Looking Ahead to 2026, NetEase Brings a Thrilling Twist to SLG

After more than a year, Old Man Niu downloaded *Rateshu Zhibin* again.

After playing on the regular servers for a few days, "It's still the same old stuff," Old Man Niu initially thought. As a "hardcore veteran" who had been playing *Ratu* intensively since 2016, Old Man Niu had gone through the server launch process countless times—from Season 1 and Season 2 all the way to the Conquest Season. To him, the game held no secrets or novelty whatsoever.Old Man Niu told the Teahouse Reporter that he originally thought he’d soon return to his “casual” playing style. That is, until one day in November, when he happened to come across news about Shuotu’s “Fun-Play Edition” server.

The "Thrilling Play" edition is a series of new game modes recently launched by Shuitu, centered around the theme of "thrilling gameplay." The first batch of test servers went live in late November, with the official open beta beginning on December 26. "Double rewards on 5-star card draws," "double resources for a smooth early-game experience," and "faster-paced combat for even more excitement"—these key features of the "Thrilling Play" edition suddenly reignited a passion within Old Man Niu that had long been dormant.

He shared information about the modded version in the chat group of his former allies from before he quit the game. “I didn’t expect that just one call would bring in over fifty people,” he said. The once-quiet group chat suddenly came alive again.

News of the "Shuangwan" version spread like wildfire throughout the "Hehuan" Alliance, where Old Man Niu is a member.

"Bro 700," a streamer for "Shuitu," has also noticed that as the "Shuangwan" version gradually rolls out, there are undercurrents stirring within the game's player community.One day, while 700哥 was busy making final preparations for the Shuangwan Edition’s open beta, he suddenly received a WeChat message—the top alliance “Xiaobaicai,” which had been dormant for two or three years, had contacted him, deciding to “make a comeback” in this Shuangwan Edition. This also meant that a large group of high-level players and top commanders who once held considerable prestige within the game were about to return to the battlefields where they once reigned supreme.

Meanwhile, "7:00 Military Academy," the alliance led by 700, saw a surge of new college students joining for the first time to try out "Ratu." To help them out, 700 even released several new tutorial videos to guide new players on how to plan their initial exploration and territory expansion.

Over the past few days, the "Shuangwan Edition" of "Shuitu" has become the hot topic throughout the SLG community. Even during the test server phase, the Shuangwan Edition was constantly at full capacity, with new servers opening one after another. By the time the official servers launched in December, hundreds of SLG streamers—both big and small—began rallying their fans in a big way to prepare for the Shuangwan Edition.On launch day, all 10 official servers were packed to capacity. The Jingzhou server, where "Brother 700" landed, filled up in less than a minute, signaling a fierce battle ahead. "Old Man Niu" told the Teahouse Reporter, "It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a lively scene."

From active players and top creators to returning Rate Tu veterans and eager newcomers, a new Rate Tu story centered on "thrill" is bringing everyone together.

01

Faster, Stronger, More Thrilling

At first glance, it seems like they’ve simply launched a batch of new servers, but why has the “Thrilling Play” version become such a massive hit? Analyzing the actual changes, the core strategy behind *Rateshu Zhibin* this time revolves around the keyword “thrill,” with the game’s mechanics in the standard servers being fine-tuned and revamped.

For example, when it comes to card draws, the "Fun Play" version features "Double Card Draws": when players draw their first 10 five-star cards, they receive an additional five-star general from the same faction. Furthermore, during the early game, resources such as land yield and battle skill experience are doubled in the "Fun Play" version, and various convenience features—such as "Siege Camp" (automatic castle attacks)—have also been added.

On the surface, most of these changes seem to be aimed at the common goal of “reducing the grind and lowering the pay-to-win elements,” but the actual impact goes far beyond that—for instance, several veteran players have told me that, in their experience, the “Fun Play” version has essentially completely overhauled the classic seasonal cycle of the standard servers.

First, the early-season farming and leveling phase—which used to be rather “formulaic” and tedious—has been significantly shortened. Old Man Niu is quite impressed by this, especially the improvements to the stamina mechanics in the “Fun Play” version, which he feels really “hit the mark.”

Old Man Niu isn’t a fan of the “level cap” experience that comes with building a team in the standard version of the game. When his generals reach around level 10, he often has to pause his progress and just wait for his stamina to recharge. The “Smooth Play” version, however, not only removes the long-standing “half stamina during the early game” mechanic but also introduces a brand-new stamina item called the “Stamina Pill.” In practice, his team leveled up smoothly to level 30, reaching full combat strength.

At the same time, the "Smooth Play" version reduces the number of castles, easing the daily pressure of sieges. Combined with new convenience features such as automatic sieges, repeated attacks on high-level territories, and accelerated march speeds—the early stages of *Rate Tu* used to be a tedious process that required setting alarms to race against the clock and performing repetitive manual actions. Now, in the "Smooth Play" version, players can reach the most exciting combat phase of the season in just over ten hours.

In 700's opinion, the "Fun Play" version has effectively reshaped the combat power balance among players, significantly narrowing the gap in combat power between free-to-play and low-spending players and high-spending "whales."

On the one hand, the "Double Card Draw" feature in the Shuangwan Edition significantly lowers the barrier to entry for players; mainstream, powerful teams like "Shu Cavalry" and "Wei Mage Cavalry" can be assembled with a very high probability even with minimal spending.

Another change that really stood out to 700 Brother was the adjustment to Battle Strategy experience—previously, Battle Strategy experience was mainly obtained by decomposing generals, so players either had to spend money or grind endlessly to slowly accumulate jade for card draws.

This has changed significantly in the Shuangwan Edition. Simply complete the "Seven-Day Trial" to earn 10,000 Tactics Experience daily, and the base conversion rate for Tactics Experience has been doubled. There are more ways to earn it, and you can earn it faster. This greatly reduces the gap in the speed at which different players level up their Tactics and build their combat power, narrowing the combat power gap between casual players and mid-to-high-spending players.

The result of all these changes is that the core strategic fun of SLG shines brightly in the "Ratu Shuangwan" edition.

This reminds me of the story of the “King of Hanzhong,” who recently gained widespread attention in Shu Tu’s Server 5555. This player was originally just an obscure “path-clearing” player. His faction, Liangzhou, suffered a complete collapse on the main front lines after multiple alliances defected.While the “veterans” in his alliance had already given up resistance and were calculating how to maximize their conquest rewards, he still wanted to take a chance. Fully leveraging his low profile, he ventured deep into enemy territory alone, cleverly disguised as an attacker to quietly build up his strength. After several days of arduous patience and deception, he finally “decapitated” the main city of the [Xi Alliance], causing the server’s top alliance—with over 300 members—to crumble.

The exhilaration that comes from the instant payoff following meticulous planning and biding one’s time has captivated countless *Ratu* players; many see in the King of Hanzhong a reflection of their own youthful enthusiasm from when they first started playing strategy games. This perfectly captures the essence of the thrill that people value and seek in SLGs—the strategic maneuvering and diplomatic maneuvering between players. And the “Thrill Edition” creates an environment where everyone can experience that thrill.

As the saying goes, “Where there are people, there is a world of intrigue.” By lowering the entry barrier through “reduced grinding and microtransactions,” the “Fast-Play Edition” ensures a large enough player base to fuel conflicts and keep servers bustling. The overall acceleration of seasonal progression allows players to quickly reach the “battle” phase—the core stage where strategic struggles most readily emerge.Ultimately, by reducing the pressure of grinding and microtransactions to create a more enjoyable experience, the "Fun Play" version makes room for the expression of human nature, thereby bringing out the more important "hardcore thrill" at the strategic level. This is the fundamental change brought about by the "Fun Play" version.

Just as Old Man Niu felt, in the Shuangwan version he saw the 2017–2018 era—which he considered the most representative of *Ratu*—when he and his alliance members shared a deep bond of camaraderie. They would strategize sieges together, meet up in person, and become close friends who stood by each other through thick and thin.

And during the "Fun Play" phase, he found his own brand of "fun." He told me it was just like when he was a kid and would shout out in the alley, and his friends would rush out to go wild with him. In the end, the rewards and the outcome of the game were just external things; what mattered most was whether everyone could have a blast playing together and really let loose.At his rallying cry, not a single member of the alliance left the game, no matter how brutal the battles became. Even after the entire alliance fell to a powerful enemy, everyone rebuilt their city time and time again, only to go out and “fight” once more—this is precisely the powerful sense of unity and exhilaration that “exhilaration” brings.

02

Ten Years of Rate Tu: A New Beginning

In conversations with two players, both 700 Ge and Niu Daye told me they hope that from now on, the "Fun Play" mode will replace the standard servers and become the default entry point for new players. In fact, we can see this sentiment resonating widely across social media platforms like Douyin and Bilibili. With comments like "The developers finally got it" and "They hit the nail on the head," a flood of viral videos like these has emerged.

The Juyou Index shows that as promotional activities for the "Shuangwan" version gained momentum, the buzz surrounding *Rateshu Zhibin* reached its highest level in over six months in December, with its popularity index nearly doubling.

It’s clear that for Shuitu Zhibin, the launch of the “Fun Play” version is far more than just a promotional event or the opening of a new server. It also carries strategic significance in terms of charting the future direction of Shuitu Zhibin.

As one of the definitive examples of a timeless model in the SLG genre—and indeed the gaming industry as a whole—Ratu, which has been live for a full decade, has weathered multiple industry cycles.

At this stage, *Ratu* faces a dilemma of "change versus continuity": while it maintains a leading edge in core aspects such as visual quality and general deployment strategies, market conditions—including the financial circumstances and available time of the new generation of players—are undergoing rapid transformation.

As we can see, Shoutu has always paid close attention to changing times and trends, and has remained constantly prepared to undergo “self-revolution.” On the one hand, we have consistently maintained the mindset of a “fearless newcomer,” continuously launching innovative content. More importantly, we continually adjust our course based on player feedback, journeying through the long and arduous path alongside the vast Shoutu player community.

By launching the "Fun Edition," *Rateshu Zhibin* successfully reignited the sense of "exhilaration" through reduced gameplay demands while maintaining the core strategic experience, thereby driving new growth and expanding its user base. This clearly demonstrates that the *Rateshu* team has taken its understanding of player needs to new heights, accurately capturing the modern player’s demand for "less grinding and lower monetization."In fact, during the first half of this year, Shuituzhibin also launched the "Youth Server," which emphasized "free gacha," and achieved equally outstanding results in expanding its user base.

According to Dataeye’s October data, downloads of *Rateshu Zhibin* on the iOS platform alone have been steadily increasing over the past four years.

Without a doubt, the "Shuangwan" version has also delivered a strong performance, shattering the perception that Three Kingdoms SLG games are entering a phase of "stagnation" or even "decline."Examples such as the "Time-Travel" servers of *World of Warcraft*, which have recently set new records; the "Free-to-Play" servers of *Fantasy Westward Journey*; and the "Youth" servers launched by *Rate the Land* in the first half of the year have all followed a similar script—leveraging deep insights into players’ evolving needs and implementing bold, sweeping adjustments to break the deadlock of new player acquisition for these long-standing titles.

We can even see that, building on its game optimization efforts, *Rateshu Zhibin* continues to explore diverse ways to boost the popularity of its "Fun Play" version. For example, by combining the "Fun Play" and "Bounty Server" modes, the game uses tangible cash incentives to attract more players to try out the "Fun Play" version.

In addition, Shoutu recently invited Luo Yonghao to serve as the ambassador for the Shoutu "Fun Edition." Leveraging Luo’s cross-demographic influence—which combines his appeal in "cutting-edge technology" with his recognition among male internet users—the company aims to expand the game’s reach beyond the SLG genre into broader audiences. From gameplay updates to marketing innovations, Shoutu’s "Fun Edition" represents a comprehensive evolution in its strategic approach.

In the past, Shuitu Zhibin has always established itself in the Three Kingdoms SLG genre as an innovator, continuously driving the evolution of the entire category through original gameplay and original Three Kingdoms stories.Readers who have long followed the Shuotu ecosystem may have noticed that the growing number of new faces among Shuotu players, as well as the wave of young creators emerging from the “Shuotu Star Promotion Program” in recent years, all underscore the game’s appeal to a new generation of players.

Whether it was the "Youth Edition" in the first half of the year or the current "Fun Edition," these moves demonstrate that, even after passing the 10-year milestone, Shuotu remains as vibrant as a new game, maintaining its passion for experimentation and innovation—a spirit that is truly rare and valuable. This is precisely why Shuotu continues to hold such strong appeal for a new generation of players, while simultaneously injecting a steady stream of fresh energy and momentum into both the game itself and the entire genre.

Conclusion

As the "Fun Play" version has gained widespread recognition and become a major topic of discussion within the SLG community, we at the Teahouse can’t help but look forward to the "next step" for Rate Tu—will the developers adopt player feedback and officially move the "Fun Play" version to the Preparation Zone, or will they use these explorations as a foundation to address player pain points and roll out a more refined, comprehensive, and long-term solution in the future?

In any case, looking back at the series of moves "Lütu" has made so far this year, we now have a much clearer vision of the game’s future over the next decade in the highly competitive "red ocean" of Three Kingdoms strategy games.