__________ | \ __ __ _ _ _______ _______ _______ __ __ | ___ \ \ \ / / | \ | | | ___ | | ___ | |__ __| \ \ / / | | \ | \ \_/ / | \ | | | | | | \ \ |_| | | \ \_/ / | | | | \ / | \ | | | |___| | \ \ | | \ / | | | | | | | |\ \| | |_____ | \ \ | | | | | | | | | | | | \ | / | | _ \ \ | | | | | |___/ | | | | | \ |/ | | | |__\ \ | | | | | / |_| |_| \_/ |_| |_______| |_| |_| |__________/ / /| | / / | | / / | |_ __ __ / /___| | | | | | _______ ____| | _ _______ _______ _____ | | | | | ___ | | __|________ _|| | | ___ | | ___ | | _ | | | __ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_| | | / \ | | | |___| | | |___| | | |_| | | | | | | | | |___| | \ \ | |/ \| | | ___ | | _ __| | _|___| | | | | | | | ___| \ \ | /\ | | | | | | | \ \ | | \ \ | | | | | | | |\ \ _ \ \ | / \ | | | | | | | \ \ | | \ \ | | | |___| | | | \ \ | |_\ | | / \ | |_| |_| |_| \_\ |_| \_\ |_| |_______| |_| \_\ |_____| |__/ \__| ASCII art by Sam Dornan O-----------------------------------O |Dynasty Warriors 4 FAQ/Walkthrough | |Version 2.01 | |June 12th, 2003 | |By Brian Nii (bnii@hawaii.edu) | O-----------------------------------O Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 2. VERSION HISTORY 3. CHANGES IN DYNASTY WARRIORS 4. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 5. CHARACTERS 6. 10TH WEAPONS 7. ITEMS 8. BODYGUARDS 9. STRATEGY 10. WALKTHROUGHS 11. MISCELLANEOUS 12. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS O----------------O |1. INTRODUCTION | O----------------O It's said that heroes appear in times of crisis. The time: end of the 2nd century; the place: China. To answer the call of the times, they have come. Its cries rendering the skies, the Phoenix soars. Shaking the ground beneath its feet, the Tiger roars. Piercing the clouds' veil, the Dragon rises to the heavens. Wherever they go, there rains fire and destruction. And so the age rages on: There is none who can stop it. - From the Dynasty Warriors 4 Instruction Manual The fourth installment of Koei's and Omega Force's widely popular Dynasty Warriors series, Dynasty Warrior 4 features the greatest heroes from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms saga raging across the land for control over China. Featuring enhanced graphics, a new soundtrack, a branching story system, and bigger and harder battles, Dynasty Warriors 4 is sure to please fans of the series. O-------------------O |2. VERSION HISTORY | O-------------------O Version 2.01 (6/12/03) - Added minor updates and reader submitted information. Version 2.0 (5/16/03) - Major update to the FAQ. The exact requirements for the 10th weapons and rare items have been released by KOEI in an article featured in the May 2003 issue of Tips & Tricks magazine. I've updated the 10th weapon and item sections with the requirements. Version 1.23 (5/12/03) - I knew it would eventually happen sooner or later, but someone has finally plagiarized one of my FAQs. This very one in fact. Not only did this individual plagiarize this FAQ, but he blatantly plagairized it by simplying removing my name and replacing it with his. Talk about pathetic. You can find out about this loser in the acknowledgement section. Sorry about ranting, but I just had to get this off my chest. Anyway, added a few more reader-submitted information and a section on character bodyguards in the bodyguard section. Version 1.22 (5/05/03) - Added a few more corrections for the 10th weapon requirements. Version 1.21 (5/01/03) - Updated more of the 10th weapon requirements and walkthroughs. Version 1.2 (4/28/03) - Updated the FAQ and walkthrough sections. Added a new section on bodyguards. Added a few strategy tips to the strategy section. Version 1.1 (4/24/03) - Updated the 10th weapon section and clarified some of the requirements with reader submissions. Updated more of the stage walkthroughs with reader submissions. Version 1.0 (4/20/03) - First completed version of this FAQ. All I need to do is to add some minor details for a few sections, but other than that the FAQ is pretty much complete. Future updates will be a bit spotty, as I have work deadlines coming up. Added corrections for various stages in the walkthroughs. Version 0.7 (4/18/03) - Added listings of bonuses you receive when completing certain Shu stages during an act before the final one. I'll probably add more later as I finish up the rest of the walkthroughs. Finished the Wu Musou Mode walkthrough. Just a few more stages to go. Updated the Shu walkthroughs with some additional information. Corrected the requirement for getting the Return of the Yellow Turbans stage in the Shu Musou Mode. It seems a lot of people had problems with unlocking that one. My apologies for the confusion. Version 0.6 (4/17/03) - Added in depth strategy for the Imperial Seal stage, since that seems to be a favorite for a lot of people. =) Updated the FAQ section. Finished Wei's Musou Mode walkthrough. Began Wu Musou Mode walkthrough. Added more events to the character event section. Version 0.5 (4/15/03) - I've finally figured out a fail-safe method for getting Liu Zhang to surrender in the Campaign for Cheng Du. Check out the Shu walkthrough on how to do it. Updated the FAQ section. Updated the character section with more fifth and sixth charge attacks. Updated the 10th weapon section with the weapon names. Finished the Shu Musou Mode walkthroughs. Started on Wei Musou Mode walkthrough. Updated the other Musou Mode walkthroughs with stages that are related to the Shu Musou Mode. Added a section on unique character events in the miscellaneous section. Version 0.4 (4/11/03) - Updated the FAQ section. Finished up the character section for the most part and added more comments for each character. All I need to add are the remaining fifth and sixth charge moves and duel quotes. Began the detailed version of the walkthroughs, starting with Acts I and II of the Shu, Wei, and Wu Musou Modes. Corrected requirements on how to unlock the Battle of Tian Shui. Version 0.3 (4/9/03) - Finally played through all the stages of the game. Now that I have all the English stage names I can, as Zhang Liao put it in DW3, "move on to the planning." Added a section on obtaining the various endings in the miscellaneous section. Updated character and walkthrough sections. Version 0.2 (4/6/03) - Updated just about every section of the FAQ. Updated the FAQ and character sections. Added comments and information to the item section, as well as the locations for all of the items. 10th Weapon section complete, but requirements for each weapon are still being finalized. Added more stages and corrections to the walkthrough section. The stage paths and secret stage requirements are finished for the Shu, Wei, Wu, Lu Bu, and Nanman Musou Modes. Added a correction to the Shu "Eliminate Zhang Jiao" stage. Version 0.1 (4/3/03): First version of this FAQ. Since I'm playing this game just like everyone else, it's going to take some time to get all the English names of each of the stages in the game. For the walkthroughs I'll briefly touch on some of the main highlights, then get into details in later versions. Please do not send me e-mails telling me I'm missing a lot of stuff, since I _am_ missing a lot of stuff. And do not send me any e-mails asking me how to get any of the 10th weapons as I have not gotten any of them as of yet. O---------------------------------O |3. CHANGES IN DYNASTY WARRIORS 4 | O---------------------------------O [CHARACTERS] - There are three new characters: Yue Ying (Shu), Cao Ren (Wei), and Zhou Tai (Wu). - Fu Xi and Nu Wa are not available in the game. - Up to six alternate colors can be unlocked for each character as they gain ranks. The last two are alternate costumes from Dynasty Warriors 4. - Increasing a character's Life, Musou, Attack, and Defense abilities are a bit easier. [OFFICER EDIT] - You can create up to four officers to use in the game. [BODYGUARD EDIT] - You can edit a group of bodyguards as in Dynasty Warriors 3 Xtreme Legends. [CONTROLS] - Characters can execute a Charge Attack in mid air. This attack will cause the character to crash into the ground causing an explosion, knocking down all enemies within range. - Characters can announce themselves by pressing the R3 (Right Analog Stick) down. This causes an aura to appear around the character. Any enemies within range will be stunned temporarily. - Characters can perform a counter move by pressing the Triangle button while blocking (L1 button). During the counter animation if an enemy attacks you will dodge the move and hit them with a counter attack, knocking them back. - The Charge Attack (Triangle button) is now a special attack unique to each character. - The third Charge Attack (Square button x2, Triangle button) is now a multi hit charge attack. - The push back move (Square while guarding) is no longer available. [MOUNTS] - Horses are much faster. Having a Harness Item will allow you to track your horse on the map. - You can ride any mount regardless of rank. - You can pick up items while mounted on a horse. - You can dismount off a horse while it is running. - Mounts no longer trample allies. - Elephants are available on any stage with the special Elephant Harness item. [WEAPONS] - Weapons are no longer found in battle. Instead weapons gain experience when you defeat generals or perform combos on them. When a weapon gains a certain level of experience it gains a level and increases in power. Every three levels the weapon changes appearance and adds one to your maximum combos. Level 1: Initial Weapon Level 2: 1000 Exp Level 3: 3000 Exp Level 4: 6000 Exp +1 Combo Level 5: 10000 Exp Level 6: 15000 Exp Level 7: 21000 Exp +1 Combo Level 8: 28000 Exp Level 9: 36000 Exp Level 10: Special [ITEMS] - Characters now have a separate slot for a Harness item. - A new Orb item allows Charge Attacks to have an elemental effect when the Musou gauge is at max. - The number of Item slots available to a character depends on their rank. This is usually four at MAX rank, but some characters have five, and a few even have six. - There is a new temporary power up (Speed Boots) that maximizes your movement speed for 30 seconds. - Arrows now only come in increments of 10. - The 200 and full life items are now a meat and chicken respectively. [BODYGUARDS] - Bodyguards can become much stronger than in previous games. You can control the growth of bodyguards by equipping different weapons as they gain levels. Sword: Concentrate on Life growth. Spear: Concentrate on Musou growth. Pike: Concentrate on Attack growth. Bow: Concentrate on Defense growth. Crossbow: Concentrate on Defense growth. - Bodyguards can be given commands by pressing the Select button to change the icon near your character's portrait. Shield Icon: Defend your character. Sword Icon: Aggressively attack nearby enemies. Hand Icon: Wait at their current position for further orders. [DUELS] - When you encounter an enemy general, they may challenge you to a duel. Accepting a duel will transport you from battle to an arena where you will fight the general one on one. Losing the duel will result in a game over, while winning a duel will instantly defeat that general in battle (as well as give you their Item). If neither officer is defeated, the duel is a draw and battle continues as normal. Refusing a duel will lower the morale of your army, as will fighting to a draw during the duel. Before a duel both officer's Life gauges are refilled to maximum. After the duel their Life returns to the pre duel totals. [RELATIONSHIPS] - During the game you can develop relationships between characters depending on your actions. If you assist officers that are struggling in battle, their affection towards your character will increase. If you defeat an officer frequently in battle, their affection towards your character will decrease. Their affection will also drop if you defeat officers that are close or related to them. For example, Liu Bei will usually help Guan Yu if he is in trouble due to them being oath brothers. However, Guan Yu will most likely challenge an officer that has defeated Zhang Fei to a duel since he is also his oath brother. Characters that have high affection towards your character will help you against enemies if you are nearby. Characters with low affection are more likely to challenge you to a duel if they encounter you. [STRATEGY] - Officer units have a strategy plan they follow during the battle. You can view the strategy of a unit using the Unit Info option in the menu. Some strategies are more effective against others. With morale being even, a unit that has a more effective strategy will have an edge in battle. Balanced: Strong against all strategies. Tactical: Strong against Offensive. Weak against Defensive. Offensive: Strong against Defensive. Weak against Tactical. Defensive: Strong against Tactical. Weak against Offensive. Normal: Weak against all strategies. - You can view the locations of sub generals under an officer in the Unit Info option. - Before a battle begins you can switch characters in the pre battle menu. You can only change your character, and that character must be from your kingdom. [STAGES] - Instead of having a Musou Mode for each character, there is a general Musou Mode for each kingdom (Shu, Wei, and Wu). Each Musou Mode consists of six acts with three stages each and one final battle. You only need to clear the final battle of each act to move to the next, but clearing all the stages before the final act often gives you advantages in the last stage for that act. - There are Musou Modes for all of the Free Mode characters as in Dynasty Warriors 3 Xtreme Legends. [ARCHERS] - Archers fire much more slowly than before. The speed of their arrows has also been decreased, allowing you to dodge them more easily. - There is a new "archer" enemy, Bombardiers. These enemies throw bombs that explode, damaging everyone within radius and knocking them into the air. These bombs are dangerous to friends and foes alike. [ENEMIES] - Gate Captains no longer drop Defense shields. They drop Meat Buns instead. - Enemy A.I. is more aggressive. Enemies around you will aggressively attack you (even privates) if they see an opening, especially if your back is turned to them. They will also chase you much further than before. - Enemy bodyguards are much weaker than before defensively, but they are much more aggressive. Primary enemy generals may have as many as 30 guards near them. - Morale plays a much bigger factor in determining how aggressive your allies/enemies are. High morale will encourage your allies to attack/advance more frequently, while low morale will encourage your enemies to attack/advance more frequently. O------------------------------O |4. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS | O------------------------------O +===========+ |CHARACTERS | +===========+ Q: How many characters are in the game? A: 42. Q: Are Fu Xi and Nu Wa in the game? A: No, but you can recreate officers with their weapons and moves them in the Officer Edit mode. Q: How do I unlock characters? A: Most of the characters in the game are unlocked by playing through Musou Mode. A few are unlocked by fulfilling certain requirements in the game. [SHU CHARACTERS] Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei: Initially available. Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong: Clear Shu - Act II. Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Yue Ying: Clear Shu - Act IV. Ma Chao: In the Battle of Cheng Du defeat Ma Chao when he arrives as reinforcements. Ma Chao will surrender in a cut scene. Finish the battle and Ma Chao will be unlocked. Jiang Wei: In the Battle of Tian Shui defeat all the generals outside of the fortresses. When Jiang Wei comes out of his fortress defeat both of his sub generals. When Zhuge Liang reaches Jiang Wei move near them. Jiang Wei will surrender in a cut scene. After the battle Jiang Wei will be unlocked. [WEI CHARACTERS] Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan: Initially available. Xu Huang, Dian Wei: Clear Wei - Act I. Xu Zhu: Clear Wei - Act II. Cao Ren, Zhen Ji: Clear Wei - Act III. Zhang Liao: Either defeat him at the Battle of Si Shui Gate (Shu - Act II) or clear the Battle of Xia Pi (Wei - Act III). Sima Yi: Clear Wei - Act IV. Zhang He: Clear 11 Wei stages in Musou Mode. [WU CHARACTERS] Sun Jian, Huang Gai, Sun Shang Xiang: Initially available. Lu Meng: Clear Wu - Act I. Sun Ce, Zhou Yu: Clear Wu - Act II. Sun Quan, Zhou Tai: Clear Wu - Act III. Lu Xun: Clear Wu - Act IV. Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao: Clear Wu - Tales: The Two Qiaos. Taishi Ci: In the Campaign for the Wu Territory, defeat Taishi Ci. Taishi Ci will withdraw after a cut scene. A few minutes later another cut scene will play showing Taishi Ci rejoining the battle. Gan Ning: In the Battle of Xia Kou, defeat Gan Ning. He will be unlocked when you clear Act IV. [OTHER CHARACTERS] Lu Bu: Clear any Musou Mode once. Diao Chan: Clear Act I in Lu Bu's Musou Mode. Dong Zhuo: Clear Lu Bu's Musou Mode. Yuan Shao: Clear Wei's Musou Mode. Zhang Jiao: Clear the Musou Modes for Shu, Wei, Wu, Lu Bu, Yuan Shao, and Nanman. Kyp Durron writes in to mention that he never cleared Wu's Musou mode and still unlocked Zhang Jiao. It may be that you have to clear a certain number of Musou Modes before he becomes unlocked. Meng Huo: In Musou Mode during The Nanman Campaign defeat Meng Huo in a duel. You may need to defeat him all seven times as well. Kyp Durron also mentions that he fought Meng Huo to a draw and still managed to unlock him. Zhu Rong: In Musou Mode during The Nanman Campaign defeat Zhu Rong in a duel. Note that this must happen after defeating Meng Huo in a duel and Zhu Rong announces her attack. +========+ |WEAPONS | +========+ Q: What is the maximum level of weapons? A: Normally the maximum level of weapons is 9. A weapon can gain an additional level under certain circumstances in Hard Difficulty (see 10TH WEAPONS sections for details). Q: Do 10th level weapons look different? A: Yes. Q: Do 10th level weapons have any special abilities? A: They allow you to use Orb elemental Charge attacks without having a full Musou gauge. Q: I tried doing the requirements for (name)'s level 10th weapon but it didn't work! A: The exact requirements for the 10th weapons are still unknown. Take them with a grain of salt. +======+ |ITEMS | +======+ Q: What is the maximum level of Items? A: Special Items have a maximum level of 20. Orbs have a maximum level of 4. Q: How can I increase the amount of Items I can equip? A: Increasing a character's rank increases the number of Special Items they can equip (with the exception of Harnesses and Orbs). Most characters gain the maximum number of Item slots at Max rank, which is usually four. Some characters can have five, and a few even have six. Refer to the Items section for more details. Q: Where can I find (Item) level (number)? A: The Items you obtain in each stage are completely random, as are the levels. In general you can obtain higher level Items by playing the more difficult stages at higher difficulty levels, but this isn't always the case. Increasing your Luck also seems to help. For the locations of Special Items refer to the ITEMS section. From my personal experience I've gotten level 15 Items and level 3 Orbs just by playing easy difficulty. Josh Lesmeister writes in to mention that he received a level 4 Vorpal Orb on easy difficulty, but he also had a level 12 Seven Star Sash equipped at the time so that might have had something to do with it. Q: What is the best place for Items/Orbs? A: There is no one best place for Item/Orbs because they all appear randomly. Q: How do I get the Red Hare Harness? A: This seems to be the most popularly requested item, so I'll go into a bit more detail here. You will need to play the BATTLE OF XIA PI using LU BU'S FORCES. Difficulty doesn't matter, but it's obviously easier to get with the difficulty set to easy. DO NOT KILL ANY ENEMY GENERALS OR SUB GENERALS UNITL GUAN YU MEETS UP WITH RED HARE. Killing normal enemies is okay and is encouraged, as this will improve morale and make it easier for Lu Bu to survive. Once Guan Yu meets up with Red Hare it would be a good idea to save your game. Defeat Guan Yu (who will be powered up) and the Harness should appear on the little island to the southeast of the map. Several people have written to me saying that the item won't appear if you defeat any generals after the Guan Yu event. While I haven't confirmed this, just to be safe you should avoid defeating any generals until you defeat Guan Yu. +===========+ |BODYGUARDS | +===========+ Due to popular demand I've created a new bodyguard section in the FAQ. Please refer to that section if you have any questions. +==============+ |MISCELLANEOUS | +==============+ Q: Does this game use any save data from Dynasty Warriors 3/Xtreme Legends? A: No. Q: How do I unlock the opening edit? A: Unlock all 42 characters. Q: How do I unlock the Nanman Musou Mode? A: Unlock either Meng Huo or Zhu Rong. Q: How to I unlock the Yellow Turban Musou Mode? A: Unlock Zhang Jiao. Q: How do I make the fire attack succeed at the Battle of Chi Bi? A: The success (or failure) of the fire attack at the Battle of Chi Bi determines which stages you will receive during Act V and the Final Act for the Shu, Wei, and Wu Musou Modes. For the fire attack at the Battle of Chi Bi to be successful: 1. You must ensure that Zhuge Liang survives long enough to make the wind blow. He is located at the altar area on the west side of the map. Clear out any enemies that are attacking him directly, then defeat all nearby enemy generals. This should ensure that he survives long enough to make the wind blow. 2. You must ensure that Huang Gai survives long enough to launch the fire attack. He will appear near the east side of the central bridge a short period of time after the wind blows. Clear the bridge area around him of enemies, and defeat any nearby generals. This should ensure that he survives long enough to launch the fire attack. Note that the success of Pang Tong's plot is not necessary for the fire attack to succeed, but it will significantly reduce the number of enemies on the stage when the fire attack occurs. For Pang Tong's plot to succeed you must meet with him in the northwest corner of the map and defeat Xu Shu (not Xu Zhu!) before he encounters Pang Tong. Xu Shu should be somewhere northeast of Pang Tong's position (he's a sub general under Cao Pi). For the fire attack at the Battle of Chi Bi to be unsuccessful: 1. Defeat Zhuge Liang. 2. If Zhuge Liang is successful in making the wind blow, you can still prevent the fire attack by waiting for the arrival of Huang Gai near the east of the central bridge. Defeat Huang Gai when he arrives and the fire attack will be prevented. While stopping Pang Tong's plot is not necessary to stop the fire attack you can still discover and foil his plot simply by meeting him in the northwest corner of the map. Note that if you are playing as Shu or Wu forces, you can clear the stage before the fire attack occurs and it will count as if the fire attack had failed for game purposes. Q: How do I get Liu Zhang to surrender? A: It's rather complicated. See the walkthrough for the Campaign for Cheng Du. Q: Where is the Imperial Seal? A: See the walkthrough for the Imperial Seal. Q: How do I unlock the Nanman Musou Mode? A: You will need to unlock either Meng Huo or Zhu Rong. Q: How do I unlock the Yellow Turban Musou Mode? A: You will need to clear all other Musou Modes (Shu, Wei, Wu, Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, and Nanman). Q: My controller keeps vibrating continuously! How do I stop this? A: Many people have complained about this bug in the game. I myself have never had this happen to me during play. If this happens to you the simplest solution is to unplug your controller and plug it back in. If this doesn't solve the problem you may have to turn the vibration off in the game's option menu. O--------------O |5. CHARACTERS | O--------------O * - Poor ** - Fair *** - Average **** - Good ***** - Excellent ****** - Outstanding +===============+ |SHU CHARACTERS | +===============+ [LIU BEI] "Know that I wield the blade of valor!" Attack: **** Defense: ***** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide range slash Charge 1: A dash forward followed by a dash slash. Charge 2: An upwards slash. Charge 3: A series of slashes. Charge 4: A powerful slash attack. Charge 5: An upward slash followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: A shockwave attack. Musou Attack: A series of slashes. Comments: Well balanced in attack and defense. A good character for beginners. [GUAN YU] "I shall smite you with my blade of honor!" Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Red Hare Harness, Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: A short hop forward while spinning his halberd in front of him. Charge 2: An upward sweep with his halberd. Charge 3: A series of halberd swipes. Charge 4: A powerful spinning slash. Charge 5: A powerful slash upwards, followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: A powerful radius attack. Musou Attack: A series of spinning slashes. Comments: A well-balanced character. Another good choice for beginning players. [ZHANG FEI] "Talk is cheap! Just bring it!" Attack: ***** Defense: *** Speed: ** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Speed Scroll Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A shoulder thrust. Charge 1: Grabs forward. If this connects with an enemy they will be flung with a powerful throw. Charge 2: An upward bash with the haft of his spear. Charge 3: A series of spear swings followed by a ground stomp. Charge 4: A spear jab. If it connects with an enemy they will be hit with a series of spear swings then knocked away. Charge 5: An upward swing followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Stomps the ground causing a shockwave. Musou Attack: A series of spear swings. Comments: Slow but powerful. His fourth Charge attack is particularly well suited for generals that love to block. [ZHAO YUN] "I accept your challenge!" Attack: **** Defense: ***** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: A quick forward dash with his spear. Charge 2: An upward bash with the haft of his spear. Charge 3: A series of spear swipes. Charge 4: A powerful spear swipe. Charge 5: An upward swipe with his spear haft followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Rapidly thrusts his spear (press Triangle repeatedly), then follows through with a spear swing. Musou Attack: A series of upward spinning spear swings. Comments: Another well-balanced character. I sense a theme here. [ZHUGE LIANG] "" Attack: *** Defense: ****** Speed: ***** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A downward swipe. Dash Attack: Linear fan throw in front. Charge 1: Shoots five fireballs. Charge 2: An upward fan toss. Charge 3: Creates an energy shield in front. Charge 4: A powerful whirlwind attack. Charge 5: An upward fan swing followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Fire a series of three energy beams. Musou Attack: A series of energy beams. Comments: As you might expect his fan has very little range and the damage is downright minimal. Expect to use his fourth Charge attack as his primary arsenal. His Musou attack has been greatly improved from DW3. The energy beams are much larger and longer and have a semi tracking ability. [PANG TONG] "" Attack: * Defense: ****** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A downward swing. Dash Attack: A dashing staff push. Charge 1: Shoots three fireballs. Charge 2: An upward staff throw. Charge 3: A flip attack followed by a staff swing. Charge 4: A jump in the air with his staff rotating around him. Charge 5: Charge 6: Musou Attack: A tornado attack. Comments: His normal attacks are very weak, but his Musou is quite powerful. A challenging character to use. [HUANG ZHONG] "" Attack: ***** Defense: *** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Huang's Bow, Fire Arrows Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A quick sword dash. Charge 1: Fires a volley of five arrows. These arrows will automatically track any target in range. Charge 2: An upwards slash. Charge 3: Fires a few arrows. Charge 4: A powerful overhead slash. Charge 5: An upward slash followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: Fires two energy waves. Musou Attack: A series of jumping slashes. Huang Zhong pauses a bit at the end. Comments: His first Charge Attack is quite useful and accurate. Use it frequently against distant enemies. He's no slouch in close range combat either. [WEI YAN] "" Attack: ***** Defense: **** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A series of spin slashes. Charge 1: A series of rolling slashes. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A series of spin slashes while break dancing on the ground. =) Charge 4: A powerful slash. Charge 5: An upward slash follwed by a downward slash. Charge 6: Spins his halberd around (press Triangle rapidly) then does a wide slash. Musou Attack: A series of sliding slashes. Comments: His attacks are great for close range fighting, as they tend to hit enemies all around him. [YUE YING] "I shall prove my might to you!" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: ***** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: Throws her battle staff out which strikes enemies in front and then arcs back up towards her. Can be controlled. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A series of slashes. Charge 4: A powerful spin slash. Charge 5: An upward slash followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: Spins around with her staff (press Triangle repeatedly). Musou Attack: Rotates in place while swinging her staff. Comments: Her long staff gives her excellent reach with her normal attacks. She has an incredibly abusable first Charge attack. [MA CHAO] "" Attack: ***** Defense: **** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Shadow Harness, Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward spear slash. Dash Attack: Spins his spear in front of him. Charge 1: Plants his spear in the ground and spins around it. Charge 2: An upward spear swing. Charge 3: A series of spear thrusts. Charge 4: A powerful spear thrust. Charge 5: An upward spear swing followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: A powerful shockwave attack. Musou Attack: A series of spear spins. Note: When mounted on a horse, Ma Chao can perform a radius attack by pressing Triangle. He can only attack enemies on the right side while mounted. Comments: His spear attacks can be tricky to use, but Ma Chao really shines when he's mounted on a horse. Ma Chao and a Shadow Harness makes a powerful combination, especially with his mounted charge attack. [JIANG WEI] "" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward spear thrust. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: Shoots three fireballs. Charge 2: An upward spear swing. Charge 3: A series of spear thrusts. Charge 4: A wide range spear swing. Charge 5: An upward spear swing, followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Fires an energy wave. Musou Attack: A series of spear swings. Comments: He plays similar to Ma Chao, except his attacks are much faster. You have to love his faux Chinese accent. +===============+ |WEI CHARACTERS | +===============+ [CAO CAO] "My ambition will not easily be crushed!" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: An elbow thrust. Charge 1: Cao Cao shoots a spread of five fireballs from his sword. Charge 2: An upward sword slash. Charge 3: A series of sword slashes. Charge 4: A powerful sword slash. Charge 5: An upward swing followed by two downward swings. Charge 6: A series of forward slashes. Musou Attack: A series of sword swings. Comments: A well-balanced character. Great for beginners. [XIAHOU DUN] "So you wish to die quickly!" Attack: **** Defense: ***** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A jumping vertical slash up. Charge 1: A long-range sword slash dash. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A slash followed by a jumping vertical slash upwards. Charge 4: A powerful spinning slash. Charge 5: A powerful slash upwards, followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: A powerful ground energy wave attack. Musou Attack: A series of upward slashes, followed by a wide slash. Comments: A well-balanced character. His attacks are great against enemy generals, but he tends to overshoot his target in a crowd. [XIAHOU YUAN] "Don't say. Do!" Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Huang's Bow, Fire Arrows Jump Attack: A downward swing. Dash Attack: A jumping knee bash. Charge 1: Xiahou Yuan fires five arrows at once. Can be aimed left or right. Charge 2: An upward swing. Charge 3: A series of club swings. Charge 4: A powerful overhead swing. Charge 5: An upward swing followed by a downward smash. Charge 6: A series of swings (press triangle repeatedly). Musou Attack: A series of jumping swings. Comments: He has a club instead of a sword now, but he still plays the same as before. His arrow Charge Attack is fun to use since it's the same as an arrow attack, except that it doesn't use any arrows. A solid character to use. [XU HUANG] "" Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward swing. Dash Attack: A charge with his axe haft followed by a swing. Charge 1: Grabs forward. If it connects with an enemy they will be smacked up with his axe. Charge 2: An upward swing. Charge 3: A series of axe slashes. Charge 4: A powerful axe swing. Charge 5: An upward swing followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Stomps the ground creating a shockwave. Musou Attack: A series of axe swings. Comments: His axe gives him good range for his attacks. Turban boy is another solid Wei character. [DIAN WEI] "Ha! Sure thing!" Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: * Recommended Items: Red Hare Harness, Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Speed Scroll Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A running head butt. Charge 1: Lunges forward with a grab. If he connects with an enemy, they will be thrown in the air and smashed away with a head butt. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A downward slash followed by a horizontal slash. Charge 4: Throws his axe in an arc in front of him like a boomerang. Charge 5: Clubs upward with his axe then swings downward. Charge 6: Fires a thin energy wave. Musou Attack: A series of axe swings, followed by a spinning slash. Comments: Very slow but powerful. Get him a Harness as soon as possible. On a side note, doesn't his voice sound like Jet Black from Cowboy Beebop? [XU ZHU] "So you wanna play?" Attack: ***** Defense: *** Speed: * Recommended Items: Red Hare Harness, Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Speed Scroll, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A downward swing. Dash Attack: A rolling attack. Charge 1: Lunges forward with a grab. If he connects with an enemy, they will be thrown in the air and knocked away like a baseball. Charge 2: A baseball swing. Charge 3: Two powerful overhead swings. Charge 4: A powerful swing. Charge 5: An upward swing followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Jumps forward a few times smashing the enemy with his body, then crashes down creating a shockwave. Musou Attack: Spins around with his club, falling down on the ground at the end. Comments: One of the slowest characters in the game. He moves slowly. He swings slowly. But he does astronomical damage with his attacks. His club has a very short range, but if it's a moot point once he manages to get in the middle of a crowd. If anyone would benefit from a Red Hare Harness it would be him. [CAO REN] "If I must..." Attack: ***** Defense: **** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward swing. Dash Attack: Charges forward with his shield, followed by a slash. Charge 1: Grabs forward. If it connects with an enemy they will be tossed into the ground. Charge 2: An upward swing. Charge 3: Shoots fireballs from his shield. Charge 4: A powerful double overhead swing. Charge 5: An upward swing, followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Charges forward with his shield. Musou Attack: A series of swings followed by a ground smash. Comments: He's a bit slow but powerful. He's also a midget. =) At first I thought he was just crouching down, but he really is that short. I guess it's one of those Omega Force quirks at work here. [ZHEN JI] "I shall play a requiem for you!" Attack: *** Defense: ****** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A spin kick. Dash Attack: A double aerial kick. Charge 1: Creates an energy ball that explodes after a few seconds. Charge 2: A vertical reverse thrust kick. Charge 3: A double slap. The bitch slap. =) Charge 4: A horizontal reverse thrust kick. Charge 5: A double kick followed by a downward strike. Charge 6: Blows on her flute, creating a shock wave. Musou Attack: Blows on her flute, creating shock waves around her. Comments: Her first Charge attack is a bit like Huang Gai's except that it won't affect you or your allies. Use it to soften up groups of enemies as they approach. She's a fun character to use. She has a pretty dress too. =) [ZHANG LIAO] "A duel? Very well..." Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: A dashing slash. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A series of slashes. Charge 4: A powerful spin slash. Charge 5: An upward slash followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: A tornado attack. Musou Attack: A series of slashes. Comments: His spear gives him good range on his attacks like Xu Huang. Another solid Wei character to use. [SIMA YI] "Challenge me? You fool!" Attack: *** Defense: ****** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Elixir, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A downward fan toss. Dash Attack: Flies forward with his fan. Charge 1: Shoots five fireballs. Charge 2: An upward fan toss. Charge 3: Fires an energy beam. Charge 4: Creates a large energy field in front of him. Charge 5: Throws his fan upwards, then tosses his fan downwards. Charge 6: Fires several enery beams. Musou Attack: Fires a stream of energy beams. Comments: Like Zhuge Liang, his fan has very little range and does little damage. Unlike Zhuge Liang, he stays put while doing his Musou attack. Speaking of Musous, Sima Yi's is downright crazy. He fires streams of energy beams that do crazy damage and home in on enemies. It's not too good in crowds, but it works miracles on groups of approaching enemies and annihilates small armies. Use it and abuse it. [ZHANG HE] "Let us proceed gracefully!" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: ****** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A double slash. Dash Attack: A sliding kick. Charge 1: Does a back flip, followed by a forward flip slash. Press Triangle repeatedly for two more. Charge 2: An upward kick. Charge 3: A series of slashes. Charge 4: A torpedo spin attack. Charge 5: Kicks the enemy into the air then repeatedly slashes them. Charge 6: Dashes back and forth slashing in front of him. Musou Attack: A series dash attacks. Comments: A great close range fighter with the speed to engage enemies quickly. He's not as "fruity" as before, but does have a suave British accent. And his event at Jie Ting is downright hilarious. +==============+ |WU CHARACTERS | +==============+ [SUN JIAN] "" Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: A double spin slash forward. Charge 2: A jumping upward slash. Charge 3: A series of sword slashes. Charge 4: A powerful reverse sword thrust. Charge 5: Charge 6: Musou Attack: A series of sword slashes with a dashing slash at the end. Comments: A well-balanced character. [HUANG GAI] "" Attack: ***** Defense: **** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward swing. Dash Attack: A shoulder thrust. Charge 1: Sets a bomb on the ground. It explodes after a few seconds, damaging everyone in the vicinity (allies and enemies alike) and knocking them into the air. Press Triangle repeatedly to throw the bomb. You can set multiple bombs. Charge 2: An upward swing. Charge 3: A series of kicks, followed by a grab. If the grab connects with an enemy, they will be knocked away with a powerful swing. Charge 4: A powerful downward swing. Charge 5: An upward swing followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Stomps the ground causing an earthquake. Musou Attack: A series of swings. Comments: Playing with explosives can be fun, but it can be dangerous as well. Use with caution. [SUN SHANG XIANG] "Fine! Don't think you'll win!" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: ***** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A forward dash. If it connects the enemy is dizzied. Charge 1: A series of cartwheel kicks. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A slash followed by a chakram toss. Charge 4: A powerful chakram toss. Charge 5: An upwards slash, followed by a downwards chakram toss. Charge 6: A series of chakram tosses (press Triangle repeatedly). Musou Attack: A series of chakram slashes, followed by a chakram toss. Comments: Her chakrams have short reach, but she's fast and has a high defense to compensate somewhat. Make judicious use of her 4th and 6th Charge attacks. [LU MENG] "" Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward swing. Dash Attack: A wide thrust with his pike haft. Charge 1: Fires three fireballs. Charge 2: An upward swing with his haft. Charge 3: A series of spear swings. Charge 4: A powerful swing with his haft. Charge 5: Charge 6: Musou Attack: A series of spear swings. Comments: With the exception of his first Charge attack he plays similar to Zhang Liao. [SUN CE] "" Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: ***** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A spin kick. Dash Attack: A spin kick followed by a forward kick. Charge 1: Grabs forward. If it connects with an enemy they will be smacked into the ground. Charge 2: A flip kick. Charge 3: A series of tonfa swings. Charge 4: A powerful spinning attack. Charge 5: Charge 6: Musou Attack: A series of tonfa swings, followed by an upward spin attack. Comments: He seems to be much better than he was in DW3. His attacks have more range and do more damage now. I just hate it when he refers to Sun Jian as "Pop". [ZHOU YU] "Actions speak louder than words..." Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: ***** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A series of slashes. Charge 1: Shoots three fireballs from his sword. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A series of fancy slashes. Charge 4: A series of aerial slashes (press Triangle repeatedly). Charge 5: An upward slash followed by several spinning slashes (press Triangle repeatedly). Charge 6: A wide energy wave attack. Musou Attack: A series of upward slashes. Comments: He doesn't have the same reach with his sword as he did in the previous games. Still a good character to use though if you're fond of Wu. His new voice isn't as annoying either. =) [SUN QUAN] "" Attack: **** Defense: ***** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward swing. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: Grabs forward. If it connects with an enemy they will be punched then slashed away. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A series of slashes. Charge 4: A powerful double slash. Charge 5: An upward swing followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Fires an energy wave. Musou Attack: A series of slashes. Comments: A well-balanced character. You have to love the hat. [ZHOU TAI] "Undisciplined..." Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: Jabs with his sheathed sword. If it connects with an enemy they will be slashed away. Charge 2: An upward thrust with his sheathed sword. Charge 3: A series of slashes. Charge 4: A powerful spin slash. Charge 5: Kicks the enemy into the air, followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: A powerful stab. Musou Attack: A series of stationary slashes, followed by a wide range slash. Note: While mounted Zhou Tai will only attack enemies on his right side. Comments: His attacks are lightning fast and have excellent range. His Musou is great for both generals and large crowds. I don't recall reading about him using Iaijutsu attacks in the novel though... [LU XUN] "Whenever you are ready!" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: ****** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A double slash. Dash Attack: A double slash. Charge 1: Fires five fireballs from his sword. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A rolling slash followed by a double slash. Charge 4: A somersault kick followed by a double slash. Charge 5: Charge 6: Musou Attack: A series of slashes. Comments: His short swords have a much shorter range than in previous games. Get him a Wind Scroll ASAP. [DA QIAO] "" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: ***** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A glide attack. Dash Attack: Dashes with both fans in front. Charge 1: Fires three fireballs. Charge 2: An upward fan strike. Charge 3: A series of fan swipes followed by a spin attack. Charge 4: A glide attack. Charge 5: An upward fan strike followed by a double fan strike. Charge 6: Musou Attack: Throws her fans in front of her, which rotate in place following her direction, then spin around her. Comments: Cute, but she needs a lot of work to become an effective fighter. [XIAO QIAO] "" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A spinning attack. Dash Attack: Leaps forward and crashes into the ground. Charge 1: Waves her fans repeatedly in front of her. Charge 2: An upward fan swing. Charge 3: A series of fan swings followed by a double fan toss around her. Charge 4: Throws her fans out in front and in back of her. Charge 5: Charge 6: Musou Attack: Spins forward in a buzz saw motion, then tosses her fans around her. Comments: Still cute as ever. Now she looks like a 14-year-old instead of a ten-year-old. Her Charge attacks aren't that bad surprisingly. [TAISHI CI] "" Attack: ***** Defense: **** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A double swing. Dash Attack: A forward thrust. Charge 1: Jabs forward with his club. If it connects with an enemy they will be repeatedly bashed. Charge 2: An upward swing. Charge 3: A series of swings. Charge 4: A powerful double thrust. Charge 5: Charge 6: Musou Attack: A series of forward jabs. Comments: His normal attacks are much less linear than in previous games. [GAN NING] "" Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: ***** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Dragon Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A jumping knee bash. Charge 1: Jabs his sword forward. If it connects with an enemy they will be kicked away. Charge 2: An upward slash. Charge 3: A series of vertical slashes. Charge 4: A powerful spin slash. Charge 5: An upward slash followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: A powerful tornado attack. Musou Attack: A lightning quick dash forward with his sword. Comments: His Musou attack is even faster than it was in DW3. +=================+ |OTHER CHARACTERS | +=================+ [LU BU] "Just keep barking!" Attack: ****** Defense: **** Speed: ****** Recommended Items: Red Hare Harness, Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A jumping spin slash. Charge 1: A short jab with his halberd. If it connects Lu Bu will impale the enemy and repeatedly strike them, smashing the enemy away at the end. Charge 2: An upward bash with the haft of his halberd. Charge 3: A series of halberd swings, followed by a powerful stomp. Charge 4: A powerful dash slash. Charge 5: A football kick followed by a downward smash. Charge 6: A series of slashes followed by a ground stomp (press Triangle repeatedly). Musou Attack: A series of jumping spinning slashes, followed by an overhead smash. Comments: Arguably the most powerful character in the game. [DIAO CHAN] "Very well...I accept." Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: ***** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A downward strike. Dash Attack: A cartwheel kick. Charge 1: A sliding kick. Charge 2: An upward swing. Charge 3: A series of swings. Charge 4: A double swing followed by a spin kick. Charge 5: An upward swing followed by a series of swings (press Triangle repeatedly). Charge 6: Fires two wide energy waves simulaneously. Musou Attack: A series of leaping kicks. Comments: Short range and low power make her suited for intermediate players. [DONG ZHUO] "You scum!" Attack: ***** Defense: *** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: Grabs forward. If it connects with an enemy they will be lifted and smacked away. Charge 2: A jumping upward slash. Charge 3: A series of sword slashes. Charge 4: A powerful reverse sword thrust. Charge 5: An upward slash followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: A narrow energy wave attack. Musou Attack: A series of slashes followed by a body crash. Comments: He has a cool looking sword. =) [YUAN SHAO] "I will show you your place!" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: *** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide range slash. Charge 1: A sliding attack. Charge 2: A jumping upward slash. Charge 3: A series of slashes. Charge 4: A powerful overhead slash. Charge 5: An upward slash followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: A powerful radius attack. Musou Attack: A series of slashes. Comments: His hat isn't as pointy now, but other than that it's the same old Yuan Shao we all know and love. His first Charge attack is pretty unusual though. [ZHANG JIAO] "The Heavens cannot be touched by mere mortals!" Attack: *** Defense: ***** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet Jump Attack: A staff throw. Dash Attack: A charging staff dash. Charge 1: Throws his staff forward. If it connects with an enemy they will be levitated and blown away. Charge 2: A reverse staff strike. Charge 3: Creates a barrier in front of him, followed by a stunning ground wave. Charge 4: Sprays fire from his staff in an arc. Charge 5: A two handed swing followed by a downward swing. Charge 6: Shoots fireballs from his staff (press Triangle repeatedly). Musou Attack: Shoots fireballs from his staff, followed by a fire spray. Comments: His special attacks are as amusing to watch as they are dangerous. His fire spray does crazy damage since it counts as a rapid hit attack (like Nu Wa's Musou in DW3). [MENG HUO] "So, you wanna get stomped on?" Attack: ****** Defense: *** Speed: * Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Speed Scroll, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A body press. Dash Attack: A body press. Charge 1: Gets on all fours and quickly dashes through the enemy. Charge 2: A powerful upward swing. Charge 3: A double lariat. Charge 4: A flying body press. Charge 5: Grabs the enemy, then peforms two spinning headbutts followed by a double overhead smash (press Triangle repeatedly). Charge 6: Musou Attack: Smashes the ground repeatedly. Comments: Incredibly strong, but also incredibly slow. The slowest character in the game in fact. If you don't have a Harness and a high level speed scroll, most of the time you'll spend in battle will be just getting to the next enemy. His first Charge attack can catch people off guard since it's incredibly fast. [ZHU RONG] "You've got some nerve!" Attack: **** Defense: **** Speed: **** Recommended Items: Tiger Amulet, Tortoise Amulet, Wind Scroll Jump Attack: A downward slash. Dash Attack: A wide slash. Charge 1: A series of ground spinning kicks. Charge 2: An upward boomerang toss. Charge 3: A linear boomerang toss. Charge 4: A circular boomerang toss. Charge 5: An upward slash followed by a downward slash. Charge 6: A large burst of wind. Musou Attack: A series of dart throws. Comments: She has an extremely short range with her normal attacks, but her Charge attacks have a much longer reach to compensate. O----------------O |6. 10TH WEAPONS | O----------------O In order to obtain a 10th weapon for a character you must already have their 9th weapon and the difficulty must be set on Hard. You can have a second character assist you in obtaining the weapon, as long as one of the characters is the one you're trying to obtain the weapon for. In the May 2003 issue of Tips & Tricks magazine, there is a Dynasty Warriors 4 article by Pat Reynolds with 10th weapon and item requirements straight from KOEI. I've adjusted the requirements in the corresponding sections with information from that article. +===============+ |SHU CHARACTERS | +===============+ [Liu Bei] Weapon: Gold Moon Dragon Power: +52 Stage: Battle of Ru Nan Requirements: Defeat Xiahou Yuan within the first 3 minutes of the stage. Join with Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu in that order. Defeat all of Cao Cao's other officers before reinforcements arrive. Tip: Li Dan must be defeated after meeting Zhao Yun. Xiahou Yuan must be defeated before Guan Yu appears. The other generals can be defeated in any order. [Guan Yu] Weapon: Blue Moon Dragon Power: +57 Stage: Battle of Fan Castle Requirements: Do not defeat Lu Meng, Lu Xun, or Zhou Tai until Guan Yu says "Curses! We've been surrounded!" All Shu officers that can defect must defect. [Zhang Fei] Weapon: Viper Blade Power: +58 Stage: Battle of Chang Ban Requirements: Defeat Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou En, and Xiahou De. Go to the Chang Ban Bridge to trigger the Zhang Fei yell event, then rescue Liu Chan by getting him while mounted on a horse. [Zhao Yun] Weapon: Fierce Dragon Power: +55 Stage: Battle of Bo Wan Po Requirements: Lead Xiahou Dun to the ambush location on the middle path indicated (fire attack), then defeat him. Lure Han Hao to the ambush location on the top path indicated (Guan Ping ambush), and then defeat him. Lead Yu Jin to the ambush location on the upper bridge indicated (Guan Yu ambush), and then defeat him. Zhang Fei should raid the supply depot in an event. When Zhuge Liang meets Cao Cao a cut scene should occur. Tip: If Zhuge Liang does not enter the castle you can use a horse to push him inside by moving sideways. Alternately, you can lead Cao Cao to Zhuge Liang. [Zhuge Liang] Weapon: Peacock Feather Power: +50 Stage: Battle of Wu Zhang Plains (Musou Mode only) Requirements: Select Battle of Jie Ting first, then Battle of Wu Zhang Plains. Go to Zhang He and an event should occur. Defeat Zhang He and approach the Wei fortress until the taunt event occurs. When the supply troop appears defeat Xiahou Dun. The supply troop should reach the Shu camp. Tip: If the Battle of Jie Ting is not selected first, there will be no supply troop at Wu Zhang Plains. [Pang Tong] Weapon: Tornado Staff Power: +51 Stage: Battle of Luo Castle Requirements: Defeat all generals east of the castle. When Zhang Ren attacks refuse his duel and lead him across the bridge south of the castle and fight him until the bridge event. When the bridge is destroyed defeat Zhang Ren. [Huang Zhong] Weapon: Oracle Sword Power: +54 Stage: Battle of Jian Ye Requirements: Defeat Sun Ce, Sun Quan, and Sun Shang Xiang at least once before they become commanding officers. [Wei Yan] Weapon: Comet Strike Power: +57 Stage: The Campaign for Jing Requirements: Defeat Han Xuan before the enemy reinforcements appear. [Yue Ying] Weapon: Oblivion Power: +53 Stage: The Nanman Campaign Requirements: Defeat Zhu Rong in a duel. Trigger the fire attack against Wu Tugu. Ahui Nan and Dong Tu Ne must defect. Meng Huo must be defeated seven times. Tip: Zhuge Liang will be in danger throughout the stage. Leaving your elite bodyguards near him (using the wait command) will improve his chances for survival. Increasing his morale by defeating enemies will also help. Having Ahui Nan and Dong Tu Ne defect may be another requirement for this weapon. [Ma Chao] Weapon: Stallion Fury Power: +57 Stage: Campaign for Cheng Du (Musou Mode only) Requirements: Defeat Pang De and Ma Dai. Ma Dai must be defeated only when he attacks the main camp. [Jiang Wei] Weapon: Blink Power: +55 Stage: Battle of Tian Shui (Musou Mode only) Note: This one wasn't it the Tips & Tricks article so it's still not confirmed. Requirements: Defeat Cao Ren and Wang Lang in the north castle. Defeat the remaining generals outside, then defeat Yin Shang and Liang Xu in the east castle. Tip: Enter all four gates of the two castles from the outside. You will need to trigger all the ambushes. Leave your bodyguards with Zhuge Liang to increase his odds of survival. +===============+ |WEI CHARACTERS | +===============+ [Cao Cao] Weapon: Wrath of Heaven Power: +56 Stage: Battle of Chi Bi (Musou Mode only?) Requirements: Defeat Zhuge Liang to trigger Huang Gai's approach. Defeat Gan Ning and Lu Meng before Huang Gai arrives. Then defeat Huang Gai before he starts the fire attack. Note: Joseph Clark writes in to mention that it seems that foiling Pang Tong's plot seems to be a requirement as well. [Xiahou Dun] Weapon: Kirin Fang Power: +56 Stage: Battle of Xia Pi Requirements: Defeat Diao Chan after the Xiahou Dun arrow event. [Xiahou Yuan] Weapon: Enforcer Rod Power: +55 Stage: Battle of Mt. Ding Jun Requirements: Defeat Chen Shi during the hostage exchange before he returns to the Shu camp. Defeat Huang Zhong before Cao Cao arrives. [Xu Huang] Weapon: Marauder Power: +57 Stage: Battle of Guan Du Requirements: Allow Yuan Shao's forces to knock down the walls of Guan Du castle with the rams. The Wu Chao supply compound must be burned. [Dian Wei] Weapon: Mad Bull Power: +58 Stage: Battle of Wan Castle Requirements: Rescue Cao Cao before he takes any damage. [Xu Zhu] Weapon: Stone Crusher Power: +59 Stage: Battle of Tong Gate Requirements: Defeat Pang De and Ma Dai, then defeat both of Han Sui's officers to make him defect. Tips: Han Sui will defect if his morale is low. Defeat the four enemy generals in the southeast area, defeat Pang De then Ma Dai, defeat Chen Yi, then defeat Han Sui's sub generals. [Cao Ren] Weapon: Roc Power: +56 Stage: The Siege of Fan Castle Requirements: Defeat all four siege vehicles around the castle before Lu Meng arrives. When Lu Meng appears defeat him. Tips: Jeffrey Cogar writes in to mention that you cannot defeat more than two officers near the castle or Lu Meng will appear and the "All siege weapons destroyed" message will not appear. [Zhen Ji] Weapon: Dark Moon Flute Power: +51 Stage: Battle of Chang Ban Requirements: Defeat Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang. Defeat both Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei in a duel. [Zhang Liao] Weapon: Gold Wyvern Power: +56 Stage: Battle of Hu Lao Gate (Lu Bu's forces) (Musou Mode only) Requirements: Select first the Battle of Si Shui Gate. Defeat Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian. At the Battle of Hu Lao Gate do not kill any generals until after the fire attack event. Head towards Liu Bei, Cao Cao, or Sun Jian. After the fire attack event defeat Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian in any order. [Sima Yi] Weapon: Dark Feather Power: +50 Stage: Battle of Wu Zhang Plains Requirements: Defeat Ma Chao and Wei Yan. [Zhang He] Weapon: Phoenix Talon Power: +52 Stage: Battle of Jie Ting Requirements: Surround Ma Su by defeating all his sub generals. Defeat all enemy generals and sub generals. +==============+ |WU CHARACTERS | +==============+ [Sun Jian] Weapon: Savage Tiger Power: +54 Stage: The Imperial Seal Requirements: Do not destroy more than 50 crates until Lu Bu appears. Defeat Lu Bu. [Huang Gai] Weapon: Dark Shadow Power: +56 Stage: Battle of Chi Bi Requirements: Eliminate all gate captains before the fire attack, then defeat Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and Cao Pi. [Sun Shang Xiang] Weapon: Sol Chakram Power: +51 Stage: Race for the Nan Territory Requirements: After the Zhou Yu arrow event defeat Cao Ren. [Lu Meng] Weapon: White Tiger Power: +54 Stage: Battle of Mai Castle Requirements: Without letting Guan Yu retreat and escape, defeat all generals and sub generals, including ambush and reinforcement generals. [Sun Ce] Weapon: Overlord Power: +54 Stage: Unification of Jiang Dong Requirements: Wait for the north food supply depot to fall and Zhou Yu to retreat (around 10 minutes). Defeat Liang Gang and his sub generals. Liu Xun will retreat. Follow him and when Liu Xun meets Ji Ling he will swear revenge. Liu Xun will move back towards the supply depot. Enter the depot before Liu Xun and defeat the supply Guard Captain before he enters. [Zhou Yu] Weapon: Ancients Sword Power: +54 Stage: The Siege of Fan Castle Requirements: About 10 minutes into the battle a supply team will appear in the northeast and move to the castle's east entrance. Defeat the supply team before it reaches the entrance. [Sun Quan] Weapon: Master Wolf Power: +53 Stage: Battle of He Fei Requirements: Defeat Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan, the defeat Zhang Liao when he reappears. [Zhou Tai] Weapon: Dusk Power: +55 Stage: The Nanman Campaign Requirements: Defeat Wu Tugu before the fire event, then enter the Nanman base before the Nanman climate affects Shu morale. [Lu Xun] Weapon: Falcon Power: +52 Stage: Battle of Yi Ling Requirements: Keep Zhu Ran alive until the fire attack is successful. Enter and pass through the stone maze in under 3 minutes. [Da Qiao] Weapon: Qiao Beauty Power: +50 Stage: Battle of Xu Chang Requirements: Defeat Dian Wei and his two officers Deng Ai and Hu Zhi. [Xiao Qiao] Weapon: Qiao Grace Power: +50 Stage: Battle of Cheng Du (Musou Mode only?) Requirements: Before Ma Chao appears as reinforcements, defeat Guan Ping and Guan Yu (both will be ambush parties in the forest). Note: Nick Lau writes in to confirm that you can get this weapon in Free Mode. [Taishi Ci] Weapon: Tiger Slayer Power: +56 Stage: Campaign for the Wu Territory Requirements: When Yu Mi retreats catch up to him and defeat him before the fort gate closes behind him (a horse harness is required for this). Defeat Yu Mi and Zhang Ying before they retreat. [Gan Ning] Weapon: Sea Master Power: +56 Stage: Battle of Xia Kou Requirements: Before the ship moves defeat Su Fei and Gan Ning (or Chen Shen if he appears). Ling Cao and Ling Tong must survive. +=================+ |OTHER CHARACTERS | +=================+ [Lu Bu] Weapon: Sky Scorcher Power: +60 Stage: Lu Bu's Revolt Requirements: Clear the entire stage of enemies, including generals and sub generals, as well as ambush troops. [Diao Chan] Weapon: Diva Power: +51 Stage: Battle of Si Shui Gate Requirements: Do not defeat any enemy generals until the enemy messenger delivers the message and Hua Xiong is defeated. Then defeat at least two of the three following officers: Liu Bei, Sun Jian, and Cao Cao. [Dong Zhuo] Weapon: Horror Power: +57 Stage: Lu Bu's Revolt Requirements: Defeat all enemy officers except for Lu Bu. [Yuan Shao] Weapon: Sword of Kings Power: +53 Stage: Battle of Guan Du Note: This weapon does not appear in the Tips & Tricks article. Requirements: Head for the southern castle (Guan Du Castle). When the battering ram appears protect it until the castle wall falls. [Zhang Jiao] Weapon: Volcano Staff Power: +52 Stage: The Yellow Turban Rebellion Note: This weapon does not appear in the Tips & Tricks article. Requirements: Defeat all generals and sub generals, saving He Jin for last. When Dong Zhuo's troops appear defeat Hua Xiong. Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang must be alive. [Meng Huo] Weapon: King of Beasts Power: +58 Stage: Battle of Cheng Du Requirements: Defeat Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, Yue Ying, Jiang Wei, Ma Chao, and Guan Yu. [Zhu Rong] Weapon: Inferno Power: +53 Stage: Battle of Xu Chang Requirements: The siege ramp must survive. Defeat Cao Zhong, Cao Hong, Man Chong, and Xiahou Dun. +=============+ |EDIT OFFICER | +=============+ [Sword] Weapon: Phoenix Tail Power: +54 Stage: The Yellow Turban Fortress Requirements: In under 6 minutes defeat Cheng Yuanzhi, He Yi and either Pei Yuan Shao or Bo Zhang and Zhou Cang. [Spear] Weapon: Typhoon Power: +55 Stage: Battle of Si Shui Gate Requirements: Defeat Fan Chou to take over the supply depot. Then defeat Zhang Liao and Hua Xiong. [Pike] Weapon: Eclipse Power: +56 Stage: Battle of Hu Lao Gate Requirements: Defeat Lu Bu. [Rapier] Weapon: Nu Wa's Rapier Power: +52 Stage: The Yellow Turban Menace Requirements: Defeat the ambush generals He Yi and Yan Zheng when they appear. [Great Sword] Weapon: Fu Xi's Sword Power: +57 Stage: The Yellow Turban Rebellion Requirements: Defeat all enemy generals. O---------O |7. ITEMS | O---------O Thanks again to Muni Shinobu's Item FAQ for providing the locations of the special items. +===============+ |Recovery Items | +===============+ Meat Bun: Life +50 Mean Bun x 2: Life +100 Meat: Life +200 Whole Chicken: Full Life recovery Wine: Full Musou recovery Ointment: Full Life and Musou recovery Quiver: Arrows +10 +===========================+ |Temporary Ability Boosters | +===========================+ War God's Axe: Attack x2 (30 seconds) War God's Armor: Defense x2 (30 seconds) Speed Boots: Max movement speed (30 seconds) Imperial Seal: Unlimited Musou gauge (10 seconds) Liu Chan: Unlimited Musou gauge (60 seconds) +================+ |Attack Boosters | +================+ Bronze Sword: Attack +1 Iron Sword: Attack +2 Silver Sword: Attack +4 Gold Sword: Attack +8 +=================+ |Defense Boosters | +=================+ Footsoldier's Shield: Defense +1 Nobleman's Shield: Defense +2 General's Shield: Defense +4 Emperor's Shield: Defense +8 +====================+ |Miscellaneous Items | +====================+ Dim Sum: Life Max +10 Musou Wine: Musou Max +10 Treasure Box: Contains an equippable Item. +=================+ |Equippable Items | +=================+ Characters can equip only one harness and orb at a time. The maximum number of special Items that can be equipped depends on the character and their rank. At Max rank the maximum number of Item slots for each character is the following: Six Items: (Shu) Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong (Wei) Sima Yi Five Items: (Shu) Liu Bei, Zhao Yun, Jiang Wei, Yue Ying (Wei) Cao Cao, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Zhen Ji (Wu) Sun Jian, Sun Ce, Sun Shang Xiang, Zhou Yu, Lu Xun, Lu Meng, Da Qiao, Xiao Qiao (Other) Diao Chan, Yuan Shao, Zhu Rong, Zhang Jiao All other characters have a maximum of four Item slots. [Harnesses] * - Poor ** - Fair *** - Good **** - Excellent Harnesses allow you to begin a stage mounted on a special horse. The position of your horse is indicated on the large battle and pause menu map by an icon. Red Hare Saddle (****) Effect: Begin the battle mounted on Red Hare. The fastest horse in the game. Stage Found: Battle of Xia Pi (Lu Bu's forces) Requirements: Do not defeat any enemy generals until the cut scene where Guan Yu meets Red Hare. Defeat Guan Yu for the item to appear. Be sure not to defeat any other generals or sub generals until Guan Yu is defeated, as this may prevent the item from appearing. Comments: Since having a Harness does not take up an item slot, there's no excuse why you shouldn't bring Red Hare along for the ride. The fastest horse in the game is also the best horse in the game. Hex Mark Saddle (**) Effect: Begin the battle mounted on Hex Mark. Luck increases. Comments: Not a bad horse, but Red Hare is so much better. Stage Found: Campaign against Liu Bei (Yellow Turban forces - Musou Mode only) Requirements: In Act I, select The Yellow Turban Fortress first. Then select the Campaign against Liu Bei. Defeat Zhao Yun and Guan Yu before the reinforcements arrive (about 2 minutes from the start). Get Liu Bei's life to about 50% for the item to appear. Storm Saddle (**) Effect: Begin the battle mounted on Storm Runner. Mounted Attack increases. Comments: Ma Chao + Horned Helm + Storm Runner = Good Stuff. Stage Found: Campaign against Cao Cao (Lu Bu's forces) Requirements: See through either Xu Huang's or Yue Jin's ambushes. To see through Xu Huang's ambush approach the east circular path from the south. To see through Yue Jin's ambushes approach the west fort from the south. When Xiahou Dun appears as reinforcements defeat him for the item to appear. Shadow Saddle (***/**** with Ma Chao) Effect: Begin the battle mounted on Shadow Runner. Cannot be dismounted by attacks. Stage Found: Battle of Tong Gate Requirements: Defeat the four enemy generals in the southeast area. After the cut scene with Han Sui and Cao Cao and the Ice Fortress appears, defeat Yu Jin and Xu Huang. Defeat Cao Cao's sub generals and defeat enemies until his morale drops to one star. After the cut scene where the horses are discovered and the message that Han Sui refuses to defect appears, you will need to head to the northeast area on a horse for the item to appear. Comments: A good horse to use for any character. Godly if you're using Ma Chao and his charge attack. Kurnia Yusuf writes in to mention that equipping this Harness prevents you from being knocked off of _any_ horse. This works for elephants as well. Elephant Saddle (*) Effect: Begin the stage mounted on an elephant. Stage Found: The Nanman Campaign (Nanman forces) Requirements: While riding an elephant enter the enemy base. King Mulu must survive. Tip: Huang Gai's bomb attack can knock allies of their mounts. Comments: I guess riding an elephant around in some levels might be fun, but you'll probably want to ride something a bit faster. [Orbs] (Max level 4) * - Poor ** - Fair *** - Good **** - Excellent Orbs add a special effect to Charge Attacks if the Musou gauge is at maximum. The power and frequency of the effect increases as the Orb's level increases. Fire Orb (**): Adds fire damage to attack. Enemies receive damage while they are on fire. Comments: Fire damage increases as Orb level increases. Ice Orb (***): Temporarily freezes enemies, immobilizing them and reducing their defense. Comments: Chance of freezing enemies increases as Orb level increases. Lightning Orb (**): Lightning strikes nearby enemies, knocking them down. Comments: Lightning damage increases as Orb level increases. Blast Orb (*): Damages enemies even when guarding. Comments: Block damage increases as Orb level increases. Vorpal Orb (****): Increased damage, chance to kill non-general enemies instantly. Comments: Chance to instantly kill enemies increases as Orb level increases. Poison Orb (*): Poisons enemies, causing damage over time and reducing their defense. Comments: Damage and defense reduction increases as Orb level increases. [Special Items] (Max level 20) * - Poor. Equip only if you don't have anything better. ** - Fair. Useful in some circumstances. There are better options. *** - Good. Great for improving a character's shortcomings. **** - Excellent. You should always have this equipped. Peacock Urn (***): Increases Life gauge. Comments: Initially useful if your character has a short life gauge. Once you start getting Dim Sum, I'd recommend switching to the Tortoise Amulet. Dragon Amulet (**): Increases Musou gauge. Comments: I haven't found having more Musou to be particularly useful, especially since the effects of Orbs is dependent on your Musou gauge being full. The shorter your gauge the faster it will fill up. It's better just to get Musou Wine power ups instead. Tiger Amulet (****): Increases Attack. Comments: Unlike previous games, the attack boost here is significant, especially at higher levels. This gives weaker characters a good attack boost, and makes stronger characters real powerhouses. Tortoise Amulet (****): Increases Defense. Comments: Like the Tiger Amulet, the Tortoise Amulet significantly boosts defense, especially at higher levels. A high defense not only decreases the damage you receive but also increases your resistance to being stunned by attacks. There is no reason why you shouldn't have one equipped at all times. Speed Scroll (***): Increases Speed. Comments: The speed increase is not very noticeable unless this is at high levels. It provides a one step boost in speed at level 20 (i.e. from very slow to slow, or from fast to very fast). Wing Boots (*): Increases Jump ability. Comments: Slightly increases jump height. Not too useful. Huang's Bow (*/**** with Huang Zhong or Xiahou Yuan): Increases Bow Attack. Comments: Not too useful unless you are playing Huang Zhong or Xiahou Yuan. This affects their Charge attacks as well. Nanman Armor (*): Increases Bow Defense. Comments: Considering that arrow damage has been toned down significantly, this item isn't too useful. Horned Helm (*/**** with Ma Chao): Increases Mounted Attack. Comments: Not too useful unless you are playing Ma Chao. Ma Chao + Horned Helm + Calvary Armor + Storm/Shadow Runner = Good stuff. Calvary Armor (*/**** with Ma Chao): Increases Mounted Defense. Comments: Ma Chao + Horned Helm + Calvary Armor + Storm/Shadow Runner = Good stuff. Seven Star Sash (*): Increases Luck. Comments: It seems that items you receive in battle are determined more by random luck rather than luck itself. The jury is still out on whether or not this item actually does anything. Elixir (***): Musou gauge fills faster. Comments: A good item in conjunction with the Way of Musou item. Herbal Remedy (***): Increases Charge Attack effectiveness. Comments: The usefulness of this item depends on how often you use charge attacks. I would recommend using the Charge Bracer instead if you have it. Art of War (*) Effect: Increases the duration of power up items. Stage Found: Campaign against Sun Jian (Dong Zhou's forces) Requirements: Defeat Lu Meng, Zhou Tai, and either Sun Shang Xiang or Gan Ning within 10 minutes. Then enter the castle to trigger the "empty castle event". A supply team will appear from the entry point at the north castle and move towards the southern castle entry point. Defeat the supply team for the item. Comments: Not very useful. Survival Guide (*) Effect: When life is critical, Attack x2 when knocked down. Stage Found: The Two Qiaos Requirements: Rescue in order Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao. The item will appear when the two are reunited. Comments: Not very useful. Bodyguard Manual (***) Effect: Bodyguards become stronger. Stage Found: Guan Yu's Escape (Liu Bei's forces) Requirements: Have Guan Yu encounter Xiahou Dun after passing the fifth gate for the item to appear. Note that this is much easier if you are playing as Guan Yu. Comments: This is a great item for bodyguards in training, as it will significantly extend their life expectancy. For elite bodyguards it makes them practically godlike. Way of Musou (***) Effect: Can use True Musou attacks regardless of life. Stage Found: Guan Yu's Escape (Cao Cao's forces) Requirements: After you pass the 5th gate a supply team will appear east of the bridge in front of the fourth gate and head eastward. Defeat the supply team for the item. Comments: In conjunction with the Elixir this can be useful. For some reason True Musou attacks don't seem to be as effective this time around. Power Scroll (*) Effect: Won't lose weapon deadlocks. Stage Found: The Yellow Turban Fortress (Yellow Turban forces) Requirements: Defeat Guan Yu and Zhao Yun. A supply team will appear to the northwest and move to the northeast entry point. Defeat the supply team for the item. Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang must survive. Comments: Limited usefulness. Wind Scroll (****) Effect: Increases attack reach. Stage Found: Battle of Xu Chang (Shu forces) Requirements: Protect Yue Ying until she sets up the ramp vehicle, and defeat Xu Zhu when he ambushes the supply camp in the southwest. When Sima Yi remarks on the two plans failing the item will appear in the northwest. Comments: This significantly increases the range of your weapon. It's extremely useful for characters that have very little range. For characters with an already long-range weapon it makes them into absolute monsters. Fire Arrows (*/**** with Huang Zhong or Xiahou Yuan) Effect: Arrows become fire arrows. Stage Found: Unification of Jing (Wu forces) Requirements: Before the enemy generals join forces, defeat Wang Lang for the supply team to appear at the west castle. Defeat the supply team for the item. Comments: Fun to play with but ultimately not very useful, unless you're playing as Huang Zhong or Xiahou Yuan. This item upgrades their Charge attacks to fire arrows. Charge Bracer (***) Effect: Charge attacks cannot be stopped by normal attacks. Stage Found: Campaign against Sun Jian (Yuan Shao's forces) Requirements: Enter the north castle before enemy reinforcements arrive. A supply team will appear south of the castle and move towards the entry point southwest of the castle. Comments: If you use Charge Attacks frequently this is an excellent item. O--------------O |8. BODYGUARDS | O--------------O ######## #TITLES# ######## Titles have no effect other than indicating how much B.G. Points your bodyguard has accumulated. {Title} {B.G. Points} Novice 0 Fighter 2000 Veteran 4000 Stalwart 6000 ? 9999 The final Title is determined by the ability totals of the bodyguards unit at level 20. This Title determines the elemental attack of the bodyguard unit. {Title} {Requirements} {Element} Stalwart None None Master Max Life Flame Expert Max Musou Lightning Tiger Max Attack Blast Phoenix Max Defense Ice Dragon High Overall Vorpal ######## #NUMBER# ######## Number indicates the maximum number of bodyguards you can bring with you in a stage. The maximum number of bodyguards available is eight. {No. of B.G.} {B.G. Points} 2 0 3 500 4 1000 5 1500 6 2000 7 3000 8 4000 ###### #RANK# ###### Rank determines the appearance of your bodyguards. Note that female bodyguards do not change appearance. {Rank} {B.G. Points] Private 0 Sergeant 1500 Major 3000 Elite 4500 ####### #CLASS# ####### Class determines the number of weapons available for your bodyguards. {Class} {Weapon} {B.G. Points} 2 Sword, Bow 0 3 Spear 1000 4 Pike 2000 5 Crossbow 3000 ####### #LEVEL# ####### Level determines the overall abilities of your bodyguards. For each level gained your bodyguards increase in Life, Musou, Attack, and Defense. The amount gained in each ability is determined by the weapon equipped by the bodyguards when the gain a level. The maximum level for bodyguards is 20. Bodyguards increase in level when they reach a certain B.G. Point total in ONE stage. {Level} {B.G. Point Total in One Stage} 1 0 2 & 3 300 4 & 5 350 6 & 7 400 8 & 9 450 10 & 11 500 12 & 13 550 14 & 15 600 16 & 17 650 18 & 19 700 20 750 ############# #B.G. POINTS# ############# B.G. Points are gained depending on the number of enemies defeated by your bodyguards, and the current health and number of bodyguards that you end the stage with. {Score} {B.G. Points} Bodyguard K.O.'s # of K.O.s x 10 Bonus (Full Life) # of B.G. x 30 Bonus (Remaining) # of B.G. x 40 At the end of the stage assuming that you have eight bodyguards remaining at full life you will get a maximum base bonus of 560 not counting B.G. KOs. This means in order to gain levels after 13 bodyguards will need to defeat a minimum number of enemies. Assuming that you have all eight bodyguards at full life the minimum number of KOs is as follows: [Level] [Minimum B.G. KOs] 14-15 4 16-17 9 18-19 14 20 19 The best stage for getting large amounts of B.G. KOs is The Yellow Turban Menace. Simply set your bodyguard commands to Attack and let your bodyguards rack up the KOs. ####### #COLOR# ####### Color determines the color of your bodyguard unit. Additional colors will be unlocked as new Musou Modes are unlocked. {Musou} {Color} Shu Green Wei Blue Wu Red Lu Bu White Dong Zhou Purple Yuan Shao Yellow ################## #BODYGUARD GROWTH# ################## Bodyguard growth is determined by the weapon equipped by your bodyguards when they gain a level. {Weapon} {Primary Growth} {Secondary Growth} {Weakest Growth} Sword Life Musou, Attack Defense Bow Life,Musou,Defense Attack Spear Musou Life, Attack Defense Pike Attack Life Musou Crossbow Attack Life, Musou, Defense ####################### #BODYGUARD DEVELOPMENT# ####################### +======================+ |Title: Master | |Requirements: Max Life| |Element: Flame | +======================+ Equip: Bow till level 3, Spear till level 7, Sword till level 20 {Levels} {Equip} 1-2 Bow (2 times) 3-6 Spear (4 times) 7-19 Sword (13 times) +=======================+ |Title: Expert | |Requirements: Max Musou| |Element: Lightning| +=======================+ Equip: Bow till level 3, Spear till level 16, Sword till level 20 {Levels} {Equip} 1-2 Bow (2 times) 3-15 Spear (13 times) 16-19 Sword (4 times) +========================+ |Title: Tiger | |Requirements: Max Attack| |Element: Blast | +========================+ Equip: Bow till level 8, Pike till level 17, Sword till level 20 {Levels} {Equip} 1-7 Bow (7 times) 8-16 Pike (9 times) 17-19 Sword (3 times) +=========================+ |Title: Phoenix | |Requirements: Max Defense| |Element: Ice | +=========================+ Equip: Bow till level 4, Spear to level 8, Sword till level 20 {Levels} {Equip} 1-3 Bow (3 times) 4-7 Spear (4 times) 8-19 Sword (12 times) +==========================+ |Title: Dragon | |Requirements: High Overall| |Element: Vorpal | +==========================+ Equip: Bow till level 7, Pike till level 13, Sword till level 20 {Levels} {Equip} 1-6 Bow (6 times) 7-12 Pike (6 times) 13-19 Sword (7 times) +======================+ |Title: Stalwart| |Requirements: None | |Element: None | +======================+ Your bodyguards will have this Title if they do not become any of the other bodyguard types listed above. ################ #BODYGUARD FAQS# ################ Q. How to I get my bodyguards to follow me? They keep wandering off! A. Bodyguards tend to follow you closely, unless you are on horseback. Then they tend to get left behind fairly quickly. Unlike previous Dynasty Warrior games bodyguards do not magically appear at your location when you leave them far behind. They will attempt to follow you on foot, but they will occasionally become stuck behind obstacles on the map. Cycling through the bodyguard commands may help them to become unstuck, but this doesn't always work. Q: How do I get my bodyguards to attack? I set their command to attack but they just sit there! A: Sometimes you will need to move around a bit to get your bodyguards to attack nearby enemies. Actually this is a misnomer, as bodyguards prefer to attack enemies that are far away rather than ones that are right next to you (And attacking you no less! Some bodyguards...). They also tend to attack single targets en masse instead of multiple targets. There isn't anything you can do about it. It's just some quirky bodyguard A.I. Q: How do I get bodyguard weapons? A: Gain B.G. Points. See the above section on Class. Q: My bodyguards stopped gaining levels at 9999 points! What gives? A: Bodyguards need to gain a minimum number of B.G. Points in a _single_ stage to gain levels. See the above section on Levels. ###################### #CHARACTER BODYGUARDS# ###################### The following information was provided by Kidd. Depending on your relationship with other characters, it is possible for a playable character to appear as a bodyguard for your character. When this happens the character will appear with morale of 6 and follow you around like a normal bodyguard. If you have a full Musou gauge and are near the bodyguard character you can perform a double Musou attack as if you were with a second player. Character bodyguards can appear in both Musou and Free mode. There are certain requirements for having a character appear as a bodyguard. 1. The most important factor in getting a character bodyguard is that the character has a high degree of friendship with your character. For example, Zhao Yun will most likely appear if you are playing as Liu Bei, while Guan Yu will most likely appear if your are either Liu Bei or Zhang Fei. 2. The character will only appear if they were not initially present in the stage. 3. Your army's morale must be at less than half. 4. Your Life must be at less than half. 5. Your army has 9 or fewer officers. 6. A certain amount of time must have passed (15-20 minutes). If all of these requirements are met and a character bodyguard does not appear, then it usually means that your character does not have a high enough relationship with another character for them to appear as a bodyguard. How does one increase the degree of relationship between characters? The best way is to help characters that are "struggling". You can tell if you've helped them or not if they make a remark when you approach them. How does one decrease the degree of relationship between characters? The easiest way is to defeat them in duels. The relationship between characters does save between stages. For example, if you play Free Mode and repeatedly defeat a Shu character with another Shu character, it is highly unlikely that the character you defeated will appear to help you when you play in Musou Mode. O------------O |9. STRATEGY | O------------O [ITEMS] - Gate Captains always drop Meat Buns when defeated. Remember that when you're low on life. Gate Captains will also reappear on some stages, so you can use them for a quick life boost. - Defeating a group of archers will usually result in one of them dropping arrows. James Mills writes in to mention that defeating First Bow and First Crossbow enemies is what causes arrows to drop. - Boxes usually contain temporary power up items or arrows. Jars will usually have life restoring items (or be empty). Dim Sum and Musou Wine are only found in jars. [CHARGE ATTACKS] - Charge attacks involving projectiles increase in power and effect when a higher level orb is equipped. The Musou gauge must be at maximum for this to take effect. - Projectile Charge attacks are best used from a distance. These will usually knock a general directly to the ground if it connects. Note that allies will block projectile attacks if they are in the way. The type of Orb equipped determines the elemental type of the projectile. - Grab Charge attacks are unblockable. Usually the enemy will hit you out of the move (unless you have the Charge Bracer item). If the enemy is busy blocking an attack from an ally or bodyguard, you can nail them every time while they are in block stun animation. - Aerial Charge attacks are good counters to regular Charge attacks. The enemy usually counters your own Charge attacks with aerial Charge attacks. [DUELS] - You can refuse a duel by simply pressing the start button if you want to speed things up. - Refusing a duel always decreases morale. Drawing a duel decreases morale if your character has more than 18000 points. Winning a duel obviously increases morale. - To get past a tight defense you can try to slightly circle around the enemy at close range and try to hit them around their guard. This works better for fast characters. - If you try to use a Charge attack from a distance, the enemy will counter with an aerial Charge attack. - If the enemy uses counters frequently they will usually do so for the entire duel. Switch to defense and use counters to counter this. - Charge grab moves (such as Lu Bu's) will nail you if you attempt to counter at the exact same time. When you see the Charge animation, wait a split second then perform the counter. [BODYGUARDS] - Bodyguards are excellent for distracting enemy generals. While they are occupied blocking their attacks, sneak around to the rear and strike from behind. [HARNESSES] - Because Harnesses do not take up an additional item slot, there is no excuse not to have one. Having a mount makes a big difference in some of the larger stages. Horses are essential for extremely slow characters (Xu Zhu, Dian Wei, and Meng Huo in particular). [ORBS] - Orb elemental attacks will only activate if the Musou gauge is at maximum. - Fire Orbs set enemies on fire, dealing additional burn damage. - Lightning Orbs affect a large area, striking multiple enemies. - Ice Orbs not only freeze enemies, but increases they damage they receive. - Blast Orbs deal damage even when blocked. - Vorpal Orbs only have a percentage chance of instantly killing enemies, even at level 4. - Poison Orbs cause enemies to receive more damage from attacks. [SPECIAL ITEMS] - The Tiger Amulet and Tortoise Amulet are useful regardless of character. - The Wind Scroll makes a huge difference in weapon range. Even characters with long weapons can benefit from this item. [MISCELLANEOUS] - Everyone knows that you can use the L2 Button to display the life gauges of enemy soldiers. But what most people don't know is that you can also use it to locate enemies in areas where visibility is poor due to rain, darkness, etc. This is especially helpful in the bamboo forest at Cheng Du. This can also be used to differentiate between friendly and enemy units that appear similar (for example, if you're using Nanman bodyguards during the Nanman stage). Thanks to go Julie-Su for providing this helpful tip. O-----------------O |10. WALKTHROUGHS | O-----------------O Note: The indicated difficulty for the stage is based on Easy difficulty. On Normal difficulty add an additional * to the difficulty. On Hard difficulty add an additional ** to the difficulty. The requirements for the secret tales levels assume that you don't skip any stages previously unless specifically stated for the requirement. Doing so may cause the stage to not appear even if the requirements are fulfilled. +===============+ |Shu Musou Mode | +===============+ ------------------------- Shu - Act I The Oath in the Garden ------------------------- [The Yellow Turban Menace] (Han Forces) Difficulty: * Bonus: Defeating Zhang Liang here will prevent him from appearing later at the final act. Your first task is to defeat the Yellow Turban generals guarding the castle gates. Cao Cao will be assaulting the west gate and Sun Jian the east gate. Since you're the volunteer (Shu) forces, you can choose to assist anyone you want. Because you start near Cao Cao, you might as well attack either Deng Mao at the west gate, or Gao Sheng at the south gate. Defeating either of them will open their respective gate. A short time later Zhang Liang will summon a rainstorm inside of the castle. Huangfu Song will be nonplussed and start attacking, only to be ambushed by He Yi near the waterway. Go ahead and bail him out. From here you can go directly north to Zhang Liang or head to the east gate and help Sun Jian clear out the enemies there. Yan Zheng will appear north of the castle to spring an ambush, but at this point most of the Yellow Turban generals should have been dealt with already. When you approach Zhang Liang he will activate the water geysers in the area. While these will damage you if you're too close, they will also damage enemies as well, so you can lure the Yellow Turbans into their own geysers (he he he). Near the entrance to the geyser area are two ramps to the left and right leading down to a lower area with a single pot. The left area contains a Dim Sum (Life Up +10) and the right area contains a Musou Wine (Musou Up +10). This is a convenient stage to build up your Life and Musou gauges since these items are so close to the main general. If you defeat all of the Yellow Turban generals on the map (including sub generals), Zhang Liang will withdraw from battle. Defeating him now will prevent him from appearing in the final stage of this act. [The Yellow Turban Fortress] (Han Forces) Difficulty: * Bonus: Defeating Zhang Bao here will prevent him from appearing later in the final act. Sun Jian will begin the assault from the west route and Cao Cao will approach from the east route. Once again the volunteer forces (Shu) can choose either route, but since they start near Cao Cao they might as well take the east route. Engage He Yi nearby and be sure to get the Musou Wine in the pot at the start of the circular path. Once you start down the circular path the Yellow Turbans will cause the wind to blow, pushing everyone back. As Cao Cao mentions the only way to make any progress is to run against the wind. Once you reach the other side of the circular path you will see three large windmill devices. Running into the blades will damage you. You can destroy them by striking them from behind. This may be a bit difficult, as there are several groups of archers in the vicinity. Once all three devices are destroyed the wind will stop blowing. Defeat Pei Yuan Shao and proceed onward to the fortress. If for some reason you decide to take the west route, follow Sun Jian's forces and defeat Bo Zhang to open the fort gate. When you enter the fort phantom ghosts will appear to attack. These ghosts cannot be hit, but they can hit you. As Sun Jian suggests there is a way to break this spell. Maybe by breaking that enormous glowing cauldron perhaps? The first one is easy to spot since it's near the fort's south entrance. Take out Zhou Cang while you're at it. The second cauldron is a bit trickier to find. It is located in the southeast corner of the fort. Once both cauldrons are destroyed the phantom ghosts will disappear. Be sure to grab the Dim Sum in the pot located in the southwest corner of the fort before you leave. Cheng Yuanzhi is guarding the main entrance of the fort. Defeating him will open the gates. If all of the Yellow Turban generals have been defeated (including sub generals), Zhang Bao will withdraw from the battle. Defeating him now will prevent him from appearing in the final stage of this act. [The Yellow Turban Rebellion] (Han Forces) Difficulty: * If you had defeated Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao previously they will not appear in this stage. Otherwise, Zhang Bao will appear in the west area and Zhang Liang will appear in the east area. Sun Jian will attack Zhang Bao and Cao Cao will attack Zhang Liang. Volunteer forces (yep, that's you) can go either way. Zhang Liang has a nastier trick up his sleeve than his brother, but it's up to you on which route you take. When you enter the fort where Zhang Bao is, he will activate the flame geysers in the area. If you take care to avoid standing near them they shouldn't be much of a problem. Incredibly he will often walk over his own geysers trying to get at you, so use that to your advantage. Defeating Zhang Bao will stop the geysers from erupting. Zhang Liang's trick is much more dangerous. When you enter his area he will cause rocks to come rolling down in the area. Unlike the rocks in the previous games, these rocks will come at you from all directions, are very difficult to avoid, and will do serious damage to characters that don't have much in the way of defense yet. Fortunately, they will break apart on the first person they hit, and they aren't particularly choosy on whether they hit you or an enemy. If you're feeling skillful you can actually use the enemies here to block rock attacks. The rocks will stop appearing when Zhang Liang is defeated. A few rocks may still be bouncing around in craters so be mindful of rogue rocks roaming about. In the northeast corner of this area by the gate captain are three pots, one of which contains Musou Wine. Be sure to snag it before heading to the next area. Once both of the Zhang brothers are gone the way will be clear to Zhang Jiao. If neither brother appeared, then you didn't have to worry about flame geysers, or angry rocks, or other crap like that. However, if this is the case Zhang Jiao will have one last surprise for you. On the way up the hill towards his position he will send flaming exploding rocks at you. I can't decide whether or not this is incredibly desperate or incredibly lame. Anyway, once you make you way up the hill take a short detour to the northeast corner of the area where a box and two pots are. One of the pots contains a Dim Sum. From there head over to Zhang Jiao and take him down. If all of the Yellow Turban generals (including sub generals) are defeated, Zhang Jiao will withdraw. ---------------------------- Shu - Tales Return of the Yellow Turbans ---------------------------- Requirements: Clear Shu Musou Mode once. In Act I, select The Yellow Turban Rebellion first. [Eliminate Zhang Jiao!] (Liu Bei's Forces) Difficulty: * At the start of the battle Liu Bei will instruct Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to secure the southwest fort. Go ahead and help them take the fort by defeating He Yi and Bo Zhang. Do this post haste, as Zhang Lu's forces will be here very soon. When both generals are defeated the fort gates will close. Make sure you're beyond the south gate when this happens. A few moments later Zhang Lu will arrive with his forces (gray blue uniforms). The goal here is to eliminate all of Zhang Lu's forces before he reaches the top where Zhang Jiao is. If you try to head towards where Zhang Jiao is, strong winds will prevent your passage and will eat up precious time. Don't bother trying to kill Zhang Lu. He's just an illusion and will just reappear over and over until all of his forces are defeated. Concentrate on annihilating his forces. If Zhang Lu does reach Zhang Jiao, the two of them will cast a spell that will turn your entire army against you and Liu Bei (including Guan Yu and Zhang Fei). Needless to say, you do not want this to happen. Eliminating all of Zhang Lu's forces will cause the real Zhang Lu to appear. Go ahead and kill him. When the real Zhang Lu is defeated, Zhang Jiao will cast a spell that will turn Liu Bei's forces against him. Fortunately, this weakened version does not affect Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Head up towards where Zhang Jiao is, taking out Pei Yuan Shao along the way. When you get to the top destroy all three glowing cauldrons like Liu Bei suggests. Doing so will break the spell. Note that this has no effect if both Zhang Lu and Zhang Jiao cast the stronger version of the spell. Once that is taken care of, go ahead and finish off Zhang Jiao for the last time. ------------------------------ Shu - Act II The Alliance against Dong Zhuo ------------------------------ [Battle of Si Shui Gate] (Allied Forces) Difficulty: ** Bonuses: Claiming the supply depot here will improve morale for Sun Jian in the next act. Defeating Hua Xiong here will prevent him from ambushing you in the next act. As you might have guessed from the opening movie (or if you've read the novel) Yuan Shu will not assist Sun Jian with provisions. Sun Jian will camp out in front of the gate and request provisions from Yuan Shu. At this point you have a limited amount of time to get supplies for him. Fortunately, there is a supply depot nearby. You have a limited time to reach the depot before the lack of supplies demoralizes Sun Jian and forces him to withdraw. This will affect his actions later at Hu Lao Gate. Quickly dispatch Guo Si and Li Ru and make your way to the back road behind the supply depot (Yuan Shao will make a remark about it). Defeat Fan Chou and the supply depot will be commandeered. Be sure to get the Dim Sum located in the southwest corner of the depot before you leave. If you do not liberate the supplies for Sun Jian, eventually Hua Xiong will come out of Si Shui Gate to attack Sun Jian. Yuan Shao will ask if there is anyone that can defeat Hua Xiong (note that this will not happen if you obtained the supplies at the depot). Go ahead and defeat him for a cut scene where your character announces that they defeated Hua Xiong. Note that this scene is necessary to unlock a secret stage in the next act. From here you can proceed into Si Shui Gate or help out Cao Cao engage Niou Fu, Li Su, and Gao Shun in the southeast. Note that there is a second route past Si Shui Gate to the south. Behind the wall at the start of the path is a Musou Wine. While characters with low jumping height can go over the wall by using the box as a step they will not be able to return over it. Once inside of Si Shui Gate, Zhang Liao will appear to reinforce Li Jue (if you went in via the front gate). If all of Dong Zhuo's generals are defeated (including sub generals) Li Jue will withdraw. [Battle of Hu Lao Gate] (Allied Forces) Difficulty: ** If you had defeated either Zhang Liao or Li Jue at Si Shui Gate they will not appear here. If you skipped the Battle of Si Shui Gate, then Hua Xiong will appear to ambush Yuan Shao's camp. Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian will start in their own areas and must defeat the generals guarding the nearby gates. If you raided the supply depot before Sun Jian ran out of provisions at Si Shui gate, he will attack normally here. Otherwise, he will hold back his forces. Proceed to the nearby gate and defeat the generals to open the gate. From here you can head directly to Hu Lao Gate or help the other forces out by defeating the enemy gate generals. Note that approaching the gate from the other side here will open it automatically. When the allies break through the gates a ram vehicle will appear and start bashing down Hu Lao Gate. Move to the gate and defeat both gate captains nearby. The gate should come down shortly. Follow the vehicle inside. You knew that Lu Bu was going to make an appearance here sooner or later. He will always challenge you to a duel when he appears. Note that it will be very difficult to defeat him in this duel, but it _is_ possible. You can either attempt to defeat him, which as you might expect isn't going to be a cakewalk. Or you can run like hell and let your allies do the fighting. Either way, note that there is a Dim Sum on top of the south half of Hu Lao Gate and a Musou Wine on the north half. Further inside you will find Diao Chan guarding the inner gate to the capitol. Defeating her will open the gates. Once inside Dong Zhuo will order the capitol to be burned, which will cause Yuan Shao to order an all out attack. At this point if you've defeated all of the enemy generals (in particular Lu Bu), Dong Zhuo will retreat. If not then he will stay to fight, but he will retreat if his life becomes low. Note that whether or not Lu Bu or Dong Zhuo is defeated here determines which secret stages you can unlock later. ---------------- Shu - Tales Guan Yu's Escape ---------------- Requirements: At the Battle of Si Shui Gate, do not enter the supply depot until Yuan Shao asks "Is there no one who can defeat Hua Xiong?" Defeat Hua Xiong. At the Battle of Hu Lao Gate defeat Lu Bu and Diao Chan, and let Dong Zhuo escape. Josh "Doofdork" JeNiro writes in to say that defeating Lu Bu doesn't appear to be a requirement, as he's unlocked this stage without defeating Lu Bu. It seems that getting Dong Zhuo to escape is the only requirement. [Guan Yu's Escape] (Liu Bei's Forces) Difficulty: ** If you're playing as Guan Yu this can be a difficult stage, since the carriage this time _can_ be destroyed. You'll need to stay close to the carriage at all times lest the enemies concentrate on taking it out. If you're another character Guan Yu will help you out, but you can't afford to get careless since he can't be everywhere at once. For the most part this stage is pretty straightforward. Escort the carriage and protect it from harm, take out the enemy generals guarding the gates, and proceed to the next gate. When you get past the third gate Xiahou Dun will appear from the starting position and proceed to pursue you. When you get past the fourth gate the gates will close and an ambush will appear. Stay close to the carriage and take out everyone that gets near. When the enemies are dealt with Wang Zhi will run for his life. Take him out if you wish, but remember that you are on escort duty. The ambush should buy Xiahou Dun enough time to reach you by the fifth gate. Take him out if you wish, but remember that the stage will end instantly when both the carriage and Guan Yu reach the river. ----------------- Shu - Tales Heroes of the Han ----------------- Requirements: Clear Shu's Musou Mode once. Select Battle of Hu Lao Gate first, do not defeat Lu Bu, and defeat Dong Zhuo. Bill (wmwhorton) writes in to mention that Dong Zhou can retreat and you can still get this stage. [Battle of Ru Nan] If you're playing as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, or Zhao Yun, you'll need to meet up with Liu Bei as soon as possible. Otherwise you'll start out right next to Liu Bei. Proceed to the castle, clearing out the enemies and generals along the way. Xiahou Yuan should show up behind you, but at this point he's not very strong so you shouldn't have any problems with him. Zhao Yun should show up to assist Liu Bei (that is if you're not playing him). Head for the castle to rendezvous with Zhang Fei. Xiahou Dun should appear to the north. Engage the generals in the castle, who at this point should be Xu Zhu and Yu Jin, and maybe Yue Jin. Zhang He should be by the west gate. Defeating him brings Guan Yu into the fray from the west. Once all the Shu generals are here you should have no problem clearing out the remaining Wei forces. From there it's a short jaunt to the north where Cao Cao is waiting. --------------------- Shu - Act III The Flight of Liu Bei --------------------- [Battle of Bo Wan Po] (Liu Bei's Forces) Difficulty: *** Bonus: Successfully executing all of Zhuge Liang's ploys here will weaken Cao Cao's forces at Chang Ban. This is a rather fun stage to play (the Wei version is another story) as Zhuge Liang has a bunch of neat traps for the Wei forces to run into. At the start head for Xiahou Dun until he starts chasing you, then lead him to the center path that Zhuge Liang indicated. When the fire incinerates the Wei troops go ahead and defeat Xiahou Dun. Next up is Han Hao. Lure him to the ambush site on the upper path. When the trap springs take him out as well. Last is Yu Jin. Go up to him and lure him to the ambush near the bridge. Once this happens Zhuge Liang will order an all out attack on Cao Cao. Guan Yu will appear as reinforcements. If you are successful with all three traps Zhang Fei will appear in Cao Cao's supply depot and burn it down. From this point all that's left is to engage the remaining generals in the castle. If Zhuge Liang encounters Cao Cao he will make a remark about using Cao Cao's ambition to help Liu Bei's cause. [Battle of Chang Ban] (Liu Bei's Forces) Difficulty: *** Bonus: Finding Liu Chan here will cause Zhao Yun to appear as reinforcements at Chi Bi. Liu Bei moves much faster than he did in DW3, so he'll probably escape before you can totally annihilate all of the Wei generals. The goal here is to clear a path for Liu Bei so that he can escape to Wu. There are three routes you can take here that lead to the escape point to the south. The left route has Xiahou De and Xiahou Yuan. The center route has Zhu Ling and Xu Huang. The right route has Xiahou Dun and Zhang He. Since a special event can occur if you take the right route it's probably the easiest, so we'll take this route for the walkthrough. Right off the bat Xiahou Dun will come charging in. If you defeated him in the previous act he will most likely challenge you to a duel. Take him out and start clearing a path south. Zhang He should be near the Chang Ban Bridge. Defeating him will clear a path for Zhang Fei to do his famous yell scene where he will hold back the Wei army. Cao Cao's main force should appear to the northwest. Around this time you should get a message that Liu Chan has appeared. Note that rescuing Liu Chan does not get you anything except a warm fuzzy feeling (and 60 seconds of unlimited Musou). And a cool scene if you rescue him while on horseback. If you decide to rescue him, be aware that hundreds on enemies will converge on you the moment you enter the fort where he is. So unless you feel like recreating Zhao Yun's famous scene I would recommend ignoring him unless you have a built up character. Note that when Liu Bei tells you to destroy the bridges to delay pursuit, he's referring to the two southern bridges near the central fort. Just cross over them from the north and they will be destroyed. When Liu Bei reaches the south part of the area Liu Qi's ships will arrive, along with Guan Yu and Guan Ping. Continue clearing a path for Liu Bei by defeating Jia Kui and Yu Jin, and eventually he should reach the escape point safe and sound. [Battle of Chi Bi] (Liu Bei's Forces) Difficulty: *** From the start of the battle you should head immediately to the northwest corner of the map. Halfway there Pang Tong should announce that he's "off to work". If you have a fast horse ignore the enemies and make a break for his location. Otherwise, you're going to have to do some serious footwork to make it up there in time. If you're too slow then Pang Tong will say something about their defense being too tight and will withdraw. If this happens you can still make the fire attack work by going to plan B (skip to the next paragraph). When you do reach Pang Tong he'll tell you you'll need to take care of Xu Shu (one of Cao Pi's sub generals) before he gets suspicious. Go ahead and eliminate him. Don't worry about Pang Tong. Even though he's your allied color the enemies there won't mess with him. Once Xu Shu is gone head immediately for Zhuge Liang's position. You'll know Pang Tong's plot is successful when he says that the boats should be secure now. Julie-Su writes in to mention that you don't even have to meet with Pang Tong. Just eliminate Xu Shu right off the bat and you don't have to worry about the plot failing. Li Dian is nearby, but ignore him for now and head to Zhuge Liang's altar post haste. Yue Jin will launch an ambush and will quickly defeat Zhuge Liang unless you immediately help him. Once Yue Jin is dealt with stick around and clear out the entire area around the altar of enemies. After that's done head for Li Dian and take care of him. It will take some time for Zhuge Liang to get the wind to blow, so it's best to secure the area around him so you don't have to worry about his safety. When the altar area is secured head for the center bridge where Cao Ren is. Defeat him and clear the center bridge of all enemies. This is important because Huang Gai will appear on the bridge area later and his safety is necessary for the fire attack to proceed. You should get a message that Huang Gai has begun preparations for the attack. His boat will dock near the right side of the bridge where a staircase juts out but doesn't go anywhere. Once the bridge area is secure you can go ahead and take out any nearby enemies, but make sure to head back to the bridge area when you get the message that Huang Gai is about to arrive. If any enemies arrive on the bridge take care of them. Once Huang Gai arrives on the bridge he will start walking around with some bombardiers. A short time later the fire attack should commence. If Pang Tong's plot was successful the ship should be chained together, which will result in Cao Cao's forces taking severe losses. At his point the allied forces will launch an all out attack. From this point you can clear out the remaining Wei generals or head straight for Cao Cao. ------------------ Shu - Act IV The Three Kingdoms ------------------ [Battle of Luo Castle] (Liu Bei's Forces) Difficulty: **** Bonus: If Pang Tong survives the battle, he will arrive as reinforcements during the Campaign for Jing. From the start of the battle Pang Tong will run into trouble and will quickly die unless you help him out immediately. It's very difficult to save him unless you are riding a fast horse. Once Pang Tong is safe, continue heading for the castle. Yang Huai and Gao Pei will ambush Liu Bei while you are away, so you'll probably have to backtrack to take care of them. Eventually Zhuge Liang will arrive with reinforcements. Pang Tong will mention something about trying to capture Zhang Ren and will start taunting him. Zhang Ren will open the castle gates and immediately attack. If Pang Tong manages to lure him south across the bridge an ambush will commence and defeating him. Once he's dealt with take out the remaining generals outside before dealing with Liu Zhang. [The Campaign for Jing] (Liu Bei's Forces) Difficulty: **** Clearing this battle will prevent Yang Huai and Gao Pei from appearing as reinforcements in the final act. Xing Daorong should appear to ambush you from the start, but he's little more than a speed bump. When he's been smashed help Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun eliminate Liu Du. Once the fort is clear you can either choose to take on Jin Xuan to the west or Zhao Fan to the north. Guan Yu should arrive at around this time to help out. It doesn't matter which one you choose, but as you head for their positions Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren will launch a surprise attack on Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang will tell everyone to turn back and help him, since he can't really defend himself with that silly fan of his. Go ahead and do so, if only because if he gets killed you lose the battle. Once you've saved his sorry butt, go ahead and clear out Jin Xuan and Zhao Fan's forts. Zhao Fan will come to his senses and retreat once his sub generals are killed. Once all three outer forts are secure, it's time to take on Han Xuan. Note that when you approach the castle gates both Huang Zhong and Wei Yan will engage you together. Huang Zhong is pretty tough by himself, but together with the spasmodic Wei Yan he's downright nasty. Having archers in the area isn't helping matters any. Run away and try to attack them one at a time outside the gate. If you try to take them both on you will get sandwiched by their attacks. Once they're both defeated Han Xuan should not pose any problems. There is another way to take the castle, and it's much easier that the method that I listed above. First defeat all of the generals and sub generals outside of the castle. This should cause Huang Zhong to charge out from the castle. Do not defeat Wei Yan. Defeat Huang Zhong and there should be an event where Han Xuan is about to execute him for failure. Wei Yan will kill Han Xuan and both of them will join your forces. Note that this _instantly_ wins the battle. Thanks go to Douglas Yee for pointing this out to me. [Campaign of Cheng Du] (Liu Bei's Forces) Difficulty: **** Getting Zhang Liu to surrender is necessary to obtain Shu's fourth ending, but most people will usually get the third ending instead because the requirements for the surrender are a bit counter intuitive here. I had to play this stage over a dozen times to figure out how to do it. While I'm not sure as to the exact requirements for his surrender, I've managed to figure out a fail-safe method to do it. This method works best if the difficulty is set to easy so your allies wont advance too far and spoil everything. The trick for getting Zhang Liu to surrender is (A) You must capture Li Yan, (B) do not approach Liu Xun until all the other generals are dealt with, and (C) when the enemy reinforcements arrive do not defeat Ma Chao until all the other generals are defeated. Note that part B is important, as if your own allies reach Liu Xun prematurely enemy reinforcements will appear and spoil everything. When the battle starts do not engage Li Yan until Zhuge Liang tells you that the ambush area is set up. Go to Li Yan and get him to chase you. He will immediately challenge you to a duel, but if you want to get Zhang Liu to surrender you must decline (press start). Lure Li Yan to the ambush site. When Guan Ping appears turn around and defeat him. You should get the message that Li Yan was captured. Next comes the tricky part. You will need to go into the forest area and eliminate all of Liu Xun's sub generals. There should be four in all. Head north from the ambush site and move through the forest in a reverse Z pattern. You'll know you're on the right track when Yan Yan is the fourth general you encounter. Do NOT go near Liu Xun or you will trigger reinforcements, which will cause the castle gates to open and Liu Zhang to show up. If he ever shows up he will never surrender so keep that in mind. When all of Liu Xun's sub generals are defeated go back the way you came to Liu Bei's position, then head south to engage Liu Han and Deng Xian's sub generals. You should encounter Deng Xian along the way. Go ahead and defeat him. When they've been dealt with go and take Liu Han out. Defeat the gate captains guarding the nearby gates to open them so you have a way to move back and forth. Once all of the officers save Liu Xun are defeated you should get a message saying that Liu Zhang is considering surrender. If you don't get the message chances are you did something wrong and will have to start over. If you do get the message you may want to save your game just in case. Make your way to Liu Xun to fight him. Moving towards his position will trigger enemy reinforcements (Ma Chao, or Pang De if you previously unlocked Ma Chao, along with Ma Dai, Yang Huai, and Gao Pei back at Liu Bei's castle). DO NOT DEFEAT MA CHAO/PANG DE UNTIL ALL OTHER GENERALS ARE DEFEATED. If Ma Chao/Pang De challenges you to a duel ignore him. Head back to Liu Bei and take out Yang Huai near the south entrance of the castle and Ma Dai near the east entrance. If Gao Pei defeated the south stronghold captain (which he should) he should be arriving shortly by the south gate. Once all of the other generals are taken care of, go ahead and defeat Ma Chao/Pang De. If you did everything I mentioned you should get a message saying that Liu Zhang will surrender. As long as Liu Zhang does not appear in any point of the battle things should be okay. Josh "Doofdork" JeNiro writes in with an alternate approach. After capturing Yi Lan head south and fight Liu Han and Deng Xian first instead of Liu Xun's sub generals. The reason for this is to prevent Liu Bei's troops from engaging Liu Xun early, which in turn triggers the reinforcements prematurely. When the south is cleared head back and defeat Liu Xun's sub generals. From there you can defeat Liu Xun and the other reinforcements before dealing with Ma Chao/Pang De. ------------------- Shu - Tales The Fury of Ma Chao ------------------- Requirements: Select Campaign of Cheng Du first. If Ma Chao is not unlocked yet, defeat him when he arrives as reinforcements. If Ma Chao is unlocked, defeat Pang De when he arrives as reinforcements. [Battle of Tong Gate] (Liu Bei's Forces) Difficulty: **** This battle is pretty much straightforward. Exit the gate and take out Xiahou Yuan, Dian Wei, and Cao Hong as they approach. Cao Ren guards the gate of the nearby ice castle. Xu Huang and Cao Cao will lay a bridge across the river and try to sneak in from the north. Han Sui will appear to defect, but as long as his morale is high he won't. Some horses will appear in an event, which will end up lowering your morale. How this happens exactly I'm not certain, but it won't have much of an impact in the battle. Just go ahead and have fun with this one. You can find a Musou Wine in the crossable shallow river north of Ma Chao's position, and a Dim Sum in the northwest area near the north entry point. --------------- Shu - Act V The fall of Wei --------------- In Act III, if the fire attack at the Battle of Chi Bi is successful, this will be the Shu scenario for Act V. [Battle of Mt. Ding Jun] (Shu Forces) Difficulty: ****** Don't bother trying to kill Xiahou Shang at the beginning. He has a lot of life and there are quite a bit of crossbowmen in the area. Chances are if you do chase him down and kill him you will be trapped in the Wei camp when the gates close. Considering that there are dozens of crossbowmen in the area and a few hundred guards it's not going to be very pretty. While it is possible to survive being isolated, I wouldn't recommend doing so unless you are supremely confident in your skills (or are completely crazy). That being said, Chen Shi should return safely to your side by the time Xiahou Shang returns to his. Start heading east where Huang Zhong is fighting a one-man battle against Xiahou De at the Mt. Ding Jun fort. Once Xiahou De is taken care of Huang Zhong will charge the Wei camp and end up being isolated in the middle path. Go ahead and help him out. Zhao Yun may or may not appear as reinforcements, but I'm not sure as to what triggers this. Zhang He will be nearby, as will Xiahou Yuan. Defeating Xiahou Yuan will trigger Cao Cao's arrival as well as an ambush from the east by Cao Zhang. Go back and deal with that, then head back for the final push against the Wei camp. Defeating Yang Xiu will open the south gate of the Wei camp for your allies. Once all the other generals are defeated head up to Cao Cao's position and finish him off. [Battle of Jie Ting] (Shu Forces) Difficulty: ****** Bonus: Saving Ma Su here will make Zhuge Liang's wooden ox appear in the final act. It's time once again to save Ma Su from certain destruction. In order to rescue Ma Su you will need to eliminate all of the Wei generals that have surrounded him on the mountainside. These include Xu Huang from the east, Xiahou Yuan to the north, and Zhang He from the south. Note that when you approach Zhang He he will set the gate on fire, but this doesn't really do much except look pretty and prevent you from going through that gate. He will only do this if all the other generals around Ma Su's camp have been defeated. Once all three generals are defeated you can head for Sima Yi and finish him off. [Battle of Wu Zhang Plains] (Shu Forces) Difficulty: ****** For this battle the opening strategy depends on your initial position. If you start on the left head north and engage Cao Hong and Zhang He. If you begin on the right head north and deal with Cao Pi and Zhen Ji. If you are in the center you can pick either side, but I'd recommend not going down the center to where Xiahou Yuan is. You'll want to keep that area clear for an event later in the battle. If you went left, when you reach Zhang He's position he will order his men to open fire on you with their crossbows. This will trigger an event where Zhuge Liang will deploy his arbalests, which are basically large crossbows that fire ten arrows at once. With the arbalest backup proceed to clear out the enemies in the area. If you went right you'll deal with Zhen Ji, who will more often than not challenge you to a duel. Further up an ambush party including bombardiers lies in wait. In either case, when you approach Sima Yi your character will begin taunting him, causing his morale to drop. Shortly afterwards Zhuge Liang will apparently collapse and die, which will cause Sima Yi to order a full out attack. The Shu forces will begin to withdraw, but Wei Yan will ignore orders and keep on attacking. Don't worry about him. Head back the way you came and continue fighting and clearing out the enemy. When Sima Yi gets near the Shu camp he will discover that Zhuge Liang is very much alive, and will hastily beat feet back to the Wei camp. Press your advantage and take out Xiahou Yuan near the center. When Sima Yi arrives back at the Wei camp Cao Cao should arrive. At this point Cao Zhen and Cao Zhang will appear to the left and right of your camp respectively in an ambush. Go ahead and take them both out. Once they are both gone there will be no one left except for Sima Yi and Cao Cao. Head north along with the rest of the Shu army and finish them both off. ---------------- Shu - Tales Dong Zhuo lives! ---------------- Requirements: Clear less than 10 stages to this point. In Act II, at the Battle of Hu Lao Gate defeat all generals and let Dong Zhuo escape. In Act V select Battle of Wu Zhang Plains first. [Battle