Koei Tecmo's Omega Force team released DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS on 16 January 2025, dropping the huge playable roster for one nameless protagonist the game calls the Wanderer and later names Ziluan, a member of the Guardians of Peace. He can pick up all 10 weapon types, from Sword through Podao to Halberd, and carries two of them into any battle. The campaign runs five chapters from the Yellow Turban Rebellion through Sishui Gate, Hulao Gate, Xiapi and Guandu to Chibi, and the faction you commit to in Chapter 3 decides which battles you fight and which ending you get.
Starting DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS is a action game built around Bravery and Battle Arts and Parrying and perfect evasion. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Role
| Role | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sword | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Spear | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Gauntlets | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Podao | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Halberd | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Spear. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Halberd as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Bravery and Battle Arts
Battle Arts are the weapon skills bound to your face buttons, and every one of them spends Bravery points. You begin with 4 Bravery and the cap climbs to 10 as your rank rises. Bravery comes back from landing hits, from a parry counter, from a perfect evade and from assaulting a staggered officer, so pressing the attack pays for the next Battle Art instead of draining you.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Bravery and Battle Arts works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Battle of Guangzong
The Yellow Turban campaign's big set piece and the first time the Large Force system shows what it can do. Thousands of Yellow Turban troops fill the field, morale swings decide how fast the allied line advances, and Zhang Jiao's forces run Grand Tactics you can foil by hunting the officer behind them.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Dragon Spear: it's the most accessible early upgrade. A Spear whose thrust reaches past the first rank of a shield line and whose sweeps knock pikemen off their feet. Spears bridge distance better than anything except the Lance, and the family runs from Recruit's Spear up to Flying Luan Spear.
Step 4: Understand Parrying and perfect evasion
An officer's attack can be blocked, parried, evaded or perfect evaded. The last two matter most because each clean one hands back a full unit of Bravery, and a parry counter is the fastest way to stagger a general and open the assault window where the real damage happens. Attacks that flash red cannot be parried at all and have to be evaded outright.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Battle of Hulao Gate
Unlocked straight after the Battle of Sishui Gate, and the fight everyone remembers. The coalition throws itself at the gate while Lu Bu holds it, and the duel against him is the game's first hard check on whether you have learned to parry rather than block.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Bravery and Battle Arts
Battle Arts are the weapon skills bound to your face buttons, and every one of them spends Bravery points. You begin with 4 Bravery and the cap climbs to 10 as your rank rises. Bravery comes back from landing hits, from a parry counter, from a perfect evade and from assaulting a staggered officer, so pressing the attack pays for the next Battle Art instead of draining you.
Parrying and perfect evasion
An officer's attack can be blocked, parried, evaded or perfect evaded. The last two matter most because each clean one hands back a full unit of Bravery, and a parry counter is the fastest way to stagger a general and open the assault window where the real damage happens. Attacks that flash red cannot be parried at all and have to be evaded outright.
Grand Tactics and army morale
Both armies periodically commit to a Grand Tactic, an army wide move such as a fire attack or a cavalry charge that either damages the opposing force heavily or hands it a large morale swing. Killing the officer running an enemy Grand Tactic foils it and drops enemy morale temporarily, which is usually faster than grinding down the soldier count with your own sword.
Ten weapon types on two slots
Sword, Spear, Gauntlets, Wheels, Podao, Staff, Twin Pikes, Lance, Crescent Blade and Halberd all handle differently, and you carry two at a time and swap between them freely. Every weapon carries its own grade, attack value and Battle Art set, so the second slot is normally filled to cover the first weapon's weakness rather than to double up on its strength.
Companion bonds and ally calls
Fighting near an officer you share a bond with draws a blue line between the two of you, which signals that you have their attention and can pull them into your fight. Bonds build from performing well where they can see it, and parries count heavily. Nine of the game's ten companions serve under Cao Cao, Sun Jian or Liu Bei, so your Chapter 3 allegiance decides who ends up fighting at your shoulder.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Blocking officer attacks instead of parrying them, which keeps you alive but generates no Bravery and stretches every duel to several minutes
2. Carrying two weapons of similar reach, so both slots fail in the same situation and the swap button does nothing useful
3. Ignoring Grand Tactics and trying to win by kill count, which works on early maps and stalls badly at Guandu and Chibi
4. Spending Bravery on Battle Arts while the officer is still guarding, rather than saving it for the assault window after a stagger
5. Running ahead of your companions to clear objectives solo, which stops bonds building and leaves you without ally calls in the late chapters
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Bravery and Battle Arts and Parrying and perfect evasion
- Choose Spear as starting role
- Clear Battle of Guangzong main content
- Acquire Dragon Spear or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Battle of Hulao Gate
- Bravery is the whole combat system. You start with 4 points and the rank cap takes it to 10, and a single parry counter refills a full unit, so treat parrying as a resource generator rather than a defensive option.
- Attacks that flash red cannot be parried under any circumstances. Learn the two or three officers who use them heavily and default to perfect evasion in those duels instead of trying to time a block.
Tips for New Players
- Bravery is the whole combat system. You start with 4 points and the rank cap takes it to 10, and a single parry counter refills a full unit, so treat parrying as a resource generator rather than a defensive option.
- Attacks that flash red cannot be parried under any circumstances. Learn the two or three officers who use them heavily and default to perfect evasion in those duels instead of trying to time a block.
- The second weapon slot is not decoration. A Spear and Gauntlets pairing covers both crowd clearing and single target damage, and swapping mid fight costs almost nothing compared with fighting a duel with the wrong weapon.
- Foiling an enemy Grand Tactic drops enemy morale temporarily. On Guandu and Chibi that morale drop moves the front line further than twenty minutes of killing rank and file soldiers will.
- Perfect evasion beats regular evasion by enough Bravery that it is worth practising in an easy battle before Hulao Gate. Regular evasion keeps you alive, perfect evasion pays for your next Battle Art.
- Weapon grade matters more than weapon type for raw damage. A high grade Sword outperforms a low grade Halberd, so upgrade what you already like rather than chasing the type a tier list recommends.
- Companion bonds build from performing well where the companion can see you. Parries count heavily, so fight near the officer you want to bond with instead of running ahead to clear the map alone.
- Chapter 3 is where the campaign branches. Suppression of Yan Province, Battle of Jieqiao and the Puyang fights lead into different allegiances, and the faction you pick determines which of the ten companions you get.
- The assault window after a stagger is where officers actually die. Do not start a Battle Art before the stagger lands, because a Battle Art spent on a guarding officer is Bravery thrown away.
- All 10 weapon types stay useful and none is a trap. Wheels reward catching the throw on the return for a free strong attack, Crescent Blade chains hits with rising damage, and Twin Pikes trade reach for flurry speed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the protagonist in Dynasty Warriors Origins?
He is a nameless amnesiac martial artist the game refers to as the Wanderer, whose real name is revealed to be Ziluan. He is a member of the Guardians of Peace, an original character created for this game rather than a figure from the Three Kingdoms records, and he is the only character you directly control in the main story.
How many weapon types are there in Dynasty Warriors Origins?
Ten: Sword, Spear, Gauntlets, Wheels, Podao, Staff, Twin Pikes, Lance, Crescent Blade and Halberd. You equip two at a time and can swap between them freely during a battle, and each type carries its own grade, attack value and Battle Art set.
What is Bravery used for?
Bravery pays for Battle Arts. You start with 4 points and the cap rises to 10 as your rank increases. It refills from landing hits, from parry counters, from perfect evasions and from assaulting a staggered officer. In Rage Mode, Battle Arts spend Musou instead of Bravery.
Does the game cover the whole Three Kingdoms story?
No. The five chapters run from the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the Battle of Chibi, ending with Sanjiangkou and the Huarong Path. The later Shu, Wei and Wu wars that other Dynasty Warriors games cover are outside this game's timeline.
Which faction should I join in Chapter 3?
There is no wrong pick, but the choice changes which battles you play and which companions fight beside you. Nine of the ten companions serve under Cao Cao, Sun Jian or Liu Bei, and the game supports multiple endings, so replaying with a different allegiance is the intended way to see the rest.
More DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Guides
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Overview
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Best Builds
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Tier List
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Walkthrough
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Tips & Tricks
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Weapons Guide
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Combat Guide
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Boss Guide
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Maps & Locations
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Crafting Guide
- DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS Classes & Characters
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