Dynasty Warriors Next is split into several scenarios where all stages are chosen from a map of China.[3] The territories can be invaded in order to gain influence and gold for each owned region.[3] The earned gold can be spent on stratagems, which are special boosts represented by the officers of a player's faction.[4] They come with different bonuses: increasing attack and defense, boosting the aggression of the enemy's army, making the bases easier to seize, and others.[3] The army can be equipped with items and weapons that are found on the battlefield, like buffs, enhancements or horses.[5]
Once the battle starts, the map gets split between allied and enemy bases.[3] Each of them have a special purpose, and benefit the side which controls it. A supply will increase the power of all owned bases, and an armory can temporarily double the troops' attack.[3] The lairs can spawn animal reinforcements in bears, tigers or wolves, while the magical bases link themselves to other bases, making them invulnerable.[3] The bases can be captured by killing everything that is inside, until the counter drops to zero.[5] At any point, an unskippable one-on-one duel may initiate.[5] Similar to Infinity Blade, the player can block the attacks while tapping the flashing points to break their resistance, and finish them off.[4]