Unlike traditional Dynasty Warriors entries, Empires follows a non-linear structure, meaning the Romance of the Three Kingdoms tale is swapped out for a story of your own making. Furthermore, the usual four kingdoms, Wei, Wu, Shu, and Jin, don’t technically follow the same events as told in the main timeline. Instead, you can select any character from one of the four factions, as well as form relationships with would-be rivals.

Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires offers a total of eight campaigns within its Conquest Mode, seven of which loosely correspond to events from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms saga. The eighth, however, allows for players to conquer Ancient China starting with a clean slate, meaning no faction has the upper hand from the get-go.

What faction should you start with?

You will be assigned territory upon starting one of the eight campaigns and selecting a character to progress with. Depending on the character you have chosen, either one or two sections of China will be yours to control.

Before making a selection, be sure to check the top right of the screen for the land you will own from the get-go. Of course, two chunks of land is a lot better than one and can give you a strong start on your road to conquering the entire map. Also, having land based on the outer areas of the map does mean having a smaller chance of being invaded.

You can find more Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires guides right here on Pro Game Guides.