Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends/Destiny Mode

Destiny Mode was a mode introduced and solely used in Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends. It essentially is an RPG where the player creates his or her own original officer, and play as them soldier in one of the Three Kingdoms. Players start off as a low-ranked Private under one of the playable officers, but can rise up through the army ladder through achievements displayed in battle. Destiny mode consists of eight stages, and always starts out during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Character Creation
When beginning Destiny mode, an elderly man named "Shui Jing", recognizes the player's character as someone who wants to end the chaos throughout the land. He also sees that the character has extraordinary talent. He asks the player a series of questions, which will determine the character's personal information and appearance. When Shui Jing asks, "What name do you go by in this world?", the player chooses a name that can have up to 10 characters.

When he says, "Forgive an old man for asking, but what gender are you?", the player chooses either Male or Female. This is followed by choosing facial features, with 10 styles of hair, and 10 faces to choose from. Players cannot choose the tone of skin or color of hair that is used. Players then choose the voice and personality that their character will employ, Passionate, Heroic, or Calm. Next, the immediate weapon of choice is picked. One of the choices is the sword modeled after parts of Huang Zhong's moveset. The others are a Spear with a style similar to Jiang Wei, and lastly a Pike similarly modeled after Lu Meng. The inquiries end with Shui Jing asking the player what officer he or she wants to serve, which will play a huge part in the character's fighting style.

Also, characters start out with the Jerkin set of clothing, and the color of clothing changed can be picked. Below are the outfits the character can wear.

Battle
Before battle, in the info screen stage, players can choose their weapon and objectives. Objectives are targets at the beginning of the stage that will grant skill points after completion. If an objective is not cleared by the end of the stage or its time limit, the skill points offered are not rewarded. Not achieving objectives will not lower morale, nor achieving them will raise morale.

Battles are played as in any other mode, only with a few modifications. Instead of battle-specific conditions, battles are won by either defeating the enemy commander, or taking a specific base. Battles are lost by the player being defeated or time running out. Before purchasing any skills, players start out with only two attacks. Through the purchase of Combo and Melee skills however, the attack chain will branch out into a normal moveset. Battles are usually shorter than Legend Mode or Free Mode counterparts, only facing a part of the army rather than the army in the non-Destiny mode battle. Also before battle, the player is briefed on the situation by the Kingdom ruler, then being motivated and briefed by their commanding officer.

During battle, players can find ambushes on the battlefield when the hidden enemy enters a certain radius on the map. However, the location of the enemy may disappear if not defeated and/or left alone. Likewise, Messengers and Supply Captains appear as regular troops, giving off letters and weapons, respectively.

In addition to ordinary KOs, Destiny Mode has another type in Tactical KOs. These primarily is used to evaluate the player's proficiency in utilizing tools given to them. There are four measures, which include:


 * Lead - Uses the Rally skill. After surrounding allies gain its effect of doubled attack power, for the following thirty second period all KOs are counted here.


 * Supply - Once a player enters a supply garrison, all enemies defeated within that base, along with others for a set amount of time, are counted here.


 * Fire - Uses the Fire skill. If a player is within the vicinity of a garrison and does not attack or jump for five seconds, it will light aflame and all defenders are damaged. The amount of defenders defeated are counted here.


 * Raid - Can use the Ambush and Reveal skills. Ambushes are set using the Select button, and a set amount of time must pass before the surprise attack is ready. For maximum results and for the Raid to begin, an enemy officer must be lured into the area and the Select button must be pressed once more. Regardless of whether they are lured, a minimum amount of allied troops will appear. If the player betrays his officer, all defeated enemies nearby are counted here. Using Reveal, a player detects an enemy trap, and all the troops in the ambush officer's roster are also counted.

Evaluation
After completing a battle, players are judged on two separate items: on how many Skill Points are earned and Contribution to the unit. The former has criteria based on objectives completed and 30 default points for victory in the completed stage, among others.

Contribution itself is split between two measures: Military and Strategy ratings. Enemies, officers, Tactical KOs and letters obtained affect these ratings. Depending on whether the results are positive, the player's commanding officer will praise them and may give them a weapon, skill, or a promotion.

After completing the eight stages, the life, career, and exploits of the player are presented within an epilogue sequence. They are then given the option whether to keep the character used throughout the mode, and if so, a single weapon to keep.

Defection
If the player impresses an enemy general enough, after the stage is complete they may send a dispatch asking if they would like to defect. This can be accepted or declined, but in the latter case, on some occasions the tactician in the player's army (Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Lu Xun, Zhou Yu, Sima Yi) will offer another optional plan in which the defection is a ruse. Through the plan, the player accepts the dispatch, fights for the enemy for a few battles, and eventually betrays the enemy officer that originally requested the player.

Should the player accept their tactician's ruse, after completing it, regardless of whichever officer they previously served beginning the plan, they will be put under the strategist. Even when acting as an agent, players can accept additional dispatches from the neutral third kingdom (for example, one can falsely serve Shu through a plan laid by Wu, but should the character fulfill the proper conditions they will be able to defect to Wei).

Here is a list of different actions the players may take to impress each officer in the battlefield. It may take a few tries to work for some of them.

Ranks
Ranks affect the number of objectives able to be chosen, what skills can be bought, and how many subordinate soldiers accompany the player. The four classifications are: Private, Sergeant, Major, and Lt. General. Of note, the player's living quarters is also a reflection of their current rank.

Skills
Skills are special abilities able for purchase that upgrade the abilities of the player. Before battle, players can purchase these with skill points. Fifty are given by default when Destiny Mode begins.

Skills are sometimes taught by the commanding officer chosen by the player. Such instances are more likely to occur if the player has contributed well enough in battle. Aside from combo skills, each officer can only teach a certain skill type depending on their style of command.