Everything We Know About Dynasty Warriors 9 So Far

Going Full Open World

Dynasty Warriors 9 was officially revealed last week by Koei Tecmo, and it looks like the title’s really going to shake things up for the series. We’ve only just started to learn about the game, which is apparently roughly 40 percent complete at the moment. There’s still plenty to learn, but here’s everything we know so far about it. If you want to see even more on the game, you can check out this Twitter thread detailing information from the recent Famitsu reveal.

The very first piece of information we received about Dynasty Warriors 9 was that the series is finally going full-on open world for the next entry. This means that Koei Tecmo is fully realizing an explorable ancient China, set during the War of the Three Kingdoms. Instead of battles taking place in different chapters, they’ll now take place at their corresponding point in the open world, and you’ll also be able to wander around different villages, settlements, and cities. Of course, key areas from history will all be featured like Louyang, Hulao Gate, and the Yellow River. Dynasty Warriors 9 will still have multiple playable officers, but each one will be set during their respective time periods, so Zhao Yun will be playable in a completely different period of history than Wang Yuanji.

With the more open world design, Dynasty Warriors 9 is incorporating a full day and night cycle and weather system. Enemies will have a harder time spotting you at night or in rainy weather, meaning infiltrating areas will be easier during these times. With switching to an open world format, that means Dynasty Warriors 9 will also be changing a few key elements with combat, and basic game progression.

Combat Is Being Changed and No Multiplayer

Combat has generally changed a bit here and there with each Dynasty Warriors entry, and 9 looks to be the same way. Dynasty Warriors 9 is employing a new system called the “State Combo System,” composed of three parts. The combo starts with a “trigger attack” that starts things off, followed by a series of “flow attacks” that will change depending on the state of the enemy. Finally the combo is finished off by a powerful “finish attack.”

A few options will also be made available to players, with long-range bow attacks returning to the series again. Additionally, you’ll be able to take “interactive actions” in battle based on the terrain and environment. These can be things like climbing a mountain or wall with a grappling hook, exploding an oil barrel with an arrow. Currently, there’s no word on how Musou attacks will factor into the game.

Currently, no multiplayer is planned for Dynasty Warriors 9, as it’s going to be a single player only experience. Koei Tecmo also doesn’t have plans to include local co-op at the moment.

Game Flow Has Main Missions and Side Missions

Traditionally Dynasty Warriors games have played out through a series of missions or levels, but with the series going open world, that all has to change. You’ll need to proceed to the section of the world a battle is set in, in order to take part, although there will be horses and fast travel featured in the game in some way. Of course, the time period set to the character you select will determine which battles and missions you can undertake.

Dynasty Warriors 9 will feature a number of main missions and sub missions that you can undertake. Main missions will, of course, be the major battles featured in previous games. However, these missions have a high degree of difficulty, meaning you may have to undertake some side missions in order to train up. There’ll also be additional side activities featured in the game, like hunting animals with a bow. The overall story will more closely resemble older Dynasty Warriors games, following a course through history as you play through.

New Options For Capturing Castles

A key part of battles in Dynasty Warriors has been capturing different keeps and castles, reducing the enemies’ strength while boosting your own. This feature returns again in Dynasty Warriors 9, but you’ll have more options than ever before for capturing castles. You can, of course, storm in and try to just smash your way through everyone, or you could try a couple of options while your army is engaged in combat. A grappling hook lets you scale the walls of castles and keeps to get inside, and with the new day and night cycle you can also use stealth to sneak your way in while it’s harder for enemies to spot you.

We still don’t know exactly how castles and keeps will factor into the overall flow of battle this time, but you’ve certainly got more options for tacking them.

There’s No “What If” Scenarios

Previous entries in the Dynasty Warriors franchise have used branching storylines and “what if” scenarios, that don’t necessarily follow the flow of history. These added alternate scenarios on where certain characters or factions were victorious, providing an alternate history. Unfortunately, Dynasty Warriors 9 won’t featured anything like that and will focus solely on the actual timeline of events in the War of the Three Kingdoms time period.

You’ll still have plenty of variation on selecting different officers and traveling the countryside of China, even seeing situations from different armies’ perspectives. Hopefully, the open world will allow Koei Tecmo to tell the Dynasty Warriors story in even greater detail than ever before.

Confirmed Characters So Far and Release Date

Dynasty Warriors games have always featured enormous casts of characters to play as, who each come with their different strengths and movesets. Dynasty Warriors 9 will apparently feature all 83 playable officers from across the series, all with new and updated costumes.

Xiahou Dun, Guan Yu, and Zhao Yun are the only three characters we’ve seen so far, besides the new addition. For the first time in the series, Cheng Pu and Zhou Cang will be a fully-featured officers. You can see Cheng Pu featured in the photo above. Characters’ designs are being altered to appear more realistic to match the overall tone of the game, differing from the more fantastical designs of previous games. The game engine for Dynasty Warriors 9 has also been completely revamped and optimized for the PS4, unlike Dynasty Warriors 8 which was just an updated port of the PS3 version.

Dynasty Warriors 9 doesn’t have a firm release date or window yet, although the Japanese version has been confirmed for PS4. However, the interview in Famitsu did state that the game won’t be expected until it’s cold out, hinting at some kind of Winter release. The title will also have support on PS4 Pro, running at 4K resolution and 30 FPS, as well as 1080p resolution and 60 FPS. We’ll make sure to update you on any and all news for Dynasty Warriors 9.