Leveling Up and Utilizing Pyroxene Gems in Dynasty Warriors: Origins
Understanding how to enhance, utilize, and equip pyroxene gems is essential for optimizing your character’s abilities in Dynasty Warriors: Origins. Unlike other titles in the franchise, Origins features a single playable character. This protagonist, whom players can name, is referred to as Ziluan by fellow warriors. Ziluan stands apart not just for his capability to take on overwhelming enemy numbers, but also for the extensive customization options available to him. Players can tailor Ziluan’s weapons, skills, tactics, and much more. However, one of the most impactful forms of customization comes from his pyroxene gems.
You’ll gain access to crafting and equipping pyroxene gems fairly early in your journey through Dynasty Warriors: Origins. While there are only a few types of gems, they offer a variety of effects that can significantly enhance your character’s capabilities when properly leveled and utilized. Here’s a guide on how to maximize your use of pyroxene gems, along with recommendations for which gems to prioritize based on your playing style.
Understanding Pyroxene Gems
Unlocking and Collecting Pyroxene
Shortly after earning the ability to visit inns during the main storyline of Dynasty Warriors: Origins, you can begin crafting gems. After meeting the character Zhuhe, you’ll receive a small initial supply of pyroxene. This resource is crucial for crafting and upgrading your gems throughout the game. However, you’ll need to actively seek out additional pyroxene to enhance your gems effectively.
Pyroxene can be found scattered throughout the world map, identifiable by orange gathering nodes resembling small clusters of jagged rock spikes. Just approach one and press the designated button to gather pyroxene. Additionally, once you unlock the Eyes of the Sacred Bird ability, you can reveal hidden pyroxene deposits on the map by making them glow.
You can also obtain pyroxene by completing various side quests, opening special letters, or defeating thieves.
If you’re in need of a significant amount of pyroxene quickly, keep in mind that gathering nodes will respawn after collecting from them. Once fast travel is available, a great strategy is to harvest all the pyroxene from a specific area, then move to another and repeat the process. Feel free to revisit prior regions multiple times until you’ve gathered all the pyroxene you need.
Crafting and Upgrading Gems
To craft pyroxene gems, you must visit inns, which can be found in most towns within Dynasty Warriors: Origins. Approach the town on the world map and interact with it, then choose "Inn" from the menu. Select the "Create Gems" option to access the crafting screen. Once you have crafted gems, you can equip them from the Battle Preparation screen or while on the world map—just not during active combat.
While at the inn, it’s also a good idea to check any letters you may have collected, as many contain rewards like additional pyroxene, and you might want to adjust your equipment if needed.
On the crafting screen, you’ll see five types of gems, along with a counter that shows how much pyroxene you have. The process of crafting is straightforward: select how many pyroxene pieces you want to convert into gems, and the game will handle the rest. Each piece of pyroxene is transformed into a gem at random. If you already possess that specific gem, the pyroxene used will instead contribute to leveling it up. Occasionally, you may trigger a "satisfying result," resulting in the creation of three gems instead of one.
Yes, you can level up all your gems throughout your playthrough, enhancing their effectiveness over time. As gems reach higher levels, you will need to acquire more duplicates to progress further. Unfortunately, you cannot directly choose which gems your pyroxene will upgrade, unless you are taking advantage of a system feature. Occasionally, you may notice a notification when accessing the crafting window indicating that, "You saw a light in the pyroxene." This highlights specific gems in the crafting menu—usually three out of five—allowing all your pyroxene to be allocated toward those gems.
Ultimately, there’s little reason to hoard your pyroxene unless you are trying to focus on upgrading a specific gem awaiting this highlight. Using your pyroxene as you acquire it will increase your chances of crafting superior gems. While some gems are better than others, all have their unique advantages.
Top Pyroxene Gems to Prioritize
Wellspring Gem
The Wellspring Gem is an excellent accessory for nearly any build. Its value is especially noticeable in the latter stages of the game, where battles against tough bosses become frequent and healing items may dwindle. This gem restores a portion of HP for every 100 foes you defeat—and the health restored grows stronger as you level up, while the enemy threshold remains the same.
Oblivion Gem
Many of the most potent weapons in Dynasty Warriors: Origins have a notably short attack range. While they may unleash massive damage or allow for amazing combos, you need to get up close to enemies to maximize their potential. This is where the Oblivion Gem shines, as it expands the reach of your equipped weapon based on its level and the amount of pyroxene invested.
Vortex Gem
One of the most satisfying tactics in any Dynasty Warriors game is the ability to launch hordes of enemies into the air. This crowd control technique not only keeps foes at bay but also inflicts considerable damage and adds to the enjoyment of gameplay. For maximizing this tactic’s effectiveness, equinipping the Vortex Gem increases the damage you deal to aerial opponents with each level increase.
Below is a summary of all the gems available for crafting in Dynasty Warriors: Origins, along with their specific effects. Although you should prioritize the aforementioned three gems, every gem serves a purpose, so it is worthwhile to invest in each one to enhance your overall versatility.
Gem | Effect |
---|---|
Oblivion Gem | Expands attack range |
Vortex Gem | Increases damage to airborne enemies |
Scorch Gem | Boosts damage against enemies during parries |
Wellspring Gem | Restores HP for every 100 foes defeated |
Ascendance Gem | Grants a chance to automatically block attacks from enemy officers |
With this knowledge, you’re all set to craft and utilize gems effectively, enhancing your character build and adapting your strategies as necessary. Just remember to collect and use pyroxene regularly to maximize the advantages of your gems in Dynasty Warriors: Origins.