8 Dynasty Warriors Origins tips and tricks for beginners

Dynasty Warriors is back after a seven year break and much of its granular moment-to-moment gameplay will be familiar to fans of the series. But diving into a battle for the first time as a novice can be a bit of a shock to the system given enemy forces consist of hundreds if not thousands of soldiers. Though these numbers are impressive, they aren’t half as daunting once you start cleaving into a sea of human flesh and watch as health bars melt away. But, to help hit the ground running, we’ve pulled together 8 Dynasty Warriors Origins tips and tricks for beginners.

Learn weapon combos

While you can head into a fight hoping for the best by smashing light and heavy attacks with the odd spirit art thrown in, it’s well worth hitting the pause button and sifting through the combos for the weapon you’re using. These combos not only dish out substantially more damage but are key when you come up against named officers and generals who want to fall to a swipe or two of your sword. Before long, you’ll be chaining combos effortlessly and making the most of Origins’ relatively elaborate combat system.

Parrying is OP

Parrying is covered during the tutorial but not enough emphasis is placed on just how efficient and overpowered this mechanic can be. It’s more or less skippable if you’re taking on standard grunts but is an absolute game changer against named enemies. In keeping with parry in most action games, the idea is to pull one off just as an enemy attack is about to hit. Doing so will make them vulnerable, allowing you to dart in for a powerful reprisal.

Target officers when battling large forces

When taking on large forces, standard soldiers will work a unit and benefit from high courage, making them tougher to defeat. To mitigate this effect, you’ll want to focus first of defeating officers, named soldiers with unique skills, attacks, and chunkier health bars. Without officers, the force will shred courage, weakening it significantly, allowing you to mop up any stragglers.

Unlock waymarks

When you’re exploring the world map, you’ll quickly discover that the map, though not exactly massive, does take time to traverse as your character runs at a rather slow pace. To not waste time trudging to your next destination, make sure to unlock any of the orange waymarks you come across as you progress. You can then use these to fast travel to previously visited locations to complete quests, find resources, and take on skirmishes.

Using Musou attacks sparingly

In the bottom left of the HUD, you’ll see a set of orange circles that represent your Musou gauge. When they are filled, you can tap the circle button to unleash a powerful Musou attack with devastating damage. While it’s tempting to use it as soon as it becomes available, you’re much better off saving it for named enemies, especially when enemy morale is high, to get the most bang for your buck.

Regularly open letters for extra items and resources

It’s worth regularly dropping into inns and tents to check for letters. These are words of thanks from people you’ve encountered on your travels, but, more importantly, they often contain gifts such as pyroxene, coins, and occasionally items like weapons and accessories.

Pick up pyroxene and craft gems

Throughout the world map, you’ll bump into orange rock shards that grant pyroxene when you harvest them. This pyroxene can then be used to craft gems at inns and tents. These gems grant a range of stat boosts such as expanded attack range, damage boosts, and health restoration. You can also upgrade these by crafting copies of the same gems to level them up to improve the benefits they confer.

Complete skirmishes to farm XP and skill points

Skirmishes are a reliable way to earn XP and skill points. These are bit-sized battles that often take no more than a few minutes with simple objectives like clearing out bandits or securing a specific location. They are a quick and efficient way to keep you topped up in XP and skill points between major story battles. The former will allow you to rank up, getting you better strength and defence stats, while the latter allows you to unlock specific skills that cover combat stats, horses, healing items, and more.

As an added bonus, you’ll also occasionally receive new weapons for completing these small battles. Thieves will sometimes pop up in skirmishes, granting gold and pyroxene when defeated. Skirmishes spawn throughout the world map giving you the option to take one on at pretty much any time. They also contribute towards spreading peace in the region where they are located.