Dynasty Warriors 4/Musou Mode

Musou Mode in Dynasty Warriors 4 replaces individual character scenarios for a kingdom-focused storyline. Players can now switch between different characters before battle and choose their stages. Other factions have their own scenarios, albeit smaller and more limited.

Stories are divided into several acts; each act consists of three (or two for Other factions) different battles. Each battle is set up to have a consecutive impact for the faction's story. For instance, defeating a particular officer in one battle may weaken them greatly in another. Skipping to the concluding battle within an act often presents the enemy forces at their optimum fighting potential. Clearing optional battles or certain objectives in maps allows players some freedom to rearrange events and characters seen in each faction's story.

Setting the difficulty level to "Easy" reduces the challenge ranking of these stages by 1 while "Hard" has the opposite effect. Sub-officer locations can be seen within the game's preparation screen.

Tales Stages
Tales stages are smaller, secret missions that can be unlocked during a kingdom's Musou Mode. The player is not required to skip any battles in prior acts unless otherwise stated within the chart.

Misconceptions

 * Eliminate Zhang Jiao (Wei) - Complete Yellow Turban Fortress and Yellow Turban Rebellion (Yellow Turban Fortress is optional, in fact you can just go straight to the Yellow Turban Rebellion for all kingdoms, just make sure the Zhang brother on the relevant faction's side of the field is present)
 * Guan Yu's Escape (Shu) - Defeat Lu Bu and let Dong Zhuo escape in Hu Lao Gate (not required)
 * Battle of Ru Nan - Kill Dong Zhuo in Hu Lao Gate (not required, you just need to leave Lu Bu alive)
 * Battle of Tong Gate (Shu) - Go straight to Cheng Du (you just have to skip Luo Castle, but you do have to defeat Ma Chao/Pang De)
 * Battle of Mai Castle - Clear Yi Ling with Guan Yu present and alive (not required, but in case Guan Yu is present, leave him alive, otherwise you just need to pull off the fire attack)
 * Dong Zhuo Lives stages - Clear less than 10 stages and go straight to Wu Zhang Plains or He Fei in Act V (not required, but you do have to let Dong Zhuo escape in Hu Lao Gate and skip a certain stage, as well as make sure the last stage of Act V is Wu Zhang Plains or He Fei)
 * Battle of Chang Jiang - Go straight to Jiang Dong in Act III (not required)

Story Routes
The Three Kingdom routes have branching storylines. What act the player is given depends on whether the wind prayer at Chi Bi is successful or not. Path A is considered the "ideal" route, while Path B is considered the "default" route which can also be triggered by skipping the wind prayer. These separate routes may lead into different Tales stages.

Stages highlighted in red are mandatory battles which finish the act if they are completed. The final battle for the Three Kingdoms (highlighted in purple) can be unlocked after clearing these battles.

Shu
Initial Characters: Guan Yu, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei

Wei
Initial Characters: Xiahou Dun, Cao Cao, Xiahou Yuan

Wu
Initial Characters: Sun Shang Xiang, Sun Jian, Huang Gai

Lu Bu
Characters: Zhang Liao, Lu Bu

Dong Zhuo
Characters: Diao Chan, Dong Zhuo

Yuan Shao
Characters: Zhang He, Yuan Shao

Nanman
Characters: Meng Huo, Zhu Rong

Yellow Turban
Characters: Zhang Fei, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Zhang Jiao

Character Specific Requirements
The following characters can be unlocked in Musou Mode.


 * Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong - Clear Shu Act II.
 * Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Yue Ying - Clear Shu Act IV.
 * Ma Chao - Defeat Ma Chao during the Campaign of Cheng Du.
 * Jiang Wei - Force Jiang Wei to surrender during the Battle of Tian Shui by luring him out, defeating his sub-officers, and having him meet Zhuge Liang.
 * Dian Wei, Xu Huang - Clear Wei Act I.
 * Xu Zhu - Clear Wei Act II.
 * Zhen Ji, Cao Ren - Clear Wei Act III.
 * Sima Yi - Clear Wei Act IV.
 * Zhang He - Clear 11 stages during Wei's Musou Mode or make him join you in the Battle of Guan Du.
 * Yuan Shao - Clear Wei's Musou Mode.
 * Zhang Liao - Defeat Zhang Liao at the Battle of Xia Pi or unlock Lu Bu's story.
 * Lu Meng - Clear Wu Act I.
 * Zhou Yu, Sun Ce - Clear Wu Act II.
 * Sun Quan, Zhou Tai - Clear Wu Act III.
 * Lu Xun - Clear Wu Act IV.
 * Taishi Ci - Defeat Taishi Ci and have him reappear as an ally during the Campaign for the Wu Territory.
 * Gan Ning - Clear Wu Act IV or defeat Gan Ning during the Battle of Xia Kou.
 * Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao - Clear the Two Qiaos with both sisters kept safe.
 * Lu Bu - Clear Musou Mode with any faction.
 * Diao Chan - Clear Act I in Lu Bu's Musou Mode.
 * Dong Zhuo - Clear Lu Bu's Musou Mode.
 * Meng Huo - Defeat Meng Huo and/or Zhu Rong in a duel during the Nanman Campaign.
 * Zhu Rong - Defeat Meng Huo and/or Zhu Rong in a duel during the Nanman Campaign.
 * Zhang Jiao - Clear Musou Mode with every other faction.

Ending Requirements
There are four different ending cutscenes for each faction. The type of ending received is determined by the player's overall performance during the entire mode. Their feats are conveyed in poetry, and they reflect the amount of enemies killed (Strength), the number of points gained (Mind), and time spent (Speed), all of which are tallied on an average score. The number of battles completed –including Tales stages– also affects which ending the player earns.

The 4th endings for each faction can only be seen by clearing a specific condition in its story:
 * Shu - Force Liu Zhang to surrender in the Campaign for Cheng Du.
 * Wei - Prevent all three ploys in the Battle of Chi Bi.
 * Wu - Claim all three territories in the Race for the Nan Territory.
 * Lu Bu - Defeat all enemy officers in Lu Bu's Revolt.
 * Dong Zhuo - Defeat Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian once Li Jue begins retreating from Si Shui Gate.
 * Yuan Shao - Defeat Guan Yu in the Battle of Guan Du.
 * Nanman - Ensure Wu Tugu's survival in the Battle of Cheng Du.
 * Yellow Turban - Ensure the survival of every allied officer in the Yellow Turban Rebellion.