How To Duel Enemies in Dynasty Warriors: Origins

While Dynasty Warriors: Origins may be about fighting thousands upon thousands of nameless goons, one of the most interesting gameplay features returning from earlier installments is duels. Here’s how they work.

What Are Duels in Dynasty Warriors: Origins?

Duels originally appeared in Dynasty Warriors 4, but after over 20 years, they’re back in Dynasty Warriors: Origins. While you won’t be able to duel for the early hours of the game, eventually, you’ll gain the ability to duel in Chapter 2. You won’t be able to duel just anyone, though. You’ll only be able to challenge high-ranking and prominent enemy officers. When they first appear, you’ll have the option to challenge them by hitting both the R1 and the L1 buttons simultaneously, but only for a short time.

From there, an arena of soldiers will form around you, and you’ll be forced into a one-on-one battle against the enemy officer. The fight isn’t like your standard battles, though. A bar will appear at the top of the screen showing both you and your opponent. For each hit that you land on your opponent, you’ll begin to overtake the meter. Conversely, if your opponent lands several hits on you, they’ll overtake it.

The goal in a duel is to damage your opponent enough so that your bar completely fills the meter. Your health won’t affect your starting position in a duel, rather, your overall morale will affect it. If you are winning, you’re bar will be filled more. If you’re losing, theirs will be bigger than yours. If the battle is even, then you both will be even. Because it’s a one-on-one duel, you’ll want to pay attention to your opponent’s moves and how they attack, making sure to dodge and parry when necessary to avoid damage, and keeping a safe distance if your opponent uses a Battle Art Remember, you have limited time, but there’s no reason to be reckless.

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If you win a duel in Dynasty Warriors: Origins, you’ll be able to deal a massive amount of damage to your opponent and you’ll also receive a massive boost in morale. However, if you lose, you’ll take a ton of damage and your army will lose a lot of morale, which can spell doom if you’re late into a battle. However, there is no punishment if no side wins. You’ll simply back away from each other and the game will resume as normal. Unless there is a clear and decisive winner, there aren’t any negative repercussions for either party. However, there are inescapable duels, where if you lose those, the mission is automatically deemed a failure, but if you win, you automatically win the battle. So, while starting a duel may seem like a good decision because of how significantly it can change a battle, if you underestimate your opponent and lose, then you may have just sealed your doom.

And that’s how you duel in Dynasty Warriors: Origins.

Dynasty Warriors: Origins is now available on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.