Dynasty Warriors: Overlord's beginner guide for reuniting China

• Dynasty Warriors: Overlord is the latest mobile iteration of the franchise
• It takes you back to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history for hack 'n slash action
• But what if you're a total newcomer? Don't fret, that's what this beginner's guide is for

If there’s any series that can be best summed up as ‘hack and slash’, it’s Dynasty Warriors. Don’t let its historical roots fool you because Dynasty Warriors is, and has always been about ruthlessly mowing down your foes with flashy attacks. So it’s naturally proven to be pretty popular on portable platforms.

And for fans of the hugely popular franchise, Dynasty Warriors: Overlord for iOS and Android that offers what is currently the most authentic recreation of the game for smartphones. But for newcomers and even veterans, this can be a difficult one to parse. So, that’s why we’ve got this guide to help you get started with Dynasty Warriors: Overlord!

What the heck is this game all about?

Now, I usually prefer not to bore you with the ins-and-outs of a game's lore. But in the case of Dynasty Warriors, it's practically a requirement to know the basics, and a rather lacklustre translation doesn't help get you up to speed, so here in brief (very, very brief) is the setting of Dynasty Warriors.

Set in ancient China, after the fall of the Han Dynasty, Dynasty Warriors follows various famous historical (and not-so-historical) characters across the events of the famous Three Kingdoms Period of history. At the start, it's all about dethroning the evil advisor Dong Zhuo, but it quickly devolves into three separate kingdoms of Cao, Shu and Wu duking it out.

At the start, all you need to know is that you and fellow characters Zhang Fei, Liu Bei and Guan Yu have just finished off suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The main story of the game, at least as far as I've played, then takes you on the path to fight Dong Zhuo directly, as well as his adopted son Lu Bu.

Get all that? Good, because it's about as straightforward as things are going to be for a looong while in-game. Fortunately, you can check the background of stages, and occasional loading screen tips can help you piece together the broader strokes of the plot.

General gameplay

Dynasty Warriors is all about hack 'n slash action. You're dropped into a winding map, and fight your way through hordes of mooks. Getting lost is usually not a factor, and you can always check the map to find your next target. Pretty much all you need to worry about in these fights are the core tenets of combos, dodging and blocking, although the last two are only really vital against elite enemies.

In combat, you have both normal and charged attacks, as well as blocking and evasion (dodging). But you'll be glad to know that you also have the signature Musou attacks, which can be used to deal a huge amount of damage, and power up further the longer you hold off on using them.

When you come up against bosses, you'll need to play a bit smarter. But if you've played any ARPG, you'll probably be able to handle it from there. For the newbies, however, keep your eyes peeled for visual and audio signifiers to dodge or block strong attacks, and make use of your different abilities (symbolised by the Chinese character on the left of the sword, and the crossed swords to the upper left) to wear down your opponent.

Bosses also usually have weaknesses that can be exploited. These are signified by the charge attack symbol and a number. This signifies which charge attack you need to perform, and you can check how to do so in your general's skills page.

The City & upgrade stations

True to its origins, Dynasty Warriors: Overlord is all about incremental gains and upgrades. You'll find your time split between locations such as the drill ground, smithy and training square to acquire upgrades. The drill ground is particularly important, as it lets you place inactive characters inside it, who will gain EXP after a real-time countdown has finished (naturally, you can speed this up with limited currency).

The Village/City functions mainly as your hub area, and where you can chat with other characters and receive some poorly translated dialogue. But it makes for a refreshing change of pace from the action out on the battlefield. Generally, the early game has you constructing the upgrade buildings you'll use later, and eventually you'll even expand the city too.

Levelling up outside missions

One of the main obstacles I ran into when playing was how exactly to level up. Because once you get to around level 11, the missions suddenly stop being easy to follow. Well, once you manage to build the training ground, there are a few easy tips to follow (be sure to tap the ‘acknowledge’ button on the letter you’re given as part of that mission, by the way).

To gain levels in Dynasty Warriors: Overlord, you should check in on your Daily Affairs. This page offers rewards for playing, collecting generals and other achievements, and it’s the most straightforward way to gain EXP outside of playing through stages. And when levels are gated off based on the stages you’re playing, you’ll find this vital too.

Other mechanics to consider

Outside of the hub, you'll have access to promotions (your player level) and the ability to summon new characters, naturally. As with many other RPGs or strategy games, you acquire either new characters in whole or fragments to upgrade-slash-unlock them at a later date.

As for missions, you'll mostly be following the Dynasty Warriors franchise’s story, and how it develops in line with the Three Kingdoms period. So, fortunately, if you're not all too familiar, you'll be at least vaguely well-informed the further you get.

You can also take on other players in the Martial Contest feature. This is pretty much straightforward PvP, and lets you enjoy seeing the flashy martial arts of each character used against one another. I found that early on it tends to be easy enough to dodge and block, but doubtless it'll get harder as your power level grows.

Quick tips

So, with the basics out of the way, here are some tips that I've figured out since I started playing!

• When you're knocked down, the dodge key becomes the ability to jump up quickly and catapult yourself back into battle. Very useful, both in boss fights and against hordes of enemies.
  


• Moving far enough activates a charge attack that often helps you get in closer to your enemies and knock them down fast. The icon for your attack will change to signify that the charge attack is available.

• You can re-view animated cutscenes in the menu. This ordinarily wouldn't be that special, but one interesting feature is that you (and other players) can leave comments! And these are often pretty funny, since they seem to be automatically translated from other players worldwide.
  


• Bonds are another kind of collection reward, and offer abilities and power-ups for owning certain characters. You can also gain further boons by levelling up and using these characters further down the line.

• Government Affair is another avenue to receive rewards, and is the primary idle mechanic for the game, which offers rewards once you’ve been AFK for a while. They aren’t all that much, but they’re certainly better than nothing.
  


• Keep your eyes peeled for loot! As any longtime Dynasty Warriors player will know, breaking crates and jars can reveal power-up and recovery items, as well as other rewards you'll find useful.

And that, in a nutshell, is how to get started with Dynasty Warriors! While the actual metagame itself is quite complicated, it’s all wrapped around classic Dynasty Warriors action as you hack ‘n slash through hordes of mooks. So if you’ve got any interest in the series, it’ll be well worth a go for that if nothing else.