>>544074859
It is and isn't. it can help in the chapter/segment you're in and I just like taking bases (its exp and supplies and helps the overall morale. but ultimately it's pointless if you're being serious or rushing through the stories to unlock more stages/maps. it does have 2 minorly amusing factors in that if you are playing under zhang jiao or meng huo/zhu rong's forces and take a base it's their troops. So ive gone to the far corners and area's taking bases (including some odd ones placed connected to nothing in the woods and other spots) and now it has various YT or nanman around the map. which can factor in later in battle but again is ultimately more just show and a bit of morale and more troops moving around taking/attempting to take camps. (though I have seen troops/officers take camps/forts/castles/cities before but it's super rare). of note though is some camps/places you capture have merchants show up that offer slightly now common stuff and occasionally an officer or unit will offer a quest which helps morale and removes as unit and does a few things for the battle (adjusts some things I havent sorted out. so there is That and one of the perks of taking places and some of the units and officers it offers to fight also only show up in those missions which is interesting).
>>544079391
it truely is in many many ways and i'd say the games lost their soul after dw6 (which has an oddly tolerable but bad version on ps2) and I prefer dw2 - dw5xl/dw5E in regards to koei's 3 kingdoms games. but 9 lets me do a bunch of dumb things like run peasant missions all day, hunt and fish, explore, take on bandits and take camps and villages and buy and sell and merchant items and mmo hunt for resources in the wild for crafting and weapon upgrades. so I spend my time treating it more as an mmo 3 kingdoms world now that I have most of the stages unlocked and spend my time in the last chapter leveling everyone and getting high level items to goof off with in novice.