Dynasty Warriors: Origins: How to Unlock All True Endings

How do you unlock all True Endings in Dynasty Warriors: Origins? In this Dynasty Warriors: Origins guide, we're going to provide a step-by-step plan on unlocking each kingdom's alternate timeline, complete with screenshots and tips for winning key battles.

How Do You Unlock All True Endings in Dynasty Warriors: Origins?

Each kingdom that you can join — Shu, Wei, and Wu — has its own True Ending, which can only be unlocked by fulfilling specific conditions in key battles. It's likely that you'll be unaware of these conditions until you start New Game+, as the 'Story' menu provides hints on what you need to do.

Basically, when you meet these conditions, you alter history for the better of your chosen kingdom. You may save an important character from certain doom, or change the tide of a battle that your allies were destined to lose.

Altering the fate of your forces unlocks a second timeline, split from that kingdom's main campaign. Generally speaking, these alternate timelines follow the same storylines as the original timelines, but they end differently because of your fate-altering actions.

You can jump straight to these key battles through the 'Story' menu at an inn, once you're in New Game+.

Liu Bei's Forces (Shu) True Ending

To unlock the True Ending for Shu, you need to defeat Cao Cao's army during the Battle of Changban in Chapter 5.

The in-game hint reads: "Take On Cao Cao's Massive Army or Flee... Liu Bei's fate rests upon his decision".

This is a very difficult condition to fulfil unless your character is high rank and you have access to powerful weapons.

Here's a step-by-step walkthrough on how to handle the battle:

How to Beat Cao Cao's Army in the Battle of Changban

• Play through the Battle of Changban as normal, either holding off the enemy forces with Zhang Fei, or cutting through the enemy lines with Zhao Yun as you make your way back to Liu Bei.
• Once you've reunited with Liu Bei your army begins moving again — with the peasants in tow — and Cao Cao's main army will eventually appear on the map, to the north.
• First, make sure to take out Yu Jin, who appears on the path to Liu Bei's escape point. If you leave him alive, there's a chance that Liu Bei's forces will be defeated while you're not with them.
• Second, defeat Zhang Liao and the other officers who are in pursuit. Again, if you leave them alive, there's a good chance that they'll defeat Liu Bei and you'll get a Game Over.
• Once Zhang Liao is beaten, head north towards Cao Cao's main army.
• The goal here is to defeat Cao Cao himself before Liu Bei reaches the escape point. Basically, this is just you and your companion character (Zhang Fei or Zhao Yun) versus a whole, powered-up army.
• All you can really do is fight to the best of your ability. It might also be best to focus on Cao Cao after you've made a dent in his initial forces — although taking on multiple officers at once, along with Cao Cao, can be incredibly dangerous.
• Keep in mind that you can set the difficulty to easy if you're having trouble — you'll still unlock the True Ending path.
• Once Cao Cao is defeated, pat yourself on the back, beat Bailuan, and finish the stage.
• You'll now be on the True Ending path for Shu. Finish the campaign from here and you'll unlock the True Ending (Shu).

Cao Cao's Forces (Wei) True Ending

To unlock the True Ending for Wei, you first need to defeat the enemy officers and save Dian Wei during the Escape from Wan Castle in Chapter 4.

The in-game hint reads: "A Fork in Dian Wei's Path. If only the enemies in the castle had been eliminated..."

Fulfilling this condition boils down to completing the stage as quickly as you possibly can. As such, we'd recommend taking it on only when you're very high rank, and when you have a powerful weapon. Don't forget about the easy difficulty setting, either!

Here's a step-by-step walkthrough on how to handle the battle:

How to Save Dian Wei in the Escape from Wan Castle

• Basically, this stage has a hidden time limit that determines whether or not Dian Wei survives.
• There's no way to actually reach Dian Wei and help him — all you can do is try to complete your objectives as quickly as possible, and then defeat all of the enemy officers in the castle.
• To start with, capture the base at the very northwest of the map. This is where ladders will eventually be deployed so that Cao Cao can climb down from the castle walls.
• Next, race across to the northeast base and capture it. This allows Cao Cao to continue inside the castle.
• When reinforcements arrive from the east and south sides of the map, beat them as quickly as possible.
• Race back to the northwest base that you captured in the beginning, and the troops should already be deploying the ladders on the castle walls.
• Climb a ladder and jump into the castle area where the officers are.
• There are three officers in the immediate vicinity: Zhang Quan, Jia Xu, and Zhang Xiu.
• A fourth officer, Huche'er, is found in the southeast part of the castle.
• All four of these officers must be defeated as quickly as possible.
• Thankfully, there are signs that you're doing well. Upon fighting Huche'er, if you're making good time, he'll comment on why you're here, and not guarding Cao Cao. He'll question whether you're here to save Dian Wei.
• If you get this dialogue, you've almost saved Dian Wei.
• When it comes to defeating the three officers that are grouped together, you might want to switch to your companion character and activate their true musou attack — it should be full, or thereabouts, by the time you make it to this part of the stage.
• Again, this really is just a case of beating the clock. If you can bring all four officers down in time, you'll know you've succeeded because Dian Wei will speak, saying that the enemy's numbers are thinning.
• You'll then get the 'Fate Altered' message on-screen.
• Complete the stage as normal, allowing Cao Cao to escape, and you'll be on the True Ending path for Wei. Play through the rest of the campaign from here, and you'll come to another pivotal battle where you'll need to alter another fate.

The second fate that you need to alter in the Wei campaign happens during the Battle of Mt. Bailang in Chapter 5.

This is another condition that needs to be met as quickly as possible. It's a rather strict time limit and there's a lot to do.

How to Stop Bailuan in the Battle of Mt. Bailang

• This battle revolves around pushing up the west side of the map with Guo Jia and Cao Cao's army. Normally, this objective is easy enough, but for the purposes of the True Ending path, you'll need to complete it incredibly quickly.
• Your route is the far west path that leads up through three different bases. You'll need to capture these bases all within the time limit.
• In the third base, you'll find three officers — and then two more officers from outside will come to help. This is the part that can eat up all of your time if you're not careful.
• You really need to defeat these enemies as efficiently as possible. We'd recommend bringing out your strongest weapons and Battle Arts to ensure a smooth victory.
• You may also want to consider lowering the difficulty in order to cut additional time.
• Once they're defeated and the base is captured, continue up the westernmost path until you come across Bailuan.
• Quickly defeat him in a rather standard boss fight, and he'll comment on how he couldn't stop you.
• If you've fulfilled all of these objectives within the time limit, Guo Jia will comment on how you've exceeded his expectations, and that the battle is going perfectly.
• You'll then get the 'Fate Altered' message on-screen.
• Continue the campaign from this point to stay on the True Ending path for Wei. There's just one more condition that needs to be met in a later battle.

The final fate that you need to alter in order to unlock Wei's True Ending is found during the Battle of Chibi in Chapter 5.

In this climactic clash, you need to prevent the enemy's fire attack, and stop the Coalition Forces from turning the tide of battle against Cao Cao. In truth, this is one of the easier True Ending conditions to fulfil — but you need to know what you're doing beforehand in order to pull it off properly.

How to Prevent the Fire Attack in the Battle of Chibi

• If you've played through the Shu or Wu campaigns, you'll know that the all-important fire attack is made up of multiple objectives that must be carried out. However, on the Wei side of things, only one of these objectives matters: Huang Gai.
• Basically, you need to confront and defeat Huang Gai before he has a chance to trigger the fire attack. You don't need to worry about Zhuge Liang's altar.
• To start with, play through the battle normally, making sure that your allies are holding their own on both sides of the map.
• As the battle begins to heat up, Guo Jia will mention that the winds are starting to shift. Note that you cannot prevent the fire attack unless Guo Jia is still alive in the story — so you need to have completed the previous Battle of Mt. Bailang True Ending condition, as detailed above.
• Guo Jia's comment on the winds is your cue. Race to where Cao Cao is located, aboard the ships in the middle of the map, and then head north to the yellow flag icon. You should find Huang Gai standing there.
• You'll be forced to fight, and you need to win this one very quickly, or Huang Gai will still manage to set off the fire attack.
• Huang Gai can be a stubborn opponent, especially when he enters his musou rage mode when his health is low. By this point, you might have your own musou rage ready depending on how much fighting you've been doing — so counter him with that if you can.
• Defeat Huang Gai quickly enough, and you'll prevent the fire attack, triggering the 'Fate Altered' message. Cao Cao's forces will push forward and the rest of the battle will unfold differently.
• Finish the battle, then continue the campaign in order to finally unlock the True Ending (Wei).

Sun Ce's Forces (Wu) True Ending

To unlock the True Ending for Wu, you first need to save Sun Jian during the Battle of Xiangyang, in Chapter 3.

The in-game hint reads: "A Fork in Sun Jian's Path. If only a rescuer had arrived in time..."

This is a tricky condition to fulfil, but it's doable once you understand the requirements. Still, you'll need to be high rank and have a strong weapon in order to succeed.

Here's a step-by-step walkthrough on how to handle the battle:

How to Save Sun Jian in the Battle of Xiangyang

• As soon as the stage begins, your goal is to make it to the far west of the map.
• You can get there by charging through the main path that your army takes — but you'll need to be much faster than them to get this done in time.
• Go on ahead of everyone, take the base that's part of the middle route, and then turn left towards the western path.
• When you get there, you'll notice that a huge boulder is blocking your path towards Sun Jian, who's south down this same route.
• Wait here until the battle progresses, and Huang Gai begins making his way back to Sun Jian.
• This will trigger a secret boss battle, where you'll need to defeat a phantom version of Zhang Jiao.
• This isn't an especially difficult fight — Zhang Jiao just uses the same set of attacks that he did back in the game's first chapter — but he has a huge amount stamina and health.
• The problem is that you need to defeat him before the enemy officers and Huang Gai reach Sun Jian. If you don't, Sun Jian will be killed as per usual, and the battle with proceed normally.
• Get your parries right, hit Zhang Jiao with your strongest Battle Arts whenever possible, and just try to deal as much damage as you can when he's vulnerable. With some practice, you should be able to bring him down fast enough.
• Keep in mind that you can always try this stage on the easy difficulty if you're having trouble.
• When he's defeated, the boulder crumbles, and you'll be able to ride south to Sun Jian's side.
• When you reach Sun Jian, the usual cutscene will play, in which he's crushed by the falling rock. But if you've got there in time, a second scene will trigger afterwards, in which the protagonist saves him.
• The stage will then end, and you'll be on the True Ending path for Wu. Continue the campaign from this point, and you'll come to another pivotal story moment in Chapter 4, which is detailed below.

There's one additional condition that needs to be met in order to continue on to the True Ending for Wu: later on in the campaign, you need to save Sun Ce during the Suppression of Wu in Chapter 4.

The in-game hint reads: "A Fork in Sun Ce's Path. If only the enemy caster had been dispatched quickly..."

This condition is easier to figure out than the last, but it does feature a dangerous boss fight against multiple, very powerful opponents. As such, we'd recommend attempting it only when your protagonist is really strong.

Here's a step-by-step walkthrough on how to handle the battle:

How to Save Sun Ce in the Suppression of Wu

• To begin with, play through the battle normally and assist both Sun Ce and Sun Quan with their objectives.
• It's a good idea to take the central base — the one that rains fire arrows down on the ground below it — before you run off to save Sun Ce later on. This should ensure that Sun Quan and his allies aren't killed too easily while you're away.
• It may also help to capture a couple of the surrounding bases as well, for the reasons outlined above.
• When your army has a decent foothold over multiple bases, Sun Ce will soon capture the base towards the west of the map, with a bridge that crosses the river.
• Once he's finished, he'll move into the forest that takes up the whole west portion of the map, and he'll disappear from your view.
• This is the trigger that you've been waiting for. Head into the forest area yourself, and use your Eyes of the Sacred Bird ability (hold down L2) to reveal hidden incense smoke — like the stuff that the Yellow Turbans used earlier in the game,
• Follow the smoke trails to a secret path that leads into a cave, right on the edge of the map.
• Inside, you'll come across Bailuan. You'll need to defeat him.
• This is an extremely difficult fight if you're underprepared in terms of character rank and weapon strength.
• If you're on equal footing with Bailuan, it's doable but still tricky. He has a lot of health, and he'll summon additional ghost officers once he's weakened.
• Keep in mind that if, back outside on the map, Sun Quan is defeated, you'll get a Game Over — so you can't spend too long fighting Bailuan. As such, you're technically on a time limit here, but it's not hugely strict unless Sun Quan was already struggling before you followed the incense smoke.
• Once Bailuan is defeated, you'll soon get the 'Fate Altered' message on-screen.
• Complete the battle as normal from this point, and you'll be back on the True Ending path for Wu.
• Finish the rest of Wu's campaign, having now saved both Sun Jian and Sun Ce, and you'll unlock the True Ending (Wu).

Did you find this guide to the True Endings in Dynasty Warriors: Origins useful? Check out our Dynasty Warriors: Origins guide for more help with the game, and then alter your own fate in the comments section below.