Destiny Mode was a mode introduced and solely used in Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends. It essentially is an RPG where the player creates his or her own original officer, and play as them soldier in one of the Three Kingdoms. Players start off as a low-ranked Private under one of the playable officers, but can rise up through the army ladder through achievements displayed in battle. Destiny mode consists of eight stages, and always starts out during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Character Creation[]
When beginning Destiny mode, an elderly man named "Shui Jing", recognizes the player's character as someone who wants to end the chaos throughout the land. He also sees that the character has extraordinary talent. He asks the player a series of questions, which will determine the character's personal information and appearance. When Shui Jing asks, "What name do you go by in this world?", the player chooses a name that can have up to 10 characters.
The player must choose their gender, facial features, voice, and weapon to create a character. They can choose from Passionate, Heroic, Calm, Spirited, Relaxed, or Innocent. The character's weapon can be a sword, spear, or pike. Shui Jing asks the player about their officer, which influences their fighting style. Characters start with a Jerkin set of clothing, which can be changed. All outfits are earned in Destiny Mode but can be used in Edit Mode.
Outfit # | (Male/Female) Outfit | How to Unlock |
1 | Leather Jerkin/Cloth Dress | Initially available. |
2 | Light Armor | Obtain Charge, Health Level 1, and Sergeant rank. |
3 | Leather Jerkin/Combat Dress | Obtain any Archery and Search skill, and Sergeant rank. |
4 | Heavy Armor | Obtain Musou, Health Level 2, Plate Mail or Basic Mount, and Major rank. |
5 | Tactical Robe/Dancer's Robe | Obtain 2 Leader and Search skills, and Major rank. |
6 | Strategist Robe/Regal Dress | Obtain 2 each Leader and Tactics skills, and Major rank. |
7 | Fur Skin/Nanman Dress | Complete any level with a Bad Contribution Rating. |
8 | Grand Armor/Maiden Armor | Obtain Rage, Health Level 3, any two of Advanced Mount, March or Rally, and Lt. General rank. |
9 | Prime Minister Robe/Sacred Gown | Obtain any combination of 6 skills from Leader, Tactics, Search, and Lt. General Rank. |
10 | Demon's Armor | Have a 1500 KO total by the end of Destiny mode. For male characters only. |
11 | Sorceress Gown | Work under all three Kingdoms once. For female characters only. |
Battle[]
Before battle, in the info screen stage, players can choose their weapon and objectives. Objectives are targets at the beginning of the stage that will grant skill points after completion. If an objective is not cleared by the end of the stage or its time limit, the skill points offered are not rewarded. Not achieving objectives will not lower morale, nor achieving them will raise morale.
Battles are played as in any other mode, only with a few modifications. Instead of battle-specific conditions, battles are won by either defeating the enemy commander, or taking a specific base. Battles are lost by the player being defeated or time running out. Before purchasing any skills, players start out with only two attacks. Through the purchase of Combo and Melee skills however, the attack chain will branch out into a normal moveset. Battles are usually shorter than Legend Mode or Free Mode counterparts, only facing a part of the army rather than the army in the non-Destiny mode battle. Also before battle, the player is briefed on the situation by the Kingdom ruler, then being motivated and briefed by their commanding officer.
During battle, players can find ambushes on the battlefield when the hidden enemy enters a certain radius on the map. However, the location of the enemy may disappear if not defeated and/or left alone. Likewise, Messengers and Supply Captains appear as regular troops, giving off letters and weapons, respectively.
In addition to ordinary KOs, Destiny Mode has another type in Tactical KOs. These primarily is used to evaluate the player's proficiency in utilizing tools given to them. There are four measures, which include:
- Lead - Uses the Rally skill. After surrounding allies gain its effect of doubled attack power, for the following thirty second period all KOs are counted here.
- Supply - Once a player enters a supply garrison, all enemies defeated within that base, along with others for a set amount of time, are counted here.
- Fire - Uses the Fire skill. If a player is within the vicinity of a garrison and does not attack or jump for five seconds, it will light aflame and all defenders are damaged. The amount of defenders defeated are counted here.
- Raid - Can use the Ambush and Reveal skills. Ambushes are set using the Select button, and a set amount of time must pass before the surprise attack is ready. For maximum results and for the Raid to begin, an enemy officer must be lured into the area and the Select button must be pressed once more. Regardless of whether they are lured, a minimum amount of allied troops will appear. If the player betrays his officer, all defeated enemies nearby are counted here. Using Reveal, a player detects an enemy trap, and all the troops in the ambush officer's roster are also counted.
Evaluation[]
Players are evaluated based on skill points earned and contribution to the unit, with military and strategy ratings affecting results. Positive ratings can lead to praise and promotions. After eight stages, players' lives are presented, and they can choose to keep their character or choose a single weapon.
Defection[]
If the player impresses an enemy general enough, after the stage is complete they may send a dispatch asking if they would like to defect. This can be accepted or declined, but in the latter case, on some occasions the tactician in the player's army (Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Lu Xun, Zhou Yu, Cao Cao, Sima Yi) will offer another optional plan in which the defection is a ruse. Through the plan, the player accepts the dispatch, fights for the enemy for a few battles, and eventually betrays the enemy officer that originally requested the player.
Should the player accept their tactician's ruse, after completing it, regardless of whichever officer they previously served beginning the plan, they will be put under the strategist. Even when acting as an agent, players can accept additional dispatches from the neutral third kingdom (for example, one can falsely serve Shu through a plan laid by Wu, but should the character fulfill the proper conditions they will be able to defect to Wei).
Here is a list of different actions the players may take to impress each officer in the battlefield. It may take a few tries to work for some of them.
Action | Character |
Defeating Troops | Xu Zhu, Cao Cao, Yue Ying, Zhou Yu, Sun Shang Xiang, Xiao Qiao |
Defeating Officers | Dian Wei, Xiahou Yuan, Huang Zhong, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Sun Ce, Taishi Ci, Da Qiao |
Initiating March | Xu Huang, Zhao Yun, Xing Cai, Sun Quan |
Rallying Troops | Zhang He, Pang Tong, Sun Jian, Guan Yu |
Using Rations | Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao, Jiang Wei, Gan Ning |
Burning Bases | Sima Yi, Guan Ping, Lu Xun, Huang Gai |
Ambushing Officers | Zhen Ji, Zhuge Liang, Lu Meng, Ling Tong |
Uncovering Info | Cao Pi, Cao Ren, Liu Bei, Zhou Tai |
Ranks[]
Ranks affect the number of objectives able to be chosen, what skills can be bought, and how many subordinate soldiers accompany the player. The four classifications are: Private, Sergeant, Major, and Lt. General. Of note, the player's living quarters is also a reflection of their current rank.
Skills[]
Skills are special abilities able for purchase that upgrade the abilities of the player. Before battle, players can purchase these with skill points. Fifty are given by default when Destiny Mode begins.
Skill Type | Skill Name | Description | Required Skill Points | Prerequisites |
Combo | 3-Hit | Able to initiate a 3-hit Combo | 20 | None |
Combo | 4-Hit | Able to initiate a 4-hit Combo | 30 | Obtain 3-Hit |
Combo | 5-Hit | Able to initiate a 5-hit Combo | 40 | Obtain Sergeant rank and 4-Hit |
Combo | 6-Hit | Able to initiate a full 6-Hit Combo | 50 | Obtain Major rank and 5-Hit |
Melee | Charge | Able to initiate Charge attacks and deflections | 30 | Obtain 3-Hit |
Melee | Musou | Able to initiate a Musou attack | 60 | Obtain Private rank and 4-Hit |
Melee | Rage | Able to use Evolution attacks and Musou Rage | 70 | Obtain Lt. General rank and 6-Hit |
Health | Level 1 | Life and Defense are increased | 10 | None |
Health | Level 2 | Life and Defense are increased | 20 | Obtain Sergeant rank and Level 1 |
Health | Level 3 | Life and Defense increased | 30 | Obtain Major rank and Level 2 |
Health | Level 4 | Life and Defense increased | 40 | Obtain Lt. General rank and Level 3 |
Archery | Ice Arrow | Arrows freeze enemies | 30 | None |
Archery | Pierce | Bow Attack increased; Arrows pierce enemies | 20 | None |
Archery | Plate Mail | The player is not stunned by arrows | 20 | None |
Mount | Basic | Can ride horses and elephants | 10 | None |
Mount | Cavalry | Player Mounts stage on horse | 40 | Obtain Sergeant rank and Basic |
Mount | Advanced | Defeat an enemy in one hit by attacking or charging into the enemy at full speed | 60 | Obtain Lt. General rank and Basic |
Leader | March | Occasionally increase Speed of allies when nearby | 60 | Obtain Major rank |
Leader | Rally | Occasionally increase Attack of allies when nearby | 80 | Obtain Major rank |
Leader | Rations | Occasionally increase Life of allies when nearby | 40 | Obtain Major rank |
Tactic | Fire | Able to initiate Fire Attacks | 60 | Obtain Sergeant rank |
Tactic | Ambush | Able to initiate Ambushes | 40 | Obtain Major rank |
Tactic | Volley | Arrows will be fired after a Charge attack is performed | 50 | Obtain Major rank and Charge |
Search | Interrogate | Players are able to get Letters from any enemy | 20 | None |
Search | Scout | Able to learn informaion on nearby enemy bases and the radius of enemy-spotting increases | 20 | None |
Search | Reveal | Detect enemy traps and ambushes | 20 | None |
Skills are sometimes taught by the commanding officer chosen by the player. Such instances are more likely to occur if the player has contributed well enough in battle. Aside from combo skills, each officer can only teach a certain skill type depending on their style of command.
Skill Type | Character |
Melee | Xu Zhu, Wei Yan, Sun Ce, Gan Ning |
Health | Dian Wei, Cao Ren, Zhang Fei, Xing Cai, Taishi Ci, Huang Gai |
Archery | Xiahou Yuan, Pang De, Guan Yu, Huang Zhong, Ling Tong, Sun Xiang Shang |
Mount | Xiahou Dun, Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Sun Jian, Zhou Tai |
Leader | Xu Huang, Cao Pi, Liu Bei, Jiang Wei, Sun Quan, Da Qiao |
Tactic | Sima Yi, Zhen Ji, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Lu Xun, Xiao Qiao |
Search | Cao Cao, Zhang He, Guan Ping, Yue Ying, Zhou Yu, Lu Meng |