Facebook Dynasty Saga Basic Army Composition Guide

Dynasty Saga Basic Army Composition by ZhaoZilong

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. The Generals
III. Starting General
IV. Two Generals
V. Three Generals
VI. Four Generals
VII. Miscellaneous Tips

I. Introduction

Questions about what generals to use are probably the most frequently asked type of question by newcomers and veterans alike. This guide is meant as a basic introduction to effective army composition up through the end of the Yuan Shu stage. Instead of focusing or promoting one specific combination of generals (although some will be mentioned), it’ll instead emphasize general principles of what makes a good, flexible army that is capable of beating everything up to Yuan Shu in the campaign. It does not take into consideration PvP.

II. The Generals

I will classify all generals, including the starting generals, into various roles that I feel they best serve. I have also noted in parentheses which campaign stage they can be first recruited. They are also ordered from worst to best in these roles from left to right for beating the campaign up until Yuan Shu and his legion.

Tank: Lei Bo (YS), Hua Xiong (DZ), Zen (S), Yuan Shu (YS)

Single Damage: Li Ru (DZ), Jia Xu (RF), Xu Rong (DZ)

Multiple Damage: Zhang Lu (ZL)

Single Target Gambit: Zhang Bao (YT), Ji Ling (YS), Zhang Jiao(YT), Gongsun Yuan (GSZ), Dong Zhuo (DZ), Orchid (S), Dragon (S), Jasmine (S), Rock(S)

Multiple Target Gambit: Daisy (S), Jade (S), Jasper (S), Zhang Liang (YT), Gongsun Zan (GSZ)

Support (Morale): Cai Yan (RF)

Support (Healer): Hua Tuo (RF)

III. Starting General

My opinion is that there are three starting generals that are clearly superior to the others. These are Zen, Jasper, and Jade. They all have strong gambits that will make them useful for a long time and in a variety of situations.

IV. Two Generals

After you research a formation for the first time, it will start off holding up to two generals. This is your most basic army. At first, you won’t have much choice in who to recruit, so until the end of the Yellow Turban stage, it really doesn’t matter who you decide to put in your army, as the stage can be passed with anyone.

If you do decide to stick with two generals later on even into the Yuan Shu stage (choosing to spend silver on maximizing equipment on each general), there are a couple of notable combinations.

The first is the Lei Bo/Cai Yan combination, where Cai Yan uses her morale boost on a Lei Bo with a strong cloak, horse, and armor. His Treacherous Ploy gambit will heal him every round and make him both an effective tank and damager. The other is a Zen/Hua Xiong and Xu Rong combination. Zen or Hua Xiong with fully upgraded armor and cloak and the Iron Will gambit will live a long time even against the strongest armies. A Xu Rong with fully upgraded weapon and normal attack research will then rip through most opposing armies with ease.

V. Three Generals

Once a formation is upgraded to level 2 (requires level 10 academy), then that formation can hold up to three generals. This is where the number of combinations of generals becomes high.

In general, the most effective composition is a tank, a damager (Xu Rong is by far the strongest in this category), and a gambit hero. You’ll want to put a high level horse on your gambit hero, a high level weapon (or spellbook) on your damager, and high level/cloak armor on your tank. Here are some effective examples of this composition:

Hua Xiong/Zen, Xu Rong, Gongsun Zan/Jade/Zhang Liang/Jasper
Hua Xiong/Zen, Xu Rong, Dong Zhuo/Rock
Lei Bo, Xu Rong, Cai Yan

VI. Four Generals

Once a formation is upgraded to level 5 (requires level 25 academy), then that formation can hold up to four generals. You will also need the first title (100 prestige) to actually recruit that fourth hero to put into your formation. Using the three general army as a base, there’s actually a lot of variety in who the 4th general can be.

The first option is to play a defensive game by using two tanks. An example of this would be Hua Xiong, Zen, Gongsun Zan, and Xu Rong. With both Hua Xiong and Zen, it’ll be difficult for any army to kill both of them as they protect your other generals while they deal damage. However, this composition can sometimes lead to Stalemates (which count as losses) against stronger defensive armies.

The second option is to focus on a powerful multiple target gambit attack. This kind of army absolutely requires Cai Yan for her morale boosting ability and a highly upgraded horse equipped on a multiple target gambit hero. This composition is much more effective with Yuan Shu as a tank since Cai Yan’s ability randomly targets a general with a gambit, and Yuan Shu has none. An example of this kind of army would be Yuan Shu, Xu Rong, Cai Yan,and Jade/Zhang Liang/Gongsun Zan. This is probably the most popular setup for top players due to its all-around usefulness.

A third option is to emphasize consistent damage by adding either Zhang Lu (line attack) or Jia Xu (spell damage). This option can be quite expensive though, as early spell books are ineffective and spell attack research requires level 30 academy as well. Multiple colored weapons also cost a fortune at higher levels to enhance (although it’s still cheaper than two horses). An example of this army composition would be Hua Xiong, Xu Rong, Gongsun Zan, and Zhang Lu.

VII. Miscellaneous Tips

– You can still beat the campaign with almost any combination of generals even if you don’t follow the advice in this guide, so you should play whatever kind of army you enjoy. However, it’ll take you longer as you’ll need higher research levels and/or more enhanced equipment.
– You don’t want too many gambit generals, as the damage that gambits deal can be negligible without a highly upgraded horse. You won’t be able to afford two.
– If you need to have a second or third gambit general, they should at least have secondary effects (Demoralizing Shout, Subterfuge, Ambush, etc.).
– Sometimes it makes more sense to stay at two or three generals and upgrade their equipment and research rather than spending silver and BPs on more generals. Three well-equipped, upgraded generals will almost always be stronger than a four-general army with mediocre equipment and research, so don’t feel like you need to always have more generals.
– Don’t be afraid to ditch a weaker, higher level general for a new, more powerful general once you can recruit them. Assuming you’ve been upgrading your training grounds, it won’t take long for the new general to catch up.