Sima Yi Skills & Recommended Combination

Talent [Ambitious Eyes] Enhance

When an allied hero dies, Sima Yi will turn it into a hero spirit to fight. The spirit has all the hero's skills, 50% of ATK, and 100% of HP, and immunizes against all control effects, lasting up to 8s. CD: 5s. (Diao Chan's clone cannot inherit this skill and it won't work on revived units.)

1st Skill [Strategy Unpredictable] Bonus

When Sima Yi is on the battlefield, reduces all summoned units' damage taken by 100% of Sima Yi's ATK. The summoned units disappear after taking 13 attacks. This DMG Reduction effect is doubled for hero spirits.

2nd Skill [Soul Stripping] Group DMG, Enhance

Sima Yi's attack has a 44% chance to deal INT DMG equal to 50% of ATK to enemies nearby and inflict Poison on them. Among them, each stack of Poison causes DMG equal to 0.5% of HP and lasts throughout the battle.

3rd Skill [Concealment] Enhance

Makes own troop invisible and cannot be targeted when there are other allied troops on the battlefield, increasing their Crit by 20% (for deployed troops only).

4th Skill [Astute] Enhance

Increases Total ATK by 3% after each attack, stacking up to 25 times.

Hero Talent and Skill Summary: Sima Yi is a hero that leads Wei Supports. He becomes invisible when there are allies, summons hero spirits to fight when a hero dies, and his attack inflicts Poison on an area. It’s best to get Sima Yi to six stars, as then he will have no CD time after summoning hero spirits, and he will be a great help to the Five Tiger Generals as well as front row Guardians and troops.

Recommended Skill Upgrade Priority: Soul Stripping -> Strategy Unpredictable -> Astute -> Concealment

Recommended Pairings:

Sima Yi + Zhou Yu: Sima Yi’s Poison with Zhou Yu’s Fire pair well for high DMG.

Sima Yi + Zhou Tai: the hero spirit Zhou Tai summoned by Sima Yi can cover massive incoming damage.

Sima Yi + Zhang He: Sima Yi and Zhang He’s Poison skills are greatly stackable with each other.

Sima Yi + Jia Xu: Sima Yi and Jia Xu’s Poison skills are greatly stackable with each other.

Sima Yi + Cao Ren: Cao Ren can help increase the survivability of front row troops and prolong Sima Yi’s invisibility.

Diao Chan

Talent [Inseparable] Enhance

When battle begins, Diao Chan creates a clone of the nearest allied hero (prioritizing the same row). The clone has 50% of the hero's HP, 50% of the hero's ATK, and all the hero's skills, lasting up to 18s.

Star Up Effects:

4 Stars: Extends clones’ duration by 6s.

5 Stars: Clones gain 100% extra Crit boost.

6 Stars: Clones recover 25% HP per sec when Diao Chan is on the battlefield.

1st Skill [Fan Dance] Debuff, Group DMG

Diao Chan unleashes her dancing fan every 10s, dealing INT DMG equal to 100% of ATK to enemies in a large area, reducing their DEF by 30% for 5s.

2nd Skill [Beautiful Grace] Enhance

Targets damaged by Diao Chan will be marked for 5s, receiving 20% extra damage from Diao Chan and her clones.

3rd Skill [Eclipsed Moon] Enhance

Diao Chan increases DMG Reduction by 20%. The boost is doubled when she has a clone. Diao Chan recovers 20% HP when a clone dies or disappears.

4th Skill [Beauty] Buff

Diao Chan increases Total ATK of all allied male heroes by 5%, stacking up to 10 times.

Hero Talent and Skill Summary: When battle begins, Diao Chan creates a clone of the nearest allied hero. The clone can use all the hero's skills. Due to her cloning skills, Diao Chan is helpful in increasing the power of a strong lineup. The Mage Diao Chan and the hero Diao Chan can be used in the same battle. On one hand, they can clone the strongest allied heroes and have fire suppression, on the other, they can take fire and damage for our heroes. Their cloning skills focus on heroes in the same row or column (so this is useful even if a hero isn’t directly adjacent).

Recommended Pairings:

Diao Chan + Lu Bu: Diao Chan can copy Lu Bu to help allied troops defeat front row enemies.

Diao Chan + Ma Chao: Diao Chan can copy Ma Chao to greatly increase allied troops' burst damage upon engaging in combat.

Diao Chan + Da Qiao: Diao Chan can copy Da Qiao to heal allied units.

Diao Chan + Guan Yu: After copying Guan Yu, Diao Chan will create a large number of clones.

Recommended Formation: Diao Chan + Lu Bu + Guan Yu + Cao Cao + Zhang Fei + Zhang Liao + Hua Xiong + Da Qiao + Mage Diao Chan

Reason for Recommendation: Cao Cao can activate Brutality and the three Tigers affinity at the same time. The remaining slots can be filled based on attack or support, such as Da Qiao.

Need help with setting up your formation? Check out this quick guide.

Setting up your formation in Dynasty Origins

A. [Guardians] start with a Shield.

Traits: Guardian heroes have high DEF and low ATK. They can gain shields, gain max HP, reduce damage taken and heal HP. Some Guardians also have control and buff abilities. Their main role is to absorb damage and stop enemy heavy cavalry charges.

Examples: [Cao Ren]'s talent gives a shield to heroes and troops in the same row. [Zhang Fei] controls all enemies for 1s.

Formation guide: Put Guardian heroes in the front row, especially when the enemy has cavalry, in order to protect damage dealers in the back.

B. [Infantry] gain total ATK when attacking with melee troops.

Traits: Infantry heroes have high ATK and average DEF. They can gain ASPD and Crit, and inflict Pierce, Slow and other effects. Some heroes also give their allies a bonus. Their main role is dealing damage and boosting allied heroes. They can also absorb damage and deal with cavalry, but are less effective in this role.

Examples: [Zhao Yun] and [Zhou Cang] inflict Pierce. [Sun Jian], [Lu Meng] and [Cheng Pu] inflict Slow. [Liu Bei] and [Sun Jian] give heroes from the same faction an ATK boost.

Formation guide: Put them behind Guardian heroes or in the same row, but avoid enemy cavalry, and keep them alive as long as possible to increase damage output and inflict negative effects.

C. [Light Cavalry] Increased Crit when attacking archers and support.

Traits: Light Cavalry heroes have high ATK and increased Crit when attacking archers and support. They have low DEF and focus on dealing damage and inflicting Stun and Pierce. Some heroes can also [Summon]. Their main role is dealing damage and attacking the enemy back row.

Examples: [Ma Chao] [Yan Liang] are pure damage dealers. [Gongsun Zan] inflicts Pierce. [Ma Yunlu] [Ma Dai] [Cao Chong] can [Summon]. [Guan Yu] is also a summoner, but has even stronger stats.

Formation guide: Place them where the enemy is exposed to hit them in the back. If the enemy has filled their role, target Infantry heroes with weak DEF (if you have heavy cavalry, put them behind the heavy cavalry to hit the enemy back row).

D. [Heavy Cavalry] deal damage equal to their ATK that ignores DEF on their first attack.

Traits: Heavy Cavalry have explosive damage output and the ability to break through the enemy front row. Their main role is dealing damage, with some heroes also having buff abilities. They can break through the enemy front row to hit them in the back.

Examples: [Lu Bu] is a powerful damage dealer, especially in combination with Diao Chan after Brutality has been activated. He can be the main attacker for the team. [Zhang Liao] gives a bonus to allies in the same row and column, which can mean the entire team if placed properly.

Formation guide: Put Heavy Cavalry heroes in the same column to increase their breakthrough effectiveness, especially against front rows with weak DEF. Victory is in sight once they get into the back row.

E. [Archers] deal more damage when they are further from the enemy.

Traits: Archer heroes have high ATK, which increases with distance. Their main ability is damage output. Some heroes deal extra damage to targets with Slow and Burn, and a few also have defensive and poison abilities. They are the main damage dealers of your team. 

Examples: [Huang Zhong] is a pure damage dealer who can also hit the enemy back row. Wu Archers like [Gan Ning] and [Sun Shangxiang] can deal extra damage to slowed or burning enemies. [Taishi Ci] is the only archer with resistance to cavalry, allowing him to be deployed in his own column. [Zhang He] is the only archer that poisons the enemy, whose ATK increases over time.

Formation guide: Put Archers in the back row to increase ATK, and protect them with front row units.

F. [Support] take less Spell DMG.

Traits: Support heroes take less Spell DMG and deal INT DMG. They can inflict Silence, reduce DEF, slow, poison, and cause other negative effects. They can also [Summon], heal allied heroes, or increase their ATK. Their main row is dealing damage, control and healing.

Examples: [Zhang Jue] is the mainstay of the Yellow Turban summoning team, with both summon and damage dealing ability. [Xu Shu] and [Chen Gong] inflict negative effects. [Cai Wenji] increases allied ATK, while [Da Qiao] and [Huang Yueying] can heal.

Formation guide: Put support heroes in the back row. Their skills are usually random, so there is no need to consider damage when placing them; just put them in a safe place.

We hope you enjoyed this formation guide!