Dynasty Warriors 9 is a game that brings more of what fans enjoyed about the previous games in the series. However, there are also some significant changes to the formula including the new open world system and some changes to the combat system. This is a game where you’ll have to use some amount of strategy when deciding how to go up against enemies. This is also a game where your officer will be able to send hundreds of enemies flying with a single attack. It’s a game that revels in the fantastical while also requiring you as a player to pay attention to what you’re doing. While some fights in the game may feel quite easy, there are quite a few boss fights in the game that can be very challenging. Whether you’re a veteran of the series or a newcomer, this guide will surely have some thing that is of use to you. If you’re ready, then let’s get started!
TIPS AND TRICKS
Use special attacks wisely
Every officer in the game has their own unique special attacks which deals a lot of damage and also makes the officer invincible for a short period of time. However, these attacks have cool downs so make sure you use these attacks wisely as it could be the difference between life and death in some situations.
Try out different languages
The English voice-overs may seem very cartoonish to some. Given the historical setting of the game, the Chinese language immediately seems more authentic and fits perfectly with the atmosphere. Before you settle on any one language, make sure you try out the different options. It could significantly alter your experience of the game.
Unlocking officers
In the game, you start off with only three officers available to play. Now, it might be a little daunting to consider that there are a total of 90 officers to unlock. Don’t worry, because all you have to do to unlock all the officers is to fully play through all 13 chapters in the game’s story mode.
Notice where crafting materials spawn
The open world in the game is filled with crafting materials to collect which can help you craft better items. Make sure you collect a lot of these crafting materials as you are wandering across the map. However, also make sure you note where some rare crafting materials can be found so that you can come back to this location in case you’re in sudden need of these materials.
Experiment with different gems and weapons
Gems can be used in the game to customize a weapon in certain ways. These gems can be crafted if you have the required crafting scroll. Make sure you experiement with different weapon and gem combinations on officers to find out what works best for you.
Learn how to use Trigger attacks
Trigger attacks allow you to send enemies flying in the air while stunning them or changing their status in some other way. These attacks also increase the damage you deal so it’s a great attack to use when you want to unleash a deadly combo against enemies. To use this attack, just hold the R1 button and then when you’re prompted, press the button shown on the screen.
HOW TO FARM GOLD AND XP
Killing Bandits
One of the easiest ways to farm both money and XP in this game is by hunting down packs of Bandit Chiefs and Bandit Leaders. these particular kind of Bandit enemies offer much greater rewards than random unnamed bandits whom you see around in the game. Bandits usually travel in groups so if you spot a few of them, it’s likely that you’ll soon see more of them coming your way. Just attack them with your normal attacks, get all the goods you can find to sell them at vendors, and then wait for more bandits to come your way. One very efficient way to take down bandits is to use explosive arrows, but these are quite expensive. However, the expenses will be more than covered from the large profits you’ll make by killing the bandits.
Fishing
You can make quite a bit of gold in this just by fishing some rare fishes and items and then selling them. Just go over to ports such as Guangling and you will be able to catch quite a few of the Gold Yibigian. Additionally, you can catch the Gold Bubi along with circlets at the water way near the Guangling Northern Camp. Some items can only be fished out with the Ultimate Bait, so make sure to use it in Luoyang moat to get some really expensive items which you can sell.
Hunting
You can hunt animals easily from afar using bow and arrows. Since the wildlife AI isn’t very good in the game right now, you can easily kill high level animals such as the Tiger simply from shooting arrows from a decent range. This will net you a significant amount of XP, so it’s a great way to level up your officers.
CHEATS AND CHEAT CODES (UNLIMITED HEALTH, MUSOU, STAMINA)
Please use the following cheats at your own discretion. Using cheats online will lead to an immediate ban. You can get cheats by referring here. The following are the list of cheats you can enable.
- Infinite Health
- Unlimited Stamina
- No Crafting Requirement
- Unlimited Gold
- Infinite Musou
- One Hit Kill
- Upgrade Points
- Special Skills
…and many more.
FORMING REINFORCEMENTS
One of the side quests in the game is titled ‘Forming Reinforcements’ and requires you to select the appropriate officer for a given position. You can try out different officers on your own by just keeping this in mind. For the Captain, go with someone with a high leadership skill, for the Adjutant, go with someone with the highest political influence, for the Surveyor you need an officer with high intelligence, and for the lookout, go with an officer with a high leadership and a strong military.
With this in mind, the following officers would be best suited for the given positions:
- Adjutant: Yuan Han, due to his high political influence.
- Surveyor: Wang Can, due to high intelligence.
- Captain: Cai Mao, due to high leadership and good political influence.
- Lookout: Wen Pin, due to high leadership and strong military.
TENDING THE WOUNDED SOLDIERS
In this mission known as “Tending the wounded soldiers”, Cai Wenji from Jianling asks you to collect 10 cattails for her. This may be puzzling for you but what you actually need to get are 10 Reedtails. Once you’re ready, just head east out of the gate and go to the woods towards the south. You’ll eventually find all the reedtails you need, and once you do, just head back and hand them over to Cai Wenji.
CLONE WEAPON TYPES LIST
Dynasty Warriors 9 features 36 different weapon types and each one handles quite different from the others. This means that a number of officers from the total of 90 share the same weapons. Make sure you try out some of the different weapons before you settle on the ones you enjoy the most.
Listed below are the 36 weapon types and which officers use them.
- Weapon name: Double Voulge: Cheng Pu, Wei Yan, Jiang Wei
- Weapon name: Chain and Sickle: Jia Xu, Chen Gong, Gan Ning
- Weapon name: Sword: Xu Shu, Sun Quan, Cao Cao
- Weapon name: Chain Whip: Cai Wenji, Zhenji, Diaochan
- Weapon name: Club: Huang Gai, Xu Zhu
- Weapon name: Meteor Hammer: Zhang Bao, Xu Sheng
- Weapon name: Guan Dao: Guan Yu, Li Dian, Yu Jin
- Weapon name: Twin Axes: Ma Dai, Zhang Liao
- Weapon name: Shaman Rod: Zuo Ci, Zhang Jiao, Pang Tong
- Weapon name: Fan: Zhuge Dan, Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang
- Weapon name: Halberd: Lu Bu
- Weapon name: Great Sword: Guan Ping, Xiahou Ba
- Weapon name: Shooting Spears: Jia Chong, Man Chong, Guo Huai
- Weapon name: Sword/Shield: Li Lingqu, Xingcai
- Weapon name: Nunchaku: Guan Suo, Ling Tong
- Weapon name: Twin Fans: Daqiao, Xiaoqiao
- Weapon name: Mandarin Duck Hooks: Bao Sanniang, Lianshi
- Weapon name: Gauntlets: Ding Feng, Meng Huo
- Weapon name: Urumi: Zhang Chunhua, Xun You, Fa Zheng
- Weapon name: Dao: Sima Zhao, Zhou Tai
- Weapon name: Mace: Guan Yinping, Pang De
- Weapon name: Pike: Yueying, Lu Meng
- Weapon name: Greataxe: Xu Huang, Deng Ai
- Weapon name: Axe: Han Dang, Dian Wei, Zhurong
- Weapon name: Flail: Cao Ren, Dong Zhuo
- Weapon name: Fan Sword: Cao Xiu, Zhong Hui, Guan Xing
- Weapon name: Guillotine Sword: Wen Yang, Zhou Cang, Sun Ce
- Weapon name: Bo Staff: Zhu Ran, Guo Jia, Zhou Yu
- Weapon name: Twin Swords: Lu Xun, Cao Pi, Liu Gei
- Weapon name: Throwing Knives: Xun Yu, Wang Yuanji, Zhang He
- Weapon name: Podao: Huang Zhong, Xiahou Dun, Sun Jian
- Weapon name: Twin Rods: Xiahou Yuan, Yue Jin, Taichi Ci
CRAFTING
A new feature in this game is the ability to craft various items and weapons. You can even craft gems to customize weapons. All you need to do to craft these things is get the recipe scrolls, the required items and then go to the relevant location. To craft weapons and gems, go to the blacksmith, and to craft consumables and other items, go to the shopkeeper. Additionally, you can just buy a pot at your hideaway which enables you to craft items from the comfort of your own home.
HOW TO GET LEGENDARY AND EPIC WEAPONS
Some of the best weapons in the game are the Legendary and Epic weapons and you’re going to want to find them whenever possible. You’ll first need to get the recipes for these weapons and this can be done in a number of ways. Sometimes, these recipe scrolls will be dropped by enemy officers and sometimes, they will be handed out as reward for completing some quest. Make sure you get a number of copies of the same recipe scroll as it will be required to successfully craft a legendary or epic weapon. Additionally, you can also buy these scrolls from a Coin Collector in any major city in the game.
HOW TO UNLOCK ALL OFFICERS
As mentioned earlier, officers in the game are unlocked just by progressing through the game’s story mode. There are different kinds of officers in the game such as Shu officers and Wei officers and you can find below lists which detail in which chapter each officer in the game can be unlocked.
Wei Officers
- Xiahou Dun – Chapter 1
- Cao Xiu – Chapter 2
- Dian Wei – Chapter 2
- Zhang Liao – Chapter 4
- Xu Huang – Already available
- Xun You – Chapter 3
- Zhang He – Chapter 5
- Man Chong – Chapter 3
- Cao Ren – Chapter 2
- Xun Yu – Chapter 3
- Xiahou Yuan – Chapter 1
- Cao Pi – Chapter 4
- Yu Jin – Chapter 3
- Zhenji – Chapter 5
- Cai Wenji – Chapter 6
- Xu Zhu – Chapter 3
- Cao Cao – Unlocked from start
- Pang De – Chapter 8
- Jia Xu – Chapter 4
- Guo Jia – Chapter 3
- Yue Jin – Chapter 2
- Li Dian – Chapter 2
- Wang Yi – Chapter 7
Jin Officers
- Guo Huai – Chapter 8
- Wen Yang- play as Zhong Hui or Deng Ai to unlock this officer.
- Jia Chong – Chapter 12
- Sima Yi – Chapter 8
- Xin Xianying – Chapter 6
- Zhang Chunhuan – Chapter 10
- Zhuge Dan – Chapter 11
- Sima Shi – Chapter 11
- Sima Zhao – Chapter 11
- Zhong Hui – Chapter 12
- Wang Juanji – Chapter 12
- Xiahou Ba – Chapter 8
- Deng Ai – Chapter 12
Wu Officers
- Lu Xun – Chapter 6
- Ding Feng – Chapter 6
- Sun Ce – Chapter 2
- Sun Jian – Unlocked from start
- Sun Quan – Chapter 2
- Zhou Tai – Chapter 3
- Huang Gai – Chapter 1
- Zhu Ran – Chapter 7
- Han Dang – Chapter 1
- Xu Sheng – Chapter 5
- Cheng Pu – Chapter 1
- Gan Ning – Chapter 5
- Taishi Ci – Chapter 4
- Daqiao – Chapter 3
- Zhou Yu – Chapter 3
- Sun Shangxiang – Chapter 2
- Lu Meng – Chapter 5
- Lianshi – Chapter 5
- Ling Tong – Chapter 6
- Xiaoqiao – Chapter 3
- Lu Su – Chapter 5
Shu Officers
- Guan Xing – Chapter 9
- Zhuge Liang – Chapter 5
- Ma Dai – Chapter 7
- Guan Suo – Chapter 9
- Zhang Fei – Chapter 1
- Liu Bei – Unlocked from start
- Zhou Cang – Chapter 5
- Ma Chao – Chapter 7
- Huang Zhong – Chapter 7
- Wei Yan – Chapter 7
- Guan Ping – Chapter 5
- Pang Tong – Chapter 6
- Guan Yinping – Chapter 9
- Fa Zheng – Chapter 7
- Guan Yu – Chapter 1
- Zhang Bao – Chapter 8
- Yueying – Chapter 5
- Liu Shan – Chapter 10
- Xingcai – Chapter 8
- Bao Sanniang – Chapter 10
- Zhao Yun – Chapter 4
- Xu Shu – Chapter 5
- Jiang Wei – Chapter 12
Remaining Officers
- Meng Huo – Chapter 10
- Lu Bu – Chapter 2
- Chen Gong – Chapter 3
- Lu Lingqi – Chapter 3
- Yuan Shao – Chapter 2
- Zhang Jiao – Chapter 1
- Dong Zhuo – Chapter 1
- Zuo Ci – Chapter 8
- Zhurong – Chapter 10
- Diaochan – Chapter 2
ACHIEVEMENTS/TROPHIES GUIDE
There are a total of 44 achievements to earn in the game and you can check them all out below.
True Warrior of the 3 Kingdoms: Obtain all of the achievements in the game.
Flowers amidst the chaos: Unlock all of the officers.
The Pinnacle of Might: Earn a total of 100,000 K.O.s.
Veteran Master: Raise an officer to the highest level.
Winged Equine: Raise a horse to the highest level.
Golden Palace: Earn a total of 90,000 gold.
Legend of Wei: Complete the story of Wei.
Legend of Wu: Complete the story of Wu.
Legend of Shu: Complete the story of Shu.
Legend of Jin: Complete the story of Jin.
Storyteller: Complete the stories of the kingdoms other than Wei, Wu, Shu, and Jin.
Master of the Hunt: Earn a total of 5,000 Hunting Points.
A Gathering of Heroes: Unlock 45 officers.
Extensive Knowledge: Unlock all battle entries in the Encyclopedia.
Wanderlust: Discover 75% of the locations in the game.
One Warrior vs. a thousand: Defeat 1,000 enemies in a single battle.
Equestrian: Defeat 1,000 enemies while mounted on a horse.
Sun Piercer: Defeat 1,000 enemies with bow attacks.
Sure Shot: Defeat 100 enemies with bow attacks.
Sword Brandisher: Defeat 100 enemies with assault attacks.
Storm and Stress: Achieve a 1,000 hit combo.
Smasher: Defeat a powerful enemy.
Traveler: Discover 35% of the locations in the game.
Interior Decorator: Obtain 10 pieces of furniture
Collector: Obtain 20 gems.
A brush with expertise: Obtain a High-class weapon.
Master of the Martial Arts: Obtain 30 weapons.
Nimble Fingers: Perform synthesis 100 times.
Sworn Friends: Form a bond at the maximum level with another officer.
Hideaway: Obtain a hideaway.
Epicure: Eat 100 meals.
Fisher: Catch 30 items while fishing.
Steady Worker: Obtain 30 items by using box traps.
Sightseer: Discover a scenic area.
Traces of a Hero: Complete a story.
End of an Era: Complete a key mission.
New Allies: Unlock an officer.
Graduation Day: Complete the tutorial for one of the kingdoms.
The following are the secret achievements.
Unrivaled Warrior: Raise an officer’s Attack to 900.
The Ties that Bind Us: Form a bond at the maximum level with 20 officers.
Thronged with Visitors: Obtain 10 hideaways.
Helter-Skelter: Complete a mission within 1 minute.
Vandal: Destroy 100 structures.
Like a Bird: Juggle an enemy in the air for 5 seconds.