30 Tips and Tricks for Dynasty Warriors: Origins (Beginners, Combat, and more)

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is the 10th entry in the long-standing franchise. While some players enjoyed the bigger-than-ever large-scale battles made possible by current technologies, and some others found the single-character campaign-only and no-multiplayer design choices to work against the game, there is no denying that DWO is choke full of different mechanics and systems that are not always explained the best way. Or that it flat-out neglects to explain at all.

For those reasons, we’ve put together this list of tips and tricks that will encompass everything from Beginner’s tips to things the game didn’t tell you and a variety of other useful tips to make your travel through the Three Kingdoms as much of a breeze as possible. These 30 tips and tricks cover from beginner tips, to combat and Quality of Life tips.

Beginner Considerations

Dynasty Warriors: Origins brings back the old and proven Musou gameplay. If you’ve played any Musou games like any other Dynasty Warriors, or maybe Hyrule Warriors, or the criminally underappreciated spin-off of the Dynasty and Samurai Warriors franchises, Warriors Orochi, then you are set. If it’s your first time, however, you’ll find that the game is not straightforward about a number of mechanics, so you should keep the following in mind.

Beginner’s Tips & Tricks

1. You level up through your weapons, switch them often. 
2. The weapons you don’t use still get experience from battles, albeit a small, set amount.
3. Main missions also boost peace in their region, even more so than skirmishes.
4. Reach peace milestones to receive rewards in Pyroxene, Battle Arts, Coins, and Old Coins from the altars.
5. Make sure to always do a pyroxene run across the map in between fights. 
6. Master Battle Arts to make them less expensive and more effective. Switch them when you have mastered them.
7. Experience gained from battles is the same regardless of difficulty.
8. Parries and Perfect Evades grant Bravery.
9. Use the Evade button to jump while on horseback.
10. You can interrupt a normal attack animation more easily than a strong attack one.
11. Taking out the leader of a large force is the quickest way to disband it. But not the easiest.

Combat Considerations

Combat is the bread and butter in Dynasty Warriors: Origins, and as such, is the one activity you’ll be doing the most. The gameplay loop is about facing entire armies mostly on your own or using your army in a strategic fashion to reach victory. The main issue when it comes to combat is that the game expects you to already know certain mechanics from previous entries, so there is no mention of certain aspects of the combat. This is why the following list should be useful to you.

Combat Tips & Tricks

1. Morale affects the effectiveness of all units. Capture bases and defeat officers to move the needle your way.
2. You need guards or units around you to break doors open from the outside. You can open them from the inside on your own.
3. Go to allied bases to refill your guard units over time.
4. Your squad tactics can get dramatic successes when using them from higher ground or when ambushing enemies from the back or sides. Be strategic with them. 
5. Dramatic successes grant a morale bonus.
6. You can take control of your companion momentarily when their Musou Gauge is full.
7. Battle Art Chains can be triggered with other officers on top of your companion.
8. Extreme Musou Attacks done with companions do not drain your Musou gauge.
9. Eyes of the Sacred Bird can reveal vases with meat buns
10. You can focus Eyes of the Sacred Bird to look at each battle zone, making the rest of the officers disappear. Useful for planning your next move and save allied officers.
11. The Trample skill is easy to miss: When in front of or surrounded by enemies, you can double jump as long as there is an enemy to jump on and you have acquired the Trample skill. Useful for traversing large forces and attacking from higher up.
12. Winning Duels grant a large morale bonus.

World and Quality of Life Considerations

While the main gameplay loop is still the battles, and that is mostly what you’ll be doing in Dynasty Warriors: Origins, the moments in between battles present the opportunity to engage in the rest of what the game has to offer: The characters stories, the Three Kingdoms narrative, collecting pyroxene, etc. There are a few tips that make this part of the game a little easier to go through.

World and Quality of Life Tips & Tricks

1. You can set the dialogues to run automatically instead of having to press a button to continue after each one. You can also speed them up.
2. Using the Story option in the Inn/lodgings after beating the game once lets you replay any mission.
3. The amounts of pyroxene, Old Coins, coins, and herbs are not affected by going back to older missions using the Story option.
4. You can consult your Old Coins and Pyroxene amounts in the map screen.
5. Hunt down thieves in skirmishes for bonus pyroxene and coins. Use your Eyes of the Sacred Bird to scan the battlefield to find them. They also show as a red dot on the minimap.
6. Horses only get experience from guard and main missions, not from skirmishes.
7. Eyes of the Sacred Bird also work on the overworld. Use it to find pyroxene and herbs.

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