Welcome to the era of the Three Kingdoms! While this is indeed the period of Shu, Wu, and Wei, mobile game developer Youzu based its hero collector RPG, Dynasty Scrolls, on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novel. As opposed to one of the company’s earlier mobile titles, Forsaken World: Gods and Demons, Dynasty Scrolls is mostly idle in play. You simply pick a group of heroes on your team and have them battle an opposing team. However, it’s you who has to manually activate powerful skills called Combo Skills during the heat of battle.
On a surface level, Dynasty Scrolls feels almost like every other hero collector RPG out there where you build a team and rely on strategy or hero rarity to conquer most of your battles. While this does feel like it sometimes, the game actually goes deeper than that with how having certain heroes together gives buffs or even allows you to unlock Combo Skills. Summoning heroes can also be somewhat easier as you may build up who you’d like by purchasing Hero Shards as opposed to relying on pure RNG.
If you’ve just picked this game up yourself and wish to find a way to go against all odds on the battlefield, then read our Dynasty Scrolls beginner’s guide below! We compiled a detailed guide with tips and tricks to get you started on the way to dominate your enemies!
The Backstory Of Dynasty Scrolls
Before we delve into our Dynasty Scrolls beginner’s guide, first let’s talk about your current situation. You’ve been summoned to the year 190, early February. A coalition has been formed against the tyrant Dong Zhuo who had usurped the throne of the province of Luoyang. At his behest is the mightiest warrior of the Three Kingdoms, the legendary Lu Bu. As it is once said: “Lu Bu among men, Red Hare among horses.”
You’ve arrived just in time to put an end to his reign of chaos and debauchery, as you’ve come to assist Liu Bei and his sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Your arrival can’t be more timely, however, as it appears that powerful artifacts called Dynasty Scrolls have been scattered all throughout the game and achieving them all grants their bearer the power to rule. It is up to you to obtain these scrolls and keep them from falling into the hands of whoever might be the new bringer of war.
But how will you, a lone wanderer, complete such a monumental task? It will take more than just wielding your weapon blindly at any oncoming soldier. Your only solution now is to bring an army together so you can march on and crush what’s straight ahead.
1. Fight Through The Story
Let’s face it. In any game like this, nothing beats just powering through the main campaign. The story of Dynasty Scrolls, while based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, has some wacky writing. Speak of a DPS looking for a group, bosses mentioning that they aren’t even at their final form, enemies yelling “Yeet!” as they hurl their chained weapons at you, or perky heroines asking for selfies will be quite a common sight in this game.
Not only will you witness this while you play, but you will be greeted by daunting enemies and bosses that will try to defy your charge. To get through them, you will have to beat them. After all, this is war. But do not worry, for here at LevelWinner, we’ll provide you with what you need to know if you want to win.
Battle Basics
There are two opposing teams on each side of the screen: yours on the left and the enemy’s on the right. Each team can have a maximum of six warriors at once. With each attack your warriors perform, they build up what is called Rage, a gauge they need to fill to perform their signature skill.
At the bottom of the screen, you will see four orbs and 12 smaller ones that turn blue with each action of any of your warriors. The four orbs are your Combo Skills and tapping them when they’re glowing allows you to perform them. On top, you have a counter for how many Rounds have passed. A Round passes when all warriors on both sides have had a turn.
In most cases, the team that loses all of its warriors loses. However, in some battles like the Warriors Trials, there are certain conditions you need to fulfill in order to succeed.
Obtain Stars
Whenever you complete a battle in Dynasty Scrolls, you will be awarded with stars. These stars are quite important as earning them gets you rewards. For instance, the first reward you can earn by obtaining a certain number of stars is the Wu dynasty warrior Xu Sheng, a powerful single-target DPS.
To obtain these stars, here is what you will have to fulfill:
3 Stars – No warriors have fallen.
2 Stars – One warriors has fallen.
1 Star – More than one warrior has fallen.
Obtaining these stars can be quite difficult after reaching a certain level as fighting mini-bosses or other named characters put up a fight. You can try again, but keep an eye on your stamina. You wouldn’t want that running out!
Spend Your Stamina Wisely
As with most modern mobile games, Dynasty Scrolls also has a stamina system. You can earn your stamina by:
– Waiting
– Buying Stamina Pills from the Market
– Claiming Stamina from the Events Menu by tapping Benefits
– Receiving it from friends
Stamina is the prime requirement for you to undertake battles. At the very least, you will need 5 Stamina for a single fight. However, Stamina can also be used to Blitz for gear (more on that later).
Obtain Dynasty Scrolls
After successfully completing a chapter, you will be rewarded with a Dynasty Scroll. Using a Dynasty Scroll will grant you a permanent buff to your entire team, so don’t pass up on using one before proceeding to the next chapter!
In addition, you can gain more Dynasty Scrolls by playing through character Biographies. Compiling these scrolls will consequently upgrade your character’s quality, giving them insane bonuses.
Daily Brawls
Brawling can grant you a myriad of resources in a pinch provided that you spend your attempts wisely. Initially, you’ll only be able to get EXP Tomes and Silver, but later on you will be able to earn rarer and more needed resources.
Play Through Biography Mode
No game about the Three Kingdoms would be complete if you can’t learn about the brave souls who have lived and died through this time period!
In the main screen, there is a button you can press to play through character biographies. Some of the battles here can be tougher than that of the regular story, but you will be greatly rewarded for taking part in this. For instance, some battles in Biographies can earn you Hero Shards, Training Pills, Silver, and more.
The best part about these is you get to experience the historical events that took place in each chapter. For instance, the first Biography you get to play through talks about Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei making their brotherly oath at the peach garden.
One last thing before we continue to the next item: keep an eye out for the Money Tree that appears in each of these Biographies. They’re filled with resources!
2. Upgrade Your Warriors
Because Dynasty Scrolls is a hero collector, upgrading each of your heroes evenly will ensure better chances of success. Do note that you spend a different kind of resource each time you try any of these. You can upgrade your hero by doing the following:
Upgrade Equipment (Stamina and Upgrade Stones)
By equipping various artifacts on your character, you will add to their stats. These differ from their weapons and armor, however. If you are missing a piece, you have the option to Blitz through a previous battle by tapping a slot that says “Blitz” on it. At the cost of some stamina, you will be able to gain these items more easily.
Completing an equipment set will allow you to upgrade the character and increase their stats overall at the cost of Upgrade Stones. The next grade of equipment will require more Blitzing or even later on, Synthesis, making each upgrade level more difficult but more rewarding than the last.
Level Up (EXP Tomes)
Leveling your heroes up doesn’t involve them directly gaining experience points from battle. Instead, you require EXP Tomes that you get from winning battles or claiming them from events. There are five different EXP Tomes:
Basic Tomes (Green) – 200 EXP
Intermediate Tomes (Blue) – 1000 EXP
Advanced Tomes (Purple) – 2000 EXP
Ultimate Tomes (Orange) – 5000 EXP
How you spend these tomes is entirely up to you, but it’s better that you spend them wisely.
Rank Up (Hero Shards)
Ranking up your heroes is one of the goals you should focus on if you would like to have a stronger team. This task requires you to collect their shards repeatedly. More common heroes can obtain their shards through recruitment or through the Soul Shop. Rarer heroes are more difficult to rank up but are absolutely worth the trouble. Recruiting often is key here, so recruit when you have ample resources.
This is especially useful if you want to gain Hero Index buffs.
Train (Training Pills)
Training your heroes will give additional bonuses to their overall stats. The training is randomized and non-refundable, however. What we mean is that if you choose to train a hero and one of their stats decreases (yes, this can happen), you will have to re-train them by spending an extra 5 Training Pills. Only train when you know you can afford it.
Upon maxing out their Meridian, they will be given greater, more powerful bonuses. There are a lot of Meridians to go through. Because of this, spending your Training Pills should be done evenly and not just on one hero.
Weapons and Armor
No game with storied warriors is without a bundle of awesome weapons and armor. At a certain level, you will be able to equip your heroes with weapons and armor. Some of these come as a set and as set equipment goes, a number of matching weapons and armor on your hero will grant them powerful passive bonuses. Of course, like everything else, these can be upgraded as well.
Enhancement (Silver)
This act improves the base stat of the piece of equipment. Its max level is twice your main character’s level. Making all of your weapons and armor follow an even level (e.g. All items are at Lv50), the hero wearing them gets a bonus. This bonus, of course, increases per every 10 levels.
Refinement (Refinement Stones)
This feature involves upgrading the Refine Stats of a piece of equipment. These stats are separate and stack with the main stats of the gear piece. Much like how you use EXP Tomes on heroes, weapons and armor also use separate kinds of resources.
Basic Refinement Stone (Green) – 5 EXP
Rare Refinement Stone (Blue) – 12 EXP
Epic Refinement Stone (Purple) – 25 EXP
Ultimate Refinement Stone (Orange) – 50 EXP
Much like Enhancement, Refinement also grants you a bonus after you evenly level up your gear.
A Quick Look At Your Starter Heroes
Now that we’ve covered how you can make your heroes stronger, let’s have a quick look at the strengths of the heroes you start with.
Your Character
Your character, regardless of gender, can attack three random enemies with their skill. They are quite versatile and get stronger as you progress through the game. Much later on, you will be able to equip your character with outfits that completely alter their behavior and fighting style.
Savory
Savory is the idealistic, bright-eyed daughter of Sun Jian, the Tiger of Jiangdong. Known in Romance of the Three Kingdoms as Sun Shangxiang, she wields a bow with deadly precision. Her Arrow Storm skill allows her to pick off any front-row enemies and reduce their accuracy for 2 rounds. She, along with Bu Lianshi grant you with your first Combo Skill, Phoenix.
Bu Lianshi
Lianshi is Sun Quan’s favorite consort. She is wise as she is nurturing and talented through song and dance. As she has been known to care for her lord, she can care for your character as well by healing anyone in your party with the lowest HP with her Wrecking Song skill. This skill also damages a column of enemies. Aside from providing your party with the Phoenix Combo Skill, she also provides the Max Chillax Combo Skill with Sonya.
Sonya
Sonya, known as Zhurong, the Goddess of Fire in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is a foil to Savory. While Savory excels in damaging enemies in the front row, Sonya aims for all the enemies in the back row using her White Tiger Shot skill, dealing bonus damage to the enemy target with the lowest amount of HP. Aside from granting you the Max Chillax Combo Skill, she also gives you the Stampede Combo Skill with her husband Meng Huo.
Meng Huo
The mighty lord of the south and leader of the Nanman Tribe, Meng Huo, lends his undisputed strength to the Shu clan in this game. His basic attack strikes a single enemy twice, but his Lord of the South deals splash damage to an enemy and those adjacent to them. In addition, he increases his damage reduction for 2 rounds, making him your team’s first tank.
3. Fulfill Mission Requirements And Participate In Events
As this game is bustling with players, it’s no stranger to events and missions. Fulfilling goals in either of these may earn you lots of resources at a time. Taking these and saving them for later or when you need them may help improve your party and keep you on your toes for what you should do next.
Interestingly enough, there are Hidden Missions in this game that you may accomplish without knowing. As the names imply, the game does not tell you what you have to do to earn any of the rewards earned here. Keep your eyes peeled!
4. Fight In The Arena For Prestige
Arena battles are fully automated, but they’re quite challenging as it puts your party loadout to the test. Completing any of these battles, as well as rising through the ranks, will earn you some impressive rewards found in the Arena Shop. The currency here isn’t gold, silver, or Hero Souls, but Prestige; a PvP-only currency. Fight on and give your heroes the ultimate challenge!
5. Use The Hero Index
The Hero Index is a place where you can view your collection of heroes. As of this writing, Dynasty Scrolls over 50 heroes and counting, so there is plenty of time for you to unlock every single one of them for your use. Each of them has their own specialty and thus picking those that suit your needs in a team is important if you’re trying to build an efficient party.
After unlocking a specific hero, they will be available for upgrade in the Hero Index. Unlocking heroes as well as upgrading them can add to your team’s overall power level. Higher power levels means smoother battles for you.
Pulling Heroes
There are two ways you can pull heroes: Basic Recruit and Premium Recruit. Using up Recruit Orders (both Basic and Premium, respectively) allows you to pull shards of any hero. Basic Recruit has a low chance of pulling Epic Heroes while Premium Recruit offers better chances of you getting them.
Both Basic and Premium Recruit Orders can be earned from doing missions or participating in events. At one point, you’ll even get some from earning Stars.
Later into the game, you will be able to use the Faction Recruit feature where you can raise the chances of gaining a hero from the faction of your choice.
6. Think Strategically
Perhaps the most important part of this game, as with most Romance of the Three Kingdoms-based games, is the strategy behind it. It wasn’t the might of Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, Gan Ning, Lu Bu, or Meng Huo that won the battles alone, but it was also the brains of Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Lu Meng, and Li Ru that backed these up. Regardless the battle, a sound strategy should cripple the enemy forces and give you the upper hand.
Team Formation
The game’s automatic fighting actually follows an order based on the placement of your soldiers:
4 1
5 2
6 3
You will have to decide who attacks first and who attacks last. If you have managed to upgrade a hero and have their starting Rage at a high, put them at the front lines so they may inflict early damage to the enemy team. If you have a hero that heals your team, put them last so they may mitigate what has been dealt to them by the foe.
If you have observed that any of your heroes have suffered in providing decent damage output during the round, work on what makes them weak first. If said hero cannot be saved, pull them aside and replace them with someone stronger if you can do that. You can view these by tapping the Stats button at the end of a fight.
Augmenting your ranks are Reserves; heroes that grant your current party passive buffs. Deploying heroes that have affinities with each other may also help win battles. If you have no room for them in the active party, put them on the reserves.
Team Composition
Every balanced team is a good thing to have. But sometimes, if you have more DPS heroes than you have tanks or healers, it’s time to reconsider some of your deployed characters. Sometimes, enemy units suffer more damage from Magic attacks and some from Physical attacks. Having your team vary in damage types is a plus and it’s nice goal to work toward.
Faction Buffs
Deploying an Epic Hero from a specific faction will grant you a Faction Buff. Piling on more Epic Heroes of the same faction from the first one you deployed will raise the Faction Buff’s effects, turning your party into a force to be reckoned with. Get those recruitment orders out!
Combo Skills
You will first start with Phoenix, Max Chillax, Stampede, and if you’ve unlocked Xu Sheng and Yue Jin through Story Mode, Chain. Using these Combo Skills at the right moment can easily give you the lead in battle and using them at the wrong moment (or using the wrong skill, even) can doom your team.
First consider what each of the skills can do. As an example, we will look at Stampede. Stampede is quite useful in boss fights as it has the chance to stun anyone it hits. However, using this on an enemy who stands alone on his row is a waste, especially if the target you want to stun is at the back row. Timing is everything when it comes to using these skills.
Do note that you do not require the heroes of the Combo Skill deployed in your team as you fight; having the Combo Skill unlocked and in use is enough for you to be able to execute it in battle. For example, even if you do not have Sonya and Bu Lianshi in your party but you have Max Chillax in your skill bar, you can still perform Max Chillax when it is ready.
Recycling Heroes
This feature is actually one of the harder pills to swallow. If you have a hero that has outlived their usefulness to you (e.g. you have found a more powerful hero than one of your starters), you have the option to recycle them. Recycling a hero means to refund all of the resources that you spent on them.
The only thing that will not be refunded is their Star Level, so getting what Hero Shards of theirs that you used to improve them is impossible. With this, you will only gain Upgrade Stones, Training Pills, EXP Tomes, Silver, and Equipment.
After recycling a hero, you can transfer all of these re-earned resources to one of your better heroes that needs an upgrade. Don’t worry about your old hero; the next time you want to upgrade them, it might be much easier this time around and they’ll be much stronger than the first time you had encountered them.
7. Add Some Friends
Lastly, don’t forget to make friends with any or other warlords you come across. Adding friends can grant you some silver and stamina once they give you gifts. In return, you help them, too, by sending them the very same gifts. As the female character of this game says “Teamwork makes the dream work!”
When you’re in a pinch for that final push in Story Mode or you need that quick weapon upgrade, sometimes it takes a bunch of your friends to keep you nicely stocked.
And that’s that for Dynasty Scrolls! If there is anything that we might have left out, something that needs correcting, or if you have any tips of your own that you’d like to add, be sure to leave a comment below!
Raise your sword high and charge on! The fate of the Three Kingdoms depends on you!