Covenanted Generals:
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Sun Ce, Lu Xun, and Zhang Fei
Covenant Attributes:
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War Covenant: in-city ranged troop and siege machine defense +10%
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Cooperation Covenant: healing speed +5%
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Peace Covenant: in-city ground and mounted troop attack +10%
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Faith Covenant: in-city ranged troop and siege machine HP +10%; in-city ground and mounted troop defense +10%
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Honor Covenant: in-city ground and mounted troop HP +10%
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Civilization Covenant: in-city ranged troop and siege machine attack +10%; in-city troop HP +10%
The Way to Obtain General Zhou Yu
Participate in the Alliance Carnival during Evony’s 2025 Arena Event, and you may get this general on the Redeem page.
During the event, you need to earn enough Sword of Justice by consuming Rare Gold Helmet, which can be received by purchasing “The Amazing Arena Deal” and “Limited Time Alliance Carnival” packages.
The Arena packages are divided into 5 tiers:
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The 1st tier – Rare Gold Helmet * 5 per pack
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The 2nd tier – Rare Gold Helmet * 10 per pack
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The 3rd tier – Rare Gold Helmet * 20 per pack
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The 4th tier – Rare Gold Helmet * 50 per pack
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The 5th tier – Rare Gold Helmet * 100 per pack
The limited-time package is only 1 tier:
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Rare Gold Helmet * 15 per pack
Tips: You can use double or triple down package coupons when you buy them to receive more Rare Gold Helmets.
Use Sword of Justice * 1,200 to redeem the exclusive token of General Zhou Yu, and the general token can be exchanged 16 times.
Besides, there are also some other rare items that need to be redeemed by the Sword of Justice.
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Emperor – Caesar Skin (4,800 Sword of Justice)
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General – Carsar (300 Sword of Justice)
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Castle – Titan Temple (2,500 Sword of Justice)
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March Effect – Imperial Warriors (20 Sword of Justice)
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General – Nordic Barbarian King (500 Sword of Justice; redeem chance: 5)
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General – Zizka (500 Sword of Justice; redeem chance: 5)
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General – Nero (200 Sword of Justice; redeem chance: 5)
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Materials: Blood Crystal, Merit Jade, Glory Golden Twig, Blood of Ares, Junior Blazon Chest, Art Treasure Scroll Chest, Refining Stone, Runestone Chest, Dragon Crystal, Dragon Source Fragment, Material Bag (Silk Road), Treasure Box, Tactic Scroll, Research Stone, Source of Life, Soul Crystal, Super Resource Chest, and 60-min Speedups.
Moreover, you can redeem some special things with the Shield of Glory, which can be obtained by consuming the Refined Iron Helmet. For example:
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Ramune (usually called Soda; one-time damage exemption)
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Water Balloon (use it on a castle to make a thunderstorm for 5 minutes)
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Shave Ice (freeze the castle for 5 minutes)
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Goldfish (use it to receive refining stones or Elise’s general fragment)
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Candy Apple (get one-time 50% off when you buy an item from the Black Market)
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Taiyaki (use it to receive 3-day speedups or Elise’s general fragment)
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Lycky Cat (gain 50% double-items-drop rate from monsters for 10 minutes)
The Refined Iron Helmet can be earned from RSS spots and monsters.
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Gain up to 200 by gathering RSS
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Gain up to 600 by killing monsters
Finally, based on your consumption of Refined Iron Helmet and Rare Gold Helmet, you may receive monarch and alliance ranking rewards like March Effect (Imperial Iron Guard), Gems, Blood of Ares, Gold, Source of Life, Treasure Box, RSS, Speedups, Dragon Source Fragment, Runestone Chest, Alliance Honor, and Alliance Points.
Zhou Yu vs. Takenaka Shigeharu
For ease of reference, the following table uses abbreviated information to compare the buffs of these two generals in various areas.
Abbreviation Index:
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In-city = I
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In-city troops = IT
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All troops = AT
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Enemy = E
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Enemy troops = ET
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Siege machine = S
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Ranged troop = R
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Ground troop = G
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Mounted troop = M
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Attack = A
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Defense = D
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HP = HP
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Growth Stage
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Zhou Yu
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Takenaka Shigeharu
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|---|---|---|
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Initial Special Skill
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I·R·A +40
I·S·A +40
I·G·D +20
I·M·D +20
I·G·HP +20
I·M·HP +20
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I·S·A +50
I·G·D +45
I·M·D +45
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|
1 Red Star
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I·G·A +10
I·M·A +10
I·R·D +15
I·S·D +15
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I·M·D +15
I·M·HP +15
I·G·D +15
I·G·HP +15
|
|
2 Red Star
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I·R·A +20
Healing speed +10
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I·S·A +10
Hospital capacity +20
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|
3 Red Star
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I·S·A +20
I·G·D +20
I·M·D +20
I·G·HP +20
I·M·HP +20
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I·S·A +10
I·S·HP +40
I·R·HP +40
|
|
4 Red Star
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I·G·A +25
I·M·A +25
I·R·D +10
I·S·D +10
I·R·HP +10
I·S·HP +10
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I·S·A +20
I·S·D +40
I·R·D +40
|
|
5 Red Star
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I·R·A +20
I·S·A +20
I·R·D +20
I·S·D +20
I·R·HP +20
I·S·HP +20
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I·S·A +25
I·G·HP +45
I·M·HP +45
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Specialty 1
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S·A +10
S·HP +10
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S·HP +10
S·D +10
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Specialty 2
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IT·A +6
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ET·A -10
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Specialty 3
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AT·A +6
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AT·A +6
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Specialty 4
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IT·A +25
I·R·D +25
I·S·D +25
I·R·HP +25
I·S·HP +25
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I·S·A +40
IT·D +30
E·S·A -10
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Covenant 1
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I·R·D +10
I·S·D +10
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0
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Covenant 2
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Healing speed +5
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|
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Covenant 3
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I·G·A +10
I·M·A +10
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|
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Covenant 4
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I·R·HP +10
I·S·HP +10
I·G·D +10
I·M·D +10
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|
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Covenant 5
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I·G·HP +10
I·M·HP +10
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|
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Covenant 6
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I·R·A +10
I·S·A +10
IT·HP +10
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For in-city siege machines, Takenaka Shigeharu’s attack buff remains the best, with Zhou Yu not surpassing him in this regard. However, Zhou Yu’s HP boost for in-city siege machines is superior to Takenaka Shigeharu’s.
For in-city ranged troops, Zhou Yu’s buffs for all three aspects (attack, defense, and HP) are significantly superior to Takenaka Shigeharu’s.
Focus on in-city ground and mounted troops, Zhou Yu’s attack buffs are better than Takenaka Shigeharu’s, but his defense is inferior.
Overall, Zhou Yu’s buffs for all four in-city troop types are fairly evenly balanced, while Takenaka Shigeharu’s siege attack buffs are particularly prominent.
How to Pair General Zhou Yu?
In addition to the individual strength of a general, we also need to consider their combined effectiveness.
We’ve found that Zhou Yu’s special skills conflict with many generals, making him incompatible with the following siege-buff wall generals:
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George Dewey
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William Marshal
We recommend the combinations below:
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Takenaka Shigeharu + Zhou Yu
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Leo III + Zhou Yu
